Chapter 76: Moving On

"It's been three days since the Dominator Invasion, and the public is still trying to recover. In every part of the world, tents and impromptu shelters are popping up…"

"… Several major companies, such as Queen Consolidated and Wayne Industries, are donating money…"

"… The President's televised speech talks about a new dialog of international cooperation that is opening in the wake of the invasion…"

"… The Justice League, after spending the last two days helping the local governments of their cities with the collateral damage, have now made themselves scarce…"

"Barry, you're back!" Joe West said joyously as he saw his foster son enter the precinct.

Barry shrugged, smiling, as he went up to the detective's deck, plopping down a bag of Big Belly Burger. "Well, the government finally decided that the Dominators weren't coming back and that they didn't need us eggheads anymore, so they finally took off my leash and let me go home. I'm glad too — I was sick of running on coffee and bad cafeteria food."

Joe laughed, slapping the younger man on the back, "Good, good — the house just wasn't the same without your baby face in it," he leered at the food, "and I see you brought Big Belly Burger! Of all the places to survive the invasion mostly intact…"

"What can I say? The gods are smiling down on us." The speedster looked around in a contemplative manner. "I see you officers are still working cases even as the contractors are covering up the leaks in your roof." He pointed upwards, where construction workers were doing exactly that.

"Crime stops for no one, Barry." A voice piped up. Both men turned around to see Iris walking up to them, her eyes intense. "Not even for the end of the world."

An awkward silence fell upon the group as Barry and Iris stared at each other. Joe, feeling the tension, made a hasty excuse and grabbed the food, bolting for Ralph's desk. As the other man voiced his complaints in the background, Iris silently gestured for Barry to follow her, making her way up the stairs and to the private room where she and Barry had planned that fateful operation all those months ago. Barry, after some hesitation, followed, greeting some people along the way.

Iris had Barry enter first, following him and closing the door behind her. She locked it, then activated the anti-eavesdropping device. Satisfied with the security and content they wouldn't be disturbed, she turned back to her — former? — best friend, crossing her arms. The silence ticked on, until…

"You did good out there."

Barry smiled, his expression soft. "Thanks. I heard you did pretty good too."

Iris gave a small, deprecating smirk. "Maybe I did. But I didn't run around the world and help scare the Dominators off-planet."

"I wasn't alone in that."

"Doesn't diminish what you did. You helped save the world, Barry."

Barry frowned and placed a hand on her shoulder. He was relieved to find that she didn't tense up at his touch. "We saved the world, Iris. Supergirl and I may have run around the world attaching those devices, but we wouldn't have been able to do that if it hadn't been for you, and everyone else fighting, occupying them long enough for us to get everything in place. It wasn't just us, or just the Justice League — everyone had a part to play."

Iris' smirk turned into a genuine smile, but after a moment, tension returned to her body. Barry, sensing the change, quickly let his hand fall back to his side.

"Barry, about what happened—" Iris started to say, only to stop when she saw him hold up a hand.

"You're still uncomfortable with it," He noted.

She opened her mouth to half-heartedly refute his statement, only to let it fall closed. There was no point in lying. He'd see right through it. Barry took that opportunity to pull her into a hug. Iris stiffened at the gesture, melting into the embrace several moments later.

"We don't have to talk now." Barry murmured into her ear. "Take your time, Iris. I'll be there when you're ready."

Iris nodded into his chest, clutching his shirt. They stayed like that for a while, only separating when Barry's phone rang with a text. Barry sighed, taking it out and reading it.

"What is it?" Iris asked, curious.

"Ollie telling me that they've finished with party preparations at the Hall of Justice." At Iris' disbelieving look, he shrugged.

"Hey, we just saved the world. You can't begrudge us taking one night to celebrate."

"Now this is a party! Chug! Chug! Chug!" Cisco chanted as Ronnie poured shot after shot down his throat. Next to them, Caitlin shook her head in an exasperated manner.

"As uncouth and unrefined as ever, Cisquito." Hartley commented primly, taking a sip of his drink.

Cisco threw his arm around his neck, causing Hartley to stumble and fumble his glass, just barely managing to avoid spilling any wine. "Lighten up, Rathaway! We just saved the world!"

The two men started their habitual bickering, while Ronnie called for more alcohol. While Caitlin tried to talk her fiancee down, Martin Stein slid over, dragging his daughter over with him. Following them was Clarissa, happily carrying a platter of warm brownies.

In another corner, Jefferson was talking in hushed tones on his phone.

"No, Anissa, you are not joining the Justice League. You're not experienced enough for this yet… I don't care if you fought in an alien invasion, everyone did that, the entire world was at stake… We're not hurting for members anyway! And even if we were, you're not on the long list, let alone the short one! Listen to me, young lady…"

"Ah, the joys of parenthood." Mari said jokingly to J'onn, taking a bite out of some nachos.

"Indeed." J'onn observed in bewilderment as Jefferson's voice grew in volume.

"Everyone looks happy," Oliver commented, leaning over the balcony to look over the garden, "I'm glad. We could use some smiles after all this."

Beside him, Laurel giggled, taking a sip of her wine. Oliver pulled her in close, trying to kiss her on the corner of her mouth. Laurel turned her head so their lips met fully instead. Buzzed, Oliver found that he couldn't deny his girlfriend, returning the kiss with enthusiasm.

After a few minutes, they finally separated, with Laurel resting her head against his chest. A comfortable silence settled between them as they watched the ongoing festivities in relative peace.

"It was wonderful, you know?"

Oliver looked down to see a melancholic look had entered Laurel's eyes.

"Mrs. Merlyn was alive. The Gambit never sank, and you and I — we got those ten lost years back. It was a world where we had everything we ever wanted."

Oliver sighed. "Not just us. Barry's mom was alive. There was no sign of Kara or Kal anywhere, meaning their planet probably never exploded. It wasn't just wonderful — it was perfect."

Laurel lifted her head to look him in the eye. "Perfect… except for one thing."

And at that, Oliver sees a flash of olive skin and dark eyes, and knows immediately what Laurel is talking about. But he isn't ready to go there, and he knows that neither is she.

"It would've been happy," he says instead, because it's the closest thing to the truth that he's willing to give.

"But never full."

"No," And Oliver sees Barry snacking on popcorn and Kara munching on brownies, and adds, "Not even close."

Kara was on a mission. And no one was going to stop her.

It would take all of her stealth training. Every inch of all those hours staying perfectly still and silent, of mastering her steps so not even the most fragile leaf would crunch beneath her feet. The smallest gestures of feinting and slipping things, all to snag her prize.

She was careful. Careful to keep her presence unnoticed, to avoid the gazes of everyone around her, to make no contact whatsoever, not even the slightest nudge. And it worked. No one noticed a thing.

Zeroing in on her prize, she reached over, ever so slowly—

SLAP!

"Aww…" The Kryptonian whined, pouting under Clarissa's disapproving glare.

"No, Kara. You've already had five, and I made these for everyone. No more for you."

"But Clarissa…"

"No. I raised Lily, Kara, that is not going to work on me. You are not getting any more brownies. If you want more, either make or buy your own."

"So why do I only get five while Barry gets a dozen?"

Clarissa whirled around in horror, getting a front seat to a guilty Barry Allen damningly licking his fingers, with smudges of chocolate on the corners of his mouth. He froze when he spotted Clarissa glaring at him, before speeding away. Clarissa let out an angry scream before giving chase, yelling for Barry to show himself and face punishment. Kara watched the scene in amusement, before her sharp eyes spotted a spare brownie left on the platter. It seemed Barry had done her a solid after all.

She picked the brownie up and munched happily away, pleased as punch. Punch that was happily placed next to the brownies, complete with ladle. Once she was done eating, she picked up a paper cup and poured herself a drink, downing in it with bliss.

"I see you haven't lost your love of sweets, little one."

Kara sighed, turning around to see Astra standing there with a small smirk on her face. Surprisingly, she wasn't wearing her suit — instead, she was wearing a black jacket over her dark red t-shirt and navy blue jeans. It looked… domestic. Casual.

Human.

"How'd you get in? And why are you here? I'd figured you'd try to find the most remote place on the planet and stay there after all this was over," Kara asked instead.

Astra smiled lightly. "The one you call Ronnie let me in. And as for why I'm here — you haven't forgotten our deal already, have you?"

Oh. "Right. That." Kara sighed once more, "I take it you want to cash that in now?"

Rather than answering, Astra took a quick look around, "Can we continue this in private? There are some things I need to say that no one else needs to hear."

Kara looked apprehensive, before complying, gesturing Astra to follow her.

"Here." Kara said, letting Astra into the room before sliding the door shut with a press of a button. "We won't be disturbed here."

Astra looked around, noting the expensive-looking furnishings. "Impressive. A lot of money must've been put into the construction of this base. Though, I must admit, having its location publicized isn't particularly wise."

Kara refrained from voicing out loud that they shared her concerns and that the Hall of Justice was only their temporary base. Astra may have aided them in the recent battle, but that didn't make her an ally. "We're not here to make small talk, Astra. What do you want to know?"

The former general turned to look at her, and said nothing. Instead, she seemed content to stare at her niece, an indecipherable look in her eye. After a minute or two of this, Kara had to resist the urge to fidget or tell her aunt to get it over with. It wouldn't do to show weakness.

"You've grown, Kara."

"Yes. I remember you saying as much before we fought." Kara replied, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice.

"Well, forgive me for repeating my words." Astra said in turn, though her tone was more melancholic than angry. "It's just something hard to see, knowing I've missed out on so much of your life."

Kara had nothing to say to that, simply crossing her arms instead.

"You've become so beautiful, so strong. As much as it saddens me, it also fills me with pride, knowing you've grown up so well."

"Funny." Kara said bitterly, "You sounded angry about how I turned out the last time we talked."

"Because I was angry. Some of my anger was at you, but most of it was at whoever it was that forced you to such extreme lengths. The people that threatened yours and Kal-El's safety to the point that you felt the only way to protect him and yourself was to become a killer. I knew that those people could be human, so I hated humans in turn, and now I realize that I was wrong to do so. I was just so angry at everything…" Kara's harsh gaze softened slightly at this. She knew how that felt.

"… Most of all, however, I was angry with myself." Astra continued, stunning her niece with her words. "You shouldn't have had to make those choices. If anyone had to, it should've been me. You are my niece, the closest thing in the world I have to a daughter — the only family I have left. I wasn't there for you when you needed me, and because of that, you suffered so much."

"That wasn't your fault, Astra." Kara said immediately, cutting off her aunt before she could say more. "You couldn't have known we were alive, let alone on this planet. It's not like we were publicly declaring ourselves Kryptonians to the entire world."

"Not until you started flying around with a cape." Astra noted, managing to get an amused smile in response. "In all seriousness, I should have. Indigo was the one that got Fort Rozz out of the Phantom Zone. She had to have known it was your ship that pulled us out. If I had just pressed her for more information…"

"She would've hidden it from you anyway. Information like that is too important to just give away. She was probably planning to blackmail you with it later down the line."

Astra sighed. "Yes, she probably was. Regardless, I am sorry, Kara. For everything."

Kara looked at her searchingly, trying to determine whether or not she was sincere. Seemingly satisfied, she moved forward, pulling Astra into an unexpected embrace. Astra stiffened briefly before relaxing and returning the hug.

"I'm sorry too." Kara's muffled voice echoed in her ears. "Not for my actions, because I know that they were necessary. But the pain it caused you… that's something I never wanted. Even after everything, you are still my aunt, and I love you."

Astra felt tears fill her eyes as she clung tighter to her niece, burying her face into Kara's blonde hair.

After all their tears had shed, Kara and Astra had settled down on one of the couches. The party was still in full swing in the garden and other main areas, but neither of them had any desire to return to the festivities. Instead, Kara had used a pot and stove in the small kitchen attached to the room to brew them some hot chocolate.

"I can see why you love the people of this planet so much." Astra commented while Kara blew on her warm mug. "Now that the haze of rage is gone, I can see there's a charm here. They have their individualities, but when it truly matters, they stand together. It's a remarkable difference from Krypton."

"How so?" Kara asked, intrigued. She so rarely talked about Krypton these days. At first, it had been because the memories were painful, but eventually stories had been coaxed out of her. However, even those stories faded — with the League, she had never been allowed to dwell on the past for long. It was only when Kal-El was old enough to understand that she had been able to revive their heritage, teaching him their tongue, their legends, their family's history; but the information was fragmented. Time had worn and washed it all away, leaving it smooth and undetailed. If there was anything in the world Kara had regretted, it was that.

Astra looked at her sadly. "What do you remember of Krypton, Kara?"

"Not much." Kara reluctantly admitted. "I remember the important things, like our family, and our culture, but everything else…"

"That's hardly surprising. You may have been much older than Kal-El the day Krypton ended, but you were still a child. You wouldn't want to remember that day, and the less you try to remember, the more you forget." Astra looked oddly wistful. "I wish I had that luxury."

Kara took a sip of her drink, now feeling uncomfortable. Things had taken a rather dim turn.

"Krypton…" Astra looked like she was struggling to say the right words. "Krypton was stagnant, Kara. We were one of the most advanced civilizations in the universe, yes, perhaps even the most advanced — but somewhere along the way, we lost our vision, our spark. During our golden age, we were explorers, discovering planets, founding colonies, making advances that no one else in the galaxy could even dream of."

"But eventually, we stopped, our creativity giving way to expediency. We abandoned our outposts, started mining resources from Krypton. We narrowed our scientific pursuits to the safety and security of our people, rather than those that could revolutionize life itself. We even started genetically engineering our children so they would be predisposed to certain professions; your cousin was the first natural birth the planet had seen in centuries. We no longer cared for enriching our culture and our futures, merely for maintaining the status quo. And, around the time you were born, we realized the folly of this."

Kara blinked. "Wait a minute. I thought the rumors about Krypton's imminent destruction only started around the time of Kal's birth?"

Astra shook her head. "It wasn't that simple, Kara. Your father and uncle and other scientists had discovered Krypton's depleting natural resources long before that. In truth, most of the upper castes, especially in the science community, had been seeing the signs for decades if not more, but were content to ignore it. It was a problem for future generations to deal with. Even with this discovery, all it ascertained was that Krypton was to die a slow death, over the course of several centuries, perhaps even millennia."

"No one was all that alarmed at first. Planets came and went, as did races and civilizations. It was the nature of life. Of course, people wanted to delay the destruction of Krypton as much as possible, so the science caste proposed a rationing of resources. While the High Council resisted it, the idea took root in the military. It was my inspiration for Myriad, along with General Dru-Zod's ill-fated coup."

"It wasn't until Kal's birth that we learned how bad the damage truly was. Our planet would not have lifetimes, but a measly year and a half, before all was lost and we were all gone. The High Council tried to decry it as false, but it only took hold with the lower castes. For top military officers like myself and Zod, and scientists like your father and uncle, and all their loved ones, we knew the truth."

"And while you and Zod tried to stop Krypton's destruction, my father and uncle were building us an escape ship?" Kara asked, incredulous and more than a little bit angry.

Astra shrugged, bitter and resigned. "They were scientists. The data they must've gathered told them that it was pointless to try. Your mother… your mother was planning to anyway, using compassion instead of control to spread my ideas, but your father, for all his El-esque idealism, was never as naive. Krypton wasn't meant for a slow death, but a quick one, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. In hindsight, it was the merciful end we didn't want, but it was what we were going to get."

Kara frowned and looked down at her hot chocolate, which suddenly looked very unappetizing.

"I'm sorry I told you all this, Kara." Astra apologized. "I'm sure you wanted to hold onto good memories of our home, and now I've tainted them."

"Don't be. All you did is provide some clarity. It's better I learn this now, so I can pass on the information to Kal when he's old enough to really understand. He knows the basics, but he'll ask for more, I'm sure."

Astra smiled. "You've educated him on Krypton?"

"When I had time." Kara responded solemnly, idly stirring her drink.

"I was under the impression you were stuck on an island for ten years." Of course, Astra knew that couldn't be true. The training and general world-weariness Kara had couldn't be found on some remote island, no matter who else was on it with her.

"If only." Kara sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"As much as you're willing to tell me." Astra put a comforting hand on her niece's arm. "I have no doubt you'll tell me everything when you're ready."

Kara's returning smile was small but genuine, and she leaned back into the couch, getting comfortable. They'd be here for a while.

"Then just the important bits. I guess we should start with Barry and Oliver…"

Finally done with this chapter. This is about as long as the last two or three chapters put together. Thank Astra for that.

If it seems like Kara is forgiving Astra too easily, maybe she is. But Astra is her aunt and the only blood family she has besides Kal. Unlike Malcolm, Astra had genuinely good intentions with her actions and never did anything Kara couldn't forgive. Plus, she helped save the world (admittedly thanks to a deal), so it gets her some brownie points. Finally, Kara is tired of holding onto all that bitterness and anger, especially knowing she did wrong to Astra too, no matter how justified it was. Even after everything that's happened to her, that isn't who she is, nor is it someone she ever will be.

So there's one more chapter left in Act I, and then this story will go back on hiatus so I can plan out Act II. That one is going to be much smaller in scale than Act I, while Act III will be somewhere in-between. However, there's a lot of planning needed for Act II due to a lot of plotting between characters, so I need time to really plan it through.

Until then, please comment and review! And don't be afraid to edit the TV Tropes page!