(Rated I for Immature)
Colonel Alina Lanina looked at herself in the mirror and washed her hands. As she did, her hands became translucent as they absorbed the water coming from the faucet. Her reflection fluctuated slightly, giving her a younger appearance. She then looked at her phone, noticing DEO drones entering the Metropolis International Airport in SWAT uniforms. They moved silently through the airport not needing to verbally communicate with each other. Snipers were positioned on the rooftops while the airport, itself, was surrounded.
Flashback
M'Baku had recently challenged Suri to a duel for the throne and easily kicked her ass. However, the brutal man was responsible for killing a number of foreigners, in particular, innocent Russian contractor mercenary spies just trying to make a living. So, when he came to Metropolis for a UN meeting, Alina was ready for him. As per usual, he was guarded by his all-female warriors, the Dora Milaje, led by Okoye. Alina casually walked up to M'Baku and his escort in casual clothes. Once she was within range, the Dora Milaje warriors started dropping as they fell unconscious on the floor. Realizing what was happening, M'Baku activated his Black Panther suit to make him invulnerable.
Alina pointed her hand at him and immediately he imploded within his own suit. M'Baku's body fell to the floor and the suit deactivated revealing a bloody mess. Onlookers were horrified and started screaming in terror. Alina morphed her face and clothes as she walked away like a boss.
End Flashback
Inside the airport, Brainiac 5 answered his cell phone. "Yeah?"
"Don't do this," Alina warned him.
"Do what?" he asked condescendingly.
"Come after me," Alina said obviously. "I mean, you're embarrassing yourself. It looks desperate."
"I have no ego to bruise. I figured you would call me to cut a deal," Brainiac 5 said. "From my vantage point, it's the PATRIOT agent that looks desperate. "I have all of your friends now. Where are you going to go?"
"I've lived a lot of lives before I met you, Dox. You shouldn't have gone to all this trouble," Alina said and then hung up.
"Alina?" Brainiac 5 wondered.
A drone handed Brainiac 5 a belt with some equipment Alina couldn't take with her as she escaped as pure water. Brainiac 5 was also now aware that the airport had been cleared. He quickly hacked Alina's phone and found her location on a boat leaving Metropolis. An aerial drone immediately lifted off and went straight for the boat.
As soon as she hung up on Brainiac 5, Alina tossed her phone overboard. It was, however, too late as the drone had spotted her boat ferrying vehicles across the ocean. Alina noticed the drone and realized she was in danger. Surrounded by water, her body could be dissolved in the ocean.
"He wouldn't dare," Alina figured as there were a few hundred civilians on the boat.
The drone targeted Alina and fired an anti-ship missile at her. "Shit," Alina realized. Looking around, there was no escape for her. The missile detonated prematurely in the air before it could reach the ship. Alina gave a sigh of relief as the drone went back to base.
Brainiac 5 rallied his drones back to the DEO. He had sent Alina a message she wouldn't forget.
White Russian
Morocco
Meanwhile, Karina was on a mattress eyeing a building with her falcon vision. She was wearing casual clothes typical of the area. "I got eyes on the target and the package. By package, I mean the case with the vials."
"I have sights on collateral one," her PATRIOT partner radioed. A school alarm inconveniently distracted them and the target named Oksana noticed one of them. "She made us. Target deployed smoke."
"Stay high, I'm going to the ground," Karina said and then jumped off her building landing gracefully to the street level. Karina then sped through the streets as she got closer to her target. Oksana tried to walk inconspicuously in the crowded streets. Karina tracked her movements with her X-ray vision and then suddenly hit her with a door, knocking her into the middle of the street. At the same time, a cab hit her hard and drove off like an asshole.
Karina stepped out smirking. "How's that for timing?"
Oksana took out a knife and went for her case. Karina snapped her fingers knocking her out instantly. She then went for the case. Suddenly, Oksana regained her bearings and sprayed Karina with a red gas. "What the fuck?" Karina wondered as she eventually fell to mind-control.
"You are now ours," Oksana told her.
Karina picked up a case filled with vials of red gas. "Karina, we need a status report," her partner requested.
"Report to Gen. Dreykov. Keep your cover," Oksana said to her.
Karina nodded and then fired heat vision into Oksana's body killing her instantly. "Target terminated. I have the package," she radioed her partner.
Norway
Oblivious to the situation, Alina docked in Norway and drove around until she found a trailer in the middle of the forest. As she entered, she found a man with the codename: Solenya. "You're in my bed," Alina woke him up.
"I'm still above the covers," he excused.
"I don't give a shit. Do you have everything I asked for?" Alina demanded.
"Got passports, entry visas, a couple of driver's licenses, mix-and-match, none of which you need to cross America's southern border," Solenya mocked.
"Fanny Longbottom? You fucking serious?" Alina asked as she checked them out.
"That is a legitimate name," Solenya said defensively.
"It sounds like bullshit," Alina doubted.
"There's a generator outside. It's solar-powered, great for the environment. And there is no septic tank. Instead, everything is flushed into a big pile of shit that can be used as fertilizer. The town is only twenty miles away so I got us some bicycles," Solenya said.
"Solenya...we're Russians. We don't give a fuck about the environment," Alina reminded him.
"Are you okay? You seem tense," Solenya noticed.
"Why would I be?" Alina asked crossly.
"I hear things...like you nearly getting tossed into the Atlantic Ocean by a drone strike," Solenya said concernedly.
"It's fine," Alina downplayed.
"Maybe we could have worked together," Solenya suggested.
"I work better on my own," Alina shot him down.
"You're a colonel now. You can delegate these tasks to others. You can call me," Solenya offered.
"You would fuck it up," Alina said disrespectfully. "And I don't pay you to worry."
"What pay? I have to live off the land here," Solenya complained.
"You want to be paid? How about I keep you nice and hard for as long as you want," Alina said as she pointed a finger at his groin. "I'll stay nice and wet for you."
"But you can't really feel anything...can you?" Solenya wondered.
"Seeing the look on your face is entertainment enough," Alina smiled.
After Alina was done exhausting Solenya, she watched a James Bond film on her laptop. "This is such bullshit," she said dismayed. The power then went off. Frowning, Alina went outside and noticed her power was dependent on the sun. She looked around for gas as an alternative fuel for the generator and found none. "Son-of-a-bitch," she said displeased.
Alina drove back towards town to get gas but was suddenly hit as she turned onto a bridge by a heat vision beam. The car tumbled several times before nearly tearing through the guardrail of the bridge. Karina landed on the bridge with a thud wearing her Red Daughter uniform and casually walked towards Alina. Inside the car, Alina stared at the water beneath her terrified. Her car was on the verge of slipping into the water. Outside the car, she saw Karina coming closer to her with lethal intent.
Alina took out her pistol and fired on Karina. She dodged all of the Kryptonite bullets with ease. "Damn," Alina realized and then quickly got out of her car onto the bridge. She looked around for Karina who had disappeared into the darkness. As Alina moved away from her damaged car, Karina went for an attack from above. Alina fired at her at close range missing her each time. Karina kicked the pistol out of her hand. Alina jumped onto Karina's shoulders to take her down. "Yeah, no," Karina said as she threw Alina to the ground.
The two stared at each other long and hard. "Who are you working for now?" Alina asked her.
Karina made no reply but scanned Alina with her X-ray vision finding no skeleton or internal organs. She did see Alina's Kryptonite knife. Quickly, Alina tried to stab Karina missing her. Karina skillfully avoided Alina's swipes with super speed, disarmed her, and then forced her to the ground. Alina extended her arm towards her knife. Noticing what she was doing, Karina punched Alina across the bridge. Before Alina could get up, Karina kicked her hard. Alina latched a cable onto Karina's boot and then fired a projectile cable gun to the top of the bridge. Karina was immediately sent up into the air. With Karina distracted, Alina made a run for it. Karina sliced the cable off her boot with her heat vision and dropped down.
Within a split second, Karina caught up to Alina and engaged in furious hand-to-hand combat with her. Faster than Alina could think or react, Karina kicked her off the bridge and into the water. Satisfied Alina had been neutralized, Karina walked off.
On the shore, the water thrashed about as Alina desperately tried to get to shore without losing herself. A humanoid being of water struggled to get out of the water as it continually lost its definition. Finally, Alina got onshore and solidified herself back together. After several fateful minutes, Alina was whole again as she regained coloring in her body.
Budapest
Alina got off a train, went to an apartment complex, and found a pistol in a hidden compartment. She then made her way to a specific apartment and opened the door with a key. With her hands, she sensed another living being in the apartment. "Why are you skulking about?" Alina asked in English.
"Because I don't know if I can trust you," a female voice replied.
"Funny, I was going to say the same thing," Alina said dryly. Alina went around a corner and found Alex Danvers with a pistol pointed at her.
"Incendiary rounds," Alex said to her.
"We going to talk like grownups?" Alina asked condescendingly.
"Is that what we are?" Alex questioned.
"I'm several times your age, little girl," Alina mocked.
"Put it down before I make you," Alex ordered.
"Put yours down first. And make sure you watch your step," Alina said as she backed Alex into the kitchen area.
The two suddenly fought to disarm each other of their weapons. With pistols on the floor, Alex slammed Alina against the wall several times. Alina morphed through herself so that she was now facing Alex. "Holy fuck," Alex said horrified.
Alina slammed Alex into a door frame, up against a cabinet, and against the kitchen counter. "Stay down, Danvers," Alina ordered.
Alex threw a plate through Alina's head distracting her. Releasing herself, Alex threw Alina against a door. Alina got back up annoyed with her. Alex took a knife and swiped at her. Alina merely dodged her strikes. Occasionally, Alex would swipe through Alina's body for no damage. Finally, Alina paralyzed Alex as she controlled the water in her body.
"Truce?" Alina asked her.
"Truce," Alex agreed unable to move a muscle.
Alina then released her to the floor. "You've grown old, Danvers," she noted.
"Fuck you," Alex said scornfully.
"As a gesture of good faith, I'll give you back your pistol," Alina said flinging it back to her. "Why are you here?"
"Barney tracked your movements to Budapest and told me all about your safehouse," Alex revealed.
"Did he now?" Alina said displeased.
"You nearly caused World War III by invading Ukraine and holding the world leaders hostage. You should be locked up," Alex accused.
"I was merely following orders from the Kremlin," Alina rolled her eyes.
"And was jailing my father part of those orders?" Alex demanded.
Alina gave her a confused look. "I didn't imprison Jeremiah Danvers."
"Bullshit. Who did?" Alex asked.
"There's more to this than we know. Karina attacked me, nearly killed me," Alina revealed.
"Mind control?" Alex guessed.
"On her last mission, Karina was hunting down a known rogue agent named Oksana. She was attempting to transport a chemical agent to an unknown buyer," Alina said.
"Barney needs to analyze that chemical agent," Alex said urgently.
"Fuck Barney. He tried to act so cool by nearly killing me. Next time, I'll wipe his hard drive," Alina said scornfully.
"Look, I think he's an asshole, too. We're all assholes to each other, but we need each other to save the world. If Karina is under mind-control, every second we waste bitching at each other is a second the whole world could go up in flames," Alex told her.
Alex then got a phone call from Brainiac 5. She put him on speaker-phone. "The rogue agent with the mind-control gas is linked to General Dreykov," he said.
"Impossible. I killed his ass," Alina said confidently.
"How?" Alex asked her.
"I placed a bomb in his young daughter's backpack. When he was within range, I detonated the bomb," Alina said coldly.
"Jesus," Alex said shocked and appalled.
"He tried to take over the government with some hardliners. He was a piece of shit that deserved to die," Alina said unrepentantly.
"But that little girl?" Alex said stunned.
"Collateral damage, no loose ends," Alina said.
"Did you check the body?" Alex questioned.
"There was no body to check," Alina said stubbornly. "It was here in Budapest. I wasn't in a position to bring a Soviet forensics team to collect DNA evidence. There's no way he survived that blast."
The ceiling suddenly exploded as Russian agents entered the safehouse and fired tracer rounds through the walls. Alina dragged Alex to the exit and pushed a button that activated smoke grenades inside the safehouse. As they entered the stairwell, more Russian agents fired rifles at them. Alina pointed her hand at two of them and forced them to go unconscious.
"Move, Danvers," Alina pushed her along to the roof.
On the roof, the two ran to the next building as snipers tried to hit them. One Russian agent followed closely behind. Alina and Alex leaped to the next building. Alex crashed into a window on the top floor, Alina hit several ventilator shafts before landing gracefully on the ground, and the Russian agent ended up falling on her back unable to move. Alina walked towards the fallen Russian agent.
"Who are you working for?" Alina questioned.
The Russian agent aimed her pistol at her face and fired killing herself instantly. "Do you believe Barney now?" Alex asked her.
Alina glared at her. "Let's move."
The two found a collection of motorcycles nearby. "Which one is yours?" Alina asked Alex.
"Fuck you. I'm driving," Alex told her off.
A car suddenly tumbled several times near them. "Move your ass, Danvers," Alina said urgently.
Alex and Alina took off as Karina was right on them firing heat vision beams at them. Alex drove past a cargo van as she tried to evade her. Karina punched through the cargo van shredding it. Alex drove onto the open streets and tried to blend in with the traffic. Karina fired on them from a distance as she spotted them. Alex's motorcycle was hit sending them into a tumble. Alina got back up and made a random driver go unconscious.
"You can't just steal that guy's car," Alex protested.
"Spare me," Alina said dismissively and then the two drove away.
Karina easily caught up to them and fired heat vision beams at them blasting out the windows. "What's the plan? We're up against a Kryptonian," Alex asked.
"My plan was to drive away," Alina said simply.
"That's a shit plan," Alex critiqued and then opened her door. The door was sliced off by a parked car, bounced on the pavement, and was flung at Karina. She punched through it and kept going.
Alina drove onto the main road daring Karina to fire on the civilians. Karina tossed several vehicles aside as she got closer and then fired a heat vision beam at their vehicle. Alina and Alex's vehicle flipped several times and then went down the subway stairs where it finally settled upside down. "Let's go," Alina said pulling Alex out of the wreck.
Unlike Alina, Alex was bruised and bloody from the traffic accidents. "Keep moving," Alina told her.
Karina casually went down into the subway and looked around. Upon finding them down the escalator, she fired. The beam nearly hit them and sliced into a support beam. Karina went down the escalator as civilians fled in terror. She eyed a trail of blood on the floor leading to the basement level. Tearing a shaft door off, she went down to investigate. Out of view, Alina and Alex were in a ventilation shaft.
"Nice plan. I especially liked the part where I nearly bled to death," Alex said painfully as she began treating her wounds.
"She's toying with us. The real Karina would have been able to kill us both within seconds," Alina figured.
"Maybe we can still reach her," Alex considered.
When it was safe, the two exited the ventilation system and headed out. At a local gas station, Alex got herself some bandages and painkillers. "If General Dreykov were still alive, I would know about it," Alina doubted.
"I doubt it would have been smart to attack you until he had Karina on his side. You're practically immortal and lethal-as-fuck," Alex remarked. "Even if he did manage to kill you, Karina would avenge you. You have this sisterly bond with each other."
"It's simply professional," Alina downplayed.
"Ever thought to live a normal life?" Alex asked conversationally.
"Someone like me can't live a normal life," Alina said sadly. "My agents are the only family I have. Besides, I have a lot to make up for. I caused a lot of pain and suffering over the years."
"One would argue that you're still...causing pain and suffering," Alex chided.
That evening the two had a chat in the middle of nowhere drinking beers at a cheap restaurant. "Must be nice to heal instantly," Alex winced from her arm.
Alina eyed her wound and momentarily stopped the blood flow as she put on a new bandage. "When I was young, I was taken from my parents and experimented on by Soviet scientists. It was a last-ditch effort to stop the German invasion. Only one in twenty survived the experiments and none of them had my kind of power. For a long time, I was treated like a weapon. I had no face. I don't even remember what I originally looked like. They destroyed my birth certificate so I had to reinvent it."
"What would you like to be if you ever got out?" Alex asked.
"I don't know. Maybe a science teacher," Alina considered.
"Did you ever wish for kids?" Alex asked.
"I've had dogs," Alina shrugged. "Maybe when Russia is at peace with its enemies...and with itself, I can finally live a normal life."
"I'll help you find Dreykov. I'll get Barney to help us find him. You kill him for good this time," Alex offered.
"You're a liability to me. Just get Barney to assist me directly," Alina rejected.
"He's not going to do that unless I'm involved. Besides, this is personal. He has my father locked up," Alex said.
"Well, okay then," Alina allowed.
Alex and Alina drove out of Hungary into Belarus. Upon ditching the car, they trekked their way through a forest and found an open space. "I thought you said we were getting a jet. That's a piece of shit," Alex said of an old Soviet helicopter.
"I didn't have a lot of time," Solenya said defensively as he exited the helicopter. "Or money, for that matter."
"You shame our country in front of this American with this," Alina scolded.
"I take exception to you impugning my professionalism," Solenya said pissed off.
"I see that you're sensitive," Alex noted.
"I'm not gay," Solenya said quickly.
"Where's the rest of the shit?" Alina demanded.
"Here," he said opening a bag full of meal bags.
Alex immediately had a snack while Alina waited. "Really dry," she commented.
"Keeps it fresh even after five years," Alina said. "Or so I've heard. I don't eat."
Alex gave her a sympathetic look and stopped complaining. "You bring attention to me with the authorities. That DEO director has been sniffing around to the point that people are declining my calls," Solenya said to Alina.
"I'll make it up to you," Alina promised.
"Yeah, bullshit," Solenya doubted.
In the old Soviet prison in the middle of nowhere, Jeremiah was busy arm wrestling other prisoners in the common area. The Russians had taken off his robotic arm so he was forced to only use his human left arm. Still, Jeremiah was kicking ass and taking Russian names regardless.
"This is more than a test of strength," he said to one of his challengers. "But will power," he said as he defeated him.
"I don't believe you are the Winter Soldier," one challenger doubted.
"You calling me a liar?" Jeremiah asked calmly.
"Yeah," the challenger confirmed.
Jeremiah brought his arm down breaking his wrist. "Mail call: Jeremiah Danvers," the intercom announced. Jeremiah made his way over to the guard desk to get his mail. "The famed Winter Soldier," the guards mocked. "Take it," they said as they opened a drawer with his mail.
Jeremiah reached in and took a Superman action-hero doll. He looked at the doll with some nostalgia and pulled the string. "Truth, Justice, and all that good stuff," the doll said, and then his head popped off. Jeremiah took an earpiece out of the doll's head and discreetly put it in his ear.
"Dad, it's Alex. Move to the southern wall," Alex ordered from the helicopter.
Jeremiah casually made his way to the southern wall. As he did, gates closed and locked behind him. He continued to make his way to the final exit where the door became unlocked for him. Exiting the prison, he was hit with Siberian air with snow on the ground.
"I have done all I can within my power. It's up to you now," Brainiac 5 radioed Alex.
"What now?" Jeremiah asked looking around.
The guards and prisoners swarmed out of the exit and made their way towards Jeremiah. "Get to the upper level," Alex radioed.
Jeremiah eyed his one arm and wondered how to go about doing that. "He'll never make it," Alina judged.
"Get me closer," Alex said to her.
Alina gave her a doubting look. "You got a better idea?" Alex asked.
Alex opened the helicopter doors and rappelled down to the upper prison bridge. Immediately, she kicked one guard off the bridge, two more kicks to disarm two other guards, and then swung the cable she rappelled from into the face of the fourth one. Guards on the ground fired on the helicopter punching holes through its hull. Alina piloted the helicopter towards the bridge to get some cover. However, a guard tower opened fire on the helicopter with a machine gun. The helicopter was hit dozens of times including Alina. Out of ammunition, the tower fired a missile at the helicopter. Alina expertly evaded the missile allowing it to go past her. The missile hit a mountain nearby causing an avalanche of epic proportions.
"Well...shit," Alina sighed.
"Move your ass!" Alex shouted to her father down below.
With one arm, Jeremiah climbed his way to the upper bridge. Alex got back on the cable and was flown over to Jeremiah's position. After circling the prison base, Alex grabbed a hold of Jeremiah and took them both into the air. The cable was retracted allowing Alex and Jeremiah to enter the helicopter. Alina piloted the damaged helicopter as far as she could away from the prison base. Meanwhile, Karina sped towards the prison base and faced off against the avalanche that threatened to kill thousands of prisoners and guards. With her eyes, she fired heat vision on the incoming snow creating a wall of steam. Karina then blew the steam away from the prison base before it boiled the men alive. Karina then went inside the prison. Immediately, every prisoner stood at attention for her knowing death would soon follow if they didn't.
"Did any of the prisoners escape?" Karina asked.
"We haven't been able to check, ma'am," the prison warden said nervously.
"I want to see your prison roster," Karina ordered. As soon as it was given to her, she sped through all the names. "Jeremiah Danvers," she realized.
In the helicopter, Jeremiah put on the headset. "Thanks," he said appreciatively.
"What the fuck were you doing in Russia?" Alex asked.
"It's classified," Jeremiah said.
"No doubt some Western plot against us," Alina rolled her eyes.
"It means a lot to me that you came back to get me," Jeremiah said sincerely.
"You're going to tell us how to find General Dreykov," Alex ordered.
"Right to business, huh?" Jeremiah sighed.
"Tell me where he is," Alex pressed.
"I have no idea," Jeremiah admitted.
"Permission to torture his ass until he talks?" Alina asked.
"I'll handle this," Alex said as she exited the cockpit. "Come on. You were tight with General Dreykov during your Winter Solder days."
"I have no memory of those times," Jeremiah said flatly.
"Oh, Kara kissed them away, right? How damn convenient," Alex said scornfully.
"Why? You want me to remember all those I killed and tortured under Cadmus? Is that what you want? No man deserves that," Jeremiah said defensively.
"Do you know anything that could help us?" Alex asked finally.
"Lillian Luthor might know something," Jeremiah suggested.
"She should be dead," Alex said vengefully.
"You can't kill a fox that swift," Jeremiah said knowingly. "She was the scientist, the strategist, and I was the muscle for Cadmus. She worked with Dreykov far more than I ever did."
"You're telling me Lillian is working for Dreykov present-day?" Alex asked appalled.
"She's retired to a remote area outside of St. Petersburg," Jeremiah revealed.
"We don't have enough fuel for St. Petersburg," Alina judged.
"No, we're good. We'll make it. Have faith," Jeremiah said confidently.
"Well, okay then," Alina rolled her eyes.
Not long afterward, the helicopter came down completely out of fuel. "So much for your prayers," Alex said scornfully.
"When God closes a door, he opens a window. This is a good opportunity to discuss our issues out in the open," Jeremiah said positively.
"I feel like kicking you in the face," Alex said angrily.
"What's with this tension? Did I do something wrong?" Jeremiah asked.
"Is that a serious question? You brought Kara into our house and trained her to be a soldier like you. Then, she goes off and clones herself. So, now we have an OP Kryptonian looking for us. It all started with you," Alex accused.
"I only wanted to bring out the best potential in both of you and everything worked out," Jeremiah said defensively.
"Everything...worked...out," Alex repeated.
"Yes, for you, yes! You've accomplished great things at the DEO, and you've been so supportive to Kara. You and Kara have toppled regimes and destroyed empires from within. You both have brought so many bad guys to God's courtroom," Jeremiah complimented. "I couldn't be more proud of you."
"I suppose you would be even more if I were straight, married with kids, right?" Alex asked shaking her head.
"Well, no one is perfect," Jeremiah allowed.
Alex turned away from Jeremiah and walked off. "Do you know where she is?" Alina asked.
"She's not far," Jeremiah said.
The three found a small pig farm and a humble cottage. Lillian's security system alerted her that the three were coming. Taking precautions, she got out her sniper rifle and eyed the three casually walking towards her. Realizing who they were, she put down her rifle and greeted them at the gate.
"Welcome," she smiled and then led them to her cottage. "Make yourself at home," she said as they all entered. Alex followed Lillian as she went to her pantry, moved the wall aside, and placed her sniper rifle in a surveillance room filled with video monitors, gas masks, weapons, ammunition, and explosives.
"No funny business," Alex warned her.
"I'm putting away my weapon," Lillian assured her.
"Are there any booby traps I should be aware of?" Alex asked cynically.
"J'onn J'onzz didn't train you to fall into traps," Lillian mocked. "If you got soft, I had nothing to do with it."
Jeremiah open a chest and got himself a new robotic arm which he installed on his right shoulder. Flexing the arm, he noticed there were Kryptonite emitters inside. He then put on a black uniform.
"The arm is good," Jeremiah complimented.
"Come and drink," Lillian offered.
"You best buddies now...again," Alex asked Jeremiah.
"We have reconciled and let the past go," Jeremiah said simply.
"Well, I haven't reconciled shit. This is how this is going to go...," Alex began.
"You have aged well," Jeremiah said of Lillian.
"You got fat but still good," Lillian noted.
"So, here's what's going to happen...," Alex tried again.
"Alex, don't slouch," Lillian lectured her.
"I'm not slouching," Alex told her off.
"Yes, yes you are," Lillian insisted.
"Alright, enough, here's what's going to happen...," Alex tried a third time.
"I don't need to eat. Thank you," Alina said as Lillian passed a plate to her.
"Where is Dreykov?" Alex demanded of Lillian.
"Dreykov? What you're asking for is fantasy," Lillian scoffed.
"No, it's unfinished business," Alex said referring to Cadmus.
"You can't defeat a man that can control the mind of a Supergirl," Lillian said pessimistically. "Aside from Supergirl, he has an army of highly-trained assassins all over the world."
"So, your answer against Kryptonians using Myriad was to brainwash innocent people into becoming assassins?" Alex asked.
"I wouldn't call your father innocent. We recruited the best soldiers from around the world. Better to have a few hundred brainwashed assassins than the entire world controlled by the Kryptonians," Lillian said. "Furthermore, with this technology, we could free the human mind from Myriad."
"You're an idiot and a coward," Alex accused Lillian. "Instead of fighting us, you should have partnered with the DEO. Then, none of this mess would have happened. You took my father away from me."
"And how many fathers have you and your alien sister killed over the years?" Lillian shot back. "The whole world lived in fear of what Supergirl would do. Isn't that right?" she asked Alina.
"We did have some radical contingency plans if Supergirl ever attacked Russian," Alina admitted. "For many years, Supergirl and the DEO made us nervous."
"You know what? Fuck this," Alex said angrily and left the table.
"I'll talk to her," Jeremiah said getting up.
In the bedroom, Alex sulked. "I came in here because I didn't want to talk," Alex said to Jeremiah as he came in.
"Okay, we'll just sit," Jeremiah said sitting on the bed. "So, there I am...ice fishing with my father. It was a very cold day in this little ice shed. Cold even for Maine, you know? Keep the whiskey near the fire, my father would say to me."
"Please, stop talking," Alex shut him down.
"There's a reason why I'm telling you this. I'm reaching for fish, I lose my balance, and I put my hands in the river. In that kind of weather, the frostbite sets in quickly so my father took a piss on my hands," Jeremiah said.
"How is this relevant?" Alex wondered.
"You know...fathers," Jeremiah said awkwardly.
"No, you put your assassins' business first. I was just a chore to you, the job you didn't want to do. To me, you were everything," Alex said tearfully. "Exactly, you don't give a shit," she upon seeing Jeremiah's blank expression.
"Going on that mission was the greatest regret of my life. But had I not gone, maybe J'onn would still be in Peru. Maybe, you would have been dead or brainwashed by Myriad. I don't know. What I do know is that this could be our last mission together. Do you really want this to be the last words between us?" Jeremiah asked.
"Get out," Alex ordered.
In the dining room, Alina got up to go. "Where are you going?" Lillian asked.
"To do this myself. You, Americans, will only hold me back," she said.
"Don't, you won't survive," Lillian said knowingly. "Dreykov has weapons that can even hurt you and he has Supergirl."
"Pain only makes me stronger," Alina insisted.
"Then...I have a plan," Lillian offered.
Soon thereafter, Russian helicopter jets arrived at the cottage. A Russian special forces team exited one of the helicopters and went straight for the cottage. Upon finding, Jeremiah and Alex, they fired on them. "Get down," Jeremiah said as she shielded her from multiple tranquilizer darts. He then went down in a heap.
"Dad!" Alex shrieked upon seeing his body. She quickly collected herself and exited the room with a pistol in hand. Supergirl then arrived on the scene with a thud as she landed.
Alex noticed Alina on the floor unconscious and then saw Lillian in combat gear. "You bitch!" she shouted at her.
"I'm sorry," Lillian said as she fired a TASER dart at her. Alex fell to the floor passed out.
The Russian helicopter jets took Lillian, Alina, Alex, and Jeremiah to a flying fortress the size of a skyscraper. using powerful magnets, the fortress remained suspended above the ground. This was Gen. Dreykov's base of operations. Inside was a battalion of brainwashed assassins. The men were in black armored suits and helmets while the women were in skintight flexible suits that emphasized their figures. Lillian eyed a platoon of female assassins approvingly and then entered an elevator taking her to the top floor and then entered Dreykov's office.
"So, uh, how were they? They didn't harm you, did they?" Dreykov asked, an old fat frail-looking man.
"It was awful. They bitched about everything," Lillian said.
"Just like old times, huh?" Dreykov figured. "Alex Danvers, what's the deal with her?"
"Same old story of wanting revenge for her father," Lillian said dismissively.
"These gasses and antidotes are a pain in my ass. It's a problem. You need to sort it out," Dreykov ordered.
"I have nine pigs to look after," Lillian declined.
"I don't give a shit about your pigs," Dreykov said unconcernedly. "I want you to cut into her brain, discover the weakness, bring her to our side."
"What about Colonel Lanina?" Lillian asked.
"She's a traitor. She turned her back on her own people, her own blood. But can you imagine what I could do if I gained her cooperation?" Dreykov said.
"Shouldn't you be telling her this?" Lillian asked.
"I can always see through your faces...Alina," Dreykov said as he rubbed his hand over her face causing it to distort like liquid. "Don't get any bright ideas. If you kill me or touch me in any way, Supergirl is programmed to roast the entire planet starting with Russia first."
In the prison cells, Jeremiah was inexplicably placed right next to Alina's cell. "Alright, Lillian, you can let us out," Jeremiah said impatiently.
Lillian took off her face mask and opened Jeremiah's cell. "They'll know quickly that we switched."
"Do you have coms with Alex?" Jeremiah asked.
"I do. Apparently, she wasn't searched very well," Lillian rolled her eyes. "Alex, this is Lillian, the woman you hate most in the world. You have a knife in your beltline. I suggest you use it before they give you a lobotomy."
Alex immediately reached for the blade, sliced off her restraints, and cut at the doctors. Alex quickly subdued the doctors with her blade and walked out of the room. "You couldn't have told me sooner?" Alex asked Lillian.
"Be thankful I told you at all," Lillian said dismissively.
Dreykov eyed Alina carefully not sure what she would do. "So, what's your plan now?" he asked her.
"I was going to kill you. I still might," Alina threatened.
"I'm still alive so what do we do now?" Dreykov asked her.
"We could talk about our feelings? Did you feel anything when I killed your daughter?" Alina taunted.
"Is this your haunted past?" Dreykov mocked.
"I've done far worse," Alina said not letting him get to her.
"Enough of this bullshit," Dreykov said impatiently. "Kill the other rats," he radioed Karina.
Alina raised her hand to Dreykov to kill him on the spot. "What's stopping you? Is the safety on?" he mocked her as she couldn't go through with it.
"You're in trouble," Dreykov said and then grabbed her hand. Immediately, Alina was shocked causing her body to warp uncontrollably. Dreykov released her sending Alina to the floor a mess.
"I'm very upset with Lillian, a shame I have to kill her," Dreykov said disappointedly.
In the cell room, Jeremiah and Lillian considered what to do. "I'm not very good with hacking computers. I'm not sure what I can do," Jeremiah admitted.
"You can keep her from killing us all," Lillian said spooked as Supergirl entered the cell room.
Jeremiah nodded as Lillian took off down the hall. Karina casually walked closer to Jeremiah scanning him with her X-ray vision. Jeremiah cocked his metal fist back in a fighting stance. His metal hand opened up revealing a green Kryptonite emitter. Karina noticed the green light weakening her and went for a strike. She leaped up and kicked Jeremiah to the floor. Jeremiah went for a punch missing her completely. Karina punched him to the gut and then to the head sending him against the wall. Karina then punched his head up against the wall.
Jeremiah struggled against Karina even with the green Kryptonite emitting from his arm. Karina took hold of him and threw him up against a glass cell shattering the glass. As Jeremiah got back up, Karina uppercut him to the chin and smacked him around. She then kicked him to the floor. Karina took hold of Jeremiah's right arm and tore it off. Jeremiah suddenly kicked Karina and the Kryptonite arm into a glass cell. Karina punched the glass cell unable to break it due to the robot arm weakening her.
Alex evaded the guards using the ventilation system and dropped down near a vault door. She quickly dispatched the guard on duty by kicking his legs out and sending him to the floor hard on his head. Alex then dragged the man to the vault where his handprint accessed the door. Meanwhile, Lillian was hacking into the fortress' engines to shut them down.
Dreykov eyed his tablet from his desk seeing Lillian in the control room. "So, this was the big plan? To land the fortress and give me up to the authorities?" he mocked. He immediately locked Lillian inside the room and out of the computer.
"You want me to join your pathetic puppeteering act?" Alina assumed.
"Pathetic, huh?" Dreykov said offended.
"Yeah, what would you call it? When was the last time you had a conversation with someone that wasn't forced to?" Alina mocked.
"You think that stunt in Ukraine is a real war? The real war is fought in the shadows," Dreykov said.
"You didn't fight in the shadows, you hid in the dark," Alina insulted.
"Real power comes from undetectable influence," Dreykov said.
"I hadn't even noticed it and it's my job to notice it," Alina mocked. "You're nothing. You have nothing."
"You wouldn't be so glib if you had any idea of the scope of what I've built. I own this world. Me," Dreykov said.
"You seem desperate to impress me," Alina mocked.
"I don't need to impress you. These world leaders, these great men, they answer to me and my assassins," Dreykov said and then showed her a map of the world. "Look at them. These orphans were trash, thrown out into the street. I recycled the trash and I gave them purpose. Instead of costly military occupations of countries, I simply assassinate national, corporate, and trade union leaders. You think you can win back the USSR through military force? No, the USSR exists now today as all of the republic leaders know they can be killed whenever I deem it including President Putin. This whole time, I was your boss."
Alina eyed the map in total disbelief. "It's my network that allowed me to control the scales of power. One command, the oil and stock markets crumble. One command and a quarter of the planet starves. I can start and end wars. They can make and break kings," Dreykov told her.
"You control all that from here?" Alina doubted.
"And with you, an elemental under my control, I can finally come out of the shadows," Dreykov said ambitiously.
"All from that little console?" Alina mocked.
"Oh, you find this amusing?" Dreykov asked annoyed.
Alina sensed the fight between Jeremiah and Karina was over with Karina unable to move. Alina quickly aimed her hand at Dreykov's face and pushed him out of his chair against the wall. She then took his tablet.
Lillian exited a ventilation shaft and got the better of a guard. Stealing his rifle, she shot him dead. Several guards came into ambush her from all sides. Lillian smirked as she fired a grenade into the engine causing a massive explosion above them. "Alex...I'm sorry," Lillian said sincerely as the entire engine came down upon her.
"Wait...what?" Alex wondered as she looked for antidote vials in the lab. The whole fortress shook as it started to lose altitude. "Lillian!"
Alina threw Dreykov around the room with her power. "You tried to take my position as the master spy of Russia. You tried to take my best friend away from me. I'm never going to allow you to do it again," Alina said as she was about to kill him.
Suddenly TASER darts hit her from the neck shocking her. "Nobody leaves this room until she's dead," Dreykov ordered his female assassins and then left the room. Alina took the TASER darts out of her neck and faced the platoon.
"I don't want to hurt you," Alina said to them.
They charged her with TASER batons. Alina avoided them and used her power to contort their limbs out of position. She threw them around the room and caused some to pass out. Occasionally, an assassin would hit her with a TASER distracting her. One assassin sliced her in half with a staff. Alina pulled the staff out of her body only to be pushed up against a pillar with a staff to her throat. Alina flowed her neck around the staff but was beaten down by the assassins TASER staffs. Alina crawled on the floor as she felt the pain of being continuously shocked.
Finally, Alina unleashed her power causing all the women in the room to explode in a fountain of blood. Alina emerged from the mess a bloody mess. The room was a horrifying mix of limbs, gore, and blood everywhere. It was on the floor, the pillars, the walls, and the large monitor screen. Alina turned into pure water as the blood came off of her and then reformed herself back to her usual appearance.
Alex came around the corner with the antidote. "You good? Holy shit," she said horrified by the bloody scene.
"Yeah, I'm good," Alina said coldly. "Find a way off the fortress. I still have work to do."
Alina used Dreykov's ring she had collected and accessed the computer. She then downloaded every assassin connected to Dreykov so she would know all of their covers. As the fortress exploded around her, she waited patiently for the download to finish. When it did, Alina ran down the halls and was hit with an explosion that threw her out of the fortress. Alina dropped down a considerable way until she grabbed a guardrail just above the runway and reentered the fortress on a lower floor.
Jeremiah and Alex ran towards a shuttlecraft on the runway to get off the doomed fortress. "Where's Lillian?" Jeremiah asked.
"She's not coming," Alex told him.
Jeremiah nodded and then flew the helicopter jet off the runway just as it collapsed. As he did, debris hit the helicopter jet several times causing it to go into a spin on the way down.
Alina ran down the halls of the fortress until she reached the prison section. Upon seeing Alina, Karina punched at the glass wall. "I'm going to open the door. You're going to come after me. It's okay. I know you're still in there, and I'm not going to leave you," Alina said to her.
The glass doors opened allowing Karina to leave. She eyed Alina with glowing red eyes. Suddenly, the floor they were on collapsed separating them. Alina skid down the floor she was on and jumped down to the second hanger where Dreykov was attempting to flee. Alina reached out with her hand forcing one of Dreykov's men off the shuttle, into the air, and then rammed him into the engine causing an explosion. The shuttlecraft lost control, fell off the hanger, and then exploded killing Dreykov.
Her objective achieved, Alina threw herself off the fortress into the air. Karina, now powered back up, flew towards Alina punching through any debris in her way on the way down. Karina finally tackled Alina where they punched and kicked at each other the whole way down. Occasionally, they hit debris causing Alina to warp in her figure. Finally, Alina hit a pond of water causing her to lose some of her form. Karina landed in a traditional superhero pose. Karina scanned for Dreykov and realizing he was dead, she went Prime to incinerate the entire surface of the Earth.
"Alright, let's go," Alina said to herself as she tried to control the water in Karina's body.
Karina fell out of Prime and struggled against Alina's power as the water pressure inside her muscles, bones, organs, and blood vessels increased and decreased violently. Karina's eyes went red as the blood vessels exploded preventing her from using her heat vision. Her trachea was clamped down to prevent her frost breath. Every step she took tore up her muscles and ligaments. Her body was continually deconstructing and regenerating at a rapid pace, her skin noticeably became bruised, back to normal, and then bruised again. Karina fell to the ground as her knees and ankle muscles detached. She placed her right hand on the ground to balance herself. Suddenly, the muscles in her right arm burst inside and her hand became a bloody mess. Karina looked over her wounded hand in shock and dismay and then gave a silent scream.
Alina's right hand attempted to close as she was about to implode Karina's weakened body. Seeing Karina's pain and injuries, Alina couldn't go through with it and hesitated. Karina recovered as she got back to her feet and sped towards Alina. Her punches had enough force to blast holes through Alina's body. Karina then grabbed Alina by the throat and took her over to the pond where she intentionally kept her in the water to dilute her. The water bubbled and exploded in reaction around Karina as she held Alina under. Karina's eyes regenerated and then glowed red as she intended to utterly annihilate Alina for good. Alex suddenly leaped onto Karina's shoulders and broke the antidote capsule in front of her face. The antidote gas freed Karina of the mind control. She fell to the ground stunned.
Alex dropped to her knees exhausted. "Is she gone?" Karina asked of Alina. Alex looked over to the pond and didn't see any movement.
"I don't know," Alex admitted.
The fortress finally hit the ground and buckled into a ruined heap. Jeremiah made his way over to them without his right arm. He noticed Karina as she cried over the pond. "Alina...no, I'm so sorry," she cried in Russian.
Jeremiah and Alex looked away as Karina grieved. "I should have fought harder. Please forgive me," Karina sobbed over the pond.
A spring bubbled up from the ground behind Karina and slowly reformed itself into Alina's shape. Finally, she regained coloring to her body. Karina turned around in amazement upon seeing her. "You have nothing to apologize for," Alina assured her. "No matter what you do or who you are, you'll always be a sister to me."
Karina embraced her in a heartfelt hug, her injuries gone. Alex simply stared at them thinking it might be time to reconcile with Kara after all. "Now that's she gone, I'm going to bury the hatchet with Lillian," Alex said finally.
"Do you feel better now?" Jeremiah asked.
"No...I actually feel worse," Alex admitted.
"It will get better in time," Jeremiah assured her.
PATRIOT agents arrived on the scene with several SUVs and armored vehicles. Alina turned to Jeremiah and Alex. "We'll take you back home and give you whatever you need. We regret you had to be involved in an internal matter."
"Thanks," Jeremiah said dryly.
"What do we do now?" Karina asked Alina.
"We manufacture the antidote and we hunt down Dreykov's assassins all over the world," Alina said.
"And then what?" Karina smiled.
"We conquer the world," Alina said obviously.
"Of course!" Karina agreed and walked off with her.