Selah walked quickly, trying to release some of her anger and frustration as she went by stomping slightly harder than was necessary. Her backpack bounced on her back, and her hand clenched itself tighter around the coffee cup that she was still holding. Part of her wanted to throw out the coffee just for the dramatic effect, but that felt wasteful. Scowling, she drank it in one large gulp and tossed the cup into a garbage can. Caffeine didn't have much of an effect on her, but she figured that she needed all the help that she could get if she was going to finish all her assignments before the due dates. Coming up to a red light, she bounced on her heels restlessly.
She felt bad for yelling at Alex, she knew that the agent was only doing her job and trying to protect her, but the situation was so wildly frustrating. For one moment she had allowed herself to believe that she could be free from The Agenda, and that she was going to be able to get past all of the torture, but just as soon as she allowed the thought to enter her head, they had started systematically destroying the city.
I'm never going to get away, she thought to herself as she started walking again. As she passed Noonan's, she felt a sudden sensation that made her stop in her tracks. It was the same strange feeling that she had felt on the night when she and Kara walked home from the DEO together, the day that the apartment across the street had been bombed. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she stooped down, intentionally untying her shoe and beginning to re-tie it as an excuse to stand still on the sidewalk, trying to pinpoint what exactly felt so strange. She tilted her head slightly, furrowing her brow, and suddenly it hit her.
There was a space in the psychic noise around her. The usual buzz of the thoughts of other people on the sidewalk and inside the nearby buildings surrounded her like it always did, except for in one spot where there was... nothing. It was directly to her left, in the alleyway beside Noonan's; there was an area where the noise abruptly stopped, as if it was hitting an invisible wall and bouncing back. She remembered what her aunt had said about men by her apartment whose thoughts she couldn't hear, and a chill ran down her spine. Turning her head up to the sky, she reached out to see if Kara actually was watching her, but she didn't hear any signs of the hero. She finished tying her shoe and straightened up, tentatively peering into the alleyway. Alley was a generous way to describe it, it was only perhaps four feet wide, and about half a block long, engulfed in shadow by the skyscraper that stood next to it. Using her X-ray vision, she could make out three figures standing together at the very end of it, two men and a woman. She began walking towards them, her pace quickening as she entered the shadows.
Her skin grew cold as she walked out of the sunlight, and she wrinkled her nose at the smell of moldy newspaper and garbage that seemed to permeate the alley. The ground seemed to be perpetually damp and rainwater gathered in puddles in the cracked pavement. Her senses were prickling as she walked closer and closer to the gap in the noise, and she noticed that as she got closer to the end of the alleyway, it was getting harder to hear the noise from the rest of the city.
There is no shame in survival, a little voice in the back of her mind said as she kept walking closer, in a last ditch attempt to convince herself to turn back. She flicked the thought away like an irritating fly.
"There's also no shame in doing what's right," she muttered to herself. Finally, she was able to clearly see the three people in front of her without using X-ray vision. One of the two men was huge, well over six feet, with broad shoulders and biceps the size of Selah's head. The other man was smaller, wearing glasses. She didn't recognize either of them.
"Hello number 037." The woman spoke in a lilting Italian accent, and Selah looked at her to see the familiar face of Director Beta. "What a pleasant surprise. It's lovely to see you again." Instinctively, the girl took a step back, stepping into a puddle. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to continue, walking forwards again until she was only a few feet away from the other three. She could no longer hear any thoughts, and the quietness engulfed her. Clenching a fist, she realized that her strength was gone as well. She could make out the shape of a large white van parked behind them at the end of the alley, with the side door open.
"You wanted me," Selah said, trying her best to keep her voice steady. "Here I am."
"Here you are indeed." Director Beta smiled, her mouth twisting cruelly. "You have not yet had the pleasure of meeting my friends." She gestured to the two men. The one in glasses nodded, and the tall one grunted. "Unfortunately, I recently had to replace my entire staff team. These two boys are our newest recruits. In fact, Mr. O'Leary here," she pointed to the one in glasses, "designed this pocket-sized power dampener for me," she pulled a small device out of her coat pocket and held it in the air. "And it seems to be working perfectly. Fun, no?"
"Just hilarious." Selah glared at the woman, and she put the power dampener back into her pocket.
"So serious," she tutted. She began walking forward, and slowly circled around the girl. "I see that your friends removed the port," she said, running a hand across the back of Selah's head. Her long nails traced over where the metal plate used to be, and she tugged on one of the girl's short curls. "What a shame. I cannot say that I love the new haircut, either."
"Are you going to kidnap me or what?" she demanded, shoving her hands into her pockets to hide how badly they were shaking. "Because I have a class at seven, and I should let my prof know if I won't be there." Director Beta circled back around to face Selah, still smiling.
"We never could break your spirit, could we?" she asked. "Well. The second time's a charm, I suppose." She nodded to the burly man, who came forward and grabbed Selah's arms, beginning to forcibly walk her towards the van. Suddenly, there was a sizzling noise, and he jerked back in pain. Director Beta whirled, and Selah followed the woman's gaze to see Kara landing a few feet away, hands on her hips.
"No," Selah yelled. "Get out of here, they-" The burly man slapped her across the mouth with his non-burned hand, and she fell to the damp ground of the alley.
"Look who has come to join the fun," Director Beta marveled. She began walking towards Kara, and Selah could see the hero stiffen as she started to feel her powers drain.
"Kidnapping is a serious crime," Kara said, struggling to keep her face stern and stoic.
"This is not a kidnapping. We are rightfully reclaiming what was once ours. We did buy her, after all." Selah got back up to her feet, and the hero briefly made eye contact with her before looking back at the director.
"Hopefully they take returns," she said. In a flash, she darted over to Selah and grabbed the girl, before going back to her initial position, this time putting herself between Selah and the other three.
"This one seems to be more resistant to the power dampeners, O'Leary," Director Beta said, still smiling. "Fascinating."
"Selah, run." Kara said without turning around, her voice serious.
"No," she replied. "This is the only way that we can end all of this."
"That isn't the answer. Now I am telling you to run."
"No," she repeated. Director Beta pulled the power dampener out of her pocket again and began playing with the dials on the side.
"Let us see if your additional features work yet, Mr. O'Leary, hmm?" she said, pointing it directly at Kara.
Right before the jet of blue light hit the hero, she whirled around to face Selah. Taking a deep breath, she used the last of her powers to super-clap, creating a powerful wave that hit the girl head on, sending her flying backwards into the street. She laid on the sidewalk winded, and struggled to her feet to see the burly man dragging an unconscious Kara into the van.
"No!" she screamed, ignoring the concerned looks from people passing by. She ran back into the alley, but her powers were still drained, and by the time she reached the end of it, the van was racing away, the tires squealing. Taking a few deep breaths, she pulled out her phone.
"What's up?" Alex demanded immediately.
"It's Kara," the girl panted out. "They took Kara."
.
"What do you mean they had a portable power-dampener?" Alex asked, leaning on the table.
"It was the size of a flash drive, and when I got near it, my powers went away," Selah replied. She was seated in the conference room again, this time with Alex interrogating her on what exactly had happened in the alley. "And it could shoot out a concentrated ray. That's how they knocked out Kara."
"And you knew that they were there, because you couldn't pick up any psychic signals around the area where this power dampener was." she stated. Selah nodded. "So you heard something suspicious, and instead of calling me or Kara or any other DEO agent, you decided to investigate it by yourself." She began pacing back and forth, her arms crossed. "And then, when you saw one of the directors from the Agenda with two goons, you still continued to go towards them instead of calling for help?" the girl didn't reply. "How could you be so irresponsible?"
"I didn't think that Kara was going to show up," she said. "I was just going to let them take me, so that all of this could be over."
"I have told you a thousand times, that is not how we are going to go about this." Alex stopped pacing and turned to Selah. "I should have known that you'd be too stubborn to listen to me."
"I just wanted to end the bomb threats."
"You are not a superhero. That's not your job. You might have powers, but you have zero training on how to use them or control them. You should have left us to deal with this instead of taking it on yourself."
"So I'm just supposed to keep standing by while innocent people are dying, and I can stop it?"
"You can't stop it," the agent barked. "You don't have that authority. You are a nineteen year old kid. I am the director of a federal agency that is designed to deal with threats of this nature. I am the one with the authority in this situation, and I directly told you not to do exactly what you did, and now?" She shook her head angrily. "My sister is gone."
"I'm sorry," Selah whispered.
"I know." she ran a hand over her face and sighed. "I know you are. But from now on, you need to do exactly as I say. No more trying to save the city. No more of this self-sacrifice." the girl nodded, and Alex looked at her for a long moment before sighing again and leaving the room. "Go home," she said as she left. "Agent Sanchez will escort you there. I expect for you to stay there all night. If you see or hear anything suspicious, you will get yourself to a safe place, and then you will call me. Is that understood?"
"Yes ma'am." The agent shut the door, and Selah sat alone at the table, swallowing back tears. Agent Sanchez entered the room a moment later, and she silently stood up and joined him. He didn't attempt to start any conversation for the entire walk home, and simply nodded once she reached her apartment, standing outside until she unlocked the door.
Nia was sitting on the couch, and she stood up as Selah entered. The two stood still, looking at each other, both uncertain of what to say. After a few long moments, Nia held her arms out, and the girl stumbled into a hug.
"I'm so stupid," she sobbed. "All of this is my fault."
"It's okay," she murmured. They stayed like that for a long time, until eventually Selah's tears subsided.
"I'm sorry," she said, pulling away. "I'm so sorry." She slumped down onto the couch and Nia sat beside her.
"Selah, Kara's tough. She'll be alright, I know it."
"You don't know what it was like there. It was so horrible all of the time. They put random injections into me that would make me sick for days, they tested all sorts of different weapons and machinery on me. They would cut me open whenever they felt like it just to poke around at my organs. They'd put my arms or legs in freezing water for days and days just to see what happened, or they'd pour boiling water over me. They-" her voice broke, and her eyes filled up with tears again. "And now Kara's there and it's my fault."
"We'll get her back." Selah looked at Nia, her eyes sad. "We will."
.
The next morning, Selah woke up to the smell of cooking. She wandered out of her room to find Nia wearing a bright pink apron and making a ridiculous amount of pancakes.
"Morning," she said warmly. "I made breakfast."
"How do you not hate me?" Selah asked, rubbing her eyes blearily. "Kara's your friend."
"You're my friend too. And I am going to do everything I can to help get her back, and that starts with a healthy breakfast. There's fresh fruit and orange juice in the fridge." She pushed a plate towards Selah. "Eat."
"Are you going to the DEO?" She went to the fridge and got the aforementioned fruit, putting blueberries on top of the pancakes.
"Yes," she replied. "Alex texted me last night."
"I want to come too."
"Don't you have class?"
"This is more important." Nia looked uncertain, so she continued. "Look, I know Alex is pissed at me, and rightfully so. But no one here knows the Agenda like I do. I can help you."
"Okay."
In the end, they only managed to eat about half of the pancakes, so Nia put them into a tupperware and brought them along to the DEO, figuring that Alex probably hadn't stopped to eat anything. When they arrived, the entire agency was abuzz with activity. Alex, J'onn, Kal-El, Brainy and Lena were in a conference room, but they all stopped and looked up as Nia and Selah entered. Kal waved awkwardly to Selah, and she waved back, feeling equally uncomfortable.
"We brought pancakes," Nia said half-heartedly.
"You should be in school," Alex said to Selah curtly.
"I know that I messed up," the girl replied. "But I can help. Please." The agent took a long, slow breath.
"Fine. You can describe the device that you saw to Brainy and Lena. Maybe then they can figure out how it's made and how to shut down its signal." Selah nodded, turning to the Coluan and the CEO.
"Selah Lerrol, welcome," Brainy said as she walked over. Lowering his voice, he added. "I was hoping that you'd show up."
"Hi, Brainy," she replied. Lena held out her hand, which the girl shook. "Nice to meet you."
"You as well. I've heard a lot about you from Kara." The girl twitched as a wave of emotion washed off the woman, and she nodded.
"I can send you telepathic images of the device, Brainy. Would that help to narrow down what kind of materials are powering it?"
"Most definitely," he answered. She shut her eyes and transferred her memories of the device to him, and he began creating a 3D template on his tablet.
"It looks like it's made out of Nth metal," Lena said, looking over Brainy's shoulder at the screen.
"That would be my guess," Selah chewed her lip, thinking. "Most of the stuff they had at the facility was Nth."
"It seems to be able to transmit some sort of electromagnetic radiation that disrupts the storage of solar energy in all aliens whose powers are derived from the yellow sun." Brainy began rapidly typing on the tablet as he continued. "Similar to how a red sun blocks the ability for that energy to be metabolized."
"So, if we can find exactly what frequency it travels on, we could disable it, right?" the girl asked.
"In theory," Lena replied, still reading what Brainy was typing. "But it's next to impossible to know what frequency that is without having further interaction with the device itself."
"Maybe it left a radiation signature?"
"Unlikely," the Coluan interjected. "Unless it was a highly unstable substance it wouldn't have left an isotopic fingerprint that would still be strong enough for our signals to pick up."
"Is it possible for me to take some blood from you?" Lena asked the girl carefully. "I can test the types of radiation that you would be most sensitive to, and it might help us to determine what they could be using." Selah instinctively stiffened up, pulling her arms closer to her body, but she swallowed down her anxiety.
"If it helps us find Kara," she answered. Lena ran her plan by Alex, who agreed that it was a good idea and sent them over to the medical bay. As they entered the room and Selah sat on the bed, she once again felt panic rise up in her as she watched the CEO grab a pair of medical gloves and begin to dig through a drawer to find a tourniquet.
"Are you alright?" Lena asked, noticing the girl's leg bouncing up and down. She nodded stiffly, looking at the door.
"I'm not huge on needles, I guess."
"Would you prefer if Alex did it? I know that you probably trust her more than you trust me."
"No, I'm just being silly." Selah rubbed a hand over her eyes and Lena finally found a blood kit that included kryptonite needles in the drawer. She brought it over to the bed, setting it down on the island, and she pulled on her gloves.
"Did you know that octopi have three hearts?" she said suddenly, opening up the kit. It took a moment for Selah to process what the woman had said.
"What?" she asked finally. Lena sat down on the stool and gently took the girl's arm, moving it closer to her.
"They do. And they have blue blood due to a high copper content." She pulled the strip of rubber tight around the girl's forearm and began poking around, looking for a vein.
"Neat. Why are you telling me all of this?" Lena smiled wryly as she wiped Selah's elbow with a sanitizing wipe.
"To distract you from the fact that I'm putting a needle into you," she replied, sliding it into the girl's arm smoothly, and she winced. "When I was a child, I hated having my hair brushed, and my brother used to tell me facts about animals to distract me. I was hoping that it would work in this situation as well."
"Oh, cool," Selah stammered, squeezing her eyes shut. "Do you have any more fun octopus facts?"
"They can regrow their arms." She filled a few vials up, and pulled the needle out again, pressing a cotton ball to the girl's elbow before she realized it had already healed up. "In fact, it's been documented that they will often pull off their own arms in stressful situations."
"That's pretty dark." Lena removed the tourniquet and put the vials of blood onto the counter.
"Such is nature, I suppose." Closing up the kit again, she put the vials onto a stand and removed her gloves.
"Can I do anything else to help?" Selah asked, standing up.
"Do you have any experience with running blood tests?"
"No, I mostly got tested on, I wasn't doing much of the testing myself." Lena bit back a smile.
"I'll show you the ropes, I could use an extra set of hands."
.
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