(Sorry for the long wait but all I have for all of you is just expanding this chapter. I added a lot more content to it as I felt like it was always incomplete.)
NORTHCOM Headquarters
"Video feed coming in now sir," reported Major Farris. General Calvin Swanwick was in his personal office about to join a teleconference with the White House Situation Room. The president was having a debriefing with nearly everyone who mattered at the upper echelons of the United States government. A single LED screen began playing footage of a live broadcast straight from the conference table containing some of the most important people in the world.
President Richard Sears was fifty years old and yet looked like somehow nearly half that age. It was an asset in his early run in the Senate as voters enjoyed his passion and charisma that almost seemed to keep him young. A former military man himself, he was tasked with one of the most difficult jobs possible. Getting both sides of the political aisle to work together. Given enough time, that task alone will probably give him grey hair.
Sears was seated at the end of the table surrounded by members of his cabinet, his department heads, intelligence chiefs, and members of the Joint Chiefs. Swanwick recognized most of them. Vice President Michael Prescott, Secretary of Defense Henry Blackburn, Secretary of State Lucas Walker, White House Chief of Staff Lindsey Darrow, National Security Advisor Andrew Gates, and Director of National Intelligence Abigail Moss to just name a few.
"Good morning Calvin," greeted Sears.
"Good morning Mr. President," nodded Swanwick.
"You're the last one invited to this party so let's get started. I am getting ten phone calls a minute from governors, senators, the media, and our international allies wanting to know what's we're doing to do with the fallout over this whole mess so I need to give them all answers. How is Metropolis doing?" asked Sears.
Darrow spoke up. "Things had calmed down in the past few days since the attack. Humanitarian efforts are now underway in the city and the National Guard has managed to quell the rioting and looting. Power and water is estimated to be back up and running through the entire city within the next two days," she reported.
"Good and the crash site?" replied Sears. He was referring to the wreckage from a downed Kryptonian ship that crashed in the city. It was probably just a scout ship but its technology alone was centuries if not more so ahead of anything on Earth.
"Cordoned off with heavy security," answered Blackburn. "We still have search teams sweeping the nearby city blocks for any possible wreckage unaccounted for. What few scientists that examined it couldn't make heads or tails of the technology behind it."
"Which brings up another problem. The UN Security Council has been demanding that we allow scientists from other UN members to examine the wreckage," interrupted Walker.
"They have no right to make any demands!" snapped Blackburn. "Those aliens attacked our country and their ship crashed on our soil."
"But the aliens were attempting to terraform the entire planet which to them means that they were at war with every other nation in the world," explained Walker.
"A war they took no part in and suffered no causalities. At least a thousand people are confirmed dead in Metropolis and hundreds more are still missing as well nearly a dozen military personal killed in Smallville," protested Blackburn.
"They're concerned that we'll hoard whatever knowledge we discover for ourselves," said Walker.
"We're the ones who took those Martians down, we get to reap the benefits," replied Blackburn.
"With all due respect sir, technically the one most responsible for stopping the aliens was Superman," Swanwick pointed out. "He was the one who gave up the means to destroy the enemy command ship and protected Colonel Hardy's team during the engagement in Smallville."
"For all we know, he did that to ensure he wouldn't have any competition from the rest of his kind. We've all seen the footage of what they can do," argued Blackburn.
"He willingly surrendered himself when Zod and his forces threatened our planet sir. I may not be comfortable with him out there but I don't believe he is our enemy," Swanwick spoke.
"Well half the press feels the same way as you Calvin. The other half think he's the biggest threat to the planet since the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs," remarked Sears.
"Speaking of threats, what about the prisoner General? The one Miss Lane at the Daily Bugle calls Kara?" asked Gates. Lois Lane's recent article has been giving the administration a major headache. She released all sorts of classified information regarding what Superman did, how he stopped Zod and his forces, and how Kara aided him. She made it clear that both Kryptonians were heroes. Not everyone agreed but it did get national headlines, drawing attention to Kara's imprisonment which the US government hoped to keep secret.
"She's currently incarcerated at the bottom level of the Cheyenne Mountain Facility. It was originally headquarters for NORAD but that was later transferred to Peterson Air Force Base. Since then, it's mostly been used as an emergency backup operated by a skeleton crew. Since it was one of the more secured facilities with minimal personal, it was decided it was the best place to hold the prisoner. All personal on site know the risks and have volunteered to be there," explained Swanwick.
"Forgive me General but how on Earth were you able to detain her? I saw footage of her disabling helicopters, fighters, and a gunship without so much as getting a scratch," inquired Walker.
"Kara didn't resist. Believe me gentlemen when I say the reason she in her cell is because she wants to be," answered Swanwick.
"That's…not the answer I was hoping for," admitted Walker. He was nervous and for good reason considering what these Kryptonians were capable of.
"What's to stop her from escaping?" asked Prescott.
"We have a B83 Tactical Nuclear Warhead installed on the same floor as the prisoner and rigged to explode should she attempt to escape," explained Swanwick.
"Jesus," muttered a stunned Walker. "What about the people inside the facility?"
"Like I said before, all personal on site know the risks," Swanwick said grimly. He wasn't comfortable with it but it was the only way to keep Kara from tearing through
"Has the alien said anything yet?" asked Sears, quick to change the subject.
"Interrogation sessions so far have been kept to a minimum but the alien has barely spoken a word," explained Moss. As the Director of National Intelligence, the interrogation of the prisoner fell under her oversight but Swanwick wasn't holding his breath on getting any results. Kara was a soldier which meant she was probably trained to resist interrogation and torture. Add to the fact that she was nearly invulnerable, the agents who spoke with her probably seemed like annoying gnats at best. Hard to get answers from someone who wasn't intimidated by you in the slightest.
"Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Center for Constitutional Rights want to know the conditions of her confinement as well as when they can expect a trial date," added Darrow.
"Oh for crying out loud," sighed an irritated Blackburn.
"These are the same bleeding hearts who still cry over Khaled Sheikh Mohammed. No one cares what they think," Prescott scoffed.
"Even if they didn't care, the alien is an enemy combatant and furthermore isn't even human. The rules don't apply to her," argued Blackburn.
"She took great care in preventing any casualties during her engagement in Iowa. Everyone who engaged her suffered minor to no injuries," pointed out Swanwick.
"The same can't be said about the helicopters and aircraft she destroyed," Blackburn retorted.
"Inform these watch groups that the prisoner is being well treated and that there hasn't been any decision regarding a trial or tribunal yet," announced Sears.
"Please tell me you're not actually considering such a circus," Prescott sighed.
"I'm thinking the families of everyone who lost someone in Metropolis will want someone to pay for what happened," Sears replied.
"Mr. President Kara aided Superman in stopping the aliens. The only reason we have her in custody is because she didn't fight back," Swanwick spoke.
"I didn't say there'd be a trial Calvin. I'm just weighing the options," responded Sears.
"What about the third one?" asked Gates.
"Third one?" asked Prescott.
"Several pods launched from the main alien ship just before it was destroyed but only one managed to escape the blast radius unharmed," answered Swanwick. "The alien is encased in some kind of frozen liquid and there doesn't appear to be any mechanism designed to free him that we are aware of. We have it sealed away at a nuclear waste disposal facility in Nevada until we figure out what to do with it."
"If it were up to me I'd either bury it or launch it into outer space," commented Blackburn. "The last thing we need is a third one flying around."
"Actually Mr. Luther would like to personally oversee the examination of the pod," said Sears.
"Luther?" frowned Swanwick.
To say that Lex Luther was a legend was an understatement. The man graduated top of his class at MIT at fifteen then went onto create LexCorp. The company specialized in everything from rocket development, medical research, security software, and countless other products. Its net profit was comparable to the likes of Walmart and Amazon which made Luther one of the richest men in the world. Coincidently he also owned a great deal of stock in both of those companies. Surprisingly, he was not the CEO or Chairman of his own corporation. Apparently he found the boardroom boring and personally invented dozens of the company's most profitable product lines. Yet that seemed never enough for him. Luther always seemed five steps ahead of the industry, creating the next trend that would dominate the tech market.
His intelligence was sought after by several of the past presidential administrations and President Sears made the bold move of nominating him for Science Advisor to the President. It was somewhat of a scandal as Luther was rumored to have secretly financed the president's campaign through various SuperPacs but the nomination passed Congress.
"Mr. President I'm not sure allowing a billionaire with such a…personality should be allowed access to quite possibly one of the most dangerous object on this planet," protested Swanwick.
"Well can you think of anyone better suited for figuring out how these aliens tick?" replied Prescott.
"He does have the necessary security clearance," Moss pointed out.
"If we're going to have any chance against these aliens should they turn hostile, we need to know how to fight them and that requires the best minds we have. Luther is at the top of that list," Sears agreed.
"As if that man's ego wasn't bad enough, now he'll add savior to humanity to his profile," grumbled Walker.
"If that ego gets us what we want then so be it," remarked Sears. Swanwick couldn't openly disagree with the President now that he's made up his mind but the General had a terrible feeling this was a bad idea.
The office phone rang and the staff knew that the General was in a meeting with the President so it must have been important.
"Excuse me Mr. President," Swanwick apologized for the interruption.
The President nodded as the general answered the phone. "Yes?"
"Sir I'm sorry to disturb you but I have an Amanda Waller here demanding to speak with you immediately," replied Major Ferris. Wallace? What the hell was that woman doing here?
"Send her in," Swanwick said before hanging up. Normally no one would be allowed to walk into his office while he was on call with the National Security Council but Waller was the exception. If she was here, it was because she had the President's permission to do so. Swanwick swore that woman didn't do anything without planning it out ahead.
His door opened and in stepped a dark skinned woman in her early fifties yet it was easy to be mistaken for thinking she was younger. Her business suit, blouse, pants, and shoes all screamed bureaucratic authority yet the woman wasn't some pencil pusher. Waller made a career in cover ops with most of it so classified that even Swanwick didn't have access to her personal file. What he did know was that Waller had accumulated a lot of political support over the years and while she was never officially appointed to a high ranking position, she was considered to be the most powerful force in the intelligence community today.
"Good morning General. Good morning Mr. President," Waller spoke as she took a seat next to Swanwick's desk.
"Amanda. I wasn't expecting to see you," Sears spoke.
"I happened to be in the neighborhood. I was here to speak with General Swanwick but since you're all here, I think it's a good idea to include all of you," replied Waller. Swanwick doubted the woman didn't know he was speaking to the National Security Council though he couldn't tell if she planned to show up during the meeting or just found it convenient for whatever she's up to.
"And what would that be Miss Waller?" asked Moss. The change in tone was subtle but obvious she wasn't happy to see Amanda and neither were several other members of the council.
"It's about the prisoner you have at the bottom of Cheyenne Mountain," answered Waller.
"Don't tell me you're insane enough to want that alien to join your band of freaks?" scoffed Moss.
"Band?" asked a confused Prescott.
Moss was the first to speak. "I was referring to Task Force X or Suicide Squad as they're called at Langley."
"What Abigail here is forgetting to mention is that Task Force X has had remarkable success rate in missions they shouldn't have survived but that's not relevant as Kara doesn't fit the criteria. X was designed for politically sensitive operations whereas that would be a waste of the Kryptonian's abilities," Waller added.
"Waste? Wait a minute. You want to recruit Kara as an asset?" asked Swanwick.
"Absolutely not!" shouted Blackburn.
"Are you out of your mind?!" screamed Moss.
"Gentleman in case you have forgotten, we just found out that we're not alone in the universe. A single alien ship with a small crew easily overpowered our entire armed forces and almost rendered the human race extinct. Just imagine what happens if another invasion happens and what kinds of abilities and technology they'll have," Waller explained. Judging from their silence, she had their attention.
"If there's one thing this disaster has taught us is how unprepared we are for a conflict with any extraterrestrial threat. If we're going to survive the next one, we're going to need more then just planes and missiles, we're going to need soldiers. Ones who can do things that no one else on the planet can do," continued Waller.
"What about Superman?" asked Darrow.
Swanwick spoke up. "I do believe that Superman is an asset but he's made it quite clear that he'll never take orders from us," he said.
"Superman can be useful for any existential threat and saving the occasional kitten in the tree but remember he's been on this world for quite some time and he's rarely used his powers in public. He doesn't want to play politics or combat. We need someone who will," added Waller.
"What makes you think Kara will?" inquired Sears. "She has no loyalty to the United States or even humanity in general."
"That's where I have to disagree with you Mr. President," said Waller. "She turned against her own people to assist Earth and now she's one of only a handful of survivors left of her kind. She feels guilty and alone."
"How could you possibly know that?" spat Gates.
"Why else did she surrender without a fight or hasn't tried to escape? She's punishing herself for what happened," explained Waller.
"How does that help us?" asked Blackburn.
"It's more about how we're going to help her by giving her the one she needs right now. A purpose," smiled Waller.
"You're insane," scoffed Moss.
"No insane is just assuming she'll stay in that bunker forever or the nuke you've got down there too will stop her. It might be in a month, a year, or longer but eventually she's going to get really bored and decide she's tired of sitting around in the same room 24 hours a day. Better to give her a reason to leave and one that benefits us," stated Waller.
"I get the feeling you already have a plan in mind," commented Swanwick.
Waller nodded. "I just need your permission Mr. President to put it into action," she spoke.
Kara lost track of the days. She knew when the sun rose and the sun set above ground but she didn't keep count. This world had 24 hour long days, much shorter than a typical Kryptonian day of 67 hours. She assumed their years were also shorter.
Her cell was soundproof yet Kara could still hear everything. She counted at least fifty people that staffed the large facility she was currently incarcerated in and she could hear their conversations, their footsteps, even the sound of their stomachs grumbling whenever they were hungry. She could also see through every wall of every floor, allowing Kara to see their faces. Their size, skin color, and gender all varied but they all had the same look of subtle fear and the same tense tone whenever they spoke. They knew how powerful their prisoner was and what she could do to them. Worse, they knew what would happen if she decided to leave.
Someone new was here today. Kara could hear her footsteps as she entered the facility, heard her voice as she gave commands that let her through the checkpoints, and heard the sound of elevator wheels grinding as she descended into the bottom level. It seems Kara was getting another visitor. The only people who normally interact with her were the soldiers who delivered food and the occasional interrogator. Kara never answered their questions and they never bothered trying to push her too long. They all eventually gave up and left. Kara didn't have high hopes this would be any different.
The women stepped off the elevator, her heels clicking on the floor as she headed into the detention room. Her clothing contrasted with everyone in the base. They were all dressed in what Kara assumed was military uniforms while her's were different. She spoke with authority to the guards outside. They quickly checked her credentials and let her through.
Kara knew there was something different about her as she stepped inside the viewing room of Kara's cell. Technically the glass window was one way only allowing the visitors to see the prisoner and not the other way around but Kara could see through it plain as a Kryptonian glassware. Normally you had to press a button on the com system to be heard in the cell yet this guest didn't make a move towards it.
"I know you can hear me. I'm sure you can hear the stomach growling of the guard on the top floor when he forgets to pack his lunch," the woman spoke.
Kara didn't respond, she just stared up at the ceiling just like all the other times people gad tried to talk to her. Normally they tried to communicate through video transmission via the small flat screen in Kara's cell though a few on occasion had the guts to actually show up in person. It didn't really matter though as the results were always the same.
"I also know that you haven't once tried to escape even though you've had every opportunity to do so for weeks which tells me you want to be here. I'm guessing you're punishing yourself by staying locked up here out of guilt. The real question is guilt over what?" the woman asked.
Kara still said nothing.
"Now I doubt it's the death of your friends because if it was, you would have fought Superman to death just like Zod. Instead you surrendered. That tells me you feel guilty about the deaths your people caused," the woman remarked.
"You don't know anything about me," Kara finally spoke, annoyed that this stranger managed to get under her skin. Her voice emitted from the speakers inside the viewing room. It was designed for people inside could hear everything in the cell and not the other way around. Yet Kara's enhanced senses allowed her to hear everything in not just the other room but most of the facility.
The woman smiled, "So you can speak. Your English is pretty good I might add."
"My people had been genetically engineered to learn things quickly and this language of yours is nowhere near as complex as the various Kryptonian dialects," commented Kara, sitting up from her bed.
"You mentioned your people had been. As if they're now extinct. That's actually sad," the woman replied.
Kara simply laid back down, not saying a word.
"Lois Lane wrote a lot about you. She said you destroyed that terraforming machine that would have exterminated the entire human race. She calls you a hero," said the woman.
"I'm no hero," muttered Kara.
"You were to this boy and his father," said the woman. She pulled out a picture from her pocket, holding it up for the Kyptonian to see. Kara sat up and focused to see it the same picture that soldier had on the transport that carried her after she was knocked unconscious. A picture of the soldier with his son. Seeing that made Kara realized that if anything were to happen to him, his son would grow up without a father. Kara's own father was murdered right before her very eyes and she didn't want anyone to feel the emptiness she felt after his death.
"Their names are Master Sergeant Richard Flagg and his son Richard Flagg Jr. The Sergeant said you could have ripped him and his teammates apart with your bare hands. If not that then you could have simply left them to die when their chopper was crashing but you saved them. He says thanks by the way," the woman pointed out.
Kara didn't know what to say to that so she simply said nothing.
"A lot of people in my government want to see you tried for war crimes," the woman commented.
"It's nothing less then what I deserve," muttered Kara.
"What any of us deserve is irrelevant. All that matters is what you can do right now," the woman replied.
Kara frowned, "Who are you?"
"My name is Amanda Waller and I'm going to have a job opening for you," the woman smiled.
Kara nearly burst into laughter. "A job? You humans have strange ideas of what constitutes sarcasm."
"I didn't say you'd get it now. For the moment, you're no good to anyone swallowed up with all that guilt and self-loathing," remarked Waller.
She headed towards the exit. "When you're done feeling sorry for yourself, tell the guards you want to talk," Waller added before leaving.
(Finally this chapter feels like a complete chapter now. Hopefully this will satisfy those of you still interested in this story while I slowly try and work on the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed and please review.)