She had learned every inch of her bedroom's ceiling. It had been weeks since she had slept, physical fatigue had gradually been stamped out by the ring. The hum in her head and the intense booms of her heart kept her body active at all times. She always hoped the weight of the duvet and resting in the darkness would do something to coax her mind to shut down. The inevitable restlessness had her switching between pacing around the apartment and further attempts at lying in bed, tossing and turning until she returned to her pacing once more. Her whole life had boiled down to taming her emotions, there was no escaping it except for the few times Lena could get through to her. Even if it never came, sleep could be another respite. Nothing would stop her trying.
She shifted onto her side, dragging the duvet with her. Oddball's words were aimlessly running around her mind as sleep continued to elude her. Lena seemed sure he could help her in some way, but all he had done was accidentally make her ask questions about herself. As ever, toward the end of the night, Oddball had wandered off with only the vaguest of explanations. He was difficult to tolerate in anything other than short bursts, so she had been happy to let him go. He said little of significance to her anyway, playing his relationship with the World Killer investigation very close to his chest. He had pressed her several times on what he knew about Supergirl and Reign's fight. She gave him nothing, besides her lack of trust she had no intention of reliving those memories. His dancing around the issue when she asked questions back was likely Lena's request, but it made it no less frustrating to deal with. Everything else he had said mostly rung hollow, it was just the odd phrases and strange platitudes that got to her. What he had said about the bar was spinning in her mind, the multiple masquerades of it and unwittingly playing its part in a larger scheme. Layers stacking on top of each other until there was no real identity left. She had gotten to grips with her own similar struggle between Kara and Supergirl, but the thralls of the Red Lantern threw everything she had settled on into disarray. What she chose to hide from herself or others had become a total mess. The lines between these sides of herself were all blurring together and she had no idea if she was alright with it. Wrestling with these thoughts had kept her occupied all night, trying to come to any sort of conclusion or closure. Switching between staring up in the dark and wearing out the floorboards went on. Light had started to peak out from the horizon and was poking through the clouds, the sound of cars and commuters rose up as the whole city began to wake for the new day.
Her relative idleness was becoming difficult to handle, Lena would probably insist her break had not been long enough. As it stood, staying in her apartment with Oddball's words stirring her up felt more aggravating than getting out there and helping people. The humming was also tugging away at her, demanding that its need for justice be satiated. As more hours went by her inner-voice turned to shouting, an unbearable need to get out of the apartment and fight was taking over. She shut her eyes tight and ground her teeth. She held out as long as she could but started to break when particularly strong calling flared up from nowhere. This episode had quickly grown stronger than most, it was refusing to be ignored and the hum became coherent words, beckoning her away. Meditation techniques Lena had taught her only served to delay the demands. Usually when the ring acted up she could let it pass or she had the fortitude to go to Lena before it could escalate. The heat of her blood rose and the distinct irony taste flooded her mouth. Her eyes shot open, the ring was glowing. There was no real choice, she untied her hair and in a flash, the Red Lantern Uniform materialised around her. The bold red burst out from her plain clothing, the outline of the hybrid House of El and Red Lantern symbol gradually emerged on her chest. She took off her glasses, taking a moment to look down at them. The calling came to her again. The crunch of the lenses barely registered as she crushed the glasses in her fist. With a laboured breath she made her way to the window. She opened it up, the breeze blew across her face and into her hair. A long and slow inhale rushed through her nose, she shook off the smell of exhaust and shot out the window. She left a red streak in her wake, following the instinct and her own voice. She had grown to trust this sense she had for crime and danger. It could be overwhelming, but when in control it was perfect for tracking where she was needed all over the world. She had been stuck at the whim and the knowledge of the D.E.O. before, rarely leaving National City. The ring had its terrible price but in its own strange way, granted her freedom.
This particular instinct for her intervention was close, she came to an immediate stop very soon after setting off. She was hovering over Metropolis, whatever drew her here was nearby. The sky was grey and the midday sun was still hiding behind the clouds, she was a shining red star in dull backdrop. The city showed no immediate sign of activity out of the ordinary. She honed her senses, listening and watching from high above. She let the ring's influence into her head and it naturally guided her sight to a far-off mall. Gun-shots and screaming filled her ears, she sped toward the danger. She assessed what she was seeing in the split-second it took to reach the mall. There was a single man with a gun, surrounded by civilians on their knees. His face was partially covered with a red bandana, eye-holes were cut out of it revealing a glee to his actions. His laughter cut through the panicked screams of escaping bystanders as he fired off rounds aimlessly upward, no-one had been hurt and it was clear he was actively avoiding trying to hit anyone. A large bandolier was slung around his shoulder and bounced loosely against his muscular frame.
Kara crashed through the glass, not waiting for the automatic doors to slide open. To her chagrin he managed to point a pistol at a hostage's head and the word "stop," came out of his mouth. Even though it was all she wanted and the ring screamed for his demise, going for him was too risky. She was more than fast enough to get at him before the trigger was even pulled. The problem was the ring, she would have to come at a speed that would easily kill him. If the ring took enough control for that split-second, she would not slow down and the man would become little more than a stain on the floor.
She came to a halt, hovering a few feet in the air with her arms folded. He was pointing an assault rifle at her, but his other hand still had the pistol trained on a hostage.
"Superman was the one I thought would come, but you're on my list as well," he said. The ring's disdain for the man was palpable. Even with her heart pounding violently in her chest, she was sound enough in mind to know when not to strike.
"You may as well give up," she said. He said nothing, he only laughed at her. She narrowed her eyes, he was far too confident given the situation. She inspected the gun from afar, there were a lot of electronics packed into its scope, but it was the green glow from inside the barrel that caught her attention. She had to assume it was Kryptonite-based, unless the man was completely unhinged nothing else would make him believe he could take out her or Superman.
"I'm growing impatient," she said. Sirens were coming into ear-shot, she wanted this dealt with before the police potentially escalated the situation.
"Well you don't have to wait any longer, people will forever remember Bloodsport as the man who took down Supergirl," he announced to the room. The hostages gasped as he pulled the trigger of the assault rifle. The thundering gunshot's echoed in the open space and a surprisingly accurate spray of glowing-green bullets hurtled toward her. She made no effort to dodge or destroy them, her red aura simply glowed brighter as she activated her ring's life-support shielding. The bullets evaporated, hissing into nothing as they impacted her shielding. She let out a small growl as the urge to retaliate burned in her mind and her blood began to boil. She forced it away, instead staying in place, unflinching with her arms still folded.
"You better have a plan B," she said through gritted teeth. The smile on Bloodsport's face dropped, his theatrics had backfired as he stared in disbelief at the barrel of his gun. Her ring could sense his anger rising, she was ready to get in the way of any rash shots at the civilians he might take. This anger quickly subsided and after shaking his head in a quick motion, he dropped his pistol and pulled a detonator from his bandolier.
"As a matter of fact, I do. There's bombs strapped to more hostages all around this mall." He pressed the button on top and held it down. It clicked and beeped as he backed away toward one of the shops. "And if I let go of this, they explode. Come anywhere near me or try to follow me and their deaths will be on your hands." She glanced around the room, none of the hostages on the main floor were wired up to anything. She started to look through the mall with X-ray vision.
"Ah, ah ,ah. No peaking til I'm clear," he said, waving the detonator at her. Kara growled under her breath and her pounding heartbeat grew stronger. The ring's influence in her head was obvious, the temptation not to hold off on his punishment lingered in her mind. She glared at him, ignoring the urge to lunge at him and instead tried to read his face. He gave nothing away to show if it were a bluff or not, all she could do was wait. She switched to X-ray vision when he backed out of sight. The shop he was backing into had a back door to a smaller car-park at the side. His rifle's scope was still trained on her, the amount of attention he paid to it suggested he could see her through the walls. She could not risk moving until he faced away. Her anger changed to confusion as a person quietly landed outside the exit and waited, she was not sure not to make of them as they appeared to have some form of wings. There was nothing she could do as Bloodsport still kept watch, ready to detonate the bombs if she did anything. When he reached the door, back-kicking it open, this person grabbed him from behind with surprising speed. Her eyes widened at the prospect of him losing grip of the detonator, but this person had quickly reached for his hand and held his thumb on the detonator. His struggling ended quickly, Bloodsport was no match for whoever had showed up. The opportunity had presented itself. She had little concern for how Bloodsport's situation developed, all she saw was her chance to clear the bombs while the detonator was forced down. She sped around the whole mall, counting five people with bomb-vests in hidden away places like changing rooms and stock areas.
She whipped back around to a handcuffed and whimpering first hostage.
"He said if I moved it'd explode," she said. Supergirl said nothing, getting in close to inspect the vest. It seemed unlikely anything would set them off but the detonator, Bloodsport's escape plan would be worthless if they detonated prematurely. The explosives were all packed onto the front and none of the wiring extended further back.
"He lied to you," she said. Taking off the vest while she was handcuffed would be tricky and though it was unlikely to set them off, she still did not want to risk more movement than necessary.
"I'm going to need you to stay as still as possible," she said, extended her hand out. A beam slowly emerged from the ring and when it reached the explosives, a red bubble formed around them. She concentrated hard as the bubble formed around the back side, making sure to completely cut them off from the vest itself without going too far the other way and hurting the person. Whether this hostage's ability to stay still and quiet was out of bravery or fear mattered little to her, either way it helped her close off the bubble and pull the explosives clear. She ripped the handcuff's links apart.
"The police will be here soon," Supergirl said.
"Thank you, Supergirl," she said, rubbing her wrists. Without acknowledging her, she shot off to the next bomb-vest. She kept an eye on Bloodsport's thumb with X-ray vision, whoever it was seemed to be doing very little except apart from speaking to him and holding him in place. She repeated the process for the remaining explosives, the hostages were in varying degrees of panic. One man was particularly distressed. She had no interest in calming him down so decided to hold him in place while she worked. She gauged the distance between the fabric and explosives better each time, causing the removals to become an efficient process. The sirens had risen and began to come to a stop as police began to mobilise outside, she spotted officers starting to run in and check on the hostages on the main floor.
She broke through the roof and flew high into the sky, dragging the five beams with bubbled explosives from her ring. Clear of any civilisation she shrank the bubbles away, crushing the contents inside. It was only when each of the bubbles had become very small that the bombs exploded, they were easily contained. Being crushed together at high speed and the heat from her shielding must have set them off as below, Bloodsport's thumb was still held firmly in place. She found nothing after another quick sweep. Satisfied the immediate threat was dealt with, she turned her attention to Bloodsport. He was still being held close by this mysterious figure. Supergirl landed outside the shop he had backed through and slowed to a walking pace, wanting to get a full view of the situation.
The distinct black and red of the Red Lantern uniform immediately caught her eye, the red power ring twinkled in this person's hand. She was right in the face of her victim. This other Red Lantern was a voluptuous woman with light blue skin, a winged hood and mask covered majority of her head. Menacing wings of bone stretched out from her back as she whispered in the ear of a worried-looking Bloodsport. She ran a sharp nail lightly down his face and kept her grip over his thumb tight. Supergirl upped her pace as her ring could feel a strong sense of anger within this newcomer.
"How many bombs are there?" Supergirl said, catching the attention of them both. Bloodsport almost seemed relieved to see her.
"How many?" she said again. Bloodsport appeared to come to some sort of sense again and spoke out.
"Four," he said. Supergirl snarled at him and staved off the urge to attack, she heard a rise out of the other Red Lantern's heart as well.
"I just disarmed more than four. Lying to me won't end well for you," she said.
"Those threats about tearing you limb from limb weren't jokes, I can always rip off your hand and take this little toy of yours with me. Then we won't need you at all," The other Red Lantern said with a sneer in her voice. Bloodsport's eyes nervously flitted between them.
"Okay, there's five, that's the truth," he said. He yelled out in pain and fell to his knees as the other Red Lantern start pulling at his hand.
"I swear it's the truth, five people, five bombs," he blurted out. Supergirl was lost in his suffering for a few more moments before snapping back and grabbing the wrist of this other Lantern.
"I've dealt with five bombs," she said. A brief flash of extreme anger came across this woman's face as perfect teeth were bared at her. Their rings sparked and fizzled, though they died down quickly.
"If I hear any explosions, you'll wish I'd just ripped off your hand," she said, lifting her thumb. A distinct click came from the detonator, followed by silence.
"Good boy," she said, just before cracking him in the jaw with a devastating hook. Supergirl felt a rush of ecstasy as Bloodsport hit the ground with a thud. She hesitantly stepped in front of the encroaching Red Lantern and kneeled over to check on him. He was still alive, though his jaw was almost completely displaced.
"That was unnecessary," Supergirl said, not entirely convincing herself as she spoke.
"Don't pretend you didn't enjoy that," the Lantern said, wiping her fist and checking her nails.
"I didn't need your help," she said.
"You're welcome." The seductive tone to her voice was accentuated by her uniform's stylings. The top was a tight fit, her high boots had heels and connected up to her uniform like stockings. Her exposed thighs, bright yellow eyes and extensive wings of bone made her appearance even more striking.
"Who are you and what do you want," Supergirl spat out.
"My name is Bleez, and darling, you're just the woman I've been looking for," she said.