Time had ticked away, the actions of the day and the change in time-zones saw the sun setting at a rapid pace. The flight was slow, she no longer cared for the air that rushed by her. She found herself craving the burn of her full speed, she would already be at Gotham if it were not for Optic. He seemed content to be held under the arms and to dangle down. Though it was slow for her, it was the fasted she had gone with a passenger. It was partially due to the urgency of the matter but despite thinking better of it, she also wanted to make Optic uncomfortable. Unfortunately, it was not the case. There was no hint of trembling and he had been quiet for this first leg of the journey. Though she could not see his face, it was easy to tell from his slightly folded arms and his chin stroking that he was in deep thought. It was only a matter of time before he shared these thoughts.
The flickering images of her father's logs refused to leave her thoughts. The man she was carrying had every reason to hate her, yet he had stayed on the fringes and Lena still treated him as a friend despite his deception. The ring had never picked up any desire for revenge or a significant amount of anger from him at all until this World Killer problem had truly come to a head. She could hardly believe it herself, but she found herself wanting to break this silence between them. The unanswered questions swirling around her head would stay that way otherwise.
"Why didn't you just ask me about the House of El when you first met me?" she said. He shifted in her arms, he tried to look up at her from his dangling position with limited success.
"Putting aside the fact that revealing my connection to the World Killers would have been its own can of worms, I didn't know I could trust you," he said. She scoffed.
"You talking about trust? That's rich." She said.
"The House of El might have been your friends or family or whatever, but my experience of them was Zor-El. The wannabe war-criminal with a knack for unethical experiments. You wore that symbol so I couldn't take the chance. The only reason we went through that song and dance with the database at all is because time is a factor now. I'd rather have kept you far away from this," he said, projecting his voice through the rushing air with ease. She found herself slowing, slightly. A brief, painful pang stung her chest.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry for what my father did. If I had known I would have done something about it," she said. She had expected some sort of cutting remark or blame, instead he opted to stay silent for a moment.
"Sorry or not, the "doing something" you've gone for nearly killed Sam and Jo. I think it'll be a minor miracle if Perrilus is still alive. This is exactly why I wanted to sort it out without interference," he said. She sped up again, a small pulse from the ring washed away the pang in her chest.
"Oh, get off your damn high horse. Reign was killing people while you were still hanging around in bars. You act like direct action is the worst possible approach but if I left everything to you the World Killers would be taking over the planet unhindered. Time was always a factor, you were just too selfish to notice," she said.
"I'm trying to protect the people the World Killers once were. None of this is their fault," he said. She thought of the Daxamites that had died at her hands. They had been lied to, they genuinely thought Mon-El had been taken against his will and followed the commands of a mad Queen. It was not an exact parallel as those soldiers could have refused to fire on civilians whereas the World Killers had no choice in the matter. Despite that key difference she could not help but think of Kal and his most irritating platitude.
"There's always another way," she growled under her breath. Their conversation was interrupted as the earpiece crackled to life.
"J'onn and Alex are overseeing other matters. I'll be taking point on this one. I'm tracking you via the earpieces, you're nearing the area flagged by the emergency calls." It was Lena's voice.
"Understood, I'll take a high vantage point and start searching," Supergirl said. She looked down to address her dangling passenger "I can drop you off an come back for you, it'll be faster."
"I'm not leaving you alone with Perrilus. Besides, my eyes and ears work just as well as yours," he said. She was in no mood to argue so zipped forward to start the search, again disappointed by how unphased Optic was by the increase is speed. The sub-urban area was quite rural, it was very much on the outskirts of Gotham. The towering cityscape well off on the distant horizon. She could hear coughing and spluttering when she began to focus.
"I assume you hear that too," Optic said.
"Lena, we have people caught in Perrilus' area of effect," she said.
"Find her first, from there you can gauge a safe distance, get people out and let the New York D.E.O. handle the perimeter. We don't have much of an idea on effective radius so any further information you can pass on will help," Lena said.
"You can drop me off with Perrilus, I'll try and talk some sense into her if she's conscious" Optic said.
"You didn't know her beforehand, there's no guarantee she won't attack you," Lena said.
"It's a risk we have to take," he said. There was nothing but quiet static over the line as Lena let his words sit. The ring heated up, it refused to stay satisfied for long and was worming its way back to the surface.
"This man's purpose is to assist and activate the World Killers," Supergirl said.
"If he wanted to cause trouble he could have done so already," Lena said.
"This is the first World Killer he'll get to without any hint of the counterpart, he's not been in this position yet," she said, she struggled to stop her voice from raising.
"I'm not asking you to trust him, I'm asking you to trust me," Lena said. As soon as it had started to pipe up, the ring simmered down. The tension she had in her shoulders drifted away, her grip loosened slightly. It caused Optic to slip.
"Woah, watch it. I can't fly you know," he said, he flailed and tried to grab hold of her hands from his awkward angle.
"Sorry," she said as she reaffirmed her grip on him.
"I know you don't mean it, but I'll take it," he said.
She scanned the area and tried to let her senses from the ring guide her. Optic had gone quiet again, presumably also doing what he could to spot their target. She drifted forward and looked over the fields, gardens and houses below. Fortunately, the area did not seem highly populated. The sickening wrenches barely registered, she ignored them with ease as the static hum of the ring was determined to be heard. The pressure of it all weighed on her, the longer spent searching the less time she had to evacuate the area.
"Lena, I don't know if we have time for this," she said.
"Be patient, stay calm and scan systematically. She might be on the move and we can't proceed without intel," Lena said. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She navigated the array of sound the area had to offer. The distant sound of hands and feet scratched away at the floor from all sides. Desperate people confused by their sudden illness scrambled with any means to try and save themselves. It was somehow more disturbing to only hear these struggles without any faces to match them to. Her breath slowed, she could sense the ring as it pushed one of the many struggling voices through the wash of sound. She drifted toward it, someone was struggling to breath but this was different. There was no gasping or a frantic scramble surrounding it, it was simply slow and shallow with a laboured moan with each inhalation. She sped up, even with her eyes closed she was drawn to it without issue. She was unsure how much time had truly passed, her eyes shot open as Optic's voice broke through the breathing.
"There," he said, pointing to groundward. There was a long streak of burned grass, littered with the shattered wood of garden fences and uprooted trees along the path. At the end of this scorched earth lay Perrilus. She was motionless save for the shallow movement of her chest, up and down with each difficult breath. She descended carefully, never taking her eyes off the World Killer. She remained still when they reached ground level. Optic immediately ran to her side and examined her. She loomed over her injured target, her blood began to boil as the unnerving urge to finish the job willed itself into her thinking. The urge heightened with each slow boom of her heart.
"I'll leave you to it." She knew it was only a matter of time before the ring's agenda would be unbearable to resist. She began to back off, Optic intently stared at the grounded monster. He very tentatively and gently touched her side. There was a sharp inhalation, air rushed through Perrilus' jagged teeth.
"Most of her bones are severely broken. Her ribcage has pierced her lungs," he said. He leaned over Perrilus.
"It's going to be okay, lie as still as you can an keep your breathing as shallow as possible." There was a sudden lurch from Perrilus. She spat out at Optic, who backed up and narrowly dodged the projectile. It landed behind him and fizzed into the ground. It bubbled to nothing quickly. Some severe coughing and attempts to clutch at her chest followed.
"I'd sooner die than listen to a human sympathiser," she stuttered and forced her way through her sentence. Supergirl wanted to leave, each boom spurred on by Perrilus' aggression.
"Wait," Optic said in a hushed tone. He moved close, practically whispering. "Change her back, like you did with Jo and Sam." She stepped back, meeting his intense stare.
"I can't," she said. His eyes narrowed, she could feel a sharp rage come from him with another boom of her heart. The ring pulsed like it was cheering him on.
"Can't, or won't?" He said.
"I don't exactly know how it works, I can't risk putting her through the pain I inflicted on the others when their minds were cleared," she said. It was difficult to keep a reasonable tone, she sounded out each word carefully. The force of the ring's will was building, like a vicious torrent of water against a failing dam.
"That's bull. She will die if she doesn't accept help, a death at her own hands instead of yours is no way to your keep conscience clear," he said. She clenched her fist, her hand seethed as the ring bore itself into her boiling blood.
"Monarch, back down." Lena's voice cut through the overload of her senses ease.
"She…" he started.
"She's telling the truth. You're standing there because I heard you out, now you will hear me out. See that Perrilus doesn't hurt herself. I'm cutting you off the channel for a moment. I'll talk with Supergirl," Lena said. The distain in his face was palpable, the ring flared as she saw the conflict in his mind. With no intensity lost, he stepped back. He had to rip his attention away from her, he chose to crouch down next to a restless Perrilus. Each boom of her heart roared, though it started to slow again. She cooled off and let her body relax as much as it could. The grass gently bristled against her boots. The air around her calmed and she brushed her behind her ear. She turned away from Perrilus at the setting sun and darkening sky.
"I don't know how to save her, Lena," she said.
"You didn't know how to save Sam or Jo either. You managed that," Lena said, her tone was soothing. Like a salve to the unending heat of the ring. Kara sighed.
"I didn't mean to. It was an after-effect of my attacks. I'm not the hero you think I am," she said.
"You're better than you give yourself credit for. Don't ignore what you did for them," Lena said. The positivity she always threw her way could grow tiresome, doubt would be healthy when the ring was involved.
"You don't understand, I had no intention of sparing them like that. I've just been lucky," she said.
"It's not luck. I've learned a little about the Red Lantern Rings. I was warned they always seek the extreme solution with little care for consequence or collateral. With you… Reign and Flower of Heaven may have died, but the people they were lived on. The ring chose to spare them," Lena said.
"Even if that's the case, it's too intense for her now. The ring calls for blood to be satisfied, and I don't think Perrilus can survive what it wants," she said.
"For so long we've talked about fighting the ring, it's hold over you and how to push it away. We've been looking at it as a one-way street. But it's stuck with its resistant host much longer than it's had any reason to. It may have its influence on your mind and body, but I think it's learned from as you well. To hold back from the extremes, perhaps even to show some empathy. You've shown it your way, find this way here and now. No violence, just cleansing Perrilus from an innocent woman," Lena said.
"Another way... it's always a bloody other way. Why can't the path ever be clear?" She said.
"Not another way, your way. It's not the ring, House of El or Supergirl that saves people. Save her like you've saved so many others. Show the ring your greatest power, that hero that you've always been to me, the strength of Kara Danvers," Lena said.
She looked back at Perrilus, though he was a couple of feet away Optic still watched over her closely. As she stepped forward there was another pulse from the ring, it was different. The heat was not searing and that strange weight that would come over her was not a burden. The peculiar sensations of them both seemed to combine. She almost shivered from the cool waves that circulated around her body. The boom of her heart was still with her, the ring's hum droned on. As she considered Lena's words further, she found herself steadied. The chaos of her mind subsided, if only a little. She crouched next to her, Perrilus struck out at her and wheezed from the ground. The hits that landed did nothing and were easily ignored.
She rubbed her hands together, the warmth passed between them. She concentrated on her ring and let its will come through to her. That yearning to eliminate Perrilus sounding out as shouts through the hum.
"My way," she muttered under her breath. Her time before the ring, the conversations with Bleez about control, Lena's voice, all these memories coalesced as she lay her hand on the restless World Killer. The warmth passed through her hand and a red glow engulfed Perrilus. The bared teeth hid away as Perrilus' mouth closed. The lashing out slowed and fell away to nothing as the glow shone around her scaled boy. Optic quietly knelt the other side of her, he watched wordlessly as Perrilus became still and calm. After less than a minute she felt drained, she lifted her hand and sat back. The red glow gradually subsided, the brightness faded amongst the dusk-lit sky until only a hint of the red remained. The world was quiet, Optic looked at her inquisitively
The stillness was broken with a lurch and sharp inhalation from Perrilus.
"What's going on? Where am I?" She winced in pain at her sudden movement.
"Stay as still as you can. I'm here to help," Optic said. Her arm moved as if she wanted to hold her head, only to be reduced to shock as there was only a broken vine to greet her.
"What am I? I feel like I'm everywhere at once," she said. She wheezed through the words. Though there was panic in her eyes, she remained mostly still. Without a hand to hold Optic gently placed a hand on her shoulder, it barely made contact but seemed to reassure the woman in some way.
"Watch your thoughts, allow them to sit and then let them go. Focus on me, reel that feeling of everywhere in and return to yourself," He said. Her head slowly turned to meet his gaze, there was an understanding in her eyes.
"What's your name?" He asked
"Beth," she said.
"Beth. You can call me Spark, I'm here to help," he said.