She made her way back down to the central control of the D.E.O., the atmosphere was more relaxed than she had seen in a while. She scanned the room for Lena, there was no sign of her in the main area. A quick use of her heightened senses revealed to her that Lena was with Sam in the medical wing, she was intercepted on her way out by Fletcher.
"Hi Supergirl, can I just have a quick word?" He said. Supergirl looked through the wall past him at Lena. She turned to him and sighed.
"Sure," she said.
"Is the other Red Lantern here? I wanted to talk to her as well," he said, her initial suspicion was staved away by his calm demeanour. The ring was also staying relatively quiet, for whatever that meant any more.
"She's gone, has her own work to do," she said.
"No matter, you can pass the message on. We've had our differences, you and I especially, though when it came down to it and the planet was in danger, you both stepped up. I won't forget that. I'll let Hal and the Guardians know too," he said. She nodded slightly and tapped at her chin.
"Appreciated… so you're a green Lantern? Can't say I expected that," she said. He laughed slightly.
"You and me both, I didn't want to waste that chance you gave me back when I was in the armour. Though misguided my goal was always to help people. You helped me see through the fog of my anger. Maybe it was a coincidence, maybe it was the push you gave me. Either way the ring wanted to give me that same chance, it just felt right you know? A chance to protect people the right way. I only wish I could have done the same for Deimax," he said.
"I'm sorry had to cut you off on that front. You may have gotten through to her eventually, but she was doing too much damage," she said.
"I get it, and you have to hand it to me. Even at my worst I was a tad more rational than her," he said.
"Eh, borderline," she said. He let out a small laugh, folded his arms and looked at the ground briefly.
"Well she'll be contained on Oa soon, I intend to keep checking up on her. Along with the man with many names. Hopefully we can get through to the woman she once was," he said.
Even though it was winding down, the D.E.O. was still currently a wealth of activity, J'onn and Alex emerged from it to join them.
"Am I wrong, or is this a pleasantly calm interaction," J'onn said.
"Yes, somehow the Green and the Red are getting along. When Hal gets here we'll take Deimax to Oa," Fletcher said.
"I take it you'll be back shortly after?" J'onn said.
"I'll make your case to the Guardians, but the Daxamite situation is still a bone of contention. It won't go away any time soon," Fletcher said.
"Understood," J'onn was very accepting of the situation, he did not let the silence sit long and looked to her. "Well things should ease up now the World Killers are off the board, and we can at least get that ring off you now."
"I'm afraid she can't" Fletcher said. The ring sprang to some sort of life as she saw Alex's expression harden.
"I mean, you're right. But what makes you say that?" Supergirl said, more intrigued than anything. She saw Alex's jaw clench, she knew her sister well enough to know she was holding back her tongue.
"The Red Lanterns are more active than ever, their leader along with large gatherings of them have been spotted all over the universe. Something big is happening with your corps," He turned to her "And though I can only guess, I'd say you have a large part to play in it." She kept an eye on Alex when she nodded.
"If you'll excuse me, I need to debrief more of the team," Alex said, she turned on her heel and move off quickly. It did not take the ring's senses to tell how angry she was, it was in her voice and all over her face. It was crushing to see the small progress they had made disappear in a few sentences. J'onn did his best to not let the tension distract him and soldiered through the conversation.
"I hope you'll keep me apprised of this situation. Unless there's any protest, Supergirl can continue to operate on Earth," he said.
"No protest here, as long as she largely stays out of any Earth Government's command structures, the Guardians can't kick up too much of a stink," Fletcher said. The discussion petered out, she considered checking in on Alex but quickly dismissed it. No doubt it would end poorly and she needed some time to process it herself. Instead she made her way through to the medical wing. Plenty of tired agents were packing things away, putting on coats and heading out. Though she no longer suffered exhaustion in the same way, it was easy to relate to the staff sluggishly shuffling out the door. From field agent to analyst, the piles of coffee mugs and lethargic movement meant they must have been on round-the-clock shifts while the World Killers were a potential threat. Some of them acknowledged her, but for the most part she was ignored as she walked through the open spaces of monitors and through to the glass panelling of the medical wing. The blinds to her room were not drawn so she could see through this section unaided. Sam was sat up on the bed with a beaker of clear liquid in her hand. Lena was facing away from the corridor she was approaching from. Sam winced as she gulped from the beaker.
"Come on, it's the last dose," Lena said.
"Would a sweetener have ruined the antidote?" Sam said, frowning at the half-finished concoction.
"Yes. Now it's either a bad taste in the mouth or Perrilus' poison, I'll let you decide which you prefer," Lena said.
"You were a lot nicer when you installed the arm," Sam said, there was a brief smirk before she looked down and the reality of the antidote's taste hit her again.
"You didn't complain about the arm," Lena said. Sam necked the rest, she swallowed hard and coughed. Her face was a picture of disgust, confusion quickly entered the mix as she noticed Supergirl.
"Hello?" Sam said. The antidote was still taking its toll, she stuck her tongue out and heaved slightly. Lena turned, her face lit up before her own confusion merged into her expression.
"Supergirl? What brings you here?" Lena said.
"Just checking in," she said, she poked her head around the doorway. Sam looked to Lena and then at her.
"Erm… come in, come in. Sorry, caught me off-guard is all," Sam said. She stepped through, the subtle whirs of the mechanical arm somehow broke through the hum as Sam placed the beaker on a side-table. "Lena was just telling me everyone's accounted for, mission successful or whatever they say around here."
"Something like that…" she had come in for Lena but realised there were things that needed to be said. The remorselessness she experienced when talking to Ruby seemed like a distant memory. The ring protested in its own way, sending spiking sensations of cold at her as she put the words together in her head. "That man you saw, the one that made you a World Killer. He was my father. I guess I can apologise on his behalf what he did to you." She looked at her feet briefly before she took a deep breath and glanced up again. "But it wasn't him that cut your arm off. I know an apology may not mean much but…"
"I don't need this." Sam cut her off and put her hand out. "My time as Reign was blurry, I'm only vaguely aware of what she did. What I do know for sure is that she hurt a lot of people, you included. You hurt her back and kicked her out of my head, I'm willing to leave it at that," Sam said. Lena's gaze darted between the two of them. Supergirl shook her hand, it sounded like Sam wanted to dwell on it as little as she did. It was little relief. As she had told Bleez, it was a least something she could attempt to learn and move on from now.
"Besides, everything seems to have worked out… for the most part," Sam said as she side-eyed the empty beaker.
"What will you do now?" She said to pre-empt any awkward silence.
"Go home to my daughter I imagine," Sam said.
"Not yet you're not. You need to stay here another night to rest and confirm the antidote's worked properly," Lena said. Sam pouted at her "I've made sure she's being looked after. One more night no weaselling out of it." Supergirl was in disbelief as to how casual Sam was being, she could not help herself but ask.
"Surely It can't be that easy for you?" She said. Sam shrugged.
"Eh, maybe not. I know for a fact I'm going to be a public figure now. A mask doesn't exactly cover my skin and unique prosthetic, I can take that as it comes. As for Krypton, I certainly have a lot of thinking to do on that front. Will it be easy? Probably not. But I have the support I need. And as for right now, I can simply look forward to seeing my daughter," Sam said.
"But what my father did to you…" she said
"Is in the past. He said it himself, we're Krypton's legacy. Might as well make it a good one," Sam said. It was odd to be blindsided by Sam's reaction, she had no idea how to react to it.
"Well Sam needs her rest and it's been a long day," Lena stepped up, she must have read her discomfort in that instant.
"Thanks, guess I'll see you soon" Sam said. Lena took Supergirl's arm and they walked out together. They passed Optic on their way out, he was leaned against the wall opposite Sam's room. He wordlessly gave Lena a nod. Supergirl craned her neck back before they turned a corner to see him dip into Sam's room. She could see a grin rise on his face as he entered the room.
"Are you alright, Supergirl," Lena said. She snapped her attention back to her, Lena still had her by the arm and they were headed back through to the main control room.
"I… don't know," she said. Lena smiled.
"Fair enough, been a long day for all of us," Lena said. The beeping of medical devices faded into the background when they cleared the medical wing. Even in the short time she had left, it looked quite bare in the command centre. J'onn and Fletcher were nowhere to be seen and the once-crowded space had been reduced to a skeleton crew of mostly fresh faces.
"I've only been in and out of this place in the last couple of months, I dare say this is the most relaxed I've ever seen it," Lena said. Supergirl half-acknowledged her.
"Can I walk home with you?" She said. Lena looked taken a back. "Not like this of course, I mean as Kara Danvers."
"The weather's not great..." Lena's warm smile returned. "Some fresh evening air could do us some good."
"I'll meet you outside," she said. She set out and left the shining panels and glowing screens of the D.E.O. behind her. It was easy enough to be out of sight with the dim street lighting and the day's events. She tied her hair back and materialised some civilian clothing. She debated whether to bother with the glasses. She opted for them despite these spare frames itching at the bridge of her nose. She moved round to the front of the building, a few minutes later Lena emerged. Lena shivered slightly as a breeze rushed against her coat. Supergirl looked around, with the coast clear she materialised a coat of her own. Cold was easy to forget with boiling blood.
Lena spotted her quickly and strode over to her.
"Well hello, Miss Danvers. Nice night for a stroll wouldn't you say?" She said. Supergirl smiled back and beckoned her to start walking. The soft lights of the eerily quiet National City street was a pleasant backdrop. They went at a sauntering pace, Lena took hold of her arm occasionally as the wind picked up in strength every so often. They allowed the first minutes to be quiet, enjoying each other's company and Lena no doubt happy for the warmth that huddling with a Red Lantern provided. The heaviness of her chest and shoulders that emerged when the ring was being fussy reared its head. Though this time she let it fester and pushed away the hum. Lena looked back and forth through the empty street before speaking.
"So, now all is said and done. How are you?" Lena said.
"Like I said, I don't know. But I think that's okay," she said.
"Not angry?" Lena said. There was a flare of heat from the ring, she smiled.
"Always a little angry. Just as things got better with Alex, she found out I have to keep the ring," she said.
"She'll come around. She can be as stubborn as you, but she's also just as resilient," Lena said.
"Stubborn?" She said. Lena raised an eyebrow at her. "Alright, that's fair."
Kara looked to the sky as Lena chuckled to herself, there was not much to see as clouds had rolled in. Boiling blood made it hard to tell when it colder, she could only guess that it was happening as Lena huddled toward. She gently squeezed Lena closer.
"You know what, enough about me. How are you doing?" She said.
"I'm fine, a bit tired after today," Lena said. Supergirl glanced sideways at Lena, she had picked up the pace ever so slightly.
"You don't need to cover for my sake, how are you?" She said. Lena pulled up slightly and looked into her eyes for a moment contemplatively. Supergirl did her best to stave away anything the ring might try. Lena looked back to the path. She spoke up after a few steps
"It's been taxing from time to time. As calm as Sam is now, it took a lot of work to get there. Not to mention my own hang ups with what she was," Lena said.
"I must admit, I'm jealous of how much she's taking it in stride. In a weird way I'm relieved that she needed your help as much I do," she said. Lena seemed to perk up at this. She looked up at the sky again as she felt a patter of droplets hit her face. The rain sputtered to a start.
"Seeing you and her work through everything is enough to keep me going, it always will be. Even when I feel most stressed, I know it's worth it," Lena said.
"Well from now on, don't be afraid to tell me if you feel strained. Ring or not, this has been a one-way street for too long," she said.
"Thank you, Kara," Lena said. The drizzle of the rain picked up, not overly heavy but it was becoming bothersome. Lena pulled away and fished into her bag.
"I can shield us if you want," she said.
"The streets may be empty, but a glowing red umbrella may be a tad conspicuous," Lena said as she propped up her own umbrella. She leaned under it as the drops pattered away above them.
"Not exactly what I had in mind when I suggested this, I can fly you the rest of the way if you like," she said. Lena moved the umbrella to cover her better.
"I'm happy right here," Lena said with a smile. Another gust pushed at the umbrella, Lena arched it forward to stop it picking up underneath. Another spatter of rain hit them, it did little to damper their spirits. Even with the ring wiling away in the background, she got caught up in Lena's good mood.
"It's days like these I'm glad my cape's gone. You know a poll I saw said that people prefer the Red Lantern look to my classic one?" She said.
"Wow, really? Not what I expected," Lena said, she had hesitated a tad too long. She pulled back and squinted at Lena, who avoided making any eye contact back.
"You prefer it too, don't you?" She said. Lena puffed her cheeks.
"Pffft, no," Lena said. Kara side-eyed her before she looked back down the empty straight and leaned in closer for more umbrella cover. She enjoyed her warmth as their footsteps splashed in lockstep down the darkened streets of National City.
Thanks for reading
There will be a part 3. It will focus on the grander scale of the Lanterns and tie up the loose ends in Kara's relationships. I intend to do some shorter, unrelate one-shots in the meantime as finalizing the structure and hammering out part 3 will likely take quite some time.
As ever, comments/reviews are greatly appreciated and I hope you've enjoyed what I've written.