"Aahhhh!" Powergirl's screams pierced the air causing the building she was sheltered in to tremble.
"Careful! Stop moving! You're just making—this worse—for yourself," Maxwell Lord grunted as he struggled to pull out a piece of kryptonite from Supergirl. The Kryptonian had arrived injured from a recent scuffle with the DEO. It was a painful fight that she could've easily turned in her favour, but she needed to get some kryptonite samples she didn't have. And what better way to get it than stage a fight with the only government operation that had a large supply of it.
"Before you get started on the experiments, I need you to synthesise more of that Red K. I can feel it start to wear off. She," Kara pointed at her head as she picked herself up from the chair she was slumped in a couple minutes ago, "She is starting to come out. And she won't like what we've been doing."
It was true that Supergirl was dealing with issues in her Psyche. While she was Powergirl now, a ruthless alien planning on getting revenge and acquiring power, there was still a side of her that was Supergirl, the girl with a family she loved and a world she owed everything to. It put a strain on her mental health. She wasn't fully sure which one she was. But she was sure that she didn't want to be weak anymore. And she considered the Supergirl persona to be riddled with weaknesses. Like a disease.
"Here," Maxwell tossed her a syringe with a red liquid that glowed at her touch. "Inject it while your skin is still being affected by the Kryptonite." He left her to do her thing. He had important research to do. "Oh actually, before I go. While you've been romping around the country with that cousin of yours. Your other half of the family has been taking down my satellites and highjacking them. That's just gotta stop, that equipment is expensive." Kara gave him a look of acknowledgement goading him to leave.
She massaged the part of her arm where the needle had penetrated the skin. For someone invulnerable to barrelling trains and bullets, the invasion of a needle on her body was a nuisance she wasn't used to.
Power surged through her body as she closed her eyes. Once again all of the doubts and worries that were starting to surface were pushed down under the surface. She wanted to find a way to make this permanent. She knew she would eventually be successful in that. Or else that Batman character wouldn't have travelled back to the past to stop her. The question was how long would it take? And with a time traveller here would her future change? Did she want it to change? Was it a future she wanted? Or was it one that would make her, even in the current state she was in, shiver.
She was thinking. And thinking was dangerous. It was bad. It could derail everything she was planning if she thought for long enough. She had to stop thinking.
"Don't doubt yourself Powergirl. You will win. Everyone else will perish, just like Winn," she cracked a smile. She savoured that kill. It was her first death. Her first human death. Batman ruined the attempt she made on Cat Grant. But no one was able to stop Winn from dying. That moment separated the old her from the new her. It was her rebirth.
Alex followed Hank who was carrying a small canister. She herself was holding a piece of Kryptonite. Her face showed distaste at the plan that was going to unfold. She still felt love towards her sister. Not even the attack on her face or the murder of Winn was enough to water it down.
All of the DEO agents were gathered around Superman gawking at the most powerful man in the planet. Possibly even in the entire galaxy.
He was bruised, however; bandaged too. His fights against his cousin were tough. The only other Kryptonians he had to fight before were Zod and his followers. But they were weak as they never got used to the yellow sun's effects.
Now he was fighting Supergirl and her side of the family that survived the destruction of Krypton. Non and his acolytes were starting to get desperate now, which was shown by their increasing activity, thanks to Supergirl's sudden turn.
And Supergirl was not only more experienced in using her powers more so than Non, but her body was much better at processing the radiation. But it didn't mean that she was stronger than him.
As Alex got close to the Kryptonian, he doubled over in pain as the proximity to the kryptonite started to poison him. Green thick veins appeared and the worried DEO agents struggled to help him.
"Oh. I'm so sorry," Alex backed away enough for Superman to stop spazzing.
"I take it you found the kryptonite," Superman offered a weak laugh.
Alex bit her lip. Out of all people, Superman should be the one siding with her on giving Supergirl another chance. But instead, he was the one who offered coordinates to the kryptonite stash he entrusted on STAR LABS.
That's where he and his cousin had a difference. Kara wanted kryptonite wipes off the face of the earth completely. Even before she became affected by the Red. And Superman wanted to make sure that only the most trusted people would have access to his weakness. In case anything ever went bad. Like right now.
"You don't care about Kara, do you?" Alex asked.
Superman turned to her in disbelief.
"Alex," Hank began.
"No Hank. Let her talk. I wanna hear what she means."
"You want to hear what I mean? Okay. Then hear this. I'm trying to save my sister. Meanwhile, you have all given up on her and want her out of this world. You don't even care if she gets hurt in the process either. Have you forgotten all of the good she's done so far?" Tears ran down her face. The Fate of her sister was a delicate topic for her.
"So you don't think I care? Is that right? What we are doing can hurt me too and will banish me from the planet, leaving it vulnerable and I will also have to leave the people that I love. Not to mention that Kara is the last part of Krypton I have left. The last living relative and up until a month ago she was the only other good Kryptonian that I had ever met. So why don't you enlighten me on my sins now, Alex," Superman glared at her.
Alex finally came to her senses. She realized everything that Superman was sacrificing for the good of the planet. Supergirl had destroyed cities and killed people in the process. Yet here she wanting things for herself no matter the cost.
She left running. Tears trailed behind her.
The DEO agents that had heard everything were furious. With Alex, Hank, and Superman. The one person that they worked with that could vaporize them with but a glare had turned on them. It created a fear in them that they had never felt before. They always knew that dealing with alien threats could result in their own danger. But they had always succeeded in apprehending the extraterrestrials.
After Supergirl made her appearance, the aliens they fought became increasingly stronger and the criminals of fort rozz made themselves known. It was all her fault they believed. And that belief was even stronger now that she turned. She was a traitor to the earth and the people she once promised to protect. Same with Hank.
He was an alien in disguise the whole time. He should be stripped of his position right now actually, but the issues with Supergirl forced the government to rethink that decision. So they let him stay among them to oversee her defeat.
Everything they have been fighting for was just stripped away under a year.
"She made you doubt yourself didn't she?" Hank asked seeing the puzzled look on Superman's face as he looked at the device that would bring an end to his time on earth.
The rest of the DEO agents went about their routines once they saw that Alex wasn't going to do anything to affect the chain of command. If she had tried to do them, most of them would surely have backed her up. Even if it was to save Supergirl in the process. They just didn't want an alien to be in charge anymore. But they couldn't say anything to defy their commander. Or rather, they were too scared to do so after the revelation.
"Maybe," Superman replied after some thought.
Hank laughed as he recognised the effect the woman he had come to consider a daughter had. "Yeah. She's more of a people person than I am. And she's done that to me a couple times too. So, do we give her some time?"
"Yes," he nodded. "But if there is a sign of deadly trouble, we're going to push the button no matter how we feel about anything."
Everything was dark when I woke up. My head hurt. Actually, my entire body hurt. I found myself soon to be restrained though. I couldn't really move much. Cables were wrapped around my hand and my legs were tangled in cloth. Panic took control. I had to get out of here. The Power Droids finally found me and captured me. Bruce! No wait, Bruce was dead. I travelled to the past. What was going on?
"You're going to hurt yourself," a voice stopped me. I wasn't alone. Of course, I wasn't alone. How else would I end up in this tangle of a mess?
"Who are you?! What do you want," I growled. The voice sounded feminine and familiar. Could it be Powergirl? My head was a mess right now, I couldn't think straight. And right now me not being able to see because of a blindfold was making it worse for me.
"Whoa whoa whoa," footsteps then hands pressed against my skin. I didn't have a shirt. "Please, I'm here to help you. I'm not going to do anything bad, I promise. Just calm down," her hands slipped under the blindfold and lifted it up to reveal herself to me. It was the girl from the counter at the motel office.
"Wha… wha… how did you find me? How did you bring me here?" I began to bombard her with questions. The last thing I remembered was being shoved through a time rift. The vortex of colours brainwashing me as it took me on a long trip that seemed to be infinite and eternal.
"You just crashed into the main office in your full suit. I had to wipe the footage and say that I was robbed to explain away the mess you made with your entrance. That was a day or two ago. I've been taking care of you since." That made sense actually. Hard as it would be to believe, I've dealt with such strange things.
I looked around at the room I was in. The closest thing to medical equipment around was a first aid kit and a table filled with pills and a tray of water where a towel was being soaked in. There were two beds in here. The one I was in and another which had the sheets a mess. She must've been staying here full time to make sure I was recovering fine. And in a chair in the corner was my suit. A bit torn on the sleeves and torso but still in relatively good shape compared to all the other scuffles I had with Powergirl in the Future.
"You've been taking care of me?"
"Yeah."
"But why?" I couldn't think of a reason why someone like her would risk so much keeping me safe when I did something to aggravate Powergirl. She could get into big trouble with the Kryptonian and with me asleep she wouldn't stand a chance in a fight with her. I shuddered at the thought of what could happen to the girl just because she wanted to protect me.
"Because it's the right thing to do. You've saved people and stood up to Powergirl. Right now we need someone like you to protect us from a powerful and scary alien." The fear in her eyes was strong. She was putting so much faith into me even though she didn't know me. I was just some guy who wandered into her family's motel. A random customer. Sure I saved some people. Mainly Cat Grant. But in essence, I was still a complete stranger who might not be who he seemed.
"Not all aliens are bad. Supergirl is just one of the… well, one of the few who seems like that," I countered with a gasp of pain as I moved to sit up on the bed.
"Really? Cause it seems like the opposite to me," the girl took out her phone and started tapping away. "Here. Superman defeats Plant Woman from space. Supergirl defeats Kryptonian Queen, husband still at large." She narrowed her eyes as she proved her point. "Looks like good aliens are fewer than the bad ones. And Supergirl who was supposed to be one of the good ones easily turned on us once she gained our trust. Now there are people still trying to defend her actions. In the week you were gone, a cult has developed around her."
"I can see your point. But it's easy to cast a view on an entire demographic. If I can remind you, in this time period, there are more wars fought against other humans than there are against aliens. There is an argument to be made that humans are equally if not worse than aliens," I rebuked.
—As if things couldn't go any worse, we have been issued an alert to stay indoors because of a woman that can somehow scream...posing a…heading to CatC…—
"I have to go now," I said looking at the failed news broadcast.
She couldn't do anything now after my speech other than nod. I was about to step out the door before I felt her hand on my shoulder.
"You're going to need this," she pushed the former tatters of my suit against my chest. "I tried my best to sew it back together. But with the wires and machinery inside, it was kind of a pain to do," she half-smiled.
"Thank you. It's better than nothing."
"Linda."
I looked at her confused. "Excuse me?"
"My name is Linda. Linda Daniels."
"You don't want to do this, trust me, Siobhan," Terry said as he landed in front of her. "You do not know who Kara really is," he warned.
"I know who she is," Siobhan glared at him. "She's the bitch who ruined my life."
She didn't want to fight him. She knew who he was. He was a real hero. The hero this city actually needed. Supergirl was never the hero she claimed to be. But this guy didn't stick around to claim the fame like Supergirl once did. She respected him for that. He came in did what he needed to do and left. That's what a good hero was.
"Look I don't want to fight you. You're a good guy in my opinion. Unlike Supergirl, even before she revealed who she really was. And my beef isn't with any of you both. I just want that slut, Kara Danvers," she growled.
She began walking away from Batman before a Batarang sliced through the air next to her ear.
"That was a warning shot. Next one goes right into the hea…"
Batman was launched into the air with a short sonic burst. His rockets sputtered a bit as they rected his orientation.
He turned in midair and glided his way into the woman before she could realise what happened. Once she was knocked out he slapped on some manacles forcing her hands behind her back. He was officially out of fuel now and wouldn't be able to fly her to the DEO.
A bunch of people now realising that the threat was gone and dealt with came out to cheer their hero.
"Shit. I don't have a way to get out of here," no sooner did the words leave his mouth when Superman landed beside him causing the cheers to grow even louder.
"Need help?"
Before Batman could answer Superman grabbed his shoulders and flew into the sky away from the public's presence. The Kryptonian wanted to tell his plan to the man who tried to save the world. It was the least he could do after what he did.
In the DEO Facility, Terry took off his costume for the first time in response to the offer of fixing it and perhaps using an alternate fuel source for the AI. If they could find it Terry would be able to have his old friend back. Plus he also needed the fuel for his boosters.
"That's your plan?"
Hank looked pointedly at the young man, "Do you think this could work. Yes or no." It wasn't really said as a question and was more of a statement.
"Well in the future, the DEO tried to do this but were stopped by Powergirl before it was able to launch. So I'm not sure. If we can keep Powergirl in the dark about this plan then I imagine it could be a success," Terry said after thinking for a moment.
"Good. All we need is a chance," Superman thanked Batman. "You do the legacy name justice, Terry."
"After all this, I really hope I can meet Bruce in his prime," Terry gave a sheepish smile.
"Careful. We don't want to change…"
Terry interrupted him knowing what he was going to say already and explained that that's what he was trying to do in the first place. Any future was better than the one where Powergirl reigns supreme.
"Well then. I wish I could say that I would love to introduce you to him. But when this is done, I won't have a home here anymore."
Superman looked distant. He was sacrificing a lot this time to save the world from his own blood.
"I'm sorry, Superman. I know you have a family. It must be hard for you to do this."
"I do this for her. There is no other option. Not anymore."
Maxwell was frantic. His sensors just picked up a blip of kryptonite other than his own stash he was using to create Synth K. It wasn't much, at least that's what his sensors said. But a recent talk with one of his contacts revealed that Lex Corp recently lost an experiment that could poison the atmosphere with any mineral.
Powergirl wasn't going to be happy about this. He had to figure out a way to stop this from happening.
"What are you doing, Maxwell?" The Kryptonian entered the room making the billionaire nervous.
She slumped herself over the man's shoulder in an effort of affection. She viewed him as her saviour. Without his mistake, she would have never been able to know what true freedom was.
"What's on your mind?" She asked.
"The civilian casualties have gone up. Your fights with your cousin have been increasing in danger. Several cities have been demolished because of your carelessness," Maxwell said in an effort to cover up his worries.
Though he was worried about the kryptonite right now, all of the unnecessary deaths that have happened were nagging him. He wanted to save humanity. Not destroy it. Was he wrong about his alliance with Powergirl?
Now was not the time for him to doubt himself yet he couldn't help but to do so.
"You told me not to care about that stuff for now as long as I left national city standing. I quote, 'In order for humanity to remain safe, there must be casualties to tie us together, separate us from the aliens and make ourselves stronger. But with you by my side, we shall lead them all to a new age,'," Kara said dramatically.
Maxwell nodded remembering his words.
"Except that you've been making a name for yourself by straight up murdering people. Those aren't casualties that you couldn't avoid anymore. They are taints on your record. Not to mention that you are the DEO's top priority now. They won't rest until you're stopped and now I think they plan to get rid of you by poisoning the atmosphere. And I don't know what to do about it," Maxwell couldn't stop anymore. His rant went too far and he couldn't take it back anymore.
"What do you mean they can poison the atmosphere?"
Maxwell rubbed his eyes, "Last night, Lex Corp had a break in. A canister was stolen and I'm told that it can eject any mineral or material into the atmosphere and lace it with it. So in other words, they can poison the air with kryptonite driving you away."
Kara shook her head. This was stupid. The stupidest theory she ever heard. "If they do that, my cousin will also be forced to leave this world, not to mention that they have no clue what the effects of that act can even manifest into!"
"I think they don't care anymore. They're acting like cornered animals, so I imagine that safety has been thrown out the window. Because I don't imagine they have another computer genius like that Winn you killed that can decipher the effects of that thing."
"No." She shook her head. "Winn was the only genius and he wasn't even formally employed by the agency yet. He was just some freelancer." Kara paced back in forth before coming up with an idea. "I know how to fix this."
Before Maxwell could say anything, Kara vanished causing a rush of air to whip up in the room.
Non wasn't happy. All of his plans were just about to go to the trash. The recent turn in his niece's alignment screwed with his plans. Now that she didn't care about casualties there was no way he could easily get to the satellites or even control the world for that matter. She would just plough right through the people he would set up as defences as if they were nothing but bugs.
He really messed up by refusing to take into account this sort of action in her. He was so sure that she was never going to change. His wife's efforts were failures after all. So how was he supposed to know that this could've been a possible outcome?
"My Lord?" a voice shook him. "Shall we deploy the satellites?"
Non looked up to the screen ignoring the presence of his Kryptonian followers behind him. Indigo was looking at him waiting for his order.
"Yes. Launch myriad. We can wait no longer. With Supergirl not as herself, we face a greater risk by waiting."
Because there are already a few seasons of Supergirl out, writing this fiction will be a lot easier to do as I will have a sense of where to go and how to set up plots. Plus knowing that there is time travel in the show makes it so that I can set things that happen in the future that also bleeds into the past a bit easier. So, one of my oldest fics will finally have a completed first section before the year is over. This is nostalgic. Thank you to the ones who have been with me since the beginning. Those who are silent and those who have made themselves known like