Chapter 129: Questions

Astra waited anxiously in the main hub of the Hub City A.R.G.U.S. base. A recent addition to the area, built in response to Martian Manhunter settling himself into the city as its resident protector, it was considerably smaller than the bases in Star or Central, but no less secure. A.R.G.U.S. refused to settle for anything less, and the black budget to support it. Just as well, for who was about to come through that door.

Another Kryptonian child, sent here? She thought, biting the corner of her lip. How did we miss this? Why is she young like Kara? And why is it she has those extra powers?

When word had come in about this… Purity, she didn't know what to think. The only children she had known to have escaped the destruction of Krypton were Kara and Kal-El. They're the only ones that could have, to be perfectly honest — the Science Council had been more than content to just not ignore Jor-El's warnings about Krypton's unstable core, but also actively suppress it. Most of the general population had been unaware of what was to come until the last hours, unable to make any contingencies the House of El had managed to make for their two youngest members, and even those who had known were restricted in their ability to act until it was too late.

Astra had been one of those unlucky few, due to being Zor-El's sister-in-law, and her fate had been to be shuttered into Fort Rozz, forced to float in the Phantom Zone with her planet's worst criminals until the end of the time. Just the very thought of that caused her bones to ache, and for once she felt grateful that Indigo had managed to do the impossible and allowed them all to escape. Especially when it had reunited her with Kara, in the end. An unconventional escape from Krypton's destruction, but an escape, nonetheless.

And yet, there had been another escape. This Julia Freeman, or Purity, or whatever she called herself was proof of that. An escape that had allowed a Kryptonian child to land on this planet, undetected, and be raised as a normal human child, completely unaware of her heritage. No irregularities in her history to indicate the standard Kryptonian powers she should have awoken at a young age, much like Kara and Kal-El had when they first arrived on this Earth. And now an extra set of powers, the ability to produce soundwaves and induce vertigo on others had appeared in her, yet only after a strange awakening or transformation.

None of it made sense. This girl might be of Kryptonian origin, but Astra was beginning to realize she was anything but a normal Kryptonian. And the former general had no idea where she came from.

"Aunt Astra!"

"Little one," Astra greeted her niece as Kara appeared down the hallway, dressed in her Supergirl uniform. "Have you brought in the Freemans? How was the interrogation?"

Kara shook her head. "There was none. The Freemans are dead."

Astra blinked when she heard that, turning to look at her niece with a disbelieving look. "Truly? But everything indicates them to still be alive — even Julia Freeman believed them to be alive!" The girl had been worried, after all, of being forced back home by her parents, before she had been… possessed, by whatever entity was controlling her body now.

"Which is surprising, as she's more than likely the one who killed them," Kara responded, further shocking her aunt. "The agents that went to pick them up found the home unattended, with the neighbors claiming the two went on an abrupt vacation about a week ago. Considering the situation, the agents sped a warrant through and tore the place top-to-bottom, and found the bodies buried near a shed in the backyard. Preliminary diagnosis is the same MO as the Hub City spree killer, though only a full autopsy will be able to confirm that."

"Their daughter killed them?"

"Either her, or whatever the hell is currently possessing her and calling itself 'Purity'." Kara gave her a look. "Any of that ring a bell?"

"None," said Astra, looking pale. "I've been thinking about it all day, reviewing everything I knew about what was going on during Krypton's last days before I was imprisoned on Fort Rozz, and there's nothing I know of another child escaping the planet's destruction. So many few knew about Jor-El's claims until the end, and even fewer had the means to prepare and secure transportation for themselves or others. And not a single one of them I knew of had a young child Julia's age. I don't know where she came from."

The younger woman sighed. "I figured that might be the case, especially when Jor-El couldn't find anything either, even with Julia's DNA." She wringed her hands together. "He's analyzing it now, seeing how her genetic structure differs from ours, but… Aunt Astra, she's not a normal Kryptonian. And that's giving me a very bad feeling about this."

Astra made a face, making it all too clear to Kara that she wasn't the only one that had that kind of feeling. Seeing as her aunt was one of Krypton's top generals, her instincts had to be top notch, as good as Kara's own. If she didn't like this…

Before anyone could say more on the matter, a breach finally opened. Martian Manhunter exited first, restraining who could only be Julia Freeman, the one who called herself Purity. After them was Green Arrow and Black Canary, a few A.R.G.U.S. agents, and finally Vibe, who closed the breach behind them. The group marched up to them, with Manhunter and Purity at the head.

The duo stopped in front of the Kryptonians, who took the moment to observe the woman that had caused all this commotion, taking particular note of the strangeness of her eyes. She in turn took them both in, before smirking slightly.

"The Last Daughter of the House of El, and her aunt, one of the failures of Krypton," Purity snarked in Kryptonese.

Aunt and niece reeled back in shock. "You know of us?" Astra hissed. "How can that be? Who are you?"

The other woman looked at her cooly. "The girl runs around bearing the Sigil of the House of El. It wasn't hard to figure out. And as for you... Well, wouldn't you like to know?"

"We will find out who you are, Purity," Kara shot back. "And you will tell us why you are here, and what you are after. So make it easier on yourself and talk."

"Try your best, scion of the House of El," Purity replied, now speaking in English, "You'll find it will be much harder than you think."

With that, she fell silent. Once it was clear they weren't getting any more out of her, J'onn continued to march her away, towards the reinforced holding cells. Vibe followed him, while the A.R.G.U.S. agents dispersed, no doubt ready to file their reports and log Purity into the systems.

Green Arrow and Black Canary stayed behind, however, approaching their fellow Star City vigilante and her aunt. Both looked grim. "Sister," Oliver started, "there's something you need to hear."

He opened one of the seams of his suit and took out a small recording device, one usually used to record the confessions of many of the white collar criminals he usually attacked. After some fiddling, he pressed the play button, allowing the sound of the recording to fill the air. As the two woman heard the words that spilled out of Purity's mouth during that confrontation, they began to pale.

"What did she say?" Black Canary asked, the only person present not familiar with Kryptonese.

"'The three will walk across the land and the blood of the weak will water the new world,'" Supergirl translated for her, voice trembling.

"That sounds like a prophecy. Do either of you recognize it?"

Kara immediately shook her head. "I don't. But it stirs something in me, nonetheless. Aunt Astra?"

"Same, little one. I want to say they sound familiar, but for some reason…" Astra swallowed, crossing her arms, thinking hard. "It's just not ringing a bell. Green Arrow, can I have the recording? I'll enter in the Fortress of Solitude's database, see if Jor-El can find anything from his information banks." Astra had been added as a primary user to the Fortress after officially joining the Justice League several months ago. As a Kryptonian and one blood-related to Alura and Kara, she fit the parameters to claim that status, unlike Oliver and Barry.

Oliver handed it over to her wordlessly. Astra pocketed it into her suit, already planning to make a trip to the Arctic as soon as she was done here. "What now?" He asked

"We interrogate Purity, she what knows," Astra answered. "I doubt she's going to say anything substantial for this first interrogation, especially since it seems that Julia Freeman's pressure points are not the same as hers, but we still need to do it, if only to get read on her character for future sessions. Other than that, all we can do is wait."

Judging by the silence, nobody like the idea of that, but what else could they do?

"Halt!" The fencers halted, as the referee directed his arm to one of them. "Point to Thawne! The bout is over. In a score of 4 to 5, Thawne wins!"

The fencers saluted each other, before putting their sabres underneath their arms and removing their masks, revealing their faces: Barry Allen and Eddie Thawne. The two men smiled at each other and shook hands. "Your parents weren't really kidding about you being a genius fencer, huh?" Barry noted with some amusement.

Eddie shrugged, a little bashful. "That was the best bout I've had in a while," he said back, genuine and complimentary.

The two exited the platform and headed for the locker room, making a quick stop to drop off their masks and sabres before going to change back into their normal workout clothes. As soon as they had arrived at the gym, they had separated from their female friends. Iris had always preferred to work on her boxing whenever she was working out, even had a few spars with Laurel whenever she was in town visiting, and this recent stuff with Ralph had made her desperate to hit something. Patty had gone with her to help hold the heavy bag, and probably to punch something as well, leaving the men on their lonesome.

They were debating on what to do when Eddie realized this place hosted a fencing practice area, and had immediately dragged Barry over to finally make good on that promise of a spar from all those months ago. Barry had obliged, equally curious to see if Eddie's skills were really up to snuff. He didn't specialize in swordsmanship like Slade or Kara did, but he was certainly skilled in it to use it as a weapon if necessary. That included some training in fencing.

And it turned out that it was just as well, fun in its own way. Barry hadn't had a spar like this in a while, doing something that he didn't excel at as well as others and yet still pushed so hard. He didn't mind losing either. It was a close match, and Eddie was a worthy opponent. There was no shame to be found.

"You think Iris is still at the bag?" Eddie asked him as they exited the locker room, back in their original workout clothes. He had his towel thrown over his shoulder, his hands in his pockets.

Barry finished toweling himself off, then nodded towards the gym's boxing ring, where Iris and Patty were sparring in full gear. Eddie glanced towards them and cringed. "Ah."

"You know how she is," Barry commented, rubbing the back of his head. "When she gets this angry, she needs to let out a lot of steam, and fighting helps with that. Patty can take it, at least."

"Yeah."

Barry hummed and turned his gaze towards him. "What about you? How are you dealing with this whole Ralph thing?"

Eddie blinked, surprised at the question, before shrugging. "I don't know, to be honest. Ralph was a friend, and I respected him and his abilities, but we weren't close. I'm not angry like Iris is, but… well, I guess the best I can describe how I feel is disappointed."

"Really? Why?" Barry paused for a moment. "Well, I think I can guess why, but tell me anyway."

The detective shrugged again. "Ralph is a good detective, was one of the best in the precinct. So, no matter how he felt about the case, he didn't need to do this. Yeah, maybe the initial case might've gone cold, but who knows — maybe more evidence could've come up later? That happens all the time. Or maybe the guy would commit some other crime he could be nailed for? Or maybe he wasn't guilty at all, no matter how much Ralph believed he was." Eddie rubbed his arm. "There's so many ways this could've gone. And yet Ralph chose the way that would cause trouble not just for him, but for everyone else once the truth came out. It was selfish, short-sighted, not worth the risk in any way, and yet he did it anyway. I can't blame Iris for being angry about that." If it had been him in her shoes, he'd probably do much worse than spend some time on the bag and sparring.

"Same," Barry concurred. "I don't know Ralph nearly as well you guys do, but I like to think I considered him a friend ever since we worked on that case together. But at the same time, I'm disappointed like you. And angry, because it hurt Iris, and if there's one thing I can't stand, it's that."

Eddie patted him on the shoulder in comfort, only to brink as he felt his phone briefly vibrate in his pocket. He took it out, frowning when he saw who it was. "What's wrong?" Barry asked him.

"My parents."

"Ah. What do they want?"

"Just reminding me about the gala, and that I need to look presentable. Said that they'll pay if I need buy a good suit. I'm almost tempted to just buy something gaudy just to spite them, but knowing them they'll just leave me with the bill after."

Barry frowned. "I'm sorry, Eddie. I can't imagine how any parents could do to their children what yours dot to you." It was a reminder of how lucky he'd been so far. As terrible as his life had been before he finally came home, he'd been blessed with a number of parental figures who unquestionably and unconditionally loved him. Even when Joe had made that stupid comment that led to that one pivotal decision, Barry didn't believe for one moment that he hadn't cared. He could never imagine any of them treating him the way Eddie's parents treated their son.

"Don't be," Eddie waved him off. "It's not your fault they're the way they are, and I've gotten used it." He looked a bit reflective. "When I realized they were never going to really me so much as another extension of their ambitions, I left and didn't look back. I figured I might as well go after something I wanted for once and instead of they wanted for me. It's just too bad they won't leave me alone."

"They will once election season is over," Barry pointed out.

"Hopefully."

Oliver sighed as he walked up to Tommy's office, his briefcase hanging by his side. Just like they suspected, the initial interrogation of Purity didn't bring up anything substantial. The woman's lips were sealed tighter than a drum, and all she spouted were weird metaphorical phrases that made her sound like she was high more than anything else. Eventually they decided to just return her to her cell until they could figure out a new approach later.

Laurel and him spent the rest of the trip to Hub City doing what they told everyone else they were doing before coming home. Technically, Oliver didn't need to return to the office until tomorrow, but he wanted to check in on how Tommy was doing. It had been a few weeks since Tommy had officially started his job at QC and Oliver wanted to make sure his best friend was settling in well.

He entered Tommy's office, giving a nod to the receptionist who silently signaled to him that Tommy was free for the time being. Oliver knocked on the door, and at Tommy's "Come in!" he did exactly that. "Tommy?"

"Ollie!" The son of Malcolm Merlyn was all smiles. "Hey, man! How was your and Laurel's trip to Hub City?"

"Good," Oliver said, it was kind of the truth, because the business part of the trip did go well. The superhero part… well. "We found a few good places for the new facility, so I'm gonna type up my report and submit it to Dad tomorrow. Laurel's back home already, trying to wind down a bit from the traveling and look over any work emails she was sent while she was gone."

"I know that feeling," Tommy noted.

Oliver nodded. "What about you? How's work been?"

His best friend shrugged. "Good. We're starting up the newest campaign for that line of self-defense weapons Applied Sciences developed. The SVP has given me some proposals to look over, see if any stand out."

"That's great!" Oliver was glad the Head of Marketing was treating Tommy well. "I guess no one's been giving you any trouble?"

Tommy fell silent, looking a bit awkward. The archer frowned. "Tommy?"

"Nothing that needs to be reported," the other man confessed. "It's just… your dad feels a little distant. I know he's the CEO and all, and we're at work, but…"

"Huh." Oliver looked genuinely perplexed. "That's not like him. He was as happy as I was when you came back." For all that Malcolm Merlyn had been there for him when he sunk Oliver with that goddamn boat, Robert had been to one to really raise Tommy and treat him as a son all those years prior after Aunt Rebecca's death. It didn't make sense for him to keep Tommy at a distance, now that he was back and reconciled with the family, especially when Malcolm Merlyn was long gone and dead in the ground.

"Do you think something's wrong?"

Oliver shrugged. "If there is, I'm sure it has nothing to do with you," he reassured his best friend. "Just give it time — he'll be back to his old self before you know it."

"Right," Tommy said after a moment, smiling. "I'm sure it's all fine."

"Great. Now that I'm sure you're okay, I'm gonna drop some stuff off at my office and then head on home. One more thing though — Laurel and I are planning on going out to that new shawarma place downtown tomorrow night. Want to come with?"

"Love to, Ollie."

And that chapter's done. Just setting up some more stuff. I think we've got one more chapter left in this act before moving on to the next one. I've already fully planned out Acts 2 and 3, so there's just planning Acts 4 and 5 left. I already have a vague idea of how I want those acts to go, the only problem is just putting the right words to it.

Anyway, don't be afraid to drop a comment or reviews. Flames will be ignored and deleted, and don't forget to update the TV Tropes page!