Chapter 133: Pestilence
"Beef Bulgogi or Teriyaki Chicken?"
Iris eyed the two bags, each clutched in one of Barry's hands. "Bulgogi," she said after a moment, leaning back into her chair.
Barry pouted as he handed over the indicated bag. "Screw you, Iris."
His best friend smirked in amusement. "Don't whine like that Barry," she said teasingly, "the Teriyaki Chicken is pretty good too."
"But not as good as the Bulgogi," Barry shot back, before sighing. He pulled out the chair in front of the desk Iris was currently using in one of the many unused conference rooms of the precinct, setting his own bag of food down and beginning to pull out the meat, rice, and utensils.
"Should've gotten two Beef Bulgogis then," Iris chided him.
Barry sighed again. "I tried. That was the last serving."
Iris blinked, before glancing down at her food. "…share?"
"Share," Barry agreed, pushing the Teriyaki to the center between them. Iris did the same, and the two picked up the other cups of meet and poured around half onto their plates, leaving the other half for each other.
After food was exchanged, bottles of Coke popped, and and utensils properly wiped, the two best friends dug in, relishing the deliciousness of Asian Fusion. "Thank you Central City and your rich food culture, amen, hallelujah!" Iris moaned after swallowing down another bite of the Bulgogi.
"Best part about living in the city," Barry agreed, taking a sip of his Coke.
"Where did you hear about this place anyway? I know you went to that new Vietnamese place with Eddie yesterday. Did you see it on the way there?"
Barry froze.
"Barry?" Iris probed again.
The speedster winced. "Well, actually — Ralph told me about this place a while ago. I only just remembered it a few days ago while I was leaving class and someone mentioned it in earshot."
Iris pursed her lips. "It's okay to say his name, Barry. I'm not going to fly into a rage hearing about him."
"Right." Barry took another sip of his Coke to calm his nerves. "Any news about him?" Ralph had been officially fired from the CCPD about one and a half months ago.
"He's started his own PI firm in South Central."
The Flash nearly spat out his drink. "What? Seriously? He got busted for falsifying evidence, there's no way the city's gonna issue him a license."
Iris exhaled, placing a hand on her forehead. "You'd think that, but unfortunately he's got plenty of favors owed in City Hall. He probably called in a lot of them to get that license, though."
"Not any here?"
The detective gave him a flat look. "Any favors he had here became null and void the moment he got fired, Bar."
"Right," Barry conceded. "Well, he would know better than to show up anywhere near here anyway. Moving on — what's going on with you? Are they done foisting the paperwork on you?"
Iris smiled. "Pretty much. With Eddie coming back soon, they're ready to start giving me cases with Patty. We've already worked a few cases together on the Task Force, so it's going to be an easy transition for us."
"That's good. Very good. I'm glad your career isn't stalling anymore, Iris."
"Yeah, well—"
Ding!
Both blinked at the sound. "Was that yours or mine?" Iris asked, frowning slightly.
"Mine," Barry answered, also frowning. He took his phone out of his pocket, scanning the notifications. His eyes narrowed as he spotted what exactly had caused the alarm, tapping on the flag and letting the article to blow up on his screen.
After a second, he cursed as he finished his literal speed reading. "What is it, Barry?" Iris asked him, sounding worried.
"You know that weird breakout in Metropolis? It just hit Houston."
"What?" Iris quickly got up and rushed over so she could look over Barry's shoulder, read the article for herself. Barry handed the phone over, watching as she stood as she scanned the words at a much slower pace.
"Shit," Iris cursed as she finished the article, handing Barry his phone back. "How the hell did it move from Metropolis to Houston like that?"
"I don't know," Barry admitted, expression darkening as he stared at his phone. "It's not natural at all. I know Caitlin will agree once I show her, if she doesn't know already herself."
His best friend's frown deepened. "You thinking it's a metahuman? One that's only managed to activate their metagene or access their metapower now?"
"Either that, or something worse."
The two friends exchanged looks. Judging by their expressions, neither of them liked the sound of that.
One Week Later…
"Okay, so you want emphasize the benefits when making the flyer," Sam advised as Kara started typing. The two of them were currently in Kara's office at the mall, working on the new internship program Kara was developing. "While those kids are gonna look at what they're going to do, if the benefits are enough for them they'll do just about anything to get them. School credit, money, experience, references…"
"Anything and everything you need to make your college resume look pretty," Kara summed up.
"Pretty much."
Before either of them could say more, they heard a rap against the door. Sam went over to open it, Kara turning around to see who it was. She lit up when the person revealed themselves. "Aunt Astra!"
"Hello, little one," Astra happily greeted her niece, stepping into the office. Kara got up from her chair and darted over, exchanging a fierce embrace with the older of her two remaining relatives. Off to the side, Sam observed the scene with slight confusion, blinking with surprise.
"What are you doing here?" Kara asked after the embrace ended. "I thought you were still traveling for work?"
Astra rubbed her arm. "I had some business in Star City, so I thought I'd come and visit you and… Kal." Sam noted she hesitated before saying Kal's name, as if she had wanted to say something else but stopped herself before she could. "Who is your friend?"
Sam blinked again as Astra's attention turned to her. "Oh, right," Kara spoke, oblivious to Sam's awkwardness. "Aunt Astra, this is Sam Arias, my best friend and the mother of Kal's best friend Ruby. Sam, this is my maternal aunt Astra. We just recently reconnected — she'd been out of contact before my parents died, doing this super secret mission thing for the government down in the Middle East around the time Kal and I had been stranded on Lian Yu."
"It's nice to meet you, Astra," Sam greeted the other woman, still feeling a touch nervous. This was the first time she had meet any of Kara's blood family that wasn't Kal, after all. Probably the only time, seeing as Kara had insisted that the rest of her family was dead. "I think Kara's mentioned you before, though she never mentioned your name."
"I'm not surprised. Kara had it drilled into her when she was young not to speak of my work or me unless in the vaguest of terms. It seems that even after all these years she hasn't forgotten that."
Kara shook her head. "I never could, Aunt Astra. You, Mom, Dad — you all impressed on me the danger of what could happen if I ever did."
Astra laid a comforting hand on her niece's shoulder. Kara reached over and laid her own hand on top of it, exchanging sad smiles with her beloved aunt. Sam swallowed.
"Kara has told me much about you as well, Samantha," Astra said after the moment was over. "It's nice to meet my niece's nearest and dearest friend."
Sam blushed at Astra's description of her. "You really called me that?" she asked Kara.
Kara shrugged, blushing slightly as well. "Well, you are, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Sam had to agree. "Like you are to me."
RING!
And just like that, the moment shattered. Kara groaned as she recognized the sound.
Astra frowned. "What is with this strange ringtone? And whose phone is that?"
"It's mine," Kara answered for her, heading over to where her bag was hanging on the corner of her chair and fishing out her phone. "And for the ringtone, that was so I could know which calls to avoid and reject."
"'Avoid and reject…' Kara, who's calling you?"
"Carter Bowen," the Kryptonian replied, speaking with a tone filled with years of long-suffering. "Moira gave him my number a few months ago, and he's been calling and texting me frequently in hopes of finally getting me to go on a date with him after all these years. I'm past the point of politeness and have been doing my best to block him."
Sam frowned. "Kara, I'm pretty sure what he's doing veers into harassment."
"I know. I've been thinking of telling Detective Lance and seeing if I can get some kind of warning or even a restraining order issued. I've already talked to Moira about it — honestly, I should've told her years ago — and she's agreed to stop pushing the matter and talk to Carter, but if that doesn't work out…"
"I can take care of it," Astra suggested, only for her niece to shake her head vigorously.
"No, Aunt Astra," Kara said, immediately turning down the offer. "I want you to be able to come back to Star City to visit me and Kal. You can't do that if you're in jail."
Astra pouted.
Several hours later, after some lunch and a separation, Sam left the group with a smile and a wave, returning home to wear Ruby was waiting for her. It was a rare day where her daughter was not spending time with her best friend, instead preparing packing for a brief retreat with the Lacrosse team. Sam was going with her as one of the chaperones.
After she was gone, the door locked behind her and the sound of her steps fading away, the atmosphere of Kara's apartment turned serious. "Why are you really here, Aunt Astra?" Kara asked her, crossing her arms. Behind them, Kal stopped gathering the dirty plates and turned to watch the conversation, curious as well.
"We've got information on the plague," Astra told her, demeanor turning serious. "I need you to call Oliver and Laurel, tell them to meet us at the Foundry. The information I have is too sensitive to be spoken of in an unsecured location."
Kara and Kal exchanged looks. It seemed like the latest crisis had finally arrived at their doorsteps.
"Her name is Grace Parker," Astra started, clicking on the remote given to her to start the presentation on the USB she had been given by A.R.G.U.S. A picture of a woman, seemingly of Chinese descent, appeared. "Formerly one of the top surgeons of the Metropolis General Hospital. She quit around the time the plague started, and has taken to calling herself Pestilence."
Gathered in front of her were all of Star City's vigilantes: Oliver, Laurel, and Kara. In addition to them was Kal, who they decided needed to know who to watch out for in case worse came to worse and he had to — Rao forbid — fight. "You guys fought her?" Laurel asked, trying to commit the woman's appearance to memory.
Astra nodded. "The current rotation of the JL visited Houston to help with the relief efforts when the plague appeared there, trying to contain any criminals trying to take advantage of the situation. People reported seeing someone seemingly immune to the plague and making gestures that she was spreading it. Normally the report would've been dismissed, but the virus acting so unnaturally suggested something like a metahuman being involved, so we investigated anyway. That's when we found her."
More photos were shown of Grace traversing the infected without any precautions, touching those who would later develop a case of her virus and leaving unharmed. "Has a bulletin been issued?" Oliver asked, face grim.
"Yes. We're keep information suppressed about her being the source of the plague to prevent panic, but all police departments and major law enforcement and intelligence agencies are on high alert for her, with orders to call in the Justice League. And that's why I'm here — I know you're technically out of rotation, but Amanda is reactivating you, Kara, for this situation."
Kara frowned at her aunt. "Why? Is it because she somehow escaped you and Amanda wants to hedge her bets?"
"No," Astra said, looking almost haunted. "It's because she's Kryptonian as well. Like Purity."
"What?" A chorus of four voices rose up as everyone else present gaped at the former general.
"She has all the abilities of a normal solar-powered Kryptonian like Purity, in addition to her ability to induce plague. While we took proper precautions in keeping ourselves protected from the virus, her Kryptonian abilities caught us off guard. By the time I gained enough of my wits to fight effectively, she had already fled." Astra paused for a moment. "She also recognized me like Purity did."
Kara put a hand to her forehead. "What is going on? First Purity, now Pestilence — our planet is supposed to be dead, and yet it's somehow the gift that keeps on giving?"
"Does Amanda want her captured or killed?" Laurel asked, drawing everyone's attention to her. "I mean, there's obviously going on when we've got these two… enhanced Kryptonians, I guess, and no idea why they're here on Earth or why they're only showing up now. We have Purity in custody, but she's not saying anything."
"Astra?" Oliver turned to the oldest of the Kryptonians in the room.
"Capture is preferred," the older woman admitted, "but death is fine as well. Unlike Purity, Pestilence's powers are far too dangerous to keep her alive for long, at least until we can complete the cure for the plague. There's an ongoing fear that the virus created by her abilities will evolve into something worse than it already is, become more contagious and spread beyond the country and onto the rest of the world."
She went over to her bag and took out six items: three beacons and three extrapolators. "These were built by Cisco and the rest of the S.T.A.R. Lab teams. You can use the beacon to signal the others in case you spot Pestilence," she explained. "They also glow on their own if another beacon is activated elsewhere. The extrapolators hone onto a beacon's frequency whenever one is used, and allow the creation of a breach to that beacon's location. They're all one-use, so do not use them unless you for sure have spotted Parker or for some other emergency."
Astra passed one of each item around to the three heroes. The design was very user-friendly (just push the button), and they each had a retractable glass casing to prevent an accidental push — or a 'butt-dial', as Oliver and Laurel described it. With that, the presentation concluded. Kara, Astra, and Kal bid the couple farewell, as it was their turn to do patrol tonight.
Later that night, after Kal headed to bed, Kara and Astra found themselves sitting at the former's dining table. Astra, at Kara's direction, had raided the hidden compartment of her niece's wine cellar and found the last birthday she had given the younger woman several months ago: a bottle of Kryptonian wine, previously stored in the cellars of Fort Rozz by the now-deceased guards. It wasn't the best brand, but seeing as Krypton was dead and this was about the only thing in the world that could get them tipsy, let alone drunk, it would do.
"How is it that our dead planet keeps on coming back to haunt us?" Kara asked, face buried into her hands.
Astra shrugged, pouring some wine into one glass and setting it down in front of her companion, before pouring her own. "I have no clue, little one. It's one thing to have several Kryptonian prisoners locked up in A.R.G.U.S. and the three of us playing human, but this…"
"Not to mention the extra powers. Are you sure you don't know what's up with that?"
The former general shook her head. "No. We are just going to have to keep pressing for information until someone finally gives it. Whoever that is."
Kara sighed once more. She reached out and picked up her glass of wine, peering down into the liquid and swirling it slightly. Staring into her distorted reflection, as if it held all the answers to the world, she spoke. "All of this — it makes me think about Krypton. And how I've been beginning to miss it less and less." She glanced up at her aunt. "Is that wrong of me?"
A beat. Then, "No, Kara," Astra said comfortingly, sitting down into the chair across Kara. "It's understandable you would miss it less. It's been gone from you for thirteen years, and you and Kal-El have made your own lives for yourself here, on Earth. There are holes, yes, but you've filled the rest of your life with so much that they're relatively small in comparison."
"It's not just that, Aunt Astra," Kara told her, taking a sip of her wine. "Some part of me feels like that the person I am now, all the things I've done… it would somehow 'taint' Krypton if I were to ever go back. I'm not what Krypton made me anymore."
"I assume you mean your genetic disposition towards law?" Astra asked. Kara nodded, causing her aunt to exhale deeply.
"That may not be a bad thing, Kara," she admitted, causing her niece to blink. "It's like I told you before — Krypton was stagnant, and that is what brought us to our end. We weren't able to look for new solutions, to try new things, and accept change."
"But you… you managed all those things. They were terrible things you did, yes, but you did them to survive. And because of that, you and Kal-El were able to eventually make new lives of your own. You got the chance to make up for all your misdeeds." Astra reached over, and took her niece's hand. "You aren't poisoned Kara, or anything of the sort. You're just like everyone else: a young woman trying to make her way through life, trying to do the best for both herself and the people she loves."
Kara stared at her aunt for a long moment, then her eyes began to water. "Thank you, Aunt Astra."
Astra smiled, and her eyes were shiny too. "Think nothing of it, little one. I am simply speaking the truth."
I love Kara and Astra's relationship. Honestly, I know the actress wanted to leave, but even so: killing off Astra so early was one of the biggest wastes in the history of Supergirl. We got robbed, man.
Well, we'll be seeing Pestilence very soon, everyone. And after that… well, you'll see.
Feel free to make comments, flames will be ignored and deleted, and don't forget to update the TV Tropes page.