Chapter 144: Favors
When people started dropping dead in one of Star City's downtown shopping areas, the entire city fell into a panic. Stampedes began as people did everything they could to clear the area, while a perimeter was started. It wasn't long before Star City's local vigilantes arrived, along with the rest of the Justice League, much to the surprise of the citizens. That surprise turned into horror when they started battling a young woman who seemed to have the powers of both Supergirl and Black Canary.
With her powers over sonic frequencies and the ability to induce vertigo, Purity had done a much better job of warding off the Justice League than Pestilence did. Already Star City was beginning to show the scars of their battle, with craters and debris dotting the landscape as she clashed time and again with the League's many powerhouses. As they were stuck fighting in a populated area, their ability to act was further limited until the JL could further evacuate this area of the city.
One of the people on the ground was Black Canary. She was doing her best to counter Purity's sonic attacks whenever the other woman was close, but for the most part had been delegated to acting as crowd control and support. For all her skill, there was nothing she could do to someone as powerful as a Kryptonian. Not without help, at least.
"Hey, hey! Come back here!"
Canary turned around and saw in horror that one Detective Quentin Lance was running towards the scene of the fight, chasing after a young boy who was heedless of the danger. Instead, he had his eyes squared solely on a plush toy on the ground, one he had probably dropped in the rush to evacuate. Before Canary could warn them off, there was a familiar change in the air, and she was suddenly rushing towards them with all she had.
"COVER YOUR EARS!" Black Canary screamed at them, before turning around to counter the sonic blast headed their way with a different kind of scream. Laurel unleashed her Canary Cry and kept it going for what seemed like hours, despite how tired it was making her. Only the months of training on how to use her powers had allowed her to keep going.
Finally, the blast stopped, meaning she could too. She bent over, inhaling deep breaths, before turning around to look at her father and the child he was trying to save. The two had their ears covered, but upon her nod, unshielded them. "Go," Canary hoarsely ordered them.
They did. Canary, relieved that her two protectorates were gone, turned back to the fight as she tried to recover. She didn't notice the way Quentin Lance had turned back to look at her, with a speculative look in his eye.
This really could be going better! Kara thought to herself as she did her best to dodge the various heat beams that Purity was shooting at her. From the corner of her eye, she could see Astra, J'onn, and Hal standing on the ledge of one of the buildings, trying to recover from Purity's sonic attacks.
Purity had proven surprisingly adept at combining her sonic attacks and Pestilence's powers. She was careful to use the vertigo she could induce sparingly, but effectively, cornering the superheroes on numerous occasions, and forcing them to her knees. Once they were prone, she had attempted to scratch them using her now-lethal nails and infecting them with the disease they carried. Kara didn't know how many times she had to sheathe her sword to do some kind of diving save to prevent Purity from succeeding.
They were getting nowhere with this. The more they allowed this stalemate to last, the greater the risks became that the fight would spill out into the rest of the city and increase the number of casualties. They could not afford to let that happen, especially on the whims of one woman, no matter how powerful she was. Something needed to be done.
Kara, still in flight, began to circle Purity. She shifted the hilt of her sword, tightening her grip. An idea began to percolate in her mind. One that was growing more and more attractive by the minute.
Oh, the others are going to kill me for this.
Slowly, she, reached down her leg and unclasped open the holster where she kept her Kryptonite knife. Normally, she didn't use it; it was mainly there as a backup weapon in case she lost her sword and still needed to fight. She might not a true master like Barry, but she was still plenty skilled with knives as a whole. But for this particular plan, it was going to be her main weapon, and Kara could only pray she would be able to draw it out fast enough when the time came.
This was probably one of the riskiest gambits she had ever made, and if she survived it she could just imagine the rage on Oliver's face when he found out. But Kara couldn't thinking of anything else that could work and end this fight now, so she squashed down all her hesitance and moved forward, her grip on her sword tight. She quietly flew towards Purity, trying to keep her body language open and non-threatening even as she dodged the other woman's heat vision.
Purity looked confused when Kara refused to retaliate, just moving closer while not taking any offensive stance at all. Good, good. Just a little bit more. Kara's grip on her prized weapon began to loosen as she approached the former Julia Freeman, until she was only a few feet away.
Then she dropped it.
As her opponent's eyes were drawn to the falling weapon, Kara spread her arms wide and clapped with all her might, creating a massive shockwave that practically shattered all the surrounding glass in the area. Even Purity could not ignore it, and was briefly stunned by the unexpected sound, freezing in place for just a second. And a second was all Kara needed.
The assassin drew her second blade from the holster on her side, the Kryptonite knife gleaming as it buried itself in Purity's chest. Purity could only gasp in pain as the weapon pierced her heart, destroying her insides and causing blood to escape her mouth. She leveled one last glare at Kara before falling limp into the other woman's arms, dead.
Kara released a sigh of relief and unburied the knife from Purity's chest. The threat had been neutralized.
And then she started getting woozy. She looked down, and saw the cause: a small scratch, right on her hand.
Ah. She got me.
And then the heroine fell.
"SUPERGIRL!"
A few hours later…
Astra had always hated hospitals. And medical facilities in general. Ignoring the fact that, as a soldier, she always found herself in them far too often, there was something about modern places of healing that felt… off. Despite the generally welcoming and overall comforting atmospheres they tried to adopt, the general always found them too sterile and manufactured. There was also an underlying sense of ominousness to them. After all, if they couldn't properly heal you, you were either crippled or dead.
She felt very much the same now as she waited anxiously outside the door to the room where her dear niece was being treated by Barry and Caitlin Snow. As soon Kara had collapsed after killing Purity, she had been caught by Hal Jordan and flown directly to the nearest A.R.G.U.S. Base for treatment. Barry had used his speed to follow them; as the foremost expert on Kryptonian physiology and biology, he was the one few authorized to operate on Kara. Caitlin had soon been breached in, and by the time Astra got to the base herself, they were long at work.
Waiting with her were Oliver, Laurel and J'onn, each of whom looked equally as worried. Oliver had already called Kal to discreetly inform him of the situation and keep him updated in the event of any changes. The rest of the Justice League were out in the city, finishing the clean up of the battle with Purity. The woman who was responsible for Kara's current condition.
If that woman hadn't already been dead at her little one's hands, Astra would've killed her herself. The fact that she was so close to losing Kara once again was something Astra could barely tolerate, and it was causing all her pent up energy to vibrate beneath her skin. She paced around the hall, trying to burn it off, and in the end only making herself more nervous.
Kara is strong, Astra reminded herself. She'll survive this. She has to.
Finally, after what seemed like years, the door opened, and a tired Barry and Caitlin exited the room along with the team of A.R.G.U.S.-approved doctors, each of whom immediately left either to update their records or for their next appointments. Astra quickly marched up to them, the rest of the waiting group close behind. "How is she?"
"She's responding to the treatment," Barry responded, sounding grateful. "The anti-viruses Caitlin and S.T.A.R. Labs engineered are working."
"However, the damage the plague did was severe," Caitlin continued where he left off. "She'll make a full recovery, but it's going to take time."
Those present exchanged looks. It wasn't the best news, but it could've been worse. "So what now?" Oliver asked for all of them.
"We're keeping her in a medically-induced coma until she heals. We'll put her body under frequent treatments of yellow solar radiation to speed up her regeneration, but current projections are that we won't be able to let her wake up until a few weeks from now."
Laurel sighed. "That's… something, at least."
"We'll need to whip up a cover story for both her civilian and vigilante identities so nobody can connect the dots between them," Oliver noted, mind already running a mile a minute. "As for Kal, he can stay with Laurel and me for the time being."
"As for Supergirl goes, we can simply tell the public the truth," J'onn concluded. "But for Kara Danvers, we will have to modify the story a bit so nobody connects her illness to Purity."
Astra frowned. "Someone will also need to fill in for Supergirl as Star City's protector to keep the criminals in line." Kara had been on the biggest deterrents for crime in Star City ever since her debut. Once word got out about her condition, more than a fair few of criminals would get emboldened to act out while she was gone.
Oliver eyed her speculatively. "Are you volunteering yourself, Archangel?"
She hadn't, actually. But now that she thought about it, it made sense. Astra was the only member of the Justice League that had a similar power set to Kara. She might not quite be as skilled as her niece, who had devoted the last thirteen years of her life to mastering her abilities for one reason or another, but she was competent enough and certainly a match for whatever foes that might come out of the woodwork while Kara was out of commission. If anyone could fill in for Supergirl while she was gone, it was Archangel.
Astra nodded. "I think I am," she said honestly.
And that, it seemed, was that.
Sam frowned as the anchorwoman on the screen, Susan Williams, covered the official Justice League announcement about Supergirl being temporarily indisposed thanks to the recent attack by a supervillain at Star City's downtown shopping area. She would be gone for the next few weeks, but the JL already had a replacement lined up to fill in for her: Archangel, one of their newer recruits. It was a relief to know they wouldn't be going unprotected in this increasingly strange world of theirs, but even so, Sam couldn't help but hope that Supergirl would make a recovery soon. She had been such an indispensable part of Star City for these past few years, it was becoming harder and harder to imagine living there without her.
She wasn't the only one relieved, either. Kal looked absolutely grateful that his favorite superhero wasn't dying any time soon, though still a bit apprehensive. Sam had a feeling she knew why.
Suddenly, her phone began to ring again. Sam looked at the caller ID and, with trepidation, picked it up. "Any news?"
"She's going to be fine," Oliver answered over the line, and Sam couldn't stop the breath of relief that escaped her. "But she'll be out for a while. The doctors are keeping her in isolation while she heals. Nobody will be able to visit her."
That wasn't good to hear, but at least Kara was going to be okay. Being infected with some foreign disease while visiting some outside investors? Sam's best friend had some rotten luck. "What about Kal? He can stay with me if he needs to." Kara's relationship with Oliver's parents had been strained ever since Oliver's falling out with them, and while she was sure Moira and Robert wouldn't hesitate to take Kal in regardless of that, it's doubtful Kara would want her little brother stuck in the middle of a family tiff.
"Thank you for the offer, Sam, but we think it's best if Kal stays with Laurel and I for the time being. It's been a while since I've had any one-on-one time with him and we'll be better able to juggle his care between the two of us. Just tell me when we need to meet up for his usual hang outs with Ruby and we'll get him there."
"That sounds good to—" Whatever Sam was about to say was cut off as she suddenly stiffened. No, she thought desperately. Not now.
But it seemed the universe didn't care about her wants. Almost immediately, she was attacked by a piercing headache that caused her to drop her phone. The sound of plastic hitting the floor had alerted the two children in the room, but Sam was in no position to pay them any mind. Instead, she was grasping her head, trying to ward off the sudden barrage of visions that hit her. Stop it stop it stop STOP IT! she kept chanting in her thoughts.
By the time the episode faded, she found herself sitting on the couch with both Kal and Ruby in front of her, staring at here worryingly. The former had her phone in his hand. "Mom?" Ruby asked, sounding scared. "Are you okay?"
Sam quickly fixed on a tired smile. "I'm fine, sweetheart," she reassured her daughter. "Just a bad migraine. I've probably been spending too much time at the office."
The teens exchanged a look, looking unconvinced at her words. Kal turned to her, handing her the cell phone in his hands. "Ollie's still on the line," he told her. "He's worried too."
"Sam?" And Kal was right, he did sound worried. "Are you alright? Kal told me you collapsed."
"Yeah," Sam admitted. "I had a bad migraine that came on me rather unexpectedly. I've probably been working too hard lately."
"You should probably take a break then. It wouldn't hurt to take a day or two."
He wasn't wrong. And, well…
"Hey, Oliver? Mind doing me a favor?"
"Thank you for taking them both on such short notice," Sam told Oliver a few hours later when the man arrived to pick up Ruby and Kal from her house.
Oliver held up a hand, waving her off. "It's no problem. Anything for a friend." He peered at her. "I guess you're taking a break?"
Sam nodded. "I need to get away for a bit. There's some things I need to settle at the old homestead, and with all the stress from work — I need some time for myself. I just hope Ruby won't be mad at me for it."
"She'll understand, Sam."
"We're ready!"
The two adults glanced up to spot the teenagers standing at the end of the stairwell, carrying their bags and other personal items. Oliver waved them over. "Kal and I will load everything in the car," he told the girls, before beckoning his little brother to follow him. Ruby followed him but stopped so she could talk with her mother.
Sam bent down so she was eye-level with her daughter, smoothing out the sleeves of her shirt. "Now you be good for Oliver, alright?" she told Ruby. "Treat him as if you would treat me or Kara, okay?"
"I will, Mom," Ruby assured her. She frowned. "Though are you sure you can't tell us where you're going?"
The older woman smiled shakily. "I'm just heading back to Metropolis to settle some things with my mother's accounts. Nothing you would find interesting. Don't worry about it, Ruby; I'll be back for you know it."
Ruby still didn't look convinced, but nodded. "Okay, Mom." She moved forward to hug Sam. "I'll miss you."
Sam hugged her back. "I'll miss you too, sweetheart."
Not long after, everything was loaded into Oliver's car. Sam bid them one final wave from the driveway as they left, keeping her eyes on the car as it gradually faded from view. Once she could no longer see the rear, she headed back inside, shutting the door behind her and leaning back on it as if she was never more relieved than to be alone.
Trembling, she reached into her right pocket and took something out: a familiar crystal, which seemed to glow in the slightly darkened room. Sam swallowed as she stared at it, tight in her grip.
No more running, she swore to herself. No more.
Yeah, Kara's going to be out of commission for the rest of the act, which shouldn't be too much longer. Just a few more chapters. In the mean time, Astra is going to be filling in, but let's just say she's in for a wild time.
And Sam is inching ever closer to her destiny, which she is not going to like, to say the least.
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