Chapter 3 - Escape

TAOS May 17th 13:05MDT

The teens minus Nathaniel had decided to leave Star. Nathaniel was afraid of becoming Neutron again and had tried to stop them to no avail. They had enough of the testing. Enough of feeling like prisoners. The Reach had done that to them before. Each of then vowed, never again. Alex felt like he wasn't getting anywhere with his powers. He needed to find his own way but first, he needed to see his mother. It was over two months since he had seen her and she probably thought he was missing or worse. They had just escaped Wilcox and Star's guards thanks to Tye's powers activating. His Astral form had carried them through a nearby forest away from Star's men.

"So what do we do now?" Alex asked. His eyes had become a more prominent green due to the use of his powers. It grew to become his most striking feature.

"My parents are in Dakota City. We can call and they could wire us some money. Then we could figure out what to do then." Virgil said.

"No way I'm going home." Tye stared into the thick forest. His mother's boyfriend Maurice, was a real asshole. He wasn't going back to that.

"Me neither Hermano. My father only cares for his research. He can have it for all I care." Eduardo spoke up.

The group stared at Asami. Who looked confused due to the language barrier.

"Wakarimasen de mou...i go with you." (I don't understand but) She struggled to piece the words together.

"I have to go home. My mom and I are close. She needs to know I'm ok." Alex said.

"You sure?" Virgil asked.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. I have superpowers now." Alex's eyes glowed emerald green. "I'll be able to take care of myself."

Everyone had said their goodbyes. Virgil gave him his address in case he needed anything. Alex decided to head back through Taos while avoiding Star's guards.

The Reach Ship 14:30EST

The man known as the Reach ambassador stared at his monitors in the ship's control room. He and the Scientist were keeping watch on Alex as he tried to return home.

"We need to get him back under our control. There is a lot that can be learned from studying him." The Scientist spoke.

"He does exhibit powers similar to the Green Lantern core. That power with Reach technology would allow us to easily take this underdeveloped planet." The Ambassador had big plans for Earth and Alex was key to ensuring full Reach control.

"I guess I have to collect the cattle." Black Beetle entered.

"Be delicate. This Meat needs to be fresh." The Ambassador warned.

Taos 17:55

"Do you think we should've let him leave like that?" Virgil asked the rest of his group.

"Did you see the look on his face? We weren't going to stop him, besides with his powers, he'll be fine." Eduardo replied as they entered an empty bus station.

"I hope so. There's four of us, so we'll be okay but Alex against the Reach is a slim chance..." Tye stretched laying on the lobby couch.

Meanwhile...

Alex had walked back toward Taos. He was wary of any of Star's men or Wilcox. Everything seemed quiet until he heard a large explosion towards the direction of Star Labs. Everything told him not to go. That they'd make him stay and run more tests. But he couldn't refuse either. He didn't like anyone at Star outside but he wasn't going to let them get hurt either.

"Always have to do the right thing don't you? Damn it!" He cursed himself and ran into the direction of the explosion.

Meanwhile over Taos.

Black Beetle flew through the night sky undetected by anyone. His Scarab had been tracking Alex as he made his way towards the city.

"It's a good thing we sent Blue and Red Volcano to distract the rest of the Meat while I grab the boy unnoticed..." Black's Scarab notified him that their target was close.

"Well...time to make an entrance..." He saw Alex running towards the tower of smoke coming from Star Labs.

Alex ran as fast as he could but tired quickly. What good were his powers if he didn't have the strength to use them?

"Tired already Meat? We have a nice pod for you to nap in..."

His eyes widened. He recognized that voice. It was the Black Beetle from the Reach's ship. They had come after him to re-pod him. He focused activating his powers.

"Oh? Trying to put up a fight are we? I need the workout." Black stretched his arms.

"I'll give you all the workout you need!" Alex angrily glared at his opponent. He wasn't going back and he had better control of his powers. He felt that he could at least put up a fight and that was all the confidence he needed.

Black flew at him, shooting what appeared to be giant metal staples from his hands. Alex focused, creating a force field around him, blocking them.

"Learned a few tricks have we?" Black's arms turned into razor sharp blades. He swung at Alex as he shielded himself further. The force field weakened then shattered. Alex jumped out of the way of Black's strikes. He figured if he made the force field, what else could he make? He imagined a giant fist and suddenly a giant green hand appeared punching Black into the air then smashing him into the street.

"Not bad...not bad..." Black Beetle laughed as he got up. "It's time I ended this."

Black's chest turned into some sort of cannon. It fired plasma straight at him. Alex tried shielding himself again but the shield broke quickly.

I can't go back! His mind wandered to his time in the pod. His legs buckled as Black approached him. He started to feel fear. Fear that he would be captured. Fear of the nightmares and pain. His aura began to fade. The more he was afraid, the faster it faded.

"Over already? What happened to giving me a workout?" Black mocked him.

"I've got a workout for you!" A voice came from above and a blue blur slammed into Black knocking him into a nearby building.

Alex looked up. He saw a girl wearing a blue shirt with a red skirt. Her blonde hair flowed in the wind with her red cape He recognized the familiar "S" emblem on her shirt. She looked at him with her ocean blue eyes.

"You ok?" She flew next to him as he composed himself.

"Y-yeah..." He replied "And you are?"

"Don't you recognize this?" She pointed to the "S" shield. "I'm Supergirl."

A/N I know...not much happened but I didn't want to get lazy and not continue something I enjoyed. That last bit was something that I was excited for. I hope it wasn't too bad and expect more excitement in the next chapter. If you have any thoughts, comments or suggestions that will help me improve then please review! Quality over quantity xD