Happy Christmukah, Supergang! Hope everyone is having good holiday times. And for those people who are stuck with family they'd rather not be stuck with...stay tough, and remember you get to go back to your real homes and chosen families soon.
And to my anonymous friend—you're not a shitty person. You were asleep, but now you're awake. There's no shame in being on a journey. Just don't go back to sleep. You're doing as well as anyone could!
A/N: there is one part of one speech in this chapter that is excerpted directly from a 1920 pamphlet titled "Ideals of the Ku Klux Klan," which can be found in the online archives of The Jackson Sun, from Jackson, Mississippi. If you are interested in this historical aspect, it's the one speech that doesn't reference Supergirl or anything contemporary to the story. Msg me if you want more details and I will happily provide. Now let's get going so Kara and Alex can kick some klansman ass! ;)
…...
I'd Carry a Plane for You
Chapter 21: Clan of the Fiery Cross (Part 2)
…...
"Is it really true? The KKK came to your house last night?" The throng of fourth-graders gathered in awe around their classmate in the schoolyard, who looked back at them all like a deer in headlights, unused to being the center of attention. Though Carter was outgoing and enthusiastic when he was with Kara and Alex, he was often at a loss when it came to relating to kids his own age. He wasn't very fond of big groups, either.
"Yeah...it's true," the blonde boy nodded cautiously, unsure what the popular response to this news would be. Excited whispering immediately broke out among the crowd of schoolchildren.
"Weren't you scared?" A little girl said, her eyes wide with anxious admiration. "They whip people to death, or they hang them. And the police can't do anything because no one knows their real identity. And they came to your house."
"I wasn't scared," Carter shook his head defiantly, his timid stature among his peers falling away as the memory of running outside and standing his ground against the hooded terrorists flooded back into his mind, making him stand a little straighter and unconsciously puff out his chest. Because he wasn't thinking of himself as he stood proud; like a real hero, he was thinking of the people he was trying to protect. His mom...Kara...Alex. "I ran outside and told them to get lost, or Supergirl would get them."
"My mom and dad said to stay away from Supergirl," another kid shook his head nervously. "They said she's too dangerous for us to trust us anymore. What if you did call her, and she came, and she was on their side?"
"Supergirl would never take the KKK's side!" Carter yelled, his cheeks flushing pink as his hands clenched into fists.
"How do you know?" A red-haired boy asked, a note of challenge in his voice. Before Carter could clear the fury from his mind enough to form an answer, a blur of red and blue whooshed down from the sky and landed right next to him, in the middle of the large recess yard next to the lush school grounds. All the other kids except for Carter gasped and took several steps back, widening the circle around the blonde boy and the superhero in the swirling red cape. He just looked up at her and beamed.
"I'd say Carter has some pretty good leads. But a real reporter never reveals their source, you know." Kara smiled and winked down at the blonde boy, who grinned and hugged her tight around her waist.
"Supergirl! I knew you'd come back!"
"Your mom told me what happened. I'm sorry I wasn't there, buddy. But it sounds like you did just fine without me." She ruffled his hair.
"Um...Supergirl?" The red-haired boy asked timidly, his eyes wide and uncertain. His parents had told him he shouldn't trust her anymore...but now that he was looking right at her, he couldn't help but feel the warmth in her kind smile and her sparkling blue eyes. "If you had been there at Carter's house last night...what wouldja' have done? Would you blast them with your laser eyes?"
"No. No laser eyes," Kara shook her head, looking around at each of the kids with a very serious expression. "I don't use my powers unless I have to. And when the bad guys are human beings, I don't have to. When I find those men who threatened Carter's mom...I'll just tie them all up like a bakery box and fly them straight to the police."
"But you could melt their faces! Or throw them into outer space!" One of the other kids exclaimed, taking a step forward as he apparently forgot that he was supposed to be afraid of her. The rest of the kids soon followed, inching closer in curiosity to hear the answer.
"I could," Kara nodded in acknowledgement, her blue eyes still and serious as she gazed around at all the kids looking up at her expectantly. "The President could also launch a nuclear missile on them. Just because we can do things, doesn't always mean we should. Having powers is a big responsibility."
"Is that why you disappeared last month, after you scared everybody? You felt bad about how you used your powers?" A little girl asked, twisting the end of her braid as she looked up at the blonde superhero expectantly.
"That wasn't her fault, Jessica! She was poisoned!" Carter yelled. Kara put a pacifying hand on his shoulder, a move that did not go unnoticed by a single one of the kids flocked around them.
"It's okay, Carter. We can't get mad at people for asking questions. Everybody has the right to know what happened," Kara explained gently to her youngest protector. Then, looking back at the little girl, she nodded sadly. "Yes. I did feel bad. I felt terrible. Even though I was poisoned and I couldn't help it...that doesn't change what happened. I scared everybody, I scared myself."
"But you're good again now," the little girl said, as if it were an obvious fact. "If you don't go back to helping people, the bad guys who poisoned you will win."
"Yeah...I know," Kara nodded, with a sad little smile as she noticed some of the teachers standing nervously at the edge of the schoolyard, unsure whether the children were safe in her presence. Feeling that fear and doubt from people...it broke her heart. But, she didn't feel any of those things coming from the kids gathered around her. They radiated awe and admiration...and also, incredibly, understanding. Kids, she realized, had an easier time accepting that mistakes were part of life; because they knew what it was to be punished. And then to move on. "I'm just not sure people want my help right now."
"They will." The little girl smiled, stepping forward and hugging her unexpectedly. Kara smiled shyly and hugged her back.
"Thanks." The school bell rang, and Kara ruffled Carter's hair one more time. "I'm glad you're okay, buddy. Kara and Alex told me how brave you were. But next time wait for me to get there, okay?"
"Okay," Carter beamed, awe-struck. With a final wave at the kids, Kara shot off back into the sky. The teachers, who had been watching worriedly from a distance, all smiled in relief as they watched the kids running excitedly towards their classrooms.
…...
When Kara arrived at work a few minutes later, everyone's eyes were riveted on the TV screens mounted all around the CatCo lobby, watching Ms. Grant, on-screen, being interviewed by Anderson Cooper about the previous night's attack on her house.
"Frankly, Anderson, I consider it an honor to be singled out by a terrorist group like the KKK as a threat to white supremacy. Let the whole world see their hate, even if they won't show their faces. CatCo stands strong on the diversity of our talented and dedicated staff, just like National City stands strong on the diversity of our population," Cat said smoothly, not a hair out of place. "If anyone takes exception to that, let them say it to my face, without the silly halloween ghost hood. But that, I am sure, will never happen. These cowards don't have the balls to show their faces in broad daylight."
"And what would you say to those viewers who are finding themselves suddenly in the awkward position of being sympathetic to the klan's goal of ridding the planet of extraterrestrials? Now that even Supergirl can't be trusted?" Anderson asked in a deliberately calm and thoughtful voice, his tone conveying no opinion one way or the other.
"I would say...that anyone finding themselves in sympathy with the Ku Klux Klan should know that that's gut-check time. There is no grey area here. Either you are against terrorism, or you aren't."
"And Supergirl?" Anderson prompted gently but firmly, not letting Cat evade the question. "Couldn't she be considered a terrorist threat now, too? One that could do a hundred times more damage to the people and property of National City than the KKK, certainly."
"Supergirl is not a terrorist," Cat shook her head, smiling knowingly as she spoke of her young protege. "She is a remarkable young woman who's survived a galaxy's worth of trauma, and still holds the purest ideals of love and hope that any human being could aspire to. The powers she wields were given to her by nature; if she wanted to, she could have declared herself child-queen of this planet when she arrived here at the age of thirteen. Yet she has always aspired only to help people, to protect them."
"And the incident last month? When you yourself went on the air denouncing her as a threat to public safety?"
"She was poisoned, Anderson. As I said in that very broadcast, if you recall. The identity of her attackers remains unknown, and that is who the public should be hunting. Perhaps it was the KKK, working with an accomplice with access to highly advanced technology, deliberately seeking to discredit Supergirl so she would no longer be a threat to their reign of bigotry and intimidation. Even a regular old human being can be brainwashed to kill; you know that, Anderson. I'm sure I'm not the only one here who's read The Manchurian Candidate." Cat smiled dryly, and Anderson chuckled.
"I'm also sure I'm not the only one who saw the photo of her heroics on the 405 freeway yesterday, either." Cat smiled as a blown-up version of the photo she was referring to was thrown up on the wall behind them, the same one she'd shown Kara in her office, with the blonde girl holding a car above her head with one hand, and a baby in the other, floating down to earth with the same beaming smile she always wore when everyone was safe after a near-catastrophe.
"So for the record, Cat, you still stand behind Supergirl 100%?"
"100%, Anderson. And let that be a warning to the ignorant pond scum who burned a cross on my property last night—the next time you come to my door, Supergirl will be the one to answer."
…...
"She did good, huh?" James smiled as he walked up beside Kara and nodded to the TV.
"She did great," Kara nodded, smiling shyly in return. "She always knows exactly what to say, she never gets flustered in front of the cameras...I don't know how she does it."
"Well maybe she has a few more superpowers up her sleeve to teach you," the tall photographer teased her gently, poking her in the ribs until she giggled unwillingly, squirming away from him with a broad smile on her face. Lucy came briskly towards them with a portfolio full of paperwork, and she smiled when she saw Kara laughing. No one at CatCo had seen many smiles from their resident superhero recently.
"Hey guys. Watching Ms. Grant stick it to the klan? It never gets old," the young lawyer smiled.
"It really doesn't," James agreed, pulling his girlfriend in by the waist for a quick kiss. "Hmm..." the tall, dark and handsome photographer smiled knowingly. "As much fun as this is...I've got layouts waiting in my office, and I doubt Ms. Grant will be in an understanding mood if her exclusive headline on the battle against white supremacy is delayed."
"Yeah, I'd better go check in on my article, too," Kara sighed, regaining her composure as the giggles faded away. "I emailed it to Ms. Grant before work, but knowing her, she's already got my notes prepared before she left for the Anderson Cooper taping."
"Come walk with me," Lucy smiled, holding up her paperwork. "I have to get her sig on these restraining orders. The next time someone in a white hood shows up at Ms. Grant's house, or within 500 feet of CatCo, they'll be in immediate violation of the protection order, and we can haul their asses off to the NCPD before they even have a chance to light anything on fire."
"Sounds good," Kara nodded, watching with a shy smile as Lucy leaned up on her tiptoes and wrapped both arms around her boyfriend's neck, giving him a sound kiss goodbye.
"See you at lunch, Jimmy," the dark-haired girl grinned teasingly.
"You're killing me, woman," James groaned, clutching his chest as if he were about to go into heart failure. Kara and Lucy both giggled as they turned and walked away.
"You guys are beyond adorable," Kara shook her head as she fell into step beside her friend. "Looks like you made the right choice by moving out here, huh?"
"I really, really did," Lucy nodded dreamily. "Fighting for James and leaving my father's command was the best decision I ever made in my life. I haven't gotten one of these yet..." She picked up Kara's left hand and ran her fingers over the undulating silver engagement ring, covered in tiny Kryptonese writing. "But Jimmy and I haven't had half our lives together to get ready for that plunge. And on that note, how's your better half doing? Is she still on medical leave?"
"Just from field work. She's back at the lab though, she's doing great. Her arm is healing really well. She should be back out in the field in another six weeks or so," Kara smiled, thinking of her fiancee and her aunt back at the DEO, working together on a cure for Myriad. It was still terrifying to think of everything that was at stake...a whole world of mindless drones to be controlled by Non and his sadistic terrorist army...but the thought of Astra spending time with Alex, getting to know her and see how good and brilliant and brave she was...it gave Kara hope. Hope that she hadn't dared to think of in a long, long time. That a part of her life on Krypton could become part of her life here on earth; that the two halves of herself would not have to remain forever divided.
She was still smiling goofily to herself when they reached Ms. Grant's office; but her smile quickly faded when she saw all the red ink marking up her copy in Ms. Grant's hand. "Geez! Is my writing that terrible? I do have a college degree. Should I give it back?"
"No need for dramatics, Kara, your draft is excellent. This is the process. If there wasn't a process, it wouldn't be called a draft," Ms. Grant winked, handing over the marked-up pages of Kara's firsthand account of witnessing the KKK in National City. "You didn't think being a reporter would be easy, did you?" She was giving the blonde girl a satisfied little half-smirk that few of her employees had ever seen; that look that was reserved for those few employees she felt true affection for, along with professional respect. Kara couldn't help grinning sheepishly back.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Thank you for the notes, Ms. Grant. I'll get right on this." Cat nodded distractedly, already moving on to the legal papers Lucy was presenting for her signature. Bit by bit, Kara realized, as she walked away with her red-marked draft in hand...life was starting to feel something like normal again.
…...
Of course, "normal" for Supergirl wasn't exactly the traditional definition of the word; a few hours later, as Kara was crossing the CatCo lobby to bring Ms. Grant her revisions, all the TVs mounted around the lobby suddenly turned to static, and a signal broke through that was not a National City news broadcast. Kara stopped dead in her tracks, along with all the other CatCo employees, as a hooded figure in blood-red robes—the Grand Dragon, perhaps—filled every screen, his voice warped and robotic-sounding from some sort of voice-recognition scrambler. Everyone stood up from their desks as the office fell deadly silent. Kara felt Winn walk up beside her, and she reached for his hand, squeezing as tight as she dared.
"People of CatCo," the deep, robotic voice boomed across the executive floor. "The fire of righteousness has come to cleanse your city of its filth, its mongrels, its blood mixing and its harboring of unholy creatures not of this earth. Let last night's visit to your leader in sin, the race-traitor Cat Grant, serve as warning to all who stand behind her in her sinister plot to dilute the purity of the white race." The faceless red hood stared down at all the CatCo employees, and Kara could hear the sounds of rapid breathing and tears as people huddled together in shock.
"We are the voice of the White Man, exalting the Caucasian Race and teaching the doctrine of White Supremacy," the red-hooded figure continued. "We are organized to establish the solidarity and to realize the mission of the White Race. All of Christian Civilization depends upon the preservation and upbuilding of the White Race, and it is the mission of the Ku Klux Klan to proclaim this doctrine until the White Race shall come into its proper place as rulers of this world, as Almighty God intended. We will not rest until the alien mongrel you call Supergirl is cast out into the coldest reaches of space from whence she came, forsaken by God himself. All who stand in our way—be you alien or human, mongrel or race-traitor—shall be shown no mercy, as the Almighty showed no mercy to the heathens of Sodom and Gomorrah. You have been warned."
...And just like that, the broadcast cut back to CNN, and the hooded figure was gone. The employees of CatCo stayed frozen where they stood, temporarily shellshocked and unable to return to the hustle and bustle of a few moments ago. "Mr. Schott," Cat Grant said quietly, having come up behind Winn and Kara while their attention was focused on the TV screen. "Please cut the power to the televisions for a moment. I need to speak to our people."
"Uh, yes ma'am. Right away," Winn nodded, running over to his desktop and, with a few quick keystrokes, all the screens around the CatCo executive floor went black.
"All right, people. Can I please have your attention," Ms. Grant said calmly as she climbed up onto a desk, taking Kara's hand as the blonde girl held out an arm to help her up. "I can only imagine how you all must be feeling right now. We may be the first people in this century to be graced with a live message of hate and intimidation from the original terrorists of this country." Ms. Grant didn't look scared, though; she looked galvanized. Impassioned. Unbreakable. Kara's heart blazed with admiration, and she promised herself right there and then that she would never let one of those hooded cowards lay a finger on Ms. Grant or her family, ever.
"So the gauntlet has been thrown, and we will heed the call. These hooded cowards seek to silence the free press with threats of violence, even genocide. Without free media, there can be no democracy. Make no mistake; the power lies in our hands, as it always has, to tell the truth. Otherwise there would be no reason for these ignorant knuckle-draggers to threaten us. Don't give them the power to intimidate you. I give you my solemn promise, here and now, that no harm will come to any CatCo employee or your families. Supergirl will protect us, at all costs." Kara gave a little choke that she managed to turn into a cough as a few faces turned to look at her. Winn patted her on the back awkwardly. "All right now, everyone back to work. The news isn't going to report itself."
Galvanized by their CEO's fearlessness, the CatCo executive floor burst back into action, as researchers and reporters, computer techs and interns all ran to complete their assignments. "Ms. Grant," Kara whispered urgently as her boss climbed back down off the desk. "Why did you say that, about me protecting everyone? Do you realize how many employees you have?"
"Considering I sign all their paychecks...yes, I think I do," Cat said dryly, with a confident little smirk.
"Okay, well, what if they attack in five places at once? What if someone gets hurt when I'm not there, what if I fail? Then the people will hate me even more than they do now!" Kara groaned, clenching her hands together in anxiety.
"Kara. Look at me," Ms. Grant said gently, squeezing the younger girl's shoulder and staring unwaveringly into her clear blue eyes. "The city may have lost faith in Supergirl...but I haven't. And you shouldn't either." Kara gave a deep sigh, then stood up a little straighter, squaring her shoulders.
"Yes, ma'am."
…...
After work, Kara didn't fly straight home, but instead went to the DEO, after getting a text from Alex saying they'd had a breakthrough in their research. Kara assumed it was about Myriad; so, as much as she wanted to beg Alex to just come home and cuddle until the image of the hooded figure on the TV screen was wiped from her mind, the blonde girl flew outside the city limits to the desert bunker of the DEO's underground facility. When she walked into Alex's lab, her blue eyes went wide and her jaw dropped.
"Surprise," Alex grinned happily, holding out both arms as if to display some dazzling prize. But her arm was the prize.
"Lexie! Your arm! How...?" Kara laughed, running up to Alex and wrapping both arms around her waist, spinning her around in a wide circle in the air. They were both laughing when they touched back down on the ground.
"Accidental discovery, courtesy of Myriad," Alex shrugged, still beaming at Kara's joyful expression. "We still haven't cracked that nut quite yet...but while we were trying to isolate the regions of the brain that are engaged by Myriad's signal, I noticed some unusual synaptic overstimulation patterns happening in endogenous neural stem cell regeneration..."
"And you used yourself as a lab rat," Kara shook her head, trying to give her fiancee a stern look and completely failing. "I should be mad at you right now. What if you gave yourself an extra arm by mistake?"
"You should be mad...but you're not," Alex teased, slipping both hands into Kara's long hair, and pulling her close. "Because now I can do this..." Alex's kiss erased all other concerns from Kara's mind, as the blonde girl relished the feel of being held tight by the girl she'd loved since the seventh grade. She sighed happily into Alex's mouth, and Alex slipped her hands down from Kara's hair to her hips, pulling her in even tighter.
"You do know this door doesn't even have a lock, don't you?" J'onn rumbled in his deep, teasing voice, a sparkle in his eyes as he walked in grinning at the pair of them, a sheaf of documents in his hands.
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," Alex grinned, not looking sorry at all as she detached herself from Kara's lips.
"All right, Grey. If you can keep your hands to yourself long enough to sign these papers, you'll be officially restored to full duty...even though I should have you court marshaled for experimenting on yourself like a mad scientist."
"It's not an experiment if you know it's going to work," Alex shrugged unrepentantly, grabbing the pen happily with her newly-restored right hand and signing all the paperwork.
"You are such a cocky little prodigy," Kara shook her head, smiling like an idiot. It felt good to smile like this; it seemed like a long time since she last had. "It's really hot," she whispered low in Alex's ear, grazing her teeth briefly over the edge of her fiancee's earlobe. Alex closed her eyes, and Kara, with her super-senses, could feel her girl's blood rushing to the surface of her skin as she flushed pink and warm. "Can we go home now?" Kara asked breathlessly, one hand slipping up under the edge of Alex's tight black top to rest against her stomach.
"Yes. Please, God. Go home," J'onn groaned, closing his eyes with a wince as he turned and walked away with his paperwork.
"Not home," Alex shook her head playfully after the Director had left, a delightfully devious smile shining in her dark eyes. "Sparring chamber."
"I don't want to spar, Lex," Kara whined, with her best orphaned puppy pout. "I want to make you come so hard, you forget how to talk for a minute."
"That only happened once," Alex grinned fiendishly. "But yeah, that's exactly what I'm talking about. In the sparring chamber."
"Why in the sparring chamber? So some marine can walk in on us? That's gross." Kara wrinkled her nose.
"We can lock it from the inside, dummy. I have all the override codes."
"Okay, and then...?"
"And then we can set the kryptonite containment fields, and I can make you completely lose your mind without you having to worry you might accidentally hurt me." Alex was still grinning, but Kara stiffened slightly.
"What?"
"It's okay bluebird, I know it's something you always have to do, and I know you don't mind doing it...but I mind. I want to give you this. Sex is supposed to be about total release, and I don't think you've ever really experienced that; not a hundred percent. I just wanna make you feel good, Kara...can I, please?" Alex bit her lip, smiling hopefully.
"Oh...okay," Kara nodded shyly, feeling suddenly like a nervous, inexperienced teenager.
"Don't be scared, kri-zhao," Alex murmured, kissing Kara just below her ear.
"I'm not," Kara shook her head with a smile, suddenly realizing it was true. Hands linked together, Alex dragged Kara off to their favorite sparring chamber, both of them giggling like fifteen-year-olds.
…...
It was the middle of the night, and they were still in the sparring chamber, when the sound of Kara's emergency ringtone went off; it was something she shared only with her closest friends, those who knew her true identity, and she could never ignore it—not even when she was naked and sweaty and covered in glorious hickeys, something her body had never allowed her to experience before. With a groan, she rolled off Alex's hips onto the mat and reached for her pants, pulling her phone out of the pocket. Alex made a pathetic whine of protest, but didn't say anything.
"...Lucy? Lucy, slow down, I can't—he what? When? No, no, it's okay, I know how to find him. I'll call you as soon as I can." Kara hung up the call and looked at Alex with steel in her usually warm blue eyes. "James is missing. He didn't show up for his date night with Lucy, and he didn't answer his phone, and when she went to his apartment, she found signs of forced entry."
"Three guesses who came calling," Alex growled, sitting up and reaching for her clothes. "How the hell are we gonna find him?" Kara held up her phone with a grim smile. "The little emergency switch he wears, the one Clark gave him—it has a GPS. It's always active, even if he doesn't get a chance to hit the button."
"How come I don't have one of those?" Alex frowned, raising an eyebrow indignantly.
"Because you..." Kara crawled across Alex's body, still naked, and kissed her deeply. "...Can handle yourself."
"Oh...yeah," Alex agreed stupidly, while Kara zoomed back into her clothes at the speed of light.
"Assemble a strike team. We're going to need as many badges as we can get. I'll be there waiting," the blonde girl nodded, all business now that she was back in the cape and boots.
"Kar, be careful," Alex reminded her beloved alien, stroking her cheek and leaning in for a quick kiss.
"They're just bad men in hoods, Lexie. They can't hurt me," Kara shook her head with a reassuring smile. "But they can hurt James. I've gotta go." Alex nodded, and watched the blur of red and blue that was her baby girl streak away from her down the long DEO corridor to the surface.
…...
It took Kara less than three minutes to zero in on the spot where James was being held; it was the darkened football field of National City High School, lit only by the flame of the huge fiery cross erected at the center line, and the torches of the circle of hooded men standing around the red-cloaked leader, who was whipping a dark figure tied to the goal post. James.
Kara zipped down to the ground in front of her friend, her body absorbing the impact of the whip that was meant for James. She wrapped one hand around the thick leather strap and pulled, sending the red-hooded figure flying over her head and across the grass, where he landed with a thud. "James? James, can you hear me? I'm gonna get you out of here, okay?"
"Knew you would," the tall photographer wheezed, trying to smile; but it came out as a wince. His back was raw and bloody. "I got a clean shot of the Grand Wizard...without his hood. They got my camera, Kara..."
"I'll get it," she assured him, ripping away the ropes that bound him to the goalpost. Then, she turned and blew out the flaming cross with her freeze breath, as she'd so desperately wanted to do at Ms. Grant's house. Once the cross was no longer alight, the field became pitch black again. It was nearly 2am. "Lexie," Kara murmured urgently, tapping her earpiece. "We need to get the power switched on at the NCHS football field, now." Moments later, the stadium was flooded with light. The sound system went on, too, and inside nearby houses, lights began to flicker on as local residents were roused by the commotion. Kara turned to face the men in the white hoods.
"That's my friend's camera," she said coolly, nodding toward the man holding James' camera in his white-robed hands. "Give it back to him."
"We don't take orders from you, space monkey," the man jeered behind his hood. A tiny smile curled the corner of Kara's mouth before she streaked across the length of the field in a fraction of a second, taking James' camera from the man's grip as easily as if he were a toddler. But then the smile slid from her face, as a familiar, sick feeling blossomed across her skin and down into the pit of her stomach. The ground began to sway as the hooded figure produced a kryptonite blade from under his robe; and before she could think, he sank the blade deep into her shoulder.
Kara screamed convulsively, back arched with agonizing pain as she fell to the ground in a heap. The men circled around her roared with laughter. "You didn't think we'd come to the party unprepared, did you, you little parasite?" The man who'd stabbed her jeered. The kryptonite blade was still sticking out of Kara's shoulder; she couldn't think, she couldn't breathe. With every ounce of her willpower, she gripped the blade in both her hands, and yanked as hard as she could, sending the glowing sword flying across the length of the field. Red blood gushed from the open wound, and she pressed her hand over it, trying to staunch the flow. Kryptonite radiation from the stab wound began circulating through her body, and the world became a dizzy ship at sea; Kara fought to keep her eyes open, her mind clear. In the corners of her vision, she saw crowds of people creeping into the bleachers from the surrounding neighborhood; but their faces were a blur. All she knew was that they were innocents, more people who could get hurt now because of her.
"You see, brethren—this creature, this demon of the underworld sent by the devil himself, is not invulnerable as she'd have us think," the hooded figure standing over her yelled out across the field. "Like all unholy creatures, she can be defeated with the strength of righteousness!"
"Ho!" all the hooded men yelled, holding up their torches into the night.
"She can be banished back to the fires of hell from whence she came!"
"Ho!" yelled the hooded figures again. Kara could hear the whispers breaking out among the crowd of bystanders, wondering what the should do, what they could do. Back arched against the cold ground, she looked upside-down at James across the field, and they shared a moment of desperate eye contact, both of them broken and bleeding.
"We have been gifted by the hand of the Almighty Himself with the tools of righteousness to vanquish this monstrosity once and for all!" The man above Kara yelled triumphantly, brandishing a hi-tech ray gun of some kind from under his robe. Where would the KKK have gotten that kind of weaponry?
General Lane, Kara thought to herself with a sickening jolt. Moments later, a massive explosion of electrically enhanced kryptonite burst from the end of the ray gun, seizing Kara's body in its grip as she writhed in agony, unable to even scream, her voice paralyzed. "No! Leave her alone!" James yelled, his voice hoarse with torture. The rest of the innocent bystanders still seemed frozen with uncertainty; no one in National City was cheering for the klan, certainly, but Kara could still hear their whispers; still unsure whether it was safe to approach her, safe to set her free.
Then the field was flooded with even more light as an NCPD helicopter hovered overhead, ordering the klansmen to lay down their arms and surrender. Kara could hear the rumble of laughter from the man standing over her with the ray gun, could hear the hum of it powering up to charge as the man said to his nearest neighbor, I expect there's enough volts in here to take down a few pigs along with the space monkey.
Without giving herself time to think, Kara gritted her teeth and shot into the air, blood from her shoulder streaming down one arm as she put herself between the police helicopter, and the glowing green, electrically enhanced kryptonite beam. Every face in the stadium, klansmen and citizens alike, looked up and stared transfixed at the sight of Supergirl caught in the glowing green beam, arms thrown wide to protect the helicopter behind her. Her body seized and writhed uncontrollably with the force of the voltage and the kryptonite radiation surging through her; and when the charge gave out and the green light died away, she dropped like a stone from the sky, landing with a thud that rattled the aluminum bleachers. The klansmen roared with laughter.
Then...through the haze of her pain, Kara became dimly aware of feet all around her, as the residents of National City rushed down from the bleachers and surrounded her, acting as a human shield between her and the hooded attackers. The people...the people were protecting her.
"Lookit what we have here. A whole city of race traitors," another one of the hooded men jeered; and as he spoke, half a dozen more ray guns appeared from under white robes. "I don't suppose they'll be much missed in the kingdom of heaven. Time to thin the heard, boys." The hum of all the ray guns charging up was audible in the night air, as the people of National City all stood shaking, but standing their ground.
"No, don't...please...please..." Kara panted, writhing uselessly on the grass as she tried and failed to stand up, the world still swaying dizzily around her. She could hear the klansmen laughing with anticipation of more violence...and then all at once, with a heavy grunting sound, all the ray guns flew from the men's hands, flying across the length of the field and slamming into the goal post where James had been tied up. A large magnetic cuff was latched around the bottom of the goal post, turning it into a super-powered magnet, courtesy of the DEO. Kara saw Hank directing the removal of the illegal weaponry, while NCPD officers flooded into the crowd, handcuffing anyone in a white hood. Kara's eyes swam closed dizzily, panting with relief.
A large hand reached down and gripped hers, pulling her to her feet, where she swayed unsteadily. It was the NCPD SWAT team chief. "Supergirl, are you all right?" He asked, keeping one hand on her good shoulder to steady her. She nodded, still too winded to speak. Applause burst out among the crowd, and Kara smiled weakly as the SWAT captain raised their joined hands in triumph, showing the whole city that they were one team, all fighting on the side of truth, justice and the American way.
Despite the warm reception she was now getting from the public, Kara was incredibly grateful when she felt Alex coming up behind her; she could still recognize the sound of Alex's footsteps, even with her ears ringing from the thousands of volts of electrified kryptonite that had recently surged through her body.
"I thought I told you to be careful," Alex chastised playfully, coming up behind Kara and wrapping both arms around her waist to steady her.
"Sorry," Kara sighed, closing her eyes gratefully as she leaned back into Alex's strong arms. It felt so good to have Alex's arms around her again, even in the midst of how awful she felt.
"It's okay, babe. You're still my hero." Alex rubbed her fingers lightly over Kara's stomach, wanting to kiss her; but they both knew that PDA was impossible when the blonde girl was in her superhero getup. Sometimes having a secret identity was a real drag. "So, can we get you back to the DEO now for a sun-nap?"
"Uh-huh," Kara nodded; then with a woozy little hitch, she closed her eyes and stifled a sneeze against her sleeve, her whole body shuddering weakly in Alex's arms.
"Aww, baby! Solar flare? From these asshats?" The dark-haired girl jerked her head towards the robed men—now with their hoods off as they were handcuffed and packed away into the wagon—and jeered at them, her lip curling protectively. "I knew they beat you up pretty bad, but...you blew out your powers? Fighting humans?"
"Ndot just fighting humans," Kara sniffled, wiping her nose grumpily on the back of her wrist. "They had alien tech, Lexie...three guesses who they got it from."
"Our favorite General," Alex sighed, stroking Kara's cheek consolingly. "Well, now that we've confiscated all their weapons, at least we have a real shot at getting some proof this time, some cold hard evidence. If we can prove a connection between military intelligence and the KKK...well, I just hope Lucy won't hold it against us if we end up sending her dad to prison."
"Uh-huh..." Kara nodded absently, and sneezed again. "Do you have any tissues?" she grumbled miserably.
"Aww, bluebird...c'mon, let's get you fixed up," Alex cooed, wrapping her arm around Kara's shoulders and steering her towards one of the black DEO vehicles. "I was going to put you under the sunlamps for a few hours, but that won't help now. You just need a full-system reboot. How about we go up to the roof of the CatCo building, and I'll jump off? If that doesn't reset your adrenalin system...well, you'd be a pretty sucky fiancee."
"You're hilarious," Kara rolled her eyes.
"And you're my hero," Alex murmured, pulling the humvee door shut and wrapping both hands into Kara's blonde hair, kissing her thoroughly behind the privacy of the tinted windows.
