Hello Supergang!
Please accept my humble apologies for our two-month hiatus. Hopefully the extra-long update will make up slightly for the extra-long wait. If I were rich and could do whatever I wanted all the time…well, I'd still do other stuff, but I'd also do a lot more of THIS. Thanks for staying on board the faithful USS Kalex! Enjoy the update my dears :)
A/N: obviously there are some spoilers for Myriad in this chap! (As if you couldn't figure that out from the title, heh). But it's still set in my AU Kalex-canon world, so different storyline. Fair warning.
…...
I'd Carry a Plane for You
Chapter 24: Myriad (Part 1)
…...
Kara was at her desk at CatCo, working on her latest article in the Aliens are People series, when her Supergirl phone went off. Knowing it had to be something serious for J'onn to interrupt her work day, the blonde girl jumped up and ran to Ms. Grant's office before she answered, so none of her co-workers could overhead her conversation.
"J'onn? What is it, what's happening?" Kara paced the floor of Ms. Grant's office; the older blonde gave her young protégé a meaningful look at the unannounced disruption, but stayed respectfully silent.
"Our friends in hoods are back," J'onn said grimly, referring to the recent KKK attacks on National City, which had been made even more deadly and frightening by the acquisition of some serious alien weaponry—almost certainly from the hands of General Lane, though they still had no hard proof. "We're getting intel from all over the country, Kara. They're attacking aliens exclusively. And thanks to their shiny new intergalactic toys, they could do some serious damage. We're looking at mass-murder…even genocide."
"How…how can they be attacking just aliens? How do they even know where to find all the aliens?" Kara asked in confusion, shaking her head incredulously. "Most of them can't be identified on sight, they look human. Like us."
"I think it's a safe bet that alien weapons tech isn't the only thing General Lane has been sharing with the Great White Hope," J'onn rumbled stonily, his voice controlled but deadly serious.
"The Alien Amnesty Act," Kara whispered, her eyes widening in horror. This was exactly what so many in the underground alien community had feared, why so many still hadn't registered for US citizenship under the Alien Amnesty Act's political protections. Because a list of every alien in the country…in the wrong hands, could quickly become the most frightening threat of all. Then an even more immediate thought made Kara jolt in horror. "Lyra! Winn's girlfriend—she's registered for alien amnesty, J'onn."
"Go find her, make sure she's safe. I'm going to fly to Chicago, there's a major attack happening there. I'm leaving Alex in charge of HQ, I don't know how long I'll be gone."
"I'll come help you as soon as I know the aliens here are safe," Kara agreed quickly, already antsy to be out the window.
"Copy that. Stay sharp, Danvers. Watch your six. You know you're the biggest prize of all for these bastards. They could be expecting you."
"Oh, I am definitely not going to give them anything they're expecting," Kara growled stonily, her blue eyes hardening with resolve. "Don't worry, chief. I'll catch up with you soon."
"Acknowledged." J'onn ended the call without any fuss, obviously anxious to get flying himself. Kara looked over at Ms. Grant, debating how much, if anything, she ought to tell her boss, the media mogul of National City. Technically, this information was all classified…but, pragmatically, the best way for CatCo to help avert disaster was to warn people. Kara chewed her lip.
"Don't bother wondering how much you should tell me, I think I can get there on my own," Ms. Grant said grimly, folding her arms and sitting back in her expensive leather chair. "Lacking government support for his…racial cleansing…General Lane has conspired with the KKK again, and shared the names of all the aliens in the country who have registered under the Alien Amnesty Act. As well as every bit of advanced alien weapons technology he's ever laid his hateful little hands on."
"You are a good journalist," Kara sighed, shaking her head as she took off her glasses and handed them to Ms. Grant for safekeeping.
"I'm aware." The older blonde smiled acerbically. "Now go, save the city. I'll put out a warning about the attacks. Obviously I can't share anything that could be characterized as speculation. But the attacks themselves—we can warn people." Kara nodded, smiling gratefully, and shot out the window, her work clothes landing inelegantly on Ms. Grant's head.
"Excuse me! Watch the hair!" the boss lady complained as Kara zoomed off, knowing the young superhero could still hear her. "Some of us aren't genetically immune to split ends, you know!"
…...
It took Kara less than two minutes to find Lyra. The Valerian refugee from Starhaven was at work when they came for her, at the dive bar where she and Winn first met. She wasn't the only alien who spent time there, either. Kara had been sure this would be one of the first places the KKK would attack if ever they had the firepower. No more IF about that, the blonde girl thought to herself stonily as she crashed through the already bashed-in door of the bar.
"Hey!" Kara snarled, picking up a fallen bottle of tequila and chucking it at one of the white hoods, currently focused on shooting aliens with some kind of electric-blue energy ray. He went down like a stone, his human skull as fragile as any other despite the badass weapon in his hands.
"Kara, look out!" Lyra screamed from behind the bar, her pale skin and ice-blue eyes just visible around the side. But Kara barely had a chance to turn and look behind her—even at superhuman speed—before a huge, glowing green net of Kryptonite webbing was thrown over her body, sending her crashing to the floor in agony. It was pain beyond pain, she couldn't even hear her own screaming—then suddenly, the net was gone. Kara looked up, panting, to see Lyra standing over her, looking scared but exhilarated at her own actions. The Valerian girl had a sharp wit for sure, but she'd never been a fighter. She was a refugee. But the Kryptonite didn't affect her…and she wasn't about to sit by and watch while Supergirl was tortured to death by terrorists.
"Thanks," Kara panted, rolling weakly onto her stomach and pushing herself up on shaky hands.
"Yeah, well, you did come to save me, didn't you? It's just good manners to return the favor." They smiled at each other. Then a huge, glowing red blast knocked them off their feet, a shockwave of energy from an intergalactic bomb slamming everyone in the bar flat on their backs. Even Supergirl.
Then something very strange happened. Just as Kara jumped up again—still shaking and sweaty from Kryptonite exposure, panting and breathless, fists raised in determination—the white hooded figures all just stopped. They dropped their weapons, all at the exact same time, and stood motionless.
"Um, okay…I guess we won?" Kara said uncertainly, as all the other alien bar patrons began peeking out from behind the shelter of overturned tables. The Klansmen remained silent, motionless.
"This is weird," Lyra stated the obvious, watching as the men calmly formed a single-file line and marched out the smashed door into the street. Kara followed curiously after, with many of the aliens she'd just saved trailing after her in equal confusion. In the street, they saw that it wasn't just their white-hooded attackers who had suddenly gone all 'Dawn of the Dead.' It was everyone—every human, at least. It seemed that the entire population was pouring out of their homes and workplaces, their faces all flat and expressionless as they marched silently into the street, all in perfect formation, as if this had all been orchestrated and rehearsed. Which was impossible.
"Myriad," Kara whispered, more frightened now than she had been when the KKK had her trapped in a Kryptonite net. "It's happening…"
"What?" Lyra asked anxiously. Kara turned to look at her, seeing all the other alien bar patrons looking to her for some kind of explanation, too. They weren't affected by the brainwashing signal Non's army was sending out through Lord Tech's satellites. Kara wondered how small a sliver of the city's population was represented by this small group of aliens, how many others were left to watch in helpless confusion as the masses poured silently into the streets without explanation. "Kara? What's happening to everyone?"
"I—it—I don't have time to explain," Kara shook her head regretfully. "I'm sorry…I have to go now. Everyone," she looked to her fellow aliens, "go home and stay there, stay out of sight. Kryptonian terrorists are mind-controlling the human population. I don't know what their intentions are for other alien refugees, but it doesn't matter, because I'm going to stop them. Just go. Stay safe."
Most of the alien refugees didn't need to be told twice, scattering like they were running from a burning building. Lyra stayed behind though, looking at Kara with desperation in her eyes. "I have to go find Winn," she said. Kara nodded in understanding.
"Go to CatCo, keep an eye on him, on everyone. See if you can find out what they're doing as mind-controlled zombies with access to the most powerful media hub in National City. Call me if you find anything."
"Wait, where are you going?" Lyra asked in alarm, assuming Kara would come with her. It was her workplace after all, her boss, her best friends.
"I have to go see what's happening at the DEO. If the humans are all zombies, and the alien prisoners aren't…" Kara couldn't bring herself to finish her thought. "I have to secure the DEO," she said simply. Lyra nodded, looking scared but determined. "I'll come catch up with you at CatCo as soon as I can." Lyra nodded, and Kara squeezed her hand. Then she shot into the sky like a bullet.
Adrenalin racing and her heart in her throat, it took Kara less than a minute to zoom to the DEO's secret underground facility, where she found Alex leading the DEO troops in sharp formation, preparing to power down the entire cell grid and release all the Fort Rozz prisoners. On the viewscreen was Non, smug as he gave the human soldiers his orders.
"Power down the main cell grid, Agent Grey," the Kryptonian terrorist said with relish in his voice. He was enjoying this.
"Yes, Sir," Alex said tonelessly, her dark hazel eyes strangely flat and blank as she looked down at the console in front of her and began pressing buttons.
"Lexie, no!" Kara yelled, racing to stop her. But halfway across the room, the blonde girl abruptly changed course when Alex—along with all the other DEO agents—started shooting their kryptonite dart guns at her. One dart sank into her upper arm as she dove for cover, and she gritted her teeth with a yell of pain.
"Alex, snap out of it! You have to fight it, you have to wake up!" Kara cried, panting on the floor with her back up against one of the consoles. But the only response she got was more shooting. The loud, flat voice of the DEO's mainframe computer announced ten seconds to cell grid shutdown, and began the countdown; and Kara knew she was out of time. The kryptonite leeching into her bloodstream from the dart embedded in her arm was slowing her down, she couldn't shoot from one side of the room to the other like a blur, as she normally could; but she still ran damn fast, diving for cover behind her pod, which was still displayed proudly in the DEO. Panting, she pushed it around so the exhaust pipe was facing toward Alex, and all the other soldiers who were still shooting mindlessly at her.
You have to do this. You have to do this, she told herself in determination, snaking one arm through the open console to power up the pod; but only for a second. A single blast of energy from her light-speed pod was enough to knock all the DEO agents out, slamming them flat on their backs, unconscious. The countdown was at three now. Kara stumbled to the main computer console and smashed it. The countdown stopped abruptly at two.
"Early parole just got cancelled," the blonde alien girl snarled, her relief mixing together with the pain in her arm, and the fear that she might have hurt Alex with the sonic blast. Gritting her teeth hard, Kara reached for the end of the kryptonite dart still sticking out of her arm. "Aaahhh…oww…" She whimpered, refusing to cry as she trembled with the pain of pulling the glowing green thing out of her bleeding arm. As soon as it was out, the radiation it was emitting made her head pound and her stomach twist, and she threw it as far from herself as possible. She didn't have time to be weak now.
"Alex," she murmured, kneeling down beside her unconscious wife to check for injuries. Thankfully she seemed unhurt; she was just knocked out. "I'm so, so sorry…" She reached down and stroked the dark-haired girl's cheek with gentle fingers; then she leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'll be right back, okay baby?"
Shakily, Kara stood up, and marched purposefully to the one cell she did not intend to keep locked. At the end of the long hallway, she opened the door to her Aunt Astra's kryptonite prison. The older woman stood up as soon as she saw Kara's face, her expression plainly showing that she understood what was happening. Neither of them said anything; they just looked at each other in silence for several long moments.
"I tried to warn you that Myriad could not be stopped, little one," Astra said sadly.
"Yeah. But we're still going to try," Kara said stonily, unlocking the cell door and holding it open for her aunt, looking at her expectantly.
"You are…releasing me?"
"Yes," Kara said simply, still staring at her aunt with determination blazing in her blue eyes. Finally, after another long silence, Astra spoke, still making no move to leave the confines of her cell.
"You are not as much like your mother as I once thought," the older Zor-El shook her head. "You, Kara…you truly believe in second chances. Don't you?"
"Yes," Kara said again simply, reaching out a hand. Astra took it, and allowed her niece to lead her out of the cell.
"What would you have me do?" Astra asked, her voice wary but determined.
"Stay here. Keep the DEO secured against Non. Who better than you to anticipate his attack strategy? Just make sure the prisoners stay prisoners. And…try not to let any of our people get killed." Our people. In the thirty seconds Astra had been free from her cell, Kara was already counting her as part of their side, part of the us. Astra just nodded stoically.
"What are you going to do?" Astra asked, following her niece back to the main control room. She wasn't surprised to see the blonde girl kneel down and scoop her brave one into her arms protectively, still unconscious from the blast.
"I'll be back in ten minutes. I have to get Alex out of here, somewhere safe. I can't let her be a zombie."
"Of course," Astra nodded. "I will guard the others until you return."
"Thank you, Aunt Astra." Kara smiled in grim determination. Then she shot into the air with Alex in her arms.
…...
Susan Grey was washing dishes when a loud thump rattled the ceiling above her, making her jump. Were there intruders in the house? Entering through the second-floor windows, in broad daylight? It made no sense…but someone was in the house with her, that she knew. Before she had time to decide whether to call the police, or just run, a blur of motion streaked down the main stairway, and Kara was there, in her Supergirl suit, laying an unconscious Alex down on the couch.
"Oh, God!" Mrs. Grey gasped, rushing to her daughter's side. Even though Alex's mom knew the whole truth now, knew that her daughter didn't just have a desk job analyzing forensic evidence for the FBI, she had never actually seen the frightening, action-packed side of the DEO's work up close.
"She's okay, she's not hurt. She's just knocked out," Kara assured her mother-in-law gently, stroking Alex's dark hair one more time before she stood up again in determination.
"But—but what happened?" Mrs. Grey asked in bewilderment.
"I don't have time to explain. I have to get back to National City," Kara shook her head, squeezing the older woman's arm reassuringly. "Alex has to stay here. She won't want to. But she has to. It's not safe for her to be in the city right now. Stay here until you hear from me, all right?"
"All right," Mrs. Grey nodded in bewilderment. She'd never seen this side of Kara before, either—giving orders, preparing for battle, the seriousness of the situation plain in her steely blue eyes. "What—what am I supposed to tell Alex when she wakes up?"
"Tell her I love her…and tell her I won't let anything happen to National City," Kara said simply, grim determination flashing in her eyes.
"Kara…be careful," Mrs. Grey said quietly. She didn't ask her not to go; she didn't ask for an explanation. But she had loved the blonde alien girl as a second daughter for years, long before Kara was officially her daughter-in-law. She couldn't let her fly off into danger without a single word of concern for her safety.
"I will," Kara smiled sadly. Then she was gone in a blur and a rush of wind, so fast that Mrs. Grey couldn't even see which way the blonde girl had gone. The older woman rushed to the phone to call her in-laws; whatever was happening in National City, they would want to know about it.
…
Mere minutes later, Kara was flying through the 40th floor window of the CatCo building, where all her friends and co-workers were sitting unnaturally still at their desks, typing in silence. The only sound other than the clicking of keys was Lyra's voice, crying and yelling at Winn to wake up; but the young IT tech just stared blankly at his screen, still typing, acting as if he couldn't even hear his girlfriend yelling in his ear.
"Kara, do something!" Lyra begged, slightly hysterical as she looked up from her zombie-boyfriend helplessly.
"Winn? Kelly?" Kara went around the cubicles in the main office space, shaking her friends gently by their shoulders (gently for Supergirl, anyway). But no one so much as looked up from their screens. "That's Kryptonese writing…" Kara murmured, looking at the long lines of computer coding running up the screens.
"What does it say?" Lyra demanded.
"I'm not sure…it's computer coding, I'm not an IT tech," Kara shook her head in bewilderment. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do…" In the silent desperation that followed the young superhero's statement, Ms. Grant's private elevator dinged as its sleek metallic doors opened, and the CEO of CatCo worldwide media strutted into the office, giving orders without looking up from her phone, appearing totally unaffected by Myriad's mind-control signal.
"For the last time, tell Bernie Sanders that I am not interested in hot yoga," the media mogul sighed impatiently over her phone. "If he wants to talk about congressional reform, then"—the sight of Kara dressed in her Supergirl uniform made Cat look up from her phone in surprise. To whoever was on the other end of the phone, she said calmly, "I'll have to call you back." She slid her phone into her pocket. "Supergirl! Did we…have an appointment that I forgot?" The older blonde woman raised one eyebrow in confusion, obviously trying to keep Kara's cover in front of the rest of the office, though in their current state there was no need. Kara just stared at Ms. Grant in amazement.
"You're not a mindless drone," she gasped.
"No. No, I learned that lessons when Demi Moore and I wore the same dress to the premiere of Ghost," Ms. Grant shook her head calmly. Kara had to suppress a small smile. Even in the face of an apocalypse, her boss's dry humor could always be relied on. "And who is this?" She nodded to Lyra.
"Lyra Strayd," the Valerian girl stuck out her hand. "I'm Winn's girlfriend."
"And you're in my workplace because…?"
"Ms. Grant, listen to me. This alien signal is affecting everyone in the city, they're acting like automatons. Haven't you noticed?" Kara asked in bewilderment. How could Ms. Grant have eluded Non's mind control? How could she not notice that she was surrounded by mindless zombies?
Looking around her executive floor at all her silent, motionless employees, Ms. Grant raised an eyebrow. "Mmm. Well, yes, they are a bit more quiet than usual. Perhaps my reign of terror has finally reached its peak effectiveness."
"You think this is funny?" Kara yelled at her boss, too scared to be polite as her mentor looked back at her in frank astonishment; Kara never spoke to her like this. "Look at them! They're mindless zombies! Hello!" She put her face right up to one of her co-worker's ears and yelled; the man didn't even flinch, but continued typing without interruption. "It's Dawn of the Dead out there!" She yelled, throwing her arm out to indicate the city outside the wide windows of the CatCo office.
"Kara, I…" Ms. Grant shook her head in bewilderment, startled out of the pretense that Supergirl and Kara Grey-Danvers were two different people. None of them knew what to say, what to do. Then a little ding alerted Kara to an incoming text message on her personal cell phone, hidden in her boot; she pulled it out and gasped in relief as she looked at the message from Clark. It just said, I'm coming.
"My cousin's coming," she smiled weakly, momentarily embarrassed that she hadn't even though to call him in the midst of all this. Of all the times to refuse his help, this was not one of them.
"Superman? Coming here?" Ms. Grant brightened. "This may not be the best time, but I've been meaning to ask—do you think he'd be interested in doing an interview for our Aliens are People series?" But Kara wasn't listening; she ran to the window, searching the skies, and smiled when she saw the red and blue blur of her older cousin streaking towards them from the east. But the smile slid abruptly from her face as he stopped dead in midair, and shot straight down from the sky to join the humans marching in mindless formation.
"What?!" Kara cried in shock, putting a hand to the window. "This can't be happening…Myriad doesn't affect aliens…"
"If Superman is affected by this…mind control ray thing…" Ms. Grant waved her hand impatiently in front of her, still looking less scared, and more annoyed at the interruption of her schedule than anything else. "Are any of us safe?"
"I'd put money on that bet." Maxwell Lord came strolling into the CatCo office with his hands in his pockets, smiling smugly. He wore some kind of futuristic-looking Bluetooth device over one ear.
"Maxwell Lord. I should have guessed," Cat Grant sighed dismissively. "What is it they say—only cockroaches will survive the apocalypse?"
"It's nice to see you too, Cat," Max smiled sarcastically.
"What are you doing in my office?" Ms. Grant shot back, arms folded expectantly.
"How are you not affected by the Myriad signal?" Kara asked, before the conversation could be derailed from the most pressing business at hand. The cocky tech mogul tapped his earpiece, with a self-satisfied little smile.
"Ion-blocker. A little something I whipped up when I realized what the Kryptonian terrorist cell was planning…after they attacked my lab. They're using my satellites to send neural signals directly into the minds of everyone in the city. This little baby scrambles the signal before it can reach my brain." Kara stared at him in shock, anger and desperation, all swirling around her while her heart hammered in her chest.
"You…you found a cure? And you didn't share it with the DEO? We could have made enough for everyone, we could have saved the city!" she yelled furiously.
"I believe I've made my position on government assistance perfectly clear…Supergirl." Max sneered. Kara's blue eyes flashed dangerously; she almost snarled at him. Cat put herself between them, sensing the volatile turn the conversation had taken.
"All right, all right, everyone just relax," Ms. Grant said authoritatively, staring them all down with her most intimidating boss-lady stare. "Clearly not everyone needs to be an alien or have a magic headset to resist this thing, because I don't have one and I'm perfectly fine."
"I see you're wearing the earrings I sent you, Cat," Max Lord smiled smugly. Even though she knew it wouldn't help the situation, Kara really, really wanted to punch him in the face. Just once.
"You're my secret admirer?" Cat sighed. "I'd been rather hoping it was Harrison Ford." Max just shrugged in false modesty, his smug smile growing even bigger. How he could manage to be smug in a time like this, Kara would never understand. "Let me guess." Ms. Grant touched one of the earrings. "Ion-blockers in the diamonds? Classy as always, Max."
"It just didn't seem right…for the world to lose Cat Grant's mind," the smug millionaire shrugged, crossing the room to Ms. Grant's side, and boldly sweeping the hair back behind one of her ears to show off her high-tech jewelry. Ms. Grant stared back at him in undisguised loathing.
"Well it's comforting to know that some things can always be counted on— even in the face of the apocalypse, you're still a creepy perv to the very end," she sneered at him.
"Whose end? Theirs or ours?" Max countered smoothly, looking totally unabashed.
"You have a plan, I suppose?" Ms. Grant demanded. Kara and Lyra waited anxiously. He may be a creepy perv, but if he could help them save the city, they couldn't afford to turn him away.
"Of course." Max Lord smiled grimly, his hands in his pockets again, looking like he hadn't a care in the world. "We're just going to have to kill them all." Before they even had a chance to react to this horrifying plan, every screen in the CatCo office was suddenly filled with a face even more smug than Max Lord's—Non.
"Kara Zor-El," the Kryptonian terrorist jeered, preening like a prize rooster on the many screens all around them. "I come to you now in mercy; I offer you one last chance. Release my wife, and then join us. Join your own people. We will be the kings and queens of this planet, and the glory of Krypton will be restored."
"Queen of the zombies? No thanks," Kara snarled, her hands clenching uselessly into fists at her sides. "And my aunt is not a prisoner. Not anymore. She doesn't want this, Non. If you truly love your wife—and honor your general—you'll stop this all, right now."
"Lying child!" Non roared.
"You don't believe me? Ask her yourself. She's at the DEO. Not as a prisoner. As an ally. She's keeping it safe from you," Kara spat, holding herself back from punching straight through the TV screen.
"I have a better idea," Non grinned smugly again, one eyebrow raised egotistically. "Never forget that I gave you this chance, Kara Zor-El. On your head be it." Then his image was gone.
"What does he mean?" Lyra asked uneasily; she was still standing protectively by Winn's side as he sat mindlessly typing at his desk. But before Kara could say a word, Winn stood abruptly from his desk.
"Your heroics have done nothing to save this planet," he said tonelessly, staring at Kara with dead eyes.
"Winn? Can you hear me? You have to fight back!" Lyra yelled, shaking him roughly by the shoulders. But she may as well have been yelling at a brick wall.
"This is the inevitability of Myriad," James said, marching zombie-like from his office into the main lobby, with the same dead eyes as the rest of the CatCo employees.
"What's happening?" Ms. Grant asked warily, looking around at her employees as another stood up; Kelly, the receptionist.
"Always remember that this could have been avoided, Kara Zor-El," the red-haired young woman said tonelessly, in a voice that was not her own.
"Non, stop it! Leave them alone!" Kara yelled, her face going red.
"You have taught the humans much," Winn said, his voice as flat and emotionless as the others. "But have you taught them to fly?"
"What?" Kara asked in horror, watching as her three friends began walking purposefully towards three different balconies leading off the main CatCo lobby. "Winn, stop! James! Kelly! Please, you have to fight!"
"No," Winn shook his head as he climbed up onto the 40th-floor railing. "You have to catch." Kara watched in horror as all three of them held their arms out, and jumped. She heard Lyra's screams in her ears as she shot out the window after them; she caught Winn first, then with an impossible burst of speed, she swooped under James and caught him too, just in time. But she couldn't catch all three of them. She just couldn't. Touching down on the ground with Winn and James, Kara rushed to the crumpled body of the sweet-tempered receptionist.
"Kelly…I'm sorry…" Kara whispered, tears stinging her eyes. She'd never had to look at the dead body of someone she'd failed to save. Never.
"You missed one," James said, his voice dead as Non used him as a human microphone. Kara stared desperately into the vacant eyes of her friend. "Do not stand against me, Kara Zor-El."
"Or more will die," Winn finished, as if their minds were one. Non was playing puppetmaster with the entire city.
"Everyone you know, love, and care for, will die," James continued, still as a statue.
"Accept defeat," Winn said, crossing the space between them with robotic steps, and taking her face in his hands, forcing her to make eye contact. "I have already saved National City…next, I will save the world." Without waiting for any response, Winn and James turned in unison back toward the CatCo building, leaving Kara alone with tears stinging her eyes.
…
Meanwhile in Midvale, Alex's eyes opened blearily to take in her parents' couch. "What the hell…" she mumbled, rubbing her forehead, which still ached slightly from the blast that had knocked her out.
"Alex, honey, you're all right," her mother gushed, suddenly at her side, sitting by her head and stroking her hair consolingly. "Just take it slow. Does anything hurt, sweetheart?"
"Mom…how did I…Kara!" Alex gasped and sat bolt upright, her head rushing with dizziness. "Ohh, fuck…" She rubbed her forehead again.
"So much for taking it slow," Susan Grey sighed, unsurprised at her daughter's trademark stubbornness. "Kara's all right, honey. She had to go back to National City. But she said that you should stay here."
"Yeah, I'll just bet she did," Alex fumed, pulling out her phone and hitting the speed-dial to Kara's Supergirl phone, the tiny one embedded in her earring that was always with her. "Kara! What the hell?"
"Lexie…are you okay?" Kara sounded worried.
"I'm just fine, thanks. Four hundred miles away, but totally fine."
"I had to get you out of there, Alex. You'd have done the same thing if you were me, don't say you wouldn't. You were a zombie, Lex. I couldn't let you be a zombie."
"And I can't let you fight Non's army by yourself!" Alex exclaimed, standing up in agitation and pacing her parents' living room. She was still a little dizzy, but it was fading. Adrenalin was surging through her body, making her awake and alert more quickly.
"I'm not by myself. I've got Ms. Grant, and…Maxwell Lord."
"Sorry, maybe I did hit my head too hard. Did you just say you've got Maxwell Lord? Helping you?" Alex demanded. "The same guy who sent spy drones after us and blackmailed us with a damn sex tape?"
"I know, I know…he's not my first-round draft pick apocalypse buddy, either. But he's here."
"How is he not a zombie? And Ms. Grant?"
"Alex, I don't have time to explain," Kara sighed regretfully.
"Kara Grey-Danvers, don't you dare hang up on me," Alex warned, her adrenalin turning to white-hot anger. It was easier to be angry than scared. "You get your caped ass back to Midvale and come get me! Right now!"
"You know I can't do that, baby. I'm sorry. You can't help me right now. You just have to stay safe."
"That is not what I do!" Alex yelled furiously. She didn't have time to get back to National City on her own; she needed a speed-of-light alien escort.
"It is this time." Kara's voice was resolute; Alex knew it. But she couldn't just give in. She had to do something.
"Kara, no"—Alex began to argue again, but Kara cut her off.
"I love you, Lexie. I won't let Non hurt you." And before Alex could get out another word, the line went dead. Kara actually hung up on her. Kara had never hung up on her, not once in their lives.
"Fuck…" Alex whispered, staring blankly out her parents' kitchen window at the trees in the backyard. A bluebird landed on one of the low branches. Alex's heart thumped painfully against her ribs.
"Sweetheart, please come sit down," Mrs. Grey begged, gesturing to the empty spot beside her on the couch. "Kara is right, you have to stay here. It's all over the news. You can't get back into National City now, it's under military quarantine. Kara told me you won't be safe there."
"She's not safe there either!" Alex yelled, still pacing in agitation. She heard her mom's voice speaking to her, but she wasn't listening anymore; she dialed another number on her phone, waiting impatiently for J'onn to pick up.
"Alex. Are you all right?" The Martian DEO Director asked in his deep, reassuring voice. "Where are you?"
"I'm at my parents' house. Kara flew me all the way to Midvale and left me here," Alex fumed. "You've gotta come get me, J'onn!"
"What, do you have a death wish?" J'onn snorted. "Thank your lucky stars you're not in National City. If you were, you'd be mind-controlled right now. Myriad is happening."
"I know! That's why you have to come get me! Kara needs our help!"
"I'll help her," J'onn said. "I'm flying back from Chicago right now. I'll be there inside fifteen minutes. Just stay put, and I'll update you as soon as I can."
"No," Alex snarled.
"Agent Grey"—J'onn began, but Alex cut him off.
"Do not pull rank on me, J'onn. Not now. My wife is out there all alone against an army of terrorists, who are all as strong as she is. She needs me. I can't leave her."
"You can't help her, either!" J'onn yelled in frustration. "The moment you're inside the city limits, you'll turn into a mind-controlled zombie! Is that what you want?"
"No, I won't be a zombie. Not if you help me," Alex shook her head in determination. "You can use your telepathy. Shield my mind. We can both help her. Please." Alex wasn't too proud to beg; not with Kara's life, and the fate of the whole city—maybe even the whole planet—hanging in the balance. The silence on the other end of the phone went on so long, Alex pulled it away from her ear to look at the screen, making sure he hadn't just hung up on her, too.
"…All right," J'onn agreed finally.
"Really?" Alex gasped, hardly daring to let herself feel relief. Then a loud thump on the back porch made Alex and her mother both turn toward the door with a jolt. Alex rushed to open it.
"…Really," J'onn said with a small smile, standing on the porch. Alex hugged him tightly. Mrs. Grey ran out after them.
"Alex, wait. I don't understand. How can you be protected from mind-control?" The older woman twisted her hands anxiously. Her only daughter was about to run towards danger. She wasn't about to just smile and wave. Alex hadn't gotten her stubbornness from her dad's side of the family.
"Mom, I…" Alex was about to say that she didn't have time to explain; but then she remembered how furious she'd felt when Kara said that to her. "Okay, I am gonna tell you this only because we're in the middle of an apocalypse. But you have to promise that after the world doesn't end, you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, 'kay?"
"All right," Mrs. Grey nodded warily. Alex looked an J'onn, and he nodded.
"Okay. Mom, this is my boss, J'onn J'onzz. He's a shapeshifter from Mars. And he's telepathic. He can shield my mind, protect me. So I can protect Kara." J'onn smiled grimly. Alex did have a way of cutting to the chase. "And now we have to go."
"Alex!" Mrs. Grey was panicking now, the same way Alex had panicked when Kara hung up on her. The older woman threw her arms tight around her daughter. "Promise you'll come back."
"I promise…that I will try very, very hard," Alex said earnestly. Her mother hugged her a little tighter…and then finally released her. The dark-haired girl smiled grimly.
"I'll protect her. Both of them," J'onn promised, seeing in Mrs. Grey's mind that she was just as worried about Kara. The older woman nodded. Then she watched in awe as her daughter wrapped one arm around her boss, and they both shot into the sky like a bullet.
…
At the same time, in National City, Kara was hastily wiping the tears from her face as she hung up on Alex for the first time in her life, and turned back to face Maxwell Lord and Ms. Grant. "Domestic troubles?" Max asked sarcastically. Kara's blue eyes flashed dangerously, and she took a furious step toward him. Ms. Grant hastily put herself between them, an equally brave and foolish decision; but she had faith that Kara wouldn't hurt her.
"Enough," the older woman snapped, putting a pacifying hand on her young protégé's shoulder. "You're not helping, Max."
"None of this is helping," Max pointed out, still sounding totally calm, almost indifferent, as if this were all just a game to him. Maybe it was. "Are you ready to do what needs to be done, Supergirl? Are you ready to save the world?" Kara stared at him hard. No one said anything for a few long moments.
"Tell me your plan," Kara said finally. Max calmly explained that after the attack on his lab, he'd constructed a weapon to use against Kryptonians—a kryptonite bomb. It would kill them all, choke them out. Kara could grab her cousin from the mindless masses, and detonate the bomb above the city; the two of them would be just fine as long as they didn't come back to National City for fifty or sixty years. Cat made a hostile, incredulous sound.
"What about human casualties?" Kara asked warily.
"There will be some collateral damage," the tech mogul admitted, still sounding fairly indifferent. "The concussive force needed to detonate the kryptonite across the entire city will kill roughly eight percent of the population." Ms. Grant made another involuntary sound of incredulity.
"Eight percent of the population?" She exclaimed in horror. "Eight percent of four million people? That's over three hundred thousand people, Max." She didn't even pause to do the math; she did it instantly in her head as she spoke. She hadn't become the most powerful person in National City just because she was pretty and blonde.
"Versus the seven billion people on this planet that Non wants to make into his zombie army," Max said coolly, still sounding completely unruffled, somehow.
"You really are a sociopath, aren't you?" Cat Grant shook her head incredulously. Then she looked back to Kara. "You're not seriously considering this, are you?" Kara said nothing, pacing across the lobby in agitation.
"She is," Max said calmly. "Because she knows it's the only choice. If this threat gets out of National City, then every man, woman and child on this planet—including yours"—he looked meaningfully at Cat—"will be on their knees." Cat looked back to Kara, and they shared a long, loaded silence. Because neither of them could think of another alternative.
"Go get your bomb," Kara said stonily.
…
While Kara was busy arguing with Max Lord and Ms. Grant over the fate of National City, Alex was busy fighting for her life. The moment she and J'onn had set down in National City, Non seemed to know. He came for them himself; he didn't send his flunkies. Alex had had her share of dogfights, but this felt different. The stakes had never been this high; the fate of the entire world had never hung in the balance. Even two-to-one—even when one of the two was a Martian—J'onn and Alex were just no match for Non's Kryptonian strength, not in bare hand-to-hand combat. They didn't have any weapons; they didn't plan this. It was all just happening. Non punched J'onn so hard, the Martian flew across the abandoned lot and was impaled on a metal pole sticking out of a broken old industrial fence, the point going right through his back and coming out through his stomach. Alex screamed. Her moment's distraction was all Non needed; he zoomed instantly to her side, one hand wrapping around her delicate human throat.
"Surrender. Or I kill her right now," Non said with obvious relish, looking into J'onn's weakened eyes as he pulled himself off the pole, and held his bleeding stomach in one hand.
"No! Don't listen to him, J'onn! Run! Go find Kara, save the city!" Alex yelled and screamed, thrashing in Non's grip like a fish caught up in a net. But J'onn didn't run. Blood streaming over his hand from the wound in his stomach, the DEO Director crumpled to the ground, returning to his true, green-skinned form as his strength left him. "No!" Alex screamed, terrified that the man she thought of as a second father was dead. Non just laughed cruelly, and released her, holding one hand up slowly in front of her face. Alex felt her body go slack; she stopped fighting. She could still feel everything; she knew who she was, where she was. But it was like she was a passenger inside herself, not the pilot. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak. With another wave of Non's hand, everything went black.
The next time Alex opened her eyes, she was in a strange, dark room, Kryptonese writing covering the walls. Non's cruel laughter was right in her ear. She gasped and jerked away from him, in control of herself again, for all the good it did.
"Enjoying your stay of execution?" The Kryptonian terrorist jeered at her. "It won't last long. I've only kept you alive this long so Astra can have the pleasure of killing you herself when she is returned to me."
"Astra isn't returning to you," Alex snarled, fury overtaking fear as it always did in life-threatening situations. It was what made her a great DEO agent. It was how she stayed alive…when Kara wasn't there to rescue her. "She changed her mind, she changed her heart. Ever since you sent the Black Mercy after Kara…she lost her taste for it."
"Liar. You're all liars!" Non roared furiously. We're ALL liars? Alex thought to herself. Did that mean Kara had said this to him, too? Had they fought, was Kara safe? "But it doesn't matter…I have an even better use for you, pretty little pet."
He waved his hand in front of her face again; and once again, Alex felt her consciousness rush inwards, making her a passenger inside her own body. She was aware of everything around her; she could feel her body moving, was aware of putting on the Kryptonite-covered armor at Non's command. But at the same time, she didn't feel like she was the one doing it; she was just watching. Inside her head, she was screaming no, no, no; but her body didn't listen. It just kept putting on the Kryptonite armor, and pulling the Kryptonite sword from its case, strapping it to her back.
She watched from inside herself as her legs walked her out of the dark room; she realized they were inside Fort Rozz, that was where Non and his army had been hiding all this time. It was brilliant, really; evil, but brilliant. I am coming back for you, you son of a bitch, Alex screamed inside her mind; but her legs kept moving her forward. She felt like a fish stuck inside a tank as she watched the world from inside herself. She knew what Non was going to make her do; and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't force her body to do what she wanted. All she could do was watch. Finally, she found herself at CatCo, stepping out of the elevator onto the 40th floor. She saw Kara, and her heart leapt inside her chest; but her arms still reached for the Kryptonite sword.
"Alex!" Kara exclaimed in confusion when she looked up and saw her wife strutting across the CatCo lobby. "What are you doing here?! I told you to stay safe in Midvale…Alex?" Kara hesitated, stopping halfway across the lobby as she took in the sight before her: Alex, covered in glowing green Kryptonite armor. Her dark eyes were empty and cruel. Kara's heart squeezed painfully inside her chest.
"She can't hear you," Non grinned cruelly, using Alex's voice.
"No," Kara whispered, her blue eyes going wide with horror as she took a step back. "I won't fight her, Non."
"You have no choice," the voice that was no longer Alex's said with sadistic relish. "I warned you, Kara Zor-El. I gave you a chance. Now that chance has passed. Kill your beloved, or let her kill you. Either way…you lose."
"No! I won't!" Kara screamed. "Do you hear me, Non?" But Non, apparently, had nothing left to say. Alex swung the heavy Kryptonite sword; Kara leapt back to avoid it, but refused to fight back. Instead, she fled to the nearest balcony, leading them away from Ms. Grant and the office full of mindless drones that were once her friends. "Alex! I know you can hear me! You have to fight!" Kara screamed, leaping out of the path of the glowing green sword again. The cruel grin on Alex's face just widened.
"She is strong, your human," Alex said in a taunt; but it wasn't really Alex. "But not strong enough." Laughing sadistically, Alex threw a glowing-green Kryptonite punch; refusing to hurt her, Kara just caught her arm and held on tight, gritting her teeth against the agony of holding onto the Kryptonite armor, letting it touch her bare skin.
"Lexie, please, fight him…" Kara panted, as she was slowly pinned to the ground under the radiating waves of the Kryptonite armor pressing against her.
"Your noble intentions will serve no good, young one," Non jeered with Alex's voice. "She will blame herself for your death. Tell me, shall her agony be greater if I force her to live a long life alone with her grief? Or would you rather I simply have her throw herself off the balcony once you are dead?" The cruel laughter that bubbled up from Alex's throat was unlike any laugh Kara had ever heard from her before; because it wasn't Alex. As Kara's strength slipped away from her under the agony of the intense Kryptonite exposure, she finally felt the truth in her heart. If Alex could stop Non, she would have already. The blonde girl knew she was about to die…but she couldn't let Alex blame herself. If it was the last thing she ever did.
"Lexie…I know you can hear me," Kara choked, barely able to get air into her lungs as the Kryptonite leeched away her strength. "This isn't your fault, do you hear me? This isn't your fault Alex. I love you…I'll love you with my last breath…" The blonde girl was wheezing painfully, she couldn't get enough air. Nevertheless, she persisted. "I love you," she whispered, refusing to look away. Alex's dark eyes were glittering with malicious cruelty…and then…they weren't.
"Oh, Jesus Christ," Alex gasped, with a choking sound as she fell backwards on her ass, looking down at herself in a daze as if just waking up from a very deep sleep. She saw the glowing green sword in her hand, and chucked it across the lobby, hastily turning off the glowing tubes of Kryptonite covering her body armor. "Kara, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she sobbed, tears welling up in her dark hazel eyes as she turned off the last of the glowing green tubes, and pulled the trembling blonde girl into her arms.
"Lexie…it's really you…" Kara panted weakly, tears of joy and relief spilling down her flushed face.
"Yeah," Alex agreed, beaming in woozy confusion at the love of her life as she wiped the tears from Kara's face. "I'm so sorry, bluebird, I'm so sorry I hurt you…"
"It wasn't you, baby. It was Non," Kara shook her head weakly.
"Yeah," Alex agreed, sighing dazedly. "I couldn't fight him, Kara…I couldn't control anything…"
"Except that you just did," Kara pointed out. They blinked at each other in confusion. "How did you do that?"
"I…I don't know," Alex admitted, rubbing her forehead absently.
"Well we'd better figure it out…because if we don't, we're going to have to nuke the city."
...
…To Be Continued!
