205. Bookends Theme

I laid Terra gently on the couch. I positioned a soft blue pillow under her blonde head of hair.

The frail girl let out a long sigh as she reclined. She coughed once…twice…

I offered her a glass of water.

She took a sip, swallowed, shuddered, and rested on the furniture.

She wasn't about to sleep, yet she wasn't about to walk around either.

She just needed to……

To be still….

Like a statue.

I took a gentle breath and spread a homemade quilt over her. I felt her forehead for good measure….smiled….and patted her shoulder before standing up and slowly shuffling my way out of the darkened living room.

I dug my hands in my pockets, staring down at the floorboards as I slowly paced across the place. I found myself standing in a halo of light beside a grandfather clock and stairs leading upwards to the second story of the house.

I paused, my feet lingering.

"…………"

I looked up.

John and Martha Kent huddled together as one in the soft light of a distant, kitchen lamp. They held their hands and craned their necks to silently gaze into the room where the mysterious goddess reclined.

And Kara….

Kara stood a few feet away from them and to my right. She also was staring, but there was a certain worrisome distance spelled out in her eyes. She made a big deal out of fiddling her fingers and made an even bigger show of trying to conceal it.

A beat.

I gazed at them all. I waited. Waited…

John Kent spoke first: "So she is Terra? The one stolen from your City?"

I gently nodded.

Martha Kent swallowed. "The girl who once worked for Slug?"

"…………"

"It's Slade, dear….," John patted Martha's shoulder. A beat. He looked at me sideways: "That is true, right?"

I again nodded.

"But how…..h-how did you find her?" John scratched his gray head. "Didn't that awful man who led the attack on November Fourth ship her away? I mean—"

"Do any of the Titans know about her, Jordan?" Kara asked.

I shuddered. I calmly gestured for 'something to write on'.

"He needs a writing pad…," John said.

"Hold on," Martha wandered into the kitchen. "I know where I left one. I'll go fetch it."

Kara drifted forward, hovering. She gazed into the living room and murmured: "That's really Terra?"

I nodded.

"She's so….so….."

I mouthed: 'Skinny?'

"…………I was going to say 'young', but that too…."

I bit my lip.

Martha padded back into the room. She had a drawing pad in hand. "Here, son. A pen too."

I bowed halfway. I gently took the items from her. I scribbled on the paper. A quarter of a minute later, I heald the top sheet up for everyone to see:

'I've told the Titans that I'm looking for her. But they couldn't possibly know that I've actually found her.'

"But how? How did you find her? She wasn't just….tossed into your arms, was she?" John asked.

I again scribbled.

I again showed them the note:

'Has anything shown up on the news about Las Vegas?'

Martha gasped and held a hand over her heart: "Y-Yes! The City was devastated all over! Oh, I fear for the poor people who live there!"

"………….," I took a deep breath.

Kara's blue eyes were thin. "You were there….."

I swallowed.

"You were there, weren't you, Jordan?"

I slowly nodded.

I scribbled.

'An Area 51?'

"Area 51?" John made a face. "What's that got to do with anything?"

I made a face. My lips parted in shock….

"Erm….," Mr. Kent scratched his head again. "Is that supposed to be important?"

"You were at Area 51 too?" Kara gasped. "Kela almighty…..just what were you up to, Jordan?"

I took a deep breath.

Dagger……

If he an anticipated Area 51 going 'kaboom'……

Maybe he also anticipated a way to cover it.

A man like that has to have a lot of power to hide the utter annihilation of a military base from the Earth's surface via ion cannon blast.

No doubt, Luthor is working with him.

But how much of that do the Kents need to know?

I scribbled….scribbled…….scribbled…..

Three quarters of a minute later, I held up the paper:

'I rescued Terra from Triangular, the people responsible for November Fourth. I want to bring Terra back to the Titans. But I can't. Not right now. Something's come up.'

"What do you mean you can't?" Kara remarked, blinking. "She'd be safe with the Titans, wouldn't she?"

"………….," I bit my lip. I slowly shook my head.

"Good heavens….why not?" Martha murmured. "Is it the nasty people from November Fourth? Are they after her?"

"Are you afraid of some trap being sprung if you brought her back to your home?" John asked.

God, these people are inquisitive.

Goes to show they're related to Clark Kent.

I scribbled:

'Can you folks keep a secret?'

John and Martha exchanged glances.

Kara swallowed. She put on a thin, brave smile: "Jordan….you can trust us."

"After all you did to save our necks back in August…," John said.

Kara winced.

"….you have our word, our trust, and our debt," John finished.

"By all means…," Martha nodded.

I took a deep breath. As much as I wanted to, I didn't want to dwell on their invitation.

Not too much, at least.

I scribbled.

I held a note up:

'I do not want you to get too involved with this.'

I flipped a page.

I scribbled again.

My right hand was starting to cramp, but I ignored it as I held the next page up:

'But at the same time, I feel that you couldn't possibly get involved.'

"H-Hey….," Kara shrugged with another hopeful smile. "What's unassuming little Smallville for?"

"Aside from a certain Brainiac," John gestured. "We've been positively untouched!"

I felt a metal chill up my left prosthetic.

I shivered….openly.

Kara noticed it. Her eyes widened a bit.

I shook the shivers away, sighed, and scribbled:

'I need to make a trip to Metropolis.'

"What?" Kara floated towards me some. "You need to see Clark?"

'I might. But at the moment, I'd rather not get Superman into this. I'd rather not get as many people into this as possible.'

"Why not just tell Clark?" Martha asked. "He and Supergirl—" she pointed "—can help out with anything!"

"Yeah, Jordan! You're with friends now! SUPERfriends!" Kara winked.

I bore a weak smile for but a few seconds before swiftly replacing it with a sigh and scribbling, scribbling, scribbling:

'Things have come up about Terra. The girl will not truly rest until a few mysteries are unraveled. In fact, I myself will not rest until things are unraveled. I have to chase down Triangular in Metropolis. And the reason why I don't want to attract too much attention is because I feel like I'm being chased by someone.'

"Chased by someone?" Kara remarked.

John asked: "But who?"

Harsh, pen-stroke scribbles:

'Red Aviary'.

There was a chill about the room. It was the same chill I always felt. But—seemingly—the light in the evening shrouded house dimmed some and I saw the Kents shift uncomfortably.

But there was still confusion all around.

"Red Aviary?" John blinked.

"Sounds like a big red bird….," Martha blinked.

I simpered somewhat, but visibly shivered again. I hugged myself.

"Jordan…..," Kara drifted over with a concerned look on her face. She placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. The first time Supergirl and I had come into 'contact' in months. It was a haunting sensation. Hauntingly warmed. Hauntingly healing. I gently stirred to the side to break the contact without making it look too cold. I suddenly felt 'unworthy' for some reason. Kara looked at me and said: "What is wrong? What brings you here? What could be so terrible that it'd keep you from going home to your friends? Especially now that you have Terra?"

"………."

I turned around.

I paced past a dining table still covered with Thanksgiving items.

I stood before a darklit window.

Staring out onto the starry plains of Kansas.

A beat.

I sighed, turned around, and gazed at the Kents.

They all looked at me.

Silent.

Concerned.

Patient…..

"……………."

I slowly scribbled.

I took two and a half molasses minutes.

The pen stroked across an entire sheet.

I wrote small, legibly.

I then shuffled over and handed it to the Kents.

Kara first.

I let them huddle and pass it around as it was read:

'For the last four and a half months, there has been a rise in evil. This evil does not have a name or identity save for 'Red Aviary'. All I know is that this evil is the embodiment of Destruction, or the color Red on the Spectrum. If you don't understand that, it is fine. This is an evil best felt and not understood. I have felt it. Jinx and Psimon and Viper and others sensitive to the Spectrum of Construction and Destruction have felt it. Something red and carnivorous is rising up in the criminal underworld. It has become a Parasite to an evil corporation embodying Dagger, Luthor, and Gotham City's criminals; otherwise known as 'Triangular'. Red Aviary was not the mastermind of the attack on my City on November Fourth, but it was there. It is what killed Commissioner Decker. It is what killed Blake Glover. And it is what killed Robin.'

About three minutes later, the Kents collectively finished and looked up at me.

"My word….how come the other Titans don't know about this?" John Kent asked.

I took a deep breath. I folded my arms and stared aside for a few seconds.

"………"

I held a hand out towards Martha Kent.

She walked over and handed me the notepad again.

I flipped a page, angled the pen, and scribbled:

'I don't know. But they had to have felt it when Robin died. Much like I did. But because of Robin's death, they've accepted defeat. They've huddled up in the City. In the Tower. They have very little hope left. Destructions thirsts for them all.'

"If this is all true, Jordan….," Kara hovered in front of me, leaning her blonde head to the side. "Then how come they're all still alive? If Red Aviary is so ugly and badass, how come it hasn't taken them out?"

I took a deep breath.

I flipped a page…and found nothing but cardboard backing.

I did a double-take.

"Erm….," Kara blushed and pointed: "Just use the back of the pages you've already written on."

I nodded.

I scribbled:

'Red Aviary hasn't taken them out because they aren't the next on the list.'

"The 'list'?" Martha blinked.

"Who's next on the list, then?" John asked.

I pointed at me.

"…….," they all stared.

I walked over.

I pointed into the living room at Terra.

"You……Terra….."

"B-But why?" Kara asked breathlessly.

I raised my right hand. I concentrated. I billowed smoke in a little black plume over my palm. Tendrils of darkness danced towards the ceiling.

They all watched. Half-mesmerized.

I extinguished the smoking showcase.

I took the pad again and scribbled long and hard:

'I am Balance. Terra is Construction. Right now, we represent half the poles of a Spectrum that secretly governs the way fate works. Red Aviary wants to shift that Spectrum into Destruction's favor. And to do that, Terra and I have to be eliminated. And once that is done, the Spectrum will wield pure Destruction for the first time in ages. Nothing will stop Red Aviary then from destroying the Teen Titans. One by one. And after that, who knows? Maybe even the Justice League will fall to Red consumption.'

"Like…..L-Like some sort of angel of death?" Kara blinked.

"Hmmm….the Justice League…," John remarked.

"Clark….," Martha clung to John's shoulder.

He hugged her from aside.

I took a deep breath. I looked at Kara.

She softly looked back at me.

"………….," I scribbled:

'Red Aviary is after me first. He has to cross over balance before he can get to Construction-Terra. When I rescued Terra from Dagger's hands, I may have done just what Red Aviary wanted. In acquiring Terra, I got both the embodiments of Construction and Destruction into one place. I made it easy for Red Aviary to kill off the obstacles in his way with one fatal swoop. And that swoop will be infinitely times more fatal if I bring the two of us—Terra and I—into the midst of the Titans. I can't walk into the lion's den like that. Not that easily.'

After a minute and a half of reading, the Kents looked up at me.

"So….you want to do something that this invisible enemy of yours can't see," John Kent said. "You want to throw him off?"

I formed a sphere with two fists then brought my hands apart. I mouthed: 'I want to break the circle'.

Kara paced—hovering—in front of me. "Bringing Terra here instead of to Titan's Tower is one way to do that, I guess." She stopped and looked at me dead-on. "But how's going to Metropolis helping at all, Jordan? Won't it complete the Circle for you to go there?"

I leaned my head to the side: "?"

"Won't you be attracting attention? Wouldn't Red Aviary follow you? Wouldn't he….wouldn't he find you?"

I shrugged.

"And don't act like it's no big deal!" Kara practically shrieked.

John and Martha jumped even.

Kara frowned and pointed at me: "Don't put yourself into some dangerous arena here, Jordan! What you're talking about sounds really-REALLY scary and I don't like the sound of you being a martyr! Not one bit!"

I took a shuddering breath.

Ana and Raven were always trying to protect me.

Now Kara……

Gawds……it's a damn pattern, isn't it?

There's one circle I'll never break.

I shook it all off and scribbled before handing the pad to her:

'As much as Red Aviary is a threat, so is Triangular. I've just learned of something terribly bad happening, and it involves an airplane shipment to Lexcorp of Metropolis. I have to investigate.'

"Yeah? And just what do you have to investigate?"

I sighed as I scribbled and scribbled and presented:

'Terra's child. It was stolen from her.'

Martha gasped.

John's eyes narrowed.

Kara was silent as she continued to read:

'Somehow Dagger has synthetically copied the essence of Terra's power. He and Luthor have at their hands the power to make an army. A terrible army of earth-elemental destroyers. Golems, if you will. I fought a single one of them and almost died in the process. I don't know what Luthor may have in mind, but I sure as Hell don't want to let Dagger get away with whatever he has planned. November Fourth was just an appetizer to something far greater and disruptive. I must go to Metropolis to get to the heart of all this. Red Aviary or not. This is a nightmarish situation that involves hundreds of thousands—maybe even millions of people as much as it involves just the Titans, myself, and other superheroes.'

"In that case," Supergirl looked up from the pad and walked towards me with arms gesturing. "Let me come with you, Jordan! We can get to the bottom of Dagger and Luthor together! And maybe once we get some solid clues, we can get Clark and his super-'league' to help out!"

"……………..," I stared at her.

John and Martha looked at each other nervously.

"……………..," Kara swallowed. She gently breathed: "I-I can't come with you….can't I, Jordan?"

I ran a hand through my long black hair. I inhaled deeply. I gazed into the living room.

Kara walked over and stood beside me.

Terra rested on the couch. Trembling every now and then. There was a sharp breath….like a choked sob every other second.

"………….you need someone to protect her….," Kara murmured without looking at me. "….to keep her safe if Red Aviary decides to circumnavigate you and rip off her head. And yet…..she has to be kept safe….and way from you. Away from Balance."

I looked at her. I slowly nodded.

"…………well……hehe….," she simpered weakly. "I've always been known around Smallville for my baby-sitting skills. So what the Hell, huh?"

"………," I smiled.

Kara swallowed. She looked back at her foster parents. She spoke breathily to me: "But….Terra…..she's a felon. A villainous apprentice in her own respect."

I clenched my jaw.

"What if……I-I mean…….how would I know, Jordan? How would I know that she isn't going…g-going to….."

I slowly, slowly shook my head. And I shrugged. I lifted the pad of paper and wrote slowly on it before presenting the words to Kara:

'I can't make any guarantees. This is up to you, Kara. It's your house. Yours and the Kents.'

"…………," she gazed aside. There was a coldness to her eyes. Cold and lonely.

Guilty.

I planted a hand on her shoulder.

"……," she looked over at me. Eye level. We were always both…so tall.

"……….," I smiled. I took my hand off, scribbled, and held up the notepad:

'I want you to make this decision as Supergirl. Not as anyone else.'

"Past mistakes set aside, right?"

I winced at that. I didn't want to go there….

I didn't.

Kara ran a hand through her platinum blonde hair. She looked at Terra. She exhaled: "Kela, just look at her. What a scrawny little thing. She's been stone all this time, right?"

I nodded.

"How could anyone that emaciated ever do any damage?"

I bit my lip.

"Besides….," she muttered to herself more than anyone. "It's not like she's ever been up against an Argosian before. I know how to spank someone when she's been naughty."

I shrugged.

Whatever.

Martha Kent suddenly drifted in and stood amongst us: "You said she lost her child?"

We both jumped.

Had she been listening to everything we said?

"Her very own child?" Martha repeated.

I blinked. I snapped out of it. I wrote on the notepad:

'It is called the 'Gaia' project. Terra's baby has been extracted from her in some sort of embryonic stage. It was at three or four months at the time. I think the statue preserved its internal development.'

Martha's face went tight. "No mother—no matter how dark her past may be—deserves to have her very own child ripped from her like that."

"…………," Kara and I exchanged glances.

"John? Get a warm bath going upstairs! And Kara…get some new sheets for the guest room! The poor dear's been through an awful lot, I'm sure…." And with that, Martha Kent drifted into the living room and knelt gently by Terra's couch. She stroked the girl's head and whispered something motherly. None of us could hear.

"Guess that settles it," John smirked. "Kara. We've got work to do."

"Yes, Pa….," Kara sighed. She looked at me. "This will be an interesting Thanksgiving."

"?" I raised an eyebrow.

Thanksgiving?

I looked over at the dining room table. Half an eaten turkey stood in open view.

Oh……right.

Damn, what's the date?

I'm eighteen, right? At least I think so……

A hand patted on my shoulder.

I looked up.

John Kent was a tall man. "You've done the right thing, son…," he said with a proud wink. "All life is precious. And you went through an awful lot—I'm sure—to ensure Miss Terra's….."

I took a deep breath as he and Kara parted ways to tend to 'guest duties'.

God……

I hope so.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

The guest room.

Three months ago Starfire and Raven had used it to sleep the nights that we the Titans and Supergirl tracked down Brainiac and the Kryptonite.

Today, it was the sleeping quarters for a certain blonde girl.

Terra had taken a long, soothing bath. Kara had donated one of her nightgowns, a power-blue girly; thing that was built for someone much taller than Terra, so suffice to say it covered and warmed the petite girl adequately. She sat on the edge of the half-uncovered bed while Martha Kent sat beside her. The old woman gently brushed Terra's golden locks into smoothness and braided them for bed. It seemed like an unnecessarily tiring, exhaustive ritual. But Terra didn't complain. Instead, she stared into the candlelit corners of the retro-furnished room and murmured:

"Who….Who are you people anyway?"

"Hmmm?" Martha smiled gently. "Oh….nobody in particular. We like to keep to ourselves. The world is a big scary place, and we've got a big son tackling it day by day. For his sake and for ours, we like to hang around in the shadows and be quiet about it all. It's rather peaceful when you're granted a chance to sit back and rest. Relax. To feel the Earth slowly turn beneath you rather than get sucked up in the maelstrom of busy people in busy places."

"I…..I guess I've never had a chance to relax….," Terra numbly said. "I'm always….al-always on the run….."

"Mmm….yes…but tonight you get a chance to relax. I promise you that. We're going to take care of you, little one. Don't you worry."

"You……you shouldn't be doing this……do you know who I am?"

"I only know who I see before me now. A little girl who needs to sleep and close her eyes for once," she started brading Terra's silk-golden hair. The old woman chuckled gently to herself: "Oh my….I suppose I've always been warm to having a daughter. When our son entered our lives, I was mothering him more than a woman should legally mother! Hehehehe…I still do treat him like a child sometimes, even though he's all grown up. I suppose that's why I was so elated when Kara entered our lives. I could have someone to…in a sense…take care of again. And a daughter at that! Someone with whom I can relate. Someone I could treat as a part of myself. Someone whom I could help raise up while showing her the joyous things this world has to offer."

"It…..It m-must be nice to be a mother….."

"Hmmm…indeed," Martha nodded, braiding Terra's hair. "I suppose I will never know….."

A beat.

Terra's tired blue eyes thinned somewhat. She turned her head to the side and looked at Mrs. Kent through the peripheral of her vision. "But…But I thought—"

Martha slowly shook her head. "I've never given birth. At least….," and her eyes were cast aside as she paused in braiding momentarily. "….not truly."

"………"

Martha put on a soft smile. "Before we adopted our boy Clark, I had two miscarriages. I was devastated at the time. John and I thought we would never become parents."

Terra bit her lip. She gazed down at the floor and murmured: "I….I'm sorry."

Martha finished the job on Terra's hair. "It is….a very sad thing to lose your own child. And to lose your child before you have the chance to see what may become of him or her. All those memories that you could have….you see them all dance away into the endless night like stolen breaths and giggles and it's heartbreaking…"

She gently placed her hands on the girl's shoulders.

Terra shuddered.

Martha whispered: "But I found that life still goes on. There is still a warm sunrise after a stone-still sleep. Good things come to those who wait. And after the tears and heartaches I endured, I was blessed. Clark came along. So did Kara. And now…hehe…I have the chance to spread my joy in life to you. You have such beautiful, manageable hair, Terra. The things I would have done at your age to have such!"

Terra's lips curved slightly. "Y-Yeah….it's…..it's my mother's trait…."

Martha gently said: "And I am certain—one day—it will be your daughter's trait as well."

Terra sniffed. She bit her lip. "You people are too kind…….what am I doing here?"

"Shhhhh…..," Martha stood up and gently laid Terra down on the bed. "You are resting. We're going to look after you."

"Wh-Why? Why are you looking after me?"

"Hehehe…to be honest, Miss Terra. I'm not entirely sure! The world of superheroes is awfully confusing to me. But I know what must be done in this case. And in your case…you must rest easy. There'll be a bright day tomorrow, and we'll work out things then if necessary."

"Heh….'superheroes'….," Terra bitterly chuckled to herself and turned her head on the pillow. "You really must not know who you're talking to."

"I'm more than willing to learn," Martha said. She covered Terra with the covers and tucked her in. She leaned over and winked: "Only if you're willing to share."

"………," Terra looked up at her. She murmured: "I think….I-I think I'd rather learn more about you…."

"That can be done too…," Martha knelt her old self by the bed and spoke to the girl. "Like in what way can I educate you?"

"How did you come here? Where is this place? And who the heck is Clark?"

"Oh! One thing at a time! My ears aren't as sharp as they used to be! Much less the head they're attached to!"

Terra winced. "S-Sorry…"

"Nothing to be sorry for, child. Hmmm….I suppose I can start with John and me."

"Y-Yeah….there ya go…."

"Years ago, I moved in from Texas. My father was a prospective farmer, but after a famine season…."

Martha went on with her 'retrospective bedtime story'.

All the while during this scene, I was gazing in from the hallway outside. Staring through the crack in the door at the two. Watching Terra lying in bed. Her eyes trained on Martha. Her face a little warmer and a little softer than the stone-cold ghost I had nursed back in the Nevada caves.

I took a deep breath.

My black eyes thin under my shades…..

"……………"

A tall body walked up and stood behind me.

"Martha's sometimes…….too motherly for her own good," John Kent said.

I slowly turned and gazed up at him.

He looked down at me. He smiled gently: "I suppose she finds herself to be the unofficial 'nanny' to all young superheroes. Clark and Kara are obviously lucky in that respect. And Terra there…" he pointed with a nod of his head "she's a rather gifted gal too, isn't she?"

I slowly nodded.

"'Construction', huh? So what….she can erect a barn without wearing a hard hat?"

I simpered.

Well……

Thermalkinetic geological manipulation is a more exact phrasing.

But……

I folded my arms.

I took a deep breath.

Construction is simple enough in my book.

It's what Hull sorta confirmed. So……

Yeah……

"You know…there are a lot of newpaper articles and a lot of editorials written about that girl," John Kent said. "And all of them make big show of talking about Terra's villainous apprenticeship under Slade and how she brought an entire City single-handedly to its knees."

I winced.

I hesitantly nodded.

"Word is that she could create earthquakes, volcanos, and all sorts of terrible calamities through the simple flick of the wrist."

Again…..I nodded.

"But…," and he held up a finger. "…rumors are that at the last second, she turned against evil and saved the City from the very danger Slade first forced her to make. Terra saved the Titans. She earned her redemption though she sacrificed her body into permanent stone."

I swallowed.

Yup……

Very textbook, that.

"There're a lot of people who'll think she's still a villain even if you were to bring her back to the Titans today," John Kent said. "And there may even be people willing to believe she's turned to good."

I slowly gazed up at him.

He gazed back at me. "For the sake of security, I'm going to go with the minority believing her to be good. Especially since she's staying under my roof for the time being."

I smiled crookedly…and nodded.

"Mr. Noir, I said that we owed you a debt for what you and the others did for us months ago…and I meant it," Mr. Kent said. "But don't take us to be mercenary people. We like to help out whenever we can. You and the Titans have drawn close to Kara, and in spite of….in spite of what happened when you were in Kansas last, we would still gladly have assisted with this whole Triangular and Red Aviary business. But there's something I think I want you to know…."

I leaned my head to the side.

"Martha and I….we've seen Clark and Kara make mistakes in the past. Mistakes that we aren't entirely proud of. And after each occasion, we've found it in our heart to forgive them. As long as Clark and Kara have been willing and able to move forward. And they have. And we're proud of them. I'm certain that you and the Titans have come to terms with what Kara did rather foolishly in the past…."

I kept smiling.

I've come to terms with it, I think.

But the Titans……nobody but Raven knows.

And she……

I continued listening to Mr. Kent.

"….but even still, sometimes it takes a lot more….a lot more for Kara herself to come to terms with."

My lips parted somewhat.

Concern expressed itself in my face.

He rubbed the back of his head and nervously uttered: "Kara has…..not been her usual, lively self over the past few months."

"……….."

"She's gone out with her friends less. She's canceled two or three of her after-school activities. She barely even talks to Clark or bugs him to let her go on adventures and so-forth. And that really concerns me."

I gently nodded.

Listening…

"When she's not alone in her room, she goes out for lonely flights at night. And as much as she's always enjoyed—hehehe—going 'vroom' when the sun's down….her flying adventures as of late have been…….unenthusiastic. Like she's drifting more than flying. I don't think I've ever even seen Clark look that gloomy."

"………," I gazed aside.

"I dunno. I'm not entirely sure why I'm telling you all of this…," John murmured and gazed down the hallway. "I guess….I-I guess that now that an actual 'friend' of Kara's is here in the same household. I was hoping that….oh……," he bit his lip. He eventually added: "….that someone who understands her more than a pair of old country bumpkins could reach out to her."

I raised an eyebrow.

I understand her more than the Kents?

I gazed out a distant window. At the plains of Kansas. The starry night's sky. Some planet named Argos far away that had forever become an icy sarcophagus for all of Kara's fellow-beings.

Perhaps……Perhaps that is accurate……

"Anyways….I shouldn't be bothering you," Mr. Kent said.

I looked up at him again.

He patted my shoulder and smiled: "You've been all over the country, it seems. You need to rest just as much as Tracy there."

Terra.

"We've got a shower and a fresh set of Clark's old clothes. Hehehe…I'm sure you know the drill. And—no offense Mr. Noir—but you smell like a prairie dog!" he chuckled, waving a hand before his nose as he walked off.

I blinked after him.

Don't you mean a 'squirrel'.

I sighed and walked away.

But not without gazing into the guest room one last time.

And seeing Terra….

Terra….just starting to slumber.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

I showered.

I knew that this wasn't the City.

This was Kansas.

And I probably had to preserve the water supply.

But for a minute and a half at least…I lingered.

As I always do.

I pressed myself against a wall, leaning forward.

Exhaling heavly as the icy-cold water battered my bruised and scarred body.

I stared down the drain as a few icy currents carried a few red streams from my days-old wounds down into the black oblivion.

I shuddered.

My metal arm was off. It rested on a bathroom sink outside of the shower stall where I lingered.

But the cold water gave me the shivers enough.

And as I watched the red streams.

I wondered.

I wondered if soon I too would be carried away.

Inside or outside of this humble paradise in the center of the nation.

I swallowed nervously.

For I knew.

I knew that soon I had to be traveling East.

And as much as I didn't want to, I had to do it alone.

And for but a moment, I dreaded the East as much as I ever dreaded the West.

For East was where Robin died.

And East was where Red Aviary was sure to find me.

I bit my lip and clutched the metal disk at the end of my left stub.

Red Aviary may very well find me.

Find me and rip me apart.

But I'll save Construction before that happens.

And someone else.

Someone else could become 'Balance'.

Who knows? Maybe it'd be someone I knew.

Maybe……

I blinked my naked black eyes.

Raven?

I shook that off.

Shook the drops off.

And finished showering.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

Still damp from cleaning, I stepped out into the hallway wearing Clark Kent's old slacks and white t-shirt from his high school years.

Toweling off my black mess of hair, I ran into Kara.

"…….," I lowered the towel and stared at her.

She stood with her hands behind her back. A bashful smile. "H-Hey, handsome…."

"………..," I gently smiled back.

She leaned her head to the side. Her lips pursed and she stretched a hand forward.

I stayed still. I didn't flinch.

She traced with two gentle fingers the scar on my cheek.

"This is new….," she murmured.

I thought of Dagger.

The City.

I swallowed a lump down my throat and nodded.

She lowered her hand. "Why is it that I get the feeling that…every time we meet, you're bound to get a new scar?"

I shrugged.

"Come twenty years from now…hehehehe…I-I might not even recognize you."

I smiled darkly at that.

Kara then fidgeted. Her blue eyes fell to the wayside.

And for a minute there, I was sure that I saw the shadowy ghost that John Kent warned about.

"Jordan…..I….I-I never really thought I'd see you again," she said. She hugged herself. "Two weeks ago…after all Hell broke loose in your City….I was so scared that you were gone. And when Robin died, I just knew….I-I just knew that you would take it so…so hard." She bit her lip. "But still…I couldn't…I-I mean….I didn't feel th-that I could………….."

She lingered.

"……………," I stared silently.

And the 'sound' of my silence must have been deafening to her. "Kela….I-I can't do this….," she murmured. "Do what you have to do here, Jordan," she mumbled and turned around. "Don't let me break your concentration."

My lips parted. I reached a metal hand out for her

She flew into her room and quietly—but firmly—shut the door closed behind.

"………," I sighed. I ran a hand through my damp hair and walked down the stairs.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

I met John and Martha Kent in the kitchen. They were finally cleaning up the Thanksgiving dinner that I had inadvertently interrupted.

"She's asleep now," Martha said.

"?" I looked at her from the sidelines.

"Miss Terra," she winked. "Poor thing's exhausted. I frankly don't blame her…."

I mouthed: 'oh' and slowly nodded.

"You want something to eat, Mr. Noir?" John Kent said. He motioned to the turkey that he was in the process of wrapping in tin foil. "We made plenty!"

"Yes, we almost hoped Clark would have come on by. And we keep telling him to bring that lovely Miss Lane with him. But I doubt that'll ever happen."

"Eh…you know you should leave Clark alone on that subject, Ma…," John Kent nudged. "What with Superman and all that confusing stuff with—"

"Ahem…not in front of guests, dear."

"Oh…r-right. Ahem. So…how about it, Noir? Turkey leg?"

I politely smiled, raised a hand, and shook my head. I fought a yawn.

"Ah…tired…," Martha said. "With all that's on your mind, a good night's sleep would be perfect. You know, there's still the couch in the living room."

Uh uh.

I'm not having my hair braided.

I shook my head and pointed out the screen door.

"Huh?" John blinked. "You can't be serious. It's not like you have all the Titans with you!"

I nodded.

I know.

I just……

I gazed up invisibly towards Kara's shut bedroom.

……

I n-……want to be alone.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

The Kents had a new barn.

The old one was destroyed when Braniac's secret 'cove' built beneath the farm was destroyed by his own devices. Inevitably, a plot of land including the barn had been eradicated above the site. Luckily, the Kents were able to reconstruct everything from the land to the barn that replaced the old one. And somehow I didn't doubt that they had a little 'super' help along the way. The new barn was slightly larger than the old, and it was equipped with new…clean-looking farm gear. Spared no expense. I wondered where such humble farmfolk may have gotten the funds to replace all that which they lost. But I suppose when you're the 'parents' of Superman—Supergirl too—you get some fringe benefits.

I found a wooden ladder and climbed to the loft at the top of the barn. I heard a rustling of feathers and wandered if owls had been quick enough to find this place a shelter after so few months.

But I shook that off.

Before an open barn window that let in the soft blue light of Kansas stars, I spread a blanket over hay and laid my tired head down to sleep.

As I did so, I gazed directly outward and saw that I could spot the light in Kara's bedroom. The dimness inside was hidden by translucent, girly draperies. The lair of Supergirl was a concealed, cold mystery.

And I left it as such.

None of my business.

I sighed and stared at the heavens through the barn window.

The stars.

The shadows of Argos.

Two teenagers months ago spiraling through the air and laughing verbally and mutely in the warmth of joined oblivion.

None of my b-business……

I took my shades off and wrapped myself up in that cold blanket of thought and turned over.

Sleeping….

Like a bleeding spectacle atop a lone rock in some field in Washington.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

I wasn't dreaming.

And yet, I had visions.

Visions of Red.

Strange, nameless, crimson things swimming for me in the nether.

Dagger, Killer Croc, Luthor, and Anderson stood on either side of a long, narrow gauntlet.

And I was sliding down a chute into the screaming mouth of Robin.

As he was being eaten on all sides by red and amber laughter.

And the Messenger winked and Glover rolled over.

And the Titans fell dead in between.

And the Titans….

….Fell dead in between.

……

T-T-T-T-T-T-

I didn't feel my black eyes trying to moisten until I heard her.

Gently climbing up the wooden ladder to the loft.

"?" I sat up and looked out the barn window.

The light to Kara's bedroom was out.

And my lips parted. I spun around and looked

"Shhhh….Jordan….," she pressed her fingers to my lips. As if that meant anything.

I blinked. My naked eyes wide.

K-Kara?

Her face was somewhere between deadpan and just plain dead. She crawled over on all fours and sort of…'melted' into me. A hug. A very, very intimate hug.

I swallowed nervously where I sat. I gently touched her shoulders

"Just be still, Jordan….," she whispered. "Don't push me away. Not now. Not when you don't have an excuse…."

I bit my lip.

She buried her head in my shoulder. Her whole body was trembling. This was Supergirl, and I knew that she knew that I knew that she could crush or break me at any second with her Argosian strength. And yet she didn't. She couldn't.

She murmured: "You're always pushing me away, J-Jordan. Even when we're far away from each other, you're doing it. Please, Jordan. Stay still. For you if not for me."

I exhaled. I looked down at her.

She looked up at me. Her blue eyes were glossy.

I slowly shook my head and murmured something indistinguishable to her.

I'm alone in this, Kara.

And I have to be alone.

She understood and yet she didn't understand.

She looked me straight in the black eyes and whispered: "When was the last time you cried, Jordan?"

"………….."

Her lips painfully smiled. "Was it when we were last together?"

"…………..," I shuddered.

It was.

I planted a metal hand over my face.

Oh god, it was……

"Shhh…Jordan…..," she hugged me.

I shook and melted into the hay-strewn floor of the loft.

I clenched my black eyes shut as tears poured out of them.

Hot, scalding tears.

Like Gethsemane blood.

"Don't push it away…," she murmured into my ear from behind. "Stop running….it's okay….."

I sobbed.

I pounded the loft floor with a metal fist, shook, and cringed.

Robin's dead.

Robin's dead, Kara.

I wasn't there to save him.

I let him die.

And the Titans.

We're falling apart.

We're all falling apart……

Cyborg's cold as ice.

Raven's farther away than the horizon.

Beast Boy cries and Starfire sits in silence.

Tempest is gone.

All that I've ever sacrificed to maintain.

All that I've ever hacked myself to pieces to save.

Is dying.

All of it, dying.

Robin.

Terra's child.

All dying……

Kara stroked my back. She laid herself down and hugged me from behind. We both formed two shivering bodies spooning together on the cold blanket.

And I sobbed.

And I shook.

Everything is coming full circle.

Full circle of death.

I'm sick…and I'm tired……of running scared of something I can't even see.

And I'm so scared.

So scared of Red Aviary.

I've never been so scared in my life.

And Kara held me.

Warming me.

Her chin over my shoulder.

Her arms around my waist.

And for some reason, I felt like—this time—she was never, ever going to let go of her 'ghost'.

And that made me feel like the luckiest and the dirtiest man alive in the world.

And I cried for a solid hour.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

"There was something I wanted to tell you, Jordan. Weeks ago. Right when you announced your decision to leave the Titans. To go on this little adventure of yours. This…virtuous little adventure. I wanted to tell you, Jordan—I wanted to explain to you why…wh-why I didn't come. Why I never came."

I was staring out on the blue-lit expanse of Kansas. My eyes were tired…but pleasantly so…from crying.

I gently gazed over at Kara.

She sat up next to me, hugging her knees to her chest. "Most especially….why I didn't come to Robin's funeral. I wanted to explain all of that…"

"……..," I slowly nodded.

She swallowed a painful lump down her throat and gazed out at the cold, Kansas November. "When we met, Jordan, it was not the prettiest thing in the world. And don't try to deny it."

"…………."

"I reached to you. And I felt for you. I truly did. But at the same time, I was….I was being an idiot. I let Brainiac and Metallo control me. Because I wanted to keep Ma and Pa safe. I didn't think asking for your guys' help would have been enough to take care of those creeps living underneath the farm. I thought I could devise a plan to work around it all without getting any of you good guys hurt. And…it worked. Mostly. But not without scarring you. And I'm sorry for that, Jordan. I have been and shall always be sorry for that. But at the time…..I had one of my dreams come true. I got to meet you in person, Jordan. And I felt that…th-that if I reached out to you, I might do something I wouldn't regret. I might be able to touch the cold mystery inside of that 'badass Noir' and have a friend amidst the whole mess that was going on. M-Maybe….someone closer than a friend. And….and if only you had any idea how much you truly blessed me, Jordan. You showed me that…in spite of all my errors…I had become a woman. I was—deep down inside—and still am someone that my own mother would be proud of. And that means the world to me. An entire world of people that I had previously lossed. I shall n-never forget that feeling of….j-joy and revelation…."

I smiled gently. But the smile didn't last long. I expected Kara to share something less than cheerful.

And she did:

"But something else stayed in its place. Guilt. I'd done a bad thing to you and the Titans, by giving you over into Brainiac's hands. And though it all turned out right in the end….y-you can never change the fact that you've hurt people. I was happy when you and I got to 'talk' over the phone or online, Jordan. But….B-But…."

She hugged her left arm and gazed off.

I craned my neck. Looking at her. Anxious….yet….patient.

"I was hoping…waiting….dying…..f-for you to do it, Jordan….," she sniffed. Her eyes were getting wet.

I blinked.

She looked at me. Her face was hurt.

"I was hoping so desperately that you'd invite me to the Tower…"

My heart fell.

I averted my gaze as I felt a wound inside of me. Self-inflicted. I swallowed a lump down my throat.

Somehow……

I know exactly where this is going……

"Close people should never let rotten things just sit….and fester….," Kara sniffed. "Especially in silence."

"…………."

"A-And I know I could very well have brought it up…..that I was dying for you to invite me into your presence again. Cuz it would mean the whole world to me. Because I was too guilty and too…..too much feeling like utter shit to ever consider asking that we get together again. Because what? Because I still had a few k-kinks in my emotional armor to work about all the bad crap I had done and you were sitting there all comfortable in the Tower with your friends and your security and your soundness of mine?"

I looked at her sideways.

She sniffed and wiped a tear from her cheek. "No, J-Jordan. I'm not mad at you. I-I know it sounds bitter of me and all…..but….I-I just couldn't handle it. I'm Supergirl. I'm supposed to be better than some punk teenage girl using her friends and….and…." She shuddered. She looked straight at me. "….and getting away with it."

"……….," I stared.

"I still don't understand it, Jordan….," she murmured. "After all these months. After all that has happened since our tribulations here in Kansas with Metallo and Brainiac. Wh-Why did you forgive me? Why did you save me? Why…..Why……." She hid her face with her hand and shuddered. "……..Why must you be so good? It's painful for me. Especially when you're so silent….and you've got so much….m-much coldness, Jordan. Such cold mystery and such a painful past that none of us can even guess about much less challenge. Don't you see, Jordan? It's difficult! I don't know what you're thinking, even when I believe that you're 'talking' to me over the phone or the Internet all I can think with all the distance is that the black-eyed face that I can't see is merely hiding so much disgust and hatred and apathy for me. I can hardly bear it…."

My fingers clenched about tiny stalks of straw.

I gazed down between us.

My heart felt bathed with ice. Ice that had always been there. Something that I had been constantly blind too…perhaps because of some lonely comfort I endlessly embraced.

"I felt miserable about myself. I felt like I was being punished. And I felt that that punishment was not enough…," Kara murmured. "And…I-I did stupid things. Twice as stupid, cuz I never told you, Jordan. I stopped hanging out with my friends so much. I kept to myself. I slept more than usual. I…..I-I've been depressed. I hate to think that I'm a fallen superheroine. I hate to think that I'll forever feel bad for what I did to you and the Titans. And what I nearly did to Ma, Pa, and—Hell—all of Kansas!"

"………."

"……….," she gazed up. Lips quivering. "I….I-I didn't come to Robin's funeral, Jordan….because……b-because I thought you would find it an insult."

"………..," I looked up at her.

"I thought that you would hate me. I was s-so down and depressed….I thought that my being there would have been a shame to the memory of Robin."

I painfully exhaled. With curved eyes, I shook my head and mouthed: 'No, Kara, no……'

I placed a warm hand on her shoulder.

Too warm.

She looked at it.

She shut her eyes.

She took a deep breath and fought back to tears: "I guess…..I-I guess that all I want to know, Jordan……."

She opened her eyes. Firm. Hard. Tearless for once.

"…..do you truly love me anymore?"

"……….," I stared at her.

And behind Supergirl's shoulder, I could see the darkened bedroom.

A bedroom darkened by lack of light and lack of joy.

Where John and Martha Kent were helpless to save their foster child from afternoons of depression.

A child who had separated herself from her friends, her life, the Sun.

All because of….

Because of me?

No……

Because she truly is alone. Or actually, she's always been alone. Her entire planet was wiped away. Her loving mother and family died. And on one night……one beatiful night in Kansas, she had all of that loneliness replaced by the warm arms of a black-eyed swordsman who found it fitting and best at the time……

To forgive her.

And to embrace her.

And……to love her.

That was also at the same time when Kara did that which she was most regretful for.

And she hurt the ones she cared about most. And the ones she cared about most had just recently been funneled down from an entire planet of Argosians to five teenagers with a sixth and darkly-mysterious young man at the forefront.

And that man was someone who could only return all of Kara's warm words with cold silence.

And that was someone with so many of his own self-absorbed problems that he was too blind to see Kara marinating in her own identical depression hundreds of miles away.

And that someone—me—could not do anything short of wander on his own. In transit. In silence. In self-sacrifice.

Balancing himself……in a world where the other ends of the Spectrum had turned invisible and fleeting.

I was forever alone. And with Kara attached to me, she too would be alone.

And it was only half a sad conclusion—for both of us—when I looked over at Kara. And I took a deep breath. And….I slowly shook my head. And mouthed:

'No'.

Kara took a sharp breath. And it almost surprised me to realize that it was a wholesome, warming breath. And I saw life return to her face in such a redness that I realized I hadn't been looking at a 'living' Supergirl all of Thanksgiving night.

"I understand….," she murmured. A hearty swallow. "And I……I-I don't….t-truly love you either, Jordan……."

I nodded.

A beat.

And then she drifted forward. Hugged me. And whispered warmly into my ear with a choking shudder:

"B-But I still want to, Jordan……," she said. "I st-still want to love you…."

I inhaled. I hugged her back. Just as warmly. Reciprocal.

"Someday………," she whispered. "……s-someday…….."

I slowly, slowly nodded.

As I looked over her shoulder this time, I realized something. The moon had started to reflect off the window glass of her upstairs bedroom. It had a rippling effect akin to waves. Waters. Atlantic Waters under a boardwalk somewhere. A bitterly familiar feeling. In the back of my head, I hummed the 'Bookends Theme' by Simon and Garfunkel.

She parted the hug before I did. And she looked realistically happy. Relieved.

"So much for the Tabloids, huh?"

That comment woke me up. For all its silliness, I suddenly felt sad. The soreness rose in my throat for but a second until I told myself that I was just as lonely then as I ever was.

Balance and Balance.

I meditated…and I didn't need to cry.

Not again.

"Jordan….," she spoke, holding my hands and running her fingers along my flesh and metal knuckles. "I will look out after Terra. Ma and Pa will take care of her while I protect her. But……" She looked up at me. "Won't you consider me going with you to Metropolis? What you're up against sounds really…really dangerous. I'd protect Terra all fine and dandy. But I'd more than gladly protect you in a heartbeat." She leaned her head to the side. "Why do you want to do this alone? What's so terrible about Red Aviary that you'd want to distance me and the others from?"

"……….," I gazed aside. I sighed.

A beat.

I shrugged. I tried to gesture the answer to her, but it failed miserably.

"Some things…..probably can't be said, huh?" she smiled nervously. "Just like how you cried earlier…," she mumbled. "Things are better left to be felt."

I smiled A gentle nod.

Exactly……

Kara crawled over and perched before the window the barn. She hugged herself. Her back to me.

"……….," I stared at her from behind.

A beat.

"If you won't enlist my help….and you don't want Clark to know about this 'mission'….."

A beat.

"Then at least let me give you a firm foothold," she said.

I raised an eyebrow.

She looked back at me. Firmly.

"Let me take you to Metropolis."

T-T-T-T-T-T-

"………….," Terra sat on the front porch of the Kent's house early the next morning. She positioned herself cross-legged on the swinging chair. Bundled in a blanket. Dressed in denim shorts and a white t-shirt fitting her tomboyish person beneath it all. Her blue eyes were gazing at the grass of the farm just beyond the wooden steps of the porch. She was silent.

A beat.

A pair of black boots appeared before her.

"……….," she stared up.

I was in my usual combat fatigues. Camouflaged jacket. Black undershirt. I had my trademark shades on, and my red bandanna, and Myrkblade strung over my back in its scabbard.

I stared at her.

Terra stared at me.

A beat.

"…………," I smiled.

She blinked. "You're…..Y-You're leaving….aren't you?"

I slowly nodded.

"………," Terra leaned her head to the side. "I….I-I think all of my vision's back. I….I-I don't feel quite as numb anymore."

I raised an eyebrow.

"……….you're really creepy looking, ya know that?"

I simpered.

I nodded.

A beat.

I rubbed the back of my neck.

I shrugged.

I…….waved.

I turned to go.

"What's your name….?"

"……….," I turned and looked at her.

Terra hugged herself under the blanket. She shuddered: "You….Y-You have a name, right? You're a Titan to come after me. Doesn't the p-person who saved me have a name?"

"………..," I slowly walked over. I knelt in front of her. I placed a metal hand on her thin shoulder and with the other, I gripped the side of my shades….and slipped them off.

Naturally, Terra gasped. She shrunk back some from my naked black eyes. She bit her lip.

The dark optics stared at her. Harmless. Blinking.

"……….N-Noir….," she murmured.

"…………," I stared.

"They…..Th-They have said your name….," she whispered. "On visits. In the labs…..you're the new Sixth Titan."

I slowly shook my head. I raised seven fingers. I pointed at her.

"Me?" she blinked. "I'm……I'm not a Titan…."

My heart fell.

She gazed aside. "I ruined that long ago…."

I held my hand under her chin.

I gently had her look at me.

I lifted my other hand.

FL-FLASH!

Black smoke billowed between the fingers.

Terra's lips parted.

I held the black tendrils of steam before her for a few seconds. I then moved the blackness over with my hand and pressed it into her palm. I closed her small fingers over the smoke and let her absorb it….

FLASH!

Her eyes strobed a hot golden color. There was a white aura about her.

She gasped at it….

But it slowly faded.

Calmingly.

Soothingly.

She sat in wonder.

I stared at her and mouthed: 'You have a family.'

"………"

Squeezed her hands together, ran a hand over her bangs, smiled, and mouthed: 'Stay here. Rest.'

I then got up, and with a tightening of Myrkblade scabbard around my shoulders, I turned and walked off towards the edge of the farmland.

Terra stared.

Terra sat.

Terra healed.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

Through the kitchen window of the farmhouse, John and Martha Kent watched the swordsman walk away.

John hugged Martha to him with one hand.

He took a deep breath.

"It's almost…..sad to see someone so young have to walk alone. Even when he has 'teammates' somewhere surely worrying about him."

"Do you think he knows what he's doing, John?" Martha murmured. "How could someone by his lonesome save a good chunk of the world?"

John Kent chuckled. "Martha, honey, if there's anyone on this planet who should know a thing or two about one lone man saving the world…." He looked at her and winked. "It's us…."

Martha smiled. She snuggled up to John's side. "Yes…..Yes…..I suppose we have far too much to believe in than we give credit…."

John silently nodded.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

I reached the front of the farm where the gate rested shut.

I came to a stop.

Supergirl was waiting.

THE Supergirl. Red, white, and blue outift and all.

My god……that tube skirt……

Won't she reconsider? For the sake of pneumonia?

"Ready to take a ride?" she winked.

I rolled my black eyes under my shades.

"Okay…so it's more like a 'latching' than a ride….er….th-that is…."

I hand-signed something.

She didn't understand, but that was fine.

"Just hold on…."

She walked behind me and hugged me from behind. An arm under each shoulder. Her chest to my back.

I blushed….slightly.

"This is gonna be quick….," she said as she started to lift us up and Kansas disappeared in haze and blue distance below. "….and I gotta fly high. So I hope you're used to high altitudes."

I nodded blindly.

I'm used to anything.

"And Kela on high, I swear…is Myrkblade gonna be poking into me during the whole trip?"

I groaned mutely.

"Hehehehe! Hang on!"

FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

We rocketed eastward.

Northeastward.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

November 26, 2004

4:32 pm

Outside of Metropolis

T-T-T-T-T-T-

We got there in record time.

Soaring over cloud tops and flying high above where anyone or anything (Red or not) could spot us.

Per my request, Supergirl landed me on the outskirts of the City.

Where the mountains leveled down along the slopes that fed into the Metropolitan Highway.

And everything led into the tall, glistening City of Metropolis.

Metropolis, with its beautiful spires.

Metropolis, with its gleaming Bay and clean main streets.

Metropolis, with thousands of transport systems weeding in and out and bridges, bridges, bridges—my god, bridges were everywhere.

"I have friends in this City!" Supergirl spoke above the noise of the cold, November winds beating down into the mountainsides.

It was very….very cold.

Winter.

"If you happen upon the Daily Planet, there's a kid there named Jimmy Olsen! He knows how to keep a cover story secret if it means a photo shoot for him in the future!"

I simpered.

Okay……

"Then there's Steel just North of the Industrial district. Yup, that's right. His name is Steel. He's a lot less showy than Superman and the Justice League. He'll lend a helping hand if you need one! A pretty damn heavy one too, if you know what I mean!"

I nodded, smiling.

She stared at me. She swallowed and leaned forward with a gentle voice this time: "Jordan….are you sure you don't want me to go with you?"

A beat.

I placed a hand on her shoulder. I smiled. I nodded.

She lowered her eyes. A shudder. "I hope you know what you're doing!"

I leaned my head to the side, gazing towards the blue horizon.

Lexcorp.

I'm starting with Lexcorp.

I waved at her.

I made to leave—

Grip!

I was jerked back.

Before I could protest, I was in a huge embrace.

Supergirl clung to me.

A warm breath over my ear. Choking:

"You take care of yourself…..got it?"

I nodded.

I hugged her back.

"You promise not to get hurt…and I promise not to let Terra get hurt! There! It'll be an even exchange among superheroes!"

I smiled.

She smiled.

We parted ways.

We sighed.

Her eyes went aside.

My eyes went aside.

Silence.

Cold.

The way it had always been.

She took to the skies: "I gotta go back. Cya…."

I started to wave…

But she was gone.

A beat.

I took a deep breath.

I spun and faced Metropolis.

And into the urban navel of the world…

I went.