Chapter 8

"Guys, we have to help Ms. Grant!" Kara pleaded as she Winn and James stood outside the meeting room. An emergency board meeting had been called after several of Cat's private emails had been leaked out for everyone to see. The Daily Planet was having a field day running all the articles on her.

"Unfortunately, we have no clear suspect. I wouldn't put it past the board members to have something to do about this though. From what I've seen, some of them have a lot of beef to pick with Ms. Grant." James said, running through his head what he knew about the board members. The meeting ended and Cat and the other board members stepped out, returning to their own offices while Cat returned to hers. She called Kara into her office.

"Keira, I want you to find out a way to investigate Dirk Armstrong. I have a feeling he's looking for a way to incriminate me more than I already am." Cat said, taking a seat at her desk and interlacing her fingers together. Kara nodded and walked back out to where James and Winn were, overhearing Dirk Armstrong's involvement in the case with her super hearing.

"I have a lead. I just overheard Dirk Armstrong saying that he was responsible for this." Kara said.

"Unfortunately, we have only your super hearing as evidence to go on this. Let me talk to Lucy and see what we can do." James said, going to give Lucy a call to see what sort of approach they should take with the case. He came back a little while later after calling Lucy.

"Lucy says that we need to get hard evidence of Armstrong's involvement. If we manage to find it we're talking heavy charges criminal charges. I'm thinking we need to find a way to hack into his computer." James suggested.

"You think you can come up with something Winn?" Kara asked.

"Give me some time…uh Kara are you expecting someone?" Winn said starting to get to work before noticing what was being shown on the tv of a woman floating in the sky in the middle of central city.

"She's calling me out. I need to go." Kara said, running towards the elevator so she could get out and change into her costume. Along the way she gave Leo a call.

"Leo are you seeing this?" Kara asked while making her way out of the building.

"I am. You sure you want to fight her? I can take her on if you aren't up for it." Leo suggested.

"No this is my fight. Just make sure I don't get any surprises from anyone else for me. She's calling me out and I'm going to answer." Kara responded as she took to the air, switching to her comms.

"Okay Kara. Just be careful. I know she's family but don't let that distract you. We can figure her out after you take her down." Leo told her before she cut the call and appeared in front of her aunt.

"Are you alright Kara? Maybe you should head back to work. I'll tell you when she wakes up." Leo said, wrapping his arms around Kara as they watched and unconscious Astra lie motionless in her cell at the DEO. Kara had successfully managed to incapacitate her aunt after a long battle and Astra had been brought to the DEO for detainment and questioning.

"No, I need some time away from work for now. You said you had something to tell me at home yesterday before I was attacked?" Kara said. Leo took a deep breath and pulled Kara into his lab.

"You might want to sit down for this. It's quite a doozy. Me and your sister found out what happened to Jeremiah Danvers. You see the Hank Henshaw you know isn't really Hank Henshaw. He's actually a martian named J'onn J'onzz. He was a refugee who was hunted by the real Hank and Jeremiah Danvers. Jeremiah didn't agree with Hank and so the two go into an altercation that led to both of them dying. J'onn decided to take Hank's form and reform the DEO." Leo said, retelling what Hank had told them of his story.

"That's a lot to take in. So, he's Hank yet he's not Hank. Is that why he took Alex in? Because he felt responsible for what happened to Jeremiah Danvers?" Kara asked, placing a hand on her head to try and calm herself. Leo only nodded in response.

"Let's do something else. You've had a bad day so far. I'm sure another five minutes won't kill you. Hank, Alex, you two up for meeting me at the new simulator room? I want to test out the room and my new upgrade." Leo said to Kara before saying the last part through his comms. He led Kara to the new training room, leading her to the control room where Hank and Alex were already waiting for them. He walked into the training room, the build driver already around his waist.

"Set me up against the three strongest we have in the library right now." Leo said. Three enemies spawned in front of Leo, all of them bearing the label kryptonian but having generic faces. Leo took out a red object from his pocket and pressed the blue button on top of it.

"Hazard On." The item announced before Leo plugged it into the right side of the build driver. Leo then took out the rabbit and tank Fullbottles, inserting them into the build driver and turning the lever.

"Rabbit. Tank. Super Best Match. Are you ready? Uncontrolled Switch, Black Hazard, Oh No!" the driver announced as Leo's normally blue and red armor was replaced by black armor and only the armor over his eyes stayed in color.

The effects of the form were devastating as Leo easily went to town on the three kryptonians. He sent one flying into the wall with a single him after dodging a fist aimed right for his face. He then proceeded to pummel another one into the ground. The last one didn't last much longer as Leo landed a single kick into the simulation's midsection, causing it to dissipate into particles. Leo quickly removed the Hazard trigger from the driver feeling the impulses from the trigger overwhelming him. His black form replaced with his normal RabbitTank form. He walked back to the control room and took a seat to gather himself.

"That upgrade is something else. You went to town on those three kryptonians. Probably could have taken on a few more while you were at it." Hank commented.

"Leo, are you okay? Did something go wrong?" Kara asked, taking Leo's hand in hers after he let his armor dissipate.

"Everything went as I expected. Even the bad parts. It's just I wasn't expecting it to be that bad." Leo said, rubbing his face with his free hand.

"Elaborate Agent Titus. I need to know if it'll be an asset or a detriment in the field." Hank ordered.

"The hazard trigger uses a special compound inside that turbocharges the Nebula Energy within the build suit. It also has the added effect of raising the user's hazard level for a short period of time. However, the stimulus from the trigger, all I wanted to do was fight. I didn't care who I fought." Leo explained.

"Very well. The hazard trigger will be our last resort then. Only for emergency use." Hank said.

"I concur. Now if you'll excuse me, I need some fresh air. You should probably be heading back to work Kara. I'll keep you posted on Astra." Leo said, giving Kara a kiss before leaving the room. Kara gave her sister a hug goodbye and a nod to Hank before heading back to CatCo where she went to find Winn and James in their hideout.

"Any progress?" Kara asked.

"I've managed to come up with a device that'll enable me to hack into Armstrong's computer and get the evidence we need. The only problem is that we need someone to get into his office and get this inside his computer." Winn said, showing Kara a device in his hand.

"We were talking and we decided that I should be the one to sneak it in. I've worked with Armstrong before so no one will suspect me going to his office. I just need the two of you to distract him for me and keep a lookout form him. Here's what I think we should do…" James began, explaining a rough plan he worked out to distract Dirk Armstrong based on what James knew of the man.

"James, he's coming! You need to get out of there." Kara said as she tracked Armstrong making his way to the office. They had kept Armstrong distracted for as long as possible and now he was making his way back to his office. James was still inside however and Winn and Kara were worried that he wouldn't have the time to get out of the office. James however had remained calm and acted as though he was waiting for Armstrong to come, the two exchanging words for a short while before James left the man's office.

"I'm in his computer now. I'll start searching and keep you both posted if I find anything." Winn informed as he worked away at his computer. Kara received a call from Leo and answered it.

"Is everything alright Leo?" Kara asked.

"Astra's awake and she wants to talk to you. You think you can come over to the DEO?" Leo responded.

"On my way." Kara said, rushing out of CatCo so she could fly over to the DEO.

"Aunt Astra." Kara greeted as she and Leo stood in front of her cell.

"Can't you see that the humans are destroying themselves little one? You have to be able to realize that letting them walk the path they are on now will only lead them to share Krypton's fate. If you work with me, we can change it. We can save them all." Astra pleaded.

"I will not join you Aunt Astra. Whatever you have planned its wrong. I have faith in humans. Yes, they have capacity for evil, but I've also seen their capacity for good." Kara countered.

"You are so like your mother, having too much faith in people. However, she lacked the strength to do what was necessary unless it went along with her depraved sense of justice." Astra said.

"She was a far better woman than you could ever hope to be." Kara retorted. Astra sighed and produced a familiar pendant.

"Was it your idea to contact me through the beacon? The night that I was caught and then sentenced to Fort Ross for life? Or was it your mother's idea so that I could be brought to "justice"?" Astra asked, saying the last word bitterly.

"I can't remember." Kara said, stammering the words out before rushing out of the cell. Leo called after her and followed her to the room where her mother's ai was.

"Tell me. Did you use me to get Astra caught?" Kara asked the hologram.

"I did. You were the only person Astra trusted and so I had you set up a meeting with her." The ai returned.

"Why? How could you do that to your own sister? To me?" Kara asked, a deep sense of hurt washing over her.

"Astra was guilty of committing crimes and had to be brought to justice." The ai responded.

"Could she really have saved krypton? Could you have saved Krypton?" Kara asked.

"I am unable to answer that." The ai responded curtly.

"Answer me!" Kara shouted.

"I am unable to answer." The ai repeated. Kara had enough and tried to fry her mother's hologram with her heat vision. Leo quickly turned the ai off as Kara dropped to the floor in tears. He quickly gathered her in his arms, running a soothing hand down the back and in her hair as Kara cried into his chest.

"How could she? She gave me and my aunt life sentences." Kara cried sadly. Leo sat against a wall, pulling her with him. He moved his hands to cup her cheeks so he could tilt her face to look at his.

"Kara look at me, whatever your aunt and mother have said, it's only part of the story. I don't know who truly is evil or truly is good. We see the world as what we want it to be, each with our own bias. Perhaps your aunt thought she was doing the right thing on krypton and she crossed some lines. Lines which your mother wasn't willing to cross. Lines that stopped her from being able to prevent Krypton's destruction. The road to hell is paved with good intentions as they say." Leo said to her, trying to help her work through all the things she had just learnt.

"But if there's one thing I know is that a mother's love for their child is constant and no matter kind of choices they make, they will always do what they think is best for the child out of love. Even if it means having to say goodbye forever. You've seen that, before haven't you? With Cat Grant and her eldest son Adam. She was willing to step away from his life, knowing it would be the best for him. Your mother probably thought that the only option left was to send you away. And no matter how much it would hurt her and you, she chose to do it because at the end of the day, you lived and that is all that mattered to her." Leo said, wiping away her tears before pulling her close to himself once more.

"Your right. Whatever has happened, its all in the past. I have my life now and I need to live it. Maybe my aunt was right, she could have had the solution to save Krypton. But I also believe that my mom was right in that there were lines we can't cross. All I can do now is to stand up for what I believe in. Thanks Leo. For being here for me helping me through this." Kara said, looking up into his eyes and giving him a soft cheek. She got off Leo and dabbed away the rest of her tears before realizing that she had a call from Winn.

"You managed to find something?" Kara asked.

"Yeah. I've handed over every piece of evidence I managed to dig out from Armstrong's terminal to James and he's currently working together with Lucy to piece it together so that Cat can use it against Armstrong. You think you can come over? They should be done in another 10 minutes?" Winn said. Kara acknowledged and said that she would be on her way back soon. She gave one more kiss goodbye to Leo before heading back to CatCo.

"I guess it's time for me to find out what else is going on here." Leo said to himself once Kara left. He walked over to Astra's cell, entering it and glaring at her with his arms crossed.

"I know you got caught on purpose. It was very obvious. You left openings in your stance. Openings which Kara could easily notice and exploit. You also had the chance to take Kara out. But you didn't what are you after? Is this all an attempt to get Kara to join you? Or is this some form of revenge as you destroy all the final good impressions she has of her mother?" Leo demanded.

"I do not know what exactly you speak of. I merely enlightened Kara of the truth of what her mother did to the both of us. Dooming us to live a life rife with guilt at surviving the destruction of our home. Although, I am most curious about your proximity to my niece. Has she perhaps chosen you as her mate?" Astra commented.

"The relationship between Kara and me is none of your business. But know this. You hurt Kara deeply today. And whatever it is you have planned, I'll make sure to tear it apart before I tear you and whoever else you're working with apart. That's not a promise. That's fact. For some aunt who claims to love Kara, you've really done a bang-up job of showing you care. And I can see it in your eyes, you do still care about Kara. Thing is, do you love Kara or do you love whatever cause your fighting for more?" Leo said before leaving the cell when he heard the alarms going off.

"What are we dealing with?" Leo asked as he reached the central room where Hank and Alex were.

"Kryptonians. They're attacking Lord Technologies." Hank said, bringing up a display on the screen of several men dressed similarly to Astra attacking the building. Maxwell Lord's security was putting up some fight but they were clearly no match for the kryptonians and the other aliens present with them.

"I'll inform Kara about the situation. We should hurry up and get over there. I'll see you there. Just remember they have those things on their bodies that prevents kryptonite from affecting them. It might really come down to me using the Hazard Trigger." Leo said grimly before running towards his lab to grab his gear, pulling out his phone along the way to call Kara.

"Let's hope not." Hank muttered before directing his attention to the agents who would be acting as the response force.

"How did things go over with Cat Grant?" Leo asked as Kara and he were floating in the sky above Lord Technologies, waiting for the rest of the strike team to move into position.

"Good and Not so good. We managed to get Armstrong racked up with criminal charges for all he did. The bad news is Cat's managed to figure out I'm Supergirl. I'm trying to throw her off my trail but no matter what I do I can't seem to convince her otherwise." Kara said, bringing up her conversation with Cat where the media mogul had asked her to take off her glasses.

"I might have some way to help you there. But we should focus on the attack. You try and keep Non busy. I'll deal with the others. If everything goes to hell, I want you to stand back and wait for an opening to stop me if I go out of control from using the Hazard Trigger." Leo said, spinning the chamber of the HawkGatlinger so that he could launch a barrage as soon as they began the assault.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. You're strong enough to overcome its effects, I have faith in you." Kara said, placing a hand on his shoulder as reassurance of her faith in him.

"Supergirl, Build. We're in position." Hank said over the comms.

Leo gave one last nod to Kara before diving into the building, opening up with a Full Bullet Barrage that disorientated most of the opposition, disabling most of them, in fact save the five kryptonians who were present. Kara followed in after that, tackling Non and separating from the rest of the group. Leo changed into his KeyDragon form and engaged the remaining four kryptonians while the DEO agents moved in to secure those already incapacitated and provide him with fire support.

The battle however didn't go as well after. Despite her training, Non still had far more battle experience than Kara and that was showing as she slowly lost ground to the older Kryptonian. Leo on the other hand was being overwhelmed by the four kryptonians despite using one of his highest spec and combat oriented forms. Deciding that they couldn't afford to lose anymore ground, Leo pulled out the Hazard Trigger.

"I'm using the Hazard Trigger!" Leo shouted.

"Hazard On. Rabbit. Tank. Super Best Match. Are you ready? Uncontrolled Switch, Black Hazard, oh no!" the driver shouted as Leo's armor changed to completely black with his visor turning red and blue.

The battle quickly turned into their favor once Leo used the Hazard Trigger. He was able to easily dispatch the four kryptonians he was facing with a flurry of punches and kicks. Knocking them out from the pain of overexposure to nebula energy. However, just as he was about to face Non, he seemed to go completely still, his head dropping before raising up to look at Non once more. Non took up a ready stance as though waiting for him to strike, having sent Kara into a wall with a well-placed strike before this. Leo's hand went to the button on the hazard trigger.

"Max Hazard on! Ready Go, Overflow! Oh no!" the driver and trigger announced after Leo turned the lever.

He then blurred towards Non and delivered a furious uppercut before delivering several downward blows that sent the Kryptonian bouncing into the ground and into his fist again and again. This was followed up by a devastating kick to Non's midsection that sent him into the far wall of the building. Kara had recovered and noticed that Leo had gone out of control. She used her super speed to appear next to Leo and pulled off the hazard trigger, causing Leo to revert back to his normal RabbitTank form. Non had used the opportunity to flee the scene realizing that he couldn't face both Kara and Leo.

"You okay there?" Hank asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for the save Supergirl. We should probably try and find out why they were after Lord Technologies. It could be a factor in their plans." Leo responded.

"Yeah well we're kind of at an impasse with Maxwell Lord. He doesn't want us snooping around and as DEO agents we can't really press the issue since all the aliens are either gone or detained. But I'll work something out. Supergirl, why don't you take Build back to get some rest? We can discuss further action tomorrow." Hank suggested. Leo nodded thankfully and Kara slung his arm over her shoulder, flying them both back home so they could get some rest.

The story moves along. I've been fleshing out ideas in my head and below are some responses as well as things I want readers opinion on.

1) Evol Driver

After much thought, I've found a way to skip the evol driver and go straight to genius. However, if enough new reviews come in wanting to see Leo with the evol driver then I might decide to bring it back in. He will still be getting evolt like powers though.

2) Crisis on Earth X

This is something I really want the readers opinion on. This will have great impact as to the last boss of season 3 will be. If enough readers think that it would be cool to move the crossover event to the end of the season then I'll introduce an Evoltish enemy coming from Earth X. If not then I'll just use it as a springboard to introduce Cross Z Magma.

Till Next Update. Hoping for more reviews. Reviews really do help keep authors motivated so please do leave a review if you can. :)