A/N: Hey, y'all! I'm sorry it's been taking me so long to get these chapters up. It's been a busy week. Anyway, I'm really happy that y'all have stuck with me this far! This story is really fun to write, and I hope that you guys are enjoying it. We're going to have a lot of fighting in this chapter, so I hope I do this right. Also, responding to sbuko2002, I have some pairings in mind, but I'm still thinking them through and how they'll effect the story. However, I'm definitely liking the idea of Barry and Kara together, so that is probably going to happen. Let's go!

Chapter 6

Kara was reminded of when she was 13. The sheepish looks when she ripped open a door, the petrified feeling when all she saw was skeletal frames, and the helplessness. She wasn't allowed to use her powers. The 'it isn't safe' line was so overused that there was a time when she thought her powers where a curse. Kal didn't need to pretend. He was able to leap buildings, shoot lasers, and just all around use his powers to help people. With the shock of learning her cousin wasn't a little kid anymore, Kara found solace in the fact that she could use these amazing abilities to help people. She came from a family of warriors, fighters, who inspired her to want to do something meaningful with her life, but she was constantly held back because it 'wasn't safe'. She was told Earth already had their hero. They didn't need her.

Now she had risen. She had risen to become the hero her mother had always believed she could be, and the feeling of saving people became one that motivated her. She relied on her powers in every situation to be able to save her herself and those around her. Kara never wanted to feel that same helplessness she felt when she saw someone get hurt and was unable to help in her younger days.

But now the same powerlessness settled in as she saw Hank Henshaw destroy the town Kara had grown to love. The town Alex and her made so many memories in. He desecrated their home that they lived in with Cadmus's radical alien views. For all they knew, Eliza could be dead, and Alex could become an orphan just as Kara was.

The two sisters faced each other with pained expressions. Bruce looked at the screen noticing what they were looking at and turned his face down. It was an argument he was bound to lose. The heroes would look after their homes and remain divided in their efforts to stop whoever was behind this.

"Bruce—" Kara pleaded.

His hand rubbed his face. "Just go. Go save your mom. I'll take Gotham, Barry will attend to National City, and I'll send J'onn if he gets done securing our prisoners at the DEO."

Kara grabbed Barry's arm and turned him around. He grinned at her. "Don't worry. I'll take care of Sparky. Just go save your mom."

Kara let out a sigh of relief and looked at Alex. Grabbing her by the waist she took off as fast as she could towards the outskirts of Metropolis.

Metropolis

Clark Kent landed hard, making the ground shake. Destruction littered the ground around him with bodies lying in the streets. Blood stained the ground around him, and his chest constricted in pain at the sight before him. Ben Krull had a personal vendetta against him and now he had found a place in some sort of group that fanned the flames of his anger, offering him a chance to hit Superman hard. They seemed to have granted him another suit of armor that replenished his need for Thorium 232. Krull's suit was definitely upgraded to withstand greater hits and shoot stronger nuclear blasts. Clark would have to approach this situation smarter than he had in the past. Krull had nearly killed him before with a weaker suit, and now with one that made the other look like a Halloween costume, Clark would have to take a page from Bruce's book and outsmart the rage-filled man.

Krull thrusted his chest at Superman, emitting a beam of nuclear energy. Clark quickly dodged the blast but was thrown off his feet by a punch from his metal hand. Flying backwards a few feet, Clark stumbled to his feet. He learned forward, his eyes lighting up and shooting two beams of light at him. They connected with his armor, making Krull stagger back some. However, the heat seemed to anger him more, and he rushed the blue suited superhero. Raising his hand, another blast of energy moved through the air, this time connecting with the Man of Steel. Clark flew backwards into a building, denting the side of it. Krull strutted forwards until he was standing over the crumpled hero. His leg raised to kick the Kryptonian through the wall, but was thrown off balance by a gust of air.

Flying up ten feet in the air, Clark reversed his direction and used the momentum to pound the metal man to the ground. Krull fell, and Clark grabbed the man by the shoulders. He threw him into the wall behind them, and walked over to his enraged foe. Moving to rip out the man's core, he was thrown back by another blast.

Krull raised his hands towards the man that caused him to lose everything that he loved. "You ruined my life!" He yelled as he attacked the superhero. "You caused me to lose everything I ever cared about!" He held him by his throat, Clark's hands wrapped around the metal. "Now, you'll feel everything that I did. First you will lose your city. Then you will lose your cousin."

National City

Barry zipped towards the familiar plaza and was greeted by several fires raging around the city. The fire department tried in vain to douse the flames but for each one put out, three more arose. Screams were heard from all directions, and Barry couldn't tell where Livewire was. He missed his friends in his ear telling him where to turn and how to fix the problem. It was reassuring to know that they had his back, Caitlin monitoring his vitals, Cisco assisting in the takedown, and Wells helping with everything else. Even Julian offered a helpful view on defeating the metahumans that sprouted up seemingly every other day.

Now he was on his own, trying to neutralize a revenge motivated psycho who was hell bent on killing Cat Grant. Better yet, she could travel almost just as fast as he could through the telephone poles that were all along the city. Sighing to himself, he saw the outline of the pale woman he was looking for and sped towards her. Standing across from the black-eyed former CatCo employee, he bit his lip thinking of how disappointed Oliver would be. Last time his tried taking on this woman, he got shocked and was out basically the whole fight. Even a squirt gun would have done a fair amount of damage to the electricity based villain in front of him, but he had nothing except his speed that wouldn't really do much good if she just decided to electrify the air around them and kill him.

A bolt of lightning reached out to electrocute him, but he super speeded out of the way. Rethinking his plan, he moved to borrow a hose from National City's fire department but was thrown off his feet by Livewire's blast.

She chuckled at the man on the ground in front of her. "I was really hoping Supergirl would show up to protect her beloved Cat, but I guess her sidekick will do for now."

Barry groaned at Livewire's comment, and struggled to his feet. "Sidekick?" he muttered to himself. "I'll show you sidekick."

Before she could say anything else, Barry slammed his shoulder into the villain, knocking her back several feet. She flew backwards, hitting a telephone pole and dissolved into the electrical current. Twisting around trying to find the woman, he heard the crackling electricity behind him. He whipped around just as lightning whipped towards him, only centimeters from his chest.

Gotham City

Bruce knew the danger that was associated when the Joker was involved. He was insane and more dangerous than anyone could have ever predicated. If he was involved in whatever this new group of villains was, the situation had just gotten infinitely worse. The Joker had no scruples on killing and an inability to tell right from wrong.

Bruce had fought many enemies that had proven to be intense foes and had even almost killed him several times, but the Joker was a different story. He had killed people close to him and ruined other people's lives. His anger towards the sadistic clown was immeasurable, but Bruce wouldn't allow himself to slip into a life of murder.

His city had a darker theme to it with sociopaths that were strategic, but with the Joker, situations were thrown off into an unpredictable lane with the clown several steps ahead. He had put the nefarious villain behind bars a few times, but the criminal always managed to escape. It was almost a game. A game that had already cost him people he cared about and loved.

Bruce would not allow this to get out of hand. He wished that he could have assembled something that would have allowed for a more organized approach to take down some of the most dangerous criminals known to plague mankind, but the person running this group dictated almost everything that the heroes tried to do. It was as if they never even got a chance to form their own group to counter the evil that their counterpart tried to project.

Dressed in his suit and speeding in his car, Bruce prepared himself for absolute chaos downtown. He didn't know exactly what to expect, but he knew that the scene would not be pretty. Arriving a few minutes later, he saw what had often happened when the Joker was free. Chaos. Destruction. Bodies that littered the ground with plastered smiles and blood running down the streets. It was a horrific sights and Bruce took a moment to survey the scene, looking for the Joker. His eyes connected with the clown and the two walked towards each other, Bruce's hand lingering on his batarang. The both walked at a slow, steady gait until they were approximately five feet away.

The Joker clapped his hands together. "Welcome to the show, Batman! I'm glad you were able to make it!" He crouched down and dragged his finger against the smile of a dead man. "Such destruction and still people hold on to the absurd notion of hope." He stands, picking up a crowbar from the ground. "Perhaps this will finally be what tips the balance that the two of us hold."

Bruce shakes his head, his voice deepening. "No. No matter what you do, this city will never follow into your crazed state."

The Joker shrugged his shoulders and began walking towards the black-cladded figure. Out of nowhere, he swung the crowbar at Bruce's head, barely giving him time to duck below it. He swung again, this time hitting his ribs. Bruce slapped his hand over the crowbar and jabbed his elbow into his face. The hit didn't faze him, and he attempted to whack Bruce again with the crowbar. He stepped out of the way, grabbing onto the Joker's wrist and using his other hand to smack the metal bar out of his hands. It clattered to the ground, and Bruce managed to twist his own arm around his pale neck, leaving the clown gasping for air.

The Joker laughed, immediately setting Bruce on guard, and he loosened his grip slightly in order to hear what he was saying.

"What a rush! Go ahead, Batman, snap my neck! Show Gotham what their hero really is beneath the projected self-righteous inability to do wrong! Do it!" he screamed, in between maniacal laughs.

Bruce's face contorted as he remembered his friend's death. His grip tightened as he recalled each murder and experiment the Joker had conducted on his city. Why did he fight if the people he fought for were dead and the ones that killed still remained alive? He wanted to save Gotham. He wanted to rid it of the crime that infested its streets, but he couldn't see the good that he'd done. Ever since he started this crusade, he had only faced more death and more heartache than before. He could rid it. Right now. Right here. Killing the Joker would be the salvation of this city.

Furious, he flung the clown away from him, face first onto the ground. He would not conform to the Joker's ludicrous idea that he could ever become a killer. No matter how much he desired to end the manslaughter, he couldn't become a killer. He crouched to the ground and grabbed him by the collar of his purple suit.

"Who are you working with?!" he yelled at the man.

"Geez, Bats. You think I'd want to tell you?"

He slammed the man on the ground, only eliciting laughter. "Tell me!" he yelled again.

"I think you're asking me the wrong questions," he said, pure glee in his eyes.

"What? Tell me what you know!" Bruce screamed, shaking the man.

"Your new friends aren't as intelligent as you, Batsy. With these new super powered villains flying around, they're bound to walk straight into a trap." He pushed against Bruce's hands until his face was inches from Bruce's. "Especially that impulsive blonde."

Bruce's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. This had been an elaborate way of diverting their attention towards four different enemies so that they could grab one of them. He tied up the Joker and saw the flashing red, white, and blue lights as Gotham city's finest pulled up to cart the Clown Prince of Crime back to Arkham Asylum. As the police grabbed the Joker from Bruce, he stood up and looked in the direction of Metropolis. Kara and Alex were in danger.

Midvale

Kara and Alex landed hard, stumbling a few feet before gaining their bearings. They surveyed the damage that Henshaw had done, their faces crestfallen at the state their home was in. The two girls walked slowly, nearing their house and fearing for the worst.

Alex was always closer with her father, the two sharing similar likes and dislikes. She always had an easy relationship with him and loved being a daddy's girl. He was the best man she knew, and she was heartbroken when she found out he died. Her father, the one she spent so much time with, was never coming back. The memories started flowing freely from that point as she recalled all the time she spent with him. Their nights of looking through the telescope. Gone. It was a strange feeling getting used to life without someone you loved. The little things became more noticeable. The way her dad used to always teach about the stars each night. The way her dad would always sit with her on the beach. Everything reminded her of him.

When she realized he was still alive was a day that she would always remember. The hope and joy flooding her system as she began to understand that she could see her father once more. That her family could be whole once more. It had stoked the fires of determination as she became fixed on finding him. Nothing would keep her from bringing her father back.

She had never thought that he would be different.

Alex only meditated on finding him, not on the state he would be in. It was heart wrenching to see her father beaten and bloodied in the back of a truck with his hand almost completely useless. She couldn't help but blame herself for not getting to him sooner. But he was back. It was more than she could have ever hoped for, and all she wanted to do was hug her father and make for certain that Cadmus would never get their hands on him again. She resented her sister for even insinuating that Jeremiah could be a spy, but she couldn't help but ponder that possibility. When he revealed his true intentions by stealing the Alien Registry, she was heartbroken once more. It felt like she had lost him all over again. In that moment she felt like she truly understood Kara and Astra's relationship. She had hope for him. Hope he would change. Holding a gun to his head, she knew that she couldn't pull the trigger, just like Kara couldn't kill her aunt.

She was fortunate that her father had a chance to change. He did. He helped stop Lillian Luthor, but disappeared once more, probably to Cadmus. She had seen that he could be good and still she had a chance to save him before something worse happened which was more than Kara had gotten with Astra. Through all of the emotional turmoil, she was thankful that she still had both of her parents alive even if they weren't the same as before.

Except for now.

She never had the best relationship with her mother, she admitted that, but she loved her. The two of them had managed to repair some of the damage that they had undergone and had been on the track towards a better bond. Alex couldn't imagine not having her mother who had always been there in the darkest of times. Despite the pain that they had felt, the hurt feelings, the jealousy, her mother had been there for Alex when she needed her the most. Now, Hank Henshaw might take both of her parents from her.

"Hey, Kara. No matter what happens, I love you," Alex said quietly. "Whatever we see, whatever Henshaw does, don't forget that."

Kara gave her sister a soft smile. "I love you too, Alex."

Kara found herself with the same feelings as Alex. She had lost so many people she loved. She lost Krypton basically twice, once under the influence of the Black Mercy, and her aunt that she had still reserved hope for. Kara was grateful that she had received another family once she had landed, but had faced more grief when her adopted father was taken because of her. The guilt still seeped into her thoughts whenever she was reminded of Jeremiah, and Kal's abandonment of her had felt like a loss as well. Her whole life had been shredded and shredded again, making it a miracle she could still remain hopeful.

Despite her outgoing nature, she didn't know if she could handle anymore. Eliza was a mother to her, and she couldn't handle it if she died. All the people around her, her world, kept her from teetering off the edge into a despairing life. Each time she lost someone close to her, she felt herself drifting away, further and further.

The two girls walked steadily towards their childhood home. They stopped at the door, with Alex nodding towards Kara. Squinting her eyes, Kara used her x-ray vision to scope out the environment. She saw a woman tied to a chair in the kitchen, and Kara felt both relief and fear. Recognizing the emotions in her little sister's eyes, she quickly opened the door, letting Kara zoom into the house. She heard her sister let out a cry of pain and hurried towards the sound. Gasping, she saw an African American man wearing a chest piece similar to John Corben standing over her sister, shooting a steady beam of green light into her stomach. Before she could move to help her, she was thrown across the room. Grunting, she pushed herself up.

Her mouth fell open in astonishment. Her father stood over her, frowning, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Dad? Wh-what are you doing?" she stuttered.

"I'm sorry, Alex. I'm not in control of myself! Cadmus has done something!" he said, as he drove forward with his fist, Alex shifting to the side.

Alex dove towards her father, the two of them falling to the ground. He jabbed her in the ribs making her scream in pain as her rib broke. She reached for her gun on her thigh, pulling it from its holster. Scrambling to her feet, she pointed the gun at her father. He kicked at her wrist, sending the gun flying, and clambered to his feet. The two circled each other.

"Dad, please! You have to stop! That's Kryptonite! He's going to kill Kara!" she pleaded.

Jeremiah turned his head towards his adopted daughter and grimaced. "Alex, I can't! You have to kill me! I can't be the one to kill you, and you need to go save your sister!"

She shook her head violently, blocking a hit from her father and holding her arm close to her chest. "No! I won't! I can't, Dad, please. You have to tell me who's doing this! I'll call J'onn, and he can come stop whoever's controlling you!"

Jeremiah smiled sadly at his eldest. "Alex, you have to be strong. I can't keep hurting you."

Torn, she raised her gun, leveling it with his chest.

National City

Barry Allen stood, shell-shocked, as lightning came whizzing towards his chest. A second before it connected with his chest, he was thrown off his feet. He shook out his head and stared at the green figure in front of him. Relieved, he grabbed J'onn's outstretched hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. The two nodded at each other.

"I'll distract her and then you knock her down. Got it?" he asked. He was glad he had arrived just in time to keep Barry from being struck by lightning once again, but wanted to finish Livewire off so that he could rendezvous with Kara and Alex. He feared something would happen to them, and he would lose them just like he had with K'hym and T'ania.

Barry smiled and lightning flashed through his eyes. He zipped over to a different building, eager to end this and help Kara. He was worried someone might try to kill her with the mineral he had accidently brought to this universe.

Livewire materialized in front of the Green Martian, her face scrunching in disgust. "The Martian. He warned me you might help."

Raising her hands, electricity shot from her hands towards the Martian Manhunter. She smiled when she saw it hit his chest, but it quickly faded when she realized it had passed through. Confused, she repeated the action, getting the same result. Distracted, she didn't see the flash of red that streaked from the opposite building and crashed into her, sending her towards the alien. Her face slammed into his black-sleeved arm, and she crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Barry walked over to J'onn and smiled. "Great job! We did it!"

"Yes. We did. I'll take Livewire to the DEO for a more secure imprisonment. I'll head over to see if I can help Kara and Alex afterwards. You should head over to Gotham to see if Mr. Wayne needs any assistance," J'onn responded.

Barry bit his lip. "Shouldn't I go see if I can help Kara?" He wanted to protect her and make sure Kryptonite didn't get anywhere near her. He couldn't be able to stand it if Kara was injured because of a mistake he made.

J'onn shook his head. "Bruce doesn't have any powers. He might be in over his head."

Barry sighed, noticing the practicality of the move, and zipped towards Gotham City, struggling to remember the way. J'onn watched as the young man super speeded towards the dark city of Gotham and grabbed Livewire. He slung her over his shoulders and took to the air, flying fast towards the DEO.

Metropolis

Clark's blood boiled at the mention of his cousin. His only blood left. His fingers bent into the metal of Krull's suit, and his eyes lit up in anger. Screaming, his heat vision beamed from his eyes into Krull. He ripped the man's hands from his neck and threw him into the wall, making the stone crumble above him. Quickly, he sped over to the statue made in his honor. Lasers shot from his eyes, burning into the statue and liquefying it. He dipped his hand into the hot lead.

He recalled from his conversations with Kara through messaging, that she had defeated Reactron by coating his core in lead to prevent a nuclear explosion and ripped it from his armor. The removal of the core deactivated the suit, and she was able to defeat him.

Taking a page out of her book, he sped back over to the revenge-driven man and grabbed him by the arm, pressing the figure against the tattered stone wall. He used his other coated hand and grabbed the core. Ripping it out of the suit, he head-butted Krull, knocking him out.

Unsure of what to do what the nuclear core, he took off from the ground to the DEO, leaving a small crater in the ground.

Midvale

Kara screamed in pain as the Kryptonite dug into her chest. Her veins glowed green with each passing moment that the new Metallo streamed Kryptonite into her. Her hands gripped the carpeted floor, denting it, as she cried out for her sister. She felt the intensity of the blast increase as he stepped closer her fallen figure. Her vision was blackening, and she couldn't remember the last time she had been in this much pain. Lillian Luthor had to have perfected the original mineral of Kryptonite.

She could feel herself slipping away into Rao's light. Her life and all the memories she had of Krypton and of Earth flashed through her mind. Her mother's smile. Her father's face. Kal-El as a baby. Krypton's explosion. She remembered the fear as she traveled light-years away from her newly exploded home into the unknown. The only thing that had comforted her was her mother's necklace, and her mission of protecting Kal. Her memory flashed again to her meeting the Danvers for the first time. The sincerity in Eliza's voice, the love in Jeremiah's eyes, and the comforting look that Alex had given her. Kara's mind slipped to Miss Grant and how much she appreciated the woman's insight, to James and his alluring personality, Winn and his amazing friendship, and J'onn and the selflessness he had always displayed towards her. She thought about Mon-El and how much she loved him. She had been so lucky to have met him, and she wished she could have had so much more time with him. Finally, she pictured Barry Allen and his brightening smile. She loved his humility, and his ability to always make her feel at ease. The man had swept her off her feet both literally and figuratively from the first time they had met, and he had managed to make her smile whenever he was around. She was in pain from the loss of Mon-El, but she couldn't help but think that she could have loved him deeply.

Her vision blackened, and she fell unconscious, her head dropping to the side. Her skin was a sickly green color, and he hair sticky with sweat. The new Metallo reached towards the crumpled Kryptonian and picked her up. He nodded towards Jeremiah and exited out of the house.

Alex felt the tears fall freely down her face as she stared at her father, gun in hand and pointing at his chest. Her hands shook as a million thoughts raced through her mind. She couldn't do it. She couldn't. More tears fell as she saw Metallo pick up her little sister.

"No!" she yelled, swinging her gun to point at Metallo. He ignored the gun and proceeded to leave. Jeremiah moved to take the gun from Alex but stopped once she swung it back around.

"Dad, they took Kara. You have to fight this now! I can't kill you!" Alex begged.

Jeremiah's face softened. "I can't! You have to do it now, Alex! Go get your sister!"

She shifted the gun down and pulled the trigger, a bang ringing throughout the house. Jeremiah grabbed at his leg as he fell to the ground. Blood seeped through his hand and onto the floor, staining the carpet. Alex holstered her gun and ran from the house, out the door Metallo had gone.

She cupped her mouth and screamed. "Kara! Kara!" She fell to her knees and sobbed into her hands. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned around, grabbing at her gun. Bruce held his hands in the air, and looked into Alex's torn eyes.

"What happened?" he asked, fearing the answer. He hated that he couldn't have gotten here in time to help. He could have done something…anything to help.

Alex wiped at her eyes and stood up. Her face hardened. "They took Kara. We were expecting Henshaw, but he wasn't here. They tricked us. They tricked us and now Kara might be dead."

She turned to look at Bruce. He had pulled down his mask and she saw dried blood and bruises around his eyes. She noticed him holding his left side and assumed he had broken a rib or two.

Bruce's face fell at the news. That was the goal. They scattered four attacks around the city. They used the Kryptonite to construct another Metallo and lured the Danvers sisters into a trap. Either she was an easier target than Superman, or this new group specifically needed Kara.

"Don't worry. We'll get her back," he promised.

She barely acknowledged the oath and turned to go back inside. She walked back inside, stopping in the kitchen where Kara had seen a woman tied up. Alex let out a relieved breath and ran to her mother. Eliza had been beaten, her hair a mess with dried blood sticking to parts and discolorations all around her arms and face. Alex bent down to untie her from the chair and slowly peeled off the duct tape from her mouth. Eliza looked towards her daughter in relief and stood up.

"How's Jeremiah? Where's Kara?" she asked quickly.

Alex grabbed her mother's hand and dragged her into the living room where her father was tied and still grabbing onto his leg. His leg had been bandaged, but a pool of blood had accumulated on the ground. Before anyone could speak, a flash of red entered the room and Barry Allen stopped, looking around for Kara. His eyes were widened when he didn't see her, hurriedly running to Alex's side.

"Where's Kara?" he said, panic slipping into his voice.

Alex frowned, and Barry ran his fingers through his hair, falling onto the couch beside them. He rubbed at his face, and laid his head in his hands. He had to get her back.

Kara woke with a start, trying to pull against the chains that held her down. She turned her head to the side and saw green cuffs around her wrists. Her body aching, she leaned her head up as far as it would go, and saw grey walls. Nothing else occupied the room except a small table with objects that looked like surgery equipment. She pulled once more at the cuffs but they didn't budge. She heard the door open and groaned.

"Hello, Supergirl. I'm glad we were able to get you."

Kara scoffed. "Lillian Luthor. I'm not even surprised. Why did you grab me?"

She laughed and grabbed a tool from the table. "Someone has told me that you are stronger than your cousin. He is quite credible, so I'm inclined to believe him. You have a group of aliens and metahumans that surround you, and you seem to have an emotional hold on each one of them. Now, call me deranged, but I believe your dear old uncle had the right idea. Mind control. A very powerful thing indeed." She flashed Kara a smile. "You asked why you're here. You've just been recruited to Cadmus."