Chapter 25

Alaskan VRA Facility…

Oliver looks carefully at Mia, wishing that they had had a moment alone so he could ask just what the hell she is doing here. She never did answer him when he asked it back on the plane. She seems to be deliberately avoiding eye-contact with him. His attention is taken away from her to General Wilson when a soldier comes up and whispers something in the older man's ear.

Oliver's eyes flicker back to Mia who he knows must have heard what was being said. The only give away he gets is a frown.

"Mr Queen. Why don't you come with me. There's someone I want you to meet," General Wilson informs the archer.

"What about her?" Oliver asks, nodding in Mia's direction.

"Her testing isn't complete yet but I have someone else who can take care of that," Wilson responds and turns to the doorway.

Oliver's gaze turns there too as in walks a young woman with silver hair, dressed in skin-tight workout fatigues highlighting an impressively athletic physique.

"Oliver Queen. Rose Wilson."

"Wilson? As in…"

"His daughter, yes," Rose confirms for the billionaire offering her hand which Oliver takes. She looks him up and down, assessing him. "I saw your test results, Mr Queen. Impressive," she compliments him. "Perhaps later we could test your fighting prowess in a little sparring session?" she suggests…suggestively. Oliver knows when he's being flirted with.

"Later," General Wilson says sternly, not missing his daughter's flirtatious behaviour and certainly not being happy about it. "Mr Queen and I have some business to attend to first. Why don't you finish Ms Danvers's testing," he advises/orders.

"Jawohl!" Rose salutes, smirking.

Wilson shakes his head.

"Takes after her mother I assume," Oliver quips. "It's the hair I'm judging it on."

"Oh I wouldn't judge so quickly. My father had impressive locks once upon a time," Rose enjoys teasing her father.

The General snaps his fingers and points at Mia to tell his daughter to get on with it. In return Rose just lets out an amused chortle.

With that Oliver and the General depart, leaving Rose alone with Mia. It had been all the woman from the future could do not to instantly snap the little psycho bitch's neck upon first sight but that would have been too easy and far too quick. Oh hell no. Mia's going to make her suffer and then…then this time, unlike before…there will be no-one to stop her this time.

The Future…

Coast City…

"Happy Birthday!"

Mia's response to that is to pull her pillow over her head and hope the annoying loud person takes the hint and goes away.

Mentioned person does not take the hint as they sit down on the bed and poke her in the ribs. "Come on, come on," they encourage her to move. "It's not every day you turn the big 2-4."

"There is not a culture in the world that finds anything special about turning 24," Mia mumbles from under her pillow.

"But you're only half from this world," comes the irritatingly cheeky response.

"That's not as special as you think it is," the Latino woman lets half-slip her unhappy internal mood.

"Uh huh," the other person says, clearly not believing her. "Yeah, sure, nothing special about being able to powerlift a mountain on your back or flying. What I would give for those genes," she says, sounding a little envious.

"You can have them if you let me sleep," Mia offers…and for a second she thinks she might be serious.

"I thought you grew out of this emo phase like 5 years ago," the other person says with a sigh.

"Aunt Penny," Mia groans.

"Come on sweetie. It's your birthday," the blond woman tries to elicit some enthusiasm from her adopted daughter over celebrating the day of her birth.

"It's just another day," the brunette powerhouse says morosely. Just another day of people slagging her off for not being her father. Of people talking behind her back when they think she can't hear them. Another day of Lois Lane's hate campaign to turn the whole slagging world against her. Yeah, she thinks she would prefer to hide under her pillow.

"Care to share?"

"Share what?"

"Whatever it is that's eating you."

Mia bets her father wouldn't admit to such doubts so her answer is, "There's nothing to share."

"Yeah. I'm not buying that sweetie," Penny just says it because she's not. She raised this girl and knows her moods and when she's lying.

Mia pulls her pillow tighter over her head. She does not want to have this conversation. Luckily it seems God is on her side this morning as her League communicator beeps. She grabs the small round device and clicks on it. "Supergirl, here…uh huh…right! I'm on my way," she says before in an instant she has blurred out of bed and is dressed in her Supergirl costume. "Sorry, Aunt Penny. Have to go. Emergency alert at Titan Tower," she explains.

"Be…"

Whoosh!

"Careful," the blond woman finishes with a sigh. That was irritatingly inconvenient timing when she was wanting to talk with her daughter.

Boy that was wonderfully convenient timing, Mia muses to herself as she flies along the California coastline towards the home base of the Titans in San Francisco. Though it's only delaying the inevitable.

But for right now Mia concentrates on the task at hand as the T-shaped headquarters of the Titans soon appears over the horizon. This was where younger heroes would come to get taught the basics. Mia had heard all about it from Conner who spent a great deal of his time here being a mentor. He had even asked her if she wanted to take a break from the Justice League and spend some time here. Mia must admit to giving the idea some thought as it might get her away from the harsh spotlight she had been enduring ever since she first came out and said to being Superman's daughter.

There hadn't been any details beyond the emergency alert had been triggered but as she approaches the tower and sees the visible damage to the exterior and hears the sounds of battle within, it looks like someone is attacking the place.

Up on the roof she can see a fight taking place between an archer in red and a speedster in mainly yellow. They are fighting outnumbered against 3 familiar foes. Charging energy up around her fist she sends blasts at the 3 villains, catching them off guard and allowing her to land next to the 2 Titans.

"Supergirl?" the young archer in red queries.

"Yep…yes…that's me!" she says lamely and it is all she can do to not face-palm herself for being such a twip.

"Nice for you to join us," the archer snarks in a manner inherited from his mother. "Red Arrow," he introduces himself. "And that's Kid Flash," he points at the speedster. "And those 3," he turns to the villains.

"Are Freon, Magma and 2-D Man. We've met," Supergirl says since it is the 3 metahumans she previously met in Coast City.

"Have we?" Magma questions.

Mia supposes they may not recognise her considering last time she was dressed like her mother, wearing a mask. Plus she's cut her hair since then to its current shortened style. "Here's a hint," she snaps as she fires blasts at the 3.

"You!" Magma snarls in anger as he realises who it is. The girl who beat the lava out of him last time.

"I guess you dregs didn't learn from the slagging I gave you last time," she says as her hands tighten up into fists.

"Take Magma. Kid Flash will handle 2-D Man. Freon's mine," Red Arrow says, taking charge, a manner he inherited from his father.

"No problemo," Supergirl says.

"Go!"

The 3 young heroes move. Supergirl and Flash as nothing more than blurs and Red Arrow unleashing his array of archery skills.

Freon freezes the arrows out of the air. "You think your little arrows can actually hurt me?" she scoffs before letting one hit her partially insubstantial form which freezes on contact with her. She then fires ice blasts at the young hero who flips, rolls and dodges out of the way. He pulls out one of the 'special' arrows from his quiver and hopes her arrogance keeps up as he fires it.

His gamble pays off as the arrow explodes with the force of a small sun(ok, that's a tiny bit of an exaggeration) but the burst of energy disrupts Freon's form, signified by her screams of pain.

Her screams distract Magma who lets his guard down for the second it takes for Supergirl to uppercut him all the way into San Francisco Bay.

Meanwhile Kid Flash is gloating over a 2-D Man he has literally tied into knots.

"So, what is happening?" Supergirl asks as the 3 gather back together.

Kid Flash shrugs. "Oh you know, the usual. A group of our enemies teaming up to try and take us down. Happens like every other Tuesday."

"He's exaggerating," Red Arrow corrects, rolling his eyes behind his red-tinted shades.

"Not by much," the young speedster argues.

"This was clearly well planned. Most of the team was called away on a mission just before the attack," Red Arrow muses aloud.

"Could they be after something?" Supergirl suggests.

The two male superheroes look at each other as if asking that very question.

"We need to regroup," Red Arrow decides before activating his communicator. "Kon, come in," he calls out to the most senior person still here.

Nothing.

"Kon, can you hear me, over?"

There's a reply only it's not Conner's voice. "Ooh, sorry, Kon's busy dying at the moment as you should be. Sigh. Good help is so hard to find these days. Give me a mo and I'll be right up. If you want something done right you've just got to do it yourself."

"That voice," Mia says, almost breathless. That voice…she knows that voice. It has been haunting her nightmares for years and years and years. It's her!

"Kinda melodramatic," Kid Flash critiques.

"We need to find…" Red Arrow starts only to stop as he spots the look of pure, unadulterated rage on Supergirl's face. "Um, Supergirl. You alright?"

She doesn't answer. Instead she shoots upward before doing a 180 and plunging downward.

"Look out!" Kid Flash shouts as he superspeeds himself and his teammate out of the way as the superpowered Latino smashes right through the roof and into the building. The two then return to peer down the hole…or should that be holes she has made as she smashes through floor after floor. "Ah, ok, what was that?" the young speedster asks.

Red Arrow's brow furrows. He's not sure what that was about but if he inherited anything of his mother's out of the box thinking he has an inkling that it's not good.

Mia finally comes to a stop when her superhearing picks up that wretched voice. She zips along the darkened, blackened, wrecked corridor until she is greeted by a sight that brings back terrible memories. There she is. Her mother's murderer; Rose Wilson aka Ravager, now minus an eye and she is holding a blond woman hostage. Bait to lure Conner in and it worked as he lies on the ground, bleeding from numerous wounds. No doubt caused by the kryptonite sword in the murderer's hands. She should step in but all she can do is stand there frozen. Gripped in the memory of that nightmare from her childhood.

"This seems familiar don't it, Conner," Ravager mocks him, as she pins him face down, her foot on his back, the kryptonite sword pressed against the exposed side of his neck.

"As I recall it, I kicked your ass that time," he says through the pain.

"Ah, but I didn't have this little beauty back then," she says, tapping a device on her belt. "Psychometric interferometer. Disrupts psionic powers. No telekinesis to save you this time."

Conner tries to move but Ravager pulls out a kryptonite dagger and stabs him in the back. Just enough to neutralise him. Not enough to kill him. Not yet anyway. "You have no idea how much trouble and effort I put in just for you, lover-boy. Recruiting a whole team just to take yours down. Now watch closely, honey. You don't want to miss this next bit," she advises him in overly sweet tones as she walks(practically skips) over to the blond woman, who is glaring at her captor.

"Cassie, Cassie, Cassie," Ravager addresses Cassandra Sandsmark aka Wonder Girl. She uses her sword to lift up Wonder Girl's chin. "Do you know there was a blond before you? Pretty little thing. So sad the way it ended . I guess blonds are his type. Must be why he and I never worked out," the silver-haired woman reflects.

"I can think of several other reasons why you and he never worked out, Rose," Wonder Girl replies, her voice full of spite.

Ravager chuckles before leaning in and saying, "I'm curious does it bother you to know that every time you and he are together he's thinking of me?" she tries to verbally twist the knife.

"Wow. Someone has a high opinion of themselves."

"Not opinion, sweetie. Fact. I'm the best he'll ever have. If you want proof just look at the fact I got an actual, real-life demi-God all tied up in her own mystical lasso and used her as bait. Cliched I'll admit. On the other hand you can't beat a classic. Now any last words before I murder you in front of his eyes? Before I make him watch, unable to save another blond squeeze?"

"Did you kill her?"

"Who?" Ravager asks before she gets it. "Oh you mean Courtney. Nope," she shakes her head. "That wasn't me. I was on my so-called 'redemption kick' at the time before I realised what a waste of time and effort that was." She then pulls out a white dagger from her belt and brings it in front of Wonder Girl's face. "See this?" she asks the demi-God. "It's made from a bone of your grandfather; Cronus. Boy, you would not believe what I had to go through to get it," she remarks, half-smiling. "Point is, if you haven't deduced the obvious already, is that even long dead Cronus' bones have the power to slay full-blooded Gods. On a half-breed like you…I doubt it'll take more than a scratch," the silver-haired assassin says with some relish at the prospect.

"Stop talking and just get on with it," Wonder Girl states with utter defiance.

"What?" Ravager laughs. "You not going to try and talk me out of it? Appeal to my better nature? Isn't that what you heroes do? Try and save people."

"You had your chance, Rose and if you want some advice you better take this chance to kill me because if you don't I will kill you."

"That's the spirit!" Rose claps, applauding the enthusiasm. "Hey, lover!" she calls out to her ex on the ground, "Say bye-bye now!" she says and moves to plunge the dagger in deep to Wonder Girl's heart.

That is when Mia finally shakes herself out of her memory-induced paralysis and with a blast of red energy knocks the dagger clean from the silver-haired assassin's hand.

"Hello! What do we have here?" Ravager asks, turning to face the source, keeping a calm, composed manner. "Oh hey, look, Conner, your little sister is here to save your hide," she says in a mocking manner.

"Supergirl…don't…" Conner groans, trying to warn her. Trying to move but being unable to thanks to the kryptonite poison lacing through his veins.

"Oh hush now. The big girls need to talk," Ravager tells him.

Supergirl sneers. For so, so long this woman has been the source of all her nightmares. Anger swells up, so overwhelming she feels like the heat within her will cause her to explode. "No talking. Die!" is what comes from her lips, between gritted teeth as she blurs forward, intent on smashing her fist right through Ravager's head but in what really should be impossible for any normal human being the assassin dodges the blow.

"Ooh. Somebody's mad," Ravager taunts. "What's the matter? Upset I hurt your big bwother?"

"You killed my Mamá!" Supergirl roars as she makes another swing and miss.

Ravager scoffs. "You have no idea how little that narrows it down for me."

Supergirl's eyes narrow as her temper easily gets the better of her and forgetting all that hard work and training the Amazons tried to teach her foolishly just charges in and gets sliced on her side by Ravager's kryptonite sword but she is so full of rage and hatred she barely even feels it. Instead she manages to land a backhand slap on her foe that sends the silver-haired assassin flying. She leaps into the air, intent on bringing her fist down hard but Ravager rolls out the way and all Supergirl manages to do is almost crack the entire floor.

Ravager flips to her feet, throwing a trio of Shuriken as she does so. A trio which explode on impact with Supergirl.

Blasts of red energy emerge from the smoke, making Ravager have to dive for cover behind some broken pieces of concrete. It protects her for all of about 3 seconds as a fist smashes through it, grabs her and flings her hard against the wall…and right through it into the room beyond.

Supergirl follows, floating through the hole. She finds the silver-haired assassin down on her hands and knees. She zips forward and kicks her in the ribs sending Ravager flying upward high-enough to hit the ceiling before falling back down to the ground. Mia must admit hearing the sound of what must have been ribs breaking was kinda satisfying.

She grabs the assassin by the neck and flings her against the wall before laying in punches to the mid-section. Admittedly she's pulling them because and may God forgive her for this, she wants the damn woman to suffer just a tiny fraction of what she has. One punch to the face. Two. Three. She then grabs the eyepatch and rips it off. "You know I'm really sorry I wasn't the one who ripped your eye out," Mia says, maliciously.

Ravager coughs painfully. "Don't be. I wasn't when I did it."

Supergirl looks confused. She did it to herself?

"Also, skadoosh!" she yells as she raises her right hand and from a device on her wrist a green noxious gas is expelled right into Supergirl's face.

The Latino woman coughs and her eyes water as she stumbles back a few paces. By the time she has regained her senses Ravager is making a break for the hole through which they entered. "NO!" she yells, firing red blasts. Most miss but one gets the older woman in the back just as she is diving through the hole. Supergirl blurs after her and finds her crawling…or trying to away from her. Supergirl starts to stalk her, walking slowly but deliberately now. "What's the matter sweetie-pie?" she asks, using a term Ravager herself called Mia all those years ago. "After all you did tell me to look you up when I got, how did you put it again, oh yes, when I got out of diapers," she recalls the words, sneering in rage and hatred. She reaches down and grabs the assassin once again.

"Supergirl look ou…" Wonder Girl tries to warn her but it is too late.

Supergirl suddenly feels a numbness in her leg. A numbness that seems to be spreading rapidly as she topples over, her strength suddenly leaving her. There's a dagger imbedded deep in her leg. One made of a certain green mineral. Only this one seems an even daker shade than normal. The half-Kryptonian grabs it and manages to yank it out with a scream of pain. Before she can recover she finds a green blade at her throat in a familiar manner.

"You know that was a special variant of kryptonite. Should have killed you instantly," Ravager remarks, her voice hoarse. She's clearly struggling to breath properly. "Maybe I should have aimed for the heart," she idly mentions.

"Go to Hell!" Supergirl spits out.

Ravager cocks her head. "Can't be," she says as an inkling of familiarity comes to her. She then starts to grin. "Oh my God. It's you isn't it. The Angel of Vengeance's little brat." She laughs and then regrets it as her busted ribs make her cough. "If I had known you were Superman's kid I would have killed ya right then and there but better late than never I always say." She raises her kryptonite sword, readying the final blow. "So long sweetie. When you get to Hell tell your Mamá Rose Wilson says hi!"

Ravager then strikes…only to her own shock to find the blade caught in one hand. Blood oozes from where the fingers grip it.

"Fun fact, sweetie," Supergirl says snidely. "Kryptonite barely gives me a headache," she informs her would-be killer before yanking the sword and consequently the person holding it forward and slams her head into Ravager's knocking the silver-haired woman out.

"Supergirl!" Wonder Girl calls out. "Conner. Pull the dagger out!" she instructs, desperately worried over her boyfriend.

Supergirl gets to her feet and limps over. Kryptonite may barely give her a headache but it does seem to also impede her healing as her leg is still numb. She bends down and pulls the dagger out of Conner's back and tosses it away.

The half-Kryptonian 'clone' gasps as his healing factor kicks in and he start to recover. He groans as he starts to get back to his feet. "I'm going to be feeling this in the morning," he gripes as he stumbles forward towards his girlfriend.

"Stop complaining and untie me," Wonder Girl orders him.

"God, you're so bossy," he teases.

"Yeah, well at least I didn't sleep with a psycho," she retorts.

"She's never letting that one go," Conner mutters under his breath as he unties her. "In my defence she really did seem to want to reform."

Cassie snorts derisively. "There's a difference between seeing the potential in someone Conner and wishing to see something that isn't in reality there."

"It's better to try and fail then not try at all. Ma Kent taught me that one," he says as he finally gets the damn knot undone and the golden lasso falls away.

"Now you know I won't argue with Mrs Kent," Cassie lightly chastises him. "Supergirl," she turns to the other person. "What do-Supergirl! Don't!" she yells out when she sees what the Latino woman is about to do.

What is she is about to do is crush the unconscious Ravager to death with a huge concrete pillar.

Conner is there in an instant in front of his sister, holding her arms back.

"Let go of me!" Supergirl snarls.

"No. Stop this!" Conner orders her, struggling to hold his sister back. He's still weak from the kryptonite and she's determined to commit this act of murder.

"She needs to die! She killed her! She killed my Mamá!" Supergirl yells, hot, angry tears flowing down her face.

"I know. I know she did but this isn't the way," Conner tries to reach her.

"She used me. Used me as bait. Now she almost did it again," the grief ridded woman almost rambles incoherently.

"And she'll pay for her crimes," Conner vows. "But this isn't justice, Mia. It's revenge and it will chew you up inside if you give in to it."

For a moment she pauses and Conner thinks he might be reaching her. He thinks that right up to the second her knee connects with his groin.

With him out the way Mia goes for the kill until a golden lasso rips the pillar clear from her hands. She spins round, rage, fury and grief etched into her features.

"I'm sorry, Supergirl but as much as I hate Rose I can't let you do this. Stand down…or I'll put your down," Wonder Girl states clearly.

Red energy builds up around Supergirl's hands.

Wonder Girl braces herself.

Supergirl fires several blasts all of which Wonder Girl deflects with her Amazonian bracelets. The blond Demi-God's face hardens. "Last chance. Stand down."

"Slag off you little sl-argh!" Supergirl's words are cut off by Conner smashing his shoulder into the back of her right knee, dropping her down to her knee. Before she can react she finds herself tied up tight in Wonder Girl's lasso.

Conner gets to his feet in a very tentative manner. That hurt. He comes to stand next to his girlfriend and the two stand over the half-Kryptonian with sad expressions as she rages and curses and promises how she'll never stop. Not until she avenges her mother.

Conner rubs his face. "Bad day," he murmurs under his breath.

Author's Note: Yay! Rose is here! Plus you have to had guess that it was likely Mia met her before considering their vocations. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews.