Captain Alex Olsen awoke from a nightmare where she was still a prisoner of the Dominators. "Alex...," a sinister voice in her head called for her. Alex went to her bathroom inside her captain's quarters and washed her face. Her hair was a lighter shade of red and shoulder length. Her face was free of wrinkles or imperfections but she had perpetually haunted eyes from her captivity. She went over to her laptop to speak with Galactic Federation command on Earth.
"Captain Olsen," Mon-El addressed respectfully.
"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Alex asked.
"No, of course not," Mon replied with false sincerity.
"The Dominators are on their way to Earth. I can sense their thoughts in my head," Alex told him.
"That sounds crazy as fuck. Our long-range sensors have picked nothing up. The war is over...unfortunately," Mon said bitterly.
"You're not picking them up on long-range sensors because they're already in the Sol system," Alex reasoned.
"We'll deal with it. You just stay put," Mon said condescendingly and then signed off.
Alex was the captain of the USS Midvale, a specially designed ship with a triangular-shaped bow and four large cylinder engine shafts. The ship was armed with laser weapons and torpedoes. A middle-sized ship, it was several hundred meters long. Alex met with her officers in her conference room. These officers were humans of the navy reserve fleet except for a single autonomous Brainiac 5 drone that acted as an adviser and Mr. Hawk, a Thanagarian. Alex's wife, Kelly, was also on board as the ship's chaplain/counselor. The ship was currently studying a rather beautiful nebula out in the middle of nowhere.
"A single Dominator tactical cube is on its way to Earth. If it's already in the system, it will take one hour to reach Earth. The active navy is not taking me seriously so I have advised Admiral Hayes to mobilize the reserve fleet immediately," Alex said urgently.
"At maximum warp, it will take us three hours to reach Earth," Brainiac 5 calculated.
"My orders are to continue our exploratory missions," Alex said lamely.
Several officers raised objections according to their different departments. "I have gone over all this with the fleet. Their orders stand," Alex told them.
"Why are we really out here?" Kelly asked gently.
"The fleet has every confidence in the Midvale and her crew. They're just not sure about her captain, a woman captured and assimilated by the Dominators should not be put in a position where she should face them again. They see me as an unstable element," Alex said honestly.
"Your experience makes you the perfect woman to lead this fight," Kelly objected.
"I agree. I think I speak for everyone here when I say, 'To hell with our orders,'" Brainiac 5 said seriously.
Alex looked over her enthusiastic officer crew. "Set a course for Earth, maximum warp."
Sol System
A recon fighter discovered the Dominator tactical cube approaching Saturn and alerted Earth. The navy reserve fleet scrambled a fleet consisting of two Ares-class battleships, the Prince of Whales and the Red Hood, and six Athena-class destroyers to intercept it. These ships were triangular dagger-shaped in appearance, docking bays on their bellies, and bridge command structures on their tops with balloon-shaped energy shield generators attached to the bridge and belly of the ship. They had massive engines to the stern that took up the bulk of their mass. The battleships were 1.5km in length armed with missiles, torpedoes, and laser canons all over their top surfaces and sides.
At the same time, two Hades-class cruisers reached the Dominator cube first but simply followed keeping their distance. The Dominator cube ignored the two cruisers and continued on its way towards Earth. Eventually, the Galactic Federation fleet converged on the cube with the Prince of Whales and Red Hood firing on it. The two sides exchanged fire with torpedoes and missiles. The cube was hit in several areas creating an energy leak as it continued on its way. The Red Hood was hit with several missiles and was split in half with its upper structure receiving heavy damage. The ammunition compartments then exploded destroying the battleship completely. The damaged Prince of Whales and two cruisers disengaged from the cube defeated.
The USS Midvale then arrived in the Sol System as the Dominator cube arrived near Earth. "The Red Hood has been destroyed," Brainiac 5 reported.
"I fucking knew it," Alex said pissed off upon seeing the Dominator cube on the viewscreen. "This is Captain Olsen of the USS Midvale. I'm taking command of the fleet," she radioed the other ships. "USS Victory, launch your fighters now."
"Our pilots have no operation experience and don't even know how to land back on the ship," the captain replied.
"I don't give a shit. Send them out," Alex ordered impatiently.
The USS Victory, a Prometheus-class light-carrier launched nine Apollo fighters towards the Dominator cube. The Dominator cube fired intense laser fire against the squadron of fighters forcing them to break off. One Apollo fighter fired a missile at the cube only for it to bounce off and not detonate. Another Prometheus-class light-carrier, The Royals, sent three fighters towards the cube and fired. In the chaos of battle, a destroyer ended up in the way of the missiles. The missiles were then remotely detonated in space before they could hit the destroyer.
"This is bullshit," Alex said outraged by the human incompetence she was seeing. "Plot in the following coordinates on the cube and fire at my command," she ordered a new squadron of fifteen Apollo fighters from The Royals.
"Ma'am, the coordinates you have inputted do not appear to be a vital system," Brainiac 5 pointed out.
"Trust me, Barney," Alex told him.
"The squadron is standing by," Brainiac 5 reported.
"Fire," Alex said softly.
The fifteen fighters engaged the cube with missiles all at the same time spot, causing massive damage to the cube in a specific area. The cube started spinning in space unable to move closer to Earth. The King Mon battleship, Midvale, and two cruisers fired continuously on the disabled cube while staying out of range of the cube's missiles. The Galactic Federation ships moved in closer and continued to fire every gun available. A missile nearly hit the Midvale in the fire-fight. Destroyers approached, fired torpedoes, and then withdraw. After catastrophic damage, the cube exploded in a fireball. A Dominator sphere then emerged from the explosion and went straight for Earth.
"Mr. Hawk, pursue course, engage," Alex ordered quickly.
"Aye, ma'am," the Thanagarian lieutenant replied.
Timber Wolf then arrived on the bridge looking like a disgruntled hairy beast in a Vindicator uniform. He had been one of the Apollo fighter pilots but his ship was damaged forcing him to dock. "Mr. Wolf, we could use your help at tactical," Alex invited.
"Yeah, fuck me. I was the one that gave the cube the last shot," the relieved human lieutenant muttered as he left the bridge.
"Thank you, ma'am," Timber Wolf said respectfully as he took his post.
"The sphere is emitting chronometer particles, a temporal time vortex," Brainiac 5 detected. The Midvale followed into the temporal wake after the sphere where the Dominators had conquered Earth.
"They've lost the war and now they're trying to change the past. Mr. Hawk, follow their ass," Alex ordered.
3017
Dr. Zach Cockrun was minding his own business getting drunk-as-fuck in Montana with his buddies when a Dominator ship attacked his station. "Holy shit!" he realized as he was being fired upon by powerful blasts. His drunk buddies scrambled to get out of the area as the Dominator ship continued to fire.
The Midvale pursued the Dominator ship and fired four torpedoes hitting the Dominator ship destroying it. Once the Midvale was certain the Dominator ship was destroyed it went into orbit around the planet.
Earth
Shortly after the attack, Kara, Mon, Nura, and Brainiac 5 instantly arrived in civilian clothes. The four entered the ruined complex and found several dead humans in the wreckage. "All dead," Kara said as she scanned them. "Barney, let's check the warp ship."
The two went inside the missile silo and found the warp ship known simply as the Phoenix. "The structural integrity of the missile appears to be intact," Brainiac 5 determined.
"Well, that's good news," Kara said pleased.
The two were suddenly shot at, endangering the missile. "The fuck?" Kara wondered. "We're here to help you, asshole!"
"Bullshit!" Dr. Cockrun doubted and continued to fire at them.
"I believe I can handle this," Brainiac 5 said to Kara and then jumped down to the bottom of the silo. Dr. Cockrun immediately fired upon him blasting holes in his back and abdomen. Brainiac 5 waited until he was out of ammunition. "Greetings."
Dr. Cockrun then fainted on the floor. Brainiac 5 analyzed his condition. "He will need immediate medical attention," he said.
"Well...shit," Kara muttered.
On the Midvale, the temperature of the ship began to rise. Lt. Commander Bouncing Boy was particularly sensitive to it in engineering. "Check out those environmental controls. It's getting a little warm in here," he ordered.
"Maybe it's because you're fat...you know...with all that fat keeping you warm," Lt. Porter mocked.
"Don't make me roll all over you, Porter," Bouncing Boy warned.
"Maybe it's the EPS conduits in the tunnel shafts. I'll do it...since you're too fat to fit," Lt. Porter volunteered and walked off.
"Fucking hate that guy," Bouncing Boy shook his head.
Dominator soldiers on board the ship killed off Lt. Porter and another engineer in a horrifyingly grotesque slasher way as they made their way to engineering. The Dominators then invaded sick-bay requiring an immediate evacuation. On the bridge, Alex was noticing an increase in temperature. "Mr. Wolf, is it just me, or does it feel hot in here?" Alex asked.
"Temperature has risen ten degrees and humidity has jumped to 73%," he reported. "And we just lost contact with deck 16. Should I send a security team to investigate?"
"No, seal off deck 16, post-security teams at every access point," Alex ordered.
"Aye, ma'am," Timber Wolf replied.
"They knew their ship was doomed. Our shields were down. Somehow they transported over here without being undetected. They'll assimilate the Midvale and then Earth.
"Main control is being rerouted through engineering," Mr. Hawk reported.
"Barney, lock them out," Alex said quickly.
Brainiac 5 rapidly encrypted the code keeping the Dominators from accessing bridge control. "It is unlikely the Dominators will be able to break my encryption."
"The Dominators have cut power to all decks except deck 16," Timber Wolf reported.
"They won't stay on that deck for long," Alex predicted.
Earth
Brainiac 5 placed Dr. Cockrun outside the missile silo. "He's suffering from acute radiation sickness. There's a radiation leak from the missile," Brainiac 5 reported. "He'll need to be taken to a hospital."
"Or, or, or...we keep him here and use his health condition as leverage to gain his cooperation," Kara objected. "I want a team of your drones to get down here."
"As you wish," Brainiac 5 replied.
Kara and Brainiac 5 then went back to the missile. "To think that a nuclear missile could be used to usher humanity into the warp-age," she mused.
"I can simply hand humanity a warp-capable craft," Brainiac 5 volunteered.
"No, they have to learn how to do it, themselves," Kara insisted. "This ship reminds me of one of our oldest Kryptonian ships in the museum. I was never able to touch it," Kara said as she touched the missile.
"Do you feel a stronger emotional connection to the missile by touching it?" Brainiac 5 asked.
"Oh, yes," Kara smiled. "For organic beings, touch makes a lot of things feel a lot more real."
Brainiac 5 touched the missile as well. "There are some titanium imperfections," he noted.
"Would you three like to be alone?" Mon mocked as he walked over to them.
Kara then sensed something familiar to her. "What is it?" Brainiac 5 asked her.
"I don't know," Kara said befuddled.
On the Midvale, Alex assembled a security team with Timber Wolf and Brainiac 5 present. "The Dominators will use engineering as a central point where they can control the hive. However, if we fire particle weapons in engineering, it could breach the warp core. Then, we're fucked," Alex told them all. "Therefore, our goal is to puncture one of the plasma coolant tanks."
"Excellent idea. The plasma coolant will freeze all organic material on contact," Brainiac 5 judged.
"These rifles are on a rotating modulation. The Dominators will adapt quickly. We will have twelve shots at most," Timber Wolf said.
Earth
Later that night, the surviving humans looked for any supplies not destroyed in the attack. Dr. Cockrun decided to spend his remaining time alive listening to music and drinking booze. Nura sat with him supervising him. As she did, Dr. Cockrun insisted on getting her drunk and giving her romantic passes every so often. Mon entered the bar and turned off the music.
"Who said you could turn off my music?" Dr. Cockrun slurred his words.
"This is Prince Mon-El of the Insane," Nura introduced.
"Is he a friend of yours?" Dr. Cockrun asked suspiciously.
"Friend is too strong a word," Nura rolled her eyes.
"Good, now this, Naura, is the good stuff," Dr. Cockrun said giving her some whiskey.
"It's Nura," she corrected.
"To the Phoenix. May she rest in peace," Dr. Cockrun toasted and then passed the fuck out.
Nura also took a shot and gagged on it. "Mon, we have to tell him the truth."
"What truth? I don't even know why we're still here," Mon said unimpressed.
"I had a dream where this...asshole accomplished warp flight," Nura said.
"So?" Mon wondered.
"It's like a really big deal for humans," Nura explained.
"Low bar," Mon rolled his eyes. "How could you know something that specific? I call bullshit."
"I don't have time to argue with you about time. We simply don't have the time," Nura said deliriously.
"You're drunk-as-fuck," Mon accused.
"It was the only way to keep him from escaping. I only had three shots of Tequila anyway," Nura excused.
"Light drinker," Mon shook his head.
"It's a primitive culture. I'm just trying to blend in," Nura said defensively. "Now, in my professional opinion, he's nuts," she said referring to Dr. Cockrun.
"But is he Insane?" Mon wondered.
On the Midvale, Timber Wolf and Brainiac 5 took the lead down the halls, opened a hatch, and dropped down to deck 16. The squad then split into two teams. Brainiac 5 and Alex went together while Timber Wolf led the other team. "Are you shook up, do you feel nervous?" Brainiac 5 asked curiously.
"Deactivate your sarcasm program," Alex ordered.
"Done," Brainiac 5 reported.
The team finally came upon two Dominators on patrol. Immediately, the team fired on them blasting them to pieces before they knew what happened. "On me," Brainiac 5 led the team forward. Attached to the walls were cocoons with crewmen inside for later feeding.
"Ignore them. Stay on mission," Alex told her team.
The two teams met up together at the engineering door. "Manual release," Alex pointed out.
Brainiac 5 tore open the console, gripped the wires, and began working on the circuitry. Dominators then ambushed them from all sides. The squad fired in all directions on the Dominators except for Timber Wolf who preferred to tear into them with his jaws and claws. The Dominators kept coming and then formed energy shields around their bodies.
"They've adapted," Timber Wolf reported and went full physical.
Brainiac 5 managed to open the door to engineering only for a flood of Dominators to come through. With their weapons useless, the squad resorted to hand-to-hand combat. While Brainiac 5 and Timber Wolf held their own, the rest of the squad was getting slashed up and killed. "Regroup on deck 15," Alex ordered what remained.
Brainiac 5 was suddenly captured by the Dominators and dragged into engineering. The Dominators then closed the door behind him. "Barney!" Alex shouted. The squad was now in full retreat using every passageway to get to deck 15. "Captain...help?" one crewman requested as his throat was slit.
Alex gave him a haunted look and retreated through one of the shafts.
Earth
A few hours later, Dr. Cockrun woke up. "On your feet," Mon said pulling him up.
"You expect me to believe this bullshit that you can see the future," he said to Nura.
"That's right," Nura confirmed having sobered up.
"And you're going to help humanity achieve warp-flight out of the goodness of your hearts? How heroic," Dr. Cockrun mocked.
"That's right, asshole," Mon stared him down.
"So, what do you want me to do?" Dr. Cockrun asked.
"You're going to fly the Phoenix tomorrow," Mon ordered.
"Why tomorrow morning?" Dr. Cockrun asked.
"Because, otherwise, you'll die of radiation sickness. We won't treat your ass until you cooperate," Mon said bluntly.
"What if I want to die?" Dr. Cockrun asked argumentatively.
"We'll get some other random human into the cockpit and he'll take credit for your work," Mon said obviously.
"Hot damn," Dr. Cockrun realized.
"So, what do you say?" Nura asked gently.
"Fuck it. Why not?" Dr. Cockrun shrugged.
On the USS Midvale, the Dominators expanded their reach. Another security team retreated after an engagement with the Dominators and had to re-modulate their weapons. "The Dominators now have control over deck 11 through deck 26," Timber Wolf reported.
"Why did they stop there?" Alex asked. "What's there?"
"The deflector dish. They're going to try to communicate with themselves in the past to get reinforcements," Mr. Hawk figured.
"Humanity will be an easy target. Fuck me," Alex realized.
"Destroy the deflector dish then," Timber Wolf suggested.
"We have no access to deflector control or shuttle crafts. Mr. Worf, it's time we took a stroll," Alex ordered.
"Well...shit," Timber Wolf realized.
Earth
By dawn, the humans worked to rebuild their settlement from the damage. Brainiac 5 took Dr. Cockrun aside. "Do I have your engine matrix correct?" he asked him with a datapad in hand.
"Yeah, it looks right," Dr. Cockrun said glancing at the datapad.
"Will this help you?" a random human asked Brainiac 5 giving him a cooper tube shaped as a spiral.
Brainiac 5 analyzed the cooper tube. "Yes, this will do. Thank you," he said.
"Dr. Cockrun, you're like my idol. Can I shake your hand?" the same human asked.
Dr. Cockrun reluctantly shook his hand. "This is such an honor, Dr. Cockrun," he said excitedly.
"That will be enough," Brainiac 5 sent him away. "You don't like the hero worship?" he asked Dr. Cockrun.
"It's a little hard to get used to," Dr. Cockrun admitted.
"After this warp flight, we'll make a statue of you right here," Brainiac 5 planned. "We'll have you looking out at the stars with your hand out, reaching to the future."
"I have to take a piss," Dr. Cockrun said and then walked away.
On the Midvale, Alex, Timber Wolf, and Hawkboy walked on the surface of the ship in spacesuits. The three made their way towards the deflector dish with rifles. "We may have two or three shots before they adapt," Timber Wolf warned.
"Make every shot count," Alex told them both.
"We should bring more reinforcements," Timber Wolf said as they saw a collection of Dominators building a beacon.
"We only have three spacesuits," Alex told him.
"Let's blow it the shit up," Hawkboy recommended.
"No, if we do that, it will blow up half the ship," Alex rebuked.
"Captain, that sounds like a serious design flaw," Hawkboy noted.
"No shit. I didn't design it," Alex agreed. "We have to find another way."
Earth
An hour later, Dr. Cockrun did not return. Kara walked up to Brainiac 5 as he worked with the humans on the missile. "Where the fuck is Dr. Cockrun?" she demanded.
"He went to take a piss an hour ago," Brainiac 5 said.
"It doesn't take that long," Kara said concernedly.
"We're honestly more efficient without him," Brainiac 5 said dismissively.
"He has to be the one to fly it. This has to be a human achievement," Kara insisted.
"I can simply appear human and claim it for humanity. No one would know the difference," Brainiac 5 suggested.
"No, we'll know and maybe somehow it will get leaked. Now, where the fuck is he?" Kara demanded.
"He went that way," Brainiac 5 pointed out.
Kara scanned the forest and found him a few miles away. "Damn it," she cursed.
Kara zipped through the forest and found Dr. Cockrun stumbling away like the drunk he was. "I don't want to be a statue," he said incoherently.
"I don't have time for this shit," Kara said and then hit him with a heat vision beam dropping him. Kara then walked up to him to drag his ass back.
On the Midvale, Alex, Timber Wolf, and Hawkboy took all three sides of the deflector dish. "For this to work, we need to unlock all three magnets," Alex told them both.
The Dominators continued working not wanting a firefight that could destroy the ship. As the Dominators raced to get the beacon ready, the three worked to detach the deflector dish. Timber Wolf and Alex successfully unlocked while Hawkboy struggled with his. Realizing the danger, the Dominators began to attack. Hawkboy fired on one Dominator sending him out into space. Timberwolf took out his sword and sliced a Dominator arm off and then sliced across the chest splitting it in half. However, the Dominator scored a blow to his leg causing a leak. The suit restricted around Timber Wolf's leg to prevent further decompression to the rest of the body. Alex fired on a Dominator only for its shields to absorb the blast.
"Mr. Hawk," Alex warned as Hawkboy was ambushed and taken away. Hawkboy activated his self-destruct bomb on his suit taking one Dominator with him.
To avoid the Dominators, Alex demagnetized her boots, sailed over the deflector dish, and then went to the third panel. Turning her boots back on, she got her bearings and then unlocked the last magnet. The deflector dish then detached from the ship as the beacon was just about to be operational. The dish went out into space with some Dominators still on it.
"Fuck you," Timberwolf said as he fired on the beacon destroying it.
Earth
Kara threw Dr. Cockrun's ass into the cockpit of the missile. "You good?" she asked him.
"I don't know what hurts more, your laser beam or this hangover," he groaned. "But I'm ready...to make history."
"That's the spirit. And I'm going to be right with you," Kara told him.
"Shit," Dr. Cockrun realized.
"Open the launch doors," Kara ordered Nura down below.
The launch doors then opened showering the cockpit with sunlight. Kara eyed the moon in the sky. "After this flight, I'm going to give mankind a moon base. I'm going to give you everything," Kara said ambitiously.
"You got some funny ideas," Dr. Cockrun mocked.
"Oh, yeah, what was your vision?" Kara asked.
"My vision? My vision was to make money, get rich. I didn't build this ship to usher in a new era for humanity. You think I want to be with the stars? I don't even like to fly. I take trains! I built this ship so I could retire to some tropical island filled with naked women. That's Dr. Cockrun. That's his vision," Dr. Cockrun revealed.
Kara shed a tear. "You're saying naked capitalism inspired this historic warp flight? That's so awesome."
"The fuck is wrong with you?" Dr. Cockrun wondered.
"Look, don't try to be a great man, just be a man. Let history make its own judgment," Kara told him.
"That sounds like bullshit," Dr. Cockrun doubted.
"We have an hour. You better go through your checklist," Kara advised.
"I don't ever do that," Dr. Cockrun declined.
"Well...fuck it then," Kara smiled.
On the Midvale, Alex got back into her uniform. "The Dominators are on the move again. They've taken deck five and six," a security chief reported. "They've adapted to every modulation. It's like we're shooting blanks."
"We'll figure out another modulation. In the meantime, stand your ground. Fight hand-to-hand if necessary," Alex ordered.
"Ma'am...the fuck?" the security chief said dismayed.
"Wait...this is the 3017. The Supreme Leader should be present on Earth during this time. We should contact her and invite her here," Timber Wolf suddenly realized.
"No," Alex shut him down. "That could violate the space/time continuum and our victory in the future. We stay and fight."
"Ma'am, we have lost the Midvale," Timber Wolf said obviously.
"We have not lost the Midvale. We're not going to lose her, not to the Dominators, not while I am in command," Alex refused.
"I must object to this course of action," Timber Wolf protested.
"Noted," Alex said dismissively.
"With all due respect, ma'am, I think you're allowing your personal experience to interfere with your judgment," Timber Wolf accused.
"You're afraid. You want Kara to solve all your problems so you can run away," Alex taunted. "You coward."
"Alex...," Kelly warned.
Timber Wolf got in Alex's face. "If you were any other woman, I would kill your ass where you stand."
"Get off my bridge," Alex ordered.
As Timber Wolf huffed away, Alex went to her conference room and worked on weapons. Kelly came in to see her. "This really isn't the time for a shrink session," Alex said dismissively.
"Okay, I know jack about tactics, strategy, and weapons but everyone knows this is suicide," Kelly said.
"The crew is accustomed to following my orders," Alex reminded her.
"They're used to your orders making sense," Kelly pointed out.
"No one knows the Dominators like me...no one can," Alex said hauntedly.
"What is that supposed to mean? I was captured by them just like you," Kelly reminded her.
"It wasn't the same and you know it," Alex raged. "They took control of my mind, used my knowledge and experience, and used me as a puppet to destroy Galactic Federation ships. Every trace of my individuality was erased. I was one of them. So, we're not the same. Now, I have work to do."
"It's so simple. They hurt you and now you're going to hurt them back," Kelly summarized.
"I'm not like my sister. I have evolved past petty revenge," Alex denied.
"Bullshit," Kelly doubted. "You, just like your sister, enjoy the thrill of battle. I've seen it so many times before on the battlefield."
"How dare you?" Alex glared as she stood up from her desk.
"Where is your sense of morality?" Kelly asked.
"I don't have time for this. Get out!" Alex ordered.
"This is about revenge," Kelly sensed.
"This is about saving humanity," Alex argued.
"Alex, contact your sister, for Christ's sake!" Kelly shouted at her.
"NO!" Alex shouted and then threw her rifle into a display case full of model ships. "I've made too many compromises with her already. Too many retreats. She invades every part of our lives and I just let her. No matter what world we happen to be on, she's there. Not again. The line must be drawn here. This far and no further. I am going to defeat the Dominators myself. I, not her, will make them pay for what they've done!"
"Alex, this victory means nothing...if you become your sister. Don't let your hate condemn your men," Kelly beseeched her.
Alex teared up and allowed Kelly to embrace her. "Thank you." She then exited the conference room and entered the bridge finding a disgruntled Timber Wolf with green blood all over him and his sword.
"Evacuate the ship," Alex ordered.
Timber Wolf walked off pissed off. "Mr. Wolf. I regret some of the words I said to you earlier." Alex admitted.
"Some? What the fuck?" Timber Wolf asked outraged.
"As a matter of fact, you're the bravest wolf I've ever known," Alex said and then offered her hand.
"Thank you, ma'am," Timber Wolf said sincerely and shook her hand.
"You're faster than anyone. Contact the Supreme Leader and tell her the situation," Alex ordered.
Timber Wolf nodded and walked off. "You're leaving, too, right?" Kelly asked alarmed.
"I'm the captain. I'll be the last one off the ship. Now, go," Alex told her.
Kelly reluctantly left with the rest to the escape pods. Once she was gone, Alex turned to engineering for one last stab at the Dominators.
Earth
As they were about to take off, Brainiac 5 entered the cockpit to give support. "Final countdown. I hope you did all your systems checks," Nura said from outside.
"I think I might have forgotten something," Dr. Cockrun considered.
"Really?" Kara shook his head after he had just pissed away the last hour talking bullshit with her.
"Now, I remember. We can't lift off without it," Dr. Cockrun said going into panic mode.
"What is it?" Kara asked alarmed.
"Do we abort?" Brainiac 5 asked.
"No, I found it," Dr. Cockrun said as he put an ancient CD in his player. "Let's Rock-and-Roll!"
The Phoenix lifted off to "Highway to the Danger Zone." "Good thing this cockpit has soundproof walls or otherwise we wouldn't hear shit over this engine," Kara remarked.
The Phoenix took off amazing the humans in the camp. As it entered orbit, sections of the missile fell off. "There's a red light on the engine valve. Is that an issue?" Kara pointed out.
"Nah, just ignore it," Dr. Cockrun said dismissively.
To his credit, Dr. Cockrun mastered the controls to his own ship and extended the warp engines out.
On the Midvale, Alex entered the engine room and confronted the Dominator queen. Her entire crew was either dead or under mind-control. All around her, her fellow crewmen walked around like drones controlled by the queen. Their skin and bodies were slowly mutating to that of a Dominator. "What's the matter, Alexandra? Doesn't it look familiar?" the Dominator queen mocked, referring to all the changes she had made to the engine room.
"I suppose," Alex said unimpressed.
"Such a fragile thing. How could you forget us so easily?" the Dominator queen asked her. "Do you remember our song?"
"I remember," Alex stared her down.
"How small you have become. Barney understands me. Don't you, Barney?" the Dominator queen said of him. Brainiac 5 had not just been given skin grafts but was also given organic components inside his brain to connect to his neutral network. He was now an organic cyborg capable of emotion.
"What have you done to him?" Alex demanded.
"Given him everything he's ever wanted, flesh-and-blood," the Dominator queen said simply.
"Let him go. He's not the one you want," Alex said sacrificially. She knew that if Brainiac 5 was truly turned, he would reveal secrets, intelligence, and guidance to the Dominators that would tip the balance of power in the galaxy.
"Are you offering yourself to us?" the Dominator queen asked amused.
"I know that sounded sexual but it's not," Alex clarified. "Wait, I remember now. It wasn't enough that I be your prisoner. You wanted me to join you...willingly. You wanted me to give my body to you."
"You were different," the Dominator queen said touching her face.
"You wanted a counterpart to bridge the connection between the Dominion and humanity, but I resisted. I fought you," Alex recalled.
"You can't begin to understand the life you denied yourself," the Dominator queen sneered.
"It's not too late. I can still be with you however you want me to be. Let Barney go and I'll be at your side without any resistance," Alex offered.
"Such a noble creature, a quality we often lack," the Dominator queen complimented. "Barney, you're free to go."
"I do not wish to go," Brainiac 5 replied.
"The fuck?" Alex wondered.
"As you can see, I have already acquired an equal. Barney, give me ship control," the Dominator queen ordered.
Brainiac 5 did just that. "Barney, what the fuck are you doing?" Alex hissed.
"She'll make an excellent drone," Brainiac 5 said of Alex.
The Phoenix continued on its way with the Midvale in close pursuit. "Warp field is looking good," Brainiac 5 reported inside the cockpit. "Structural integrity is holding."
"Twenty kilometers per second," Kara noted.
"Sweet science!" Dr. Cockrun realized as he saw the Midvale out his window.
"Barney, what is that?" Kara wondered.
"Thirty seconds to warp threshold," Brainiac 5 reported.
"Approaching lightspeed," Kara noted.
"We're reaching critical velocity," Dr. Cockrun said about to piss himself.
The Midvale continued to close the gap on impulse power.
On the Midvale, Alex was strapped down. "External sensors are online, quantum torpedoes locked," Brainiac 5 reported to the Dominator queen.
"Destroy them," the Dominator queen ordered.
The Midvale fired three quantum torpedoes at the Phoenix. The Dominator queen watched intently as the three torpedoes made their way to the Phoenix. "Watch...as your future ends," she said to Alex.
The torpedoes missed narrowly. "Barney!" the Dominator queen shouted as he moved towards the coolant tanks.
"Resistance is futile," Brainiac 5 said as he breached a coolant tank with his hand.
The coolant froze the Dominator queen instantly along with several of her men. The engine went offline as all the computers were frozen. The Midvale slowed down its acceleration as the Phoenix went to warp. Alex clung to cables attached to the ceiling to escape being instantly frozen by the gas. Brainiac 5 then quickly ventilated the coolant out of the room returning it to normal temperature. Alex then came back down and found all the Dominators dead.
"Barney?" she asked of him.
Brainiac 5 came before her with half his face missing revealing cybernetics. "You alright?" she asked him.
"I look worse than I really am," he said to her. He then noticed the frozen corpse of the Dominator queen. "A part of me is sorry she is dead. She brought me closer to organic life than I ever thought possible. And for a time, I was tempted by her offer," Brainiac 5 admitted.
"Temptation isn't a sin. It's something we all go through. I'm sorry I ever doubted you," Alex smiled.
On the Phoenix, Kara, Brainiac 5, and Dr. Cockrun were blissfully unaware they had almost been killed. "Alright, you can pull back the throttle. We're good," Kara said to Dr. Cockrun as he achieved warp 1 speed.
The Phoenix exited warp-speed and turned back towards the Earth. "Wow, it's just a spec now," he said amazed.
"Let's make it bigger. Take us home, doc," Kara encouraged.
Earth
Upon returning back to the Earth, a Titan scout ship arrived having detected the warp signature in the system. The ship landed gracefully in the forest near the settlement. Imra Ardeen exited the ship and eyed the primitive humans.
"My God, they're really from another world," Dr. Cockrun said amazed.
"Oh, fuck me, right?" Kara smiled.
"They're going to want to meet the man that flew that warp ship," Brainiac 5 encouraged.
Imra and Dr. Cockrun greeted each other. "I am Imra Ardeen. We were studying the ring system of one of your gas giants and its atmospheric moon when we detected your warp signature. Humans have always been a curiosity to us but now you have our attention. So, humanity has finally invented a warp-capable engine?"
"Fuck yeah," Dr. Cockrun nodded.
"Then, your people belong in the stars," Imra said diplomatically. She then frowned as she mind-read the entire population and realized the actual truth. She eyed Kara, Mon, Nura, and Brainiac 5 in the background.
Dr. Cockrun offered his hand to her. Imra read his mind as to what the gesture meant and returned it. "So you were studying Saturn and its moon, Titan? How about we call you Titans and you...Saturn Girl," Dr. Cockrun suggested, already drunk-as-fuck.
"The fuck did I just hear?" Imra asked crossly.
"Want some booze?" Dr. Cockrun offered.
Imra smiled in spite of herself knowing what that entailed. "Of course," she said joining him in the bar.
The Midvale collected her crew and avoided a confrontation with Kara. "Report," Alex asked her full bridge crew as she arrived.
"We were able to activate our cloak just in time. The Titans did not detect us," Timber Wolf informed her.
"I'm confident I can replicate what the Dominator sphere did and bring us back to the right time," Bouncing Boy said.
"The crew is thoroughly traumatized," Kelly reported. "Barney's fucked-up face isn't helpful."
"We'll deal with it later. Set a course back to the appropriate time," Alex ordered Brainiac 5 at the helm.
"Alex, you still have a chance to speak to Kara. You can still go down there," Kelly suggested. Alex stared at the view-screen of Earth knowing Kara was down there just beginning to start her empire.
"No...I don't think I will," Alex said softly. "Engage."
Author's Notes: A lot to unpack with future Alex here. It's going to be a while before we get to the how and when on that. This chapter was based on Star Trek First Contact with some absurdities added in.
*The beginning battle between the Dominators and the Galactic Federation is based on the sinking of the Bismark.
*The Vindicators: Supergirl, Mon-El, Brainiac 5, Dreamer, Saturn Girl, Alex, Timber Wolf, Hawkboy, and Bouncing Boy make appearances.
*Kara and Alex have such an unfortunate situation where Kara is grieving but future Alex refuses to see her to give her any hope. While the space/time continuum is of concern, the distance between them appears vast at this point.
*The Titans were originally from the moon, Titan, but that's silly so a new origin name was created here.