After the bombing in Metropolis by men's rights groups, Kara ordered several officials, all women, to her palace in Midvale for a private meeting to discuss the matter. The palace had 26 rooms each on two floors and then 18 rooms on the third floor all with large windows. Staff members were busy at work preparing the food, cleaning all the dishes, making the name cards, and replacing carpets and drapes. Kara would be personally arriving soon so the staff was on alert and nervous. In the panic, one man tripped and fell breaking some glasses.
Brainiac 5 addressed the head butler on the matter. "Do we have enough?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"I am sure we have a sizeable inventory, Sir," the head butler said nervously.
"You're sure or you know?" Brainiac 5 questioned.
"I know, Sir," the head butler said confidently.
"Don't worry about the cost. I pardon him," Brainiac 5 said dismissively. He then eyed some of the staff with a stone-cold expression. "Smile," he ordered them all. "It's a fine day."
"Yes, Sir!" they all shouted.
"Alrighty then. Let's look smart...or the closest you can be," Brainiac 5 said to all the staff.
Various officials came in every so often as they drove up. As they did, they shouted "God Save the Queen" to the greeters at the door. Inside the palace, there were more "God Save the Queen" every so often.
"If there is anything you ladies need, please don't hesitate to ask," Brainiac 5 said graciously.
"My appreciation to the woman who picked this spot," Major Lee said to him.
"That would be Her Majesty. She resides here occasionally," Brainiac 5 told her.
"A beautiful house from a more elegant time," Major Lee complimented as she looked over the 21st-century-styled house.
"I could use a drink," one of the women remarked.
"The wines are this way. You'll find them first-rate," Brainiac 5 led them away.
"These floors are not for boots," Major Lee noted as she admired the wooden floors.
A series of "God Save the Queen" continued throughout the palace as more people showed up. Colonel Robison went through the crowd and then barged into the dining room to speak with Brainiac 5 privately. "My Lord, my memorandum of recommendations," she said giving him a flash drive. "Of course, the state department desires good relations with the Crown. That was my thought."
"I will make sure the queen sees this," Brainiac 5 said condescendingly.
"And when will Her Majesty arrive?" Colonel Robinson asked excitedly.
"She should be on the grounds any moment," Brainiac 5 replied.
Kara flew over Midvale and then gracefully landed without making a sound. Additional officials arrived with more "God Save the Queen." Several of the officials made small talk and introduced themselves to one another. Colonel Armstrong eagerly approached Brainiac 5. "You are well fixed up here," she remarked.
"I think we are," Brainiac 5 confirmed.
"I'm late because I had a briefing. We have a general in Moscow who has never commanded one damn brigade," she complained.
"Not at all," Brainiac 5 allowed.
"Wine?" she asked hopefully.
"Of course," Brainiac 5 nodded.
"And where is the girl's room?" she asked concernedly. "I have to take a giant shit."
In the dining room, Brig. Gen. Morgan made small talk with Brig. Gen. Moss on the purpose of the meeting. "It is very complex, these laws. A lot of time and thought has been put to them and some of these people have little idea what is lawful," Brig. Gen. Morgan complained.
"Certainly not these ladies. To them, laws are like ice cream tubs which they eat all by themselves alone in the dark," Brig. Gen. Moss agreed. "Do you know why we're here?"
"Only what the invitation suggests," Brig. Gen. Morgan said vaguely. There was a long awkward silence as she didn't elaborate further.
On the other side of the room, Major Tyler attempted to brown-nose as hard as possible by being super-friendly to everyone, expressing her happiness at being at the meeting and announcing her title as the Director of the four-year plan. "Yeah, well, I represent the Queen's Royalist Party with the Thousand Year Plan," Colonel Armstrong told her off.
The final members of the meeting showed up with more "God Save the Queen" being shouted down the halls. "So...who is late?" Maj. Gen. McCormick asked Brainiac 5.
"We are," Attorney General West said obviously.
"Really?" Maj. Gen. McCormick said annoyed.
"Only the queen has not arrived," Brainiac 5 replied.
"I'm sure she'll make her entrance," Attorney General West said dryly.
Kara finally arrived on the scene, casually walking up to the entrance in her black Supergirl uniform. As she did, those at the entrance gave her a "God Save the Queen." Kara greeted Attorney General West and Maj. Gen. McCormick. "I just love this place," Kara smiled. "Seeing it from the air, I appreciate the architecture which I designed. Are we ready?"
"Absolutely," Brainiac 5 replied.
"Welcome to my home," Kara said to those present in the lobby and then walked into the dining room.
"There have been some questions about Moscow, but I have deflected them sufficiently," Brainiac 5 assured her.
"God Save the Queen!" all the attendees shouted in unison.
"Understood. If we keep doing this all day, we'll never finish. With no disrespect to me, it is suspended until our business is concluded," Kara ordered. "Let us do what we came here to do but in a casual way with refreshments and a buffet in the middle. Let's begin."
Kara took the center seat at a long table. "Ladies, thank you for coming. Let us all sit down. I'm sorry for keeping you, but I'm sure you got a little sloshed on the wine and it's never too early for that. Now, when I was here as a teenager, I went to summer camp. So, we're going to introduce ourselves around this table as if we are in summer camp again."
"Major General Zariyah Mccormick, FBI Director."
"Colonel Lara Armstrong, I represent the party. That is who I speak for."
"Brigade General Lola Moss, Chief of Staff to Prince Mon-El. I appreciate being called to this meeting but I have no idea why. I thought the question of men had been resolved."
"It will be...it will be," Kara assured her.
"Major General Ximena Tran, Secretary of Equal Opportunity and Diversity. We deal with matters of equal opportunity and diversity."
"Dr. Miriam Lambert: UN Deputy Secretary-General."
"And I am the UN Secretary-General," the next one said.
"Your name?" Kara asked after a long awkward silence.
"Dr. Sophie Thompson, sorry," she answered. "I thought everyone knew who I was. I'm a big deal."
"Brigade General Sophia Morgan: Undersecretary to the Interior."
"Colonel Nicole Robinson, Undersecretary Secretary of State."
"Major Corrine Tyler, Director of the Four-Year Plan."
"Major Harriet Lee, Deputy Commander of Terra Nova...among other things."
"Oh, we all have other things," Kara mocked with most of the table chuckling to humor her.
"Dr. Selah Salas, Secretary of State to our colonial outposts."
"Just how cold is it on Pluto?" Kara wondered.
"Slightly colder than Maine," Dr. Salas joked.
"Colonel Keira Jackson, Chief of Secret Service."
"Charlotte West, Attorney General. Also, I hold rank in the Army Reserves."
"Barney Dox, Royal Assistant to the Queen, Vindicator Commander, Secretary of State, Treasury, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veteran's Affairs, Trade Representative, Director of National Intelligence, Director of Management and Budget, Director of Science and Technology, Administrator of Environmental Protection Agency, and Administrator of Small Business Administration...and that's all," Brainiac 5 rattled off.
"Holy shit," several attendees whispered.
"And I am Kara Zor El, House of El, the First of Her Name, Unburnt, Empress of the Terran Sector, Queen of Earth, Defender of the Faith, Protector of the Realm, Lady Regent of the Seven Continents, Breaker of Chains, and Mother of two Insane Kryptonian brats," Kara introduced herself. "Now, you've been given some papers to look over. You're not to leave this room with them or discuss them with anyone. I control events better when I control public opinion. Lord Dox will handle all matters related to men, he is your focal point."
Kara then outlined the problem. "We have a storage problem when it comes to men and there have been conversations for over a month now about them and the complexities of the law. It is time we expel men from every sphere of life. I seek a men-free society, a men-free economy for the world to see. And we will eliminate men from our global life. Now, more than that, men, themselves, must be eradicated from our living space on this planet."
"Clarification...what the f...?" Moss asked.
"Yes, there will be," Kara silenced her. "Now, we have considered a policy of emigrating them off the planet to other worlds but no one would take them. Who would want them? Every civilized world rejects them or charges outrageously to accept them. Even Titan doesn't have time for that nonsense. Then, after acquiring Akaali, we got hundreds of millions more of them. The problem has magnified astoundedly."
"We can't house all of them on our colonial outposts," Dr. Salas agreed.
"We need a complete solution when it comes to the men's question. That means a cleansing of men from the entire planet of Earth," Kara said bluntly.
"The word cleansing has negative connotations...," Moss interjected.
"An accurate word, to be sure," Kara interrupted. "I expect all government agencies to cooperate with me on this. This is my mandate, all of us. It has been determined that men are a drain on our military, our economy, our women, and our food supply. We cannot store these men and emmigration is over. So, we will be coming up with a solution to this problem today."
Everyone at the table looked over the documents on their tablets except for Moss who stood up and walked over to the window deep in thought. "Please sit, General Moss. You're making us all nervous," Kara ordered.
Moss reluctantly returned to her seat slightly disgruntled. "Where is this going?" she whispered to herself.
"So, instead of emigration we are now entertaining evacuation," Kara began again.
"Wait, what's the difference? Evacuation to where?" Tran asked.
"Let us postpone that highly relevant and pertinent question for now," Kara evaded.
"To hell, I hope," Armstrong said jokingly.
"Many already have with all the wars we've had," Robinson joked as well.
"Indeed, if there is a hell, ninety percent of those who reside in it must be men for all the warfare, mass rape, torture, intentional famines, environmental degradation, and crime they have brought to this world. But you must understand, ladies. I do not judge. I simply send people to God's courtroom," Kara said seriously.
"I was given assurances that men were equal citizens and were to be given liveable conditions in accordance with their rank even if it is E-1. I should be given an opportunity to be heard on this," Moss protested.
"On my word of honor," Kara said with false sincerity.
"There is an issue with various countries and outposts defining men differently. Therefore, by our definition, there may be many unaccounted-for human males," Brainiac 5 brought up.
"You can trust him to know what he's talking about. He's the only one here that occasionally identifies as a man," Kara said. "He does," Kara smiled as the table chuckled at that. "So, what are we to do with the staggering problem of men overwhelming us? Now, my first impulse was to take all able-bodied men and put them to work in isolated construction units away from women and children, specifically road construction."
"Can we be practical for a moment?" Moss asked condescendingly.
"God damn it," Kara whispered dismayed.
"You're hardly promising livable conditions for these people. On the face of it, your plan does not succeed," Moss judged. "You have here, 10% agriculture, 15% urban workers, 20% tradesmen, 24% bureaucrats, doctors, writers, actors, journalists, and so on at 33%. Building roads? Seventy-five percent of men have not picked up anything heavier than a pencil. That's the whole point of the drones."
"Yes, and most of them will be casualties," Kara said coldly. "Eliminated by natural causes. The men over the age of 65 will be moved to nursing homes separate from the population where they can expire at their own speed. All the veterans with awards and medals, those distinctions will be abandoned, or I will have to deal with non-stop exemptions and interventions."
Kara then took a pause to make a speech. "When I first arrived on this planet in the 21st century, I was shocked and appalled by the human atrocities that had been committed in world history. I soon realized that virtually all of these atrocities were caused by the male sex of your race. Since coming to the 31st century, I have been told there have been even greater atrocities caused by men over the last thousand years. And we have tolerated the presence of men for the longest time because we, women, have not had the power or the means to do anything about it. We also saw men as leaders, planners, hunters, providers, protectors, builders, ones that could open a tight jar for us. But now, I assure you, Brainiac drones can do all of these tasks with much greater efficiency without the horrifying costs. A small sample of sperm can impregnate women with sufficient diversity for generations. In sum, men are not needed and they're not worth the cost. I will evacuate them from this planet from west to east so that there is not a single one of them."
"Now, any comments and questions?" Kara asked the table. "Oh, and I have read your recommendations and I appreciate the effort and the thought," Kara said condescendingly to Robison.
"Some of what I have written, you have already said," Robinson smiled.
"I think not," Kara shut down.
As the table took a break to get some wine, Armstrong made small talk with Brainiac 5. "How is it that you can be a man some of the time?" she asked curiously.
"Well, I lived among them, worked among them, and picked up on some of their mannerisms. It's important to get into the male's head. I learned their vocabulary, their alphabet. I often ask myself why they are so stupid. At least, compared to me," Brainiac 5 said casually
"Let's get going. We have a lot of work to do. Chop-chop," Kara said annoyed as various officials walked around the entire palace's floorplan. "Now, you all have the overall understanding but there appears to be some areas of confusion on what evacuation entails...,"
"The evacuation will be difficult without more troops in Scandinavia. They will not cooperate otherwise," Robinson interrupted.
"We will be sending an equal opportunity expert adviser to Hungary to orientate them on our policies. Additionally, you could send your own adviser down there as well. That will put some iron in the glove, so to speak," Tran suggested.
"The glove, itself, is iron and there should be no confusion where power emanates from," Kara stared her down. "Don't you agree?"
"I would hope established relations can be maintained," Tran said meekly.
"If they are productive," Kara said condescendingly. "Your woman will serve as an assistant to my woman. I think that preserves the relative power of our offices, don't you think?"
"Yes, of course," Tran squeaked.
"Be in touch with Lord Dox," Kara ordered.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Tran said, backing down completely.
"Now, it occurred to me that all of our actions must be based on law. Now, I settled the 'What is a woman?' question some time ago but there appears to be some ambiguity on what is a man," Kara said.
"Yes, we must properly define what constitutes a man and the means by which he is expunged from society," Morgan said.
"The exemptions in the law allow too many males to live among us. We will now address each category of exemption: Shemales born as males must go. Transmen must go. If they want to be like men, they will be treated as such. Hemphrodites that are half-man, half-woman, must go. So, those exemptions are out. What about other exemptions?" Kara asked.
"Men married to women with children, male children, themselves, until they reach the age of eighteen," Brainiac 5 detailed.
"We have men married to women that do not behave as men. They are thoroughly whipped and harmless," Morgan brought up.
"And we will look at those cases individually," Kara said dismissively. "And maybe revoke some of those exemptions. I mean, that man better have some extraordinary merits or something. Being a husband and father isn't going to cut it these days."
"Excuse me, Your Majesty, are we suggesting we evacuate all the men in Terra Nova by shooting them?" Lee asked abruptly, standing up. "I just think it's helpful to know what words mean, with all due respect." She then went back to her seat awkwardly.
"I mean...in a way," Kara shrugged.
"I think that requires better explanation," Moss protested. "If you want to purge men from society, fuck it. But to annihilate men, that has been denied personally to me by Prince Mon."
"Yeah, well, he's not here and he honestly doesn't give a shit. Also, I'm in charge, not him," Kara told her off.
Moss stepped away from the table to get a breather. "Yes, I understand," she said and then went back to the table.
"Look, I'm sorry. I've been kind of rude to you. I know you're just trying to do your job. Now, do you accept my apologies?" Kara asked threateningly.
"Of course," Moss said intimidated.
"So very kind," Kara mocked. "Now, we have a sufficient amount of sperm collected to last for generations. Therefore, all men will be sterilized in this generation. Now, I want to be very clear here because words mean shit. I don't hate men, in general. This isn't going to be a thing we do every generation. Once we rid this generation of men, the new generation of men will be socially engineered to be decent. We're making history here, ladies."
"Do you expect these men to accept sterilization willingly?" Robinson asked incredulously.
"No, I expect them to be... evacuated," Kara said vaguely. "Now, any woman that looks like a man, acts like a man, talks like a man, will be treated as such and then evacuated as a man, no exceptions. In all cases, my office will be the determining agency. Any question about that?"
There was an awkward silence in the room. "Looks like sterilization will be a growth industry," Tran joked. "Who would not choose sterilization to avoid evacuation?"
"Wait...they would never know," Tyler assumed.
"Would never know? What the fuck? How would they not know?" Tran wondered.
"Call men in for a check-up, do the snip, and don't tell them," Tyler said obviously.
"I think they would still know if you took a scalpel to their balls," Tran said obviously.
"It doesn't have to be that crude. You could use a microwave machine or something," Tyler said defensively.
"I find the plan unworkable!" Morgan shouted. "This is an unworkable structure. The law must be consistent. If a woman is only that with XX chromosomes, then a man is only that with XY chromosomes. This is science. There are some things you cannot do and that is to arbitrarily put non-XY people into XY categories legally or scientifically."
"As you see it," Kara gave her an icy stare.
"As I see it is all I have to contribute here," Morgan stood her ground.
"Let me offer a modification here, a simple change we can all accept, maybe this helps the outline. What I have to suggest, not to put too fine a point on it...," Tran said and then went on and on without saying anything at all.
Kara merely stared daggers at her. "Get to the fucking point," Robinson shouted at her.
"We simply give transmen the choice of sterilization or detransitioning," Tran said finally. "Doesn't that come to the spirit of the law and science?"
"Well?" Kara asked Morgan.
"No, fuck no. A transman is not a man and no amount of subjective psychobabble is going to change that. If they do not have XY chromosomes, they should not be categorized as such. Looking at a transman to see if they look like a man, sound like a man, walk like a man, or has a man's personality with subjective evaluations is...what the fuck? It subverts the natural law of things. It's disrespectful to the law. This is a fucking trainwreck," Morgan said passionately.
"With all due respect...," Kara interjected.
"If you want to sterilize transmen, find some other legal reasoning to do it," Morgan advised.
"We make the law we need. Why am I telling you this? We can do whatever the fuck we want," Armstrong objected. "How many lawyers are in this room?" The majority of the room raised their hands. "Oh, Jesus Christ."
"The need for workers for production is only growing. Sterilized or not, we will need these men for armaments and construction. There are many companies, there are ten thousand men in the metal industry alone in Metropolis. Failing our production goals will fail the four-year plan!" Tyler said excitedly.
"Fuck your four-year plan," Amstrong said dismissively.
"Fuck...the... four-year plan?" Tyler questioned dismayed.
"There is no argument that there are some labor shortages, no one can argue that fact," Kara allowed. "Look, sterilization is a waste of time. I'm not waiting for a generation or two for this. Death is the most reliable form of sterilization."
"So, who is being deferred?" Tyler asked confused.
"Transmen, hermaphrodites, and children under the age of eighteen," Brainiac 5 clarified.
"How are we going to keep these secret killings secret lawfully? Married women will go to court over the division of property rights and inheritance rights. It will be one big legal fiasco," Morgan said.
"I, for one, do not give a damn about women who get into bed with men," Robinson said coldly.
"Yeah, what's the big deal? It is government policy to make the world free of men," Armstrong objected.
"We can restrict them, we can isolate them...," Morgan said defensively.
"She must have some kind of special love for them," McCormick joked to Armstrong right next to her.
"Oh, wonderful. You lack my credentials. I can tell from your uniform and bloated appearance that you are ignorant and naive about men. Your party line about how they're inferior, some sub-species, and I keep saying how wrong that is. They are clever and intelligent as well. My indictments of them are a lot more real because they're based on facts, not blinded by your ideology. They are arrogant self-obsessed and calculating. To kill them without regard for the law will make martyrs of them. It will be their victory then. Sterilization recognizes them as part of our species but prevents them from being a part of our future," Morgan ranted.
"If I may," Kara began condescendingly. "Morgan is a brilliant scholar of the law and I am sure just as totally committed to a men-free world as any of us. Let us take a moment and have lunch."
During lunch, Jackson made small talk with Kara. "I heard you flew in."
"Yes, yes, I did," Kara confirmed.
"Well, you'll never see me off the ground," Jackson admitted.
"The secret to a happy life is living dangerously," Kara advised. "I mean, look at the world and tell me the pleasures of sanity." She then turned to Morgan with a stare. "Would you please join me for a moment?"
Kara and Morgan stepped outside for a chat. "This will happen. I won't let administrative technicalities slow it down. Every agency will jump to follow my order or I will be kicking asses. This will be a Vindicator operation. As time goes on, the Vindicators will command more and more the agenda and put marks against the names of those not cooperative. You have a choice to make."
"Well...I respect...," Morgan stuttered.
"Don't let that imbecilic fat-ass bitch Armstrong make it for you," Kara advised. "All I want from this meeting is unanimity and getting things done. With you at my side, so much is possible."
Kara then went inside leaving Morgan shaken and stirred. Kara then went up to Lee as they looked out the window. "Beautiful lake, is it not? When I lived in this house, I saw this lake every day and dreamed of comforting things. I am a dreamer of a sort as I think you are, too."
"Absolutely, Your Majesty," Lee said intimidated.
"Politics is a nasty game but soldiering requires the discipline to do the unthinkable. Politics is the skill of persuading others to do the unthinkable for you. For now, I use politics to get the job done. But, in time, there will be nothing between me and the soldier. And it will be a peaceful world, feminist culture triumphant. That is what we hope for. That is what this symbol on my chest means: hope," Kara said.
"I appreciate the words, Your Majesty," Lee said awestruck.
As lunch was about to be concluded, Kara came back to the table. "I will remind you that I announce the goals, your job is to turn my vision into reality. We can debate the how and the when but not the what. The time for debate is over. We will now discuss the method."
"So...wait...what is being advocated here?" West asked confused.
"I would like to say, in this discussion, regarding the tone, first, abandon the misperception you may have, in any event,...I lost my train of thought," Moss said sheepishly.
"It happens to the best of us," Kara allowed.
"What was the question?" McCormick asked.
"Her Majesty was asking about the methodology," Brainiac 5 reminded him.
"Indeed," Kara nodded.
"I will say this, the Christian Church may take issue with this," Robinson brought up.
"The Christian Church is fine with it," Brainiac 5 informed her.
"Well, the priests may not is all I'm saying," Robinson said lamely.
"Surely, the four-year plan can be accomplished with strong-willed women, am I right?" Tyler said with false sincerity.
"Military necessity should come first, right?" Jackson questioned.
"The Justice Department, which I head, can accept this gladly," West said.
"Major Lee, an opinion?" Kara ordered.
"Your Majesty, I accept the chain of command. You have Divine Right. The politics of it all, nothing," Lee said awkwardly.
"Do we have to settle these details today?" Moss questioned.
"Yes," Kara confirmed.
"What is being suggested here? That we shoot or poison tens of millions of men?" Salas asked incredulously.
"Mass shootings will have a morale effect on soldiers, especially male soldiers killing other men before they are killed, themselves," Lee agreed. "Many female soldiers are squeamish."
"Wait...why can't you shoot them?" Robinson asked confused.
"It hurts morale and sense of honor among the soldiers, stupid," Salas reminded her.
"Yeah, I get that but we have billions of drones. Have them do the dirty work," Robinson shot back.
"Mass shootings would be an inefficient use of time, equipment, and bullets. Using me is much cheaper and less public," Kara replied.
"The use of heat vision will vaporize the subjects instantly," Brainiac 5 said coldly.
"If the method has already been determined then what is this meeting?" Salas asked impatiently.
"The technique has proven to work. It will work for you. The method is now defined although I reserve the right to use other powers like cold breath, screams, and the clap to evacuate," Kara clarified. "Now, let's take a break."
During the break, some of the attendees were becoming visibly disturbed and some were actually getting sick to their stomachs. Kara had a casual conversation with Moss as they waited for everyone to return. "I know of no philosophy...," Moss began.
"Philosophy? These people are a glut of violent parasitic people consuming our food, contaminating our professions, controlling resource allocations," Kara reminded her.
"Not every man is like this," Moss protested.
"In your philosophy," Kara said dismissively. "I seek to create a utopia on this planet and this generation of men are in the way."
"And how can I be in your way?" Moss asked.
"You underestimate your influence on my husband. I do not. If I took you down, Prince Mon-El would be displeased with me for a short time. This is the moment to be practical until we can afford your philosophy. You think yourself God's highest of women. I find that amusing. Sitting at the table, I will ask for your agreement to what has been proposed," Kara threatened.
"And I must answer now?" Moss clarified.
"You will answer now or you will answer later," Kara glared.
"I will not oppose you," Moss relented.
"I'll need more than that," Kara demanded.
Everyone then sat at the table. "Now, I can assure you all that I can terminate six hundred thousand men a day with no cleanup. The men are simply gone, vaporized, not even ash," Kara said to everyone.
"The only issue will be rounding them up and transporting them to central locations," Brainiac 5 said. "Within a few months, they should all be gone."
"Six hundred thousand men... every day vaporized," McCormick sounded it out.
"We can achieve that. Imagine," Kara said to everyone. "This will be our triumphant feminist vision. This is my command to you: link arms, your units, your departments, apply your intelligence, apply your energies. Get them to me and history will honor us for having the will and the vision to advance the human race to greater moral purity."
"Now, I understand there are legal issues to deal with but remember this, my word, is above all written law. So, do we have any disputes here with either my authority or what we have agreed?" Kara challenged the table.
The table was silent for a moment. "This proposal violates Darwin's Law in astonishing ways. Mate selection cannot be based purely on genetic analysis but on our ability to relate and work with one another. For the sake of the continued existence of the species, I disagree," McCormick said boldly.
"I second the objection. We should not declare war on men," Armstrong said.
"Even if this be inevitable, I refuse to be practical in this. I do not dispute your power, Your Majesty. I understand the realities. Yet, you can count on me to oppose you," Moss said.
"Do not proceed nor reconsider this proposal again," Tran said next.
"I do not defer to you, Your Majesty," Lambert said.
"This will be a disaster for our world. You cannot force-feed your hatred of men onto us. Thank you," Thompson said.
"What can I say? I have no enthusiasm for this legally or otherwise," Morgan said.
"Obviously," Robison said.
"Obviously what?" Kara asked pissed off.
"Obviously no," Robinson clarified.
"Even with drones, the elimination of men from the labor force will jeopardize the four-year plan," Tyler said.
"No," Lee said simply.
"Men may not have our discipline or sensibilities as we, women, but no," Salas said.
"I thoroughly disapprove and even at the point of death, I will not start it," Jackson said.
"Not now, not ever," West said finally.
Kara eyed the group as all were suddenly opposed to her. "Well...some of you have been taking notes. They are to remain here and will be burned. I see now that this meeting has been a huge waste of time. Thank you, ladies. Now...get the fuck out of my house."
As everyone left to go back to their respective departments, Kara, Brainiac 5, and McCormick went to a study room for a drink. "Did any of you think the vote would go that way?" Kara asked them both.
"Why not?" McCormick smirked.
"I'm not sure what I would have done with them all if they had voted in favor," Kara mused.
"Kill them all," McCormick assumed.
"That would be such a hassle to replace so many people in high positions and it would be legally dubious," Kara said as she got herself a drink and gave McCormick a drink as well.
"Why was I the only one told that the whole meeting was a ruse?" McCormick asked.
"You're the fucking FBI director. You would have known it was a ruse even if I hadn't told you," Kara reasoned.
"I heard that Moss told you a story," McCormick said interested.
"Yes, she told me a story about a woman who hated her father but loved her mother dearly. The mother was devoted to her but the father beat her, demeaned her, disinhereted her, all that jazz. When her mother died, she couldn't shed a tear. Now, when the father died, she was a hot mess with non-stop hysterical crying. She was inconsolable, lost even," Kara said.
"That's a fucked up story," McCormick nodded.
"Explain the lesson," Brainiac 5 requested.
"The woman had hated her father her entire life. When the mother died, that was a loss. When the father died, when the hate had lost its object, then the woman's life was empty. Over. I also hated my parents, my biological parents. When I saw Krypton explode, I knew they were dead. Before I went to sleep in my pod, I was hysterically crying. Even when arriving on Earth, I could not be consoled by my adopted parents. They misunderstood my grief; gave them the false impression my parents were loving and kind. And for a time, I did feel empty," Kara said reflectively.
"Interesting," McCormick mused.
"The moral of the tale is not to hate?" Brainiac 5 quizzed.
"No, rather not to hate so much that it overwhelms our lives, and when it is gone, we are left with nothing. No, I won't exterminate men. Every time they fuck with me, I'm going to beat them collectively into submission and tear out the cancer every so often," Kara said seriously.
"You sure know how to throw a party," McCormick complimented.
"Yes, thank you," Kara smiled.
Author's Notes: In this chapter, Kara puts on a ruse to her female officials to get them to agree to her genocidal intentions over men. However, her female officials saw through the ruse and merely humored her the entire meeting until it got serious. When dealing with power, some subordinates passive-aggressively stall or frustrate progress as an objection while others take a public stand, some act as spies while others fight directly. As for Kara, she occasionally speaks out loud her hatred of things to blow off steam without actually intending to do anything. It just allows her to process things in her head. The reader is lured into thinking Kara is serious and her female subordinates are totally on board. In Conspiracy (2001) everyone is just an asshole so this mixes things up a bit.