Kara's teeth chatter as she passes through the ceiling. She's getting closer to the lab but didn't think ahead enough to consider that she has to pass by a lot of the machinery that powers the lab's equipment. After being on Earth for so long, she had almost forgotten the way Kryptonian generators don't overheat but quite the opposite, a stark contradiction to the technology on Earth.
Between crawling under massive pipes and tiptoeing around wires, she rubs her hands up and down her arms to generate a little bit of heat. If she gets too cold then she's going to stiffen up and not be at her best for whatever is to come and she has to be able to move quickly.
If she doesn't move quickly enough then her body heat will affect the overall temperature up here and since a lot of these generators are powering some very important pieces of equipment, they will be monitored closely and she could accidentally set off alarms and have people figuring out where she is.
She tucks the jacket sleeves over her fingers and keeps moving. All she knows is that the lab is on the far side of the building so her best bet is to just keep going until she reaches a dead end and then she can figure out her exact location from there, trying to sneak a peek down into the rooms below now could blow her cover before she's even halfway there.
She makes progress slowly but surely, the temperature fluctuating all the while as she passes the odd generator. She figures out that there is a generator above each room that has a great need for power, so that's mostly labs and surveillance rooms that track satellites and Krypton's deteriorating atmosphere.
From what she can remember, her father's lab is right on the far side of the building and the furthest on the right so if she finds the generator that corresponds with that, she'll be right on the money.
The climb is more tiring than Kara imagined it would be and her pace is nowhere near what it was when she first climbed up here but she's still going and she hasn't got much further to go. She can see her checkpoint just up ahead and it gives her a little more motivation to move faster to get there.
Since she's going to be right beside a generator, she can't stay there for long because of the temperature issue so she's got to check that she's in the right place, make a quick assessment of the situation and then retreat away from the generator to a safe distance to come up with a plan of action.
There's a hatch a couple of metres to the side of the generator and Kara carefully lifts it after taking a deep breath to steady herself. Her fingertips curl around the edge and she only just cracks it open so she can peer down into the room below.
It's bright down there. That's her first assessment. It's bright and it takes a second for her eyes to adjust because it's pretty damn dark up in the ceiling and she had gotten used to it.
Squinting against the light, it doesn't take long for Kara to recognise the familiar space although she has never seen it from this angle before. Her father's desk looks exactly how she remembers it; it's covered in piles of documents, information crystals and a hologram crystal displaying the image of Kara and her parents, all looking positively joyful.
Her gaze fixes on that hologram crystal for a dangerous moment and almost misses the shadows dancing across the wall from her pacing parents, deep in conversation and thankfully not paying attention to the ceiling. That's probably because people don't often spend time looking at a ceiling when their prepubescent teenager's future self shows up to throw a spanner in the works of all of their plans.
Kara only keeps the tile cracked a little and presses her ear down into the slit to try and make sense of what they are saying. It's a struggle to hear but she makes out a few words here and there. She's grateful they are speaking Kryptonese because even after all these years, she still finds it much easier to understand what people are saying in her mother tongue rather than English.
From what she can hear, they are freaking out majorly. They are panicking and trying to figure out where in the city she might go, not at all pleased that she managed to slip away from them and they are debating what they should do now.
There are information crystals scattered on one of the main lab tables. All of them are full of blueprints of her father's creations. Down there, somewhere in the massive piles, is the information she came here to receive. Weeks' worth of effort and a damn hard mission and it all comes down to this.
All she told her mother about what technology she needs is that it's to shut down a weapon so she can hear them discussing that, trying to figure out exactly what she's after.
A shiver runs up her spine and it causes a panic. She's been here too long; she has to back off because of the generator.
Kara is hit with a rush of adrenaline and practically jumps back from the hatch and in doing so, accidentally drops it. It only falls a couple of centimetres since she only had it open a crack but it wasn't silent. The tiniest little thump cuts through the air of the ceiling and Kara grimaces. They will have heard that.
She scrambles away from the generator, glad there's a good chunk of space between this one and the next one because it means there is essentially a 'dead zone' where she can chill and it won't disrupt the temperature of the two generators she's between.
Once she's in that space, she hits the deck, ducking behind some pipes and wires whilst praying that nobody comes up here and if they do, they don't spot her.
There's a rumbling coming from all directions, the pipes working on distributing all manners of things throughout the building, mostly gas and water but in a facility of this size, it could be anything. It's loud though and she hopes it is enough to hide the sound of her shallow breaths.
The darkness lifts a few shades as a hatch opens somewhere in the direction of where she just was, not the same one she was looking at but one close by it based on where the light appears to be coming from.
She presses her cheek to the floor, her nervous heart thumping in her chest.
Then there's the distinct sound of someone heaving themselves up into the ceiling space and a light of some sort is activated. It's pointed around like a searchlight and in some ways, Kara supposes that it is.
"Kara?" Her father calls out. "Kara, we know you're up here."
It's probably a bluff. If it isn't then she's screwed and her heart rate increases even more. Her cheek hurts from the pressure against the floor and her spine has never been straighter as she flattens down. Inappropriately for the situation, she thanks Rao for only giving her small boobs because she wouldn't be able to stay as hidden as she currently can or even if she did manage it, her boobs would be very sore from the pressure.
The light shines in her direction and she holds her breath in response, her body not getting the message that holding her breath won't stop someone from seeing her.
"Kara?" He tries again, the light still shining in her direction.
Footsteps march in her direction and every muscle in her body clenches. She presses herself up closer to the pipes she's lying behind and prays that she isn't seen.
The footsteps stop and the light moves away, shining around the space even more before her father speaks again. "Zhed nom zha otem."
Kara has to resist the urge to sigh in relief. Her father just told her mother that she's not here. He didn't see her and she's in the clear for now.
Zor-El retreats back to the hatch and soon enough she hears it close again, the space returning to its former darkness.
Just like that Kara can breathe again. She pushes herself up onto all fours and drops her head down to her chest, adrenaline rushing through her veins. That was way too close but alas her spy skills have not failed her yet. Now, for the next step. What would Alex do?
She peers over the pipes to the area where she thinks her father came from and after a moment of hesitation, begins moving over there as slowly and as smoothly as possible. The hatch drops down into either hall beside the lab or the office across the hall based on what she can estimate from up here. She's not risking opening it up, even she's not that dumb. Nia would probably do it though.
Turning her head and scanning the space around her, she makes a plan. It's going to be risky and she's only going to have one shot at it but this is it. This is her moment to prove that she's got this and her moment to prove to Alex that she can be sneaky.
She tiptoes over to another hatch and this one she does risk opening in the same way she did the one over her father's lab. A quick inspection tells her the room is empty as it is completely dark except for the light shining beneath the door. It gives her just enough light that she can see that there's nobody there and it's an office, the desk placed right beneath the hatch. Very helpful.
Now, she has to make her move. What that exact move is, she's still figuring out.
Kara reaches into her pocket and pulls out her notebook before opening it part way so there is a little wedge of paper held together. She uses it to prop open the hatch above the empty office, careful to only use enough that it gives her a head start on opening it when the time comes.
With that done, she wanders back over to the other hatch, pausing to look at the generator. Now she has an idea. Stepping closer to it, Kara squints to take a better look at it, determining the best way to go about her plan.
Wires are coming off it in all directions, a lot of them bound together in thick bundles that look really intimidating. She won't touch those. Her focus is drawn to a few valves atop the monstrous machine. A little valve action is her best bet here. Now, she just has to calm her nerves and get going.
As she lifts her hand to turn the valves, her outstretched fingers curl into a fist to try and stop the nervous shakes she's gotten all of a sudden. The severity of her situation is fully recognised and her body is letting her know about it.
A conscious effort to steady herself with a calming breath pays off and as she reaches out a second time, she closes each hand around a valve, picking two random ones before changing her mind and sticking to one. One they will believe is an accident. Two is sketchy. They'll probably figure out it's not an accident anyway but it might just buy her more time until they do.
"Come on, Kara. It's game time." She mutters to herself and frantically undoes the valve, twisting it as far as it will go to open it and then stumbling back. She grasps the hatch over the lab and once again opens it a fraction before dropping it down so it makes the same thump it did before.
Phase one is complete, she runs to the hatch held open with her notebook, jams her fingers into the space she created and lifts it up in record time. The notebook is dropped down first before she practically throws herself down there. Her feet land on the desk firmly and she reaches back up on her tiptoes to pull the hatch shut behind her, lowering it the last couple of centimetres delicately so it doesn't make a noise.
Next, she climbs down from the desk and then grabs her notebook before shoving it back into her pocket. This is as far as she got with her plan so now she has to wing it and hope for the best. Alex could handle this so she can too. Alex might be the better spy but she got a boatload of DEO training too. She doesn't remember the majority of it but she got the training so it counts.
Keeping one ear out, she crosses the room and stops beside the door. An attempt to listen out for anyone is fruitless, there's no way she can tell what's going on out there without a little more danger. She cracks it as carefully as she can, almost having a heart attack when she gets it open a fraction and then hears people running down the hall.
She flies back from the door afraid that she's been caught but they're moving too fast to be concerned about one random door being open an inch. Their voices shout frantically through the building and it makes Kara smile. They've found the generator and their focus is now drawn to that.
Peeking outside again, she sees that the path is clear to her father's lab. She doesn't have a single clue if anyone is in there but she has to take the risk. Her parents should have gone to the other hatch the same way they did the first time but there's no saying that her mother isn't waiting in the lab for her husband to come back and let her know what's going on.
Kara darts out of the office, her legs shaking from the adrenaline and nerves, and pushes her way into her father's lab. Without even looking inside the room, she closes the door behind her. She turns slowly, breath held and eyes wide, ready to face the music.
There's nobody behind her. She's alone in the room and the information crystals are all lined up for her. There's even a separate pile of the ones her parents were going through to try and figure out which one she's probably after.
She checks those labels first and tries to find the one that will best suit her needs. She doesn't have a particular set of blueprints in mind except for something powerful that can stop a powerful weapon. Her parents didn't know that though so they have set out all of the ones that match that description.
Her notebook is fished out of her pocket and flicked open to the page where Brainy marked down the main components of the device she'll need.
She knew that her father made a lot of different machines and devices to protect Krypton, but the number of variations of power absorbers, kill switches, and forced override devices here is a little overwhelming. He's made a lot of things that are really questionable and they are all laid out for her to see. She wishes she hadn't seen.
Two devices fit the overall consensus of what she needs but she can't choose which is better so she just takes both, setting each crystal on the inside pockets of her jacket, one on each side so it doesn't sit unevenly.
Kara has the blueprints. She's got what they have spent weeks trudging through Krypton's deadliest lands for and it feels like she should be celebrating but she's not out of the woods yet. She still has to figure out how to get out of here and get back to the rest of the team. She's kind of cornered herself in here.
She can't go up the hatch because there's a very high possibility there are people up there trying to fix whatever it is she broke and there's no guarantee the hallway is clear. There haven't been many guarantees throughout this journey though so what's one more? She opens the door and steps out.
Kara makes direct eye contact with her parents who are flagged by a set of guards behind them.
"Kara!" Her mother yells to her, shocked to see her and based on her voice, very happy to finally set eyes on her daughter again.
"Nope," Kara grumbles and takes off in a run in the opposite direction. These halls are familiar but her directional skills are hindered by the fog of so many years gone by. There's a canteen somewhere in this building, somewhere up ahead. Maybe there's an emergency exit from there. Kara's speed increases and she's going so fast that as she increases her speed a second time to get through the propped open doors of the canteen, she can't stop when a bunch of guards surround her and block her way.
Her feet slide across the polished floor and she keeps sliding in a rather undignified manner. In an attempt to save face, she jumps right back up and is ready to deny it ever happened but she's suddenly on the other side of the guard blockade. She slid right beneath them. She's going to tell Alex she did that on purpose.
Once again breaking into a sprint, Kara keeps on running. She can't see any emergency exits but she can see another set of doors across the room that lead somewhere that isn't here and here is where there are a bunch of people trying to stop her from leaving so she's more than happy to use that as her point of exit.
Kara finds herself in another hallway and it takes basically no time at all for her to realize that it connects to the main hallway of the building and will lead her right to the main entrance. It's going to be a dicey run based on the reverberating sound of the guards' boots as they chase her.
The front desk comes into view and she's almost home free. A soft breeze kisses her cheeks and her freedom is so near. At least it is until she's side tackled by a dude twice her size and is held in place against the floor until her parents get there just a minute later to find her struggling against the grip of two guards who are having a genuinely hard time keeping hold of her.
"Kara, don't struggle." Her mother warns her but Kara, of course, doesn't listen.
"Kara, stop." Zor-El demands before addressing the guards. "Please escort her through to my office."
They do exactly as they've been directed and pull her back through the building, not at all fazed by her squirming and only mildly annoyed by the way she keeps digging her heels into the floor.
Alura and Zor-El walk behind them and exchange worried glances all the while. Once they are in Zor-El's office the guards leave and the three of them are in the room alone.
"Kara." Her mother starts. "Please stop running from us."
"I wouldn't have to if you stopped trying to keep me here." Kara counters. "I need to get back to my family. Do you know if they are still at the accommodation or have you had them removed?"
Alura's eyebrows pinch. "Why would I have done that? I promised I would keep them safe."
"You haven't exactly proven yourself to be trustworthy though have you ieiu?" Kara bites. "You promised to help me too but you went behind my back and set me up. I had to run halfway across the city to get away from you and yet somehow you're still chasing me down."
Alura shakes her head, "Kara, Krypton is dying, you can help. Can't you see why I want your help?"
"I can but in your desire to help you're causing unnecessary harm. You have all the help you want here already but you're unwilling to see it because of your pride."
Zor-El scoffs. "If I was protecting my pride then we wouldn't be begging you to stay."
"You're begging your daughter who doesn't belong here. Perhaps begging your brother that does will get you closer to your end goal. He is a smart man, one on the same level as you, father. Ask Uncle Jor-El for help, not me."
"You know nothing of Jor-El." Zor rakes his fingers through his hair that somehow doesn't get messed up, if anything, it looks tidier for it. "He and Lara have conceived a child separate to the processes of the codex."
"I'm well aware, Kal is the first natural birth in over a century and he is going to be a man you would be very proud to know and call your nephew. By now I would guess that Aunt Lara is getting close to giving birth?"
Alura nods, her lips pursed into an attempt at a smile. "We believe so. We don't have much information but from what we know, she's close to birthing…Kal?"
"Yes, Kal-El. He goes by Clarke on Earth and he is one of the greatest men I know, with or without the Codex manipulating his DNA."
"Why are you telling us this when you have been as secretive as possible about the future up until now?" Alura asks the million-dollar question.
Kara swallows down the lump forming in her throat. "Because if I want to get home and have a home to go back to, I need you on my side. I tried to do it without you and I got pretty close but I can't protect my people and my planet without you being willing to let me go. The only way you'll do that is if you have a guarantee that there's a way for Krypton to survive."
"Is there a guarantee?" Zor-El asks hesitantly.
"In life, there are no guarantees."
"I used to tell you that," Zor mutters.
"You seem to have forgotten."
He bows his head. "You said that Earth is your planet now. You don't classify Krypton as your home?"
Kara shakes her head sadly. "Not anymore. I spent years on Earth wishing to come back here so I could be home but the people there, the ones that raised me and believed in me. They showed me the vast beauty the planet holds and the beauty within themselves. They are my home and their home is Earth."
"So then you must go home," Alura states, her voice thick with emotion. "You must go home to Earth."
"Alura, no." Zor tries to argue but Alura takes his hand in her own and the action stops his fight in his tracks.
Kara coughs away the prickly feeling of emotion brewing up inside of her. "No matter how many years pass, I don't miss you guys any less. I need you to know that. I miss you every day and I miss our lives here but I have a new purpose, one I have to fulfil or else I am nothing."
"I don't think my daughter has the capability of being nothing," Zor says. "You could do so much here."
"Not as much as I can do there. You have your Kara. Take care of her until you have to send her away and please, for the love of Rao, don't spend the last bit of time you have only attempting to save the planet. I remember how awful it was having you come home at night but not really being there, your minds too full of possibilities that fail no matter how long you think about them. Spend time with her while you still can."
Zor-El's head tips forward and his eyes settle on the floor. "You've been asking me to read to you at night. I can't remember the last time I did that for you. It was a few years ago. Once you started reading on your own, I could never get a word in, always too impatient to wait for me to read and doing it yourself instead."
"I asked you so I could hear your voice. I wanted you to be with me and be present. That's why I asked."
"Did I do it?"
A painful pause. "No."
"I will do it this time." It's said with a finality Kara appreciates. "So, are you going to let me go?"
Their hands clasped together between them, Alura and Zor-El come to a decision with a brief bout of eye contact and a nod. They have their answer.
"Yes." Zor-El starts.
"But also no." Alura finishes.
Kara sighs loudly. "You people can't do anything the easy way, can you?"