Karry Universe

Disclaimer: Same as always.

Little Siblings

Paula sat outside the empty house, taking a breath.

She had just shown the house to five different families and now was taking a well-deserved break, unsure what was more difficult: being a realtor, or a vigilante. True, she had always been a realtor, relocating to Starling when she wanted to avenge her sister, but now she had found balance in both lives, she didn't know which one she preferred. Not that she'd give up either.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket as she sighed, taking it out to check the number, wondering if it was the office or a client. The number was out of area and unknown to her, but she answered regardless.

"Hello?" She started.

"Good afternoon, is this Paula Bertinelli?" a woman asked on the other end.

"Who's asking?" Paula countered.

"My name is Jean Deacon, I'm a social worker on behalf of National City…" the woman started, Paula wondering where this was going, "Can I confirm that you're Paula Brooks' daughter?"

"Named after that woman, yes that's me," Paula muttered, adding in an instant frown on her face when her mother was mentioned. "If this is about her, I don't want anything to do with my mother."

"No, no," Jean chuckled, although a little forcefully as she continued, "Earlier today, your mother and her husband were sent to jail by Supergirl and The Flash. I'm unaware if you know…"

"That she's The Tigress? Of course." Paula confirmed. "It's good to know I can count on those superheroes to do their jobs," Paula couldn't help but smirk as she said that, making a mental note to thank Kara and Barry the next time she saw them.

"Indeed," Jean replied, "regardless, I work with the social services. I don't know how much you know about your mother, or her husband?"

"Nothing from the last, what, eighteen years," Paula shrugged to herself not even award her mother had gotten married again. "Oh wait, did you say social services?"

"This might come as a bit of a shock to you then, but your mother has a fifteen-year-old son. He has no other relatives beyond yourself, and to avoid him being lost to the system, unable to even visit his mother or father in jail, I was hoping –"

"Are you asking me to be his legal guardian?" Paula stood up now, her mind racing. She had a little brother? That woman continued her crimes even with another child in tow, and with her husband? She was hating her mother more and more now. But to become a guardian of this boy? She wasn't ready to be a parent; hell, she never even considered it and suddenly a teen was being thrown in her direction.

"If you could just meet the boy…?" Jean stated tentatively.

"What's his name?" Paula sighed. He was her brother, and she did get jealous of the fact that nearly everyone in Team Canary had a sibling – Oliver had Thea, Laurel had Sara, even William had Roy, sort of. Curtis was a loner, but he at least had his husband, Paul, in his corner. Her only family had been killed when Helena had died and while the Justice League had become a surrogate family she was intrigued by an actual sibling.

"Jack," Jean replied. "Jack Crook."

-Superflash-

Barry couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

He had come down early in the morning, having to get to the lab for an early morning presentation by one of his scientist on a new device, and everything just felt wrong. Things just felt off. Shifted.

Kara, did you eat my cake? Barry asked, having gone into the refrigerator for the piece of cake he was going to have for breakfast, but found it gone.

No, Kara lazily thought back, still half asleep.

But it's gone, Barry thought back and moved into the living room. "And that's not right…" Barry picked up the two cat toys out of the playpen. He then dropped them in sudden worry and ran up the stairs into the girls' room to find them both asleep peacefully with Krypto and Hex curled up on the floor. Krypto looked up as Barry entered, curious now. "Good boy. You keep an eye on them." Krypto gave a small whine, so as not to wake the girls and went back to his former positon.

"Okay, what's wrong with you?" Kara asked, appearing at the door and rubbing her eyes. Barry's emotions had made it impossible for her to go back to sleep.

"Things are out of place," Barry said, moving off and going down the stairs again, Kara following. "My cake is gone. And look." Barry pointed at the cat toys in the play pen. "The mouse and the rabbit are together. They're never together."

"We're talking about cat toys, right?" Kara asked, confused.

"Hex keeps them apart. One time I put them together and she went nuts, jumping into the box to drag them apart. It's like the mouse and the rabbit don't like each other or something," Barry said, making Kara blink.

"Cat toys. You're worried about cat toys," Kara yawned in worry, just as Hex came down went into the playpen. She took one look at the two toys together and then grabbed the rabbit and brought it out.

"See?" Barry urged now.

"Your sounding insane," Kara said, sending calming emotions to Barry. What's wrong?

"It just…" Barry said aloud, "Cadmus knew who we were. Its why they sent Jeremiah's clone after us. When Mad Hatter attacked you in our old place, I thought this would be safer and it is in a way, but people can still get at us. We don't have a security system."

"We have a Kryptonian dog and cat," Kara pointed out, and Hex meowed at that, having hidden the rabbit somewhere and was now eating food.

"I've just noticed things are off." Barry tried now. "Little things every so often, like the cake and the toys," Barry said, and Kara had to laugh. "I know I am sounding paranoid and its unlikely someone evil is coming in to steal my cake, but I think we should get a security system on the elevator and the balcony doors. I just want us all to be safe, especially now."

"Okay. Fine. Send Cisco over to set up something," Kara said with a shrug, not seeing it as a big deal but wanting Barry to feel safe.

"I was thinking Snart…"

"Usually not a good idea," Kara added in.

"But he works for a security company now," Barry said, and Kara had to gape at that. "They have some pretty good systems. He could come over today and set one up."

Kara raised an eyebrow. "You know, if you told me a couple of years ago we would be letting Captain Cold into our home to set up a security system, I would have called you insane."

Does that mean yes? Barry thought to Kara, a small smirk on his face.

Yeah, it means yes, Kara thought. "And now let me get some sleep before…" A cry was heard, cutting Kara off. Before that. Kara sighed and smiled weakly as she headed up to their girls' room.

-Superflash-

That evening Paula walked into the Arrow cave. Jack was still in National City, with a deal to head to Starling early next morning – she was going to trial out a week with the boy and see from there, but the social services lady had seemed pushy to make sure the deal worked out – which is why Paula was here now. She needed to know everything.

"Curtis, I need your brains," Paula stated, not paying attention to Oliver or Laurel who was in the room. Thea was out on the field with William, the clone of Roy – it was an idea of Laurel's, as Thea didn't want anything to do with the man, but Laurel knew she needed the team to work well, so fallings out among their group needed to be resolved, and quickly.

"Sure thing," Curtis replied, as Laurel watched on. Oliver was on the other side of the computer banks, keeping an eye on Speedy and Red Arrow – he was doing that a lot more recently.

"I need to know everything about my mother," Paula stated, a little fiercely.

"Your mom?" Laurel now entered the conversation, moving over to Paula now.

"Supergirl and The Flash caught her earlier today," Paula stated. "And she left me a little present."

"A brother," Curtis stated, pulling up records on the computer. "Well, half-brother. His dad isn't the same as yours, but still… why did you want to know this?"

"I've been… tasked with protecting him," Paula sighed, leaning on the railing nearby.

"Seriously?" Laurel scoffed. "You? Being a big sister?"

"It's no joke," Paula muttered. "I need to know more about Jack. I'm meant to be his legal guardian and I don't know the first thing beyond the fact he's my half-brother and both of his parents are criminals." Paula explained.

"Well," Curtis turned back to the computers as Laurel watched on in silence now, her brain working a thousand miles an hour. He pulled up Jack's permanent record, as well as the image of the boy – he was blonde and scowling, and Curtis had to stop himself from laughing at the familiar look on the boy's face that Paula usually wore. "He's been to every school in the state – thrown out of most of them… he's a bit of a wild card, it seems. A great hockey player though – he's always gotten into the school teams, despite being chucked out. He has a long record, even though he's fifteen," Curtis moved back to show Paula what he'd pulled up on Jack's permanent record. She cringed.

"It seems we have a lot in common," she muttered. "Although not all of it good."

"Want some advice?" Laurel suddenly spoke up as Paula turned to look at her. "From one big sister to another… let Jack work out his issues. Let him scream and shout and run wild, but always put some boundaries down. Sara wasn't exactly the golden girl when she was younger, and I was lucky with both mom and dad before the whole… you know," she glanced toward Oliver, indicating the history there. The Queen's Gambit, Sara's apparent death and her parents subsequent divorce. "It's just you and him though. You need to be a sister, but also a friend."

"I… I don't know if I can do that," Paula muttered, biting her lip. "Helena was the big sister. She took care of me all my life. Almost a mother."

"Going to be a change for you. Used to being the little one," Laurel said with a nod.

"You'll get there," Oliver finally spoke up. "God knows I wasn't the best big brother to Thea, but we got there in the end."

"Thanks," Paula nodded and sighed. "So, do you need Artemis for anything tonight?"

"If we did, we can figure out how to work without her," Laurel smirked, putting a hand on Paula's shoulder. "Get your apartment ready for him. Take the time you need. Black Canary, Arrow, Speedy and Red Arrow can do this for the moment."

"What is 'this'?" Paula asked, curious.

"Drug warfare," Olly smirked to her. "What we do best."

-Superflash-

Kara and Alex were sitting on Kara's couch. Kara had one of the girls and the other one was riding on Krypto's back. Alex smiled as she went and grabbed the girl off Krypto, who had been carefully trying to keep the girl from dropping. Hex wasn't being helpful either, jumping onto Krypto for the girl to get excited and try to grab her. When removed, Krypto gave Alex a thankful look as the girl Alex grabbed cried out.

Kara laughed at the scene.

"These two have become a handful since they got mobile," Alex said, and Kara had to laugh at that.

"They were a handful before. Now they just have super speed," Kara confirmed with a smirk. The girls, the labs, and being Supergirl kept her tired, even with her powers, but she loved it all. "They are worth it though. You'll find out eventually."

"My kids won't have super speed," Alex pointed out before adding thoughtfully, "Well hopefully not."

"So, when are you and Sara going to officially have a kid? You're going for adoption, right?" Kara asked.

"You know, I always pictured myself having my kids so Sara and I have been talking about artificial insemination," Alex said.

"You know you need a guy for that," a third voice said, and Kara looked over at the balcony where Snart was placing in the new security system Barry had ordered from him.

"No one likes eavesdropping," Kara shouted back out to him playfully.

"Who needs to eavesdrop? You two talk insanely loudly," Snart said with a smirk, going back to his set up.

"Ignore him," Kara said back to Alex. "So, you want to carry the kid. You've been considering it?"

"I knew it was a bad idea telling you this before we were officially ready," Alex said, shaking her head at her sister's curiosity. "We have been looking into sperm banks. The good ones that guarantee brains and looks cost, though."

"Um… Hello?" Kara said, holding out her hands and indicating around her. "I've got your back."

"I'm not using my little sister's money to get pregnant," Alex said immediately. "And that sounded wrong." She laughed. "Besides, we're still not sure if we're completely ready for this yet. My promotion is still kind of new."

"The DEO would have measures for this type of thing. You want kids, so go for it," Kara said as her cellphone rang. She picked it up to look at the caller ID and pouted. "I'm sorry, this is important." Alex waved her hand dismissively at this. "Watch the girls… and him." Kara nodded to Snart as she put the girl she was holding into their playpen and went into her office to talk.

"You know, I was just joking about needing a man," Snart now said as he came up near Alex, who practically jumped. "Fathers suck. Mine did. I would be a lousy father."

"I don't doubt that," Alex said coolly, putting down the girl she had in the playpen with her sister and turning around to face the former criminal. "But don't you have a job to finish?"

"Only need to set up the elevator and show your sister the control box," Snart said with a shrug. "But getting back on topic," Alex raised an eyebrow, not knowing there was a topic to get back on to, "I would be an awful father but my genes are good. We Snarts are smart, good fighters, and good looking. It would be a shame not to pass that on." He gave Alex a wink at this.

"Well, your sister is with Cisco," Alex said, and Snart laughed. "What?" Alex didn't get the joke in that.

"You think my sister will be a mom?" Snart said, shaking his head. "She wouldn't be good at wiping a kid's ass. Not what she wants to, and not what her nerd husband wants, from my understanding either. You though, you would be a good mom. So, would your wife. Kick ass females. What kid could ask for more? So, think about it."

"Think about what?" Alex asked, confused and unsure where this conversation was going or had been. It seemed so odd.

"Adding a little Snart to your family," Snart said, making Alex gape in shock as Snart went to go work on the elevator.

"Wait, you're offering to donate your stuff to me and Sara?" Alex said, her mind not wrapping around this.

"Well, I would prefer making a direct deposit," Snart said with a smirk, but Alex glared at this. "But we can do it the way you want if you're committed to it."

"We… well… we haven't decided on when. We would need to talk about this," Alex said, not sure what else to say.

"You know where to find me," Snart said, and that was when Kara walked back into the room.

"Well that's taken care of," Kara said putting her cellphone down. "You almost finished?' Kara asked Snart.

"Give me another few minutes," Snart said as he turned back to his job.

"Alex, you okay…? You look weird," Kara asked, but Alex merely nodded, still going over Snart's words in her head.

-Superflash-

"Your advice sucks," Paula entered the Arrow Cave, this time to see Laurel and Thea in the place. Curtis was no-where to be seen, while the two Arrows must have been on the field. "He hates me," Paula added to Laurel's raised eyebrow. "Well, actually he seems to hate everything. Hates mom, hates his dad, hates school, hates National City, hates Starling City. He's a total wild dog!" She slammed her fist onto the table nearby and winced. "And now he's run off."

"Oh… kay," Thea spoke up, a little lost now.

"Oh, Paula's got a little brother now," Laurel stated. "Sorry, forgot to keep you in the loop."

"You're a big sister?" Thea almost laughed at this.

"Hey," Paula groaned, annoyed that people didn't think she had it in her to be the big sister Jack needed.

"Why don't you go over it?" Laurel tried.

"Fine. Okay, so I met him at the station and immediately got a ton of verbal abuse. I could take that though – called up his social worker to state he was with me safe, took him back to my apartment… then he trashed the place! Well just the lounge, cos he's sleeping on the couch 'til I get another bed for the spare room," she took a breath. "Somehow, I managed to calm him down, took him to the arcade, thinking that would be his thing, but he managed to ditch me to sneak off to the movies…"

"What did he see?" Thea asked, bemused by this.

"Does it matter?" Paula pinched the bridge of her nose now. "I thought I could find some common interest by asking what he liked, movie-wise, thinking we could connect there, but no. The kid doesn't like to keep still and doesn't play well with others."

"Reminds me of your sister," Laurel muttered.

"Want to run facial recognition across the city, see if CCTV can pick him up nearby?" Thea now asked by a computer. "We can send the rest of Team Canary after him, scare him straight."

"That'd be the day…" Paula muttered, but smirked regardless. "Do it."

-Superflash-

Barry and Kara were woken up by a loud nose.

Snart's alarm! Barry thought, running out and down the stairs as the babies started crying. Kara rubbed her eyes, getting out as she saw Krypto and Hex running down the stairs to help Barry with whatever intruder was in the penthouse.

Kara moved down the stairs to find Barry by the balcony doors, and laying on the floor with Hex and Krypto pinning her down, was Karen. Junior was still on the balcony and looked terrified, his dad growling at him too. "Karen? Junior?" Kara asked, and the teenaged version of herself looked up.

"Err, hi. Since when did you guys put in an alarm? That wasn't there yesterday," Karen said, trying to do small talk from her position on the floor.

"You're the one who ate my cake," Barry said, and Karen nodded guiltily as Krypto and Hex backed off. "And put the mouse and rabbit together."

"What?" Karen asked and Barry picked up the toys.

"The mouse and rabbit do not go together," Barry said, making Karen blink.

"What's you're obsession with those toys?" Kara groaned, annoyed despite the situation.

"I'm not…" Barry started.

"Barry," Kara interrupted. "Just go and calm the girls. And shut off the alarm!" Barry went and typed in the code on the alarm by the elevator to shut off the alarm, then went up the stairs. Kara moved and helped Karen off the floor and lead her to the couch. Junior followed timidly as his father sniffed him, obviously telling him off in his own dog-like way. "Why are you sneaking into my penthouse?" Kara asked her mini-me calmly.

"Why wouldn't I sneak into a glorious penthouse?" Karen said quickly, and Kara raised an eyebrow.

"Does Aunt Astra know you're here?" Kara asked.

"Yes," Karen said, a little too quickly, trying to give a convincing smile.

"I know my own face and when I'm lying," Kara said sternly, and Karen groaned. "So, spill, or I'll call Diana and tell her you're not allowed to be Power Girl for a while."

"That no fair!" Karen said. "Cisco only just made me my outfit." She added, as if this information alone would make Kara retract her words. It didn't.

"When your grounded, you're not allowed out, unless you can give a good reason for this?" Kara now tried, and Karen got the message and sighed. She moved a hand through Junior's fur as he put his head on her lap. Krypto kept an eye on the puppy though.

"Sara and Alex are a bit loud in the bedroom for someone with super hearing," Karen said in one quick breath.

"Loud in the bedro…? Oh," Kara said, understanding what Karen meant.

"And we're not?" Barry asked, appearing with both girls in his arms. They were quiet now, but they were up. Barry had heard the conversation from Kara's mind. "Besides, we do have two baby girls."

"The girls sleep through the night now," Karen said. "Krypto and Hex remain with them and you two never do anything."

"Um… hello…? How do you think these were made?" Barry tried, holding up the girls a bit and they laughed at the movement.

"Obviously, you do things – but not as often. You're usually so tired out you pass out at night," Karen pointed out, and the two looked at each other at that, not sure how to respond. They did have a lot on their plates that tired them out at nights, it was true. "Am I in trouble?"

"No, but I got to call Aunt Astra and tell her you're here," Kara said. "Then we'll have to have an awkward conversation with Alex and Sara tomorrow." Kara smirked at the idea that came across Barry's mind, giving her approvable to do it.

"And since you're here and woke them up, you're getting these two back to bed," Barry said, indicating the girls he was holding, and Karen made a face as Barry came up, giving the girls to her. "Be a pain in the ass to your Auntie Karen." Barry joked in a baby voice, and Karen groaned as the girls laughed, almost as if they knew what their father asked of them.

Kara meanwhile, had gotten on the phone.

-Superflash-

Jack hated it here. Not only did he have to face a day away from everyone he knew and loved, but he was also expected to be shipped off happily to another city to be raised by some woman everyone told him was his older sister. It wasn't right and only he knew it.

He missed his close-knit group of friends, he missed his hockey teammates, but he also missed his sometimes-boyfriend too. Everything was so different here, and everyone seemed to rely on some stupid vigilantes to do the jobs of the police. It was true that he liked to challenge authority – ever since he'd discovered his mom was Tigress and his dad was Sportsmaster did he like to challenge social norms. He liked to break the rules and take to the streets too – that was why he'd left his stupid sister already. All he needed to do was get a train back to National, and he'd be set.

He could make it on his own, he knew he could. It wasn't like his parents were there for him before when they were his apparent guardians.

Now he stood by the train tracks. Waiting. He had his white hockey mask on, just in case, but he had to be ready. The moment the right train came his direction, all he'd need to do was jump on the thing and ride the rails to its destination – if that wasn't National, he'd find another train that would go that way. Easy.

"What do you think you're doing?" The unfamiliar voice caused him to turn around. "Your sister is worried." Two vigilantes stood a foot away, both women, one in black, the other in red.

"I have no sister," Jack folded his arms in defense.

"Be that as it may, you better not be doing what we think you're about to do," the red-cladded woman stated.

"What's that?" Jack challenged.

"Hop a train out of here," Speedy stated simply.

"So, what if I am? You don't control me. I'm a free man," Jack smirked beneath the mask.

"That attitude's not going to win you any favors," Black Canary now spoke up.

"Why are you here? Why do you care?" Jack asked.

"Because we know your sister and she's worried," Black Canary replied.

"She's not my sister!" Jack shouted back. "I have no other family. Only friends back home."

"This is your home now," Speedy now tried.

"I've been here twelve hours, lady, I don't call this home. Now, I'd love to stand here and chat, but I have a train to catch," he'd been keeping an ear out for the sound of the train, and it was so close now that as he turned, it passed by. Carriages shot passed but he was waiting for the open trucks, the ones anyone could jump on if they had the chance. He half expected the two vigilantes to stop him, but as he leapt, he was surprised they didn't.

Jack cheered as he landed on the wooden floor of the truck, wincing at the whiplash he'd experienced, but he spun around and leaned his head out of the door to see the two women shrinking in the distance.

"Oh, Jack…" a familiar voice drew his attention as he turned to see another vigilante, this one in dark emerald green, her hair tied into a ponytail and a mask covering her eyes. "I so hoped you wouldn't do this."

"Paula…?" Jack responded, stunned to see his sister in full-out vigilante outfit. He barely recognized her in that and he guessed that was kind of the point.

"Next stop we get out and head back to Starling, kid," she stated.

"But… you're… how…?" Jack stuttered, taken aback as he lifted his mask up to get a proper look at the woman.

"Team Canary always has a back-up plan," Paula smirked, assuming his question was on how she ended up on the same truck he did.

"Team Canary…? Any relation to White Canary?" Jack asked, remembering the lone vigilante that protected National City. He didn't pay too much attention to the Justice League and the Supers and Flash were the main focused of the news, but he vaguely remembered the other names.

"Sisters," Paula smirked now.

"Oh. But the outfit… because of mom…?" Jack moved on.

"Please, I gave up on that bitch years ago. No, this is because of my sister." Paula was quite calm. It wasn't like Jack could go anywhere now. "Mom may have been Tigress, but my older sister was Huntress, and I'm Artemis… you think mom was bad, wait until you get on the wrong side of me."

"What… what's it like being a vigilante?" Jack found himself saying. All thoughts of returning home had dwindled at this discovery now. Paula was a vigilante. It intrigued him and this mention of another sister also interested him. He noticed the way Paula used the terms my though. Was he not related to this other sister?

"Dangerous. And not for a kid your age," Paula seemed to know what was going on in Jack's head at this, and he frowned. "But, if it keeps you out of trouble, and if you honestly promise to work with me then against me, maybe I can work something out with the others."

"What… become a vigilante myself?" Jack asked.

"You have all this excess energy; you may as well put it to use," Paula shrugged.

Jack pouted, thinking this through. "Can I go back to National?"

"No. Even if I didn't want to be your guardian, or you didn't work out with me, there's no telling where the agency will send you. It's either Starling or who knows where. We can go to National though, maybe later in the month so you can see all your friends. Do you have a girlfriend waiting for you or something?" This was the first time all day Paula and Jack had had something resembling a civil conversation.

"No. Not a girlfriend," Jack didn't meet her eye at this as she smirked.

"Okay. Then think of it as a reward. You work with me, you put this wild energy into something useful – just training for now with Black Canary or someone else in the team – and then we can go back to National for a few days. Come to think of it there is also a Young Justice thing."

Jack grinned at this. Looking like a proper kid for the first time today, and Paula couldn't help but smile herself at this pure, innocent, reaction. "Deal," Jack nodded. It would be worth it to train with the vigilantes, plus it did get tiring keeping out of reach with the authorities.

"Brilliant, kid," Paula smirked. "Now we just need to get back to Starling. Any idea when the next stop will be?"

"Not a clue," Jack scoffed. Paula sighed at this as she leaned back against the wall. At least something had finally gone right today.

-Superflash-

Once Kara was done talking to Astra about Karen, she and Barry moved upstairs, where Karen had relocated with the girls in their room. She and Junior were trying to get them to sleep, as Barry had instructed her.

Told you someone was coming into our home. And you thought I was paranoid, Barry thought smugly.

Yeah, you were so right about The Great Cake Thief of Central City, Kara joked, smiling as she watched her clone try to calm her girls. Junior was doing his best, too, but was no Krypto. And it is good to get some peace of mind for the girls, even with our extra abilities and Kryptonian pets.

Can't believe Karen thought we didn't make as much noise as Sara and Alex, Barry was distracted now as they moved back to their bedroom.

Well, it has been a while and I did learn to keep quiet, Kara thought back meekly.

Want to test that out? Barry teased.

No. Too tired. Kara kissed Barry on the cheek as they got back into bed. Barry couldn't help but chuckle. You know your reaction to the cat toys were a little over to the top… Kara added in thought. I thought you were a dog-person too. Barry rolled his eyes at this.

Post Chapter note: Hope you like. And another big thank you to my Beta, Sigma, for writing all the Starling/Paula scenes. I blanked for a good few days on that part of this chapter, eventually just giving them over to him, but I think it turned out nicely.

Next Time on Karry Universe

The Future Flash- Team Superflash are in for a shock when two speedsters from the future appear. One is seeking their help to stop the other, but neither will reveal their identities. The questions remain on why Jesse, Jax, and Wally are so important to them. And will these speedsters force Jess to finally decided between her men?

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