SuperEarth: Reign
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Note: SuperEarth is split into two parts, with this being the last of the first part. More information at the end of the chapter.
Friends with the Enemy
Late-November 2022
Kara had agreed to meet with Mila at the local mall and Barry was already sending calming emotions through their bond. There was something about Mila that Kara just didn't like but she needed to do this for Barry – she was his sister, and she did like the alternative from Karry Universe who visited a lot, so she had to give Mila a chance.
Barry was at home with the kids – he had some work to do, not to mention calling Caitlin Raymond to let her know she'd got the nannying job, and to call her over to show her the Earth Totem, but he was making time to make sure Kara was okay in her confrontation with Mila, splitting his time between himself and her with the ease of a speedster.
His sister, though, was waiting outside the Macy's outlet and Kara could instantly tell she was edgy, given she was pacing and agitated; Kara immediately felt a little sorry for her, as she never wanted to make anyone nervous, but given she was the reason Mila was here, she was obviously the reason Mila was anxious. Knowing Mila was fearful of her, did make Kara feel weird to be meeting here, too, but she had to do this for Barry.
"Hi Kara," Mila spoke first when Kara got closer.
"Good morning," Kara stated bluntly, and saw Mila go pale at the words. "Shall we walk?" She indicated the rest of the mall, to which Mila simply nodded.
"I'm sorry," Mila blurted out, barely a step into their walk.
"Go on," Kara stated, not letting on. "This is why we're meeting, after all."
"We're meeting so we can try to find a middle ground to get along with, but primarily, yes, I'm here to apologize – for everything," Mila stated, causing Kara to raise an eyebrow at this, but she remained quiet, letting Mila continue. "I don't really know where to start…"
"How about on Mutant Earth?" Kara voiced; it still annoyed her to this day that Mila had been responsible for the invasion on that world, the breakout of their prisoners, and seemed to have no true consequences. She'd never even apologized to the world for what they had put them though, with Kara, Barry and even Alex apologizing on her behalf since.
"I suppose that's where it all began…" Mila sighed. "Look, you and Barry and Alex and everyone may been able to get on with the multiverse, but I'm still here trying to wrap my head around it," Kara kept her mouth shut at that; as a Paragon that helped reboot the multiverse due to the Crisis, this sentence alone annoyed her, "but the way I felt at the time, the locking up of Echo and Tremor without a trial… it didn't sit well with me."
"I'd argue he had the only trial possible," Kara said and could see Mila's surprise at the words. "Think about it; how do you prosecute multiverse crimes?" Kara knew nowadays she and the 7 Paragons would be called in to make a verdict, but back then that wasn't possible. "The only people who knew about the multiverse and the crimes committed judged him and found him guilty. Why was your opinion more worthy than theirs?"
"I never thought of it that way," Mila said. "I just… I saw injustice at the time and wanted to correct it."
"That was no reason to go all hot-headed and recruit Barry into your invasion," Kara stated simply.
"I know. I was stupid. I didn't know all the information then – like Echo and Tremor were a version of my kids, or that Echo had manipulated events prior to that…" Barry had since told her this information, but considering she was long over her obsession with Oscar 'Echo' Ramon, she didn't feel much toward it now.
"Perhaps you should have learned all you could before making that decision," Kara pointed out. "You could have visited Mutant, ask to talk to him instead of demanding he be released. We could have looked into other worlds… done an investigation, but you didn't ask for that. You insisted he be release and convinced a group of people to follow you in a raid."
"Perhaps I should have back then, but there's not much I can do now. I can't exactly go back in time and stop myself – and if I did, surely that would lead to some sort of paradox that would change this world?" Mila voiced that, causing Kara to pause. She wasn't sure if Mila was joking or not.
"You're deeper than you look," Kara decided on.
"I am Barry's sister," Mila pointed out, trying not to take the statement personally, and clever in linking herself to Kara's husband. Kara couldn't help but smirk at that.
"You never apologized to Mutant Earth," Kara pointed out.
"I didn't," Mila acknowledged that. "But I can do; I mean I wanted to, recently, but…"
"You left and cut off contact," Kara finished for her sister-in-law.
"Yeah," Mila nodded.
"It was cowardly," Kara said, and that surprised Mila, causing her to go pale again at the wording. "If there is one thing I respect, one thing I value most in this world, it's courage. If, after everything was over, when you got your soul back, you had stood up for yourself, stayed here, faced the consequences, took responsibility for your actions, and apologized, I would have least respected that – and you – but you ran away."
"You are absolutely right, I did," Milla said, forcing the words out, trying not to let her fear of Kara get the better of her "I thought it was the right thing to do then. Give you all space… but maybe you are right, and I was just being a coward."
"That's the first step – acknowledging your error," Kara stated, Mila unsure what to say to that. "But you work at STAR Labs and Alex has the main computer connection to other worlds, it wouldn't take you long to pop in there and ask to contact Mutant Earth," Kara pointed out. "Do you have the courage to take responsibility now and apologize to them?"
Mila took a deep breath. "I'll do that on Monday," she stated, impressing Kara at her positiveness of doing so. "But I want to apologize to you for that also, so I'm sorry, Kara, I really am. I know it damaged this world's relationship with the multiverse – a relationship you and Barry hold dear – so I'm glad it didn't have lasting repercussions with that bond, even if some of the villains we released might have."
"Okay," Kara nodded at that, taking this in. Mila was surprising her today; if she was sincere in her apologies or not, Kara couldn't tell because she really did sound sorry for what she had done.
"It's just… I'm still getting used to the multiverse," Mila voiced. "It's helps having my alternative over to train me with the Totem, but it's hard to wrap my head around."
"The multiverse can be hard for some," Kara nodded at this, knowing this was a weakness of Mila's. She knew of an alternate of herself from Kryptonite who preferred to leave the multiverse alone, not liking it either.
"I'm also sorry to how I reacted after that… jailbreak," Mila stated, causing Kara to stop walking at that – they had reached the other end of the mall already, and were basically looping the place as they talked. "I remember throwing a major tantrum, my powers I had back then…"
"You weren't nice," Kara admitted.
"I know. I'm glad I had those powers taken away – they weren't good for me, at all," Mila admitted this. Echo had been the one to train her, too, with these powers, so maybe that was part of why her former powers were so bad for her when others of her alternates handled them well, how she had started with them.
"You were pleased when they were taken?" Kara asked, frowning now.
"Yes. I was glad to have no powers – honestly," Mila stated. "And now, even with the Totem, it's not like I have powers; I can tap into the powers of the Totem when needed, but I don't have them 24/7 like before. The same with Vixen, I suppose."
"Yes, she's a normal human when she doesn't use her Totem," Kara acknowledged that. She had been concerned about Mila having powers due to the Totem but hadn't thought of it this way – and the only times she'd known Mila to use the Death Totem so far was training with Karry Universe's Amelia in STAR Labs.
"You know I keep the Totem at STAR Labs, right?" Mila added this. "It was part of my agreement with Alex. I may be the Bearer of the Totem, but I don't have it on me all the time," she stated.
"I… didn't know that," Kara admitted – when it came to Mila, both Barry and Alex knew that Kara didn't want to know much, so this information had been kept from her. "So, you only have powers when at STAR Labs?"
"And only when granted and using the Totem," Mila pointed out. It didn't actually bother her. She did feel a connection to the Totem, of course, but it wasn't like it was an actual part of her – that being separated from it gave her anxieties or anything like that.
"That's… good," Kara admitted at this.
"I know there's more," Mila stated, looking at Kara's expression as they walked, "and I know I can't just say 'I'm sorry' to everything and expect the ice to thaw but I really want to try and make a start."
"I know you do," Kara nodded at that, "and you've done good so far. You have – you've been honest with me, and I appreciate that. You've shown courage in the face of fear. But you're right, there's a lot more to go before I can…"
"Like Enchantress," Mila was the one to interrupt Kara with this, causing Kara to pause once again.
-SuperEarth-
Barry had already called Caitlin earlier in the morning to provisionally offer her the job as their nanny, however, given the Earth Totem had reacted to Caitlin last week, it meant she was the new bearer of the magical item and he needed to explain it to their new nanny sooner, rather than later.
So, for the second time in just over a week, Barry opened the front door to his and Kara's townhouse to the woman, while keeping an eye on the conversation going on with Kara and Mila, through their bond, at the back of his mind.
"Hey Caitlin," Barry stated as he took a step back for her to enter the hallway.
"Hello… boss," Caitlin smirked at this.
"Yes, well, I thank you again for accepting the position over the phone," Barry began, not used to being called boss, taking her coat now as she saw herself into the living room; Zari was in the room, but the television was off. Adri was upstairs, doing homework while being overseen by Lara the dog, while the twins were in their crib – this time by the bay window.
"Hi there," Zari waved at Caitin; she'd been told her foster parents were getting a nanny so was intrigued to meet the woman – plus, Barry and Kara had already informed her about Caitlin's Totem connection, so she wanted to meet the person who would be connected to the Earth Totem, once she was of age to hold the Air Totem, they would both be bearers after all.
"You must be Zari," Caitlin moved over and squatted to look at Zari, to be on eye level with her. "Just as beautiful as your picture," she turned to look at Barry at this, before her attention was drawn to the large crib. "And the twins," she moved over, looking into the structure; both babies were awake, but quiet, their eyes wide as they both looked up at Caitlin, who giggled. "So cute!"
"I'm glad you agree," Barry smirked, happy that Caitlin liked the babies she was going to nanny for, hopefully, a very long time now – at least until they were 15 or 16 – especially if he and Kara decided to have more kids. They hadn't really had that conversation yet, since their twins were so new, so neither really had an idea if they were going to have another or not. Although with four children already, a fifth or sixth might be too much.
"Well, I suppose there's paperwork to fill out and we need to arrange a few hours with me and the children, without the parents…" Caitlin began, knowing the ropes of being a nanny more than Barry did – of course, he'd done his research with Kara and had concocted the contract with her, and the help of Alex who had the experience of hiring new people, so that part was sorted for this.
"Before that… there's something we need to discuss… well, Zari?" Barry stated, nodding to the girl who moved off – for today, they had relocated the Earth Totem to the kitchen, in case it had an effect on Caitlin before Barry could explain. On instruction, Zari moved out of the room.
"What's going on?" Caitlin asked, frowning at Zari's retreating form.
"You know of Vixen, right?" Barry asked.
"One of the Justice League? Yes," Catilin nodded.
"And you know how to handle superpowers, thanks to your husband and, by lesser extent, your sister?" Barry added, knowing this from their previous meeting.
"Ye-es… Barry, what's going on?" Caitlin asked again, but Zari had already returned with an ornate back box, with a thin green pattern over it, in her hands, causing Caitlin to pause. She felt an instant affinity to the box and couldn't explain why.
"Last week, before you left, you fainted," Barry stated.
"Please don't remind me. I had my doctor check me out and she…" Caitlin began, trying to prize her eyes off the box to look at her new boss.
"Sorry, but that had nothing to do with your heath. Zari, if you please?" Barry asked his foster daughter, who nodded and opened the box.
Inside was an old necklace with a gold chain and a singular gem, but the gem was emerald-green, in the shape of a typical large diamond and, like last week, it was glowing in the presence of its future, and true, bearer. Without thinking, Caitlin reached for it, taking it from the box and putting it on. The moment the chain was around her neck and the gem resting on her chest, it stopped glowing.
"Congratulations," Zari smirked, closing the box, and putting it on the sofa.
"What…"? Caitlin shook herself, as if getting out of a trance and putting her fingers on the gem of the necklace she was now wearing.
"That necklace is the reason you fainted last weekend," Barry explained as Caitlin finally looked to him. "It's one of the Totems of Zambezi. The only active users of the Totems is Vixen, who's power is to summon the spirits of different animals – say an elephant for super strength or an eagle for flight – and the Death Totem, which I'll explain more about later on. There are six in total, and Zari here is, or will be, the true bearer of the Air Totem."
"Daddy Barry will–" Zari began to explain how Barry would be the bearer until she was ready, due to his powers, but Barry shook his head at her, to tell her to wait for this one.
"That talisman is the Earth Totem; it will allow you power over the earthen elements. It chose you last week, which is why you fainted," Barry continued his explanation to Caitlin. "There are others: the Death Totem, as I mentioned, the Fire Totem, and the Water Totem. So far, out of those Totems, only Death has chosen its new Bearer, who is my sister."
"I don't…?" Caitlin blinked at that, confused by it all. Barry could tell he had some more explanations to do.
-SuperEarth-
Back at the mall, Mila and Kara were still mall-walking as Mila tried to pour her heart out to Kara.
"There's something you need to know about my time with Enchantress, something I've not been able to express to anyone – not even Barry…" Mila voiced to Kara. "Not completely, anyway."
"Okay," Kara frowned at that one.
"I've blamed the loss of my soul for a lot of my actions, but it's not a cover, it's not an excuse… no one knows what it's like not to have their soul, or in my case, to have your soul in the possession of another… Enchantress owned me, literally. She clicked her fingers, I obeyed; I didn't have a choice. I wasn't myself for so long when she finally gave me my soul back…" Mila stopped her words not knowing how to express this.
"Nora did say it was like her little girl was back," Kara mused, remembering speaking to Nora Allen after Mila had her soul back, before Mila had handed herself in to Alex and the DEO; Nora and Mila had a day together where Mila was herself once more.
"I'm not saying it as an excuse," Mila stated again, "I was aware of what I did, I was still human, still me, but at the same time, I just wasn't me. I was a puppet on a string."
"I can see that," Kara nodded, not sure what else to say to that.
"There are no strings on me now," Mila mused. "But I am sorry for everything I did. Honestly."
"You're saying that, but I don't know…" Kara mused, not sure on her words. "I can give you a pass on some of what was done under Enchantress. I know you didn't have much choice, like I said before… leaving, not taking responsibility, or accepting the blame. Every time I heard you talk, you either blamed Enchantress or Echo for everything. You might not be responsible for everything, but you do hold some blame. Can you accept that? Or are you just saying what you think I want to hear?"
"Kara, I am sorry. I hated who I was back then, what I did," Mila stated, forcing Kara to look at her. "I'm truly sorry for all the pain I caused... Yes, I blamed Enchantress and Echo, and yes, they had a baring on it, but at the end of the day, the actions were mine. I did a lot of bad things, and I want to find some forgiveness for that. But I was scared – terrified, in fact – which is why, when I had the chance when I was myself again, I left. And I know you think I should have had the courage to stay and face what I did, face you, but I didn't have the courage then. I am not lying now though."
"You left – you broke contact with everyone," Kara stated this one.
"Apart from mom and dad," Mila pointed out; Kara knew that one, as Mila still spoke to Nora and Henry when she'd moved to Coast City, but not anyone else – not even her brother.
"Barry missed you," Kara pointed out.
"I know he did. And it was a mistake to cut him out of my life," Mila acknowledged. "Just with him as… well, you know," she didn't want to say he was the Flash out in public, "and with you, it made sense to me just to leave. I couldn't be dead, which is what I thought you'd want me to be–"
"Mila…" Kara tried to interrupt her sister-in-law at this.
"–so, I did the next best thing," Mila finished, not letting Kara stop her sentence. "I thought it would be better for everyone, for me not to be around, and it was a mistake. I made assumptions about Barry, about the family and yourself. If I hadn't run off, I may have been able to repair some of my relationships long ago and to apologize for everything that I did. I see that now. I see our relationship could have been very different if I had stayed."
"You wouldn't have come back if it wasn't for the Death Totem," Kara pointed out.
"True," Mila nodded. "So, the Totem may be a curse for you to think of, but it was also a blessing, getting me back here – for Barry."
"Well, I have to say, you're a bigger woman than I thought," Kara stated, "you've voiced a lot of my issues with you, promised some things–"
"I will apologize to Mutant Earth," Mila spoke at this.
"Good. But there's still a long way to go," Kara stated.
"I know. Which is why I want to ask something of you," Mila added at this. The pair had made a few turns of the mall now and seemed to be heading in the direction of the food court, neither really in the lead of their destination as they had just been walking aimlessly.
"Go on," Kara stated.
"I see you more often. I already see Barry as often as possible, I see Zari and Adri with him, not to mention the twins when he has them, but if we have any hope of climbing this mountain and reaching the top, we need to not make this a one-and-done meeting, we need to be in each other's lives, no matter how much we may not like each other right now," she knew Kara still hated her now, even after this meeting, but to be in each other's lives might help that, "or how scared of you I am."
"Barry did say you were scared of me," Kara stated, Mila not meeting her eye at this. The thought of seeing Mila more often wasn't something she liked, but she felt Barry in her head and she knew she couldn't say no. "I can't make promises of the frequency of us meeting," she decided on that. "I'm busy a lot, what with my maternity leave coming to an end and my… other job," she referenced being Supergirl, of course, "And obviously I am a new mom and… I have other obligations that can take me away at a moment's notice."
"Other obligations?" Mila asked this.
"Long story," Kara muttered – she had been talking about the fact she was a Paragon of the Multiverse. It wasn't often, but there were times when the Paragons were still needed, such as the time they had made a world for a Barry Allen who's lost his during Crisis and there had been a situation on New Justice recently that needed all of them. "But yes, Mila, we can work something out to see each other. As long as you don't get offended if I cancel with very little notice."
"I get it," Mila nodded. "For Barry," Mila added, causing Kara to chuckle at this.
"For Barry," Kara agreed.
"And the kids – I love them," Mila added, smiling at the thought of Adri, Zari, and the twins.
"I'm glad you do," Kara smiled at the thought of her children.
"Wait, is that Alex?" Mila seemed to change the topic – they were now in the food court and paused at the three people on a nearby table. Kara followed her line of sight to see her sister sitting with two other women. Quickly, they made their way over – truthfully, Kara was glad of the distraction away from Mila.
"Sam Arias?" Kara recognized one of the other women with her sister, remembering her from Alex's college days, mainly. The third woman was also familiar to her – but more from the multiverse than this world, so she kept her mouth shut on that.
"Wait, I know her. I met her on Kryptonite during the Echo thing," Mila whispered, seeing the third girl, but only Kara heard that.
"Kara Danvers," Samantha Arias stood, having noticed Kara and Mila coming up, to shake Kara's hand.
"It's Allen now," Kara corrected. "Alex told me you two had reconnected. Wow, you're looking great!"
"Thanks," Sam stated, "you too, four months out of having twins…"
"Well, good genetics," Kara smirked at this. "Urm, oh, this is my sister-in-law, Mila," she introduced Mila to the group; Mila had since nodded to Alex, but her eyes were on the third woman now, who also had her eyes on Mila.
"Hi Mila," Sam moved to shake Mila's hand, who smiled and shook Sam's hand.
"Hi. Who's…?" She asked of the third woman.
"Lena Keirnan," the third woman introduced, and Mila raised an eyebrow. That was different to the multiverse version she met: Lena Luthor if she remembered correctly. "We were just about to have some food. Do you want to sit with us?" She asked Mila, more than Kara at this.
"I should head back soon, but Mila…?" Kara asked her sister-in-law.
"I can stay for a bit," Mila smirked, Kara raising an eyebrow at this.
-SuperEarth-
Back at the townhouse, and having given Caitin the Earth Totem, Barry had a few thoughts to address to his hopefully soon-to-be nanny.
"This obviously changes a few things," Barry stated to Caitlin, given she was now the bearer of the Earth Totem, "and if you want to reject your application for our nanny, we will understand – we'd be saddened, but we'd understand. However, you can't reject the Totem… I don't think it allows you to – come to think of it," Barry frowned at that. Even though Mila didn't want to be the Bearer of the Death Totem, she had accepted it, and given what he knew of the ones from Karry Universe through their Amelia, all those who had been chosen by their Totems had accepted their role without much hassle.
"I… don't want to reject being your nanny," Caitlin stated. "And I think I understand. I don't know how, or why, but I understand… this," she put her hand on the Totem.
"There's one more thing you should know," Barry stated as Zari now watched on. Caitlin frowned at this as he suddenly ran off, grabbing his Flash outfit from his and Kara's bedroom, speeding into it and returning in full superhero-mode in a second.
"Oh my god!" Caitlin exclaimed now.
"Yeah…" Barry said, already taking off the cowl to show his face.
"That means… Kara…?" Caitlin was doing the math in her head.
"She's Supergirl," Barry confirmed; Zari smiling wide at this.
"And the dog you mentioned last week…?" Caitlin continued.
"Super Dog, yes. She's upstairs with Adri," Barry had seen her with the girl as he'd sped into his suit and down here just now.
"But… why are you telling me this? Why the Totem?" Caitlin asked.
"Well, like I said, the Totem chose you last week, we couldn't avoid that, but by being a Totem Bearer and having powers, we've been told that the Justice League will need you and the other Totem Bearers against a threat in the future," he didn't want to reveal too much, so not to scare her off, "so you'll need to know who the leaders of the Justice League really are – plus, our kids…"
"Will have powers," Caitlin concluded, looking back to the crib – one of the babies had found its way to its feet and was holding onto the side of the crib, laughing at its dad's speed; Barry quickly moved over to make sure the baby was safe.
"I know this is a lot to take in," Barry began.
"My husband is a fire meta and my sister controls ice," Caitlin stated, "so now by bosses are the Flash and Supergirl," Caitlin took a breath, "I think I can handle it."
"Good," Barry smiled. He and Kara had theorized last week if Ronnie had been able to control fire and it seemed that Caitlin had just confirmed that.
"Daddy Barry can control my Totem because he's the Flash," Zari called out at that, wanting to tell Caitlin earlier. Caitlin turned to look at her.
"My power has a connection to the Air Totem, which is what allows me to control it," Barry explained to this. "It's complicated Forces of the Universes stuff that will take a while to go over… something for another day."
"Right. So that will make you a… fellow Totem Bearer, I suppose," Caitlin stated, looking around to Barry.
"Indeed," Barry stated biting his lip. He knew of no other speedster who used the Air Totem. New Justice Rae had mentioned not being able to use the Death Totem at all though, which worried Barry, but he had to remind himself the Air Totem was connected to the Speed Force – which he was too.
"Right," Caitlin shook herself at this. "Right…" she took a breath, "not how I thought my day would go but there you have it. So, we have a contract to sign, and I need to spend time with the children?" she asked Barry now, who took a moment at her sudden change of tact.
"Urm yes," Barry said. "There's some things you need to know about Zari and Adri though…"
"Such as Nora!" Zari stated quickly at that.
"Yes," Barry nodded to his girl. "As you know, Zari and Adri lost their parents at a horrific accident in STAR Labs. Being orphaned like that, we decided they needed a guide to how to deal with it, a counsellor of sorts – I mean, Kara lost everything when she was Zari's age too, but she dealt with it differently, as she's not human – so we've had an older teen, Nora Ford, who comes once a week to talk with the girls. She lost both her parents in Starling City a few years ago so has been really helpful."
"Okay," Caitlin nodded at that. "I work with that. I can help there, too."
"Good," Barry smiled. "And then we need to sort out your working hours… Kara and I are fine, obviously, waking the girls up and doing the morning routine, but maybe getting them to school and, obviously, picking them up…" he was treading blind here now. He had no idea how to schedule a nanny and none of his alternates with kids used one and given Beautiful Earth's Kara had been a live-in-nanny, that didn't help their situation.
"My last family I was at theirs for 7:30am and dropped the kids off at school, I collected them after school and brought them home and to after-school clubs, dealt with getting their dinners and homework help…" Caitlin explained.
"That sounds good," Barry nodded.
"Of course, you also have the little ones," she nodded to the baby in Barry's arm, its sibling cooing from the crib. "And I have my own children to think about."
"Well of course. As the Flash I'm good at dealing with a lot of things, same with Kara, but when she goes back to work, she'll be very busy as an editor for Cat Co.," Barry explained, to an impressed whistle from Caitlin, "so we can maybe work something out where I take the kids with me a few days, and you stay with them the other days. Weekends we're fine, of course. If you have any suggestions regarding your own children, that will help, too."
"We can come to a good arrangement," Caitlin nodded at that.
"Now, contracts and pay," Barry stated, putting the baby down next to its sibling in the crib and vanishing in a flash to reappear in civilian clothes with a small folder. Both babies laughed in their crib at this Flash movement. Barry and Caitlin needed to hash out the contract, while Zari watched on in fascination.
-SuperEarth-
Alex and Sam had made sure to keep their friendship alive now, having lost contact five years ago due to life in general, which was why Sam had this time invited Alex for a shopping trip. Sam had an alternative reason for bringing Alex out today, but that could wait as they did their shop.
"You've got to try the nuts at this place," Alex was the one to say this as they passed a shop that sold just nuts. They had normal nuts and candied versions of the nuts as well.
"Let's see," Sam moved into the shop with Alex, trying some of the free samples before buying some special pistachio selection.
After that, they went to Macy's, with Alex looking for jeans for Kara as a Christmas present, while Sam checked out the sunglasses.
"What do you think of these?" Sam asked, trying on a large pair of sunglasses.
"Try with your hair back," Alex stated, Sam pulling her hair back into a ponytail. She frowned. "I've never liked ponytails…" she stated, letting her hair drop back and taking off the sunglasses. "What about those jeans?"
"I found these," Alex showed Sam the ones she'd picked out. "Kara loves this brand."
"Will they fit her? I mean she did just have a baby… actually two babies," Sam said, knowing this from conversations with Alex. The pants weren't a large size, after all.
"Kara has done well getting rid of baby weight quickly," Alex said trying not to laugh as she said it. Her Kryptonian physiology on earth had meant Kara had bounced right back into shape only a few days after giving birth – it was something all human mothers would be jealous of, should they know.
"Well then go buy them…" Sam paused as her cell went off, "and we should hit the food court after this."
"I'm not exactly hungry," Alex pointed out, frowning at her friend as Sam followed her to the cashier. "Weren't we going to check out the jewelry store? I wouldn't mind finding something to fit this gem I have…" she still had the Black Diamond on her, and for some reason she didn't want to return it to storage – she hadn't even inventoried that she'd taken it and wasn't sure why.
"Trust me, we need to get to the food court, first," Sam stated, a little fidgety as Alex frowned at her. They didn't say anything else until Alex had the jeans and they made their way to out of the store.
"Okay, what's going on?" Alex asked her friend. "You asked me out here specifically and then you get that text and suddenly we're going to the food court."
"Alright, I haven't been exactly honest with you, Alex," Sam admitted to that, with Alex raising an eyebrow at this. "You remember Lena Keirnan?"
"Ye-es. The one who's got a claim to L-Corp," Alex summarized.
"Well… she's actually pretty decent," Sam stated. "It was her mom's idea to try and get L-Corp and Lena is just following her mom along," they had reached the food court by this point and Alex noticed the pale woman with a strong jaw nodding over at Sam, who nodded back for her to move over.
"Your friends with the enemy?" Alex couldn't help but ask. Alex herself hadn't met alternates of this Lena, but having a quick look in the system for her out of curiously knew several of the alternates were friends of superheroes there.
"I'm an enemy?" The new woman spoke, having reached them. "Hello, though. I'm Lena. Lena Keirnan."
"And this is Alex Danvers. My oldest friend," Sam introduced the two women to each other, with Alex going slightly red at being introduced as Sam's oldest friend. It was a disarming compliment, she knew, but it worked.
-SuperEarth-
Astra Logue had been through her fair share of prisons, mainly in Hell, but this one was the stupidest for her – the DEO warehouse now used as their headquarters. But, between being on Earth and being stuck down in Hell, this was probably the best of two evils.
It wasn't all bad though, as she still had her magic and was, in fact, training with Rachel 'Raven' Roth. Granted, being trained in magic by a teenager wasn't exactly the ideal situation, but she'd learned a few things in her four months here on Earth; more than the Sisters of Fate had ever taught her down below.
Raven visited daily to train her protegee and had left about an hour ago, leaving Astra Logue somewhat disinterested for the rest of the day, given she couldn't even use her magic outside of Raven's visit thanks to a confinement spell which Raven had placed over her cell.
"You look bored," a new voice spoke, causing Astra Logue to look up from the bed. A female guard she'd never seen before was looking down at her – she was pale, nearing her middle age, with brown hair and bangs.
"Just waiting for when I can get out of here," Astra Logue told the guard.
"What if you could get out of here now?" the guard asked.
"A prison break?" Astra Louge asked, eyebrow raised. "That's not exactly DEO-sanctioned."
"I'm not DEO," the guard smirked at this.
"Who are you?" Astra Logue asked, standing, now intrigued.
"Nyxlygsptlnz," the guard stated, curtsying slightly to the woman in comedic fashion.
"Nx…? You're a Fifth Dimensional Imp!" Astra Logue stood at this, shocked.
"You know my kind?" Nxyly asked.
"There's an Imp in Hell," Astra Louge mused. "Cursed there by–"
"King Brpxz?" Nxyly supplied.
"That's the one. Sounds like Burpy," Astra Logue mused at this, causing Nxyly to laugh.
"Who's the Imp you knew?" Nxyly asked.
"Crisp… or something like that," Astra Logue mused.
"Qwsp? So that's where she went…" Nxyly breathed at that, knowing of the other Imp.
"She did something against King Burpy and found herself powerless in Hell," Astra Louge explained further. "Had this weird cuff on, that not even Lucifer could take off."
"This type of cuff?" Nxyly shook off the sleeve of the stolen security guard outfit to show the thick metal ring over her wrist.
"That's the one. Wow, what did you do to anger Burpy?" Astra Logue asked, Nxyly smirking at the nickname given to her father. She was going to remember that one.
"Something he's going to regret sentencing me to the Phantom Zone for," Nxyly stated. "But I can use your help for it."
"My help?" Astra Logue asked. "How?"
"Magic," Nxyly stated, Astra Logue raising an eyebrow at this.
-SuperEarth-
Having introduced her oldest friend to her newest friend, Sam Arias had found a table in the food court at the mall for she, Alex, and Lena Keirnan to sit at.
"I don't get what's happening here," Alex stated, honestly, to Sam.
"Let me," Lena spoke up. "I think Sam here wants you to judge my character."
"Excuse me?" Alex paused at this, turning to Sam, who didn't quite meet her eye.
"We get on well, Lena and me," Sam explained, "but we only met because of this lawsuit and if–"
"Lena is really just after the company, this could all be a rouse," Alex completed for her friend. "We used to do this in college, but with boyfriends."
"Sounds like an upgrade," Lena mused. "From boyfriends to potential CEOs…"
"I'm sorry, Alex, I should have told you," Sam sighed. "It's just… we've only just reconnected; I didn't want to think I was using you."
"Well…" Alex paused at this. "Lena agreed to this, so there must be something in it," she turned to Lena and could feel Sam let out a breath; Alex didn't feel betrayed – maybe a little hurt that Sam didn't tell her from the off – but she did enjoy breaking down their potential boyfriends back in the day.
"Sam only said she wanted me to meet her friend, she didn't go into too much detail," Lena admitted. "But I can figure some things out. I was always top in my classes, after all."
"Alright," Alex stated. "So, tell me, why do you want L-Corp?" Alex didn't shy back from the big questions, aware of what Sam had told her earlier about Lena and her mom.
"I don't," Lena stated. "That's to say, I didn't want to lay a claim on it. It would be cool to be CEO of a company and I could use the money that would come with it, but it's my mother's doing. She and Lionel Luthor had a thing for a few years – it resulted in me, and he bought her off. He put her through a lot of pain when he rejected her because of me."
"Your mom was his mistress?" Alex surmised.
"Indeed," Lena nodded. "Being thrown to the curb hurt her, so when this opportunity arose, she jumped at the chance to use me. Even with Lionel long-gone."
"Do you like being used by your mom?" Alex asked this.
"No. But I'm used to it; besides I have my dad on my side," Lena smiled.
"Your… dad?" Alex turned to Sam at this, who shrugged.
"Lionel Luthor may be my father, but the man my mom's been with for the past 20 years is my true dad," Lena explained.
"And what does he think about it?" Alex asked.
"He finds it funny. It's all a joke for him. Already calling me his L-E-O as a play on the CEO lettering and my name," Lena smirked at this.
"We may need to put this on hold," Alex suddenly changed tact, causing the other two women to pause, she nodded toward two more women who had come to the food court – one blonde, one red-headed with tattoos.
"Is that Kara?" Sam asked as the two women moved over to the table.
"That's her," Alex chuckled as Kara smiled politely at the group. Alex was surprised to see the other woman, Mila Allen, was with her sister – as the last she knew, both women hated each other.
"Sam Arias?" Kara was the one to say this as they reached the group.
"Kara Danvers," Samantha Arias stood at that, to shake Kara's hand.
"It's Allen now," Kara corrected. "Alex told me you two had reconnected. Wow, you're looking great."
"Thanks," Sam stated, "you too, four months out of having twins…"
"Well, good genetics," Kara smirked at this. "Urm, oh, this is my sister-in-law, Mila," she introduced Mila to the group; Mila had since nodded to Alex, but her eyes were on Lena, who had to pause at Mila, instantly intrigued by the other woman.
"Hi Mila," Sam moved to shake Mila's hand, who smiled and shook Sam's hand.
"Hi. Who's…?" she asked Lena.
"Lena Keirnan," Lena introduced, flowing charm all of a sudden. "We were just about to have some food. Do you want to sit with us?" she asked Mila, more than Kara at this. It was the obvious reason for the trio being in the food court, after all, rather than the real reason.
"I should head back soon, but Mila…?" Kara asked her sister-in-law.
"I can stay for a bit," Mila smirked, Kara raising an eyebrow at this.
"What food do you want?" Lena asked, indicating the food places nearby. Kara and Alex shared an intrigued look at this, but Sam remained bemused. It seemed Alex's interrogation of Lena Keirnan would have to wait.
Kara, meanwhile, was just glad to get away from Mila now as she waved a hello and goodbye to her sister before leaving Mila with the other women.
-SuperEarth-
Astra Louge paused at the revelation that magic could somehow free the Fifth Dimensional Imp, Nyxlygsptlnz, from her power-dampening cuff.
"How exactly will magic help free you?" Astra Logue asked.
"Well, it's more of a two-step process," Nxyly mused at this. "There's a Kryptonian out there, hidden under a human guise, that only magic can free. Once she's released of her human shell, her powers can break the cuff and free me."
"How does a Kryptonian free you of that?" Astra Logue paused.
"Kryptonian heat vision has the equivalent power of the Kryptonian's red sun, it's powerful enough to break this thing," Nxyly explained.
"Interesting. So, you need me to unlock a Kryptonian from her human hell?" Astra Logue smirked at this. "How can I do that?"
"I'm sure there's a spell we can find – maybe something dear Johnathan Constantine has in his collection?" Nxyly stated.
"Yeah, I don't have access to those in here," Astra Logue pointed out.
"Which brings us back to your jailbreak," Nxyly stated. "I can get you out, but you need to get us out of here."
"Teleportation? Easy," Astra Logue pointed out. "Breaking the spell over this cell? Not so easy."
"Oh, that's actually simple magic," Nxyly stated at that. "I may not have my Imp powers, but this world is abundant on magical energy I can manipulate – I actually took down the magical protection over the cell before I even got here."
"You could have said something!" Astra Logue protested at this, a fireball appearing in her hand now.
"I didn't want to spoil the surprise," Nxyly chuckled.
"Well, stand back, the moment the glass breaks, all hell will break loose – you know, being a citizen of Hell, I never really got that phrase," Astra Logue paused at this.
"And yet you use it," Nxyly pointed out.
"True. Anyway, as I was saying, once I break this thing, we'll have only seconds to teleport away," Astra Logue instructed, as Nxyly nodded, taking a step back as instructed.
Astra Logue threw the fireball at the glass, it shattered and instantly alarms sounded.
Quickly, though, Astra Logue moved forward, grabbed Nxyly and in a flash of flame, she and Nxyly vanished from the facility, just as actual guards came running into the corridor housing the prisoners. They were in for a shock.
Post-chapter note 1: And there you have it. Nxyly has an accomplice which means it only a matter of time before Reign is released. Meanwhile, Kara and Mila have started their bonding for Barry. I apologize again that there's been little to no action in this segment, but it's been very character-driven, as you can all tell.
Post-chapter note 2: As I mentioned earlier, this SuperEarth is split into two segments with this being the last chapter of the first segment. Next time, we have a special New Justice anniversary chapter, but don't worry, SuperEarth will return in a few weeks.
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