Alex and Kelly took an Atlas shuttle to Venus on a whim. It was a short trip taking only an hour on impulse power. Alex piloted the shuttle through the dense clouds and made her way to a unique destination, a cloud city. As she got closer to the city, two human piloted Artemis fighters intercepted her.

"No, I don't have a landing permit. I'm trying to reach Barney Dox. You, heard of him? He's kind of a big deal," Alex said dryly. One of the Artemis fighters fired on her ship rattling both occupants. "Hey, what the fuck? Do you know who I am?"

"Remain on your present course," the Artemis fighter lectured.

"A bit touchy, aren't they?" Kelly smiled amused.

"Flyboys with itchy trigger fingers," Alex rolled her eyes.

Alex flew manually along the flight path she was given. They were on the twilight side of the planet where the glaring sun was just below the horizon. "Permission granted," the Artemis fighter pilot said gruffly.

Alex and Kelly came upon the cloud city, a mushroom-shaped structure floating in the clouds. It had a long stem below and an ellipsoid body. It was massive at twenty kilometers across and five kilometers tall minus the stem. The equator of the city had massive docking bays for resupply ships. Otherwise, the structure was armored shielded on most of its sides. At the very top was the city, itself, made up of numerous skyscrapers, a Singapore in space.

Alex allowed the shuttle to go on autopilot as it was escorted by the two Artemis fighters. Alex and Kelly eyed the skyscrapers around them and the streets below. They were all painted white to reflect sunlight but due to the sunset, everything appeared orange. The population of the city was roughly 5.5 million with most of them being drones. Cloud City was known for being the Las Vegas of the solar system. It featured romantic getaways, restaurants, movie theaters, shows of various kinds, and gambling. It was one of those autonomous zones where capitalists ran the show with Brainiac 5's supervision. It was also used as a science laboratory to study the feasibility of terraforming the planet. Mostly, it was built because Kara wanted to see whether it could even be done.

Alex and Kelly landed on a landing pad and waited for Brainiac 5 to greet them. They hadn't really scheduled ahead or been given any kind of authorization or visa. "Atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide, 4% nitrogen, one Bar of atmospheric pressure, 25 degrees Celsius, and elevation is 50 kilometers," Alex read out.

"Not too bad," Kelly said amazed.

"Yeah, the Venus atmosphere is the most like Earth anywhere in the solar system," Alex agreed. "We're still going to need masks, or we'll pass out in seconds."

Alex and Kely placed translucent helmet masks over their heads. They proceeded to exit the shuttle and felt Venus's atmosphere around them. Brainiac 5 opened a pressurized door and went out to greet them. "You have a lot of nerve coming here after what you pulled," Brainiac 5 lectured.

"You ain't going to do shit," Alex scoffed.

Brainiac 5 then went over to Kelly. "Welcome, Kelly. You truly belong with us in the clouds," he said as he kissed her hand. Alex gave Brainiac 5 a jealous WTF look.

"Yeah, enough of that," Alex objected.

Inside the cloud city, the walls were all a reflective white with many windows. Alex and Kelly were able to take off their helmets inside. "So, I understand this city is different than Metropolis," Alex said conversationally.

"Yes, it's a capitalist democracy for the most part. I've been elected to oversee the city. We've had supply issues and labor difficulties. Keeping a city of this size in the atmosphere is incredibly inefficient. It's not self-sufficient and requires constant resupplying but it's a popular human destination and Kara demanded it," Brainiac 5 explained.

"Well, you are the best of everything," Alex rolled her eyes.

"Let me show you to your quarters," Brainiac 5 said as he placed Alex and Kelly on the top floor of the highest building in the city.

The next day, it was now sunny and bright but still cool. Since the Venusian day was incredibly slow, day and night were due to the city orbiting across the planet at high speed to simulate it. Out the window, Kelly was able to see various ships buzzing around. Their room had a large window to see out of, a window on the ceiling, numerous couches, and a decorative glass structure that resembled DNA in the center. This was just their living room. "Our balloon is almost ready to go. We'll be on our way soon," Alex reported.

"Sooner the better," Kelly smiled. "Though, I'm not entirely sure I trust Barney on this."

"Well, I don't trust him either. Actually, I think I hate him," Alex said honestly.

The two smiled and kissed each other. Brainiac 5 then entered the room abruptly. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting anything?"

"Not really," Kelly said brightly.

"Would you care to join me for a refreshment?" Brainiac 5 offered.

Alex and Kelly followed Brainiac 5 around the halls where weird-ass aliens also walked about doing their business. "Since we're such a small operation, we don't fall under the jurisdiction of the empire," Brainiac 5 explained. "Which is advantageous for everybody since it allows business-inclined people to make their fortunes and affluent customers to enjoy the highest levels of luxury and entertainment the galaxy has to offer."

"Isn't it a little risky to have a floating city completely exposed like this? What about hostile alien empires and pirates?" Alex asked going into security mode.

"It's always been a danger that looms like a shadow over everything we have built here but things have developed that will ensure security," Brainiac 5 said. He then opened a door leading to an elegant dining hall with white walls and glass tables. Alex and Kelly immediately noticed Mon in his Insane armor at the end of the table.

"Fuck me," Alex realized.

"We would be honored if you could join us," Mon smirked. Kon entered the scene from the side behind his father. An Insane squad ambushed them from behind. Alex and Kelly gave Brainiac 5 incredulous looks.

"I had no choice. They arrived right before you did. I'm sorry," Brainiac 5 excused.

"I'm sorry, too," Alex shook her head dismayed.

Alex and Kelly reluctantly sat down for breakfast with Mon, Kon, and the other Insane men. "The two of you getting into constant trouble is a pain in my ass. Piloting a shuttle on your own. That's risky for 21st-century humans," Mon mocked.

"It was actually super-easy, barely an inconvenience to get here," Alex shot back.

"The Cloud City Airforce has been itching to make an air-to-air kill," Mon clarified. "You, being here makes me want to sack this city to ensure your safety."

"We're not looking for trouble," Kelly said to calm things down.

"Trouble always finds you, two," Mon said knowingly. "If anything happened to the two of you, Kara would shut this place down."

"And why do you give a shit, Mon? It's the prostitution, isn't it?" Alex mocked.

"I do meteorological research here," Mon lied.

"You're full of shit, Mon. What do you want?" Alex asked impatiently.

"I want to know your plans for being here," Mon said seriously.

"We're going to float around in a balloon for a couple of hours," Alex said nonchalantly.

"The winds are between 300 and 400 kilometers per hour, there's acid rain, no oxygen, and if your balloon pops you're fucked. One of you is also supposedly pregnant," Mon said obviously.

"So, you're saying it would be Insane to do it?" Kelly asked rhetorically.

Mon eyed the two of them, then to his son, and then to his men. "So be it," he allowed.

"The balloon is not yet ready. Please enjoy what the city has to offer in the meantime," Brainiac 5 offered.

"Fine, one hour," Alex allowed.

Kelly was completely naked and strapped onto a gurney. She was then slowly lowered onto several electrodes. Kelly eyed the electrodes apprehensively and then felt stimuli to all of her erogenous zones: lips, neck, nipples, breasts, vulva, and inner thigh. Kelly tensed up a bit as she got used to the machine, but it quickly became overwhelming.

Just outside, Mon and Kon could hear Kelly begin to moan, then cry out, and then scream in sexual ecstasy. The two smirked amused until Brainiac 5 arrived to make it awkward for them. "You will escort Kelly back to Earth once your mother arrives," Mon ordered Kon. "She will deal with Alex, personally."

"You put Kelly on the straight setting. She'll be no use to Alex then," Kon mused as Kelly's screams continued in the background.

"I doubt it will be permanent," Mon scoffed.

"This interference is a violation of the Cloud City agreement of non-imperial interference. Alex and Kelly are guests under Cloud City jurisdiction," Brainiac 5 pointed out.

"Yeah, I don't give a shit. Don't make me leave a garrison here, because I will," Mon threatened.

Alex waited in her living room listening to music when Kelly arrived. She was fully clothed but couldn't walk. She was escorted inside by two Insane female warriors and put on the couch. They then promptly left. "Holy shit, that was intense," Kelly said stunned.

"I know why they're doing this. It's to stall us from our mission," Alex said peeved.

"What mission?" Kelly asked dazed and confused.

Brainiac 5 then entered the room. "Mon intends to hand Kelly over to Kon and for Alex to be handed over to Kara to escort you back to Earth," he revealed.

"I knew it. You really fucked us good, Barney," Alex said disappointedly.

"I've done all I can. I wish I could do better," Brainiac 5 said sympathetically.

"Yeah, you're a real hero," Alex mocked.

Brainiac 5 then left the room. "Maybe you should let me handle people," Kelly smiled.

Mon entered a special facility designed for freezing food, animals, and people for transport. "This facility is crude, but it should be adequate to freeze Alex until her spawn is born. Then, I won't have to deal with her bullshit," he figured.

"If you put a pregnant woman in there, it could kill both the mother and child," Brainiac 5 warned.

"I do not want Kara's prize to be damaged. We'll test it on Kelly," Mon ordered.

Soon thereafter, Alex and Kelly were escorted into the freezing facility. "What's up, buddy?" Alex asked Brainiac 5.

"Kelly is going to be frozen in carbonate. If she survives, you're to be frozen next," Brainiac 5 informed her.

"What the fuck?" Alex asked outraged.

"What if she doesn't survive? She means a lot to Alex alive," Kon said concernedly.

"The Empire will compensate Alex if she dies," Mon assured him. "Put her in."

"Fuck this," Alex said as she struggled against the Insane guards. Kon raised his hand to stun her only for Mon to slap his hand down. Alex, in her pregnant condition, was an obvious no-match.

"Hey, calm down. This won't help me. There will be another time. Take care of yourself and the baby. You, hear me?" Kelly stopped her. The two kissed in front of all the men.

"I love you," Alex said to her.

"I know," Kelly smiled back.

Kelly was then placed in the proper position, lowered into the pit, and instantly frozen. Her frozen body slab then came back up and was placed on the floor. "Well, Barney, did she survive?" Mon asked Brainiac 5.

"Yes, and in perfect hibernation," Brainiac 5 reported.

"She's all yours, my son. Reset the chamber for Alex," Mon ordered.

"That will take ten minutes," Brainiac 5 reminded him.

"Your Grace, the Supreme Leader has already arrived," an Insane warrior informed him.

"Shit. Take Alex to my ship. I'll deal with Kara, myself," Mon said as he realized he was out of time.

Kon was minding his own business as he escorted a hovering frozen slab of Kelly into his ship when he was intercepted by his mother. Kara walked the halls and noticed Kon and the frozen slab. "What the fuck?" she wondered.

"Shit," Kon realized. He went Super Insane and fired on her blasting holes through the hallways. Kara withheld her fire as she had no idea what was going on. Kon and his Insane squad raced to get to his ship on one of the platforms.

Kara scanned the city walls for Mon, the source of all chaos. He found him in the freezing facility waiting for her. "The power is strong with you, but you're still just a woman," Mon insulted.

Kara walked up the stairs to meet him. "You're going to be surprised how many ways this woman is going to beat your ass."

"As if," Mon scoffed and then activated Kryptonite emitters all over the facility greatly weakening Kara to nothing. "At first, I found Alex and Kelly's plan to be worthy of the Insane but then I discovered an even more Insane plan," Mon grinned.

Kara went for a punch to knock him out. Mon cupped her punch and sent her back to the floor. "Bitch, please." Kara got back to her feet realizing how weakened she had become. Mon easily blocked and kept Kara at bay.

Brainiac 5 and several Insane men supposedly escorted Alex to a shuttle to take them all to Mon's ship, the USS Lena, in orbit. Brainiac 5 suddenly ambushed the Insane men with stun shots dropping them all. Brainiac 5 then handed Alex a plasma rifle. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Alex asked confused.

"There's still a chance to save Kelly," Brainiac 5 informed her.

"Do you think after what you did to Kelly, I'm going to trust you?" Alex asked outraged.

"Yeah," Brainiac 5 said obviously.

"Shit, you're right. Show the way," Alex relented.

The two made their way to the east platform. Kon was already there with his Insane men ready to take off. "Put the strong queer diverse female character in the cargo hold," Kon ordered.

Alex and several drones arrived on the platform with arms. Alex changed the setting of her rifle to Kryptonite and fired on Kon, dropping him. The drones fired relentlessly on the Insane stunning them. Brainiac 5 then went over to the frozen slab that was Kelly. He turned on the heater to thaw her out. "This could take a while," he said.

In the freezing room, Mon rudely kicked Kara down the stairs. He then jumped down to the floor level like a boss. "Your destiny is to lie with me in this crude facility. You know it to be true," Mon antagonized.

"No," Kara refused.

Mon advanced on Kara sending her into the pit. He quickly activated a remote freezing Kara into a slab. Mon waited for the freezing mist to dissipate. "All too easy. Perhaps you're not as strong as you thought," he mocked.

The frozen slab of Kara then rose from the pit. Mon grinned amused and placed his hands on Kara's frozen breasts. "Impressive...most impressive."

Mon then got a transmission from Kon. "Alex and Kelly got away on their balloon," he said painfully.

"Well...shit," Mon muttered.

Alex calmly waited for Kelly to get over her hibernation sickness. Kelly blinked a few times and then noticed they were in the clouds above Cloud City. "Holy shit," she realized startled.

"Take it in," Alex said as she sat at a desk inside the basket of the hot-air balloon. The two of them were wearing their translucent helmets that converted carbon dioxide into oxygen.

Kelly looked out and saw the beautiful clouds of Venus. "It is breathtaking," she said in awe.

The two happened to notice a storm cloud approaching. "That could be an issue," Alex realized.

As they climbed higher, they put on their dress jackets. "I never thought I would be cold on Venus," Kelly joked. The two entered a cloud removing all visibility.

"We're about to get wet," Alex said seriously.

"The kind of wet where we're filled with sexual excitement?" Kelly hoped.

"Acid rain," Alex said grimly.

The two scrambled to get protective suits on as sulfuric acid rain came down upon them. It was in droplets and as a mist. The balloon was resistant to it, but their flesh was not. The wind picked up tossing the two of them inside the basket. Kelly and Alex grabbed onto the basket hard as they were being tossed about. "We need to get above the storm," Alex figured.

"How can you know? We're on another planet?" Kelly yelled.

The two of them were tossed out of the basket toward the balloon. The two held onto the connecting ropes for dear life and then got thrown back down. Kelly got dumped back into the basket while Alex was on the outer edge holding on. "Alex!" Kelly cried out and immediately reached out to her. When that didn't work, she put a cable around her midsection and then lowered the rope to Alex. The two worked together to get Alex back into the basket.

"You, alright?" Kelly asked stunned.

"We have to get higher," Alex said and then detached the weights. The two held on tight to the walls of the basket until they were above the storm. Once they were clear, the two took off their suits. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," she said dryly.

"Look at that," Kelly said amazed. The two eyed the sun looking considerably larger than on Earth with a yellowish orange sky. It looked like heaven.

Alex and Kelly hung out in the clouds of Venus enjoying the sights and their company. "Why were you so interested in this idea in the first place?" Kelly asked. "It was as if you were obsessed."

"A part of me always wanted to float on a balloon again. It's the closest thing to Kara's flying. You're not confined to a cockpit looking over instruments and you're not constantly having to stay in motion. You can just float above everyone and just bask in the sunlight," Alex said as she closed her eyes.

"But the other part?" Kelly asked concernedly.

"My foster brother, Ryan James. I took him up in a balloon to show him the world. He was dying of cancer. There was nothing either of us could do. I saw him die with us still in the air. The memory continues to haunt me," Alex admitted.

"Well, I'm not going to die on you," Kelly assured her.

As if to give greater assurance, a flurry of Venusian butterflies went past them. They were small with yellowish wings like the sky. "Were they always here or were they introduced to this planet?" Kelly wondered. Neither of them knew.

Alex then sat down tired. "This pregnancy is more than any workout."

"Maybe we should go back down," Kelly said worriedly.

"The storm is back down," Alex frowned.

"If our helmets fail, we're dead. If we go too high, it could get too cold or the windspeed might be too much. We have to go back," Kelly said reasonably.

"Alright," Alex agreed.

Kelly took the cable and tried to open the parachute valve. There was a malfunction, and it was stuck. "Damn," Kelly realized. "What now?"

"The valve on the top has to be dislodged," Alex said getting up.

"Oh, hell no. You stay right where you are," Kelly objected.

"Only I can do it," Alex insisted.

"You're pregnant. You have a responsibility to yourself and your child. I'll do it," Kelly told her off.

"You'll fail. You'll die," Alex said hauntedly.

"Have a little faith in your wife," Kelly said even though she knew the odds weren't good.

"If it gets too tough, come back down," Alex said seriously.

"I'm ex-military. I can do this," Kelly said confidently and then went up the cables to the balloon itself. Alex watched anxiously as Kelly climbed up the cables on the outside of the balloon. Kelly then went out of view.

On the other side of the balloon, Kelly was having a hard time. She didn't particularly like heights and her muscles burned. Suddenly, she lost her grip and nearly fell to her death. Her knees caught her on the cables keeping her on the balloon. Stunned by what had almost happened, she got back up, tied a cable around her waist and the cables on the outside of the balloon, and continued her climb. She eventually made it to the top. There, she kicked the dry ice off the balloon valve allowing hot air to be released. Still, it wasn't enough. Kelly kept pounding on the valve until she passed out.

A while later, Kelly awoke to find herself sliding off the balloon. "Fuck!" she shouted as she swung off the balloon entirely. Holding onto the cable for dear life, she was now a short distance away from the basket. With effort, she swung her away over to the basket. Alex grabbed her and brought her in. "Well...that was fun," Kelly said freaked out.

"That was really cool," Alex said appreciatively.

The balloon started falling gradually and then accelerating. It was now below where they were before. "This could be an issue," Alex said dryly as the temperature went up. "Ditch everything."

The two took all the equipment and supplies out of the basket and threw it out. Even so, the balloon kept falling. "It's not working," Alex realized. "We have to lose the basket."

"You, fucking serious?" Kelly asked stunned.

"Yeah," Alex nodded.

The two climbed up onto a ring that narrowed and consolidated the cables. After tying themselves to the cables, Alex and Kelly used a light blade to slice the basket cables off. The basket eventually came off, but they were still sinking. The temperature and atmospheric pressure were starting to rise. Kelly looked at Alex and back to the balloon. "I think I know what to do," she said.

"Don't you dare," Alex ordered. "It's going to be both of us or none of us."

On Cloud City, Kara's frozen slab suddenly exploded. She quickly punched Mon in the gut dropping him and fired heat vision all around the facility destroying the Kryptonite emitters. "The freezing process protected me from the Kryptonite, idiot," Kara spat at Mon.

"As I had hoped," Mon smiled Insanely.

Kara focused her power and tore through the facility, through several floors, and then outside of the city's hull. She looked around and listened for Alex and Kelly but found too much interference with Venus' intense winds. She flew off anyway speeding around the city and then in farther and farther orbits. Still unable to find them, she frantically circled the planet which, ironically, made it even more difficult for her to detect them due to the intense sonic booms and wind.

In the freezing facility, Mon painfully got back to his feet.

As they kept sinking, Alex and Kelly were about to pass out from the heat and pressure. "Kind of fitting in a way, the planet of love," Kelly said dryly.

"We're going to survive this," Alex said certainly.

"You're going to survive," Kelly said as she made up her mind.

"What are you doing, Kelly?" Alex asked alarmed.

"Tell our daughter, I loved her," Kelly said seriously and then jumped off.

"Kelly, no!" Alex screamed. She looked around frantically for Kelly in the clouds but saw nothing. Alex then saw a ghost-like image of her dead foster brother.

"It's going to be okay," he assured her and then vanished.

The decrease in weight slowed down Alex's descent but it was still not enough. The balloon was nearly deflated and useless at this point. Mon suddenly teleported to Alex's position. "Find Kelly, God damn you," Alex ordered him.

Mon merely smirked at her and teleported them both to the city. He then teleported to where the balloon was. Sensing where Kelly was, Mon teleported around the clouds missing her each time. With such a low ki signature, it was difficult for him to focus on her. He finally teleported to within visual range of her. Flying toward her, he grabbed her and teleported her back to the city.

"Oh my God, Kelly!" Alex embraced Kelly.

"I think even I got sunburned," Kelly said deliriously.

"Statistically speaking, flying is still the safest way to travel," Mon mocked.

"Fuck you, Mon. And thank you," Alex said sincerely.

"Never boring when it comes to you, two," Mon smiled amused. He then fired an energy pillar into the sky that went into space so Kara could see it. Kara sped over to the city and landed expecting the worst.

"You can't do shit like that," Kara scolded tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. Just had to get it out of my system. I had some memories I needed to exorcise," Alex explained.

"Yeah, I get it," Kara nodded. "Go to the clinic and get checked out. I'll take care of the bill."

Alex and Kelly were then escorted by Brainiac 5 drones to the hospital. Kara then turned to Mon. "We've been through a lot, but you know that if you're even slightly responsible for Alex's death, I'll kill your ass," Kara said angrily.

"I tried to stop them, and I would have succeeded if not for your arrival," Mon excused.

"You didn't have to freeze me," Kara said obviously.

"You're right. I didn't," Mon agreed, completely unrepentant.

"If I had killed you right then, Alex and Kelly would have been dead. I guess I have to keep my emotions in check," Kara considered.

"Yeah, maybe," Mon agreed.

"That will be all," Kara said finally and walked off.

On Cloud City, Alex and Kelly became instant sensations by breaking several Venus-world records. Alex came before a crowded hall of interested residents and patrons. "The fact that I am able to talk to you all about this is due to some luck, some help, and remarkable courage. And so, we tell our story not just for the purposes of pleasure, but for the advancement of human experience that no probe can replicate. My own discovery was more personal. A discovery of peace," Alex said to the crowd.

Author's Notes: This chapter is inspired by the film, Aeronauts which has a BS subplot about the British meteorologist society persecuting and doubting our hero as well as a gender-change to the pilot. It should be treated as a composite adventure of virtually all hot-air balloon incidences that occurred during the 1800s. As to Venus, my descriptions are superficially related to the actual science. I really have no idea how floating in a hot air balloon would work on Venus. Also, highly questionable for any two humans to go on such a journey, especially when one of them is pregnant. Some may call that insanely irresponsible while others may conclude that the unborn child is getting a wealth of adventure even before she is born. For those lost in the sauce, Alex's foster brother, Ryan James, is mentioned in the prequel Midvale and elsewhere in AOS.