Welp. Two years and change since we saw each other last.

Truth be told, I don't know where time went - I would pick at this chapter pretty much once or twice a week, write a line or two, and not think too much of it. I'm a slow writer on a good day, but I never would've expected the shock that met me when I checked the 'last updated' date a couple months back and saw that the Kverse's flagship fic had gone two years untouched.

Of course, there's other fics in the series still ongoing, some that have sprouted since (and are similarly slow to update), the Vantage anthology over on AO3 has continued on fairly strong, and I've probably written tens of thousands of words about the Kverse over on tumblr, just answering questions from readers (both hypothetical and directly derived from my published works). Still, that's definitely not good enough, and I feel a need to apologize to the people who've been expecting this story to continue for a very long time.

I do wanna take a moment to reassure you; at no point in the past two years did I ever feel like abandoning the story. That's never really been an issue with this series, thankfully - if anything, I'm too cavalier about adding more and more into it, probably to the detriment of any potential building of an audience. I've never really made a secret of the fact that the Kverse, for all that I attempt to give it as much cohesion as possible, is an opportunity for me to celebrate and have fun with the media I cherish. If you guys are good with that, and you're willing to keep being patient with me, I promise I'll still be writing this series for many years to come.

Now, enough rambling. Been too long already. Hope you enjoy!

"Y'know, you keep staring like that, you might actually burn a hole through her door."

Kara tears her gaze away from Lena's door to face Alex, who's leaning against a nearby wall with a knowing smirk. She blushes like a twelve year-old caught scribbling her last name and her crush's inside a little heart doodle, which…isn't too far off from reality at the moment. "Don't tease. This is…harder than I thought it would be."

"Hey, teasing is an older sibling's most sacred duty." –Alex trails off, sardonic. "What's stopping you, huh? You already know she's into you, too."

"I know, I know. It's just, she was into me back then, too." –Kara mutters, guilt and a hint of scorn coloring her tone.

Alex hums. "Well, you're not gonna get me to argue on her behalf. I appreciate Lena as a fellow woman of science, of course, and I respect the guts it must've taken for her to climb into the Titanium Man suit and save your collective asses, but…I'm not sure I have it in me to forgive her for breaking your heart like she did."

"Until we met again, I was pretty sure I didn't." –Kara admits. "It feels a little silly in retrospect, not gonna lie. It's not like she left me at the altar, or something like that – we were just two dorks falling in love, only for her hang-ups to win out in the end."

The older sibling gives her a half shrug. "Hey, you shouldn't understate it, either; what Lena did was horrible, whether or not her tragic backstory makes it easier to understand. Still…I suppose she has changed since then. I can at least give her that."

"I'm not sure if she's changed, so much as she's finally allowed herself to be the person she wanted to be." –Kara says. "And I don't just mean being into women, but rather stepping out of the shadow of Jonah, Osborn, and basically anything and anyone who held any sort of authority over her."

Alex hums. "All that freedom with a mind like hers…? Could get interesting down the line." –she notes.

Kara either misses or ignores the caution in her voice.

"I just like having something to look forward to again." –Kara says, with a shy smile, then sighs. "It's been a little rough lately, honestly. Not just the obvious stuff with Doom and Centipede, or the two freakin' alien invasions we've had this year, or even the bizarre magic sidequest we just went on, but…the scrutiny, people's eyes constantly on us, our victories and defeats? Folks have been mostly on our side since the Chitauri, sure, but some people…it's like they don't think any of us will read what they write on social media."

"I can't imagine most celebrities do. They usually have people for that."

Kara makes a face. "I don't think any of us signed up for that kind of life." –she says, then snorts, looking at Alex's raised eyebrow. "Okay, fine, maybe Tony did. The rest of us, though…I dunno, I guess there's just some sides to this line of work that you don't expect going in."

Alex smirks. "Hey, you know what's another sacred duty for us elder siblings? Getting to say I told you so. All I'm hearing is 'wow, Alex, you were so totally right that I shouldn't make this choice so lightly! I can't believe I didn't listen to you!'."

She rolls her eyes. "Not once in eight years of life on Earth have I ever sounded like that, you jerk." –she says. "Anyway. I know this, um, excursion I have planned isn't exactly gonna be a picnic, but I'm glad I can step away from our current brand of nonsense, just for a day."

"And glad you'll have Lena with you through it, I take it."

Kara blushes, then purses her lips. "There's still room in the Quinjet, if you've changed your mind."

Alex shakes her head. "Like I said, I…appreciate the invite, but the less I know about SHIELD's handling of your situation, the better. The stuff I already know kinda makes my blood boil, so I doubt the secret crap will make things any better." –she scowls. "Besides, you're not gonna catch me third-wheeling anytime soon."

"I guess we'll keep an eye out for a cute girl in the Fridge for you, then."

The ravenette rolls her eyes, gently shoving herself away from the wall. "I think I'll pass, thanks. Take it from someone with firsthand experience: S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't exactly leave you much room for a social life."

Alex walks off, leaving her alone with that damn door, which seems about as heavy as the Chimeran Hammer and as impenetrable as Steve's shield. Still, her sister is right; despite their baggage and the relatively short time they've had together since reuniting, it's impossible to deny that her and Lena's connection is just as present as it was before their falling out.

Egomaniacal supervillains, transdimensional brain-twisting crap, and Fury's shady BS be damned, she will try going out with Lena, and the universe better not get in her way.

She goes to knock, but the door opens as she raises her fist. Lena's already there, her outfit a throwback to their days as roommates – a Stark Industries hoodie and some well-worn sweatpants she vaguely recognizes from a couple years back. Her hair and makeup, however, are decidedly a departure – in the sense that now she obviously actually cares to keep herself groomed, whereas before her feverish, ramen and energy drink-fueled late night studies took precedence over anything else.

"Took you long enough." –she drawls.

Kara blushes. "Oh. You, uh, knew I was here?"

"I did, yes. Unfortunately for you, JARVIS kindly saw fit to let me know when you were first on your way, which went from exciting, to concerning, to ultimately quite amusing, the longer you took." –she explains. "I'm sorry to say that, despite the extra time, I kept myself too busy to change into something more appropriate for the Arctic, as you can see."

"You…look great?" –Kara offers, rather awkwardly.

Lena snorts. "If I do, I rather feel an absent-minded mess. Still, thank you; a welcome side effect of losing my position at OsCorp? Not wearing clothes I practically have to be vacuum-sealed into on the daily has been quite the nice respite. I'm quite happy with what the man upstairs gave me, don't get me wrong, but…in the corporate world, it can feel like you're dressing on everyone else's terms but your own."

Kara's cheeks get a bit redder. Her wardrobe change as a CEO was definitely a shock, having previously known her as a dorm rat that seemed to know no outfits beyond hoodies, jeans, and Chucks, the cleanliness of which was dubious at best. "You're kinda speaking to the wrong woman for this; I have been credibly accused of dressing like a twenty-year-old grandma in the past. As a matter of fact, I don't think there's anything in my closet with a neckline below my collarbone."

"Oh, hush. You wouldn't be Kara Danvers without your trusty cardigan and blouse collection." –she says, fondly. "Though I have to imagine you'd surely turn heads if you swapped costumes with the Widow for a day."

Kara's eyebrow rises, as does the corner of her lips. "Lena Luthor, have you pictured me in a skin-tight leather catsuit recently?"

Lena shrugs, unfazed by the teasing. "If you're expecting a bashful response here, it might be you who's talking to the wrong woman."

Kara chuckles. "I see. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure Natasha's outfit is several sizes too small for me. Not to infringe copyright or anything, but I'd definitely Hulk out of that thing the second I moved a muscle."

"I did say you'd turn heads, no?" –Lena says. "Anyway, I suppose I could go change, but…I have an interesting proposition for you, if you'd like."

Kara's arms cross. "Oh. Do you want to do something else? Shoot."

"It's less about the destination and more about our chosen method of transportation." –Lena says, reaching for a nearby Starkpad. "After weeks of repairs, redesigns, upgrades, and careful practice, the GUARDIAN suit is finally ready for action." –she reports, showing her the most up-to-date blueprints of the armor. "Skye and I had dreamed of a heroic debut, bursting into the scene to save the Avengers once again, but…well, the scientist in me wouldn't allow it. Not without stress-testing what's perhaps the most important – and most complicated – system in the armor."

"You don't know if it'll actually fly." –Kara surmises.

The ravenette hums in agreement. "Every other part and subsystem has been fully tried and tested; however, the flight system is, at best, experimental – and it certainly doesn't help that the Tesseract-infused core is…temperamental."

"Right. S.H.I.E.L.D. was supposed to use it to revolutionize clean energy, but Fury secretly wanted to make superweapons with that thing." –Kara says, scornfully.

"True, but his stated purpose wasn't merely a front – as far as human science can tell, the Tesseract is truly an infinite power source, or at least so close to endless that the difference is negligible, and successfully imbuing its power on a suitable receptacle creates what you might call a doppelgänger of the Tesseract. The GUARDIAN's core contains a mere fraction of that power, but…well, a fraction of infinity is still infinity."

Kara frowns. "How the heck did they manage to make a core capable of storing functionally infinite energy?"

Lena sighs. "I wish I could tell you. Director Fury was surprisingly graceful about giving me everything they had on the suit prior to Centipede's theft of it, but it seems like they didn't actually develop the core. That came from NASA – and rather, I suspect, from S.W.O.R.D., which hasn't been quite as forthcoming. That tells me the device is most likely not strictly of human origin. Regardless, the fact remains that, in theory, the suit can run indefinitely thanks to that core."

"...but in practice, the suit is limited by the hardware distributing that power, which is very much man-made." –Kara recalls. "That's how I beat Titanium Man – I punched him hard enough it overloaded his shields and fried a lot of his systems in the process."

"Almost all of them, yes. It's honestly a miracle that I was able to move it around, let alone fight with it for a couple minutes." –she says. "Skye and I upgraded the power distribution systems to the best of our ability, but we've yet to test the flight functionality beyond firing the thrusters."

Kara hums. "To be honest, I'm surprised that that big hunk of metal can fly at all."

"Well, it sure won't be doing loop-de-loops anytime soon." –Lena says, snarkily. "The suit lacks most of the stabilizers and control surfaces that give Stark's suits so much maneuverability – truth be told, the armor's flight systems are not much more complex than strapping a pair of rockets to the bottom of the legs and hoping for the best. Something to improve later, I'm sure, once I have some real experience under my belt. And so, I was hoping this might be that opportunity."

"Okay, let's get you some." –Kara grins. "Last one to the Arctic Circle has to wash the Quinjet we just ditched?"

The GUARDIAN armor – it actually is all caps, as illustrated in small but clearly visible golden lettering on each of the shoulder pauldrons – looks even more imposing than Titanium Man did, owing to its predominantly matte black and gold paint job with royal blue accents, ten feet and four-thousand pounds of metal staring down at Kara as if daring her to try and rip it open again.

Which, she could. But that'd probably be a bit of a faux-pas on a first date, which, this is. Sort of.

The armor's overall design actually harkens back to Obadiah's original appearance, bearing the same kind of hydraulic supports along the arms and legs, as well as the generally bulky profile that Titanium Man had somewhat done away with – according to Lena, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s and later Centipede's streamlined design actually limited the armor's stability and strength in favor of a significantly weaker but more mobile and aggressive combat platform, perhaps inspired by the Asgardian Destroyer, or even the Hulk.

Watching Lena step into the armor provokes…conflicting feelings, in Kara. On the one hand, Lena's clearly confident about this course of action, and Kara has no doubt that she'll succeed as the GUARDIAN, but…letting her put herself in harm's way is, for obvious reasons, completely anathema to her overwhelming desire to keep Lena safe.

Much like Alex did with Kara at the start of her own adventure, she'll just have to trust Lena, be there for her along the way, and hope for the best.

…maybe skip the sisterly gloating, if anything goes a bit off-script.

The armor's torso area opens, and the helm and neck shift back to allow Lena to climb on. She does, and straps in, the suit sealing around her and whining with power as the Tesseract-infused core spins up. Kara rolls her neck, readying herself for a longer than average flight as they walk to the landing platform, the GUARDIAN's thundering footsteps shortly following behind her. The blonde starts to take off, but Lena doesn't. "Um…everything alright?"

"Yes, all good so far." –she says, her voice completely unrecognizable over the helmet's speakers. "I'm simply querying ATC for a route out of New York's airspace."

Kara blinks. "Oh. I…honestly hadn't ever thought about that."

Lena chuckles, which comes out kinda like a crocodile's rumbling thanks to the voice filters. "Well, you can sort of get away with it because you're technically just a person falling perpetually through the air. The GUARDIAN becomes a highly mobile hazard at best when it flies, so…" –she trails off. "I could simply 'go for it', as Stark does, but I'd like to avoid getting on the FAA's shit list, if at all possible."

The GUARDIAN gets approval fairly quickly – Lena must've worked things out beforehand – so Kara takes to the skies, ready to catch the massive suit if anything goes wrong. The lower half of the armor's legs rearranges itself a bit, looking less like limbs and more like thrusters, which swiftly ignite – Kara's pretty sure they're still Starktech Repulsors, as they give off little to no heat, but they're nowhere near as elegant, a torrent of wildly flaring thrust momentarily struggling to lift a hunk of metal over twenty times heavier than Iron Man.

Soon enough, Lena is airborne, heading straight up and climbing at a prodigious rate, slowly but surely tilting her trajectory to head north – lacking any ailerons, flaps, or the weaponized flight stabilizers the Iron Man suit features on its palms, the suit's trajectory is changed by increasing and decreasing the intensity of the half-a-dozen rockets grafted onto each of the armor's 'feet', as well as a complex network of much smaller maneuvering thrusters along the entire frame. As Lena made clear, the GUARDIAN isn't meant to fight in the skies; the suit's flight systems are really only useful to get the armor from point A to point B quickly, hopefully with minimum property damage.

Kara manages to keep up well enough for the moment, but she's a little bit worried – if Lena really punches it, she'll be left in the dust, having never flown faster than the speed of sound. Before she can think of telling her to slow down, though, the GUARDIAN stops accelerating, and her trajectory pitches downward until she's level, flying roughly around cruising altitude. The wind whips Kara's flowing blonde locks around as she flies just ahead of Lena. "Enjoying yourself!?" –she shouts.

"Flying is terrifying!" –Lena answers, shakily. "But also very, very cool!"

"We're over the countryside now! Think it's time to put the GUARDIAN through its paces!?"

Lena nods. "Well, we can't deviate from the path too much, but let's do it! Go as fast as you can, try wide, open motions, see if I can't wrestle this thing into catching you!"

Kara grins, pushing herself to max speed, darting ahead and allowing herself a luxury she's had little time for since becoming an Avenger – flying freely, not booking it towards a fight and letting herself enjoy the ride. She twists and turns, avoiding the clouds as best she can – contrary to what cartoons might suggest, they're not exactly fun to fly through, unless one is looking to be cold and wet for the foreseeable future. Lena keeps pace easily, trying to get a handle on the limited maneuverability of her suit, but she seems unable to follow Kara's actual path, let alone get close enough to touch her. She slows down, then, trying to give Lena a fighting chance, but the GUARDIAN continues to struggle with anything resembling a turn, so the makeshift pilot slows down to her minimum flight speed, defeated.

"Damn it, flying this bloody thing is like trying to drive a car with the steering wheel lock still on." –Lena laments. "I've already nearly fried the verniers, and I'm not much closer to getting a handle on steering this thing."

Kara crosses her arms, coasting just ahead of her. "Well, you said it yourself, you don't really need to. As long as it goes forward, you should be good to go."

"I know, I know, but…the rest of you make it look so easy, I thought maybe I could figure it out." –Lena admits. "The flight system is functional, I suppose, but if I want anything more out of it, it's back to the drawing board."

"I'm sure Tony would be happy to help." –Kara suggests, teasingly.

The GUARDIAN's 'face' can't change, but Kara could swear the faceplate looks a bit insulted somehow. "Not on your life. I will figure out his Repulsor tech, even if I have to learn a whole new branch of STEM by the GUARDIAN's next outing."

"Rao, you would, too." –Kara laughs. "Do we just head straight for the Fridge, then?"

"Yes, let's. Though I have to say…I can go much, much faster than we've been going. We can get there in less than an hour." –she suggests.

"Oh." –Kara says. "Well, I kinda already maxed out…"

Lena hums, curious. "And you're sure? I do remember you telling me your top speed was just under Mach 1 back in the day. I guess I just thought you'd gone well over supersonic by now."

"No, not yet." –Kara admits. "But…I think I'm supposed to."

"You're talking about what Fury told you. What you've speculated Doom might be trying to draw out." –Lena supplies, already apprised of the latest events, and Kara nods. "Well…my test was a bust, but maybe we can get started on one of your own."

Kara raises an eyebrow. "I don't know how, though. It's not like I haven't tried, but as soon as I come close to breaking the sound barrier, I just…stop accelerating. Don't know if it's a mental thing, or maybe I just haven't built up enough solar energy…heck, maybe my Kryptonian gene-mods are faulty. Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D.'s wrong, for all I know."

"Well, the good Director was rather certain, from what you told me. I can't imagine he's not at least onto something." –Lena muses. "I have an idea."

The blonde sighs, fondly. "Don't you always? Tell me."

"How about you hang onto the supports on my shoulders, I go supersonic, and we see what happens?"

Kara blinks, unsure of what to respond. "That seems…like a lot."

"Nothing the Girl of Steel can't handle, I'm sure." –Lena teases. "If anything goes wrong, I don't think 'terminal velocity' would be much of an issue for you, and even with this thing's shoddy handling, we're so high up that I'm fairly confident I could chivalrously catch you before you crashed, if you'd like."

Kara rolls her eyes. "Oh, well in that case, consider me convinced." –she says, deadpan. Still, it's an interesting idea; Kara's pretty sure she's just gonna peel off like a roof shingle in tornado weather, but Lena's right – there's really nothing to fear if she fails. "...alright. Let's try it!"

She rolls around the GUARDIAN's fuselage, grabbing onto the hydraulic supports, trying very carefully not to accidentally bend the metal. Kara hears the whine of the Tesseract-powered core reach a fever pitch, and with a roar, the pair bursts forward, Supergirl's golden, wavy hair and iconic crimson cape nearly pulled straight and flat by the speed, respectively. In no time at all, they break the sound barrier – a bizarre experience, as the vapor cone washes over them and the sonic boom Kara expects never comes, the sound it continually makes stuck behind them until they decelerate below Mach 1.

For the first few minutes, Kara struggles to acclimate; even though she's invulnerable, her body seems to react as though she were powerless, the howling gale irritating her eyes and making it hard to breathe. But that makes no sense, she thinks; her eyes are just as indestructible as the rest of her body (or, at least, they have been, ever since they healed after using her heat vision for the first time), and going by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s testing, she's pretty sure she doesn't actually need to breathe (or, perhaps, she can just hold her breath for a ridiculous amount of time).

Not that she's ever tried it, of course, but…heck, from everything she knows, she should be able to fly through space.

It's hard – like purposefully trying to breathe in water, her brain seems to resist the impulse – but she forces her eyes to stay open, a few stray irritated tears swept away by the howling winds. As expected, she's perfectly fine, even as their speed continues to climb. Maybe part of her subconscious is still operating as if she were living on Krypton, needing to be convinced her limits are much, much higher than they used to be – if they exist at all.

A couple minutes later, the acceleration gradually lessens, reaching a stable speed that's definitely several times the speed of sound, judging by the way they're zooming over the increasingly frigid landscape below them. As if to confirm her suspicions, Lena pipes up over the comms. "We've reached Mach 5, Kara – that's the fastest I'm willing to go with this setup. How are you holding up?"

"I think I'm fine!" –she yells. "Wait, can you even hear me at five times the speed of sound!?"

"Yeah, your earpiece can catch the vibrations of your speech through your skull! Pretty neat tech, right?" –she says. "What do you say, ready to let go?"

Never, she thinks, then chastises herself for being a lovestruck dolt. "I think so…?" –she trails off. "Catch me if I can't do this?"

"I really don't think you need the training wheels, darling." –Lena drawls. "But I'll always be there for you. Whatever you need."

Kara nods. She closes her eyes, shoots a quick prayer to the Sun God of Krypton, and lets go of the armor.

She doesn't immediately peel off, which is already a win in her book; her flight is unsteady, unfamiliar even, but she keeps her eyes closed and focuses on keeping herself moving forward. Flying has become second nature to her, ever since she became Supergirl, but this feels, once more, like she's twelve and wobbling in midair, somehow completely detached from Earth's gravitational pull, terrified that she'll float away like a runaway balloon.

Perhaps, if she didn't have her adoptive family there to keep her steady, she would've.

"You're doing it, Kara!" –Lena's voice reassures her. "Mach 5.1 and climbing, that's all you!"

That's right, she thinks, with sudden clarity. I'm not alone this time, either.

Kara opens her eyes. She hadn't realized that she was holding her fists forward, as if punching through the barrier that kept her from realizing her full potential. Lena's right; she feels herself picking up speed, which feels easier with each passing second, slowly but surely leaving her companion behind. She looks ahead, to the horizon, and it feels to her like it's somehow closer than it's ever been – like she could reach out, throw herself forward, and reach it in the blink of an eye. Not metaphorically, either; something within her feels like it's…unlocked, and that something tells her she really could fly that fast.

Leaving Lena in the dust would make for very poor date etiquette, though.

She slows down a bit, relaxing her pose without fear of suddenly losing her newly found speed. Lena catches up quickly, with a short (and probably slightly reckless) hypersonic burst that once again leaves them level. "Well, I'd say 'sky's the limit' for your powers now, but you're clearly past puny human idioms by now."

"It's kinda terrifying." –Kara agrees. "Part of me kinda wants to do laps around the planet."

Lena snorts. "I'm rather certain you'd beat Magellan's personal best." –she drawls. "That seemed easier than I expected; how are you doing?"

Kara takes a moment to gather her thoughts. "Nervous, I guess. Like I'm standing on the precipice of a big ol' leap forward."

"If the rest of your full Kryptonian abilities are as impressive as what you just did, I think that's almost understating it." –Lena muses. "You may well be one of, if not the strongest entity in the universe."

"Considering the craziness of these past few months, I don't think we've seen nearly enough of the universe to make that kind of claim." –Kara says. "But even if I'm not, my mind's kinda racing with the possibilities; if I can fly as fast as I think I can, I could practically zip across the globe, and if I can somehow master my super-hearing…"

"You could stop crime all over the world. Stop accidents and save people from natural disasters. End wars." –Lena surmises, perfectly following her chain of thought.

She doesn't sound enthused by the idea, though.

"Kinda sounds like you're not a fan."

Lena looks away – as much as the helmet allows, anyway. "I should be, shouldn't I? The amount of lives you could save…it's staggering to think about." –she says. "But what would become of humanity in a world that no longer forces them to struggle, adapt, and overcome? What would become of the Earth, no longer able to stem the tide of human expansion through nature's ebb and flow?"

She looks back at Kara. "And what would become of you, darling? Saving lives may be your raison d'etre, of that there is no doubt, but it's not all that you are, is it? You are not merely the Supergirl; you're also Kara Danvers, foster daughter of Eliza and Jeremiah. Alex's adopted sister. You're Kara Zor-El, the last remnant of a once mighty interstellar empire, a would-be nigh-invincible conqueror turned savior by virtue of forced interdimensional travel."

Kara laughs, kind of mirthlessly. "The House of El wasn't in the business of conquest, but I see your point."

"I truly hope you do, Kara. You are many lovely things, but what you are not is one of Stark's machines, destined to spend every waking moment devoted to fulfilling a singular purpose with no room for objection, let alone deviation." –Lena says. "Because that's exactly what the world would demand of you, if they understood the full extent of your capabilities; God, at least, has the excuse of not existing – if people's desperate pleas can actually reach your ears, if you have the ability to actually be with them at a moment's notice and the power to fix their problems…?"

Lena trails off, and Kara's not exactly eager to really explore that particular quandary at the moment – not that it matters much, since consciously extending the reach of her super-hearing is simply not something she can do yet. Fortunately for them both, their flight presents them with a convenient conversational off-ramp, in the form of bright green lasers targeting them both from the ground. "What the…?" –Kara frowns.

"It's S.H.I.E.L.D." –Lena says, quickly. "The Fridge's outer defenses are tracking our approach."

Indeed, while Kara was having her breakthrough and the ensuing debate on morality, they zoomed past most of Canada – there's nothing but the last remnants of the tundra giving way to the Arctic wastes below, as far as the eye can see. "The last thing we need is Fury's goons wasting millions trying to shoot us down."

"They aren't; follow me, and stick close. They've given me a flight path and strict instructions not to deviate from it."

Kara nods, flying just above and behind the GUARDIAN, both of them slowing back down to just above the speed of sound. In a matter of seconds, three fighter jets flying S.H.I.E.L.D. colors join them, two of them flanking them and the third bringing up the rear. She waves sardonically at the pilots, but none of them wave back, simply staring back at her with a rather grim gaze. Far below them, a robust perimeter of surface-to-air missile launchers and AA flak turrets pops out of the ice, tracking their trajectory.

Kara gets the feeling that they're not quite as welcome as Fury might've implied.

Lena starts descending and decelerating, so Kara follows suit. Off in the distance, a shimmer catches her eye; there doesn't seem to be anything but ice, stone, and frigid water on the horizon, but her experience with S.H.I.E.L.D. betrays the truth: the Fridge lies ahead, invisible to the naked eye because its entire structure is covered in retro-reflective panels, which turn off as they come in for a landing on the roof.

The Fridge is a massive monolith of black metal partially built into the mountainside, maybe three-hundred feet tall and shaped like its namesake that might've – previous to this strange awakening she's just gone through – seemed impregnable even to her. Fury didn't mention what this installation is for, exactly, but the extremely remote location and the show of force give her a few ideas.

"This must be the closet the Director keeps his skeletons in." –Lena mutters, thinking along the same lines.

The landing pad is already populated, about two dozen S.H.I.E.L.D. troopers in heavy-duty gear she's never seen before – black armor with white detailing, and fully sealed helmets with blue visors. Whether this is new standard issue gear to keep up with the supervillain-laden times or particular to the troopers stationed here, she has no idea. Judging by the familiar, blue-white Tesseract glow that decorates their guns, they must be fielding top of the line weaponry, too.

Leading the troopers is a strangely familiar figure – a tall, stout man with a striking, perfectly groomed handlebar mustache, sporting a pristine bowler hat that seems yanked from another era. Almost as notable as those features is the fact that it seems like the man is no longer flesh and blood; his face is solid and gleams like ceramic, a mask over what seems like advanced, clockwork-like internal mechanisms, judging by the small gap between his jaw and his neck, which is mostly covered by a scarf. Unlike the men and women he leads, the man is wearing the agency's standard combat fatigues, heedless of the extreme cold.

"Miss Danvers…and guest." –he says, his tone clipped. Sure enough, his speech appears to be synthesized, sounding slightly tinny but no less confident or commanding. His mouth opens and closes mechanically, almost like a nutcracker's, and not quite in sync with his words. "Welcome to the most dangerous vault on Earth."

"Dum Dum Dugan!?" –Lena balks.

"The one and only." –he retorts, like it's really no big deal at all for a living legend from World War II to still be alive in the form of a clockwork automaton. "Though these jokers won't call me anything other than 'Commander Dugan'. Somethin' about respecting the 'sanctity of the Howling Commandos', or some such nonsense. Wasn't anythin' remotely saintly about those days, truth be told."

"I thought you died in the 70s." –Kara blurts out, then winces as she realizes what she's just said.

Dugan belts out a hearty chuckle. "That I did! Age finally caught up to me chasing plain ol' Nazis in Argentina – not even HYDRA, to my eternal embarrassment. Took a bullet to the ol' ticker and they couldn't patch me up in time." –he says, rather nonchalant. "Peggy and Howard wanted to stick my gray matter in one of them el-em-dees, make sure I looked as prim and proper as I did as one of the living, but I do not care for those glorified body-snatchers. If I had to live a second life as a machine, I wanted to make damn sure people knew I was one – even if that does mean I'm spending my long term retirement somewhat far removed from civilized society."

"Did you?" –Lena wonders. "Have to live a second life as a machine, I mean."

He doesn't answer for just long enough that it gets a little awkward – he seems to bear some animosity towards Lena for some reason, perhaps because she's technically wearing stolen S.H.I.E.L.D. tech, even if they did steal it from Stark Industries first. "Someone had to keep the mission going." –he finally answers. "This here's my lot in life – has been ever since Captain Rogers freed me from HYDRA. Steve was gone, Peggy wasn't getting any younger, the other Commandos had died or retired…someone had to watch over Steve's legacy in S.H.I.E.L.D., and I'm willing to do it for as long as these gears and sprockets keep on turning."

"You didn't trust Fury to do it?" –Kara wonders.

"I trust him with my life." –he answers easily. "I just don't trust any one person with the lives of everyone else in the world. Not even you, Supergirl."

Kara purses her lips. "...got it."

Despite the inherent rigidity of his frame, he seems to soften a bit. "Ah, you're doin' fine so far, kid." –he reassures her. "But in a position such as yours, with the powers you have and your rising star, you can't exactly afford to get distracted much. I'd say this particular visit counts as such." –he says, just shy of chiding her. "But enough about that. It was a tad short notice for my liking, but Fury sent word that you'd be supervising the closure of Project Kr – what's left of it, anyway."

"You don't sound very enthused about it." –Lena notes.

Dugan grunts as the whole metal platform beneath them shudders, sending swirls of fluttering snow into the air. A circular shape separates from the rest of the ceiling, smoothly lowering itself as a replacement immediately seals the opening back up. "The Fridge houses some of the most dangerous weapons ever conceived by mankind, and some of the worst criminals this side of the Red Skull – practically everything in here is deadly." –he drawls, as hundreds of turrets, manned and unmanned, track their descent. The interior of the Fridge is cylindrical, with tunnels heading out deeper into the mountainside on every level.

"You do research here?" –Lena ventures.

"Nothing of the sort. Our boys study the ways that mad men would end the world in order to save it all over the world, but not here. Anything and anyone that ends up in the Fridge is not meant to see the light of day, ever again."

"Prisoners included?" –Kara raises an eyebrow.

He hums. "Word of advice, Supergirl: don't waste your sensibilities on these particular freaks. I'm not talking run of the mill serial killers or war criminals – our inmates would see the streets run red with blood and gleefully splash around in 'em like a kid in a puddle." –he drawls. "If Steve hadn't taken out the Red Skull seventy years ago, that nasty piece of genocidal Nazi trash would've been an esteemed guest."

The platform finally reaches the bottom level, where more troops and a small group of men and women in lab coats await. One of the latter steps forward, a young woman around Lena's age with a nervous smile and long, brown hair pulled back so tightly into a ponytail, it looks as if you could pluck the strands like guitar strings.

"This is Doctor Jemma Simmons. Fury put her in charge of supervising Kr's closure." –Dugan informs them. "After we escort you to the secure chamber the remnants of Kr reside in, I'll leave you in her capable hands."

"That almost sounds like you trust us not to touch big, red buttons." –Kara says, sardonically.

Dugan shrugs. "Give us some credit. Anything goes that wrong, this place gets dropped a couple miles into the ice and the power plant wipes the place clean by way of good ol' nuclear fire. Maybe you can survive something like that, Supergirl, but we're pretty confident you're the exception that proves the rule."

"...on that disturbing note, I'd like to say it's extremely exciting to meet you, Supergirl." –Dr. Simmons pipes up, a prim and proper English accent breaking the shocked silence that Dugan's off-hand comment caused. "Although I really rather hoped we'd meet under slightly less awkward circumstances." –she admits.

Dugan snorts. "S.H.I.E.L.D. spent the better part of a decade trying to clone her and created the one weapon in the world that might be able to kill her, Doc. Not sure what other kind of circumstances you could've expected."

Kara shrugs. "I mean, he's not wrong." –she says. "But you seem nice enough. Might be in the wrong line of work, Dr. Simmons."

"Please, just call me Simmons. Most everyone else does." –she says. "I understand the, er, less than savory way some aspects of Project Kr were handled may have left you with some lingering questions and concerns, to put it mildly. Director Fury has given me authorization to answer everything I can."

"Everything you can...but not everything." –Kara notes.

Simmons blushes slightly. "I was granted temporary Level 7 access for the data and materials specifically involved in Project Kr, but I'm afraid there are a few things left classified at Level 8 and above. Only Sector Chiefs – the people in charge of each of the agency's seven main branches, who answer directly to Director Fury – and the ranking members of the World Security Council would be able to give you every detail." –she admits. "If it helps at all, there's very little left blacked out. Certain names and places, specific objectives the program was meant to achieve that, if they were to leak, would likely give certain interest groups insight into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most valuable secrets."

"Would you consider the program a success, doctor?" –Lena wonders.

"Mm, not by most metrics." –Simmons says. "As you know, Project Kr was created with the intention of studying, understanding, and eventually replicating Kryptonian DNA for use in the enhancement of existing human beings or the gestation of new Kryptonian individuals. Unfortunately for us – and in my personal opinion, fortunately for the world – your species' DNA proved virtually impossible to replicate with our currently available technology and advancements."

Kara hums. "Fury said something to that effect."

"By all accounts, Kryptonians were master geneticists – able to graft and manifest most any desired trait on living organisms, at almost any point in their lifespan, from gestation to adulthood." –Simmons says. "I'm sure you could explain it better, Miss Danvers, but from the Project's understanding, Krypton's government used gene therapy extensively to enforce a rigid caste system that would slot almost every individual into a given societal role for life."

"'Caste' isn't exactly the right way to put it; gender, skin color, sexual preference, material wealth, religious beliefs, and pretty much the rest of the usual suspects were irrelevant as subjects of discrimination, but that's more or less the gist of it." –Kara says. "On paper, all roles were given equal value – it wasn't supposed to be a punishment to be born a Warrior, for example, but Krypton had become so insular and focused on scientific pursuits that it created an imbalance. Many in the Warrior class were left with absolutely nothing to do but hang out in orbit, waiting on the order to conquer worlds – a business that Krypton was no longer interested in."

"If I may be so bold…" –Dugan wonders. "I don't know much more than the basics on your situation, Supergirl, but from what I'm hearing…if Kryptonians were such a bunch of eggheads, how come they didn't try to leave their exploding planet?"

Kara winces. "...they didn't believe it." –she says, softly. "The Science Council thought it was a bad joke, a crackpot theory. My uncle Jor-El and my dad claimed they'd found a pattern, but their evidence didn't convince most people. I never knew exactly what it was, but…I don't really know if I can blame them, as much as I'd like to. The Council, I mean; imagine if, out of the blue, some scientist tells you the Earth is about to implode because you've been drilling for oil too much – even if he had the credentials and reputation, without the backing of his peers, proposing such an insane scenario as the complete, impending destruction of your home planet would have most people in complete denial."

"In fairness, lots of people are sounding the alarm about that here already." –Simmons says.

"Sure, but 'our planet is warming at an accelerated rate and we're being pretty chill about it' is pretty far removed from 'we have depleted our resources and harmed our world so thoroughly and irresponsibly that the entire planet's structural integrity is about to suffer critical failure'." –Kara says, bitterly. "The Empire had relinquished its colonies and pulled everyone back to the homeworld. I don't really know the details why – all I know is that there were factions out in the wider galaxy that we were trying our best to avoid. Our resources dwindled, and rather than ask for help from other worlds, they chose to source everything from an already geologically unstable planet."

"Jesus. No survivors at all?" –Dugan asks.

Kara shakes her head. "As far as I know, every Kryptonian in the universe was home when our world died. They actively tracked any stragglers down, sent hunter-killer teams to capture them, and dropped them back planetside. They disabled any starships trying to leave. They said they wanted to make sure everyone would be safe under imperial protection – instead, they got everyone killed."

Her words drop like an anvil on an already heavy conversation. They continue in silence for a minute or so, with Dugan leading the way, Simmons following behind (and gripping her tablet hard enough to make her knuckles white), and Lena bringing up the rear with slow, lumbering steps and the soft hiss and yawn of the armor's hydraulics.

Kara tries her best not to think too hard about the things she's about to learn, or the past she's being forced to remember; instead, she looks at the various plaques, interspersed with blister-type turrets mounted on the walls. She stops in front of a plaque with a name she definitely recognizes. "These ones aren't guns." –Dugan pipes up, following her gaze. "Not in the traditional sense, at least. They're non-lethal containment cannons. Got 'em from a supervillain, if you can believe it."

"They fire amorphous globules of synthetic bitumen that become spherical and self-inflate on impact. Essentially, they shoot artificial, sticky tar that expands into inflatable bubbles, restraining the target's movement." –Simmons explains. "Very effective, even against subjects with superhuman strength…though I doubt they'd do much more than slow you down, Supergirl."

"That's interesting, though it's not what I was looking at." –Kara says, nodding at the plaque and its corresponding blast doors. "I know that name."

The plaque simply reads 'Emil Blonsky', and shows a few symbols below; some she recognizes, like the symbol for radiation, but others are unknown to her. "Ah, one of our more recent guests." –Dugan says. "Courtesy of your big green friend."

Kara frowns. "You just…have him in there?"

"See for yourself." –Dugan says. He approaches the plaque, which slides up to reveal a panel that scans his ceramic face. The blast doors open, a gust of frigid air making Simmons shiver and Kara's cape flutter slightly.

Inside, the so-called Abomination is held in the middle of a round room, lined with lethal and non-lethal turrets. A network of barely visible lasers crisscrosses most of his surroundings, so close to his form that if he were to cough, the system would trip. The gamma-mutated being is bound to a circular frame that holds him by all four limbs, either side of his torso, and the neck. While the restraints seem dense and durable enough to give her pause, she suspects they're there just in case – the main restraining method is evident just from the icicles hanging off the ridges and bumps on his pale green skin.

"He's frozen solid." –Lena confirms, after a brief scan.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. cracked cryogenic freezing in the seventies. He's alive and well – which is more than can be said for his victims in Harlem – and if for some godforsaken reason the boss orders him freed, he'll defrost just fine." –Dugan explains.

"There's a team dedicated to finding a way to reverse his condition." –Simmons pipes up. There's a pitying tone to her speech. "Unfortunately, until and unless they achieve their objective, there is not another facility on Earth that can hold Mr. Blonsky."

Dugan sees Kara's troubled expression. "It's either this or a one-way rocket trip to the Sun, Supergirl. Emil here should count himself lucky – if he ever regains consciousness, that is."

"How many others do you have here, frozen like this?" –Kara asks.

"Here? More than a dozen, less than a hundred." –he says, a little cagey. "Most of this facility is dedicated to housing dangerous weapons and artifacts, not people. Like I said, the Fridge contains only the worst of the worst; we have a number of other prisons around the world that can hold less dangerous criminals, supervillains or otherwise."

Lena hums. "So, if Fury ever decided the Hulk or Thor were no longer in his good graces, this is where they'd end up."

Dugan hesitates. It dawns on Kara that, perhaps, she gave Fury too much credit. "It's where I would've ended up, if I hadn't been friendly enough for him." –Kara realizes. "Having me see this was the secret second half of his threat."

"Think you might be readin' too much into things, Supergirl. You plannin' on goin' rogue anytime soon?" –Dugan asks, somewhat amused. "Forgive me if I don't exactly buy it."

"No, but that's today, just a couple months after the Avengers fought off an alien invasion and prevented New York getting nuked. What happens two, three, five years from now, when the novelty's worn off? What if Fury dies or gets replaced, and whoever's next in line isn't quite as cool with the living superweapons on kids' lunchboxes?" –Kara muses. "I think you and I both know that, if anything, it's impossible to read enough into things, when it comes to Fury."

"Trust me, I get why you don't trust the man, but you already know what he actually would've done if you'd proven to be a threat to humanity. Simple exposure to Kryptonite would've done the trick." –Dugan retorts. "Fury's many things, but I've never known him to be overkill."

"Small mercies." –Lena says. "Don't think I didn't notice how you didn't deny my accusation. The rest of the Avengers don't really have a Kryptonite you can so easily exploit."

Dugan scowls, as much as his clockwork nature allows. "It's real simple, GUARDIAN; you keep doin' your thing, fightin' the good fight? This is the only time you'll ever see the inside of the Fridge." –he says. "Contrary to what you might believe, S.H.I.E.L.D. can work alongside superheroes – and I personally believe it should, like we did back in the good ol' days. It's true that you're fundamentally viewed as potential threats, and I doubt that'll ever change, but most of us – Fury, first and foremost – understand that we'd lose more than we could possibly gain if we didn't try our best to keep the peace."

"We're not gonna get anywhere with this discussion." –Kara grouses. "You're not gonna stop defending S.H.I.E.L.D., and I doubt we're gonna be okay with the severely sketchy things the agency does anytime soon. Just show us to Project Kr so we can leave."

"I think that would be best." –Simmons agrees, looking mortified by the turn this discussion has taken. Dugan looks like he wants to say something, but his nutcracker mouth stays shut. "Come, we're almost there."

True enough, they arrive at the vault containing Project Kr just a handful of spaces further down this wing of the facility. "Here we are, I s'pose." –Dugan says. "I'll hand you off to Doctor Simmons, but before I do…I should apologize. You're right, Supergirl; it's hard for me not to feel protective of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"It's fine." –Kara says, crossing her arms.

He sighs. "It's not. These peepers may not be flesh and blood anymore, but I ain't blind; I've been a part of this shindig since the beginning, so I know we've made a whole lot of compromises in the name of keeping folks safe as can be in a world that's only gettin' more dangerous. The agency as it exists today is very different from the one I helped Director Carter put together, and I own my part in that." –he says. "I understand that we're not exactly gonna agree on much, but I hope you can at least see why the world needs S.H.I.E.L.D."

"...yeah. The world does need S.H.I.E.L.D." –Kara says. "But it deserves better than S.H.I.E.L.D., too."

Despite the somber note, Dugan smiles, as much as a clockwork man can. "It's got you, don't it? See you around, Avengers."

The former Howling Commando strides away, leaving the three young women standing alone in front of Kara's past. "Well, that was a bit more drama than I signed up for." –Simmons says, awkwardly. "Shall we?"

Ah, feels good to be back. I have some good news (and some...neutral news?) on that front: this chapter makes up the first half of what was meant to be a larger than average comeback. Along the way, it felt natural to split it in half. Now, the good news is that the 2nd chapter is already fully written - it's only in need of some minor edits that I expect to complete in the next few days. I plan to upload the next chapter roughly a month from now - I know, it's a bit of a wait, but I wanna give myself time to write more. On that note, the I guess neutral news is that the rest of the chapters for this arc of the fic are fully planned out and in various stages of writing (I get impatient and write ahead sometimes, haha). My hope is that I can update this and some of the other ongoing fics on a monthly basis, with some minor stuff like the Codex chapters and more Vantage anthology chapters sprinkled in between (or replacing a late upload, if necessary). I say "hope" because even though I have a bit more time to write these days, the fact remains that I'm a slow writer.

Now, onto the trivia for this chapter:

-I'll be the first to admit that romance is far from my strong suit, so Kara and Lena's relationship proved the biggest obstacle to getting this chapter (and the next) done. It's an interesting setup, where both of them have feelings for each other, and they already know the other reciprocates, but they had a helluva false start and it's made what should be a pretty easy choice for both of them a lot more awkward and ultimately difficult than it needs to be. I'm not really one for drawing out the will they, won't they scenario (see my Miraculous Ladybug fic for reference), but I do think their particular situation calls for a slower approach
-The Tesseract core is an ingenious little piece of tech; it's derived partially from HYDRA tech salvaged after the war – particularly, their Tesseract infused weaponry, which required no ammo but only held a limited charge – made with special materials that can safely channel the energy, and entangled directly with the Tesseract itself. The core is able to source limitless energy from the Tesseract, no matter the distance, as long as they're both anywhere in the same universe. The only real limitation is that the suit's energy distribution system has an upper limit on how much energy it can safely channel at any one time
-The GUARDIAN suit isn't really meant for flying – it can, just so it can rapidly get from point A to point B, but the suit is simply too heavy and unwieldy for anything more complicated than takeoff, landing, and generally flying in straight lines or very wide arcs. It makes up for its sacrificed mobility with brute strength, durability, and dedicated crowd control systems – if Iron Man is a super flexible all-rounder and the War Machine is built for protracted engagements against large numbers of enemy combatants, the GUARDIAN is meant for ground level peacekeeping operations and battling single-target heavyweights
-I feel like most flying superheroes are a nightmare for ATC operators, but some of them would definitely be worse than others. That said, even if Tony himself never communicates his flights properly, JARVIS does actually check that they're not about to cause trouble and automatically feeds safe routes through the HUD
-When it comes to Kara's sort of…revelation, about her limitations, I wanted it to feel kinda like she's been subconsciously operating to match the "power level" of the MCU-based setting; there's no doubt many powerful beings in that continuity, but I don't think it's a slight to say that there's nothing really in there that can compare to the full power of a Kryptonian (or, closer to home, the comics version of pretty much all the Avengers, the other heroes, and the villains). Even though I've leaned from the start towards powering up the MCU characters for the Kverse, Kara would've had to hold herself back even more so than if she'd remained in her original DC universe. Now that the switch has flipped, and her true powers start coming into play, my intention is for the reverse to happen – to keep up with Kara, the universe itself has to subtly rebalance itself around her newfound power, so you'll likely see progressively greater displays of power as time goes on (though don't expect people to go around blowing up planets on a whim, we're not there yet)
-The short back and forth about Kara's potential responsibility to halt crime on a global scale is purposefully a little cut short; I think it's potentially too big a topic to cover in a single chapter, maybe even in a single fic. I suppose it's fairly evident where I stand on it – she may have a responsibility to help whenever she's able, but I don't think it'd be fair to expect her to dedicate every waking moment to being a superhero, both for her own sake and ours as a society – but I think there's many perspectives that would be interesting to touch on from other heroes, allies, and even eventual detractors before Kara herself makes a decision, one way or another.
-If you've seen or played the mobile game Marvel Strike Force, the design of the SHIELD troopers in that game is the inspiration for the new heavy-duty gear the agency's soldiers will be sporting. As Kara theorizes, the new gear is designed with the rising threat of superpowered villains and advanced extraterrestrial invaders in mind. There's a few suit models with specific traits – such as collapsible riot shields and thruster packs – but generally speaking they feature an ablative layer (for heat or energy-based weaponry), top of the line ballistic weave, and titanium plating for the chest piece, shoulder pauldrons, and helmet.
-Surprise! Dum Dum Dugan's still alive. Well, "alive", the only thing that remains of his original body is his brain. Dugan wasn't a part of the original plans for the Kverse, but as I was planning out this chapter a couple years ago, I knew I needed a familiar face to introduce Kara and Lena to the Fridge. His clockwork body was a HYDRA creation – one of many attempts by certain higher-ups at achieving some form of immortality – and once Dugan rejected the idea of surviving as a prototype cyborg LMD, they used the confiscated HYDRA body instead (having swept the thing for potential traps or nasty surprises beforehand, of course)
-Double surprise! I'm happy to introduce Dr. Jemma Simmons to the Kverse, from Agents of SHIELD. Probably one of my favorite characters in the show. I know I'm kind of committing a sin in not featuring her alongside Fitz, but I didn't want the meeting to devolve into technical jargon, and I headcanon that he's setting their lab up on the Bus as this is happening anyway. I'm sure there'll be other chances to see them (and the rest of the team) interact with our main cast.
-I'll probably post a big explainer on tumblr about it later, but what do you think are SHIELD's 7 main branches? I'll tell you that some are involved in crossover material, some are "native", but they're all more or less logical extensions of what such an agency would have to cover in such a world. (Also, hint, SWORD is an independent agency, not one of SHIELD's sectors!)
-The unmanned non-lethal containment cannons are directly pulled from The Incredibles – the ones Syndrome employs to protect his inner sanctum. They were confiscated from his island and adopted by SHIELD for use in some of their own facilities after he was defeated.
-I don't really have the right brand of creativity for it, but I imagine SHIELD has its own form of semiotic standard – easily recognizable symbols that quickly inform an agent about the condition and potential dangers of nearby areas. Some symbols would probably be taken from real world international standards, like the one for radiation, but they would have others that indicate various fictional things, like a supervillain's enhancements or the presence of fictional substances or energy emanations.
-I don't really have an opinion on MCU Abomination and where he's ended up these days, but don't expect a redemption for him here. We need to keep some supervillains alive to be a problem later, dang it!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'll say, this is the "chill" half of the originally intended single chapter - the next chapter is a lot more...emotional, as I'm sure can be expected from the survivor of an extinction-level event coming face to face with her past. Like I said, see you back here fairly soon, and fingers crossed that this is the year I can stick to any semblance of a schedule again.

Thank you for reading! If you like what I do, and would like to reach out, feel free to leave a comment or review here. You might also send an ask over on my tumblr (darthkvznblogs), the inbox is always open! Until next time!