[Stryker's Island]
Kara sat within her red sun cell, her hands in her face as she silently sobbed into them. She had gotten a glimpse as to what her cousin had planned to do to her. Despite what she had hoped, that he could change, that she could save him. Now that hope had died after she had seen when Kal had revealed to her what he did to Bruce. The once determined man had been twisted and turned to serve as Kal's right hand, while Diana her former mentor was his left. For 1 week she's had to sit and "consider" her cousin's offer to join his ranks willingly. For that entire week she's had nightmares unend, dreaming of the dark deeds that Kal was going to have her do whether it be willing or not. As she finished sobbing and stabbed down at her cell's floor, the door to her cell chambers opened. Kara turned her eyes towards two individuals whom she despised. One was the son of Batman, Damian Wayne who bore a confident smirk on his lips. The other being Black Adam, the first face that she saw and had trusted so willingly.
The both of them approached her cell before stopping near it and stared at her. The first to speak was the arrogant Damian, whose voice that Kara was starting to get tired of hearing.
"One week's up Kara, are you gonna join willingly? Please say no." Damian questioned and commented, watching her reaction. For a moment Kara felt her fear rising to where her face was about to contort into it. However, she stowed her fear and pushed it down. She balled her fists up and slowly rose from the bed that she had been lying on. Kara Zor-El was from the House of El, they stood for Hope, they never gave in regardless of circumstances. She gave both Damian and Adam both a defiant glare before speaking her own words.
"For as long as I live...I will defy you. Even if you make me into a soulless husk." Kara promised, to which Damian scoffed and Adam shook his head disappointed.
"So be it, I had hoped that you would see reason Kara. However noble that your words sound, you still stand alone...no one will fight by your side." Adam reminded, and prepared to take her out of the cell so that she could be converted.
"I disagree.." A deep baritone and distorted voice argued, causing Adam and Damian to become vigilant. Unfortunately neither one of them were prepared for who had said that. No sooner than those words had been said, a device came zooming in from the ceiling of the chamber and planted itself on Adam's chest. A single beep was heard before Adam was sent flying backwards from a powerful explosion. The shockwave sent Damian away from Adam, causing him to hit the nearby railings. The young adult shook his head, then turned to find a man cloaked in dark armor whose helmet had hueing red visors staring back at him from 6 feet away from him. The man stood a good 6"6, he had a black cape that hid his muscles but Damian could tell that the man must have been well built in some regard. Despite the situation he remained calm and let an overconfident smirk come onto his face.
"I don't know who you are but-" Damian didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. Because the man had already come at him without saying another word. Damian watched as this man struck, sending a straight punch to block. However the man had more strength behind that punch, causing Damian to grit his teeth in pain. Before he could try to counterattack, Damian was met with an armored fist to the face from the man. Then a side kick from an armored boot came into his abdomen, knocking the wind out of him. The kick also sent Damian flying backwards and into Kara's cell, cracking it once his body hit it. With those 3 moves dealt to Damian, he was out cold leaving only Adam to contend with the man.
Adam let out a snarl as he rose back up to his feet, lightning radiated off of him as he glared at his adversary. The man turned and gave Adam a side glance as he stared at him.
"You would dare attack a god!?" Adam exclaimed, but found the man's next words to infuriate him even more.
"Gods are anything but you..." The man said dryly and watched as Black Adam fired a bolt of lightning at him. The man moved effortless to dodge Black Adam's attacks. He twirled, spun, and even rolled out of the way before hurling a device at Adam. Black Adam scoffed before firing a precise torrent of lightning at the device heading for him. However upon hitting the device, it exploded into green smoke. The moment that Adam ingested the smoke, his eyes widened upon realizing what this was.
"Fear Toxin!?" Adam shouted surprised, and felt the effects of the Fear Toxin take affect. He tried to fight it off but it was already too late, he let out a growl then fired at the man hoping to kill him. Instead, the man had made his way over to Adam and began to deliver a flurry of blows on Adam while the Fear Toxin kept him occupied. There were elements of Muay Tai, Wing Chun, Karate, and even Greco-Roman martial arts in his attack. Each time Adam moved his head to look at his opponent, the man hit Adam with an enclosed fist to the throat. It would take long before the man had virtually dismantled Black Adam, sending a final spinning kick into Adam's hip. Even then he wasn't finished, for Adam was still conscious and staring up at the man before him.
"W-who...are you?" Adam questioned throat a croaked voice, but found the man's boot coming down into his face. As Black Adam lost consciousness, the man turned and looked at a wide eyed Kara in her cell. She stood there having watched the skirmish shocked. The man stomped over, and walked right up to Kara's cell. He then cocked a fist back, then begun punching it repeatedly where Damian's back at hit it. As he punched the glass, it cracked more and more, until it was busted open. Kara took a step back, nervous and out of fear. Though that fear left her when she saw the man hold his hand out to her. "Come, we don't have much time." He ordered.
Kara then began to realize that this was a rescue mission. Without wasting another moment, she sped forward and took the man's hand. He pulled her out of her cell with little effort then turned. He started to jog off while still holding Kara's hand as they moved.
"Wait, who are you?" Kara questioned.
"We are in the middle of enemy territory where they are not aware that you have escaped yet, do you truly wish to know who I am now and waste time? Or would you rather wait until we've escaped?" The man retorted with his own question, causing Kara to grimace. She had almost forgotten that they were still on Stryker's Island and not out scot free yet.
"You've got a point.." Kara relented, then felt herself be pulled to the side and pushed against the wall. The man moved close to her to where his helmet and her face were inches apart. Bullets could be heard being fired at them, colliding with the man's armor showing that it was indeed bulletproof. He used his cape to cover her as he stared into her eyes. Kara stared back at him wide eyed then gave him a concerned look.
"I-i can help!" She offered.
"No you cannot." The man denied, and once the bullets stopped coming he spun around like a rabid dog. The Regime soldiers who had fired at him were reloading by the time that he was upon them. The man sent an elbow into one soldier's collarbone, with a another he hit them with a rising uppercut that sent them off their feet. The man then hurled a device at a group of 5 soldiers and watched it detonate as a flashbang. All within the hall were blind even Kara, but she could still hear the Regime soldiers being taken down effortlessly. The red sun generators within her cell may have disminished her of her powers, but they were slowly coming back to her.
As soon as Kara's vision was back, her rescuer had one soldier by the throat and punching their face in repeatedly. Their helmet had been broken, and face revealed with a broken nose, black eye, and a busted up face. The man dropped the beaten soldier after one more punch before turning to Kara. "Come, we are almost there." He commanded and took Kara by the hand once more. Kara looked over the amount of bodies that had been beaten to a bloody pulp. More than 30 men and women who fought for Superman now were either out cold, crippled, or in a coma. She winced at the scene but still moved with her rescuer.
They soon turned a corner to find a wall on there, a dead end. Kara's face contorted into confusion as the man pulled her forward. "Hey wait, that's a wall! I don't have my strength back yet!" Kara shouted and reminded, however the man was not deterred.
"So it seems." He replied, then sent his own fist forward and watched as it punched through the wall. The both of them fell out to the other side, revealing the outside world. The entire prison was on high alert as they fell to the ground. However, Kara was feeling elated, she could smell the fresh air outside. Though her elated mood left her once she released that they were falling. Much to her surprise however, the man took her into his grasp, bridal style, and landed on his feet. His boots made imprints into the pavement before he dashed off. Kara wrapped her hands around the man's neck as they continued to run. It wouldn't be long before they reached the wall, causing the man to come to a stop
A spotlight hit them as Regime soldiers began rushing out with weapons raised. The man turned slowly as he held Kara close. The Kryptonian had a look of fear and worry as she saw how many Regime soldiers were there. "There's too many...do you have a Plan B?" She asked.
The man said nothing, before peering upwards and quickly moved his hand upwards. When he did this, a rope came over him, allowing him to grab it and be subsequently pulled up into the air. The soldiers immediately fired at them, though their efforts were for nought. The man and Kara were well away into the sky, with a futuristic plane being their escape vehicle.
[Inside the Plane]
Once Kara and her rescuer were inside of the plane, the man set her down and watched as the hatch that they entered through close. Kara felt her heart thumping through her chest, she had escaped, she was out of Stryker's Island. For a whole week she assumed that she would never escape, but here she was well away from her captors. She stared at her rescuer as he walked towards the cockpit of the ship. The plane resembled that of an old Cold War Blackbird, though it was much larger and boasted more room inside. At the front of the plane was no one, the plane was on autopilot.
Kara slowly followed her rescuer, watching as he pressed a few buttons on the controls for the plane. She bit her lip, not wanting to look the gift horse in the mouth. Though she didn't know who he was, and he was a complete stranger to her. So with little reluctance she voiced her curiosity.
"Thanks for rescuing me, I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up. But since we're out of Stryker's Island...could you tell me who you are?" Kara asked politely and watched the man continue to work on the plane before sitting himself in the pilot's seat.
"You may call me Knight, or Knightmare. My real name is none of your concern at the moment." Knightmare stated plainly as he began to pilot the plane himself. He banked right, moving them in another direction. Kara placed her hands on the back of his seat to hold on. "Take a seat, and get some rest...you're going to need it."
Kara stared at him for a moment before slowly taking a seat in one of the passenger seats. She sat in it and felt the adrenaline that had been pumping through her veins beginning to leave her the moment that she sat down. She felt drowsy, as if the whole event took most of her energy out of her. It wouldn't be long before she found herself dozing off in her seat.
[Unknown Location]
Kara slowly awakened with a moan, her eyes fluttered open to find herself laid down upon a bed. She gasped and sat upright as she looked around. She even found herself wearing near clothes. The clothes that adorned her was like a dress, though it was cloud white in coloring and had golden streaks going down it. She was in a comfortable queen sized bed, one that she didn't expect to be in. For a moment she thought that she was dreaming, until she remembered what had happened. She had been rescued by a man, who called himself Knight. She didn't understand the context to her rescue considering that her rescuer didn't divulge that information.
As Kara moved herself to where she could get out of bed, she felt sunlight come down onto her. Her sky blue eyes turned to the source of the sun and stared wide eyed at it. She stood on her feet and began walking slowly towards a balcony. As she reached the doorway of the balcony she felt the sun's light hit her skin like a warm embrace. Her power was already becoming rejuvenated, almost being back to full power. Kara's eyes then landed on a small city that looked like one like Kandor. Her eyes widened with wonder as she gazed out over the skyscrapers.
"You've awakened." Came a deep yet calm and charmistic voice. Kara turned in an alerted stance, to find a suited up man. He had a clean shaven face, dark brown skin, dreadlocks that reached past his shoulders, and near golden irises. He was adorned with a buttoned up shirt that was unbuttoned at the collar, a black suit coat over it, black trousers and black dress shoes. The man was giving Kara a slight smile as he stared at her, watching her before slowly approaching her. "Forgive me for startling you, I couldn't help myself. It has been some time since we've had outsiders."
"Outsiders?" Kara repeated with a confused expression, she watched as the man drew near while allowing herself to relax.
"Yes, you are in my home. The City of Kanoa, though the wider world will call us Metahumans instead of Kanoans."
"Where's the guy who saved me? Knightmare?"
"You are speaking to him."
Kara stared at Knight for a moment before allowing a breathe of relief to leave her. She then gave Knight concerned look before voicing the question brewing inside of her. "Why did you rescue me from Stryker's Island? Don't get me wrong I'm happy that you did but...I can't help but feel that you have an agenda that involves me in it."
Knight gave her a knowing nod before walking out to the balcony. He moved closer to the railing and leaned against it before letting out a deep breathe. "Because you are one of our planet's last hope for freedom. You are one of the remaining few outside of this city who have yet to be made into a drone for Superman. As well as the only one who could contend with him if given the right training."
Kara joined Knight, giving him an invested look as she stood beside him on the railing.
"So you guys have been in hiding for this entire time? Why didn't you expose yourself to the rest of the world? Or help against Kal?" Kara questioned to which a sigh left Knight.
"Because we didn't wish to involve ourselves in the rest of the world's affairs. The last time that we had done this, we were nearly driven to exintinction in a devastating war over a thousand years ago...." Knight revealed, causing Kara to frown.
"You were afraid of losing everything again..."
"Indeed."
Kara turned her gaze back to Kanoa, watching the inhabitants walk about minding their own business. "So...why get involved now?"
"Because your cousin's rule will burn this world. Because we have watched him rule long enough. Because I decided that the time to act had come." Knight replied, getting a gleam in her eyes as she turned to him realizing what this meant. Knight moved off the railing to turn to Kara with a serious look on his face as he peered into her eyes. "Kanoa has watched long enough, any other would have allowed your cousin to rule unhindered and remain in the confines of this city. I however am not one of them."
Kara felt a smile beginning to curl onto her lips, feeling hopeful now. "You still didn't give me your name, you had said that it wasn't important at the moment."
"Apologies, you may call me Xendor."
(This is more of a guilty pleasure than anything. Kanoa is an OC city of Metahumans like Krakoa is in Marvel. The only difference being that Kanoans have been around for over a thousand years. Xendor is also an OC character and there will be plenty of OC characters to fill in the Kanoan's ranks. The MC is like a mixture of Batman and Black Panther put together. So in other words, he makes contingency plans for contingency plans. As well as being on the level of an "Omega Level Mutant", though I won't tell you what his powers are. You'll have to figure it out later into the story. Lastly, he wears more than one suit for different occasions, the one that he used in this chapter was his stealth suit to which he called the Knightmare armor.)