October 28, 2017 (pregnancy week 34)
Saturday morning, James and Lucy were working side-by-side on the couch in James’ office when they heard Eve exclaim, “Oh, can I help you? I’m sorry, but you can't…” Eve tried to block a woman from entering, but she barged right in anyway.
“Are you James Olsen?” the young woman asked.
“Sorry!” Eve mouthed.
James was quick to assure her. “It's okay, Eve.” He turned to the young woman who had come searching for him, “Yeah, can I help you?”
“Are you okay?” Lucy checked, staying on the couch because of her broken leg.
“You know Supergirl?” the woman asked James. “I need you to get this to her.” She pulled out a huge book from her messenger bag.
“What is this?” James inquired.
“It's Thomas Coville's journal,” the woman replied.
Lucy stood up in interest and hopped over to look at the journal. “How did you get this?”
“I stole it from his cult,” the woman revealed. “Can you get it to her or not?” she asked James. “I thought you two were close. I think his followers are using it to make a bomb.”
James and Lucy sat the woman down and finally got her name - Tanya.
“I was a teacher,” Tanya explained. “Linguistics and semiotics.”
“You helped Coville learn Kryptonian,” Lucy guessed.
“He found me,” Tanya continued. “I'd been saved by her . I... I just wanted the miracle to mean something. But when Reign came, the followers started making me translate his journal. It had everything he'd ever learned about Krypton, and I was the only one left who knew how to read it. But what I read, it was like a recipe. Explosives.”
“Where's Coville now?” James asked.
Tanya shrugged. “He just vanished. The others were saying that he died serving Reign, that he's a martyr. They'd become fanatics.”
“And where are his disciples now?” Lucy wanted to know.
Tanya picked up a stack of post-it notes from the desk and wrote down an address. “This is where I ran away from. Look, I know I should have left earlier, but at first, it was so nice to believe in something, to connect to people. But then Reign came, and Coville got word to us that we were worshiping the wrong god, that Reign was our deliverance... I-I should go. They'll be looking for me. They need this book.”
“No, no,” James stopped her. “Hey, hey.”
“Wait. Why don't you stay here?” Lucy suggested.
“I'll call security here,” James added.
Lucy stuffed the journal into the backpack she had to use while she was on crutches.
“Where are you going?” Tanya panicked.
“To get this to Supergirl,” Lucy informed her. “She'll find the cult, and she'll stop them.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Lena, Alex and Winn took out about half of the Kryptonite that was in Sam’s room and put it in Alex’s vault in her office. They were hoping that this would allow Reign to manifest herself in Sam while still keeping her at bay. Sam still had the Kryptonite IV in her veins just in case, but it was on a very low setting.
Lena stroked Sam’s hair soothingly before she did anything. “I’m going to start with 500 volts again. Hopefully with the Kryptonite lessened, she’ll be able to come out.”
Sam nodded. It was clear she was not looking forward to being shocked again, but she also seemed determined not to give up. “OK.”
Lena attached the electrodes to Sam’s temples and stepped out of the room.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara, Maggie, Jessie, Jamie, and Ruby were all crammed onto one couch together in the living room of the mansion, snuggling and watching Netflix. Maggie had begged Kara to stay home with her on her day off. The detective needed cuddles badly. Kara had taken one look at her wife’s puppy dog eyes and couldn’t say no. The Legionnaires were at the DEO keeping a watch over Lena and Alex, so she didn’t really need to be there. Besides, she hadn’t really gotten to spend much time with her kids the last couple of days either. It was pretty much unanimous that she stay home.
When she got a call from Lucy, she didn’t think much of it, answering the phone chipperly.
“Kara?” Lucy started. “Are you at the DEO?”
“No, I’m at home with Maggie and the kids,” Kara informed her. “What’s up?”
“I have something important for you to look at,” Lucy told her. “I’m on my way there. See you soon.”
“OK, see you soon,” Kara replied before hanging up. “I guess Lucy is coming over,” she told her family. “You kids better clean up your mess here.”
The kids groaned dramatically as they got up and took care of their cereal bowls, juice glasses, and fruit peels that they’d left sprawled all over the coffee table.
Kara and Maggie snuck in a few kisses while the kids were in the kitchen. Kara rested her hand on Maggie’s belly, which seemed to get the baby all riled up. Kara giggled and started kissing the baby’s feet as they poked into her mommy’s tummy. “Mama loves you, little one,” she spoke in Kryptonian. “Who’s my sweet little baby?”
When the kids came back, they knelt on the floor in front of Maggie and started cooing at the baby too. Kara sat back and enjoyed their excitement over their little sibling. They were so beautiful when they smiled with their whole faces, and Kara’s heart ached with love for them.
Before they knew it, Lucy was at the gate, buzzing to be let in. Kara pressed the ‘Open’ button, and the twins bounced into the foyer to let her in. “Aunt Lucy!” they exclaimed, hugging her before she could even walk through the door.
“Hi, girls!” she squeezed them tightly. “How are you?”
“Good!” they replied. “We were just talking to Maggie’s baby.”
“Aww!” Lucy cooed. “It’s getting close to time, isn’t it?”
“Six more weeks!” Jessie announced proudly. “I’m so excited I could explode!”
“Me too!” Jamie agreed. The twins walked Lucy into the living room, and she exchanged greetings with Kara, Maggie and Ruby.
“So what is it you wanted to show me?” Kara got right to the point.
Lucy opened her backpack and pulled out the giant leather-bound book. “This is Coville’s journal.” She handed the book over to Kara, and the Kryptonian opened it up and looked through it. “Tanya, the girl who brought it to James, said the cult is cooking up some kind of explosives.”
“What for?” Jessie asked.
Lucy shrugged. “She didn’t tell me that. I’m not sure she knew herself. She gave me this address,” she said, handing the post-it note to Kara. “She said that’s where she stole the journal from.”
Kara looked at her family with regret in her eyes, but all she saw in return were hopeful looks of expectation. They knew she had to go. “So much for a fun, relaxing day,” Kara sighed.
“It’s OK, babe,” Maggie assured her. “You do what you have to do. The kids and I will be fine.”
“Are you sure you don’t need me to call Douglas?” Kara checked.
Maggie shook her head. “Nah. It’s my day off. I can handle these munchkins.”
“Hey! We’re taller than you are!” Jessie stuck her tongue out at her. “Shorty.”
“Amazons,” Maggie retorted.
Kara chuckled. “Hey, they can’t help it. They have tall family members. Alex is 5’8”, I’m 5’9”, and Eliza is 5’10”!”
“How tall are you, Maggie?” Ruby wanted to know.
“5’3”,” Maggie grumbled.
The twins giggled.
“OK. I need to head to the DEO and find some backup. Thanks for this, Lucy,” Kara told her, giving her a hug. “Tell James I’ll check in with him when I figure out what this is about.”
“Will do,” Lucy nodded.
Kara hugged and kissed all her girls including Ruby and flew off to the DEO.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara checked in with J’onn and Winn, then grabbed Liin-El to come with her to the address this Tanya person had given them. On the way, Kara asked him something she’d been wondering about, “So, how do you do those crazy cape tricks where you grab things and hold onto them? I’ve been fighting with a cape for three years, and all it seems to do is get in the way.”
Liin chuckled. “I can help you with that if you want.”
“I’d like that,” Kara beamed at him. Her smile didn’t last long, however. The pair of them landed at the address they’d been given and entered the building. When they reached the ‘Meeting Room,’ there was a clear emblem of Reign’s sigil spray painted on the door. They shared a look of worry before they entered the abode.
Thankfully, there was no one there, but as they looked around, they saw a strange silhouette burned into the side of a brick wall. On the floor in front of the shadow was a large pile of ashes. Liin took a few steps closer and found a metal bracelet among the ashes. He picked it up and backed away. “This was a person,” he said of the ashes.
“You see shadows like this after nuclear strikes, but this whole building's intact,” Kara exclaimed. “What kind of bomb were they making?”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
James was walking through the cubicles when he spotted a young blonde woman crying over by the elevators. “Excuse me? I know you, right? You're, uh, Olivia. We met at Coville's meeting.”
“I need to know if Tanya is here,” Olivia sobbed. “We got separated, and I need to know that she's okay.”
“She's fine. Just calm down. Everything's good,” James assured her.
“It's not safe here!” she exclaimed.
“Were you followed?” James asked quickly.
Behind him, he could hear the security guard in his office shout, “Let her go!”
Eve screamed and called out for her boss, “James, help! They're taking Tanya!”
“Hey!” James ran towards his office where the security guard was lying knocked out on the floor.
“You could say that,” Olivia replied, cocking a gun and pointing it right at him.
The people around them started panicking and running away screaming.
“Hey, hey, hey. Come on,” James tutted at her.
“James, help!” Tanya screamed. “Let me go!”
Olivia started shooting over her head.
“Take it easy,” James said warily. “Just take it easy, okay?”
Olivia continued to shoot into the ceiling as she backed away. As soon as the blonde turned away, James pressed the button on his Supergirl alert watch. “Call 911,” he directed Eve. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she panted, picking up the phone and dialing the police.
James ran after the cult members, ducking down every time Olivia shot at him. He had to keep tabs on them so Supergirl could find them once she arrived. Not five seconds later, Supergirl burst through the window, landing behind James. The moment Olivia spotted her, she and her cohorts each grabbed a hostage from the huddled crowd around them.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” James pleaded with them. “Don’t do this. Look. Take me instead. I’m Supergirl’s friend. I’m worth way more collateral to her than those guys. Take me, and leave these people alone. I’ll go with you.”
Olivia exchanged looks with her companions. “Come on, then.”
James gave Kara a look that he hoped conveyed that she should go along with his plan. He could just use his watch when they arrived at their destination, and then Kara could come and get them from there. It was no big deal.
Olivia’s biggest friend grabbed James by the throat and pointed his gun at James’ head. Olivia did the same thing to Tanya, and sneered at Supergirl. “Follow us, and he dies,” she hissed.
Kara put her hands in the air and let them back out to the elevators. She didn’t follow them down. She wanted to find out what they were up to, so she would let James go with them. She had faith in him.
She ran back to Eve and patted the hyperventilating girl on the shoulders. “Hey. It’s OK, Eve. I’m going to find him, and I’m going to get him back. Don’t worry. Slow breaths. There you go. Can you handle the police? I’ve gotta go back to you know where.”
Eve was still trembling, but she nodded.
“I’ve got this, Danvers, go,” Snapper suddenly made himself known. “Find Olsen.”
“On it,” Kara zipped away.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“No matches on any traffic cams or ATMs throughout the city,” Winn announced. “Hey, let's run it against all open security feeds.”
“Olivia was so sweet and innocent when I first met her,” Kara recalled. “And now she's a cult leader. I can't help but think this is my fault.”
“Wait, how?” Liin asked.
“Coville and his followers were going to hurt people in my name, so I cut my hand to prove to them I wasn't a god. And the second she saw my vulnerability, she became disillusioned. I let my mask down for one second, and look what happens.”
“You can't be all things to all people,” Winn reminded her. “All you can do is be true to yourself.”
“Which self?” she chuckled wryly.
Winn gave her a look of affection, “There’s really only one you, Kara. I mean, sure you go by different names here and there, but there’s only one Kara. And that’s you. You have faith in people when everything seems lost. You give light to the world just by being you. That’s how you help 90% of the people you help.”
Kara melted inside and couldn’t resist giving her friend a hug. “Thanks, Winn. You’re a really great friend.”
“So are you,” he offered her his fist, and she bumped hers against it.
Liin gently cleared his throat to remind them he was there. “So, Wiin, do you think you could help us figure out what kind of bomb did this?” He offered Winn the bracelet he’d found at the cult Meeting Room.
“Yeah, well, Lena's spectra analysis equipment is sort of running on overdrive, so we're gonna have to go down to my lab,” Winn informed them.
“Sure,” Kara nodded.
“Yeah, we'll go with you,” Liin said, grabbing the book. “And we can go over Coville's journal while we work.”
“Good idea,” Kara nodded.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Over an hour later, Kara and Liin were taking a break from studying Coville’s journal when Winn snagged their attention. “Hey, guys, we found something.”
“I just finished analyzing that residue that you found,” Lena informed them. “What killed the girl wasn't a bomb at all. It was caused by a heavy metal reaction.”
“A heavy metal not found on Earth,” Winn specified. Supergirl looked at the diagram on Lena’s computer screen and gasped. “I've seen this before.” She crossed back to the book and rifled through the pages. “Here. The Rock of Yuda Kal. He says he found a statue of her in Addis Ababa made of Kryptonian stone.”
“Yuda Kal, isn't that the Kryptonian goddess of life?” Winn asked.
“I don't know anything about a goddess, but this is the exact inverse of what I need to cure Sam,” Lena announced.
“We were wrong. They weren't using the rock to make a bomb, they're making a new Worldkiller,” Kara worried.
“Well, if the Rock of Yuda Kal can be used to make a Worldkiller, we could just reverse the process and use it to unmake one,” Lena told them. “We could turn Reign back into Sam permanently.”
“We can cure her,” Kara said hopefully. “Now we just need to get a signal from James.”
“Wait, wait. If they use the rock, then it will give off an energy signal,” Lena pointed out.
Winn raised his hands in the air victoriously. “Which we can scan for.”
“Wouldn't that get us there after they've already made a Worldkiller?” Liin asked.
“Don't worry,” Kara replied. “There's a reason James went with her. He's smart, tactical, he's a fighter. If anyone can find us a signal, it's him.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Into the flame, one oronc of Sedenach dust,” Tanya called out.
James watched as the leader Olivia poured something into a large makeshift cauldron.
“The final element is seven lak-mar of…” Olivia looked at James who nodded subtly at her.
“Of what?” Olivia snapped.
“Nitrogen,” Tanya finished.
Olivia poured the nitrogen into the mix with a maniacal look in her eyes. “Before the leaders of Krypton erased her with Rao, with their science, there was a goddess of life, of birth,” she spoke to the group around them. “Yuda Kal. The faithful gathered in her orpheum in tribute, as we are now.” She took out a tiny little totem and held it up to the crowd. “And she will give us one final birth. Worldkiller.”
“There it is,” James whispered to himself, reaching around his handcuffs to press the button on his watch.
XXX
“Kara?” Winn said when she cocked her head around abruptly. “What is it?”
“It’s James’ signal watch,” Kara informed him. “Get a team together. I’m going.”
“I’m coming with you,” Liin announced.
Kara nodded. “Let’s go before it’s too late.”
XXX
“With the power of Yuda Kal, I will be the fourth,” Olivia announced. She plunged the totem into the cauldron, and James ran at her, hoping to knock her down and catch her off guard. Instead, she grabbed him by the neck and held him there. Her eyes glowed, and she lifted him off his feet by the throat.
Suddenly, Supergirl was there.
“The false god,” Olivia sneered. “Right on cue.” She threw James off to the side, and Kara watched as the emblem of Jinda Kol Roz appeared on Olivia’s forearm. Kara ran towards Olivia to try and take the rock, but Olivia was already superpowered, and she hit Kara straight in the sternum, sending her flying back into a bunch of stuff.
Meanwhile, the Cult of Rao (or of Yuda Kal, or whatever) started attacking Liin. There were a lot of them, and he tried hard to be delicate with them, but he was surrounded. He couldn’t get to Kara.
Supergirl bounced back up to her feet and started trading blows with the super powered Olivia. The girl was strong, but not as strong as Reign. As the pair duked it out, Kara tried to reason with the girl. “This is not you, Olivia. The girl I saved was a good person.”
“The girl you saved was weak,” Olivia growled. “Now I finish Reign's work.” She continued to battle Supergirl for dominance, but she wasn’t a trained fighter like Kara.
Kara eventually got Olivia on her back and tried to grab the Rock of Yuda Kal, but as soon as she did, her heat vision kicked into overdrive, and she couldn’t control it. She tried to cover her eyes to contain it, but that didn’t work, and she ended up firing her lasers all around them, destroying a lot of the building.
Olivia grinned triumphantly and was about to deliver a blow to Supergirl, but the hero stopped her. “Wait, Olivia, let me just say this. You once believed in me. You thought I saved you for a reason, and I did. I saved you so that you could have a life.” She could feel her eyes settling down, but there was still fire in them from the rock.
“This is a life,” Olivia insisted.
“No,” Supergirl blinked, trying to clear her eyes. “This is someone else's life. This is Coville's life. I know what it's like to not know which role you have to play! But you have so much to offer this world. So much. And this is not it.”
“But... Who am I without it?” Olivia’s eyes stopped glowing, and a couple of tears streaked down her cheek.
Kara grunted as she returned to her feet. “Let go of that rock, and you'll have a lifetime to figure it out.”
Olivia opened her hand, and the rock sizzled as she tried to shake it off.
“What's wrong?” Kara asked worriedly.
“I can't get it…” Olivia struggled to pull the rock off her hand. “I can't get it. Help me.”
Kara took a step forward but stopped. “I can't touch it,”
“Please, help!” Olivia cried.
“Liin! Help!” Kara called.
Liin ran over and tried to pry the rock out of Olivia’s hand.
“Please, please, please. Get it off, please.”
“It won't budge,” Liin told them.
“Olivia, this is gonna hurt,” Kara warned her. She used her heat vision on the rock, and it finally came loose from Olivia’s hand. The young girl shrieked in pain. “Let me see, let me see,” Kara took Olivia in her arms and blew her freeze breath on the burn mark as Olivia sobbed. “You're okay. You're okay.”
“I'm sorry!” Olivia cried.
“It's okay,” Kara soothed, continuing to hold Olivia while she cried. When the DEO and the police showed up, Kara called for a medic and waited with the pitiful cult leader until she was treated. There really wasn’t much the police or anyone could do about the cult’s activities. It wasn’t exactly against the law to build a Worldkiller. The most the cops could do was eject the people from the private property they were trespassing on.
Much to everyone’s surprise, Kara exchanged phone numbers with Olivia and promised to get together with her soon. Olivia wasn’t a lost cause to the Kryptonian, and Kara wanted to really help her to find a purpose that would satisfy her heart’s longing to be someone that matters.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara, Liin, and J’onn went to find Winn and Lena. “Have you started?” she asked them
“No,” Lena replied. “The rock you brought us was drained of all its power.”
“Yeah, it all went to Olivia's transformation,” Winn chuckled.
“How come the two of you don't seem too devastated by that news?” J’onn asked them.
Winn clapped his hands together. “Because Lena and I very intelligently recorded the radiation signature of the sacred stone during the cult's ritual. And with a little scan of the heavens, the heavens obliged. Now, it is very rare, but the exact same rock is hurtling through space on a meteorite about five light-years away.” He showed them a few diagrams on his computer.
“J'onn, can your ship make it that far?” Kara asked.
“Tuned up the FTL drive a couple of weeks ago,” he nodded. “I could go with you.”
“No, no, you have to stay with your father,” Kara insisted.
“I'll go,” Liin volunteered. “The Yuda Kal rock seems to have some kind of effect on Supergirl, but I can handle it fine.”
Kara smiled and nodded at him. “Thanks.”
“My pleasure,” he returned her smile.
“Before we go, I’d really like to get some food,” Kara told them. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
“Want me to go with you?” Lena offered.
“Yeah,” Kara grinned, holding out her hand to her wife. “I’d like that.”
Lena fitted her hand into Kara’s and the pair went downstairs to the cafeteria.
“So, how’s your progress with Reign today?” Kara asked.
Lena shook her head. “Nothing yet. I’ve only tried to trigger her once today. I got kind of distracted by the whole rock of Yuda Kal thing.”
“Oh, sorry,” Kara apologized.
“It’s not your fault, darling. We’re getting closer and closer every day to solving this problem. I have hope.” Lena snagged a french fry off of Kara’s tray. “Either you’re going to find this rock, or Eliza is going to formulate a cure once we can trigger her, but one way or another, we’re going to get Sam her life back. And Julia’s too.”
Kara nodded. “I’m really looking forward to it. I’m exhausted.”
Lena gave Kara a concerned look. “I’m sorry your day of rest got interrupted.”
“It’s OK,” Kara sighed. “I’ll rest after I go get this rock. It shouldn’t take too long. A couple minutes there, grab the rock, a couple minutes back, bing-bang-boom, we’re good to go.” She started shovelling food into her mouth hungrily. Usually, she tried to eat every two or three hours to keep up her strength, so after six hours, she felt ravenous.
Lena grabbed her own plate of fries, afraid that if she tried to steal anymore of Kara’s she might lose a finger. She held in a laugh at Kara’s feeble attempt to eat at human speed. “Poor thing,” she sympathized. Being pregnant with two Kryptonian babies definitely gave her an idea how hungry her wife could get. She watched in fascination as Kara ate two heaping trays of food before she declared herself finished. “Where do you put it all?” Lena chuckled.
Kara winked in answer. “I should get going. Thank you for sitting with me. I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Kara,” Lena smiled and gave her a kiss. “You taste like BBQ sauce,” she giggled.
Kara laughed and kissed her again. “OK, sweetheart, let’s head back upstairs. I’m sure Liin is chomping at the bit to leave.”
Liin was still in the lab with Winn and J’onn when the pair returned, and Alex was there as well.
“Take care of our girl,” Lena told her descendant.
“I will,” Liin replied, giving her a hug. “I promise.”
“Be careful,” Kara told Lena and Alex with kisses. “Reign is still a threat until we figure out one of these cures.”
“We will,” Lena agreed. “We have the other Legionnaires watching closely. Everything will be fine.”
“Yeah, the sooner you get this rock, the better,” Alex added. “I love you, and I’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon,” Kara waved as she and Liin headed out, followed by J’onn.
Lena turned to Alex, “Shall we get back to it?”
Alex nodded. “Absolutely.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Sam found herself in the Dark Forest alone this time. Or… no. She could see someone in the distance a bit, but she couldn’t tell who it was because of the shadows. “Hello?” she called out.
“Sam?” the person called back.
“Julia!” Sam shouted, running towards her new friend/sister. “How did you get here?” She took Julia’s shaking hands in hers.
Julia shook her head. “I… I don’t know. I don’t remember.”
“I’m terrified of what Reign could possibly be doing right now,” Sam admitted. “I hope Lena and everyone are safe.
“What do we do now?” Julia worried.
Sam clenched her teeth, and her eyes grew fierce with determination. “We have to figure out how to wake up. I am not about to let this bitch take over my life! I have a daughter who needs me, and a job that I’ve always dreamed of, a boyfriend who loves me and treats me right, and friends! For the first time in my life, I have friends. Like, real friends. Fuck Reign. This is my life!”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Reign smirked as she stared down at Lena. “Give it up. You’re never getting rid of me.”
Lena gave a wicked grin of her own. “Au contraire, my friend.”
Reign sneered at her. “Who taught you to speak Kryptonian?” she snarled.
“Who do you think?” Lena chuckled. “You’ve given me everything I needed. Thank you.”
“And you’ve given me everything I need as well,” Reign purred.
“Oh? How’s that?” Lena huffed.
Reign laughed, and suddenly the room was shaking in a terribly familiar way. A way that prevented them all from moving. Lena tried to reach for the button that would increase the Kryptonite IV drip, but she was frozen in place. She knew what was coming next. The scream from Purity once again shattered the glass around them, sending Lena flying back into the wall. Winn’s shield did its job protecting her from the impact, but the screams were still so ear piercing. It was painful. Oddly enough, Purity didn’t seem to be able to move herself. The Kryptonite must have been working to prevent her from acting out in combat or even to try to crawl away. Reign, on the other hand, stepped out of her cell and strutted over to Lena who was still struggling to try to move. She tried kicking Lena a few times, but every strike was rebuffed by the shield.
Eventually, Purity seemed to get irritated with this. “Enough!” she shouted. “Get the child!”
Reign turned and bared her teeth at the other Worldkiller, but she abandoned her attempt to hurt Lena and rushed out at super speeds.
Finally, the room stopped shaking, and Lena was able to turn Julia’s Kryptonite IV up to a higher level to keep her under control. Rokk and Reep ran in from the other room, shot Purity with a Kryptonite dart, and helped Lena to her feet. She immediately called Kara.
“Lena?” Kara answered. “We’re just getting ready to leave. Are you OK?”
“Reign is going after Ruby!” Lena practically shouted into the phone. “You have to get there and stop her!”
“Oh, Rao,” Kara huffed. “I’m on my way.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
About thirty seconds after Lena called her, Kara could hear the alarms from Maggie’s signal watch and the mansion’s security system. She was already on her way there with J’onn and Liin trailing behind her. When she was close enough to see the house, Kara’s heart nearly stopped. The twins were in the air above the mansion, trading blows with the Worldkiller. She pushed herself to fly faster, shouting at them when she got closer. “What in the hell do you kids think you’re doing?!”
Jessie took her eyes off of Reign to look over at Kara and took a blast of heat vision in the chest, sending her hurtling towards the ground in front of Maggie and Ruby who were stupidly standing out front, also hollering at the twins. Ruby screamed at Reign, afraid that Jessie was hurt, and suddenly, her eyes glowed red, and heat vision shot from her own eyes, hitting Reign square in the face. The blast knocked Reign’s facemask off and the Worldkiller flew to the ground, stalking towards Ruby like a predator gloating over its prey. “Well, well, well. Look who has powers.”
“Mom?” Ruby whimpered, eyes full of shock and horror.
Reign smirked and walked closer, “Now you die.” She pulled back to strike the girl, but Kara stepped in the way.
“No, you can't.”
“You would stop me?” Reign sneered.
“I don't have to. You have a code, a purpose,” Kara reminded her. “You fight against evil and you dispense justice. You're here to make a better world, one without sin in it. But this girl has not sinned. You can't kill her. You won't.”
Reign growled but didn’t try to make anymore moves forward. Finally, J’onn and Liin caught up to them, and they both fired Kryptonite darts at the Worldkiller, knocking her to the ground with a horrendous shriek.
“Mom!” Ruby sobbed. “Mom, what’s happening?” She held her hands to her ears and cried uncontrollably as J’onn and Liin hauled Reign up and took her away before she woke up again.
Kara ran to Ruby and pulled her close. “It’s OK, Ruby. It’s OK. It’s OK.”
“OK, seriously, what’s happening right now?” Jamie asked worriedly.
“Yeah, I’m confused,” Jessie added.
Kara sighed in resignation. “Sam is Reign,” she admitted. “She can’t control it, but she is.”
Ruby sobbed harder at the admission, and Kara held her tighter.
“So her split personality is Reign?” Jamie exclaimed. “Why didn’t you guys tell us?”
“Sam didn’t want you guys to know. She didn’t want you to be afraid of her,” Kara explained.
“But you’re going to fix her, right?” Jessie asked hopefully.
“Yes, we’re going to fix her,” Kara soothed, stroking Ruby’s hair. “We are not letting Reign take over. As a matter of fact, Liin and I were just about to go get something that should cure her.”
“You should go, then,” Maggie insisted. “I’ll take it from here.”
“OK,” Kara agreed. “Ruby, honey, it’s gonna be OK, I promise. We’re gonna save your mom. We all love her so much. We’re not going to let Reign win. Not ever.”
“Everything’s so loud!” Ruby whimpered.
Kara bit her lip in thought. “We can try a red sun band, but I’m not sure that it’ll work since it doesn’t work on Reign.”
“I wanna try it,” Ruby sniffled. “It hurts!”
Jessie disappeared and zipped back with her red sun band and put it on her girlfriend. “Here you go, baby.” She pressed the button to turn it on.
They waited a moment to see what would happen. “Squeeze my hand,” Kara told her.
Ruby squeezed Kara’s hand, and the grip was like a vice. “I don’t think it’s working,” Ruby whined, her hands still over her ears.
“Damn,” Maggie huffed. “Well, we’ll deal with this, Kara. You should go.”
“OK. OK,” Kara sighed. She kissed Ruby on the head a few times. “It’s gonna be OK. The girls can help you with this. Just hang in there.”
Jessie knelt down next to her girlfriend. “Come on, baby.” She put her arms around Ruby and lifted her to her feet. “Gosh, you got strong!” she exclaimed when Ruby grabbed a hold of her. “Let’s go inside. Try not to touch anything yet.”
“I love you guys,” Kara said, kissing them all. “I’ll be back soon.”
They gave her their love in return, and they went their separate directions.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Back at the DEO, the gang had transferred the Worldkillers yet again. Sam and Julia were now separated. Sam was on one side of the building and Julia was on the other side. Each was in a box-like thing that Lena and Winn built that had walls made by an unbreakable forcefield. They hoped it would keep them from escaping again.
When Kara arrived, she found Liin and the pair of them headed back to J’onn’s ship.
“Let’s go get us a rock,” Kara said, hopping into the passenger seat.
“Bangerang,” Liin replied, turning on the engine of the car/ship and pulling out of the storage unit.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“I always forget how beautiful it is this far out in space,” Liin mused.
Kara smiled. “It's perfect.”
The ship console chimed, and the ship slowed down.
“We're coming up on it,” Liin announced.
The pair got a good look at what was supposed to be a barren rock, but there was clearly a civilization living in a bubble on the “meteor.”
“What is that?” Kara exclaimed.
Suddenly the ship rocked, and a bright light shone on them.
“It's a tractor beam,” Liin surmised.
“Everything's locked up!” Kara worried.
“Thrusters, roll… Yaw and pitch. Nothing's responding,” Liin complained.
“What if we're not us?” Kara suggested.
Liin frowned. “What?”
“This ship can turn into other things,” Kara reminded him.
Liin chuckled. “Brainy's gonna be so sad he missed this.” He turned a dial on the “radio,” and the ship turned into an asteroid. The trick worked, and they were suddenly free of the tractor beam. Liin quickly landed the ship on the ground to escape detection.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Agent Schott, any word from Supergirl?” J’onn inquired.
“No, but we expected that,” Winn answered nonchalantly. “They're on the dark side, which means they're probably scraping off a nice chunk of space rock off a much larger piece of space rock any minute.”
“I need to know the second they're on their way back,” J’onn ordered.
“Well, I got the radio dialed up to 11,” Winn bragged. “Like, I re-tasked six military satellites to scan all airspace around the meteorite, and then I've just been obsessively checking that scan for, like, the faintest blip. I will not miss them.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
[TV HOST] “The cosmos. A tree of infinite branches flowering with stars…” The TV was on a very low volume so that it didn’t hurt Ruby’s ears, but it gave her something to focus on.
Maggie put her arm around Ruby and nudged her a bit. “Now, Supergirl is up there right now on a mission to find a substance that's gonna fix your mom.”
“There's so much nothing,” Ruby frowned. “What if she doesn't make it back in time?”
“She's called ‘Supergirl’ for a reason,” Maggie answered confidently. “She will, I promise.”
Ruby took a deep breath and let it out slowly before nodding in acknowledgement. “I hope she does.”
“Are you hungry?” Maggie asked. “I was planning on making enchiladas for dinner, and it’s about time to start making them.”
“I don’t want to break anything else,” Ruby said quietly. “But I can keep you company.”
“We’ll help!” Jessie volunteered. “Your enchiladas are, like, one of my top most favoritest things ever.”
“OK, let’s get to it then,” Maggie grinned.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Lena and Alex were at a standstill. The gene coding could only be adjusted by one person at a time, so they were taking turns at it, along with Eliza, who was currently the one hard at work. In just a few more hours, they would be finished with the cure. They weren’t sure what was taking Kara so long, but one way or another they would have a cure tonight.
“You want to look through Coville’s book some more?” Alex suggested.
Lena nodded. “OK. We might as well, while Sam is sleeping.”
The pair of them sat down side-by-side and rested the book on their baby bellies as they read. Besides the Rock of Yuda Kal, there was quite a lot of Kryptonian history that even Alex didn’t know. All creepy things aside, it was an interesting read.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“There's an entire city here!” Kara exclaimed. “How did we miss this?”
“We're on our own,” Liin commented.
“And powerless,” Kara complained.
Liin blew a little frost into the air. “Not me.”
Kara sighed. “Well, that’s a relief.”
Liin held his ring out, and a 3D map of the city projected out of it. “Looks like the Black Rock is about a mile into the city.”
“We better get moving before they find u-”
“Watch out!” Liin shouted, shoving her aside, so she didn’t get blasted by a laser that fired at them.
They ran as fast as they could away from the shooting. After a few minutes, when they couldn’t hear the lasers firing anymore, they slowed down. “I think we lost them, whoever they are,” Kara panted.
“We have other problems,” Liin pointed out as people started to notice them and to stare and whisper.
“They seem human,” Kara observed.
“At least we fit in,” Liin quipped, indicating their super suits, capes and all.
Kara scoffed, looking at their clothing compared to the others. “I'm not so sure about that.”
“We need to change,” he insisted. “Here.” He found a market stall that had local style clothing, and as the stall owner was distracted by her sick child, they grabbed a couple of robes and ran off. When they’d been walking a ways, he turned to his ancestor and asked, “You okay?”
“Yeah, just thinking how ironic this is. Donning disguises across the solar system seems to be my karma.”
“In the future, we follow your example and just live in the open. All Legionnaires do. There's no secret identities, no disguises. 24/7, I'm just me - Liin-El, from the Legion of Super-Heroes. But there's always a trade-off, isn't there?” He held out his ring again, displaying the map of the city. “Hmm. We're getting close. It's this way.” he pointed, and they walked for a while longer until they found a small building in the middle of the clearing. “The Black Rock is definitely in there.”
“Let's go,” Kara said, walking faster up to the little glass structure. As soon as she saw the writing on the walls, she frowned.
“Kara?”
“‘In honor of the souls lost in destruction. May their flames forever burn in Rao's light,’” she translated. “It's a Kryptonian memorial.”
“This is Krypton?” Liin asked.
“No,” Kara shook her head. “Argo.”
Suddenly, the pair was surrounded by a bunch of flying robots. “Don't move,” one of them said. “Identify yourself. Stay where you are. Do not move.”
“Stand down, caretakers,” a woman commanded. As she came into view, Kara couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Mom?” she gasped.
“Kara?” Alura said in disbelief. “Is that you?”
Kara nodded and hurried over to her mother, and both of them started crying tears of joy.
“How?” Kara pulled back to look at her mom. “How are you alive?”
“Your father created a shield to protect Argo when Krypton exploded,” Alura explained. “We would never have sent you away if we had known it'd work. I thought you were dead.”
Kara sobbed again.
“I don't understand,” Alura continued. “I saw your pod get knocked into the Phantom Zone.”
“I... I was stuck there for years, but somehow, my pod got loose, and I fell to Earth with Kal-El,” Kara explained tearfully.
“Kal made it? He's... He's alive?” Alura asked happily.
“He got there first,” Kara sniffled. “If I had known… If I knew Argo was here, if I knew you were alive, I never would have stopped searching for you.”
Alura huffed a laugh, then turned to look at Liin. “And you must be Kal-El,” she assumed.
“Oh, no, no,” Kara shook her head. “This is, um, well… This is Liin-El. He’s a descendant of mine from a thousand years from now, if you can believe it.”
“Oh!” Alura frowned in confusion for a moment before shaking it off and smiling brightly at him. “Well, any descendant of Kara’s is a descendant of mine,” she winked. “You are more than welcome here as well.”
“Thank you,” Liin grinned.
“If you didn't know I was alive, and you weren't searching for me, what brought you here?” Alura asked.
“Earth,” Kara replied. “Earth is in trouble. When Krypton exploded, the followers of Yuda Kal sent three pods after me, each with a Worldkiller.”
“A Worldkiller?” Alura gasped.
Kara nodded. “I stopped one of them, but two remain. Reign and Purity. They’re terrorizing Earth, hurting people I love, murdering indiscriminately. And we think we found something that could stop them, and we followed its radiation signature here.”
“Harun-El,” Alura said. “The Black Rock of Yuda Kal.”
“You know what it is?” Kara asked hopefully.
Alura nodded. Before answering, she took them into the little building which actually opened up to a set of stairs going down. When they reached the lower level, Alura turned and spoke again, “After the fallout, ashes and destruction poisoned the air. We had nothing to protect us as we hurtled through space. The young and the old were the first to become sick. They struggled in our new atmosphere, their lungs more vulnerable, more weak. But after the fallout passed, the shield kept our atmosphere more hospitable. It is what your father gave his life for. There was no more time. Argo was in constant darkness. We were running out of air. We were dying. Your father repurposed his unfinished research to create a livable environment. He believed that the Harun-El could act as a shield for the city, and he was right. His legacy keeps our air breathable, and shields us from invaders. It keeps us hidden.”
“That's why we didn't detect you in our scans,” Liin caught on. “Why there were no signs of life.”
“And why we can't get in touch with Earth,” Kara finished. “No signal can get out.”
“Exactly,” Alura confirmed. “We mined all the Harun-El left. All of it is here. And every ounce of it means one more moment of life. Because of that, we have none to spare.”
“There's gotta be a way,” Kara sighed. “We only need a little bit.”
“It is not mine to give,” Alura told them regretfully. “But I will call a meeting with the High Council.”
Kara smiled hopefully. “Thank you.”
Alura returned the smile. “It'll take a few hours to gather the members. In the meantime, I was hoping to get to know my daughter.”
Kara’s smile turned into a full on grin. “I’d like that.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Have you heard from Supergirl yet?” J’onn asked Winn.
Winn growled. “No. As I told Alex five minutes ago, and Maggie five minutes before that, and Lena five minutes before that, and Jessie five minutes before that. No. I haven’t heard from Supergirl yet. I will let you know when I do.”
“You seem stressed out,” J’onn stated the obvious.
“Do I seem stressed? Do I? Really? Oh, well, you know, I have been staring at a stupid computer monitor for about 36 hours. I haven't slept. Haven't eaten anything. Haven't even had time to go get my damn pizza bagel out of the microwave. All I've done is monitor about 10 million miles of outer space waiting for confirmation that Supergirl... Supergirl is on her way back to Earth with the Black Rock of Yuda Kal so we can finally stop and defeat Reign, and literally every five minutes someone calls for me to ask if I’ve heard from Supergirl.”
J’onn’s eyebrows nearly raised clear off his face. “OK then. Fair enough. I’ll leave you alone.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Winn grumbled.
J’onn left to go find Winn his pizza bagel. The tech was clearly hangry.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“I remember this flower!” Kara gasped as she entered her mother’s house. “This is a Dar-Essa. You kept one in my room when I was little.” She stuck her nose into one of the flowers on the tree in the center of the room.
“It was a gift from Grandmother for your first birthday,” Alura recalled.
“Yeah,” Kara remembered. “You used to measure it to see how tall it was. It was, um… Wasn't it supposed to…”
“Grow as you grew? Yes, she got it for you when you were so little, but you outsped the Dar-Essa,” Alura chuckled. “You grew so tall so fast.”
“I can't believe it survived the fall,” Kara said, sniffing the flowers again and relishing the nostalgic scent.
“It's strong, like you,” Alura smiled, but then faltered. “I feel as though I've let you down.”
“Mom…”
“No, please,” Alura begged. “I... I shouldn't have accepted that you died. I had always taught you to hope. But I gave up.”
“I could say the same,” Kara countered. “I gave up hope. I thought you had died with Krypton.”
“But here I am, and here you are,” Alura grinned, taking Kara by the hands. “So… tell me about your life. I've missed so much.”
“Uh…” Kara chuckled bashfully. “OK. Uh... I was taken in by this amazing family - the Danvers. Jeremiah, Eliza, um, a daughter, Alex.”
“A sister?” Alura grinned.
“Uh, no,” Kara chuckled again. “She's so much more than that. She's my wife. She's... She's amazing.”
“You’re wife?” Alura sounded pleasantly surprised.
“Yeah. Actually, I kinda, technically have three wives,” Kara admitted, looking at her boots.
“Three wives?” Alura gasped. “I didn’t know they allowed such a thing on Earth.”
Kara grimaced. “Well, they don’t really. I’m only legally married to one. Her name is Lena. And there’s Maggie who I’m not technically married to at all, but I still call her my wife. Alex is legally my adopted sister on Earth, but Kal performed a Kryptonian wedding ceremony for us when we were young because I accidentally got Alex pregnant.”
Alura blinked. “Wow, that’s a lot to take in all at once.”
Kara grimaced again. “Sorry. I know my life is a little crazy.”
“So let me start with the thing that just made me the happiest,” Alura suggested. “I have grandchildren?”
Kara beamed. “Yes. Two twelve-year-old girls - Jamie and Jessie - and four more on the way. Alex, Lena, and Maggie are all pregnant. “Alex and Maggie are each having a girl, and Lena is having twin boys. I’m so ridiculously happy, Mom. I can’t even express to you how happy I am.”
Alura smiled softly at her. “I’ll admit, it’s a little strange that you’re involved with three different women and got them all pregnant at the same time, but you’re clearly telling the truth about how happy you are, so who am I to argue?”
“Really? You’re not going to yell at me?” Kara checked.
“Maybe later,” Alura chuckled. “Right now, I’m just enjoying having my daughter back. What else should I know?”
“Um…” Kara thought for a second. “Well, Fort Rozz crashed on Earth.”
Alura frowned. “Fort Rozz was my deepest shame. The prisoners, they all survived?”
Kara nodded. “Astra survived. Non, too.”
“I've thought of her so much. I should've listened to her, but the way she did things was so…” Alura trailed off.
“Wrong,” Kara finished emphatically.
“Yeah.”
“She and Non tried to bring terror to Earth for a while, but she changed. Well… she was changing. Before she died,” Kara revealed sadly. “We gave her Kryptonian burial rites.”
“On Argo, we learn from Krypton's mistakes. We look to our past for edification. My mistakes were the biggest of all,” Alura admitted. “I sent so many to suffer at that prison without a second thought.”
“You just... You did what you thought was right,” Kara encouraged her.
“So did Astra,” Alura countered. “But I was wrong. It took losing you, losing everything, to learn that. Can you forgive me?”
“Of course I do. Of course.” Kara hurried to hug her mother tightly
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Liin made his way back into the market. After seeing who they were stealing from earlier, he’d insisted on bringing back the robes they’d stolen. When he spotted the woman and her sick son, he approached them politely. “Excuse me. My friend and I were in trouble earlier, and we needed to borrow these so we could, uh, fit in.”
“You mean you needed a disguise,” the woman chuckled. “The daughter of the great House of El back from the dead. That's all anyone could talk about today.”
“I'm afraid I don't have any money to pay you for these,” he apologized, holding the robes out to her.
“Oh, keep them. It's a gift,” she insisted. “It's my honor.”
“Well, perhaps I can give you a gift in return,” Liin offered. “Uh, your son, he has Thalonite lung?”
“Yes,” the woman replied. She turned and called the boy over, “Val?” Turning back to Liin, she told him, “Krypton eradicated the disease when I was still a child, but much was lost. This is Val.”
Liin knelt down in front of the little boy. “Hey, Val. I'm Liin. You may not believe this, but I'm actually... I'm from the future.” He pulled out a small metal disc from his pocket. “So is this… This is called a… You know what, it doesn't matter what it's called. What matters is that a really, really smart friend of mine, he made it. His name is Brainy, so it's gotta work, right?”
The little boy giggled.
“Can I see your arm for a second?” Liin asked.
The boy looked to his mom for confirmation.
“Yeah,” she said.
Liin pressed the disc into the boy’s arm. “It's a built-in size. It's a vaccine and booster. It'll automatically detect hostile cells and deploy antibodies. He should wear it for a week. And then, maybe you can find someone else who needs it, and give it to them.” He removed the boy’s breathing apparatus, and the kid took a deep breath and exhaled with a big smile. “See?”
The woman laughed in delight, “It's a miracle!”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Where have you been?” Kara asked Liin when he finally returned.
“Sightseeing,” Liin grinned. “You didn't need that disguise after all. You get to just be you here. Supergirl.”
“Not Supergirl. Kara Zor-El,” she corrected happily.
“Are you ready?” Alura asked them.
“Yes,”Kara confirmed.
The three of them walked to the Council Chamber where the High Council had gathered to meet with them.
“Allow me to introduce my daughter,” Alura said as they entered.
“Kara,” one of the women greeted her. “Welcome home.”
“Thank you,” Kara replied, stepping up into the center of the room. “Esteemed members of the High Council of Argo City. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”
“Alura is a pillar of our community, and a long-standing member of this council. We would be remiss in refusing her daughter an audience,” the woman announced.
Kara smiled gratefully.
“As you may know, Zor-El and I came up with a plan to save Kara during the dark days before Krypton's destruction,” Alura spoke up. “We didn't know that Argo could survive, and so we put Kara, our only child, into a pod and we sent her to Earth. Its people took her in. They saved her. And in exchange, she serves the people of her adopted home. She's a hero that embodies our greatest ideals. But unfortunately, Kara was not the only Kryptonian to travel to Earth.”
“Three Worldkiller followed,” Kara informed them.
“You must forgive our skepticism,” said one man. “You've been away a long time. Here on Argo, Worldkillers are the stuff of children's stories.”
“I too, was hesitant to believe that such a thing could be real, but I faced it,” Kara revealed. “They are real. And the worst of them, she calls herself Reign. I traveled here from across the stars because I could not defeat her myself, and Earth is in grave danger.”
“An unfortunate situation if true,” the woman replied. “But how can Argo be of help?”
“Indeed,” the man agreed. “We are a recovering city. Still limping, wounded from the trauma of destruction. We can't communicate outside our protective dome, let alone send troops or aid beyond its border.”
“It isn't troops we need,” Kara pointed out.
“Then what is it you seek?” the woman asked.
Kara looked to her mom for reassurance. When Alura nodded, Kara revealed her need. “A gift... Of Harun-El.”
The council was clearly shocked by her request.
“You would have us give away our most precious resource, our only lifeline, to an alien species?” the man asked incredulously.
“The people of Earth share our ideals,” Kara told them. “They're more like us than you realize.”
“Or perhaps you've become more like them than you realize,” he shot back.
“With all due respect, Councilman,” Alura interrupted. “The danger currently facing Earth is of Kryptonian making.”
“And I need not remind you, Alura, that Krypton is dead,” the man insisted. “Argo City is all that remains.”
“And yet the sins of Krypton live on in this Worldkiller,” Alura pointed out. “Can you abide this as our legacy?”
“This council does not concern itself with legacy, only survival,” the man huffed.
Alura was not to be dissuaded. “And what is the point of survival if there's no soul to save?”
“I agree with Jul-Us,” the woman spoke again. “His position is wise and thoughtful.”
“Your point is well-made that Krypton is dead,” Kara acknowledged. “But its legacy lives on. For good and ill. My own mother sentenced prisoners to Fort Rozz. Prisoners who broke free and took their anger out on Earth, many of whom we're still trying to apprehend. There are people on Earth who work every day to solve the mistakes of Krypton's past. People who are trying to make Earth fairer. Or just better. These people dedicate their lives to this work, and some have even given their lives to it. This planet, these… These people, they took me in. An alien immigrant from a world they knew nothing about. A world whose legacy threatened their way of life, and their safety, again and again, and again. And now, they deserve it in kind because their very existence is threatened by this Worldkiller of Kryptonian making. My mother tells me Argo City has changed, that it has learned from the mistakes of Krypton's past. So, I beg you. Give us the gift of Harun-El. We don't need very much. And this bit of charity, it will save Earth.”
“Well said, Kara Zor-El,” Jul-Us commended her. “But my concern is for those of us you left behind. I'm afraid we cannot spare the Harun-El. Who votes with me?”
Two more of the seven council members raised their hands.
“And those who believe we should help the people of Earth in their time of need?” Alura presented. She and another two council members raised their hands. Only one vote remained. “And how do you vote, Selena?”
“If this Reign is as strong as you say she is, are you sure this plan will work?” Selena asked.
“I am,” Kara said confidently.
Selena nodded. “We will give you what you seek.”
Kara beamed. “Thank you.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
After retrieving the Harun-El, Alura and Selena escorted Kara and Liin back to their ship.
“Argo was spared the fate of the rest of Krypton,but what value is our civilization if we don't use our stolen time to right the sins of the past?” Selena mused. “We must set an example for future generations, or else our survival means nothing.”
“Thank you,” Kara said for the hundredth time.
Selena nodded. “May Rao's light shine upon you.”
Liin stepped towards Alura, “It was a pleasure meeting you. I'm very fond of your daughter, my ancestor. As are many others on Earth, and across time. You should be very proud of what she's become.”
“I am,” Alura confirmed with a smile. Turning to Kara, she said, “It's amazing that something so small and unremarkable could hold the key to so much survival.”
“The last time I left you, I thought I'd never see you again,” Kara said tearfully. “I know better now.”
“Now go, save your friend. Earth is waiting for its hero,” Alura opened her arms to her daughter, and Kara rushed into them.
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, Kara.” Alura stayed there in the field and watched as Kara and Liin took off in their spaceship.
Kara waved at her until past the point of seeing her anymore. “Wow.”
Liin grinned at her. “Wow indeed.”