Capítulo 94: 94. A Little Visit
November 1-4, 2017 (pregnancy week 34/35)
Wednesday morning, Sam went back to work, Ruby went back to school, and Julia went back home to practice playing the guitar with her new powers so that she could go back to work too. Lena went to L-Corp to help Sam catch up on things in the office, and everyone else went back to business as usual. In the evening Sam and Douglas took the kids so that the Danvers parents could have some alone time. The foursome took full advantage, using their time to make love like the world was ending. They all needed it. It was great to reconnect in that way after going through so much stress.
Thursday night, the Danvers had Winn over for dinner to thank him for all his hard work in helping defeat the Worldkillers. Of course, Lyra was invited as well. It was really nice spending time with them outside of work for a change. They hadn’t done that in a while. They caught up on non-DEO things, and of course watched a Star Wars movie before the pair left with smiles on their faces.
Friday morning, Kara broached the subject of retrieving her mother again. “How would you guys feel about me going to talk my mom into coming back with me tonight?”
“I wanna come with you!” Jessie begged.
“Me too!” Jamie added just as excitedly.
Kara bit her lip. It would be fun to bring them along, but she would need to get someone to watch over her wives while she was gone. She was nervous enough thinking about leaving when her wives were so close to giving birth, but that’s why she desperately wanted her mom to come to Earth. “I’ll ask if Sam and Douglas and Eliza can watch over the mommies. If they can, I’ll bring you girls with me.”
“Yes!” the twins cheered.
“Kara, we don’t need a babysitter,” Alex complained. “We’re grown adults.”
“Yes, you do,” Kara and the kids answered back in unison.
“It’s going to be hard enough leaving you as it is this close to your due date,” Kara continued. “I’m not leaving you alone on top of that.”
Alex rolled her eyes. “Fine! I’ll ask my mom if she can stay with us after we get to work.”
“I’ll ask Sam at work as well,” Lena offered.
“Good. Now, the three of you raise your right hands,” Kara directed.
Maggie, Lena and Alex looked at each other in confusion.
“Come on,” Kara urged.
They raised their right hands.
“Now, repeat after me,” Kara told them. “I solemnly swear…”
“I solemnly swear…” the mothers-to-be repeated.
“Not to have a baby while you’re gone.”
They giggled, but obediently repeated, “Not to have a baby while you’re gone.”
“Good,” Kara nodded. “I’ll leave after dinner tonight.”
“Please take Liin with you again,” Alex requested. “At least he’ll have his powers. If we need backup, so do you.”
“OK. I will,” Kara agreed easily. “I’m so excited! My mom is going to love you guys so much!”
“I hope so,” Lena smiled at her. “Do you look as much like her as the twins look like you?”
Kara chuckled. “Oh yeah. Except, she has dark hair.”
“Ooh, really?” Alex perked up. “That means I still have a chance at having a dark-haired baby!”
The others laughed, knowing how much Alex wanted a baby that looked like her this time.
“Yes, my love, there is a good chance,” Kara grinned at her.
Alex wiggled happily in her seat.
The Danvers finished their breakfast and went about their day. Since there wasn’t any good Supergirl news, Kara was back to writing boring articles about city infrastructure and the like. Lena and Sam were almost caught up with the workload at L-Corp, and they were confident that once the new week started, Sam could handle things from there. That would leave Lena free to do whatever she wanted, which was to pair up with Winn at the DEO to work on a few things. Maggie was still relegated to doing paperwork at the precinct, and Alex was back to lab work at the DEO. As requested, Lena asked Sam, and Alex asked Eliza if they would stay until Kara got back. Of course, they agreed, and it was settled.
The day went off without a hitch, and everyone met back at the mansion after work. Jamie invited Cat and Carter over for dinner, so she could see her boyfriend before they left since Sam and Ruby were already there. Eliza volunteered to make dinner along with the kids, and they all had a nice meal together. When they were through, Kara and the kids gave hugs and kisses to everyone, promising to be back soon.
The twins were beyond excited to go on this trip. Not only were they looking forward to meeting their long lost grandmother, they were thrilled to get to go into space. They were also looking forward to practicing their Kryptonese. Kara had been teaching the whole family for months, and they were all getting pretty good. They were so excited, they chattered the whole way to J’onn’s space ship, wondering what everything was like on Argo, especially the food. When they saw that J’onn’s ship was ‘just a car,’ they were quite confused. Kara had to reassure them that it was indeed a spaceship. Then the twins got the bad news: No eating in the ship. After a few moments of whining, Kara convinced them to get in, promising that it wouldn’t be a long ride.
Once they were in the air, the girls watched in fascination as everything got further and further away. After they exited Earth’s atmosphere, Liin kicked on the FTL drive, and they were off. The flight was only an hour, so Kara and her family passed the time by singing along to J’onn’s music playlist. This time, when the tractor beam locked onto them, they allowed themselves to be pulled in, and were greeted by Selena and two other members of the council that Kara didn’t know their names.
“Kara Zor-El!” Selena beamed. “I hope all went well?”
Kara nodded emphatically. “Yes, it went splendidly. We actually didn’t need the Harunel at all.” She produced the bag of the precious stone. “It’s all here.”
Selena frowned in confusion. “You didn’t use it?”
“No,” Kara shook her head. “My team came up with another way.”
Selena raised her brow. “You must work with some brilliant minds.”
Kara grinned proudly. “The best.”
“And who are these precious souls?” Selena asked of the twins.
Kara put her arms around them. “Selena, these are my daughters Jamie and Jessie.”
The twins waved. “Hi,” they greeted the council woman cheerfully.
“Why hello,” Selena smiled welcomingly. “Twins, hmm?”
Kara nodded. “Yes, and we have another set of twin boys on the way back at home.”
“Wow! That’s incredible! Welcome to Argo, little ones,” Selena told them.
“Thank you,” they replied in unison.
“And Liin, it’s nice to see you again, young man,” Selena made sure to include all of them.
“Thank you, Selena,” Liin replied politely. “It’s nice to see you again as well.”
“Your mother should be arriving shortly,” Selena told Kara. “I took the liberty of contacting her when we realized the ship was you.”
“Oh, thank you,” Kara smiled.
“If you’d like, we can start walking and meet up with her,” Selena offered.
Kara nodded. “Yes, let's.” They only walked for a couple of minutes before Alura appeared before them. “Mom!” she called out.
“Kara,” Alura beamed, holding her arms out for her daughter.
Kara ran into her mother’s arms and hugged her tightly, and Selena and the other council members excused themselves.
“I take it everything went well with the Worldkillers?” Alura checked.
“Yes,” Kara replied. “We didn’t even end up needing the Harunel after all.”
“Good,” Alura smiled, staring at the kids. “Are these my granddaughters?”
Kara grinned. “Yes, these are my daughters Jamie and Jessie.”
Alura approached them reverently, a huge grin across her face. She touched their cheeks, and started to tear up. “Great Rao, you girls are so beautiful, and you look just like Kara when she was your age. May I hug you?”
The twins nodded and pulled her into their embrace. As soon as they were in her arms, they all four started crying.
“I missed so much of your lives,” Alura lamented. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s OK,” they assured her. “We’re just glad you’re alive, and we get to meet you.”
“Me too,” Alura sniffled.
“We came back to invite you to come stay with us for a while,” Kara explained. “The babies are due in just a few weeks, and I’d like you to be there for their births. Plus, my family really wants to get to know you.”
Alura sniffled again. “Kara, I would love that, but I’d have to get a few things together first. Can we leave tomorrow?”
“Yeah, that should be OK,” Kara grinned. “I’ve got people looking after my wives, but I’d like to get back as soon as possible.”
“Understandable,” Alrua nodded. “Shall we go back to my place?”
“Yeah,” Kara confirmed. “I’m sure the kids are hungry. They’re looking forward to trying new food.”
“Oh, excellent,” Alura chuckled. “I just made some treats today.”
The twins cheered.
“They’ve already had dinner, so something light will be just fine,” Kara informed her mother.
“Alright.” Alura led them back to her house and invited them all inside. She pulled out some little pastry-looking things and offered them to her guests, along with some green juice drinks.
“Mmm!” Jessie spoke with her mouth full. “This is great!”
“Mm-hmm!” Jamie agreed.
Alura smiled adoringly at them. “I’m glad you like it.”
“They’re big eaters,” Kara informed her mother, stealing a pastry. “Me too, honestly.” Her eyes rolled back in her head from the pleasure of eating Kryptonian food, especially this snack that her mother used to make for her all the time when she was younger. “Thank you. These bring me back a long time.”
“If I had known you were coming, I would have made more,” Alura chuckled.
“It’s OK,” Kara assured her. “They have more snacks in their bags, and like I said, they’ve already had dinner.”
“Do you like it, Liin?” Jessie asked. “You’re being really quiet.”
“Yes, I like it very much, thank you, Alura.” Liin smiled a little awkwardly.
“What’s wrong, dear?” Alura asked him.
“Nothing, really,” he shrugged. “I just… I kind of feel like I’m intruding on your family time.”
Alura took him by the hand. “Nonsense. You’re just as much our family as anyone.”
“Yeah!” Jessie agreed. “You’re like our nephew.”
Liin laughed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“So, why don’t you girls tell me a little bit about yourselves?” Alura suggested. “I want to know everything about you.”
“Um, well, we just got our powers this year, so we’ve been training how to use them, so when we get older, we can be heroes like Mama. They won’t let us do anything yet, though,” Jamie told her.
“I wouldn’t want you out there yet, either,” Alura admitted. “It can be dangerous. What else?”
“Well, we like singing and dancing and drawing and reading,” Jessie listed off. “And Mama Lena got us private tutors, so we could finish high school and go to college early.”
“Oh, smart girls!” Alura complimented them. “Just like Kara.”
The twins beamed at her. “Yeah, our mom is really smart too.”
“Which one is your mother again?” Alura checked.
“Alex,” Kara replied. “Her parents were the ones that took me in when I got to Earth.”
“I can’t wait to thank them,” Alura sighed. “There’s not enough thanks in this universe.”
“They're just going to be happy to be able to meet you,” Kara smiled reassuringly.
“And I, them,” Alura returned the smile and held Kara’s hand. “I’m excited to meet your family, Kara. Thank you for bringing your girls. This is a dream come true.”
Kara squeezed her mom’s hand. “Same here.”
“I’m sorry we have to wait to leave, but I have to get someone to watch the house, and I have to make sure I can leave work for a while. I don’t want people to think I went missing. It’s a bit too late to take care of those things tonight, so I’ll get everything set up, so I can leave tomorrow.
“That’s fine,” Kara assured her. “I’m sure my wives will be fine for a day.” She prayed to Rao with everything in her that they would be. She was confident that the people she’d chosen to look after them would do a great job, but she wasn’t 100% confident that her wives would behave themselves. It wasn’t that she was afraid they’d go off on their motorcycles or anything like that. It was more that she was afraid another rogue alien might attack, and her wives would get involved because Kara wasn’t there to do anything about it.
“I’m sure they will be,” Jessie nodded, not seeming to have any of the reservations that her Mama did.
The five of them chatted for a while longer, until the twins couldn’t stop yawning, telling the adults that it was time for bed. Alura pulled out some pillows and blankets, apologizing for only having one guest room, but Liin swore that he was OK with sleeping on the couch so Kara and the twins could take the bed.
As Kara laid in the bed with a kid on each side, she could tell by their fidgeting that they weren’t ready to fall asleep anytime soon. She put her arms out and pulled the kids into her to cuddle them, hoping it would help them settle down.
“Mama?” Jessie murmured.
“Hmm?” she replied.
“What should we call your mom? Grandma?” Jessie asked.
Kara pursed her lips in thought. “Well, she would probably like it if you called her ‘Grandmother.’ That’s the Kryptonian word for it.”
“Grandmother,” the kids repeated the word a few times to get the feel for it.
“Good,” Kara said, kissing them each on their foreheads. “I know you’re excited, but try to get some sleep.”
“OK, Mama,” they replied with a yawn.
She hummed their favorite nighttime songs until their heartbeats settled into sleep.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The next morning, the twins wanted Kara to take them sight-seeing around the city. After eating a very enjoyable breakfast of strange fruits, meats and breads, they dragged her and Liin out of the house while Alura went off to put her affairs in order so she could come stay with them.
“It feels amazing to be normal,” Kara grinned as they walked towards the market. “I'm actually relieved I can't fly. No one to save. Do you hear that undetectable sound in the distance?”
“No,” the kids answered.
“Exactly.”
“Liin!!” a little boy called out.
“Oh, hey!” Liin greeted the child. “How you feeling, buddy?”
“Good,” the boy replied with a cute little smile.
“Yeah? Hey, Kara, Jessie, Jamie, this is Val,” Liin introduced him.
“Hi!” the twins grinned.
“Nice to meet you,” Kara waved at him. “New friend?”
“Liin saved his life,” Val’s mother told them. “Healed him with the device from his belt.”
“It's a development from the future,” Liin explained.
Kara nodded and smiled proudly. “Saving people without telling me, hmm?”
“I can't thank you enough,” the mother gushed.
The twins hugged Liin from each side to express their appreciation for him.
“I’m Ledna Jal-Danth,” the boy’s mother introduced herself. “It’s so nice to meet you, Kara Zor-El. And these must be your children?”
“It’s nice to meet you too, Ledna,” Kara replied with a friendly grin. “Yes, these are my daughters Jamie and Jessie.”
“Hi!” the twins greeted her excitedly.
“Hello, little ones,” Ledna beamed at them. “Are you enjoying yourselves?”
The twins nodded. “Yeah, this place is amazing!” Jessie bounced happily on her toes.
“Well, this is pretty amazing for me as well,” Ledna replied. “I’ve never met twins before.”
“Our Mama Lena is having twin boys soon too!” Jamie informed her.
Ledna’s eyes widened. “Wow! That’s incredible!”
Suddenly, there were three enormous pillars flying through the air at them. Liin quickly got the group out of the way, but Ledna’s cart was destroyed. Kara looked around them to see how it had happened, but the only strange thing she saw was a woman in a hood staring at her before turning and running away. One look at her daughters proved they saw the woman as well, but the woman was too far away for them to run after her without their powers.
The peace officers showed up to investigate, along with Alura. Kara’s mother found them immediately to check on them. “Are you all OK?” she worried.
“Yes, we’re fine,” Kara assured her. “Although I can’t say the same for the market stalls.”
“We’ll take care of it,” Alura promised. “We all help each other out around here.”
“That’s wonderful,” Kara replied. “I wish Earth was more like that, but there it’s more like every man for himself.”
“That’s unfortunate,” Alura frowned.
One of the peace officers approached the group. “I'm so sorry. Usually, our construction sites are up to code, but it turns out, this one hadn't been inspected yet.”
“Thara?” Kara squeaked in surprise.
The peace officer gasped. “Kara! Oh my gosh! Wow! It's really you!”
“Thara! Oh, great Rao! It’s so good to see you!” Kara exclaimed.
“Likewise!” Thara replied excitedly. “We all thought you were dead. The ceremony broke my heart. I can't believe my eyes.”
“Neither can I,” Kara agreed. “Your parents, your brother?”
Thara shook her head. “I'm the only one who survived.”
Kara’s face fell. I'm so sorry, Thara.”
“I've recovered,” Thara shrugged. “And with you, it's a miracle. You've lived on another planet all these years, a planet where you can fly?”
“Yes. Uh…” Kara chuckled awkwardly. “There's so much to tell you.”
“We'll have to climb up onto the roof, fill each other in,” Thara suggested.
“I would love that, but we’re not staying long,” Kara informed her.
Thara pouted. “Oh. That’s unfortunate. Wait. We?”
Kara grinned. “Thara Agfar, these are my daughters Jessie and Jamie,”
Thara blinked. “Wow! Hello, it’s so nice to meet you. Are you two twins?”
The twins waved and nodded. “Yeah, and we have twin boys coming too,” Jamie filled her in.
“Whoa! That’s incredible!” Thara gasped.
“Yeah, I want my mother to come back with us, so she can be there when the babies are born,” Kara explained. “That’s why we’re here.”
“Oh, I see,” Thara nodded.
“And this is Liin of the Legion of Superheroes. He’s one of our descendants from the future,” Kara introduced him.
“Hi, it's just like a space police,” Liin chuckled.
“The future?” Thara frowned in confusion. “How in the world?”
Kara chuckled. “It’s a long story.”
“Well, Thara is in law enforcement as well,” Alura told them. “She's Chief Peace Officer on Argo.”
Thara nodded. “Times have been peaceful ever since we resettled, thanks to Alura and the work of the High Council.”
“Well, we all play our part, but Thara has really stepped up,” Alura praised.
“So, you think this was an accident?” Kara asked.
Thara frowned. “Of course.”
“Why? What do you think it was?” Alura inquired.
Kara pursed her lips in thought. “I'm not sure. Um... I saw someone after it fell... running away.”
“It could've been anyone,” Thara chuckled.
“It's just, in my life, nothing happens for no reason,” Kara continued. “There are no accidents.”
“That’s on Earth,” Alura reminded her.
“Do you think you could look into it further?” Liin requested.
Thara nodded. “Of course. We'll get right on it.”
“Thank you,” Kara sighed.
“I'll see you later then?” Thara asked.
“Yes!” Kara confirmed.
“Of course,” Liin added.
Thara waved goodbye and headed back to work.
“Are you sure you're alright?” Alura checked.
“Yeah,” Kara nodded. “Yeah, we're fine.”
“OK,” Alura replied. “I’m going to get back to the council. I need to finish up a couple of things. Are you going to be OK?”
“We’re fine,” Jessie waved her off. “Do what you’ve got to do.” The twins and Kara hugged Alura before the matriarch headed off.
When her mother was gone, Kara looked to Liin, “Do you think I'm being paranoid?”
Liin shook his head. “If I've learned anything, it's that your instincts are usually spot on.” He took off his Legion ring and handed it to her. “I think you should take this.”
“No, Liin, don't…”
“It's just in case,” he insisted. “It will allow you to fly.”
Kara sighed and accepted the ring, “Thank you.”
They spent a few more hours wandering around the city, with Kara pointing out landmarks and telling them little histories that she remembered. Liin and the kids were fascinated. When they started getting hungry again, they returned to Alura’s home where she and Thara were waiting for them.
“There you are,” Alura stood up and hugged them. “I figured you would come back looking for food, so I invited Thara to dine with us.”
“That’s wonderful, thank you,” Kara beamed.
“We’d like to take you to Kehm A-kun’s restaurant. It’s fabulous,” Thara informed them. “Shall we?”
The twins’ eyes widened, and they looked at Kara with excitement.
Kara grinned. “That sounds great.” She’d never heard of the place before, but she couldn’t resist letting the kids experiment with new food.
“Alright, let’s go,” Alura grinned and waved them towards the door. “It’s not far.”
As they walked, Thara spoke up, “I spoke with the owner of that construction site. The pillar fell because of a part they were having trouble with in the past.”
Kara frowned. “I see.” When she surreptitiously peeked at her children, she saw the concern in their eyes, but without any evidence of foul play, she’d just have to get over it for now. She plastered a smile on her face as best she could, and forced herself to make conversation. “So tell me about your life, Thara.”
Thara grinned, “Uh… My husband’s name is Lir-Al and we have two kids. A boy and a girl, both strong Alphas. And three grandchildren.”
Kara stopped in her tracks, eyes nearly bugging out of her skull. “Okay, we really need to catch up!”
They talked about their lives growing up, but Kara deliberately left out the part where she had three wives, and the twins were gracious enough to stay silent on the matter. It was so strange knowing that her old friend was so much older than her. Twenty-four years in the Phantom Zone never felt so long in her life, but it was still a great feeling to reconnect.
In the middle of their meal, Kara spotted a woman looking into the window at them. It was the same woman from earlier. “Uh, excuse me.” She got up and hurried outside, yanking the woman’s hood off of her head. “Hey! Hey! You were at the marketplace earlier. I saw you. Are you spying on me?”
Thara came running out of the restaurant behind them. “Kara, what's going on?”
“She was there right after the crane fell,” Kara accused.
“It's not true,” the woman replied. “I wasn't there.”
“I know what I saw! Why do you want to hurt me? Tell me!” Kara growled.
“She's crazy. I did nothing,” the woman said softly.
“You're lying,” Kara spat. “Now, you're gonna tell me who you are, and what you want with me, or I promise you, you will regret it.”
“Kara, enough,” Thara sighed. “Felra, go home,” she said to the woman. Turning back to Kara, she said, “Her husband owns the grocery. I've known her for years. She would never hurt anyone, let alone somebody she's never met.”
Kara blew out a frustrated breath.
“Come on, let’s finish our lunch,” Thara insisted. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
Kara nodded and followed her old friend back to their table. “Sorry,” she muttered.
“It’s going to be OK, Kara,” Thara said again. “I understand your life on Earth is rather dangerous, and it’s probably a little hard to decompress, but you’re safe here. No one is going to hurt you.”
Kara wasn’t so sure, but she nodded and kept her mouth shut just to keep the peace. They all finished eating, and Thara had to get back to work, so she gave Kara a big hug and said goodbye to them all. Alura informed them that she had just a few more things to wrap up before she was ready to leave, and she suggested that her family take a walk in the city garden while they had the chance. It was supposedly the best garden in all of Argo.
Kara and the fam thought that sounded like fun, so they parted ways for hopefully the last time of the day, and the group headed towards the giant greenhouse in the distance. When they arrived, they were all in awe. The plant life was as wild and exotic as any of them had ever seen, and the beauty of it all nearly overwhelmed them. Kara even got a little teary-eyed at seeing the nature of Krypton once again.
“It’s so strange being here,” Kara wondered aloud. “I’ve lived on Earth for longer than I lived on Krypton, so this place just feels so surreal. Like something out of a dream.”
“I’ve been to a few different planets, but this place is incredibly beautiful,” Liin agreed.
The twins concurred whole-heartedly. They bounced and flitted around, touching and smelling everything. Their fascination filled Kara with so much emotion that tears streamed down her face, despite the fact that she was smiling. Liin put his arm around her, and she leaned into his touch as they watched the twins together.
The next thing they knew, a security robot was flying at them with seemingly sinister intentions. Kara grabbed Liin and the kids and flew away from the robot until it collided with the greenhouse ceiling, exploding into pieces. On the ground was the same woman from before - ‘Felra’ Thara had called her. Kara flew down and blocked the woman from running away, then called Thara right away.
When Thara arrived, along with a few other peace officers, she was distraught. “I defended you earlier, and now you try to kill the daughter of the House of El? After everything Alura and Zor-El have done for the survival of this city, how could you betray that?”
Felra looked completely unruffled. “We are the daughters of the night, children of Juru, the deliverance of all Krypton. And Selena is our high priestess.”
“Selena?” Kara repeated. “But she wanted to help me defeat Reign.”
“Nothing is as it seems,” Felra smiled.
Thara’s Kryptonian version of a phone chimed an alert. “It's your mother,” she told Kara. Then to the other peace officers, she said, “Arrest her. We have to go.”
Apparently, Alura was at the ship welcoming center, so that’s where Thara took them. When they arrived, Kara could see why. “Where is the ship?”
“It's gone,” Alura replied, concern etched into her face.
“Look,” Liin pointed as they got closer. There was Reign’s symbol burned into the ground where J’onn’s ship had been.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“This is Selena's house,” Alura informed them. “There must be a back way in.”
Kara spotted a panel that had handprints all over it. “Or a hidden way.” She pressed her hand against the panel, and a door slid open with a beep. The group followed her inside what Kara could only call an evil lair. The atmosphere was creepy and dark, and gave her the hibijibis.
“It's an atlas of the Earth,” Alura pointed out, picking it up and examining it.
Kara followed, looking over her shoulder for a moment before spotting a large book off to the side. She read through a bit of it before gravely speaking, “I've seen these writings before… in Coville's journal. They're instructions.”
“Instructions for what?” Thara asked, looking at it as well.
“For making Worldkillers,” Liin frowned deeply.
Kara summarised her reading, “Seems the Daughters of Juru created Reign, Purity, and Pestilence years ago on Krypton and sent them to Earth, and now, they're following.”
“We have to find a way to let the DEO know that Selena's headed back to Earth!” Jessie exclaimed.
Thara shook her head. “Our protective dome makes communication impossible.”
“There has to be something here that can help us,” Liin looked around the room, and the others did the same.
“Kara, do you recognize this?” Thara asked, holding up a scabbard.
Kara read the writing on it. “‘Whoever wields this sword shall bathe in the blood of the old worlds, and reign with might over the new.’”
“It's an ancient religious text,” Alura told them. “According to lore, the scabbard holds the sword of Juru.”
“It would appear the sword is real, and missing,” Liin observed.
“Kara, look,” Alura held up a small crystal.
Kara perked up. “Is that a hologram crystal?”
Alura nodded. “Yes.” She set it down to activate it, and Selena’s image appeared.
“Hello, Alura,” the hologram spoke. “I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye. I was in a rush.”
“You may have left Argo, but you will never be able to escape yourself, Selena,” Alura said vehemently. “Your shame will follow you on any planet.”
“It is you who should feel shame,” Selena spat back. “You, who are responsible for the death of Krypton, you who are unrepentant.”
Alura frowned. “I lost my home, just as you did. I lost my husband. I thought you and I had been rebuilding our culture together.”
Selena sneered. “Our culture? For years, I've been biting my tongue, masquerading as one of you, while my culture has been forced into the shadows, deemed unworthy.”
“Then why did you give us the Harun-El?” Kara wanted to know.
“My sisters and I have waited patiently for the Worldkiller to rise and make the Earth habitable for our people. It was supposed to happen long ago, but the human in Reign proved strong. Reign and Samantha Arias have to be separated. I’m going to have to do it myself, but that matters not. Only one of them will survive the split. How quaint that you thought it should be the human.”
“Sam is alive and Reign is dead. I saw the proof,” Kara growled.
Selena chuckled. “You're naive, just like your mother, if you thought that is what happened.”
“And you're naive if you think the people of Earth won't find a way to stop you,” Liin hissed.
Selena shook her head. “It is not I who will need to be stopped, it is Earth herself.”
“What do you mean?” Kara asked.
“Reign is the spark that ignites the eruptions,” Selena informed them gleefully. “Seismic catastrophes that would wipe out all humans and terraform the Earth. It's almost a pity, really, that you won't be around to see it.”
A sudden beeping noise alerted Kara to danger. “We have to get out of here. It's a trap!” But it was too late. The bomb Selena left was activated, and the room exploded around them, causing all sorts of rubble and debris to fall on them. Kara managed to avoid most of it, and ran around the room checking to make sure everyone was OK. Everyone was on the ground, so she reached for the closest person. Her mother was a little dazed and dirty, but she got up on her own and started helping Kara check on people. She shook Jamie awake, and cradled her in her arms. “Are you OK, baby?”
Jamie blinked a few times before muttering, “That hurt.”
“I know, baby, I’m so sorry,” Kara sniffled. She kissed her daughter on the head and checked her eyes. They looked OK, but without her powers, she couldn’t be sure Jamie was 100%.
Alura called out to her from the doorway, kneeling next to Thara, “Kara! We need to get her help.”
Liin shoved the rubble off of himself before Kara could get to him. Noticing that Jessie was next to him, he cleared the debris from off of her body and then shook her to wake her up. She let out a howl. “Jessie? What’s wrong, honey?” he exclaimed.
“My leg!” she wailed. “It hurts so bad!” Tears streamed down her crimson face.
Liin gently picked her up and held her in his arms, trying not to jostle her too much. “OK, honey, I’ve got you. Just hold on. We’re gonna get you guys some help.”
Jessie squeezed him around the neck and cried into his shoulder.
“I’ve got you, honey. I’ve got you,” he continued to soothe her.
Alura was already on her phone with the emergency services, and they didn’t have to wait long for the medics and peace officers to show up. The first responders were amazed at the secret lair that Selena had built in her home, but they were quick to attend the kids and Thara, taking the group back to the hospital to be examined.
Thara had a few internal injuries and a concussion, and had to be admitted. Jamie had a few scrapes and bruises, but nothing serious, and they confirmed that Jessie’s leg was broken, but nothing else was seriously wrong with her. Kara was as upset as she could be, but she tried to keep it together to prevent everyone from worrying. They would figure this out, and once they got home, Jessie’s leg would heal in a couple of days.
“Selena couldn't have known I was going to come back after she gave me the Harun-El,” Kara mused. “She had to have another plan to get to Earth. Are there any other ships on Argo?”
Alura shook her head. “No, they were all destroyed, and we've rebuilt nothing.”
“What about the Legion?” Kara asked Liin. “Can you call them with the emergency beacon?”
“Uhh… Unfortunately, the beacon didn't survive the explosion,” he pulled the mangled remains out of his pocket.
“All your father wanted to do was save us all,” Alura seemed to be thinking aloud. “He built this dome. He saved Argo. He was looking for another way, but he never got it completed in time. Maybe that's what Selena was planning on using. She knew it existed, she had years to get it working.”
“Get what working?” Kara asked hopefully.
“The transmat portal,” Alura explained. “Your father had been developing it to get every Kryptonian off the planet before it exploded. But he failed.”
“Where's the portal now?”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Father's lab,” Kara breathed out in awe as the group entered. “I can't believe it's still here. I spent so many afternoons with him here, watching him work. Sometimes, when he was working on a problem, he'd use me as a sounding board. He talked to me like I was another scientist. He'd make me feel like the most important person that ever existed.”
“The portal doesn't look so bad,” Liin stated as he looked it over. “Selena and her witches had it mostly working.”
“Even if we get it up and running, we'd need another portal to transport to,” Alura pointed out.
“They have one in the DEO. We just have no way to contact them,” Kara sighed. “Are there any crystals here? I mean, maybe we can contact them the way we did Selena.”
“All he had were these,” Alura held up a small crystal. “Kryptonian cache crystals, like the ones I put in your pod.”
“I've seen those in the DEO,” Liin said hopefully.
XXX
Winn was wandering through the DEO when his computer spoke, “Alert. AI room engaged.”
“Whoa, whoa!” he exclaimed. “That... that's weird.” He walked to the room that housed Kara’s mother’s AI, punching in the code to get in. When he got there, there was nothing there. “Okay…” He turned around and Alura’s hologram was standing in front of him, startling the bejesus out of him. “Oh, God, no. No! Oh, you're creepy. AI malfunction. Okay. Be gone.” He turned the AI off with his tablet, but it popped right back up again. “Whoa! Will you stop, please? You're fully wigging me out.”
“Winn?” the hologram spoke. “Winn, it's Kara. I need your help.”
Winn frowned. “Okay, not only are you now appearing at will, you are fully schizophrenic.”
“Winn, Winn, listen to me,” Alura/Kara said. “I am using cache crystals on Argo City to reach you. It is the only way we have of communicating from under the dome. I know I sound like Alura, but it's Kara. My mom and the kids and Liin are with me. We're stranded on Argo. Sam's in trouble, and we believe that the Kryptonian witches are after her.”
“Alex!” Winn hollered at the top of his lungs.
XXX
“Kara, is that really you?” Alex asked.
“Yes. Alex, this is an emergency!” Kara huffed.
“No, I feel like we need to give her a test or something,” Winn wavered. “Like something only Kara would know. What was the name of your first pet?”
“Streaky!” Kara replied.
Winn shook his head. “No, no. That's too easy. Everybody knows that.”
“Alex!” Kara whined.
“Winn, shut up,” Alex snipped. “Okay, tell me what's going on,” she said to Kara.
“Dark Kryptonians stole our ship and flew to Earth. It turns out the Harun-El we were going to use to kill Reign and save Sam was supposed to split them apart. Since we didn’t use it, the witches want to use it on Sam. They’re sure Reign is still in there somewhere, dormant, not gone. The Dark Kryptonian witches want to split her and use her to terraform the Earth, turning it into a new Krypton.”
“OK,” Alex nodded. “Tell me you have a plan.”
“Liin and the kids and I need to get back to Earth. Father has a transmat portal, but we need to make it work,” Kara explained.
“Transmat portal?” Winn perked up. “OK, I can help you set yours up, then we will get ours working, and then we can interface them, yes? And you are Kara, right?”
“Yes!” Kara hissed.
“Yes. I knew that. I knew that,” Winn chuckled.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“OK, so we should really be able to talk now,” Winn bragged after having gotten a large portion of the transmat portals working.
“I just need a few minutes to route the power from Argo's main grid,” Liin replied.
“OK. Do you see a multi-phase descrambler which links to a power source?” Winn checked.
“Uh, yeah, but the insulator is cracked,” Liin said in frustration. “Which means as soon as we go through the portal, the circuits will fry, which makes it a one-way trip.”
“Well, hey, I mean, at least you don't really have any need to go back to Argo City anytime soon, right?” Winn shrugged, even though the Legionnaire couldn’t see it.
“True, but it would be for the best if we could get it working again in the future,” Liin mused. “That way Alura and Kara can come and go as they please.”
“You’re right,” Winn areed. “I’ll put that on my to-do list. I’m sure once Lena starts working here, she’ll have no problem helping out with that.”
Liin chuckled. “Well, she does have experience with portals.”
“Oh, yeah, hey, you’re right,” Winn remembered. “I almost forgot about that. There’s always something going on.”
While the girls were waiting for Liin and Winn to finish interfacing the portals, a thought occurred to Kara. She hadn’t been hurt by the explosion because of the shield built into her new suit. “How did you kids get hurt in the explosion? Your shields should have protected you.”
The twins peered sheepishly through their eyelashes at her. “We didn’t think we’d need them,” Jessie admitted.
Kara sighed and kissed them on the heads. “Let’s never make that assumption again, hmm?”
The twins nodded.
Finally, the portal in Zor-El’s lab phased on. “It worked!” Liin announced. “Portal's on. Now just fire it up and bring us home,” he told Winn.
“Alright,” Winn replied. An alarm at the DEO alerted them to something wrong, and the portal fizzled out.
“Winn?” Kara called. “Winn, what happened?”
“You guys, I think the Dark Kryptonians are here,” Winn whispered to them.
XXX
“We were drawn by the blood of our fallen Worldkillers,” Selena announced. “Hand it over, and we won't spill yours.”
Alex turned to Demos, “Get the blood. It's in the lab. Destroy it.”
“You got it,” Demos obeyed, running upstairs to Alex’s lab.
“Didn't they teach you how to knock on Krypton?” Alex barked, shooting each of the witches with Kryptonite bullets.
The witches screamed in agony, falling to the ground. “Find the blood of our sisters,” Selena ordered. The two sidekicks flew off in different directions, making it impossible for Alex to catch them. However, J’onn was there with a pair of Kryptonite handcuffs and slapped them on Selena.
Selena howled in agony and rage. “You can’t stop us! No one can!”
“We’ll see about that,” J’onn quipped.
XXX
“Hello? Hello? Liin, can you hear me?” Winn called.
“We’re here!” Liin called back.
“Listen, listen, we have three Kryptonians that have just attacked us. We really need you guys to come back like ASAP. Oh, snap!” He spotted one of the Kryptonian witches behind him.
“Winn?” Liin called. “Winn, are you still there?”
“Hi, there,” Winn chuckled awkwardly at the witch. She shot him with her heat vision, but his shield blocked it. “A-ha!” he laughed triumphantly.
The witch growled and picked him up by the throat, throwing him against the wall. He wasn’t hurt, but he played dead long enough for the witch to go somewhere else.
XXX
“We need to know what's going on there,” Liin punched a few buttons on the console.
“Let me try,” Kara requested, stepping up and pushing a few more buttons. An image of the DEO appeared over the console. “This is the hologram's point of view.”
“Okay, now we know what's going on,” Liin nodded. “Can you get their portal online?”
“I'm trying,” Kara replied. She walked the hologram over to Winn’s portal console, but the hologram’s hand went right through it. “That's not good.” She used the hologram to look around her and spotted one of the witches walking past the door. She walked the hologram into the hallway and called out, “Vita!”
“Alura?” the witch replied. “How did you survive?”
“I'm faster than I look,” Kara spoke through the hologram and walked back into the room with the portal. “She took the bait,” Kara whispered to her family.
XXX
Demos crept into Alex’s lab, staying low out of view. Slowly, he reached up and grabbed the vials that still contained Worldkiller blood.
“I see you found the blood of our sisters,” One of the witches purred behind him. Suddenly, the witch let out a scream and fell to the ground.
“Yeah, Kryptonite bullets,” Alex boasted. She shot the witch again, just for the sheer satisfaction, and allowing J’onn to cuff her with another set of Kryptonite handcuffs. “Demos, run!” Alex shouted, knowing the other witch was still loose.
XXX
“I'm surprised Selena kept you,” Kara taunted the witch Vita through her mother’s hologram. “You were never very smart.”
“What did you say?” Vita growled.
Kara repeated, “You were never very smart.”
Vita hauled back and tried to punch Alura, but her hand went right through the hologram and punched the portal console instead, turning the machine on.
As quickly as he could, Liin scooped the twins up and followed Kara and Alura through the portal back to Earth and the DEO. As soon as they were through, the portal fizzled out and died, but it was fine. They knew that would happen. Kara punched the lights out of Vita, leaving her lying on the floor in a daze.
“Welcome to Earth,” Kara grinned at her mother.
Liin set Jamie on her feet. Now that they were back in earth’s atmosphere, she was already healed of her bumps and bruises. Jessie would still need a couple of days for her leg to heal, so Liin just kept the girl in his arms until they figured out what was going on. Kara hauled Winn to his feet, then yanked Vita up by her arm and dragged her along with them as they hurried to the DEO control room.
On the other side of the room, Demos was running down the stairs, looking frantic.
“He has the blood!” Selena called out to Vita.
Demos paused in indecision before throwing the vials up in the air towards Kara. At the same time, the three Kryptonian witches blasted him with their heat vision. Kara caught the blood vials, watching powerlessly as the power of the three beams shorted out Demos’ shield, and he fell to the ground with a sickening sizzling sound.
“No! No!” Everyone screamed as they watched, but no one could have seen it coming. No one could have stopped it. For a moment everyone just stood there in shock.
Selena chuckled. “She actually cares for these humans. One would have thought that The Girl of Steel would know that caring makes you weak. Give me the blood.”
Vita reached out towards Kara, but Alex was having none of it. She shot the witch three times, sending her to the ground, screaming in agony. “What is this devilry?!”
J’onn slapped a pair of Kryptonite cuffs on her, and tossed her aside with the other two.
Kara looked at the vials of blood in her hand. “Jessie?” she held out her hand. “Blast it.”
Jessie looked away from Demos and blinked before registering what Kara had said. She clenched her jaw and angrily blasted the vials with her heat vision.
“No!” the witches howled in rage. They tried to use their heat vision on a few more people, but they were unsuccessful in harming anyone else.
“Take them away,” J’onn ordered his agents. “We’ll deal with them later.”
“You will rue the day you crossed me, Kara Zor-El!” Selena cursed as she was dragged off.
“Yeah, yeah,” Kara rolled her eyes. “Get in line.”
Now that Selena and her friends were taken care of, everyone’s focus was on Demos. Winn was the first to approach his friend’s body to check for a pulse. When he shook his head, they all felt the tears coming. No one had expected that Winn’s shields might not protect him, and it was a devastating shock to them all that this had happened.
The twins were especially affected. They’d never witnessed anyone die before. True, they didn’t know him very well, but it was still traumatic. Kara took Jessie from Liin and held her, while Alex wrapped her arms around Jamie. J’onn slowly approached Winn and wrapped the tech in his big arms, letting Winn cry on his shoulder. There were quite a few other teary-eyed agents around them, and the only people doing anything but staring were the medics who had just appeared, Eliza and Dr. Hamilton among them.
When it was clear there was nothing they could do, Eliza approached her family. “I’m so sorry.”
Her girls hugged her sadly.
“Attention everyone!” J’onn called out. “We will have a memorial ceremony for our dear friend tomorrow at 2pm sharp. I expect everyone in attendance.”
That seemed to wake people up a bit, and the crowd started stirring, cleaning up debris from the fight and getting back to their jobs.
“I think Winn is taking this extra hard,” Kara worried, seeing his distraught face. Still carrying Jessie, she approached her friend.
“I was supposed to protect him,” Winn said, voice quivering. “I failed, and now he’s gone.”
Kara pulled him into her free arm and hugged him as tightly as she dared. “It’s not your fault, Winn. Demos got hit by three heat-vision blasts at once. Nobody could have predicted that.”
“You know, for just a second, you guys really had me believing that I could change the world,” Winn muttered angrily.
“Winn, just stop, okay?” Alex broke in. “A lot of people would have died today if it wasn't for your technology. I mean I would've died a hundred times over if it wasn't for you.”
Winn simply frowned, and Jessie put her hand on his shoulder. “This doesn’t make you any less of a hero, Winn. Sometimes bad things happen, but it’s not your fault. We still love you more than ever.”
Kara was so proud of her daughter, especially when she saw Winn’s face soften a little.
“Thanks, kiddo,” he said gratefully, picking her hand off his shoulder and kissing the back of it. “I love you guys too… Um… Why are you being carried?”
Kara scowled. “Selena set off a bomb on us back on Argo. She broke her leg.”
Winn looked pissed again. “Fucking bitch.”
Everyone’s eyebrows raised at that. Winn was never one to use that kind of language, especially in front of the kids.
“I’ll be OK, Uncle Winn,” Jessie assured him. “Mama said I’ll be all better in a couple of days.”
“Jamie, are you OK?” Winn checked.
“I am now,” Jamie promised. “I didn’t get that hurt to begin with.”
Alura cleared her throat behind them.
“Oh! Guys, this is my mother Alura!”
The others gasped.
“Mom, this is Winn…”
“Hello.”
“J’onn…”
“Nice to meet you.”
“And this…” she grinned and took her wife’s hand. “This is Alex.”
Alura skipped the formalities and lunged forward to give Alex a hug.
“Oh!” Alex chuckled. “Hello.”
“You and your family rescued my daughter. I am indebted to you,” Alura said earnestly.
Alex smiled at Kara, then Alura. “Sometimes, I think she's the one that rescued us.” She waved her mother over. “Alura, this is my mom Eliza.”
Alura hugged Eliza as well, tearing up a little. “Thank you. I owe you everything for taking Kara in.”
“It was our pleasure,” Eliza grinned. “I couldn’t love Kara more if she were my own flesh and blood.”
Alura sniffled, but she was smiling. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“Well, you coming here is a wonderful gift,” Eliza replied. “Kara deserves to have you in her life again, and we’re all looking forward to getting to know you. And this couldn’t have been better timing with the babies all coming soon.”
Alura beamed. “Yes, I couldn’t agree more. I’m elated to meet you all, and I’m really looking forward to getting to know my grandchildren.” She gazed adoringly at the twins.
“I think we should go home,” Kara suggested. “We’ll come back tomorrow for the memorial ceremony. Winn? Do you want to come with us?”
Winn thought about it for a moment. “Um… Yeah, I think I will. Do you mind if Lyra meets us there?”
“Of course she can,” Alex assured him.
The group headed out, giving J’onn hugs on their way.
“What happened to the other Legionnaires?” Jamie wondered.
“Oh, shoot!” Winn exclaimed. He typed hurriedly on his tablet. “Brainy?”
“Yes, Winn?” the Coluan replied. “Uh… You guys can come back now. J’onn will explain when you get back.”
“Affirmative,” Brainy responded. “Is everyone safe?”
“Yes, everyone is fine,” Winn assured him. “See you soon.” He turned back to Kara. “I guess there was some sort of emergency beacon that alerted them to you being in danger. They left in their ship to come get you. In all the craziness, I forgot about them.”
“Whoops,” Kara chuckled. “Well, good thing Jamie spoke up.”
“Truth,” Winn nodded. “OK, we can go now.”
The Danvers troop headed out, calling Maggie and Lena to let them know they were on their way home with Alura. Both Lena and Maggie promised to come home soon. They were excited to meet Kara’s mother. When they arrived at the mansion, Alura was in awe.
“Wow, this place is enormous!” she gasped. “And quite beautiful.”
Kara grinned. “Thanks. Please, come in. Make yourself at home.”
“Thank you,” Alura breathed, taking Kara by the hand and walking up to the porch together. When Kara used the palm scanner to unlock the door, Alura’s eyebrows went up. “Last time I was on Earth, they hadn’t even begun to imagine this kind of technology.”
“You came to Earth before?” Jamie asked.
“Yes, when I was a young girl, perhaps a bit older than you two,” Alura recalled. “With my mother and father.”
“Things have come quite a ways over that time,” Kara chuckled. “My wife Lena designed the security system here. It’s as good as it gets. She’s quite the genius.”
“As are many of your loved ones, it seems,” Alura complimented.
Kara smiled proudly. “It’s true.” She carried Jessie inside and began the tour. By the time the group returned to the living room, Maggie was coming in the front door. Kara could hear her heart pounding in nervous excitement at the prospect of meeting her mother, so as soon as their eyes met, Kara grinned brightly at her. It worked like a charm, drawing out Maggie’s dimpled smile for all to see. “Maggie, this is my mom Alura. Mom, this is my wife Maggie.”
As before, Alura threw pleasantries out the window and gave Maggie a big hug. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you,” Alura gushed. “Kara has nothing but good things to say about you three. Thank you for being so good to my girl.”
Maggie’s lip trembled, but she kept her tears at bay. “She makes it easy,” she replied earnestly. “Kara is truly a light in this world.”
“Aww,” Kara cooed, squeezing the detective affectionately.
The group was just about to sit down when Lena finally came home. Again, Kara could hear her wife’s heartbeat was elevated in nervousness, so again, she turned on her brightest smile as she met her wife in the foyer. “Hi, sweetheart. Welcome home.”
“Thank you, my love,” Lena returned her smile, but was too nervous to lean in and kiss her.
“Lena, this is my mom Alura. Mom, this is my wife Lena.”
Kara was unsurprised when Alura pulled Lena into a fierce hug.
Lena just barely suppressed a yelp, not used to being treated in this way, but she recovered quickly, returning the hug.
“Kara speaks so highly of you, it’s an honor to meet you, Lena,” Alura praised her.
“The honor is mine,” Lena gushed. “Meeting Kara’s birth mother after all this time. It’s like a dream. Welcome to our home. I hope you find yourself comfortable.”
The three of them returned to the living room where everyone else was waiting.
“Um, I’m just now realizing that I have none of my belongings with me,” Alura pointed out.
“Oh, shoot!” Kara sighed. “I guess we’re going shopping tomorrow.”
Maggie looked at her watch. “There’s still plenty of time to go today.”
Kara shook her head. “No, we’ve been through enough today.” She explained everything that had happened with the Kryptonian witches that day.
“Jesus!” Maggie exclaimed when the story was over. “Well, as far as crises go, you wrapped it up pretty quickly.”
“True,” Alex agreed. “Thank God for that.”
Winn shrugged, “Didn’t stop them from killing Demos.”
Lena sat next to him, holding his hand. “I’m sorry, Winn.”
“Thanks,” he sniffled. “I feel like it’s my fault. I didn’t make the shields strong enough.”
“If it’s your fault, then it’s mine too,” Lena pointed out.
“No, Lena i-”
“But really, it’s not your fault,” Lena interrupted. “The blame lies with the Kryptonian witches. You and I will get these portals running, and we can send them back for a trial, right, Kara?”
“Right,” Kara confirmed. “Kryptonians don’t stand for this kind of violence.”
“What will happen to them?” Winn asked.
“That depends on the council and the trial,” Alura replied.
“But you’re, like, the judge, right?” Winn recalled. “You ultimately decide what happens to them?”
Alura blinked in surprise that Winn would know that information from her past. “Well, things don’t work the same way anymore. The entire council will discuss their punishment after the trial. We haven’t had any crimes like this in decades. I can’t be sure what will happen.”
When Lyra arrived, the gang filled her in on the day, and she held Winn tightly in response.
The gang spent the evening taking it easy and getting to know Alura, and she told them stories of young Kara and of Zor-El in addition to herself. Kara couldn’t believe this was real. She was constantly in awe of the way her mother so easily and readily interacted with her family. She was an instant hit among the Danvers clan.
“Now we see where Kara got her kindness and charm,” Eliza complimented her.
“And her beauty!” Jamie added.
“Thank you so much,” Alura beamed at them. “I can’t express how much it means to me for you all to welcome me into your home like this. You’re all wonderful people.”
“Tomorrow you get to meet Ruby!” Jessie said excitedly.
“And Carter!” Jamie beamed.
“Honestly, there are so many people you have to meet!” Kara chuckled. “I don’t know where to start.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” Alura replied. “I want to meet all your friends. I want to see the life you’ve made here.”
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