Chapitre 89: 89. Nobody's Fault
October 26, 2017 (pregnancy week 34)
Thursday morning started out like any other. The Danvers plus Ruby had breakfast together before they all went their separate ways - Ruby to school, Kara to Catco, Maggie to the NCPD, and Alex and Lena to the DEO.
Alex and Lena’s first stop was to say good morning to Sam and Julia and to check in with them. Julia was quietly strumming her guitar, humming an unfamiliar tune, while Sam apparently had her nose to the grindstone, speaking none too kindly to whomever was on the phone. They stopped in front of Julia and knocked gently on the glass. When the singer looked up at them, they waved. “Good morning, Julia,” Lena and Alex greeted her.
“Good morning, ladies,” Julia replied kindly.
“How are you doing?” Lena asked.
Julia pursed her lips to the side. “I mean, it’s not great being locked away in here, but I’m comfortable enough, I guess.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Lena pouted. “I’d like to talk to you and Sam about some plans of action in a bit. Maybe we can get things moving a little faster.”
“I’d like that,” Julia nodded.
Lena waved at Sam to get her attention.
“...met your KPis, and you're still under-performing,” Sam chastised the person on the other end of the line. “I'll call you back.” She looked up at Lena and Alex and smiled brightly. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Alex and Lena replied, grinning at her in return.
“What's up?” Sam raised her brow.
“Nothing,” Alex shook her head. “We’re just here to say good morning and see how you’re doing.”
“Is everything okay?” Lena asked.
“Yeah. TYK Labs branch, I'm gonna have to replace a few people there,” Sam explained. “Not sure how I’m going to do that while I’m in here, but…” she shook her head. “We’ll figure it out.”
Lena smiled at her again and sat in a chair next to Sam’s room. “Sam, do you remember when we first met? It was three o'clock in the morning. We'd just acquired your company, and I was in charge of the takeover. You were a junior VP, and your light was the only one on in the office. I walked by, and I saw your head down over spreadsheets.”
“Cross analysis reports,” Sam nodded, chuckling at the memory. “God, I was good at those.”
“You were so focused,” Lena said proudly. “And I thought, ‘Her. I wanna work with her.’ Everyone knows how good you are at your job, Sam, you don't have to keep on proving it.”
“Lena,” Sam huffed.
“With everything that you're dealing with in your life right now, I just wanna give you as little stress as possible,” Lena pressed.
“Lena, I can't take time off right now,” Sam insisted. “Especially with everything that’s going on right now. I need something to take my mind off the fact that I might be a blood-thirsty murderous alien, or I’m gonna go crazy. It’s so hard not to think about all those people that…” Sam teared up and couldn’t finish her thought, but Lena knew what she meant.
“OK, sweetie,” Lena agreed. “I can get Jess to help you. She loves firing people.”
Sam frowned in confusion for a moment before exclaiming, “Oh, you mean your assistant Jess! For a minute there, I thought you were gonna send the kids in there.”
Alex and Lena laughed. “That would be a sight,” Lena mused.
“I think Jessie would like it up until she realized it would make people dislike her,” Alex figured.
“Oh, are the kids gonna come see us again today?” Julia asked hopefully. “They’re so cute. I love them.”
Alex grinned at her daughters’ ability to make everyone fall in love with them.
“Well, it depends on how much progress we make today,” Lena replied. “We still have to try to trigger your other personalities so we can study them.”
“How do you plan on doing that?” Sam worried.
Lena sighed. “Well, first of all, we’re going to have to isolate you for a while. No friends, no family. Just you two. I’m worried that having so many people around is keeping the Worldkillers at bay.”
Sam pouted. “I was afraid you were going to say that. What else?”
“Well, I would like to go through some of the Reign footage and see if you remember anything,” Lena suggested. “Or if it somehow triggers… something.”
“I told you I don’t remember anything,” Sam huffed. “And it makes me sick to my stomach to watch that stuff. Especially the fight with Kara. I love her so much, and I just can’t stand the thought of hurting her in any way.”
“Please, Sam, we need you to let us try,” Alex requested. “The sooner we get this figured out, the sooner we can get you guys home.”
Sam sighed. “Alright.”
“Alright. We’ll be back in a few minutes,” Lena told them. “Hang tight.” She and Alex went in search of Winn and J’onn just to check in and tell them the plan. They found the men up on the roof in the Legion ship trying to figure out something mechanical. Ordinarily, this would pique Lena’s scientific curiosity, but right now, all she could think about was helping Sam and Julia. “Any progress with the Kryptonian information crystal?” she inquired.
“No,” Winn replied distractedly, then yelped as he got shocked by a circuit. “Nothing yet.”
“Damn,” Alex frowned. “OK, well, we’re off to try and trigger Reign. Have fun with your ship repairs.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Rokk stopped them. “Garth, Jack, go with them in case anything goes wrong.”
The men nodded and followed the Danvers women downstairs. Lena stopped by the lab to grab her tablet, and they ran into Eliza. “Hey, Mom,” Alex greeted her.
Eliza looked up from her computer, “Hello,” she replied tiredly. “How are you all?”
“Better than you, apparently,” Alex worried, giving her mom a hug. “Have you been sleeping?”
“Of course, dear,” Eliza replied unconvincingly.
Alex and Lena shared a look of concern.
“Don’t you girls start worrying about me now,” Eliza warned them. “You’ve got enough on your plates.”
“Hey, you’re the one coming in here looking like death warmed over,” Alex argued.
“Hush. I’m fine,” Eliza insisted. “Did you come in here just to nag me, or what?”
Alex rolled her eyes. “No, we came to get Lena’s tablet.”
“Well, then get it, and get going. I’m working on something,” Eliza pushed.
“OK, OK, geez,” Alex huffed. “What are you working on?” her curiosity got the better of her.
“Well, since these Worldkillers are apparently genetically modified, I was thinking I might be able to figure out some sort of gene therapy,” Eliza informed them. “A cure, even. Like the one we made for J’onn when he was turning into a White Martian.”
Lena smiled hopefully. “Sounds great.”
“I just need to observe them in their transformed state,” Eliza added.
“That’s what we’re working on,” Alex replied. “We’ll call you if we have any success.” She and Lena headed down to Sam and Julia’s room, followed by Garth and Jack. “You two wait in the observation room,” Alex commanded the men. The pair nodded and slipped into the room next door where the security cameras were visible on the computer screens.
Lena and Alex entered the foyer of Sam and Julia’s rooms, but neither woman paid them any attention. Julia had her headphones on and her eyes closed, humming along to her music, and Sam was laser focused on her laptop, typing furiously.
“Samantha, dear, I’m going to need your undivided attention for a few minutes,” Lena told her.
Sam held up a finger in the air, then went back to typing. “Hold on, let me finish this email.”
Lena and Alex rolled their eyes, but waited another 30 seconds for Sam to send her email.
“OK, let’s get this over with,” Sam sighed.
Lena nodded and connected her tablet to the big screen on the foyer wall. She pulled up all the photo and video evidence of Reign, and displayed them on the screen one by one.
“I told you this before, if I had hurt people, I would remember,” Sam complained.
“You're right,” Lena agreed. “You would remember. On some deep level, you would feel what you had done. When you look at this, do you remember what it was like? Attacking Morgan Edge? What I wouldn't have given to have seen that one up close! No? No recollection? Supergirl? I mean, that's a difficult one to forget. Having your fist connect with something so solid, so powerful.”
“This is insane,” Sam complained.
“How did it feel to obliterate? You tore those men apart. You ripped the limbs from their bodies and you dragged them across the beach!”
“Why are you doing this?” Sam growled. “Why? I just wanna go home to my daughter!”
“Like I'd let someone like you near Ruby.”
“How dare you?” Sam seethed.
“What did it feel like? Living in that house, day in, day out, pretending to be her mother? Watching her sleep, so vulnerable. Knowing that any minute you could rip her apart with your bare hands. You're not a mother, you're a monster. And I will make sure you never see Ruby again.”
“Enough!” Sam hollered, and suddenly her eyes glowed red and beams of heat vision burned at the glass doors.
Lena, Alex and Julia startled, but when the beam didn’t penetrate the glass, they calmed down. Sam… er, Reign… supersped around the room, pounding on the walls to try to escape. Lena turned on the Kryptonite IV to try to get the Worldkiller under control. Reign screamed at the pain of the poison being injected into her body, and then suddenly, she dropped to the floor. Lena and Alex waited to see what would happen next.
Only a few seconds later, the brunette groaned and sat back up. “What the hell?” she grumbled. “How did I get on the floor? Why does it feel like I just got hit by a truck?”
Lena didn’t answer. She simply played back the video feed of Sam transitioning to Reign.
“Oh, God,” Sam sobbed. “I di...didn’t want to believe it. All those… All those people.” Tears streamed down her face. “Kara!” She covered her face with her hands and wailed. “I’m sorry, Kara. I’m so sorry!”
Lena opened Sam’s door and knelt down beside her best friend, hugging her tightly as she cried. “It’s OK,” she soothed. “Shh, we’re going to get through this. We’re going to fix this, I promise.” She stroked Sam’s hair as the woman cried on her shoulder. “Eliza is already getting started on the cure. This transformation is going to help us a lot. Hang in there, love.” She stayed there, holding Sam for who knew how long, until her legs burned from kneeling, and she had to get up. “Jack, darling, could you come help me up?”
Jack revealed himself and crossed the foyer to lift Lena to her feet. “Up you go, Mama Bear.”
“Don’t let go yet,” Lena requested, waiting for the feeling in her legs to return.
Jack cuddled her, kissing her on the head affectionately. “I’ve got you,” he promised.
Alex grinned at how cute they were, then just so happened to look over at Julia. “Uh, guys?” She pointed to the singer whose eyes had turned white and a look of cold fury was on her face.
Lena, Jack and Sam looked and saw what she saw.
“Julia?” Lena spoke softly.
“No,” the woman replied with a menacing laugh.
“Who are you?” Alex demanded.
“I am the scalding light,” the Worldkiller replied. “I am the flood that sweeps away sins. I am the word and cry of justice.”
“Yeah, would you mind just condensing that a little bit?” Alex huffed.
“Alex!” Sam exclaimed.
“Well, it's long,” Alex quipped.
“Hey, hey,” Sam said gently. “You were about to tell us your name. We'd really like to hear what you have to say.”
“I am Purity,” the woman replied.
“Hello, Purity,” Lena said as if greeting a business colleague. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
Purity chuckled lowly.
“Where did Julia go?” Alex wanted to know. “I liked her better.”
“Yes, isn’t Julia nice? She was very fun to play. Everything you’ve seen is just a character. There never was, and never will be, a Julia Freeman. Just little old me.”
“But why keep up an act for a decade?” Alex insisted.
“When my sisters and I arrived, we knew it would be many years before the cosmic alignment of forces came to pass. Masks would be necessary,” Purity informed them.
Lena pulled up a photo on the big screen. “Vinita Ripson, your roommate at Cincinnati, your emergency contact, your best friend for a decade... I bet she's really worried about you right now.”
Purity rolled her eyes. “Sounds about right. Vinita was always so clingy. It drove me crazy.”
“Crazy enough to save her life? Julia?” Lena asked.
Purity scoffed. “You imagine I care about humans?”
“I think you do care, Julia. And I care about you,” Lena insisted.
“Hmm,” Purity smirked dangerously. “Will you care when I tear open your bones and rip out your soft parts?”
“You're never gonna get that chance because you are gonna sit in that cell until I say so,” Alex growled.
“And after, I'll open up your friend and eat her heart with the other gods,” Purity chuckled.
“You want to talk about insides?” Alex retorted. “Cause you are gonna have eight different government agencies fighting over who's going to dissect you!”
“All right, let's speak outside, Agent Danvers,” Jack demanded.
“You're not a god,” Alex snipped at Purity. “You're just meat and bones.”
Purity just laughed, and Lena turned on the Kryptonite feed just in case as the three of them stepped outside.
“Alex, why are you trying to rile her up?” Jack worried.
“It’s OK, sweetie,” Lena told him. “We need them to be the Worldkillers to help us figure out how to neutralize them.”
“So you planned this?” he asked dubiously.
“Yes, now we can figure out how this whole transformation thing works,” Lena explained.
Jack still frowned. “I’m just worried that you guys are gonna get hurt.”
“We have our shields,” Alex reminded him. “It’s OK.”
Jack nodded. “OK. Just… Please, be careful.”
“We will,” Lena promised. “Back to the observation room with you.”
“OK, OK,” Jack conceded, returning to the room next door.
Lena and Alex returned to Sam and Julia. Sam had apparently gone back to work on her laptop, but Purity paced her cell restlessly. “Where is Pestilence?” Alex asked.
Purity smirked. “Like I’d tell you.”
“Well, I hope you enjoy being a bug under glass,” Alex taunted. “Because we’re going to crush you.”
Purity just laughed mockingly. “We’ll see about that.”
Lena looked at her watch. “I think we should have enough information now. Shall we go upstairs and find out what we’ve learned?” she asked Alex.
“Yeah. This bitch is pissing me off,” Alex huffed.
Lena took Alex by the hand, and the pair returned to the medbay.
“Whatever you girls did, you’ve been extremely helpful,” Eliza told them. “Look at all this new information,” she pointed to the computers.
The three of them searched the readouts thoroughly. The women downstairs were apparently going through some sort of metamorphosis as they switched back and forth between personas.
“Now, we’re getting somewhere,” Eliza sighed in relief. “I can work with this.”
An alarm on Lena’s phone startled them. “The crystal,” Lena muttered. She hurried down the hall to Winn’s lab, and sure enough, the crystal was glowing. She looked at the computer program, and it was still running diagnostics. “Who turned you on?” she whispered.
XXX
Garth and Jack were closely watching the monitors in the observation room. Purity was pacing back and forth, speaking Kryptonian seemingly to herself. A half an hour passed, and suddenly Sam stood up, eyes glowing red. She began speaking the same words as Purity, as though reciting a prayer. Jack was just about to call for Lena when the whole building started shaking. In the next moment, their ears were accosted by a shrill scream, and the glass in the other room shattered. The men rushed into the next room, hoping to stop Purity and Reign from escaping, but as soon as they were through the door, Purity screamed again, sending them flying backwards into the wall behind them. The Worldkillers floated right past them, heading further into the DEO.
XXX
When the building started trembling, Alex and Lena were knocked on their asses. Luckily for them, their shields cushioned their falls, so they didn’t get hurt. Lena pressed the emergency button on her watch to call for Supergirl. Eliza held onto the table, trying to protect the computer they were working on. The ground continued to shake, and as the tremors persisted, the Danvers women felt as though they were losing their ability to even move, let alone try to get up. The crystal on the table glowed brighter and brighter until finally, Purity and Reign floated into the room, and Purity snatched the crystal from the table, grinning maniacally. She screamed, and the three Danvers flew back into the wall, breaking several things in the process.
XXX
At the sound of Lena’s watch alarm, Kara raced to the DEO at top speed. When she got there, it was pure chaos. All six of the Legionnaires plus J’onn were squaring off against the two Worldkillers, and the DEO agents were scrambling to get shots off at their enemies. Reign was using her heat vision, and Julia apparently had some sort of sonic scream that was damaging everything in sight. If it wasn’t for Winn’s shields, the lot of them would probably be dead already. Kara fired off her heat vision at the new Worldkiller, and in retaliation, Julia screamed at her, sending her flying back into the staircase. The impact didn’t hurt her, but the sonic scream was excruciating. She quickly got back up and flew at Reign, tackling her to the ground.
Reign didn’t stay down. She popped right back up and started pummeling Kara in the face. Knowing it was Sam, Kara now couldn’t bring herself to fight back. One minute Reign was punching her, and the next, Reign slumped to the ground with a haunting shriek. Kara looked around to see what had happened, and just as she spotted Alex, her wife fired another round that took Julia down too. The Legionnaires were quick to grab the pair, and J’onn pulled out four pairs of Kryptonite-laced handcuffs and secured both Worldkillers around their hands and their feet.
Alex and Lena hurried over to Kara. “Are you OK?” they asked at the same time.
“I’m fine,” Kara assured them. “I barely even feel the Kryptonite. It’s just kind of tingly on my face. You were right, Lena. This new suit is awesome.”
Lena and Alex sighed in relief.
“So, I take it you made Kryptonite darts the other day while I was gone?” Kara asked, not upset in the slightest.
“Yeah, but only for the two of us,” Alex informed her. “We didn’t want anyone else getting their hands on it.”
Kara nodded. “I appreciate that. But as much as I hate to admit it, I think you’re going to have to make more Kryptonite. Keeping them under a red sun light won’t do us any good. We’re going to have to line the walls of their cells with it now, or risk them getting out again.”
“Are you sure?” Alex asked grimly.
“No, but I think it’s necessary,” Kara admitted. “We can’t let them escape again.”
“Agreed,” Lena sighed. “We’ll have to hurry. I don’t know how long these doses are going to last.” She and Alex found Winn, and the three of them went upstairs to make more Kryptonite.
The Legionnaires agreed to help Kara keep an eye on both Worldkillers while they waited, and J’onn led the DEO agents in cleanup. The place was a huge mess, but thanks to Winn’s shields, everyone was still alive. They carried the Worldkillers to another cell level and watched them like a hawk.
Both women were out cold, and it took a good two hours for them to wake up. Thank Rao, when they did, they were both their human selves and were very confused about where they were and why they were bound. Kara took the time to explain that they had changed and broken out of their rooms, but she didn’t know the hows of it all. She had only just arrived on the scene at the end of the kerfuffle. Thankfully, Jack and Garth had answers. They had apparently been witness to the entire morning of triggers and strange behaviors, and they explained everything.
Sam and Julia were horrified at what the Worldkillers had done, but they were exceedingly relieved that no one got hurt. Even still, Sam couldn’t help the tears that streamed down her face. “I’m so sorry for what I did to you, Kara,” she sobbed. “I’m so sorry!”
“Hey, hey!” Kara knelt down beside her and pulled her close. “It wasn’t you. I know you would never hurt me, Sam. I know. It wasn’t you. We’re going to fix this, I promise.” Sam continued to cry, so Kara continued to hold her. “I will never hold Reign’s actions against you, Sam. Not ever. You’re my friend, and you’re so good to our family. No, you are our family. That’s what matters to me.”
“Th-Thank you, Kara,” Sam whimpered. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Sam,” Kara shushed her, stroking her back until she calmed down. “I’m gonna go upstairs for a little bit. I’ll be back.” She headed upstairs to check on the progress of the Kryptonite. She could feel her face getting hot when she got to the door of Winn’s lab, so she knocked on the door and waited for someone to come out.
“Hey!” Winn greeted her, coming out into the hallway and closing the door behind him. “We’re almost done with the Kryptonite,” he informed her. “I don’t think you should go in there right now.”
“Yeah, I can feel it in my head a bit,” Kara admitted. “I wanted to let you all know that Sam and Julia are Sam and Julia again.”
“Oh, thank God!” Winn sighed in relief. “Those two are scary.”
“Yeah, well, don’t tell them that,” Kara warned him. “They’re scared enough as it is.”
“Yeah, I can believe it,” he nodded. “Poor kids. Hey, can you do me a favor?”
“Sure,” she agreed.
“I need Vasquez, Deimos, Imra, and Rokk to help us get these new cells up and running. Can you grab them for me?”
“Can do,” she zipped off, glad to get away from the headache that was building from the Kryptonite in the air. When she finished her errand, she returned to Sam and Julia and sat with them until their new rooms were finished.
By the time everything was said and done, Sam and Julia now had brand new rooms lined with Kryptonite, Kryptonite IVs, and all their stuff (cleaned and surprisingly unharmed) returned to them. Julia sat on the floor with her guitar, but she didn’t play or sing, and Sam just curled up in the corner of her bed and stared off into space. She didn’t pick up her laptop or look at her phone. She seemed… broken. It was the same look Kara had seen in Amy’s eyes a few days ago. Haunted. Kara had already called Douglas, and he was on his way. Hopefully his presence would do Sam some good.
Because of the obscene amount of Kryptonite in the room, Kara was upstairs in Eliza’s lab, looking at them through the floor. She checked her watch. Ruby would be out of school soon. Kara would pick up the kids and bring them here for some much needed cuddle time. She knew it would be safe. The others had told her how Lena and Alex goaded Sam and Julia into their Worldkiller personas. Whatever Sam was, Kara knew the human wouldn’t let anyone - including her own alternate persona - hurt Ruby.
Kara sighed and returned her focus on Eliza, who was explaining what she was trying to do to save the Worldkillers. It was complicated, but it might work. Eliza had plenty of experience curing weird alien diseases, so this should be just another day at the office for her. Or rather, it would take days for them to accomplish the final results of the cure, and then they would have to try it out to see if it even worked. But so far, it was the only lead they had. Eliza would have plenty of help from Lena, Alex and probably Winn. It could be done. Kara had hope.
“You know, Kara, your father may have been a little closed-minded in creating the Medusa virus, but it sure has helped us with a lot of things, and this could be one of them,” Eliza mused. “I’m pretty sure it’s going to help us erase these Worldkillers, and we can do it without harming the hosts.”
Kara sighed in relief. She still struggled with the truth of her parents’ lives even after all this time, but knowing that they could repurpose the virus to cure her friends and family was a huge weight off of her shoulders. She hugged her mother-in-law, “Thank you, Eliza.”
“Of course, dear,” Eliza squeezed her tightly. “Now, don’t you have to go pick up the kids?”
“Yeah,” Kara acknowledged. “I’ll be back.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
When Douglas arrived at the DEO, Sam was not looking good. She was just curled up on her bed, not seeming to even be aware of his presence at first. “Babe?” he said softly.
Sam blinked a few times before her eyes focused on him. “Douglas?”
“Hi, sweetie pie,” he gave her a gentle smile. “Can I come in?”
She nodded as she sat up, and Lena unlocked the door, let him in, and then locked the door behind him. After that, she disappeared to give them a bit of privacy. Julia was listening to her headphones, so she wasn’t paying any attention to them.
“How’s my girl?” he asked, sitting on the bed beside her and wrapping her up in his arms.
Sam’s eyes glossed over with tears, “Did you hear what happened?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “I came straight here when Kara called me.”
“I’m a monster,” she sobbed into his chest.
“Shh!” he soothed her as she cried. “Hey. Hey. You are not a monster. You are Sam, and you are amazing. Whoever, whatever this other thing is, it’s not you.”
“I… She… She hurt Kara!” Sam whimpered. “With my hands. So many people-” she choked on her words.
Douglas rocked her gently. “I know. But it’s not your fault. You didn’t have a choice in any of this.” He held her until her tears subsided, then lifted her chin to kiss her.
She returned his kiss almost hungrily. “Thank you.”
“For what? Kissing you?” he chuckled.
“For coming. For being here for me,” she replied. “I wouldn’t have blamed you if you found out what I am and headed for the hills.”
“That’s not who I am,” he said seriously. “Especially when someone I love is involved.”
“That’s a big relief,” she admitted.
“I’m glad,” he said, kissing her again. “You’re going through enough right now. I would hate to make it worse.”
For a while, the two just sat there cuddling, then Sam peeked through the glass wall of her room. “You know, Julia can’t see us right now,” she said with a smirk. “We could make out for a little while.”
Douglas chuckled. “You don't have to ask me twice.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara picked up Ruby and went back to the mansion to pick up the twins. “Sam and Julia had a hard day today,” she warned them. “I think they need some extra love.”
“We can do that,” Ruby replied. “What happened?”
“I can’t really get into it,” Kara frowned. “Just trust me, OK?”
The kids pouted at being kept in the dark yet again.
“Come on, I can’t always tell you everything. Don’t be like that,” Kara complained. “You guys are quite grown up, but you’re still kids. Knowing more is not always the benefit you think it will be. Trust me.” The kids clearly didn’t believe her, so she asked them about their day to distract them. That got them into the DEO, but the kids froze when they saw the extensive damage inside.
“Whoa!”
“Holy crap!”
“What the heck happened in here?”
“Um…” Kara scrambled for an explanation. “Prison break. But everything’s fine! They’ll have this place fixed up in no time. See? They’re already working on it.”
“Is my mom OK?” Ruby worried.
“Physically, yes,” Kara told her. “But she’s kind of feeling low. Douglas should be here by now.”
“OK, let’s go,” Ruby insisted.
“Hold on,” Kara stopped them. “Winn?” she called across the room.
“Yo!” the tech spun around in his chair. “Oh hey, guys!” he waved and crossed the room to meet them. “How’s it going?”
“The kids would like to go see Sam,” Kara informed him. “Can you take them down and show them to the new room?”
“New room?” Ruby repeated.
“Yeah, come on!” Winn waved them after him as he led the way downstairs.
“I’ll be upstairs with Grandma,” Kara told them.
XXX
Ruby and the twins trailed behind Winn as he directed them to her mom’s new room. She was extremely worried about her mother. This whole ordeal was strange, and Ruby missed her. Thankfully, none of them were going through it alone. The Danvers were probably the most awesome people on the planet next to her mom. She was thankful for them, especially Jessie. The youngest (for now) Danvers had been extraordinarily sweet and thoughtful this week. If Ruby hadn’t loved her before, she sure would now.
Sam and Julia’s new rooms were a level down from the last ones, but in generally the same area, so it wouldn’t be too hard to find next time. Winn opened the door to the foyer and cleared his throat obnoxiously. Ruby rolled her eyes figuring that her mom and Douglas were probably in there kissing. She turned up her nose and asked, “Is it safe?”
Winn chuckled. “Yeah, you’re good.”
Ruby and the twins headed into the foyer. “Hi, Mom!” Ruby greeted her. “Hi, Douglas!”
“Hi, baby,” Sam replied. “How was your day?”
“Good,” Ruby shrugged. She waited for Winn to unlock Sam’s room, then she ran in and pounced on her.
“Oof!” Sam grunted when Ruby’s weight hit her. She squeezed her daughter tightly.
“Kara said you had a bad day,” Ruby informed her. “What happened?”
Sam sighed. “I, uh…” She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. “We got to... meet… my other personality.”
“And that was bad?” Ruby asked.
“Yeah,” Sam shook her head. “Yeah, she, uh… She’s not a good person.”
“Oh,” Ruby frowned. “What did she do?”
Again, Sam shook her head. “Nevermind that.”
Ruby scowled.
“Trust me, it’s better you don’t know,” Sam kissed Ruby’s head.
“That’s pretty much what Kara said too,” Ruby complained.
Sam shrugged. “Well, Kara’s a smart person.”
“Can we give hugs too?” Jessie bounced antsily.
Sam opened her arms to accept their embraces, kissing them both on the head. “Hi, girls. How are you?”
“Pretty good,” they replied. “We’re gonna say hi to Julia real quick.”
“OK,” Sam acknowledged.
The twins skipped over to Julia’s room and knocked on the glass.
“Hi, kids!” the musician greeted them.
“Can we hug you?” Jessie requested.
Julia nodded. “Yes, please.” Winn unlocked her door to let the kids in, and Julia opened her arms to them. “Oh, you guys are so sweet.”
“Mama said you guys had a bad day,” Jamie informed her.
Julia sighed. “Yeah, you could say that.”
“You wanna talk about it?” Jamie offered.
Julia looked at Sam who shook her head. “I really shouldn’t,” she replied.
The twins were disappointed, but they didn’t press the issue. “Can we sing with you?” Jamie asked.
Julia smiled. “I’d like that. Your girls have beautiful voices.”
“Thanks!” the twins beamed at her while she grabbed her guitar.
“Mama Lena says she’ll sign us up for music lessons if we want,” Jamie told her. “Watching you with your guitar, I think I want to learn that.”
Julia beamed at her. “I highly recommend it. It’s very relaxing.”
“I wanna learn the drums like my friend Amy!” Jessie announced.
“Oh! Sounds awesome,” Julia encouraged her.
Sam chuckled at the twins’ antics. “Do you want to learn an instrument too?” she asked her daughter.
Ruby shrugged. “Maybe. I kinda like the idea of the piano.”
“You guys could put a band together,” Sam chuckled.
Ruby’s eyes widened. “Oh! Yeah! OK. Let’s do it!”
Sam’s eyes sparkled. “OK, we’ll find you a teacher.”
“Cool,” Ruby grinned.
“You’re going to be quite the cultured young lady,” Douglas smiled at her.
“Speaking of culture, what’s Morocco like?” Ruby wanted to know.
Douglas seemed surprised by the question. “Well,” he thought aloud, “For one, it’s in the desert in Africa, so there are tons of old buildings and structures. But there are also mountains. And camels, lots of camels. And donkeys in some places. It’s predominantly Islamic, so they dress a lot more conservatively than in the US, and they take their religion very seriously. They speak Arabic, but it’s encouraged to learn French and sometimes English.”
Sam chuckled. “You sound like an encyclopedia, babe.”
“Did you like it?” Ruby wondered.
Douglas shrugged. “It was OK. I prefer America, though. I like my freedom from religion.”
“So you don’t believe what they believe?” Ruby checked.
“Not really, no,” Douglas shook his head. “Seems kinda silly to me, but my dad was American, so I think he had quite a bit to do with that.”
“So your mom was Moroccan, not your dad?”
“Right. My dad was in the Navy, and he met my mom there while he was travelling.”
“Are they still there?” Ruby asked.
“No, they’re here in National City,” he explained. “They moved here a couple of years after I decided to stay. Brought my two younger sisters along with them.”
“When can we meet them?”
Douglas pursed his lips in thought. “Well, I guess whenever you want. We should probably wait a little while so your mom can come too.”
Sam’s eyes widened. “Meet your parents?”
Douglas chuckled. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, they’ll love you. Both of you.”
“They won’t be disappointed that you’re dating a… a white girl?” Sam grimaced.
Douglas laughed loudly at that. “No, honey, I’ve always dated white girls. They’re used to it. Although it’s been quite a while since I’ve dated anyone , let alone someone I like so much.”
Ruby could tell her mom was still nervous, even with Douglas’ reassurance. “What are you so worried about, Mom?”
Sam scrunched her nose up, “Ruby, I don’t know if you know this or not, but I haven’t dated anyone since I found out I was pregnant with you. It’s a scary idea. Your dad’s parents were… not very nice, let’s put it that way.”
“My parents are very kind people,” Douglas promised. “They’ll be nice. If anyone’s going to give you shit, it’ll be my sisters. They’re good people, but they’re protective of me, especially after my last girlfriend turned out to be kinda psycho.”
“What did she do?” Ruby was really curious now.
He rolled his eyes. “She started being really possessive and jealous. I couldn’t so much as look at another female without her accusing me of cheating. It got really old, and then when I broke up with her, she tried to bad mouth me to everyone and accused me of being abusive. I’ve never cheated or been abusive in my life. I would never disrespect someone like that. Especially your mom. I hope you know that.”
“I believe you,” Ruby smiled sweetly at him. “I’m sorry she was mean to you.”
“Thanks, pumpkin,” Douglas returned her smile, stroking her cheek.
“What’s your house like?” Ruby wanted to know.
“What’s with the 20 Questions, Rubes?” Sam chuckled.
Ruby shrugged. “I just want to get to know him better, that’s all.”
“I don’t mind,” Douglas winked. “I just live in an apartment downtown. It’s nothing special.”
“How come we’ve never been there?”
He shrugged. “Like I said, it’s nothing special. Your house is way more comfortable. But you can come over anytime you like.”
Ruby nodded. “I’d like that.”
“Anymore questions?” Douglas offered.
“What do you do for fun?” Ruby asked.
Douglas smirked sheepishly. “Honestly? I like to build little model trains.”
Sam raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know that.”
“I didn’t know if you would make fun of me or not,” he admitted.
“Aww, babe, no. I think it’s cute,” Sam encouraged him.
“Will we get to see them?” Ruby wondered.
“If you like,” he nodded.
“I want to.”
“Me too,” Sam agreed. “I’m always learning new cool things about you.”
Douglas answered her with a brief kiss and another to her forehead. “Likewise.”
“Winn?” Jessie called from the other room. “Are you still here?”
“I’m here,” he called back, looking up from his tablet.
“I don’t feel well,” Jessie complained.
“Me either,” Jamie added.
Winn frowned. The twins never got sick. Like, ever. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” Jessie whined. “My whole body hurts, and I feel sick to my stomach.”
“Yeah,” Jamie agreed.
“OK, let’s get you upstairs and Eliza can have a look at you,” Winn insisted.
The kids both stumbled as they tried to get up, and their movements were very sluggish. Jessie had barely cleared the door when she threw up all over the floor.
Douglas was on his feet in an instant. “Stay here,” he told Ruby.
Ruby nodded, but she was afraid for her girlfriend.
Douglas scooped Jessie up in his arms and rushed her out of the room. Winn wrapped his arm around Jamie and supported her as she shuffled toward the door, but he wasn’t strong enough to carry her.
They were almost to the hallway when Jack appeared in the doorway. “Douglas said you needed help?”
Jamie nodded, but before she could speak, she threw up on the floor too.
“Sprock!” Jack exclaimed. “Come here, kid.” He scooped her up and rushed her upstairs to the medbay.
Winn left to go find someone to clean up the mess, leaving Ruby alone with her mom.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The Danvers adults were all in the medbay when Douglas burst through the door, startling everyone. “The kids are sick!” he said in a panic. “I don’t know what’s wrong with them, but Jessie just threw up everywhere.” He put Jessie on one of the beds, and the preteen groaned, holding her stomach.
Alex, Eliza and Lena sprung into action, taking the girl’s vitals and trying to get her to tell them what was wrong. Jessie didn’t seem to want to do anything other than moan in pain. Less than a minute later, Jack rushed through the door carrying Jamie. He put the girl on the bed next to her sister, and they took her vitals too. Eliza drew some blood from the twins and popped it into the analyzer.
“They’re heartbeats are really erratic, their temps are high, and their lungs don’t sound great. What were they doing when they got sick?” Alex demanded.
“They were just singing with Julia,” Douglas answered. “One minute they were fine, and the next minute, they were sick. I don’t understand.”
“Do you think Purity did something to them?” Kara wondered.
“No,” Douglas shook his head. “She was Julia the whole time.”
“Besides, Pestilence is the one that makes people sick,” Jack pointed out. “It’s possible that she was lying about who she was, but if she was, then a lot more people would be sick, not just them.”
“Could it be the Kryptonite?” Maggie wondered. “Maybe they’re not as immune as we thought they were.”
“Let’s put them in the sunbeds and see if that helps,” Kara suggested. She lifted the girls up and switched them to the sun beds, taking their red sun bands off, turning on the lights and praying to Rao that it fixed the problem.
The group surrounded the kids as they watched for any response. They were all worried sick. Alex continued to monitor their vitals as they waited. It was very slow progress, but the kids’ vitals eventually leveled off. They stayed asleep though, clearly drained by the whole ordeal.
Eliza checked the blood samples she’d taken. “This sure does look like Kryptonite poisoning to me,” she frowned.
“Shit,” Alex hissed. “What if it’s affecting the babies too? I mean, we wore lead guards, but what if it wasn’t enough?” She was practically hyperventilating.
“Hey, hey,” Kara grabbed a hold of her by the hands. “The babies are fine. Their heartbeats are strong, and I don’t see or hear any signs of distress.”
Alex didn’t seem convinced. She frowned and wrapped her arms protectively around her belly.
“I can call Katherine,” Eliza offered.
“Who the hell is Katherine?” Maggie asked.
“Dr. Landry,” Alex explained.
Maggie nodded, “Ah. That’s probably a good idea.”
“Yeah, but not such a good idea to bring her to the DEO,” Alex pointed out.
“I’ll talk to her,” Eliza said, walking out into the hallway to call her friend. When she came back, she said, “She’s going to call me back. I told her it was urgent.”
“What are we going to tell the kids?” Lena worried. “We can’t tell them they got Kryptonite poisoning without giving away Sam and Julia as the Worldkillers.”
“We’re just going to have to convince them that they got food poisoning or something,” Eliza mused. “What else can we do?”
Kara shook her head. “I don’t know. I guess that will work. I can’t really think of anything else right now.” She stroked Jamie’s head sadly. “I just wish we’d have known beforehand. I hate that they had to go through that.”
“Me too,” Alex mirrored Kara’s actions, stroking Jessie’s head in concern. “I’m sorry, Kara, I didn’t see that coming at all.”
“It’s not your fault, Alex,” Kara soothed her. “None of us saw this coming, not just you.”
“It’s my fault,” Lena kicked herself. “I shouldn’t have been so insistent on using Kryptonite.”
“No, Lena, we needed it, obviously,” Kara insisted. “This isn’t anyone’s fault. We just need to keep them from going back down there somehow.”
“You told them Julia was sick, right?” Maggie double-checked. “Maybe instead of saying they have food poisoning, we could say that they got sick from her? That might be more of a deterrent.”
Alex nodded. “Good thinking, Mags. What would we do without you?”
“I dread to think,” Maggie smirked.
Normally, this would get Alex bantering with her wife, but the agent was too worried about her kids at the moment.
“I should get back downstairs,” Douglas finally spoke again. “I’m sure the girls are worried sick about the twins. I need to let them know that they’re OK. Text me when they wake up.”
“I’m gonna stay here, if that’s OK,” Jack said, raising his brow at the Danvers.
“Of course it is,” Kara allowed.
Eliza’s phone rang, and she checked who it was. “It’s her,” she told the others, meaning the OB. She talked to her friend, and the doctor insisted on seeing the mothers-to-be first thing in the morning before any of her other patients came in. It was the only option at the moment. The three pregnant women agreed to the appointments, promising to be there early. Eliza chatted with her colleague for another minute before sharing Dr. Landry’s well wishes and hanging up. “OK,” she sighed. “Now we just have to wait for the kids to wake up.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Douglas returned to Sam and Julia’s cellblock, and the girls’ and Winn’s attention was on him immediately.
“Are they OK?” Ruby whimpered. “What happened?”
He held his hands out to slow her down. “They’re OK,” he said quickly. “They’re resting under the sun lamps.”
“Oh, thank God!” Sam groaned with relief, the sentiment echoed by Ruby, Julia and Winn.
“What happened?” Julia asked earnestly. “They were perfectly fine when they first got here.”
“Uh,” Douglas fumbled for an excuse, but he couldn’t explain the lie without telling Sam and Julia the truth, so he just gave one of his patent, “It’s classified,” answers that he always used on his family, hoping they wouldn’t be too pissed at him.
“What do you mean classified?” Ruby demanded.
“I’m sure your girlfriend will tell you later,” he tried.
Ruby rolled her eyes, but didn’t press the issue. “Fine, be that way.”
Winn let Douglas into Sam’s room, and he sat down next to Sam on the opposite side of Ruby, putting his arms around both girls. “They’re OK. Breathe.”
Sam and Ruby each took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.
“Ruby, did you bring your homework?” Sam asked.
“Yeah, but I left my backpack in the car,” Ruby groaned.
“I’ll see if someone can get it,” Sam replied, pulling out her phone.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara’s phone pinged, and the noise made Jamie stir. “Too loud,” she grumbled.
“Jamie?” Kara said softly, mindful of her daughter’s super hearing.
“Mm,” the preteen grunted.
Alex quickly came to her side. “Jamie, baby, open your eyes for Mommy.”
“Don’t wanna,” Jamie mumbled.
“Why not?” Alex worried. “Are you still sick?”
Jamie scrunched her brow together. “‘M tired.”
“Are you in pain? Are you still sick to your stomach?” Alex pressed.
Their daughter just shook her head. “Shh!”
When Alex retook her vitals, and they were back within normal range, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Alex checked on Jessie, and her vitals were the same, so she tried rousing her. “Jess?” she took her daughter’s hand and tickled at her palm. “Hey, baby, are you with us?” Jessie’s hand twitched around her fingers like a vice. “OW!” she yelped, pulling her hand away.
Jessie put her hands over her ears at the yell. “Mom?” she exclaimed, watching Alex cradling her hand against her chest. “What happened?”
“I wasn’t thinking that Mama took your red sun bands off, and you wouldn’t know to temper your powers when you woke up,” Alex explained.
Jessie looked stricken. “I hurt you?” she squeeked. “I’m so sorry, Mommy!”
“It’s OK, baby, it’s not your fault,” Alex tried to smile, but she’s not sure it was more than a grimace because, fuck, that hurt. She might need some ice. She looked pleadingly over at Jack.
“Do you have a towel?” Jack asked.
Eliza grabbed a smallish cloth and handed it to him. He folded it over Alex’s hand and blew on it until a thin coating of ice covered the already bruised and swollen areas. Alex nodded her thanks and presented it to Kara to look at her bones and see if anything was broken.
Kara was thorough in her assessment, taking her time to look at her hand from every angle possible. “I don’t see any fractures or breaks,” she finally said. “I think you’re going to be pretty sore for a while though, it looks really bruised.”
Jessie started bawling. “I’m sorry, Mom!” she sobbed into her hands. She still had yet to even sit up, which spoke volumes to Alex about her daughters’ condition. Jamie was still laying down too, although she had finally opened her eyes to see what was going on.
Alex stroked Jessie’s arm with her good hand. “It’s OK, baby. Just breathe. I’m not dying. It’s not the end of the world. I’ve had way worse, trust me.”
“B-but n-not from m-me!” Jessie still cried.
Sympathetic tears slid down Alex’s cheeks. “Come on, now, shake it off,” she encouraged. “You’re making me cry too now. Can you sit up?”
Jessie shakily pushed herself up into a sitting position on the sun bed. “I feel really heavy and tired.”
Alex nodded. “I know, baby, that’s why we have you under the sun lamps. I want you to stay here until you feel better again. Give Mommy a hug.”
Jessie whimpered in fear.
“You’re OK. You can do it,” Alex encouraged her. “Just relax.” She pulled her daughter into her and waited for Jessie to gently wrap her hands around her shoulders. “Good girl,” she soothed. “I love you so much. I promise, I will never hold this against you. You shouldn’t hold it against yourself either. There’s no point.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Jessie sniffled.
“You’re welcome, baby girl,” she smiled and kissed her daughter’s head. “You can lay back down now.”
Jessie did.
Alex kissed both of the twins on the head, and the other women did the same.
“Uh, I guess Ruby left her homework in the van,” Kara revealed a text from Sam. “I’m gonna go get it real quick.” She zipped out and back with Ruby’s backpack faster than anyone could even acknowledge her leaving. “Got it.” She texted a response to Sam and then just waited.
A few minutes later, Douglas came to get Ruby’s bag. “How are they?” he asked.
“They’re doing better,” Kara replied. “They’re still pretty worn out, though.”
He nodded in understanding. “I didn’t tell the others anything. I’ll have to explain it to Sam after you take Ruby home.”
“OK,” Kara acknowledged. “Thanks for your help.”
“Anytime,” he offered in kind. “I’m gonna get this downstairs,” he waved Ruby’s backpack at them. “See you later.”
Everyone said bye to him as he exited the medbay.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
It was a few more hours before the twins felt better enough to sit up and eat something. After that, Eliza shooed them all away, so they could go home and rest.
Alex glared at her mother, knowing that the woman was going to stay later and work longer. “You’d better get some rest yourself, Mom!” she huffed.
Eliza just waved at her. “Bye, guys! I love you all!”
“Love you too!” the fam called back.
On the way, Alex and Kara explained the kids' sickness with the lie that they’d concocted about getting sick from Julia who was supposedly sick and in quarantine. The explanation almost didn’t work because the twins figured that they could just walk in there with no red sun bands and be fine, but all four parents insisted that they would do no such thing. The twins were quite upset at being forbidden from seeing Sam and Julia, and there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth, but the parents stayed firm.
When they got home, Alex insisted that the twins sleep in the sun room overnight. Ruby wasn’t very happy at the prospect of sleeping alone, but Alex warned her that she would get seriously sunburned if she slept in the sun room with them. (Although, a part of her wondered if Ruby might be half-Kryptonian too, considering Sam’s creators, but she didn’t share that thought with anyone yet.) As a consolation prize of sorts for their guest, Alex gave Ruby a bottle of sunscreen and made her promise to put it on before she allowed the twins to skip their homework for the night and watch a movie in the sun room before bedtime. She also made a rare allowance for them to have popcorn and non caffeinated soda, making it clear that this was a one-time deal.
While the kids watched their movie upstairs, the adults cuddled up on the couch and watched their own movie. Kara wasn’t the biggest fan of action flicks, but she wanted to snuggle with her wives after a long day of worrying, so she didn’t complain about what they watched. As usual the three moms-to-be fell asleep on the couch, and Kara carried them upstairs to bed, giving the kids a lights out warning. After the kids took their showers, she sent them to bed and then settled in herself. Things had been so crazy lately that she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone