Chương 53: Chapter 49
So, we're finally back! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!
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Kara stepped out into the mountain, a new, fully repaired mask on her face. She had thought about switching —maybe wearing a simple domino mask with computer lenses and holographic projectors incorporated to change her facial features— but, in the end, she decided against it.
She could see some advantages to having her mouth uncovered, it was far more convenient but, with things like fear toxin, joker venom and people who could turn kryptonite into gas, she couldn't justify the danger of having her nose and mouth exposed.
Also, the full mask had held up to two punches from a powerhouse like Wrath; those punches would probably have hurt far more if she took them directly on her exposed mouth instead of an extremely strong metal.
"Try not to stray from the path illuminated by blue lights," she warned her companions. "The Captain should be both fast and strong enough to protect you from any of the defenses, but it's best not to risk it."
Behind her, Amy and Amber paused, glancing around the room and hesitating to get down to the floor. The girls looked good, much better than when Kara had last seen them at STAR labs.
They both wore jeans and matching domino masks, but Amy had a white wool blouse, her hair held in a ponytail, while Amber had chosen a more rebellious look, having cut her hair short and wearing black boots and a small leather jacket.
"I… what?" Amy turned towards her, one of her hands holding back her… 'Sister' who was looking at the defenses with interest.
"I thought you said you had already updated the defenses?" Captain Marvel asked, his face turning to frown at her.
"I did. In the places we were going to use, not the entire mountain," Kara shrugged, starting to walk out of the Zeta-Tube chamber. "It's a safety feature. I can activate all the defenses from a single button, but deactivating or adding another person requires me to update every one of my devices independently."
Amber herself seemed perfectly happy with the situation, her eyes following the energy cables that feed the sunstone defenses. Kara would have to take most of them out once everything had finally finished growing, making the devices charge passively. Either that or find a way to block another electrokinetic from sensing them.
"Can't you just do it yourself then? You're pretty fast, or I could do it for you," Marvel offered, his eyes glancing worriedly at one of the turrets hidden in the ceiling. "Would only take me a few minutes too."
"Nope, they can't be updated at the same time and take 20 seconds each. I couldn't have any speedster just running through the base and deactivating everything," Kara smiled, looking between the worried Captain and the two girls watching him. "I guess you're just gonna have to stay close to your girlfriends then. Since you're already coded into the defenses, nothing you couldn't stop should activate with you nearby."
"They're not my girlfriends," Marvel glanced away, his face blushing slightly. "Can you not, please?"
Far more interesting, Kara caught Amy flushing in embarrassment as well, while Amber gave the superhero a glare, as if it was his fault they were being teased, either that or because he was denying things.
The kids were still too young to be actually dating, but the girls clearly had a crush on him, how amusing… and strange, it was usually the other way around.
Plus, Billy was definitely too young for them. Then again, they could see what he'd look like when he was older every time he transformed so, well, Kara couldn't blame the teens.
"Sorry, I'll drop it now. I just couldn't resist," she said, turning a corner and making sure neither girl stepped into the white corridor, the one where one of her unfinished Karabots was still slowly reprogramming the defenses. "I'll start teasing again in three or four years, after you've started puberty, should be much funnier then."
Captain Marvel was just about to pass her by, content with getting the concession from her when he heard the second part, stumbling and giving her an exasperated look, as if he could already see it happening and was suffering ahead of time.
"Stop teasing him," Amber gave her a glare, a spark of electricity running through her fingers almost unconsciously.
"Don't worry, I already said I'd stop… with this particular topic," Kara snorted, attempting to mess up Amber's hair only to get zapped in return, her costume's defenses easily absorbing the charge.
Eventually, they started making their way down towards the grotto, Captain Marvel turning towards her. "I thought you asked me to help with some experiments?"
"Yep, but we're using my own lab, not the Mountain's."
"You have a secret lab inside the secret lair?" Amber asked, looking up at her with some approval.
"Yep, don't tell anyone," Kara said, stepping in front of the last safety check, letting it scan her body.
"Ah… about that, I'm definitely telling the Titans," Captain Marvel sighed, shaking his head. "Sorry, Miss Kara, but I learned my lessons about keeping secrets, even by omission."
"Don't worry, I meant anyone outside our circle of friends. I don't really care if the Titans or the League knows, I just didn't mention anything because it didn't come up," Kara answered, waiting until the door started to open.
With a hiss, the wall snapped open, a jet of air being released from the openings in the walls and a cloud of white smoke spread through the floor. "Don't mind the smoke, there's a small leak I'll fix later, but it's not harmful."
"So, why do you need us here anyway?" Amber asked, tracing a finger on the wall as they descended the stairs.
"Your powers interact very well with Billy's magic, I want to study it," Kara answered absentmindedly.
"I thought you couldn't mix magic and tech?" Amy too asked, getting interested in the talk. "I read that magic can't be controlled with technology, it actively doesn't like it."
"That's… not exactly true, it's just VERY hard to even be able to sense magic, much less manipulate it. You usually need special materials," Kara explained, turning on the lights on the entrance to her mountain lab. "I was able to build a device to destabilize magical sources, but the only targets I have are… well, let's just say I want to study other magical sources more before trying to use my own for anything but causing destruction."
"Ah! Yeah, I saw what you did in Salem, I don't think anyone wants you experimenting with that," Captain Marvel said, walking behind the girls and making sure they were safe. "Also, didn't know you had more of it."
"I do, and even I don't want to make a mistake with that. Don't have enough Nth metal to defend myself if I do."
Finally, Kara stepped into her lab, another Karabot looking exactly like her dutifully working to keep the place clean and monitor the energy production. Kara was fairly sure there was nothing wrong with the geothermal power plant, but there was no need to risk it by leaving the structure unattended.
Walking inside, the first thing her companions saw was the bowing robot replication, all three of them stopping short as they looked at Kara's features, the robot getting up from her chair and bowing politely.
Looking at the robot, Kara briefly glanced down at her own chest and grunted in annoyance, damn Wrath. She had prepared the Karabot before fighting against the demon, so she'd have to modify it again and reapply the skin grafts if she wanted the robot to pass for her doppelganger once more.
"Don't mind it, that's just my robotic double. Good for alibis, menial labor and tricking my enemies."
"Cool!" Captain Marvel and Amber said at the same time, trading a glance and a smile.
"Does it have weapons?" Amber asked, her eyes shining.
"Is it intelligent like Red Tornado?" Captain Marvel asked, trying to mask his eagerness.
Amy just shook her head, seeming frustrated at her companions before finding a spot to sit on, her eyes focusing on the experimental table in the middle of the room. Kara had put a mattress to make it more comfortable, but it still looked intimidating for the girl.
"It's funny you should mention Red Tornado," Kara commented. "It does, in fact, have weapons. The design is more or less based on Tornado's blueprints, with a weaker wind core inside, but it's not sentient or sapient, just programmed with a good but limited AI."
"Indeed, I am capable of answering rudimentary questions, but any problems outside my programming would leave me unable to articulate a correct response," her robotic duplicate answered, already opening space towards the examination table.
"So, do I just…?" Captain Marvel asked, looking at the table with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, I'm gonna start with some personal experimentation just to check on some things, then I want to see your transformation before we start experimenting with the girls," Kara explained, sending a command to tilt the examination table forward. "I'm not really gonna try to use your magic —don't want to risk Zeus getting offended or something— just study it."
Captain Marvel easily lay on the table, his back resting against the mattress as it returned to its natural position parallel to the ground. From the sides of the table, twenty centimeters wide manacles snapped into place, locking all of the Captain's limbs including his neck.
Behind her, Amy and Amber gasped, but she ignored them, tapping on her computer as fast as she could. Finally, spotlights shone upon the captured hero and a large robotic arm rose from the floor, hundreds of sharp instruments unfurling from the hand-like tip as if it was a spider spreading its legs, a circular saw starting to rotate.
Finally, Kara finished typing and relaxed. "Sorry about that, I forgot to change the settings."
"Kara…"
"I said I was sorry. It was an honest mistake!" she protested. "I'm not exactly a medic, the table is supposed to be used with robots, not people."
With a snap, the locks retreated, the robotic limb curling back into a ball before leaning away from the table, letting Captain Marvel relax again, behind her, Amber and Amy glared, their hearts beating hard in their chest and electricity crackling from their bodies, particularly Amy's woolen sweater.
"Alright, let's start small," Kara said, ignoring the duo behind her. "Can you just extend your hand?"
The Captain glanced warily at the robot arm, looking perfectly friendly and harmless, the sharp tools hidden from view. Still, he obeyed and, with another command, the robotic arm extended a single finger, letting Kara pick up one of the devices it held, a much smaller copy of her teleport gun.
Holding the gun against his hand, Kara attempted to open a portal and teleport out a harmless piece of his body, something just under his skin that could be regenerated almost instantly. It didn't work.
With a click, she channeled more energy to the weapon, trying to both increase and decrease the amount of material it teleported, after a dozen tries she gave up, leaning back and whispering. "Damn, and it worked on Vortigar too."
Reading from her sensors, it seems like Captain Marvel's power had some dimensional component to them, because something was interfering with the portal before it formed inside his skin. Could he actually teleport on his own with some training?
"Isn't Vortigar the demon you…" Captain Marvel started asking.
"Don't worry, don't think about it," Kara answered, cutting him off and starting to try her other devices.
Unfortunately, a lot of what she could do simply didn't work on the Captain, his magical defenses being much better than even a prince of Hell's. She also couldn't disrupt his transformation or draw away his magic with any of her devices, and most of her weapons barely affected him.
Rao damn it, that would make fighting Black Adam such a pain. Kara had been hoping she could just snipe the bastard with her teleport gun, but it seems she'd have to find a way under his magical defenses first.
She did manage to pierce his skin quite easily with Nth metal, but that had almost been a given and she currently had a VERY finite amount of the metal. Finally, Kara had some sensors put on the Captain's body and asked him to transform.
That Zeus's power could reach Billy even in Kara's sanctuary wasn't exactly a surprise, but it was still unwelcome. It seems she still hadn't managed to block divine influence reaching her bases despite the latest adaptations she had made. Would she need to find more Nth metal to fully protect things?
Billy looked far too small on the examination table. The kid wore his school clothes, the sensors appearing directly on his skin and under the clothes, causing him to shiver from the cold.
"Did you get anything, Miss Kara?" he asked, pushing himself up on his elbows.
"Just a second," she watched the information on the screen, finally smiling a little. "Yep, it's not everything I hoped for but, frankly, I didn't expect anything so…"
From behind her, Kara caught Amber trying to peek at the information. "So, what was all that about?"
"Mostly testing ways of getting through his defenses to be honest," Kara explained, pointing at the robotic limb. "Most of those are things I have adapted into weapons."
"And why, exactly, do you need to get through his defenses?" the girl narrowed her eyes, putting herself between Kara and Billy's untransformed body.
"Don't worry, that's just how I'm used to doing things," Kara smiled at seeing the scene. "On my planet, I used to find faults with other projects; I'd then find exactly why that fault happened. Most of the time, it's not exactly easier this way but, with magic, I don't have much to start with. Also, well, Billy isn't the only one with this particular set of powers."
"You're talking about Black Adam?" Billy asked, lying back on the table.
"Well, you're pretty much one of the strongest magical beings on the planet, getting through your defenses would definitely help me against all other spellcasters," Kara smiled at him. "But, yeah, Black Adam is one of the ones I'm most concerned about."
Stepping away from the table, Kara made sure to save all the data she had, making two copies and putting one in her pocket. From the other side of the room, her Karabot pushed two exam tables, both with mattresses.
"Alright, do you girls want to change clothes before we start? I'm gonna have to put the sensors directly on your skin," Kara turned to look at the twins, but they just shook their heads.
Both of them took off their outwear, revealing superhero costumes behind. Amber wore a black leotard under her jacket, yellow lightning patterns all around the costume. Amy's was far more modest: dark blue in color, the costume had a skirt and covered all her limbs, with a small, white cape over her exposed back, a thunderbolt imprint on it.
Amber stood straight, a hand at her waist as she dared Kara to critique her or her sister's costumes, but Amy was as red as a tomato, avoiding looking at anyone and doing her best to cover her modest chest with both hands, the costume wasn't even revealing, not much different from a dress really.
"We thought it best to have the costumes, we're not cleared to leave the labs without supervision yet but, just in case you know?" Amy said, sounding nervous.
"I can work with that," Kara shrugged. She needed to get the sensors on skin, but that was easily accessible with the costumes.
"I like it, it reminds me of my own costume," Billy commented, causing both girls to turn away from him and avoid his eyes.
An hour later, she was done with gathering information, it also seemed like Zeus' power was getting… annoyed at constantly being swapped between them, actually causing Billy to wince by giving him a small shock.
Kara doubted very much that Zeus himself was constantly watching over the boy, and Billy had said he could call upon the power as many times as he wished, but being drawn to Amber and Amy seemed to make it… harder to use after a while.
Probably something to do with Billy being pure while the girls… not as much. In any case, Kara didn't want to take any risks and she had enough information to continue her study.
Seems like it really was the Power of Zeus that protected Billy from her teleportation, because Kara couldn't use the teleportation gun against the girls when they were channeling it.
Against Black Adam… it really could go either way. The supervillain was empowered by a different divinity, so it was entirely possible that his protections were not the same, but Kara didn't want to risk it.
Still, she had a lot of information and, actually, replicating the twins' meta-ability seemed entirely possible with some work, much easier than manipulating the magic directly. Kara already had some thoughts about that, even if they required some of the limited materials in the Fortress.
Looking at the time, Kara noticed it was getting late. Unfortunately, the Titans were still out and the girls had a curfew, so they wouldn't be able to meet the team this time.
That's what she gets for not warning Kori she'd be doing this today, but it was a last minute thing, Kara had called Billy in the morning and he was already going to visit the girls.
"Alright, we're done here today," she said, pushing herself away from the console. "You guys want to see the magma chambers?"
"YES!" all three of them answered immediately, the girls putting their clothes back on.
Both Billy and Amber went ahead, led by the Karabot towards the artificial volcano, Amy wasn't as eager, walking calmly beside Kara, paying attention to every part of her lab with a spark in her eyes.
"I thought Rhode Island didn't have a faultline," Amy asked, feeling more comfortable with her costume covered.
"It doesn't, I made an artificial volcano to generate thermal energy."
"Won't the magma eventually cool down and solidify?" The girl lifted both eyebrows, trying to think about the facility.
"Yes, but the chamber is large, it'll take half a year for the magma to cool down enough that the energy generated starts to drop," Kara smiled at her. "When that happens I'll just compress the resulting rock, use it to reinforce the chamber and refill it again. I'll be able to do that thirty times before I have to start taking the material out."
"That… seems like a lot of work," Amy commented, her voice sounding uncertain, as if afraid to criticize her.
"Not with my tech, Krypton was far more developed than Earth," Kara shrugged, finally stepping into the elevator chamber. "I confess having a volcano base did factor into my choice, but the alternatives were only marginally more effective."
The elevator dropped, traveling down towards the magma chamber in only a couple of seconds, the doors snapping open to reveal Billy and Amber looking at the flowing magma behind a transparent crystal wall.
The observation room was expensive to make and maintain, needing constant shielding to keep safe from the heat, but the view was really nice.
"You know, I once fought in a volcano," Billy commented, looking back at Kara and Amy as they arrived. "Doctor Sivana didn't have such a nice view though."
"Did you beat him?" Amber asked.
"He wasn't there, just some robot of his," Billy answered, a smile on his face as he remembered things. "It was pretty nice, being able to fight all out without having to worry about civilians."
Kara herself was interested in hearing the story, mostly to see if she could find the location later, so they sat down in front of the flowing magma slowly moving against the crystal, the red light illuminating them and making for an interesting atmosphere to tell tales.
Finally, Kara took the kids back to STAR labs. Technically, the twins only needed to check in with the lab twice a week, the medics there acting almost like probation officers, but the two of them didn't have legal guardians and, because of their power, the government couldn't put them in a group home.
Kara knew Red Tornado himself was actually thinking of adopting the pair but, because of his current legal situation, the court was still discussing his viability. On one hand, he was a well established hero that could clearly give them the help they needed and, on the other, it wasn't so long ago someone had sued him to try and regain their 'property'.
She had thought to try and help out, but really, there was nothing she could do to accelerate the process that Batman wasn't already handling. At this point, it was left to the lawyers and the Judge.
Still, Kara made a mental note to take them out more often. She'd have to have a member of the League with her for the court to accept it, but it wasn't like she didn't spend time training with Kal or Wonder Woman every week.
Captain Marvel stayed with them for a little longer while Kara stepped out, teleporting back to the Fortress. She wanted to start experimenting as soon as possible.
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Thanks to Eric Faust for helping out with the chapter.
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