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Chapter Text

“Liar!”

“Traitor!”

“Murderer!”

Something hard struck Kara’s temple, causing her to stumble.  It took a moment to recover and her heart started racing as she realized where she was.  Back on War World, in the same space R’Kard had begun the long walk to what he’d planned to be her end.  Only her would-be executioner was nowhere to be found.  Instead, Kara was surrounded by everyone she’d failed, all of them baying for her blood.

“I-I’m so sorry,” she insisted, backing away from the mob.  But more moved in from behind.  The Branx and the Toomian – her first and last opponents in the Underworld – stretched her arms out to the sides, holding her in place as someone she couldn’t see ripped open the back of her shirt.  Kara bit back a cry of pain as the lash came down on her bared flesh.  It struck again and again, to the point where the agony overwhelmed her senses.  She could feel the blood flowing freely even as her knees buckled.  When her unseen tormentor finally tired of that torture, Kara found herself forced back to her feet and dragged towards the city gates, the voices of the dead growing louder with each step.  As they passed through said gates, Kara saw an already-assembled wooden cross waiting for her on the ground; the upper half propped up on blocks, no doubt for easier access.  “No…please…” she begged, her voice barely a whisper.  But her captors were unmoved.  They forced her onto the cross, the Branx and Toomian stretching her arms over the crossbeam while Declyn and another of the executed rebels bent her knees and forced her feet flat against the vertical beam, one on top of the other. 

“You failed us, Kara Zor-El,” a familiar voice sneered.  Zara came into view seconds later, holding three glowing green spikes in her hand.  “We’re dead because of you.  You don’t get to just walk away from that.  Justice must be done.”  Before Kara could even think of a response, Zara handed off two of the spikes, placing the third over Kara’s right wrist and pulling out a hammer.  “For the Resistance!”  A scream ripped from Kara’s throat as the Kryptonite spikes were driven through her wrists and feet, and again when the cross was pulled upright.  And between the earlier beating and the Kryptonite, Kara could scarcely even breathe.  Her whole body felt as if it had been set ablaze. 

Then, just as Kara was about to draw her last breath – again – she found herself suddenly engulfed in actual flames.  But there was no pain.  It was more like a warm embrace.  The cross fell away and she was flying…as though she had wings.  Kara soared higher and higher, quickly clearing the atmosphere.  A dragon waited for her there…one that reminded her of Drogon, but with shinier scales.  And there was something oddly familiar about its eyes.  Kara caught a glimpse of herself in the scales, only…it wasn’t her own face she was staring at.  It was the face and body of a phoenix.  The dragon nudged her – almost playfully – and took off into the stars, Kara quickly giving chase.  They wove a path around entire solar systems in the blink of an eye, soon finding themselves hovering over Argo.  And – strangely – instead of heading for the city proper, Kara found herself drawn to a field near the edge of the protective dome and headed straight for it, the dragon right on her tail.  A stunning blonde in white robes waited for them there.

“Welcome, my children,” she smiled as Kara and the dragon set down before her.  The blonde reached up to stroke Kara’s beak, meeting her eyes, and in that moment the Kryptonian knew exactly who she was staring at.  Yuda, goddess of love and the moon.  “I’ve waited so long for you to return to me,” the goddess continued.  “Our time here is short, but you’ll know where to find me again.  And when you do, I promise all will be revealed.  Right now, though, I need you to WAKE UP!” 

Kara jolted awake just in time to see the glint of a knife plunging towards her chest.  Instinctively, she raised her arms to block it, but whoever was on the other end only pushed back harder.  Gritting her teeth against the pain (which still lingered even though the bones had long since healed), Kara managed to get her legs up between them and shove her assailant backwards with her feet before rolling off the bed herself.  “Lights,” she called out, pushing herself upright, only to stare in shock as the illumination revealed her attacker.  “Mon-El?”

“Wrong!” the Daxamite snarled, lunging forward with his blade.  Kara just barely managed to avoid the charge.

“Then who…?”

He charged again, this time slicing her palm as she attempted to block the swing.  “I’m Kel-Van, half-brother to our missing Prince.  And twin of Zara Van.  Our laws demand justice for her murder!”  Kara barely had time to react to the revelation before he tried again.  And this time, she only just managed to deflect the blow, crying out in pain as it sank into her left shoulder.  At which point something inside her just…snapped.  It was like she was back in the pit again.  Kara latched onto Kel-Van’s wrist as he tried to pull the blade free, twisting the arm behind his back and wrapping her good one around his neck.  While her invulnerability and healing were still a work in progress, her strength was well on its way back to where it had been before…a fact that didn’t truly sink in until an audible snap filled the room and Kel-Van went limp in her arms.  Kara immediately released her grip and scrambled backwards, watching in horror as he crumbled to the floor like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

“Rao…what have I done?” she breathed, unable to tear her gaze from Kel-Van’s unseeing eyes, which stared back at her accusingly.  She could practically hear the cheers of the Underworld’s patrons – chanting the name that had been forced upon her there as though she’d done something great – mixed in with the triumphant laughter of R’Kard and his goons after she’d been coerced into ending Zara’s life.  Kel-Van’s eyes were almost identical to Zara’s, and for several long moments, reality seemed to shift to the point where she could no longer tell which of their bodies lay before her.  Her chest tightened and breathing became nigh-impossible.  Kara blindly clawed at whatever was nearest, desperate to get back to her feet and put some distance between herself and the evidence of her latest crime.  But having only one good arm for the moment meant that her efforts were in vain.  The best she could manage was to back herself into a corner, curling into a ball and putting her head between her knees in an attempt to block out the noise.  Not that it helped.  The cheers and laughter only grew louder; her chest tightened even further, leaving her practically hyperventilating.  A sudden touch to her uninjured shoulder made the Kryptonian nearly jump out of her skin.

“Whoa…hey…it’s me….”

Daring a glance up, Kara found herself staring at the last person she’d expected to wander her way.  “Mags?” she gasped, scarcely able to even get the word out.  Not counting the time spent in the healing pod, it had been nearly three weeks since she’d last seen her sister’s fiancé.  She’d seen plenty of her mother, her sister, and Lena (and the only reason her own betrothed wasn’t sharing her bed was some old Kryptonian law forbidding co-habitation prior to the bonding ceremony), but Maggie had been steadfastly avoiding her up until now. 

The Latina nodded.  “Breathe with me, Kar.  In.  Out.  In.  Out.”  Maggie placed a hand on Kara’s chest as she spoke, inhaling and exhaling in a slow, deliberate manner.  Kara followed suit and the voices finally began to fade.  “Better?”

“Not really,” Kara muttered.  “I killed him, Mags.  R’Kard…he won after all.  Made me the same kind of monster he was.”  Shaking her head, Kara pulled herself away from Maggie.  “I should have died on War World….”

Maggie reached out to cup Kara’s cheek, forcing the Kryptonian to meet her eyes.  “What happened, Kara?” she asked softly, briefly glancing back at the body as she spoke.

“I was having this strange dream, and then I woke up to find him standing over me with a knife.  He tried to stab me…said Zara was his sister and my death would be justice.  We fought over the blade, he managed to sink it into my shoulder, and then…Rao…I pulled him to me and wrapped my good arm around his neck.  Snapped it without a second thought.  Rao….”

“Sounds like self-defense to me.  That guy’s been giving me bad vibes since we met, and not just because he looks like your ex.”

“Who is…was…he?”

“Lena’s pilot.  Though I have no idea how he could’ve found out about Zara.  I sure as fuck didn’t tell him.”

Kara shook her head.  “Doesn’t matter.  He’s dead because I can’t control myself anymore.  Rao…what happens when we get back to Earth?  How can I possibly be a hero again if my first impulse is to kill?”

“Look, I know some part of you thinks you’re above all these petty human emotions, but it sounds to me like you’ve got PTSD.  And that’s something we can deal with.  I refuse to let you give up on yourself.”

“Like I did on War World, you mean?  Rao, I’m so sorry….”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Kara.  R’Kard was the only one to blame for putting us in that position, and he’s dead.  He can’t hurt us anymore.  Healing won’t happen overnight, but we’ll get there.  Both of us.  Speaking of….”  Before Kara could protest, Maggie yanked the knife out of her shoulder, then opened the panel on the sun suit to increase the power.  It didn’t take long for both the suit and her flesh to knit themselves back together.  “Anyway, I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.  I was wandering the ship because I couldn’t sleep and saw him sneak out.  Followed him here.  The only reason I didn’t head him off was because some fucking Peacekeepers thought I looked suspicious.  I talked them down without hurting anyone, but by the time I got here…well….”

“Thank you for trying, at least,” Kara nodded, pulling Maggie into a quick hug.  In some ways, she was glad Maggie was the one to find her.  The last thing she wanted was for Lena, Alex, or her mother to see what she’d become.  But before either of them could speak further, sounds from outside made their way to her ears; her senses having been heightened by the increased power to the suit.  “There’s a squad of Peacekeepers on their way here.  And they don’t sound happy.”

“Go.”

“What?”

“Get out of here,” Maggie insisted, standing up and pulling Kara along with her.  “I don’t know what justice looks like on Argo, but it’s probably not a good idea for you to stick around and find out.  Especially since we have no way of proving self-defense with your injury already healed.  Don’t worry…I’ll figure out something to tell the others.”

“Thank you.”  Much as Kara hated the idea of running from her problems, she knew Maggie was right.  Kryptonian justice had always been strict.  Kara couldn’t even remember if there was a word for ‘self-defense’ in their legal code.  And those of higher rank often received the harshest punishments in order to set an example.  Drawing Maggie into one last quick hug, she summoned all the speed she could access and took off, blurring right past the Peacekeepers before they even realized she was there.  And she kept running, not stopping until she was almost at the edge of the protective dome.  She dropped to her knees, panic once again setting in as her mind continued to dwell on what happened.  Closing her eyes, Kara forced herself to breathe slowly and deliberately, mentally going through an old meditation mantra her aunt had taught her when she was a child.  When the panic finally subsided again, she looked around and got a strange sense of déjà vu.  She hadn’t set foot outside of the healing center before now, and yet this field seemed familiar.  Her mind whirling as she tried to figure out how that was possible, Kara pushed herself back to her feet just in time to see a figure in white robes approach.  Said figure pushed their hood back to reveal a beautiful blonde woman – strange, yet as familiar as the field she stood in.  Before Kara could even think of anything to say, the woman closed the distance between them and reached out to cup her cheeks.

“Welcome home, my child.”

Chapter Text

Having flown across galaxies alongside an oddly familiar phoenix, Alex – in the form of a dragon with shiny black scales – found herself in a field near the edge of Argo’s protective dome.  A stunning blonde in white robes greeted them before focusing her attention on the phoenix.  Alex couldn’t really hear what was said for most of it, but then the blonde suddenly shouted ‘wake up’ and the phoenix disappeared.  Once they were alone, the blonde approached Alex, running a hand along her scaly muzzle.  “I know you don’t know me, my child, but you will.  Find me, and all will become clear.  You’ll know where to look.  Now go.”  As she spoke, the mysterious blonde gently pushed against Alex’s head, forcing her backwards….

Alex jolted awake, running her flesh-and-blood hand down her face as she tried to get her bearings.  “Remind me never to drink Kandorian ale right before bed ever again,” she muttered.  There was no response, and she glanced over to find the other side of the bed empty.  “Mags?”  Still nothing.  “Lights!”  The lights came on in Alex’s quarters, proving that she was, indeed, alone.  “Jana, locate Maggie Sawyer.”

“Maggie Sawyer appears to be in your quarters, Commander.”

“I think you’d better check aga….”  Alex trailed off, spotting Maggie’s coms on the nightstand.  Without those, Jana was useless for tracking her.  “Never mind.”  She slipped out of bed, pulling on the first set of clothes she found in her drawer.  Alex wasn’t sure if Maggie had deliberately left the coms behind or if she’d simply forgotten them, but either way, she had a feeling that she needed to locate her fiancé sooner rather than later.  Yanking her boots on, the ex-agent slipped her own coms in place and headed to the bridge.  Breena was sitting at Kel-Van’s usual station (despite them currently being grounded and sitting inside of an empty hangar), and the Daxamite was also nowhere to be found.  “Where’s Kel-Van?”

Breena shrugged.  “No idea.  I did see him run out of here like a torquat was on his tail.  And your betrothed wasn’t too far behind him.”

“Fuck,” Alex grumbled, running a hand through the little hair she still had.  “I don’t suppose you know why they left.”

“Not a clue.  But Kel-Van looked pissed.”

“Well, we need to find them.  Lena will have both of their heads if whatever they’re doing sparks an intergalactic incident.  Does Kel-Van still have his coms, at least?”  Another shrug from Breena.  “Jana, locate Kel-Van.”

“Kel-Van is in his quarters.”

“Fucking hell….”  This was the last thing Alex needed.  Having to sit and wait for everyone to fully recover while God-knows-what was happening back on Earth was bad enough.  They really couldn’t afford to lose Argo as an ally over…whatever was going on with Kel-Van.  “I don’t suppose you have any ideas for how I can track those two down?”

Breena stood up.  “Come with me, Commander.”  Alex followed the Kryptonian to her lab, watching her pick up a weird-looking tool she didn’t recognize.  “Dox and I finally finished the adjustments to your armor, along with a few upgrades.  Now, it’ll interface through your neural implant, allowing you complete control, and the brain-mapping we did after our arrival helped me improve the interface so it won’t misread your intent or fuel your rage like it did before.  We also added a stealth mode and an invisible mode.”

“What’s the difference?”

“All three modes will give you access to basic Kryptonian abilities – flight, strength, speed, and some degree of invulnerability – as well as filtering the input from your cybernetic eye through the visor so it’s less headache-inducing.  ‘Nightwing’ mode gives you the energy blasts in addition to those powers.  Stealth mode is more like your original Zaroxian armor, and invisible mode gives you access to the powers without the armor being obvious.”

“Sounds good to me,” Alex grinned.  “Do any of those modes have super-hearing?”

“I knew I forgot something!”  Breena ran to a workstation and plugged the tool into her computer.  A few rapid calculations later, she pulled it back out and returned to Alex’s side.  “That should do it.”

Nodding in appreciation, Alex pulled her metal arm off and handed it to Breena.  “Did Lena approve this?”

“Did I approve what?” the woman herself suddenly asked.  Alex glanced to the doorway to see her Captain standing there in her nightclothes.

Breena quickly stepped forward.  “The upgrades to the Commander’s armor are finished, and I was going to implement them so she could search for the crew members who’ve gone missing, since we can’t track their coms.”

“I see.”  Her expression unreadable, Lena took the odd tool from Breena and plugged it into the nearest workstation, obviously intent on inspecting the parameters for herself.  “The changes seem sound enough,” she mused, pulling the tool back out and returning it to Breena.  “Go ahead and implement them.  But be quick.”  She turned to Alex.  “There’s no need to track Maggie and Kel-Van.  I just intercepted an alert from the healing center.  Not a lot of details, but there seems to have been some sort of altercation in Kara’s room involving a Daxamite and a human.” 

“Is anyone hurt?”

Lena shrugged.  “Like I said, there weren’t a lot of details.  I’m going to change into something a bit more appropriate.  Get your arm fixed and meet me on the bridge.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Alex nodded, tossing off a half-mocking salute with her remaining arm as Lena rolled her eyes and left.  Once the Captain was gone, she turned to Breena.  “So how long will this take?”

Smiling, Breena moved to Alex’s side and hooked the arm back into its stump.  “I finished while you and the Captain were talking.  Want to test it out?”

“Sure.  What do I need to do?”

“Give me one moment to re-link it to the neural interface.”  As she spoke, Breena took a more familiar device and held it to the side of Alex’s head.  After a few moments, the device beeped, and Breena stepped back.  “Now all you have to do is think about what you want to happen.  The arm will do the rest.”

With a nod, Alex started with the basics – flexing the limb, moving the fingers, shifting the hand into a blade and back – then focused on what Breena had called ‘invisible mode.’  Nothing outwardly changed, but Alex felt something move over her skin and her organic eye was suddenly seeing the same things as her robotic one.  She grabbed something she knew to be heavy and lifted the item like it weighed nothing.  “I’m impressed,” she grinned, returning the item to its place.  Closing her eyes and focusing, Alex could hear Lena moving through the corridors to the bridge.  A quick burst of speed put her there just ahead of her soon-to-be sister-in-law.  “Breena really is a genius.”

“Damnú ort![1]” Lena exclaimed in what Alex quickly recognized as Gaelic.  She rarely used it, and Alex only knew what it was because the first time it happened Lena said something about her birth mother having been Irish before shutting the conversation down and refusing to talk further.  “Don’t do that!”

Alex raised her hands in surrender.  “Sorry, Lee.  Won’t happen again.”

“Good.”  Jaw tight, Lena brushed her hands over the emerald-green Kryptonian diplomatic robes she’d been given shortly after Kara's proposal (something about Kara needing to bond with someone of high status, which an ambassador would qualify for – even if the position is unofficial for the moment).  “I know you’re excited about your new toy….”

“Armor,” Alex corrected, only to back off a pace at Lena’s glare.

“Whatever.  Point is, we really shouldn’t be wasting more time.  Who knows what’s going on over there right now?”

“Right,” Alex nodded.  “Let’s go.”  Before Lena could argue, Alex scooped her up and sped in the direction of the healing center.  She overshot a bit the first time (not quite used to traveling that fast), but quickly corrected, setting the Captain back on her feet just in front of the main doors.

“Fucking hell…warn me next time, would you?”  As she spoke, Lena smoothed out her robes again, glaring at Alex the entire time.

“We’re here, aren’t we?  Kick my ass later if you want, but I’m not going to apologize for using the armor to….”  Alex trailed off as her newly enhanced hearing picked up something from the direction of Kara’s room.

“…dead.  The spinal column has been completely severed, as though someone grabbed the head and twisted.”

“But who could possibly have that kind of strength?”

“Oh God….” Alex breathed.  Someone had been killed in her sister’s room.  Not waiting for Lena, she ran inside and sped straight there, praying to whatever deities might be listening that it wasn’t Maggie or Kara.  When she reached the scene, all she saw at first were Kryptonian Peacekeepers standing around, with a body under a sheet in the back corner surrounded by medics.  She watched as a couple of said medics lifted the body onto one of their anti-gravity stretchers and guided it out of the room.  As they passed, she saw a limp – and clearly male – arm slip out from beneath the sheet to dangle off the edge.  Kel-Van.  Which still left Maggie and Kara unaccounted for.  Once the medics were gone, Alex slipped inside the room.  The bed was empty.  And the Peacekeepers were all focused on someone or something in the corner opposite from where the body had been. 

“For the last time, just tell us what happened,” a red-haired woman Alex vaguely recognized as the Chief demanded.

There was a moment of awkward silence before a familiar voice spoke up.  “Fuck you,” Maggie spat.  “I know my rights.”

“Rights?”  The head Peacekeeper seemed a bit confused at the notion.  Alex chose that moment to clear her throat, making her presence known.  And as the Peacekeepers turned to look, Alex saw her fiancé sitting on the floor with her hands cuffed behind her.

“About time, Danvers.”

Shooting Maggie a silent plea to stay quiet, Alex turned to the Chief.  “What’s going on?”

“That’s what I’d like to know, Commander.  We were alerted to a disturbance in this room and found the human standing over the body of your Daxamite pilot.  And she refuses to answer any questions.  Keeps asking for Miran-Da.”

“It’s a human thing,” Alex shrugged, fairly certain that trying to explain Miranda rights would be a waste of time here.  “You can’t seriously think that my betrothed just murdered our pilot in cold blood, do you?”

The Chief looked around a bit before pulling Alex to one side.  “Truthfully, no.  She’s certainly capable if what I’ve heard about her past is true, but Daxamite skeletons are fairly dense and it would be physically impossible to snap one’s neck without some sort of enhancements.  However, her refusal to cooperate is definitely not helping her case.  I think she’s protecting someone.”  As she spoke, the Chief glanced over at the empty bed.

“No,” Alex muttered, shaking her head.  “Kara isn’t a killer.”

“Believe me, I don’t want to think that way either.  But she had the sunsuit on, which would have given her the extra strength needed to snap the Daxamite’s neck, and she’s currently nowhere to be found.  You have to admit it looks suspicious.”  She sighed.  “Look, if you can convince your betrothed to talk, we’ll release her into your custody pending the outcome of the investigation.  Otherwise, we’ll have to hold her as an accomplice, at the very least.  On Krypton we banished murderers to Fort Rozz for life.”

“And what about on Argo?”

The Chief dropped her gaze.  “To be honest, I’m not sure.  It’s never come up.”

“Never?”

“Not that I can recall.  I do know that the Council has frequently debated reinstating the death penalty for such serious crimes if they happened, since we no longer have Fort Rozz and cannot risk letting such violent individuals become another planet’s problem.  We only risked the Phantom Zone projector with Lobo because he’s basically unkillable and there really was no other way to ensure everyone’s safety, even if it is only a temporary solution.  But I fear this situation will revive the death penalty debate, and the resolution may not be in your favor.”

Heart dropping into her stomach at the thought of losing Maggie and Kara again, Alex pushed her way past the Peacekeepers and knelt at her betrothed’s side.  “What happened, Mags?” she whispered, just loud enough for the smaller woman to hear.  “Please…tell me it’s not what I’m thinking right now.”

“It’s complicated, Al.”

“Then explain that to them.”

“Do you honestly think they’ll listen?  They don’t even understand the concept of suspects having rights.”

“Please,” Alex begged, running her flesh-and-blood hand down Maggie’s cheek.  “I can’t lose you again.  Whatever it is, just tell them.”

Maggie shook her head.  “I’ve hurt Kara enough for one lifetime.  If making up for that means taking the fall here, so be it.  It’s the least I deserve.”

“Mags…” she breathed, pushing back to her feet as the Peacekeepers grabbed Maggie by the arms and hauled her upright.  But Maggie still managed to maneuver herself close enough to kiss Alex on the lips.

“I love you, Alex Danvers.  Never forget that.”  The Peacekeepers dragged her away before Alex could even think of responding.  She could feel the rage building up inside, but unlike last time, nothing triggered.  Her armor remained the same.  Still, Alex stormed through the corridors in search of her fiancé, only to stop when someone grabbed her arm.  Lena.

“Don’t,” the Captain urged.

“Kel-Van’s dead and these guys think Kara and/or Maggie is responsible.  There hasn’t been a murder on Argo until now, but the Chief Peacekeeper says the Council is debating bringing back the death penalty for it.  I can’t lose them a second time, Lee.”

“And you won’t.”

“Lena….”

The Captain held up a hand.  “Let me handle Maggie.  A more diplomatic approach will work much better than storming in and tearing the Peacekeepers apart.  In the meantime, you should go look for Kara.  Something tells me she’s going to need her big sister now more than ever.  I promise I won’t let anything happen to your fiancé.”

“That’s what you said about your mission to rescue Kara,” Alex muttered.

Lena’s eyebrow shot up.  “She survived, didn’t she?”

“I know, I know,” Alex sighed.  “Just…keep her safe, okay?  Make sure she knows that none of us are holding her responsible for what happened back in that shithole…that she doesn’t need to fucking martyr herself as some sort of penance.”

Eyebrow raising a bit higher, Lena stayed silent for a moment before nodding.  “I will.”  She gave Alex’s right arm a gentle squeeze before turning and exiting the healing center in the direction the Peacekeepers had taken Maggie.  Drawing in a deep breath to try and calm herself, Alex thought about what Breena had called ‘stealth’ mode.  The last thing she wanted to do was lead the Peacekeepers right to Kara.  In moments, the armor became visible, covering her from head to toe.  But then when she looked down at her arms, it was almost as though she could see straight through them, and it had nothing to do with her eyes.  The armor was emitting some kind of scattering field that made her seem invisible.

“Breena really undersold the stealth mode,” Alex muttered before speeding out of the healing center.  She tried listening for her sister’s heartbeat as she ran, but there was just too much noise and she couldn’t figure out how to filter it.  So, she just kept moving.  Before long, Alex found herself in the middle of an oddly familiar field near the edge of the protective dome.  She honestly wasn’t sure where it was, but some instinct that she couldn’t explain had drawn her there.  An instinct that proved correct when she saw Kara kneeling in the grass, apparently meditating.  Not wanting to startle her, Alex drew her armor back into where it had come from and carefully approached, dropping to one knee next to her sister.  “Kara?” she whispered, gently laying her non-metal hand on Kara’s shoulder as she spoke. 

“What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you, of course.”  At that, Kara seemed to tense up, so Alex quickly raised her hands and shifted position so she was in front of her sister.  “I know Kel-Van is dead, but I’m not here to judge.  I’m just worried.”

Kara dropped her gaze, turning away.  “I never wanted you to see me like this.”

“Like what?”  No response.  “Kar?”

The young Kryptonian shook her head.  “I-I killed him, Lexie,” she finally whispered.  “Snapped his neck like he was nothing.”

“I know.”  Kara looked at her in shock and Alex gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile, reaching out with her right hand to brush back what remained of her sister’s hair.  “No one else would’ve been strong enough.  But I don’t care about that, Kara.”

“He was your friend.”

Alex shrugged.  “More of an acquaintance, really.  A coworker at best.”  Kara’s expression grew skeptical and Alex sighed.  “How well I knew him – which wasn’t very well at all, to be honest – isn’t the point.  I know you, and you wouldn’t have done something like this without reason.”

“Do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Know me,” Kara frowned.  “I’m not the girl you remember from Earth…not anymore.  R’Kard made sure of that.”  She ran a hand down her face.  “Kel-Van accused me of killing his sister, Zara.  Which I did, but only to spare her from being tortured to death by R’Kard and his men.  She was one of the only friends I had there.  Not that Kel-Van even gave me the chance to explain all of that.  He decided that justice required me to die as well.  I fought back…killed him without even consciously thinking about it.”

“And you’re terrified that your first instinct has become to kill.”  Kara nodded, and Alex pulled her into a hug.  “It’s going to be okay, Kara.”

“How?  The Peacekeepers are probably searching for me as we speak.  Kryptonians don’t exactly care much about motive when it comes to dealing with crime…especially murder.  If they find me, I’m doomed.  And Maggie…Rao…she insisted I run and leave her behind.”

“I know.  But Lena is planning to throw some of her diplomatic weight around and get her out of it.  Maggie will be fine,” Alex assured her sister, though she wasn’t entirely confident in the outcome herself.  “What’s important right now is making sure you’re okay.”  She pulled back to look Kara in the eyes.  “I can’t pretend to know exactly what you went through back on War World, but I’m not the same person who left Earth, either.  I’ve done things I’m not proud of, and I’m constantly fighting the instinct to kill when I go into combat.  Sometimes more successfully than others.  But I’m here for you, Kar, and I’ll be damned if either of us let what’s happened since the abduction define who we are for the rest of our lives.  Clichéd as it sounds, we’re just going to have to take it one day at a time.  How we move forward from this shit…that’s what matters now.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself.”  At the sudden intrusion, Alex shot to her feet and whirled around, instinctively shifting her hand into the barrel of her alien gun.  She found herself facing the blonde from her dream.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Come now, Alexandra,” the woman soothed, gently pushing Alex’s arm downwards.  “No need for such hostility.”

“How the fuck do you know my name?”

“Alex!” Kara hissed from behind her.

Ignoring her sister, Alex shifted her hand back to normal and stepped forward into the stranger’s space.  “Answer the question.”

“I am Riveka, High Priestess of Yuda.  And we would know the goddess’ beloved children anywhere.”

Alex frowned.  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“And how do you look like Yuda did in my dream?” Kara chimed in, lightly smacking Alex’s arm as she did.

Smiling, Riveka turned to Kara first.  “The goddess has no corporeal form, so when she appears to mortals, she often takes the shape of her high priestess.”  Something about the explanation seemed a bit too convenient for Alex, but since Kara seemed to accept it, she decided not to say anything.  For now.  The Priestess shifted her attention to Alex with a knowing look.  “As for the rest,” she continued, “follow me and all will be revealed.”  Riveka did…something…with her hands and a temple appeared seemingly out of nowhere.  Probably some sort of cloaking device.  Smiling, she turned and headed for said temple.  Alex exchanged a look with her sister.

“Are you buying this, Kar?” she whispered.

Kara shrugged.  “I don’t know.  But what do we have to lose?”

“Fine,” Alex sighed.  “Lead on, MacDuff.”

“I believe the quote is actually ‘lay on, MacDuff,’ which means something entirely different….”

“Shut up, smartass,” the elder Danvers grumbled.  “Let’s just get this over with.”  Not waiting for a response, she made her way towards the temple, with Kara right on her heels.  The temple itself was fairly modest, resembling a synagogue more than anything Greek or Roman.  Probably to avoid drawing attention to something that – based on what Kara had told her of Kryptonian religion – was frowned upon at best.  It was actually quite impressive that this group managed to not only survive their planet’s destruction but continue their practices right under the noses of the greatly reduced population of survivors on Argo.  “We’re not walking into some sort of freaky cult, are we?”

“Yuda isn’t an evil deity, if that’s what you’re asking.  Kryptonians once worshipped her right alongside Rao and a number of others, until the Raoists gained supremacy and effectively erased the rest of the pantheon.  According to my aunt, Yuda represented love in all of its forms.  The moon too, for some reason, but that wasn’t really anyone’s focus when praying to her.  I had no idea anyone still followed the old gods.”

“The so-called ‘old gods’ never went anywhere, child,” Riveka chimed in; her sudden reappearance causing Alex to practically jump out of her skin.

“Fuck!  Don’t fucking do that!”

Kara put a hand on Alex’s arm in a clear attempt at calming her.  “What I think my dear sister meant to ask is why you keep referring to us as Yuda’s children.  Alex isn’t even from Krypton, and I’ve always worshipped Rao.”

The High Priestess smiled, gently brushing some hairs away from Kara’s face before turning her attention to Alex.  “I know this all must be terribly confusing for you.  Both of you,” she added, glancing back at Kara.  “You will have answers soon enough.  But before you can enter the temple proper, both of you must be cleansed.”  Neither Alex nor Kara had a chance to even think of asking what that meant before they were swarmed by hooded priestesses, who proceeded to drag them off to separate parts of the outer temple….

[1] Irish Gaelic for Goddamn you! http://tierracelta.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-to-swear-insult-cuss-and-curse-in_13.html?m=1

Chapter Text

As the Peacekeepers dragged her away from the healing center, Maggie dared a glance backwards just in time to see Alex seemingly vanish into thin air – meaning that Breena must have finished the armor upgrades already.  Hopefully, Alex was on her way to find Kara and not planning on using the armor to do something stupid.  The last thing Lena needed was for this to turn into even more of an intergalactic incident than it already was.  Playing unofficial ambassador for Earth had to be hard enough without them adding to it.

With a slight shake of the head to refocus her thoughts, Maggie turned her gaze forward once more, forcing herself to ignore the stares of the Kryptonians who’d wandered out of their homes and whatnot to see the spectacle.  No doubt rumors of what happened in the healing center were already starting to circulate.  And if the snatches of the conversation between Alex and the Chief that she’d been able to pick out were to be believed, murder was pretty much non-existent on Argo.  Meaning that her arrest – even as a mere accessory – had to be something of a novelty to these people. 

They soon reached a fairly nondescript building that Maggie assumed was their version of a police station, at which point the Chief proceeded to shoo the onlookers away before ushering her into a space which made the DEO look like Gotham PD in comparison, technology-wise.  “Hold still,” the Chief ordered as her men moved Maggie into position before some kind of scanner.  A blue light made several passes over her body, and when it finally shut off, a holographic display popped up at a nearby console.  The display was filled with images of her less-than-willing participation in R’Kard’s atrocities, along with official-looking documents that – even without being able to read any of the languages – she knew were most definitely warrants for her arrest.

“So, you’re ‘Spartaca’?” one of the other officers commented.  “I thought you’d be taller.”

Frowning, the Chief waved him off.  “It seems Ambassador Luthor has been less than forthcoming about who she was rescuing from War World.  You have warrants out on at least a dozen worlds for the part you played in the wrongful executions of their citizens.”

“I’m fucked, aren’t I?” Maggie sighed, unable to dispute the charges.  Even if she hadn’t exactly been willing, she’d still helped R’Kard kill all of those people – and very nearly added Kara to that list as well.

“I don’t know what that means, but we’re definitely going to have to confer with the Council…decide whether to pass judgement ourselves or reveal our existence to the rest of the galaxy so that these other worlds can seek justice on their terms.  Either way, I’d be lying if I said I liked your chances.”  The Chief turned to her men.  “Book ‘Spartaca’ into one of our high-security cells.  And tell the investigators at the healing center to give any evidence they find on the murder directly to me so that I can prepare a full report for the Council.”

“Yes, Chief Ak-Var.”  Immediately, the officers took Maggie into something resembling an elevator.  The dark-haired male on her right pushed a button and the car began to move down below the surface, stopping a couple of levels down.  At that point, they pulled her down a corridor and through a heavy metal door marked with what she could only assume was the Kryptonese equivalent of ‘high security.’  On the other side was a metal desk manned by a short, squat Kryptonian who’d apparently been jolted from a nap by their entrance.

“New prisoner?”

“Chief Ak-Var’s orders.”

“Right,” the small man nodded.  He moved out from behind his desk and around to Maggie’s rear.  A moment later, she hissed when something stung her index finger.  She twisted her head around to see him return to his previous position, staring at a small device in his hands.  “This one isn’t Kryptonian.”

“No, but she’s wanted on a number of worlds for murder.  Chief Ak-Var wants her locked away for everyone’s safety until the Council can decide what’s to be done.”

“Of course.”  Handing the device to the officer on her left – a blonde woman only slightly taller than Kara – the small man pressed a button on the desk that caused a door to slide open behind him, at which point the officers took Maggie into the newly revealed room.  It reminded her of the booking area at the NCPD detention center, only way more high-tech. 

“Don’t try anything,” the male officer warned as they removed the cuffs.  Maggie just shrugged, rubbing her sore wrists while another blue light beam passed over her face.  This one seemed to be creating a file if the accompanying holographic display was any indication.  The blonde connected the device she’d been holding to the main computer, and what Maggie recognized (mostly from spending time with Alex) as a DNA sequence was added to the file.

“Is that it?”

Shaking her head, the blonde glanced at her partner and gestured towards the door.  The dark-haired man took the hint and left, shutting it behind him.  “We’re going to need your clothes for evidence in our investigation of this morning’s events,” she finally informed Maggie, once they were alone.  “And we also need a full body scan for our file.”

“Of course you do,” Maggie grumbled.  She kicked off her boots and removed the black tactical outfit she’d gotten from the ship’s replicator that morning (as it seemed to be their unofficial uniform).  “Do you need everything?”

“The outer garments will be sufficient.”  The blonde left the room for a moment, returning with what looked like a storage bin.  “Place them in this container, then stand on that platform there with your arms out to your sides.”  She indicated a raised section of floor behind the computer console, and Maggie moved to follow instructions, feeling somewhat foolish as she stood there waiting for the latest set of blue light beams to finish getting whatever information they were looking for.  The scans were soon added to the holographic display, along with a bunch of information in Kryptonese that Maggie assumed contained information about her physical characteristics.  “The scans are complete, so you may return to your original position.”  Breathing a sigh of relief, Maggie hopped back down from the platform and went back to where she’d been standing before.  She watched the blonde enter some information into a device on the nearby wall resembling the ship’s clothing replicator.  In minutes, the device produced a bundle of cloth and a pair of slip-on shoes, which the blonde then thrust into Maggie’s arms.  “Put these on.”  Nodding, Maggie quickly donned the sleeveless white shirt and heavy blue-gray jumpsuit she’d been provided, slipping on the plain black shoes as she buttoned up the top half.  There was Kryptonese writing on the front that matched the top of the holographic display, and Maggie could only assume it was her prisoner number.

“Anything else?” she ventured.

“No.  We’re done here.  Hold out your hands.”  Again, Maggie did as ordered, at which point a fresh set of cuffs were locked onto her wrists.  Once the cuffs were secured, the blonde grabbed her arm and pulled her from the room.  Her partner took hold of Maggie’s other arm when they emerged, and the short man opened another set of doors and led them down another corridor.  This one was entirely empty – likely just an additional layer of security.  They soon came to yet another set of doors, and this one led to what was clearly a cell block.  One that was almost entirely void of prisoners, save for a trio of older women, each in her own cell.

“What’d they do?”

“The call themselves the Witches of Juru,” the dark-haired officer informed her.  “It seems they sent a trio of genetically-engineered infants to Earth just before Krypton’s destruction, intent on using their so-called ‘Worldkillers’ to conquer the planet.  We only recently discovered the plot when they tried to steal a ship and head to Earth themselves.  They follow the dark goddess Cynthonna, the Mother of Monsters, and traffic in the forbidden sciences to achieve their ends.”

Maggie nodded.  “Got it.  They’re dangerous.”  She didn’t mention what J’onn had told them about the fate of the Worldkillers.  Last thing she needed right now was to get mixed up in that mess as well.  They continued past the so-called witches’ cells, turning a corner and moving to the end of the next block, at which point the short man finally opened one.  Maggie watched a force-field shut off and a set of horizontal metal bars retract into the wall.  The officers moved her into the cell and then stepped back as the bars slammed back into place.

“Put your hands through the bars.”  Maggie again followed their orders, this time to be rewarded with the removal of her cuffs.  She quickly pulled her hands back just in time to avoid the force field reactivating.  “The food replicator in your cell is programmed to provide you with a nutritionally complete meal three times a day,” the blonde informed her.  “The computer integrated into your desk contains educational programming to keep your mind stimulated, and a guard will escort you once a day to a recreational area where you can get some fresh air.  However, any attempt to escape that area will result in the loss of that privilege.  Should you receive a visitor, once that person is cleared you will be brought to a designated room to meet with them, though there will be no physical contact.  And – again – that privilege will be revoked should you attempt to escape while out of your cell.  There is a communicator next to the door that will connect you with the guard station, but it is only to be used in an emergency and will be shut off should you abuse it.  Finally, when the Council is ready to hear your case, a team of Peacekeepers will come to retrieve you and bring you to the Council chambers.  Until then, consider this your new home.”  Before Maggie could respond, the blonde hit a button on the nearby wall and the force field seemed to turn solid, cutting off her view of the outside.  Based on what she’d seen on the way there, it likely functioned the same as the two-way mirror outside the precinct’s interrogation room, letting them keep an eye on her while keeping her effectively isolated.  Figuring it would be pointless to try and talk to them further, Maggie turned to take a look at the rest of the cell.  All of the furniture was metal and bolted into the walls and/or floor (also metal), but it was still more than she’d expected.  The bed had an actual pillow and mattress, along with decent-looking sheets and a blanket.  There was a small table and chair next to what she assumed was the food replicator, and a desk on the wall opposite the bed with the aforementioned computer display integrated into the surface.  And the back corner was filled with what she’d come to recognize from her visits to the healing center as the Kryptonian version of a bathroom.  There were also a few shelves built into one wall for her non-existent personal items, but that was about it.  So, after a quick stop at the facilities, Maggie sat down at the desk and brought up the computer interface.  Thankfully, the system had already translated things into English for her.  The options were rather limited, but she found a section marked ‘law’ and opened it up, wanting to prepare herself as much as possible for what was coming.

Maggie wasn’t sure how long it had been since she’d started her reading, but by the time the food replicator made a noise to indicate that it was mealtime, the former detective was more certain than ever that she was thoroughly screwed.  Kryptonian law was pretty black and white, with no room for nuance.  Things like motive and intent seemed to be completely foreign concepts to them, as was the idea of acting under duress.  What it boiled down to was that everyone would be held responsible for the consequences of their actions, regardless of whether or not said consequences were the intended result or if the actions were taken of the person’s own free will.  If what you did ended in someone’s death, you were considered a murderer, and – up until Krypton’s destruction – murderers were sent to Fort Rozz in the Phantom Zone.  Argo’s penalty was still a work in progress, seeing as it hadn’t yet been an issue.  But prior to Fort Rozz’s creation, the penalties in various cities on Krypton had included life imprisonment (in locales that possessed the facilities), permanent or semi-permanent cryonic suspension (depending on the likelihood of rehabilitation via computer crystals suspended with the prisoner), and even death by some form of highly potent neurotoxin.  Some of the worst offenders were sent directly into the Phantom Zone even after Fort Rozz came into existence.  And none of those options sounded particularly appealing.  Not that Maggie was arguing against the charges.  She just hoped that whatever the Council decided, it wouldn’t take her away from Alex forever.

Just as Maggie was finishing her ‘nutritionally complete’ meal – a soup with an odd taste she couldn’t quite identify, along with a glass of what she hoped was just water – the force field at the front of her cell seemed to disappear, revealing a couple of helmeted Kryptonians she assumed were the guards assigned to this cell block.  “Recreation time already?”

“Prisoner number 2487,” a mechanically disguised voice intoned.  “You have a visitor.  Move to the bars and turn around, hands behind your back.”  Nodding, Maggie returned what remained of her soup and water to the replicator and did as instructed.  She heard the bars retract mere seconds before her hands were once again cuffed and heavy shackles were locked onto her ankles.  But instead of going back the way they’d come, the guards brought her further into the cell block to a secured elevator, which took them up just one level.  She caught a brief glimpse of what she assumed to be minimum security – which, like its Earth counterpart, resembled a dormitory – before being escorted into another secured room.  The back corner contained a cage with the same type of horizontal bars as her cell, and her escorts pushed her inside before locking the door and reaching through said bars to remove her cuffs.  “Your visitor will be along in a few moments.”  As the guard spoke, they pushed a button on their gauntlet which caused something to pop up from the cage floor and secure the shackles to it.  Meaning she couldn’t even pace the small cage while she waited.  Instead, Maggie shuffled as close to the front as she could and leaned her arms against the bars – at which point the main door to the room opened to reveal Lena.  The Liberator’s Captain was resplendent in her green Diplomat’s robes, her hair perfectly done as always, and Maggie suddenly felt even more inadequate than usual in her rough prison uniform.

“Where’s Alex?”

Lena smirked, approaching the cage.  “Hello to you too, Sawyer.”

“I’m sorry,” Maggie sighed.  “It’s great to see you.  But I’d have thought my fiancé would be first on the visitor’s list.”

“I sent her to find Kara.  Partly because we both know she’s the one Kara is most likely to respond to in moments like this.  And partly because I couldn’t risk her doing something stupid.”

Maggie shrugged.  “Fair enough.  But that was a while ago.  Shouldn’t they have been back by now?”

“You would think.  Breena has apparently been in contact with them, though, while I’ve been dealing with this.  She said something about a spiritual retreat.”

“A spiritual retreat?” Maggie frowned.  “I know Kara is religious, but since when does Alex go for that stuff?”

It was Lena’s turn to shrug.  “No idea.  But I’m sure she wouldn’t be doing it if she didn’t feel it was important somehow.”

“I guess.”  Dropping her gaze, Maggie drew in a deep breath.  “Did they tell you how deeply fucked I am right now?”

“They did,” Lena nodded.  “Frankly, it’s ridiculous to hold you responsible for things you did under duress.  It’s not as if that monster gave you any choice in the matter.”

Maggie met Lena’s eyes once more.  “I did have choices.  Granted, they weren’t good ones, but still choices.  And I let that fucker use me as his executioner.  If you lot hadn’t come along when you did, Kara’s name would be on the list of deaths I was responsible for.  Besides, Kryptonian law doesn’t give a shit whether or not I was 100% on board.  I killed those people, so I have to pay.”

“Alex wanted me to tell you that you don’t have to martyr yourself as some form of penance.”

“Of course, she’d say that,” Maggie snorted.  “Doesn’t change the facts.  It’s hardly martyrdom if I’m just paying the price for the shit I actually did.”

“That may be, but I’m not even sure Argo has jurisdiction in this case.  I know that when Krypton was still a major power, they didn’t seem to care much for that sort of thing, but now they’re barely even a blip on anyone’s radar.  Regardless, between Alura and myself, we’ll make sure you’re treated fairly.”

“Whatever that means here,” the ex-detective grumbled.  “What about Kara?  How much trouble is she in for what happened at the healing center?”

“I think Alura has just about convinced the Council to let me handle it as an internal affair, since – as far as I’m concerned – Kara is as much a part of my crew as Kel-Van was.  And you know I’m not going to hold this against her, even if it means finding a new pilot.”

Maggie nodded.  “If it helps, she only did it because Kel-Van was trying to kill her…found out that she was responsible for his sister’s death and decided to take matters into his own hands.”

“I assumed it was something along those lines, especially since we found Dox unconscious in his quarters when I returned to the ship and learned that Kel-Van had attacked him to get the list Lady Kat’rine had sent out so the families of the dead rebels could have some closure.  At any rate, Kara isn’t a cold-blooded killer.”

“Unlike me.”

“Maggie…,” Lena breathed, reaching forward to place a hand on top of hers.  Maggie pulled away before the Captain could make contact.

“Much as I’d love to pretend that War World never happened, we both know the truth.  Without my memories, I was too much of a fucking coward to stand up to R’Kard, and people are dead because of that failure.  Because it was easier to help R’Kard execute them than actually tell him what I thought.”

“And none of that was your fault.  He used you.  Stole your memories and manipulated you into doing his bidding.  Those deaths are all on his head, not yours.  And since his head is no longer attached, I’d say justice has been done.”

Maggie sighed, leaning her forehead against the bars.  “Tell that to all of the grieving families calling for my head.”  Another sigh.  “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Lena, but maybe it would be better if you all just let me go.”  Before either of them could say anything further, another of those helmeted guards entered.

“Time is up, Ambassador,” the mechanically altered voice informed them.

Nodding, Lena turned back to Maggie.  “Like it or not, Sawyer, we’re not giving up on you.  This is far from over.”  She walked back out the way she’d come, and once she’d gone the guard – joined by a second – released her shackles from the cage floor.

“Turn around with your back to the door and put your hands behind you.”  Maggie obeyed, and after her hands were secured the guards let her out of the cage and returned her to her cell.  And as the force field once again shut off her view of the world beyond that space, the guilt and depression that she’d been fighting since the return of her memories started to creep up again.  If J’onn were around, he’d know what to do, but the Martian had left several days earlier to return to Mars…something about wanting to ensure they had allies when they made it back to the Sol system.  Not wanting to let those thoughts eat her up to the point where she ended up doing something stupid…again…Maggie settled onto her bed, pulling down the top of the jumpsuit and starting up one of the meditations J’onn had taught her.  It didn’t completely remove the negativity, but at least by the time the replicator signaled for dinner – some kind of stew she still couldn’t identify the taste of and another glass of ‘water’ – it was mostly under control again.  After dinner, Maggie did some yoga to try and further calm her mind, then took care of her nightly routine as best she could in the cell’s limited facilities, going to bed just as the lights in the cell shut off.

The next several days fell into a sort of routine.  Her wake-up-call would be the lights in the cell snapping back on, after which she’d take care of her immediate needs in the facilities, finishing just in time for the replicator to signal breakfast – a bland ‘nutrition bar’ that still didn’t taste like anything she recognized, along with more ‘water’ (which she quickly figured out was the one thing she could get from the replicator outside of the scheduled mealtimes).  Shortly after her meal, guards would come to take her to the recreation area – which involved another ride in the secured elevator, only this time all the way to the surface, and a second set of doors on the opposite side of where they entered that opened into a large cage surrounded by a force-field (albeit one that she could see out of and – she assumed – anyone wandering outside couldn’t see into).  With her hands cuffed in front of her and her feet shackled, Maggie couldn’t do much more than pace the perimeter of the cage, but at least it was fresh air.  When the guards decided she’d had enough, they’d return her to her cell, and she’d spend the rest of the time until lunch (which was always that odd soup) exploring the educational programming in her computer interface.  After lunch, Maggie would continue her reading (barring any visitors, which did happen a couple of times) until dinner (always stew), and the remainder of the evening would be spent either doing yoga or a basic fitness routine until it was time to get ready for bed.  The couple of visits from Lena hadn’t done much for her morale, as the news from the Council was heading in the direction of turning her over to one of their former allies, once they decided which one could be trusted with the knowledge of Argo’s existence.  And Alex was still on her ‘spiritual retreat,’ which wasn’t helping Maggie’s mood much either.  Even worse, Lena’s news was right in line with what Maggie had been reading on the interface – specifically, that the Council was not actually required to allow her a defense.  It was sometimes permitted if the accused was of a noble house – though the nobility were often given even harsher punishments to set an example – but off-worlders and the ‘rankless’ were rarely granted that privilege.  They could easily decide her fate without ever laying eyes on her.

Knowing all of that, it wasn’t exactly a surprise when – near the end of her fifth day there – the force field dropped to reveal Chief Ak-Var and a squad of Peacekeepers.  “That time already?”

“Get changed,” the Chief ordered, tossing something through the bars.  It turned out to be a black body suit, not unlike the one ‘Spartaca’ had worn beneath her armor on War World.  The material even felt similar.  Meaning it probably wasn’t just cloth.  A mildly irritated expression crossed Chief Ak-Var’s features, so Maggie kicked off her shoes, then quickly took the suit to the relative privacy of the facilities and changed.  It was a bit tight, but Maggie was hardly in a position to argue.  A hair tie had fallen out when she’d unbundled the suit, so she pulled her hair back into the same type of ponytail she’d used on duty as a detective.  She returned to the main part of the cell and started to put her shoes back on, only to have the Chief clear her throat.  “Leave them.”

Nodding, Maggie stood up and walked to the bars.  “We’re not going to the Council Chambers, are we?”

“I have my orders.  Now turn around, hands behind your back.”  Maggie obeyed and the Peacekeepers quickly cuffed and shackled her the same way the guards always did.  And as soon as the last cuff was locked into place, the bars retracted, and the Peacekeepers pulled her into the corridor.  “I really am sorry about this,” the Chief whispered, actually looking somewhat ashamed…even as one of her officers pulled a dark hood over Maggie’s head, which made it hard to keep track of where they were going once they headed away from her cell.  But between the Chief’s vagueness, the new clothes, and the secrecy, Maggie’s stomach knotted with dread.  It was obvious a decision had been made, and she wondered if the Council had even bothered to inform Lena or Alura before sending the Peacekeepers for her.

When they finally stopped and removed the hood, Maggie found herself inside what appeared to be a medical laboratory of some kind, complete with a couple of healers.  One of them approached, touching a device to her suit that seemed to link it with their system.  Maggie didn’t need medical training to figure out that the display that appeared once the suit was linked monitored her vitals.  It did not rule out execution, but at the same time, the whole process seemed like a lot of trouble if they were just going to kill her.  “I don’t suppose anyone could tell me what’s happening here?”

Ignoring the question, Chief Ak-Var turned to the healer who’d linked Maggie’s suit.  “Is everything ready on your end?”

“You may prepare the prisoner.”

The Chief gestured to her officers, who moved Maggie onto a platform in the center of the room.  There was a human-sized ‘board’ standing upright in the middle, and the officers quickly removed Maggie’s restraints and pushed her back-first against it.  One of them applied something resembling riot cuffs to her wrists while the other used something similar around her ankles, and then they both proceeded to secure her to the board.  Two rigid metal pieces seemed to automatically snake up from under her armpits and lock down on either side of her head, and the guards then pulled one strap across her torso and elbows, another across her waist (with a smaller one threaded through that and around the riot cuffs), then used two final ones to pin down her thighs and calves, respectively.  And as soon as the officers stepped away, Maggie found herself surrounded by glass…almost like a coffin. 

“What the fuck?”

Chief Ak-Var frowned.  “There’s no need to panic.  You’ll feel cold at first, but after that the healers have assured me that it’s just like going to sleep.”

“That’s only comforting if there’s a chance that I’ll actually wake up again.”

The Chief shrugged.  “I’m afraid that’s not my call.”  She nodded to the healers, who started pressing buttons on their consoles.  Maggie’s surroundings suddenly filled with thick white fog and she shivered as her body temperature started to drop. 

“T-tell A-Alex that I-I love h-her and I-I’m s-sorry,” Maggie managed as the cold seemed to sink straight into her bones.

“If I see your ‘Alex,’ I’ll be sure to pass along your message.”

“T-thank you.”  As she spoke, the fog seemed to grow even thicker, and it wasn’t long before consciousness fled….

Chapter Text

“What the fuck is taking so long?” Lena muttered to herself as she paced in front of the Council building.  They’d received a summons that morning to hear the Council’s decision about Maggie, but her timepiece showed that more than two hours had passed since her arrival there and, thus far, no one had come to admit them inside.  “Do they usually keep non-members waiting like this?” she asked Alura, who also looked less than happy.

The older Kryptonian shook her head.  “This is rather unusual.  If I hadn’t recused myself from the proceedings, I’m sure we’d know something by now.”

“I won’t fault you for your ethics, Alura.  It’s just…I have a bad feeling about this.”  And for a moment, Lena was glad for non-Earthling company, as neither Alex nor Kara would let her live down the Star Wars reference in a time of crisis.  Speaking of….  Lena tapped her coms to connect to Breena.  “Any word on the Danvers sisters?  They really should be here for this.”

“I know, Captain.  The High Priestess assures me that they should be finished within the hour.”

“I hope you’re right.  Maggie’s case isn’t looking good, and neither of them will forgive me if something happens and they aren’t here.”

“I’ll do my best to speed things along.”

“And I trust that when you return, you’ll explain to me how you have so much pull with whatever religious group you all are with?”

“Of course.  We’ll be there soon.”

“I hope so.”  Lena cut the communication just as a nervous-looking aide exited the Council chambers and approached their position.  “So does this mean they’re finally ready for us?”

“The Council sent me to inform you that a decision has been reached and they’ll be ready for you shortly.”

Lena frowned.  “That’s exactly what the summons I received two hours ago said!  Why are you wasting my time?”

“I…uh….”

“Tell the Council to stop jerking me around and give me some goddamned answers about my friend!”

Looking like he was about to soil himself, the aide ran off.  Alura shook her head.  “Was that really necessary?”

“If it gets those self-righteous blowhards to quit fucking with us.”

“I’d take offense, but even I have to admit that your assessment of their attitude isn’t entirely baseless.”

Before Lena could respond, the doors opened once more and the aide poked his head out, gesturing them forward.  She straightened her robes and strode right past the aide without even acknowledging his presence.  When she and Alura entered the chambers, the Council members were all standing in their designated spots around the central dais.  Lena glanced at each of them in turn before settling her gaze on the head Councilor, Jul-Us.

“We have come to a decision regarding the human known as ‘Spartaca,’” he announced.

Lena scowled.  “Sawyer.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Her name is Maggie Sawyer,” Lena challenged, stepping forward a pace.  “Not ‘Spartaca.’  That was the name given to her by the monster who bought her from the Maaldorians, wiped her memories, and forced her to be his ‘champion’ in the Arena.  It has nothing to do with who she really is.”

“And yet,” another Councilor chimed in, “you do not deny that she took part in the atrocities that nearly cost your betrothed her life.”

“I’m well aware of what War World almost cost me,” Lena shot back.  “But I suppose being able to claim credit for taking down this ‘monster’ would do wonders for your current standing, wouldn’t it, Councilor Vex?” She had spent enough time studying the files Alura had provided on the Council to recognize Davon-Vex, whose family had a reputation for using the Lawmakers Guild to secure their own advancement with little regard for things like truth and justice.  The fact that his brother was currently locked up for the attempted theft of some priceless artifacts had left his own reputation on thin ice, giving him extra incentive to push this conviction.  “Never mind,” she continued, “that Maggie only participated in that mess because she feared what would happen if she refused.  We can all agree that R’Kard was the true monster in this scenario.  Maggie is as much a victim as the rest of them.”

Jul-Us frowned.  “That may be, Ambassador, but I’m afraid you’ll find that the rest of the universe does not share in that opinion.”

“Pardon my bluntness, Councilor, but I don’t give a flying fuck what the rest of the universe thinks.  I don’t understand how this is even your jurisdiction.”

“As you have pointed out at every one of our previous meetings.”

“Because you have yet to provide an adequate explanation for why you’re so invested in this,” Lena snapped.  “The only Kryptonian ‘victim’ was Kara, and we all know she’s in excellent health at this point.  And even if she wasn’t, Kara has made clear she does not hold Maggie responsible for what happened.  Frankly, I don’t see why you don’t just permit me to deal with this as you have the incident at the healing center.  Maggie is a friend and I consider her part of my crew.”

Vex opened his mouth to speak, but Jul-Us glared him into silence before stepping forward a pace.  “What occurred at the healing center, abhorrent as it was, only affects your crew.  Your friend’s actions on War World, on the other hand, have had a much larger impact.  Grieving families across the universe wanting to see justice for those they have lost in this atrocity.  But you do have a point about our lack of jurisdiction.  We no longer possess the clout we once did which allowed us to help police the wider galaxy instead of just our own system.  Which is why we have contacted Starhaven.  Their ambassador should arrive shortly to take custody of ‘Spartaca.’  We weighed our options and determined that they have the best claim and are the least likely to do us harm upon learning of our continued existence.”  As he spoke, Lena mentally went over the list they’d received from War World’s new Empress.  There had been at least three Starhavenites among the dead rebels, along with a couple of Valerians.  She didn’t know much about Starhaven’s justice system, but – according to Alex – Kara had always spoken about the planet as a paradise, so perhaps Maggie would stand a better chance of a fair trial there.

“Fine,” she finally conceded.  “But don’t you think she should be here for this?  The Maaldorians ‘convicted’ myself and most of my crew without anything even remotely resembling a trial.  I’d have thought Kryptonians would be better than that.”

Jul-Us frowned.  “Are you calling our honor into question, Ambassador?”

“Do I need to?”

Before either of them could say anything further, Alura stepped forward.  “Let’s not say anything we will come to regret,” she urged, looking at them both.  “But I do share Ambassador Luthor’s concerns about Maggie Sawyer.  When I served as an adjudicator on Krypton, I made sure to never pass sentence without the defendant present.  And yes, I understand that you are not judging her, per se, but it is still rather odd that she has not been brought forth yet.  Have things really changed that much in the short time I was away rescuing my daughter?”

“If you must know, Councilor Zor-El, the Peacekeepers should be on their way with her as we speak.”  The words were barely out of his mouth when the aide ran up and whispered into his ear.  “As a matter of fact,” he continued, “they have just arrived.”  The aide ran off and, moments later, the chamber doors opened to admit a squad of Peacekeepers led by Chief Ak-Var herself.  Lena bit back a gasp when she finally spotted Maggie.  Rather than being led into the chamber in chains, as expected, the former detective was inside something resembling a glass coffin balanced atop an anti-grav palette.  She rushed over, ignoring the admonishments from the Council, and pushed the Peacekeepers aside to take a closer look.  The glass was frosted over and the woman inside appeared just as frozen.  Lena could also see restraints across several points on her body.  Most were already deteriorating from the extreme cold, but the metal ones over her shoulders remained intact, and it was clear Maggie hadn’t exactly gone into that thing willingly.

“What the fuck?” Lena spat, glaring at the Councilors.  “Are you trying to kill her?”

“I can assure you, Ambassador, that the procedure is perfectly safe.”

Lena scoffed.  “Really?  Exactly how many humans have you tested it on?”

“Enough with the hysterics,” Vex sneered.  “Just because your people haven’t quite grasped the concept….”

“Oh, I understand the theory well enough.  But there’s a big difference between theory and practice.  It may work on your people, but that hardly guarantees the same outcome when performed on someone without your biological advantages.  So…again…are you trying to kill her?  Or are you just arrogant enough to believe that your ‘superior’ science will somehow overcome any biological differences between her and a Kryptonian?”

Chief Ak-Var chose that moment to step forward, forestalling any response from the Council.  “Healers have been monitoring her vitals since before she was placed inside the stasis chamber.  That’s what the black suit she’s wearing is for.  They’ve assured me that everything is as they expected.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”  Lena held out her hand, and – after a moment’s hesitation – the Chief gestured towards one of the people accompanying Maggie, who relinquished their data pad.  After switching the display to English, Lena looked everything over.  Maggie’s vitals were distressingly low, as one would expect from a victim of extreme hypothermia, but they were also holding steady.  “You’re sure this is accurate?”

The young woman Lena presumed to be a healer nodded.  “As long as nothing drops below that point, we should be able to revive her when the time is right.”

“Should?”

“As you said, this has never been tested on a human before.  However, I am quite confident in my calculations.  There may be a few side effects when she’s first brought out of stasis, but they will more than likely be temporary.  It depends upon how long she remains under.”

“Of course it does,” Lena grumbles, shoving the data pad into the pocket of her robe – ignoring the healer’s protests – as she turned her glare back on the Council.  “Was Maggie even told what’s going on before you ordered this done?  Or did you keep her in the dark as you have Alura and myself?”

Jul-Us straightened up, as condescending as ever.  “We could not risk her panicking and attempting to escape before the procedure could be completed.”

“So that’s a no, then.  You arrogant son of a—” Lena started forward, through with diplomacy, only to be halted by the sudden appearance of a tall, dark haired man in the middle of the chamber.  Only he didn’t resemble any Starhavenite or Valerian she’d ever come across.

“Who in Rao’s name are you?” Jul-Us demanded, confirming that the newcomer wasn’t who anyone expected.

The intruder flashed a cocky grin.  “King Res Gand of Daxam…what’s left of it, anyway.  I believe you have something that belongs to me.”  He stepped towards Maggie and Lena instinctively moved between them.

“You will not touch her!”

“Starhaven has already laid claim to jurisdiction,” Jul-Us added.

“Oh…I know,” Res smirked.  “The Ambassador was quite talkative when we boarded his ship.  But I wouldn’t expect them anytime soon.  Let’s just say I sent them on a rather permanent vacation.”  He turned towards Lena, running a hand across her cheek and laughing as she flinched.  “The late Queen Rhea told me all about you, Luthor.  I can see why she thought you fit to help Mon-El continue their line.  Perhaps you could do me the same honor.”  She spat in his face, but that only made him laugh harder.  “Feisty.  But you’re not the real prize here.”  Res shoved her aside and moved towards Maggie, only for the Peacekeepers to block him this time.  “Out of my way.”

Chief Ak-Var shook her head.  “You have no claim here, Your Majesty.  I suggest you leave now.”

“No claim?”  The cockiness suddenly gave way to rage and he wrapped a hand around the Chief’s throat, squeezing until her face turned red.  “That bitch killed my son!  The list gave his race as ‘unknown,’ but the images were clear enough.  I’d know my Or-En anywhere!  Hand her over now!”  As he screamed, the Peacekeepers drew their weapons and stepped forward, only to suddenly find themselves surrounded when over a dozen Daxamite soldiers materialized in the chamber.  Res shoved a wheezing Chief Ak-Var to the floor, kicking her in the ribs for good measure.  “You didn’t think I came alone, did you?”  Several of his soldiers turned their weapons towards the Councilors, who immediately threw up their hands in surrender.  “That’s what I thought.”

“Cowards,” Lena spat, moving towards him once more.  “You want her?  You’ll have to go through me first.”

“Perhaps I’ll just have to take you both, then.”  He wrapped a hand around Lena’s arm and started dragging her away from Maggie.

“Unhand her!”  Res was forced to release his grip thanks to Alura’s fist meeting his nose.  He howled in pain and gave the Kryptonian a hard shove that ended with a resounding crack as Alura’s head met the steps leading to the Council’s level.  Lena tried to move in and check on her, concerned by how still she was, but Res grabbed her arm once more. 

Before he could do anything further, an inhuman scream filled the chamber as something burst through the windows above.  Two somethings, in fact.  The ‘what’ remained an open question, as all she could see was a pair of blurs moving through the chamber, taking out the Daxamite soldiers.  Snarling, Res pressed something on one of his gauntlets that caused Maggie’s stasis chamber to disappear.  The blurs ceased moving at that, and Lena found herself staring at two armored figures, both hovering in midair.  One was in gleaming orange, with wings that looked like they were on fire and a full helmet in the shape of what Lena assumed to be a phoenix’s head.  And the other was straight out of her more recent nightmares, only now the figure had batlike wings and a full dragon’s head helmet instead of the mouthless version.  If the dark figure was Alex, as it had been in her quarters on the day of the rescue mission, then the other had to be Kara.  But Lena didn’t have much time to ponder what that meant before Res wrapped a large arm around her chest and pressed a blade into the flesh of her throat.

“Release her and return the other human right now, Daxamite!” the dark figure snarled, voice even more intimidating thanks to the armor’s built-in modulator.  They moved closer as they spoke, and Lena could feel blood trailing down her neck from where the blade was cutting into it.

“I don’t know who you are,” Res shot back, “but if either of you come any closer, I’ll slit this one’s throat and have my men shut off the life support in the other’s stasis chamber before jettisoning it into space.  Your call.”  As he spoke, Lena shifted slightly, hoping she could maybe catch him off guard.  But he quickly tightened his grip.  “That goes for you, too,” Res growled low in her ear.  “Try anything and your friend is as good as dead.”  Lena stopped fidgeting, not wanting to give him an excuse to harm Maggie further.  She turned her gaze towards the armored figures in an attempt to silently urge them not to do anything stupid.

“What do you want with them?” the one in the bird helmet asked, voice also disguised.

“Ask those cowards on the Council.”  Before any of them could protest, Res pressed something on his gauntlet once again and Lena found herself dematerializing right along with him.  Moments later they both rematerialized on the bridge of what she immediately recognized as a Daxamite ship, along with the defeated soldiers, some of whom seemed to be regaining consciousness.  Maggie’s stasis chamber had been moved onto a solid platform in the center of the bridge, like a trophy on display.  “Search her,” Res ordered, shoving Lena towards a couple of the now-conscious soldiers.  They cuffed her hands behind her and patted her down, eventually locating the data pad she’d stashed and tossing it to their King. “What’s this?”

Lena sighed, knowing it would be pointless to lie under these circumstances.  “It’s connected to the stasis chamber…lets you monitor her vitals and whatnot.  Probably includes programming to wake her back up as well when you’re ready.”

“Then I’ll be keeping it close.  Can’t have you getting ideas now, can I?”  Res opened a panel on the arm of his throne and stashed it inside before turning back to his soldiers.  “Take her to the brig.  I’ll figure out what to do with her once we’ve reunited with the flagship and I’ve dealt with the murderous witch the Kryptonians were kind enough to put on ice for us.”  He sat down on the throne and waved his hand, which the soldiers took as a signal to drag Lena away.  They took a lift down to a lower level, went straight through the engine room, and ended up in front of a door with a security panel on one side.  One guard stepped away to unlock it.  The door opened a few moments later and the other guard pulled her through, removing the cuffs and shoving her inside a small room on one side.  A force field activated as soon as she’d passed the threshold, at which point the soldiers left her alone.  It wasn’t long before the subtle vibrations beneath her feet increased enough to indicate that they were moving.  Once again, Lena had been separated from the people she loved.  Alex and Kara were back on Argo with the rest of the crew, probably freaking out, and Maggie was currently as close to a corpse as one could get without actually dying.  She was alone.  And to make matters worse, her cell barely qualified as a living space.  Just a hard metal cot protruding from the back wall and a panel in the side wall that – after a quick test – opened up to reveal a toilet that was low-tech by Kryptonian standards.  Fighting back tears (lest her captors see that they were getting to her), Lena stripped off the outer layers of her diplomatic robes, rolling them into a crude pillow before laying on the cot.  As she closed her eyes in an attempt to get at least some sleep, Lena found herself praying to whatever Kryptonian deities might be listening that Kara and Alex would come flying in soon to take her and Maggie back home….

Chapter Text

“You spineless, cowardly, mother—” Seeing the eyes of her sister’s helmet light up, Kara quickly moved to intercept, lest Alex do something she’d end up regretting…eventually. 

“Dial it back, Lexie,” she whispered.  “It’s not worth it.”  When the glow started to fade, Kara turned her attention back to the cowering Councilors, letting her own eyes light up just enough to show she meant business.  “What happened?” she demanded, the vocal modulator in her helmet deepening her voice to an almost godlike rumble.

One of the Councilors – Davon Vex – chose that moment to stand up and puff out his chest.  “Who are you to demand anything from us?”

“Who are we?” Alex snarled, puffing out her armor’s new wings to cast an even larger shadow over the Council.  “Read your history, you insignificant toad.”

“History?”

“Nightwing and Flamebird,” the head Councilor – Jul-Us – suddenly gasped, staring up at them in awe.  “You’ve returned.”

Kara turned towards Jul-Us, finally touching down on the floor in front of him.  “And we’re gravely disappointed in the state of our people,” she intoned.  “Krypton was never perfect, but we once understood the balance between justice and mercy.  What Nightwing and I witnessed here today was neither.  You condemned a young woman for a past she had little control over and allowed her to be taken by our enemy with hardly any fight.  In our prior incarnations, we would have cleansed this place with fire and forced the Houses and Guilds to select new leaders.  But there are few of us left as it is.  So we’re going to grant you the mercy of a second chance.  Do better.”

“And don’t expect to see either of us again in your lifetimes unless you royally fuck things up,” Alex added.  “Our destinies this time around lie far beyond this place.  But if we do have to return, there won’t be a third chance.  Understood?”  As she spoke, the energy running through Alex’s armor glowed and the Councilors all nodded, looking as though they might soil themselves at any moment.  And while Alex finished scaring them into complacency, Kara gently lifted her still-unconscious mother into her arms.

“Let’s go.  There’s nothing left for us here.”  Kara took off the way she’d come in, taking extra care not to jostle her mother too much.  Alex was right behind her, only to turn and go back when Kara’s childhood friend Thara – the current Chief Peacekeeper – waved her over.  Knowing her mother needed medical attention ASAP, Kara continued on, figuring Alex would meet them back at the ship.  As she flew, Kara ordered the AI in her armor – connected directly to the Liberator’s Jana – to link the armor’s built-in coms to the ship’s Chief Medical Officer.

“Kara?”

“Shy’lo, I’m coming back in and I need the medical bay ready and waiting.  My mother was badly hurt.  Head injury.  She’s still unconscious.”

“Got it.  What about the Captain and Maggie?”

“They’re gone.”

“Gone?”

“Alex and I will explain once everyone is back on board.  See you in a minute.”  Kara shut off the coms and touched down in front of the hangar where their ship had been docked since their return.  Retracting the wings and helmet, she made her way inside and boarded the ship, heading straight for the medical bay.  Shy’lo already had one of those weird dentist chair-like things set up and Kara gently laid her mother down on it, watching as the CMO put some kind of cuff onto her arm and a blue light from the ceiling began scanning.

“It looks like she’s suffered a subdural hematoma,” Shy’lo frowned.  “Bleeding on the brain caused by the head injury.”

“Will she be okay?” Kara asked, retracting the rest of her armor into the wrist device she’d been given.

“I’ll do everything I can.  Though it would help if you could grab the sun suit from her quarters.”

“Done.”  Thankful that Lena had given her something of a virtual tour during one of her visits to the healing center, Kara made a beeline for her mother’s quarters.  The sun suit was inside a closet near the door.  She grabbed it and ran back to the medical bay, helping Shy’lo change her mother into it. 

“She okay?”  Kara turned to see her sister walk in, armor retracting into her prosthetic.

Shy’lo shook her head.  “I don’t know.  We should give the sun suit some time to work.”

“Right,” Alex nodded.  “Well, unless you need to be in here monitoring things, I’d like to gather everyone on the bridge.  Now.”

“Jana will alert me if there’s any change.”  While Shy’lo entered some stuff into the computer and Alex put out a call for the crew to join her on the bridge, Kara started making her way there, still in awe of how similar this ship was to Sara’s.  But there would be plenty of time to think about all of that after they found Lena and Maggie.  Dox was already there when she arrived, along with Breena, and it wasn’t long before they were joined by Alex, Shy’lo, and a blue-haired, yellow-skinned woman she assumed to be Vita.

“Alright,” Alex began, “let’s cut right to the chase.  I spoke with Chief Ak-Var before leaving the Council Chambers, and she says the new Daxamite King wanted Maggie because his son was apparently one of the dead rebels back on War World.  No idea why he grabbed Lena, though he apparently expressed some interest in using her genetic material to continue his line.”

Kara shuddered.  “Gross.”

“No arguments here.  The Chief also gave me this.”  Alex held up a small black device with a red blinking light at the top.  “Supposedly, it’s linked to a tracker inside the stasis chamber they stuffed Maggie into.”  She tossed it to Dox.  “Consider yourself drafted as our new pilot, Computer-boy.  See what you can do with that.”

“Right away, Captain.”

Alex frowned.  “Commander,” she corrected.  “As long as Lena still breathes, she’s Captain.  I’m just filling in.”    

“Of course.”  With that, Dox settled into the pilot’s seat and got to work.  Moments later, Kara watched through the viewscreen as the hangar opened up and the ship lifted off, leaving Argo behind.  “I’ve got our heading,” Dox reported.  “Should I jump to FTL?”

“It’ll take the drive too long to warm up after being docked for weeks.  Just push the normal engines to their top speed.”

“Done.”  They surged forward, and Alex sat down in what Kara assumed to be the Captain’s chair.  The others all moved into their positions and Kara settled in next to Alex.

“Are you okay?”

Alex shook her head.  “Nothing will be okay until we have Maggie and Lena back.  If we hadn’t been fucking around in that temple….”

“You saw the same things I did, Lexie.  Our past lives…the powers Yuda had gifted our prior incarnations with and would have given us….  You can’t say it was a waste of time.”

“If our ‘destiny’ was to be split up and suffer horribly just so we could be ‘reborn’ as some ancient Kryptonian heroes, then your gods have a twisted fucking sense of humor.  I’d rather have just been there to stop the Council from putting Maggie in stasis in the first place so she’d have actually had a chance when that Daxamite showed up.”

Kara frowned.  “And how would you have stopped them?  According to Breena, Lena had been negotiating with them since the arrest.  And she still got caught by surprise.”

“Her mistake was assuming that the Kryptonians had ethics.  No offense,” Alex added, meeting Kara’s eyes.

“None taken,” Kara shrugged.  “I would have also thought the Council better than that had I not seen it with my own eyes.  The important thing now is getting Lena and Maggie back, then using what Yuda has given us to take back our world.”

Alex snorted.  “You mean what Breena gave us.  Yuda didn’t give us shit.  And I wouldn’t want anything she’d have to give, anyway.  I’m just fine with what I get from my armor.”  She sighed.  “Yuda may be marginally better than the other gods, from what I saw on our little vision quest, but that doesn’t mean I trust her.  I’m only going along with the Nightwing stuff because it’s as good a superhero identity as any and I’ll need one if we’re taking on the fucking Nazis.  Doesn’t mean I buy what those priestesses were trying to sell.”

“You know Breena is one of them, right?”

“And she gets to stay because we still need an engineer, not to mention she knows all about our armor.  As long as she doesn’t try to push any of her religion on me, we’re good.”

“Right,” Kara sighed, inwardly cursing her sister’s stubbornness.  “So I guess that means you don’t believe that the two of us are soulmates in the totally platonic sense?  That we have a deep, inexplicable connection to one another that goes beyond a normal sisterly bond?”  She looked Alex in the eyes, eyebrow raised, and it was her big sister’s turn to sigh.

“I guess I can’t really argue with that part, seeing as I’ve felt the connection since the day we met, no matter how much I tried to fight it at first.  I just don’t agree that we’re tied into some grand prophecy and that all of this is beyond our control.  The Danvers sisters make their own fucking destiny.”

“Damn straight,” Kara grinned, lightly punching Alex in her good shoulder.  “And we’ll start by telling that Daxamite to keep his filthy hands off our girls.”

Alex nodded, lightly returning the punch before wrapping an arm around Kara’s shoulders.  “I’m sorry you didn’t get your grand wedding in Rao’s temple.”

Kara shrugged.  “I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.  Lena and I will figure something out, once she’s back here where she belongs.”  Alex gave her shoulder a squeeze, and they settled in to watch Dox’s progress as he pushed the ship to try and catch up with the Daxamites….

“…we’re too late…”

“…how can a whole city be taken…?”

“…we can still save the others…”

“…no…”

“…this world will not see us again.  One will be reborn with the last generation to be birthed on Kryptonian soil, while the other will be reborn a generation later on a planet far from here.  Fate will bring them together as children and force them apart as adults.  Their separated fates will lead to great suffering, and from the ashes of that suffering they will be reunited and reborn as the last true Nightwing and Flamebird.  And once reborn, their destinies will lead them back to the world they call home, to save it from the greatest evil it has ever known….”

“Kara!”  The Kryptonian bolted awake to see Alex standing over her, frowning.  “Bad dreams?” her sister asked.

Kara nodded, sitting up and twisting around in the bed that was supposed to be Lena’s, so her legs dangled over the side.  “I saw the previous Nightwing and Flamebird the day Kandor was taken by Brainiac…watched as Nightwing was vaporized by one of Brainiac’s drones and Flamebird fatally injured.  And I heard the prophecy Flamebird gave the Sisters of Yuda before she died.”

“It’s okay,” Alex soothed, joining Kara on the bed and pulling her into a hug.  “You know that so-called prophecy is just words, right?”

“I don’t know, Lexie.  It’s so…specific.  Fits everything we’ve been through.”

“And there are people on Earth who think Nostradamus predicted everything from the Great Fire of London to 9/11.  It’s easy to attribute words to some sort of predictive power after events have taken place.  And I know we’re not back on Earth yet, but we were headed there even before we heard of any ‘prophecy’ and were planning to take out those Nazi bastards regardless.  It means nothing, and we can’t let ourselves get so caught up in that nonsense that we forget who we really are.  Okay?”

“I guess,” Kara shrugged.  She still wasn’t ready to entirely dismiss the words from her predecessor’s prediction, but Alex did have a point about not letting it run her life.  “So is there a reason you’re waking me up?”

“Dox finally has something.”

“Good,” she breathed.  They’d been trailing the Daxamite ship for almost a week.  “Any change with my mom?”

“Not yet, kiddo.  But I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“I hope so.”  Silently praying that Alex was right, Kara got out of the bed and quickly threw on her tactical outfit, making sure the device with her armor – which used the same tech as her sun suit – was firmly strapped to her wrist.  She and Alex then made their way back to the bridge.  The viewscreen showed a Daxamite ship just sitting there, and Kara could swear she saw smoke coming from some parts of it.

“What the fuck happened here?” Alex demanded.

Dox shrugged.  “It is difficult to say for certain, but my scans show that the ship recently came under fire from another vessel.  The engines are currently nonfunctional, so if you wish to board and locate the Captain and your betrothed, now would be the time.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.  Breena, get the transmat portal fired up.  Vita, grab a weapon and meet us in the cargo bay.  I want you on standby in case things go sideways.”  Alex’s tone dared anyone to argue, and it wasn’t long before Kara was following her and Breena to the cargo bay and Vita was headed off to the armory.  Once they were all in place, Breena put in the coordinates for the ship and Kara activated her armor as Alex did the same.  They jumped through the portal as soon as it appeared, landing on the bridge of the Daxamite ship.  And it was a mess.  Bodies were everywhere, and half of the equipment had been torn apart.

“I don’t like this,” Kara whispered.

“Me neither.  What the fuck happened?”  Before either of them could say anything further, they heard a moan and raced towards the sound.  Kara tossed some debris aside to reveal King Res himself, bleeding profusely from a gaping hole in his stomach.

“Here to finish me off?” he croaked.

Clearly unmoved, Alex grabbed his shirt and hefted him into his throne before leaning in close.  “Where are our friends?” she demanded in her ‘Nightwing’ voice.  The tracker had gone dead the day before, so neither of them knew for sure if Maggie was even still on board, much less Lena.  Dox had apparently found the ship by extrapolating the likely trajectory from the tracking data they’d already gotten by that point.

“Good question,” the King laughed, blood trickling from his mouth.  “Seems my family still owes the Maaldorian Elders a rather large sum.  Their enforcers decided to pay me a visit before I could get the humans back to the flagship.”

At that, Kara saw red.  She let the armor’s wings puff out, glowing as red as her eyes, and moved in close enough for him to feel the heat.  “What happened?”

“Enforcers decided your friends would make a nice down payment on that debt…though they’ll have to collect the rest from my cousin, gods help hi….”  The King trailed off, and it didn’t take a medical degree to see that he’d gone to whatever afterlife the Daxamites believed in.

“Fuck!” Alex snarled, slamming her metal hand into the arm of the throne.  As she did, the throne’s arm shattered, revealing a data pad that had been tucked inside.  Retracting her armor, Kara quickly picked it up and looked over the display.

“I think this is connected to Maggie’s stasis chamber…or at least it was.  The distance seems to have severed the connection for the moment.  But at least if we can get close enough, we can find her again…maybe even wake her up.”

“If we find them.”

“Well, we know the Maaldorians took them.  Do you think they’d try to sell Maggie again?”

“I don’t know,” Alex sighed, finally retracting her own armor.  “Depends on whether the price on her head makes her more or less valuable.  But Lena…they’ll probably torture her for information on the rest of us, if they don’t kill her outright for daring to escape their damned prison.”

“Do you at least know where they’d be taken?”

Alex nodded.  “Looks like the Liberator is headed back to Maaldoria.”

“Yuda help us all….”