Chapter Text

_

2017

Terror in Mumbai! 

The city reels in the wake of the brutal murder of several representatives of the Bharat Sena. The corpses of party leaders were found horrifically mutilated in their homes. While the cause of death is unknown, authorities call for calm. The future of the party seems uncertain, although it is likely that new-

“-which we shall not stand for! The killer must be hunted down and face justice. Investigations into the Muslim community are-”

-latest in a string of killings of prominent Conservative leaders across the world. There is, at present, no certainty as to the cause-

_

Metropolis. Big town-city thing! Couldn’t really remember it from history class. Well- unless the city in Überman counted, but. Uh. 

That Nazi rag wasn’t a historic source. Not even the fascists pretended it was anything but fiction, even if they used it to justify. Stuff. Fascist stuff. You know what kind. But- maybe it was set in a real city, just one I’d never heard of? Possible. Wasn’t like I’d heard of every city. Then again-

Wait, no, I was retreading the whole time travel thing, wasn’t I? Long story short- still wasn’t sure if I had traveled back in time or to an alternate universe. Okay, no, the latter seemed a lot more likely, but-

Focus, Ceci. Came here for a reason. Checked the paper, again.

Superman. Was funny. Looked like a palette-swap of Überman. See, that lent a bit more credit to the whole ‘alternate universe’ theory, because- hey! Maybe my entire life was a shitty Überman fanfic! He’d fought some electro-lady, which was its own entire can of-

Not the point! The point! Was that they both. Had. Powers. 

And Superman’s powers were exactly the same as mine. Which meant that- maybe. Hopefully! He knew something about where we were from, how we worked-

And how I could get some fucking tits-

Just had to find him! 

Couldn’t be too hard, right?

_

It was genuinely not that hard. 

Okay, a little hard. I couldn’t just- float above the city and look down on it until I saw our boy in blue (ew) (cop-coded) doing shit, that was how you got shot down by a fighter jet. Or. Uh. Mildly scratched by a fighter jet. Or something. 

…Which was why I missed some of his other more public ‘saves’. Guy showed up when a blimp was gonna fall out of the sky, pulled some cats out of trees. Stuff like that. 

Wait. ‘Guy’. Was it wrong of me to assume-? I mean. I. Didn’t pass. At all. My voice did, but-

Could-?
Fuck it, I’d ask when I met him. Them. Had music in my ears, was paying attention to a bunch of Metropolis news accounts on Chirper, and…

> Possible sighting of Tech-weapons at Metropolis city bank? Authorities warn to stay away, as-

Huh. Tech-weapons. That was what the news called whatever the hell that electro-lady was using. Which meant-

It wasn’t a Superman sighting, but the last time there had been ‘tech-weapons’-

There had been a Superman. Person. Super-

Slipped my mask on- bit of military surplus I’d picked up in… the Czech republic? Right? Yeah. Popped open the window, and flew.

_

Noticed it getting colder as I got closer. Very- very fast. People were running. 

Because the bank was.

It.

Fucking encased in.

Ice?! What?

Wait, no, this made sense. First you had electro-lady. Presumably, now, we had ice- lady. Eventually, Supes would fight all the elements, and become-

Whatever focus Ceci. This was- not my ballpark. I was used to fighting regular-ass people with guns, not whatever the fuck this was, but I still had to try because that ice was expanding and while America was a disgusting Colonialist Imperialist Capitalist hellscape freezing random civilians to death was, in fact, a bit cringe.

Brought up a fist, and plunged through into-

Bank interior. Almost slammed into the floating crystal. Almost got hit by a laser excuse me what the fuck hello-

Blue-

Blue could shoot lasers from their eyes. I couldn’t shoot lasers from my eyes. Wasn’t- jealous, I-

Felt a spike of-

Fuck, if this wasn’t- if they didn’t know how-

No, no. You accepted that was possible! Maybe they know as much as you do, which is nothing at all! Maybe you’re just stuck- no not stuck had to be something needed to focus-

And then the crystal exploded.

Brief moment of disorientation.

Blinked. Was- a bit like taking a grenade to the face. Yes, I knew how that felt. Ow. Fuck. Wait, shit, shit- mask-

Was on. Fine. Good. No need to kill all witnesses!
This was a joke.

I didn’t kill witnesses unless they were cops. Or Nazis. Or-

“Who- are you alright?”

That was their first question? Wowie. “Yeah. The fuck are your pronouns?”

“I- what?”

…It was entirely possible my brain had taken this in a completely- “Are you a dude?”

“I- yes, but that doesn’t matter right- Miss, we need to-” He called me Miss! Probably because of the voice, my ass did not pass. And the mask. And the fact that my gender was impossible to tell under the layers I wore when doing powered shit-

Floated myself upright. “Help the civvies, yeah. And we need to talk, after.”

Brief moment of silence. “I- yeah. Sure.”

_

Working with emergency services took a bit. Worried I’d have to work with cops, for a moment, until Supes turned around and went- “Huh. Where’d they-?”

What.

I-

Huh.

The other weirdos in fancy techno-getups were missing. That was… “And her-” The cop started to say, and I was really fucking tempted to- 

“She’s a friend.” What? Huh? Already? I helped you do one thing, my guy. 

“...If you say so. Still-”

“ Superman-!” Who-? Woman. Short hair. Brown skin- just like me! Whee! Um. Were we going to go, or just deal with a never-ending conga line of people who wanted to talk to-

“I- can we meet later?” He asked. Which.

There was a part of me that wanted to grab him and firmly shake him, but- no. Be nice to the blue boy. “Where?”

“Uh- I’ll meet you in the sky at six o’clock? Above here.”

I.

That.

Okay then?! That was… in a couple’ve hours. Nodded, and fucking bailed .

Way too many eyes on me ew ew ew ew-

_

Would I admit to panicking? Yes. Absolutely. What if he never showed up? What if I’d had one chance to talk to that clown and he just- bailed ? What if-

What if-

Started to panic- more. As it became six PM. Felt. Naked. To be flying like this, while it was still light out, above a fucking city. Fuck, Superman had mentioned our meeting place in public, there had to be-

God, he wasn’t going to show he wasn’t-

“Uh- hey.” Ohthankfuck. “Sorry I’m late. I- um. Bought donuts.” What. “Wait, no- sorry, first time meeting someone else who- no- who are you?”

…Huh. “Don’t- apology accepted.” Don’t deny the apology, Ceci. You worried. “We shouldn’t talk here. People know. You brought it up in public.”

“That’s- I really don’t think anyone’s going to bother following us-”

Really? He’d flown pretty fast coming in, so… “Follow me.”

“Where t-”

Zoomies.

_

Zipped into the empty apartment I’d been hiding out in. Looked like nothing had changed- good. Superman followed me in about a second later. “Look, I can’t just- what is this place?”

…Bedroll was in one of the other rooms, so- “Just- empty apartment. Private. Think the owners bought it as an investment, or something.”

“You think-? Wait, not the point.” Something about him… changed, a bit. More confident, deeper voice. “So- who are you?”

…See- always a tricky question, since I did not want to be a public figure, and considering he’d been working with the cops-

Calling myself the Red Death probably wouldn’t mean anything to him, but on the off chance that it did… “Fellow superh- uh. Supe.” Fuck, he wants a name. Give him- something. Ceci? My actual- yeah. Yeah. “Cecilia.”

“Oh- that’s. Your name.”

“Yeah. Don’t need to give me yours, Superman.” Not that he was offering, but- worth saying. “You…” Felt that fear, again. “You’re like me, right?”

“Like you-? Oh. You mean- the flying. And the super-strength. And the- laser eyes?”

Took a breath. “Not the laser eyes.”

“Oh. Well- I mean, I only figured them out today. I’m sure you will, too.” Not- what-

“Look, I didn’t come to Metropolis to meet you for Laser Eyes- do you know anything?”

Heard the confusion in his voice. “Huh-?”

“About- us. Where our powers come from. What we- okay, no, I don’t give a shit about- I need to know how it’s possible to medically treat people like us.”

“What-?”

“ Medicine, Superman. It doesn’t work on people like us. Haven’t you- we can’t fucking. Knife can’t cut us, can’t- you know?”

“I- yeah, but-”

“And I need. To get around that. So please, tell me you know something about all this shit that I don’t! ”

…

That.

Uh.

More than I’d- it. Fuck it. Firmly stared at the wall. Maintain holding pattern. Pretend you’re in a reading circle! Just- “...I- why do you need to-?”

“That’s private.” Asshole. Did he expect my fucking medical history, or-

“R-right. It would be, sorry. I. Is- is it dangerous? To. Are you going to…”

“...It’s.” Easy to say- “In its own way. Not. Don’t- just.”

“Sorry. Again. I- might. Be able to- I can’t make promises, but-” He took a breath. “I- I’ll think about it.”

What-? “What the fuck do you mean, you’ll think about-?”

Pause. Longer one, as he stood there. What the fuck was he- “I- I mean I’ll help you. Just. I need a few days.”

“...You know someone who can- work on us?”

“I. Might. A week. Can you- wait that long? Or.”

Calm down. He’s trying to help. Breathe. “...Yeah. Thanks. Sorry for-”

“...No. You don’t have- anything to apologise for. This is important. I. Uh. Hope you’re insured!”

“...Does that actually matter, or is-”

“It doesn’t. Probably.” Pause. “Definitely.”

“Good.” I said. “Can pay, if-”

“That won’t- it shouldn’t-? Just. A week. Yeah.”

“...Got it. See you in a week then, Superman.”

“And- you. Cecilia. Are you sure you’re fine with me using your real name in public, or-?”

Oh, fuck it. “Call me, uh… Red-” Sun? Star? Hammer- 

“Red?”

Fuck it. “Yeah. Just Red. Should we- uh. Exchange numbers, or-?”

_

I gave him a burner phone, but holy shit he was a second away from giving me his real phone number.

I’d say he was new to this, but I did introduce myself with my real name. Then again, it wasn’t like any ID on Earth said it was my name, so-

So.

So!

A week. A fucking week. To pass. Okay. 

Okay!

Okay.

…Time to check if Rory was back on Strife. And…  nope, last message was still about some big score she’d gotten that’d let her buy so many Warsword miniatures. 

Missed her. Girl had zero shit to talk when she saw my face. World’s strongest trans ally. Comrade-coded. We stan. 

Anyway- could paint models? I’d gotten my hands on the newest Imperial Army Warsword minifigs- 

Shush, you. Every communist is permitted one mildly fascist-coded hobby. 

Wasn’t really feeling it, though. Hm. There was that asshole in… Germany? That got elected on the platform of devouring immigrants and denying trans people healthcare. Could pay him a. Visit.

…Yeah, that seemed more up my alley, right now. Now where did I put the gun-

_

Week passed easily enough. Tried to maintain a relatively low profile, didn’t target any Metropolis politicians, even if some of them definitely deserved it. Don’t shit where you eat, and all that. 

…Stared at my phone. Did I- call him? That. Hm. Yeah, he was probably being secure with-

Wait, no, immense himbo energy. Still, could just- not be too obvious.

Fuck it, yeah. Called. Phone was ringing for a bit.

Long bit.

Coughed. Didn’t the guy also have super spee-? Eh. Maybe he was just busy. Couldn’t show off the zoomies in public, after- beep as he picked up. “Hello, Clar- uh. I’m. Here!”

Help adorable.  Don’t think about that, Ceci. You are distinctly hideously unlovable right now. “Yo. Are we still on for that hangout? Or-”

“Hangout? What-”

“Yeah. Met at the bank, remember?” 

“Oh, right!” Was he a really good actor, or- okay, definitely not a good actor. “I looked into that thing you mentioned-” A pause, before his voice dropped into a whisper. “ Meet me above the bay at. Uh. Eight o’clock?”

“Deal.”

_

“So!” Flight had been- pretty quick. Just a little supersonic flight over to-

Still refused to believe it was called fucking Smallville. Then again, there was a town in Europe called ‘Hell’, so… “The person you’re going to be talking to doesn’t really know… English.” Supes said, which- “Wait, right- how much do you know? About what we are-?”

“Literally nothing, my guy.”

“Okay! So- we’re aliens. I think. And… I crash-landed on Earth in a ship. Wasn’t- wasn’t there one for you, too?”

That- frowned. “Don’t remember a ship.”

“Did your parents never-?”

My dad was dead, and my mother wasn’t really in any state to be talking about the past, so- “No. They never brought it up.”

“Oh. Um. Well. Sorry you had to find out this way.”

“Find out what?”

“That you’re- adopted?”

Stared at the air next to him, for a moment. Did he really think that’d- whatever. Estrogen. “Don’t care. The doctor?” 

“Right! He’s- I’m not sure. Some kind’ve hologram- I’ll just show you.” …Okay-? We landed in a cornfield, Supes moved towards a somewhat-suspicious looking mound of dirt, and-

Zoomies. Gone in a second. Less! To reveal-

Tech-bullshit. “Huh. How have the farmers here never-?”

“I’ve got. Um. A deal with them.” Made sense. Wait, a deal with- how did that work in his childhood? Had-

Whatever, didn’t care. He floated above the entrance, it- activated, and-

Began to open up.

Alright then.

Power bullshit. I mean- it was one thing to- have superpowers. But. 

Ah, whatever. Flew in after him holy fucking shit Strife light mode my eyes flashbang ow ow ow- tried to cover my eyes, hand thunked into my gas mask. Wonderful. And- person. Old. Dude. Funny robes! Glanced at Superman. “Is this-?”

“Yes! Red, mysterious hologram person. Mysterious hologram person, Red!”

“Charmed.” I said.

“On'kru Zod... Vala s'fa. I nu'feh mor'za su zhara, bat-” What.

“Yeah, I can’t understand him either.” Superman admitted. Very helpful, thanks. “But-”

The world around us flickered out of existence, revealing red corridors. Very big red corridors. Blinked.

“You’re- taking all of this awfully well.” Superman said.

“I literally have Super Powers. Hard to get much weirder than that, Blue boy.”

“That’s- guess I can’t argue with that.” Hologram-guy was leading us somewhere, and I followed. Thunk, thunk, thunk. “I… panicked. The first time I came here.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. In my defence, I was ten. ”

“Understandable. Your coolness is preserved.”

“ Me? Cool? Aw, no. I’m just your friendly neighbourhood Superman.”

“Agreed, I was being polite.” 

“Hey! That’s-” Wait. Weren’t we superheroes? Why were we walking-

Because the idea of getting wherever the fuck we were going faster was terrifying and Supes was honestly pretty calming and chill and- would probably. Disapprove! Of the work I did. “So. Do you- do ‘hero’ stuff, too?”

Uh. How much to… A little should be fine. Wait, no- I mean. I did. Like. Shove people out of the way of stuff that was falling, or get cats out of trees. But that didn’t really count as ‘hero’ stuff, that was just being a half-decent samaritan. Probably? “Kinda? I’ve got my own stuff going on.”

“Right, right.” Pause. “So- what’s with the gas mask?”

“It hides my face.” Thunk, thunk. “Why don’t you wear- something? Like- come on, my guy. Literally everyone can see your fuckin…”

“You’d be surprised by how much a slightly different voice and a different outfit can do, Red.” Would I be? Would I really-

One of those walls lit in Red opened up, and-

Hologram was standing next to a… reclining chair. Had a bunch’ve fuckin’ doohickeys and tech-bullshit around it. Had to- be the place. Okay. Right. Cool. Thought about it for a moment, and- “Okay. Supes? Get out.”

“Wh- oh, right. Um. Good luck?”

“...Thanks.” And he just- left. Part of me thought about how much of a risk he was- was he taking a risk? Eh, whatever. Okay. Get in chair-

Oh. Doctor-hologram’s pointing at the mask. Of course he is. Whatever the fuck all this is, it probably can’t operate through…

Just need to.

Take it off.

Servo-arm thingies were making clicky noises, weird cube things were whirring, and- I. Took off the mask. Tried. Not to pay attention to his reaction.

…Saying something. Sounded- what. Like. ‘Ah, I understand now’? Similar vibes- pulling up stuff. Had. No idea what- goddamnit, that was the problem with not being able to communicate, I had no idea what he was showing- 

Vaguely dude-shaped hologram. Turning into a woman. Oh.

That.

This.

Worked-? Could work? Nod. Was I nodding? Yes. What was he telling me to- strap in-?

RIght. Thing was descending from the ceiling. Two arms, nothing between them.

Until something sparked, and a miniature fucking sun spawned in the middle of okay then sure why not.

_

I’d expected- well. Didn’t know what I’d expected. That I’d need to wait for results, maybe? But. Uh.

No. Whatever the fuck we were, our tech was just. That good. Which came with a whole bunch’ve moral implications, like-

If we had access to an instant transition, we had an obligation to share it. Right? 

But also. Boobs.

I had boobs again.

Boobs. 

Boobs!!!!!!

Return to this point, highlight, circle in triplicate, photocopy. Breasts. Bosom. Titty. Earth-shattering. World-shaping. Rending. I wanted to poke them but alien hologram-man was right there argh. Tried to stand up, nearly fell over, robot arm steadied me.

…Directed by the guy? Not directed? Split the difference. “Thanks.” Thank you, robot arm. Drag myself to my feet, properly this time. “Will I… need to come back?” Wait, shit. He wouldn’t-

Could feel the hologram-person’s amused look. Dick. But…
He’d probably show slash tell me if I needed to, right? So- um. Needed to- say thank you, obviously, but in a way that. Small bow. Yes. He said something. Embarrassed? Maybe. Okaythankyou bye my gu-

Wait. Pulled up my phone, gave my new face a look. And-

Laser had gotten rid of facial hair. Definitely felt the redistribution of fat, however the fuck that thing had sped it up. And.

Looked.

It was strange. Hard to- was this how I’d looked, once? Been so easy to call myself beautiful, back then. Didn’t really feel like it now. Felt different, still blocky, still- that fucking jaw- all-

…It’d. Take time. But it was still just so much better. A body I could live with. A body I could.

Fight.

WIth.

Slid the mask back on, walked out that door-

And Superman was still. There? On his phone. Stowed it real quick when he heard me. “How did it go?”

“...Good. Thanks, Supes. Feels good to be able to-” Wait, no, don’t need to tell him- “Yeah. Feels good.”

“I’m glad. Was… worried, for a bit.”

Stop being a small dog you are literally a cop- “Seriously?”

“I- hey, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Fucking dork.” I muttered. Hm. If I was already public- 

Which I.

Was.

Five years of working in the shadows, eliminating conservative figureheads and their replacements, and now I was an open Supe because I couldn’t fucking control myself at the smallest possibility of…

“So… if you ever need help with- you know. Protecting people. Let me know, okay?”

What. That- uh. Puppy. Dog. Adorable. I was literally never going to make use of that, since he probably wouldn’t be down to help murder Nazis who technically hadn’t committed any crimes. “Likewise.” WAIT NO CECI DON’T- “Uh. With restrictions.”

“Huh?”

“No- I’m not interested in.” How to phrase this in a way that didn’t make me seem like a pro-crime pro-murder domestic terrorist? “Just call me in if someone’s trying to, like- blow up the city or something. I’m not interested in helping you stop a Lexmart getting robbed.”

He seemed- amused? “I think I can handle that stuff on my own, yep.” Wait, wasn’t what I meant- “Thanks, Red. I guess I. Hope we’ll be seeing each other-?”

Absolutely not. But also- he did bring donuts. “Yeah. Here’s hoping. Bring more donuts next time.”

He laughed, and that was how I became. Friends? Coworkers? Colleagues with the Dork-ass Nerd of Steel.

_

Chapter Text

How did the existence of Superman change how I operated?

Not-

Too much. I’d always preferred to stay on the ‘secretive assassin’ side of things. Publicly dismembering CEOs of Health Insurance companies would be extremely fucking funny, but would also get the entire World on my ass.

And sure, maybe I could fight the world and win. But. Not when I was sixteen. I’d been weaker, then. And not now, either- not with someone like Superman around, and other people with powers.

…Plus I didn’t- want. To. I liked the guy. He bought donuts. He helped me transition. He taught me how to have sick-ass laser eyes! Without looking into what I actually did. 

Monumentally stupid. Too nice. Adorable. Precious little dumbass. Peggable twink- phone. Ringing? Huh? Picked up. “Yo.” I said. “Re- uh. Me. Speaking.” Motherfucker. 

“ Hey. Are you kidnapping bank robbers and pickpockets and stuff that got their hands on tech-weapons?”

What. “...No? I don’t waste my time on small fry.”

“ Cool, thought so, just needed to check. Bye- wait. Do you know who is kidnapping people?”

… Huh. Well, assuming he didn’t mean the cops and immigration authorities doing what they usually did- “No? D’you need. Help with that?”

“ Wait, really? I thought you didn’t handle this kind of stuff.”

“I don’t arrest small fry. Protecting them’s different. If some asshole’s disappearing people…” Then ideally, I’d like to extract their spine from their body, but I’d settle for Having a Stern Talk with them. 

…An actual stern talk. Not my version of a stern talk, which was faking someone’s suicide. “Thanks. I’m, uh, actually looking for- huh. Gotta go, lookforthegiantfiretornado!”

What.

_

Don’t know what I expected, but Supes getting dunked on by giant robots and a ninja wasn’t- It? Then again, the article about his fight with electro-lady had mentioned prior unverified sightings of-

Not the point. The bots currently did not see me, which meant the back of their necks were exposed. No crowds around, other than some weirdo military- holograms. Not actually here. 

Anyway. Back of neck! Doggy see spine, doggy say arf! Slammed into the ‘bot, it staggered forward, and I shoved my hand deep into the neck. Sort of. Uh. Wigg-

Wait a minute these are robots there’s no reason to believe they have essential components in the-

Yep, was still moving. Seemed more like. Flailing? Though? Backed off, engaged in Laser-based combat, and it fell apart. Easy en-

And then something fucking hit me. 

Where was I?

Could see the sky. 

Started the process of staggering to my feet. Crater. I was in one. I’d apparently been knocked more than halfway across the Junkyard these clowns were fighting in, and-

Vision.

Remarkably clear. Why? Because I wasn’t wearing a mask anymore shit motherfucker cock shit shit shit-

I wanted  to use this face for non Super-shit! I didn’t- I-

Goddamnit-

Focus! Other robot coming at me while Supes was engaged by- human sized target? Part of my brain went ‘wait why isn’t he just popping his head off’ before remembering people with tech-weapons could actually go toe-to-toe with-

And then.

Robot.

Jump back, avoid fist. Why is its face glowing? Oh, laser. Laser which hurt real fucking bad ow ow ow ow ow how and why the fuck did a laser have weight capable of pushing me back and holding me in place and move move move Cecilia or you are going to die agai-

No. Could- what. Counterfire. Eyes. Just needed to look back at it, tear it to fucking pieces-

Laser cut off. Why? Because a person-sized blue blur had just slammed into the back of the bot’s knees. Huh. Well. That worked a lot better than trying to set up some kind’ve clash of powers laser-to-laser bullshit- “Red! Are you-”

“Fine.” I muttered. Even if he could see my face which meant the people we were fighting had- “Where’s the other asshole?”

“Right-” He spun, and- paused. “I. He was right there-?” Wonderful. Of course they bailed the moment backup showed up. Did I really count as backup if I needed to be save-

Overthinking it. 

“Not anymore, I guess.” I muttered. Needed something to cover my face. Had- not spare gas masks, but cloth. 

“Your mask- I. Sorry. Should’ve seen if I could get you some armor, too...”

Huh-? “Supes, you’ve known me for a week. Maybe don’t just hand out shit? And- what do you mean, armor? I can see your fucking biceps, my guy.”

Was he blushing? No, I was imagining things. “Yeah, and the first time we met you helped me save people, and now- this. You’re a good person, Red.”

“You have a five year old’s conception of morality, Blue.”

He let out a snort. “Fine, be like that. Anyway- I’ll let you know if the ship has more, okay?” Huh. So that’s where he got the goofy spandex-’armor’ thing.

“Only if it can cover the-” Wait, no, it’d still be useful even if it didn’t cover my face. Could just- slap a scarf on, or something. “Yeah. Appreciate it. Still owe me donuts, though.”

He winced. “Rain check? I really need to get back to the Dai- uh. To my. Base. Yes. That is a thing I have.”

… Sure. “Understandable. Seeya round, dork.” 

_ 

“-And then I was a crab. A crab, Red!”

Chewed on donut. Glazed. Simple. Perfection. Considered Superman’s words. My new Suit- armor-thing was… comfy, although I had to get the helmet off to eat. Didn’t matter, since- Supes had seen my face, anyway. “Wild. I kinda want to be a dog. No. Cat. I’d make a great catgirl.”

“I. See?”

Thought about it for a moment- yes. Trans girl allowed to- “Mrow.”

“Did you just-”

Mrow. Purr. Mrrp. “Yeah.” I said. “I’d make a great cat.”

“....You are a strange, strange woman, Red.”

“Thank you!”

“Anyway!” We were chilling in the clouds. Suit had stood up to the high speeds really well, much better than my usual. Felt good to not have to worry about my clothes coming off because I was going too fast. “We met. Uh. Some scientists, the other day, and…” Ah. Exposition. 

Task Force X. A General. And- wait, no, that was it, why did I bother summarizing-

Wait. “So what you’re saying.” Help. Hype. Excitement. Delight. “Is that the evil organization abducting people is the US Government.”

“That’s-” Pause. “I. Suppose. ”

“And you’re planning to stop them.”

“...Yes. I suppose I am. Even criminals deserve a fair shot in court. Everyone does.”

“Unless they’re not white. Or are poor.” This man. Seemed. Radicalizable. Perhaps. “Or trans. Y’know what happens to trans people in prison, right?”

“No? I don’t.”

Ohboy. Oh no. Oh dear. “Okay, so even if you are lucky enough to get hormones in prison, which is hilariously unlikely and assumes you aren’t DIYing your hrt, you still have to deal with probably getting put in prison with cis guys, and then you might just get V-coded, which is when-”

_

I might have traumatised Superman a little.

Oops.

That said, he was slightly less of a believer in punitive justice now! Yippee!

_

> Hey, Ceci!!! I’m working at a new place now, can’t really say much, got a suuuuuuper strict NDA. But, um. Congrats on the transition! I’m doing okay, promise! Just- gonna be a while before I can talk more. Love the rocks!!!! And the new lil guys!!! So cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Rory

Huh. That was a relief.

_

Was I enjoying being girlpilled and estrogenmaxxed? Yes. Shared with some friends I’d made, and got the expected ‘what the fuck’ ‘how’ ‘literally instant???’ and-

‘Share???’

…Needed to bring that up with Supes, at some-

Hm. He definitely wouldn’t. Be against it, would he? But-

It’d mean admitting to these people that I had Superpowers. And-

Make it easier to track-

No.

None of that shit. Wasn’t going to skip out on helping people because it’d be dangerous to- to my identity, or my work, or what little social contact I had. Some things were more important. 

I’d talk to him about it. Soon.

After I was done with. All this shit. I’d donked into the guy a few times while zipping around because apparently we’d both developed super-fucking-hearing and.

It.

Was.

Annoying! Really annoying! I could ignore most of it, and it was starting to slowly get more controllable, but there was some stuff where obviously I had to intervene which meant that I had to stop fiddling with cool rocks or painting my miniatures to help some fucking idiot who didn’t know how to drive or practice basic safety regulations when working or-

Okay, that last part was their boss’ fault. Could I twist their boss’ head off? No! For fucks’-

Gr-

Phone call? Phone call. Another one. Fucking kill me now- “‘Ello?” I grumbled. “Cec- uh- I am the one who is here-”

“ Got a lead on Task Force X.” Sounded. Serious? Pissed. Uh oh. “ Sending you the address.”

Well then. 

_

See, I’d like to say I was pretty good in a fight. I could kill people. I could not kill people! Seven or eight people at once? Easy!

That same number, except they all had powers and had been difficult for Superman to take down one on one-

“ Rory-?! ” That- I recognized the lady punching the shit out of- sword sword sword sword-

See-

While Supes and me had worked together and yapped and could cover each other and all that other good shit-

We hadn’t fought Supes together. Swordboy? Fucking infuriating- swords gave him more reach than me. Electrogirl, who was apparently named Livewire? Probably vulnerable up close, but with her and Captain Sounding- Banshee-  working together, that was ridiculously difficult. And. Uh. 

I might’ve.

Hit the energy-absorbing-lizard with a twenty-hit combo before Superman yelled “Stop! He gets stronger when you hit him!!” 

Thanks, Supes! Great timing on- holy fuck Parasite was big now.

So everyone on the field had super-strength and durability, and also more reach than me. Cool. Wonderful! Amazing!

Surely, this could only go well-

_

It did not go well. I.

Fuck. I should’ve run, shouldn’t I? Could’ve gotten. Help. What help? He’s the only allied Superhuman you know, and he’d been- they’d been. Hurting him. My friend. And that had been Rory-

And now you’re a trans girl in a cell. I was. I.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck this was exactly what I was afraid of I’d seen what happened to friends family lovers what happens in places like this how-

No.

Breathe. Breathe. Behind the wall. Not going to happen. It’s. Fine. Something.

Fuck. Couldn’t. Move. Wasn’t in the same room as Supes. Didn’t even know if he was. Alive. Couldn’t turn my head. Couldn’t.

Fuck. Helmet. Helmet was gone. Couldn’t. My face. My armor-? Was. Was still there. Wasn’t.

Wasn’t. 

Okay.

Okay.

Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. It’s. This.

And nothing- changed. Just stuck in that room. Terrified.

Alone.

_

Until the door. Fucking- melted. What. Huh? Huh??? Oh. “Rory, you bitch. ” I was. Not. Crying. Never cried at any point in this. No panic, zero terror, knew my butch whore girlfailure had my back.

And- yep. Tall. Big muscles. Ginger!!! Her! “H-hey.” She said. Headed to my manacles and just. Yanked. “Sorry for-”

“I could kiss you, you fucking clown.” I hissed out. Rubbed my wrists. “Where’s-”

“You done freeing your ‘friend’, Heat Wave?” Who- Livewire. Huh. “We need to go!” 

“Gotta help the blue dumbass.” I grumbled.

“Wh- Superman?!” Rory sputtered out. “He’s- he’s the one that got us all-”

“He was trying to save you-! I-” No. Take a breath. They’re strong, but they can’t… “Help me or don’t, just- don’t get in my way. ‘Kay? Don’t want to fight a friend.”

“...Course not, Ceci. Only Ivo’s that weird about- you know he’s a cop, right?”

“I’m. Working on it. Can I hug you? Please?”

“Wh- course-”

Hug. There was a lot to hug. Could breathe. Thank fuck. “Was scared.” I muttered. 

“...Makes sense-”

“ Hey! You two can kiss and make up later!” Shut up Livewire we are having a moment-

“Hang out sometime?” I muttered.

“I’ll pay.”

Hell yeah. Now time to go make sure Superman wasn’t getting his ass kicked- wait. “You two need a ride out-?”

“We’ll find one. Go help your friend, dork.” Shot a grin in her direction, and-

Zoomies.

_

Found Superman’s cell- had a giant hole in the wall. Followed the trail out of the base which was apparently underground. Didn’t kill anyone, despite really really wanting to, since Superman probably wouldn’t approve, and-

Found Supes stumbling his way through the sewers, which. Uh. He had to be hurt bad if he was- anyway! Scoop, scoot. “I- I’m sorry.” Huh? “Sorry.” Um.

“Are you- okay, Supes?” I muttered. Slammed through a manhole cover. Carefully. 

“ No. I- I found out why we’re here. What we are. We- we’re weapons, Red.”

Uh. “Literally what the fuck are you talking about-”

“Zero day! We- our people- that ship-! We’re alien invaders, sent here to kill people -”

“Then just don’t?! Superman are you a fucking idiot you can just not do that you have saved several lives now shut up and tell me where to put you.”

Brief moment. He opened his mouth. Closed it.

Then started yapping an address, which. Uh. “Directions. Maybe? I got to this city like- a month ago, my guy.”

“...Left.”

Hehe. Left.

_

Pop window. Enter. Dump Superman in bed. Sit in chair. Breathe. Looked like he’d led me to-?
Where?
His fucking…

Was this his house-

Idiot. Dumbass. Fucking clown. Lean back. Breath. Try not to think of how it felt to be in that fucking room- “Superman-”

“Clark.” He said, from the bed. “Clark Kent.”

Idiot I can literally hunt down everyone you love with that information why are you so fucking stupid god help me I- “Cecilia.” I muttered. “No last name. Clark, I’m raiding your fridge.”

“...Okay.” Nice. Wait. 

“Actually, do you have instant noodles?”

He did fuck yes.

Cup.

Boil water- wait.

Put unboiled water in cup. Laser water. Seal. Wait. Breath. Don’t think about the cell. Noodles. You’re safe. You’re not going to prison. You’re not going to be stripped of all-

Mask slipped on. Wasn’t sure what they’d done to remove it in there, but it was working now, again. And-

Door slammed open. “ Clark-!” Woman. Brown skin. Vaguely familiar- “Who are- you’re- Clark!” And then her and another guy were. Uh. Hugging Superman.

“I. Uh.” Intruding? Intruding. “I’ll go-” I said.

“No.” Superman managed. “You- you should hear this, too.”

Ah. Lore? Exposition?

_

Superman said The Dumb Stuff about how our species had planned to invade the Earth or whatever. The woman I was now learning was called ‘Lois’ called him a dumbass. ‘Jimmy’ did the same. Okay, with- way less profanity, but still! Also, uh- they yapped. Friend stuff. Not-super stuff.

“Back me up, Red!” Who? Lois.

“Uh, yeah.” I said. “What she said. What were you saying?”

“You-”

“...You really don’t care that we’re-?” Clark murmured. 

“ Of course I fucking don’t I could not give less of a shit. Blue, I genuinely do not comprehend why you care about this, if there ever is a real tyrannical invasion by ‘our kind’ we can just. Help fight them?! This is a non-issue. ”

“That-” Was he smiling?! Sounded like he was smiling. “...Sounds like you.”

“No shit it does, I’m the one saying-” Noises. 

Ominous. Rumbling noises.

What-

_

Fucking. Godzilla. Energy powered Godzilla. I. Okay. Okay! Okay. Okay. 

“Blue, why the fuck has my life turned into comic book nonsense ever since I met you?”

“...That- good question.”

“You owe me so many fucking donuts for this.”

_

Chapter Text

“Roryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.” I whined. “I fucked up. The paint is ruined. I’m gonna have to start over.”

I was patted. I purred. Livewire sort of- glared in our general direction. “There there.” Rory said. “We’ll fix it. Together!”

“Yay!”

Life, overall? Quite good. Very nice. Murdered another politician, could get petted whenever I wished. Yes. 

… Okay right the trans thing. “Later.” I said. “I gotta go ask Superman for a thing.”

“ Seriously?” Livewire muttered. Leslie. Leslie muttered, yes. 

“Look, he’s a nice guy! Part of the proletarian revolution any day now!”

“Get out of our apartment.” She grumbled. Rory continued to pat. 

_

Didn’t go over to his house just to ask, of course. That’d be weird. Phoned him up, waited for him to say something. “Heya, Cla- wait, we- Clark, here.”

Dork. “Yo, I was thinking- that surgery-medical magic bullshit chair on your ship? Could use that to help a lot of people I know. Would you mind-?”

“That’s-” Pause. Why a pause? Thought he’d be super-down for this. “I… Need to think about it. That guy- he was a part of the invasion, Ceci. Had to have been.”

Uh. Oh, right. Hologram-man-? “I. Guess? Maybe? It’s not like he’s invading Earth now. Just giving free medical treatments to passing trans girls.”

“ To passing- oh. You’re-?”

“ Clark how the fuck did you not figure this out yet.”

“ I- that’s- look, you’re invited to Thanksgiving at my parents’ place.”

“Oh. Wh- really?” That. That was. Really fucking sweet? I. “Um. Sure! I’ll come! Yes. Wait- are they cool with trans people?”

“ Yep!” Ohthankfuck.

_

“Clark.”

“Hm?”

“You took me to your parents’ cornfield. A week after we met.”

“Well. That. I- uh. Yes?”

Stared in his general direction. Chose discretion over valor. “Uh- huh. ”

“ Yeah, Clark. You hadn’t even told us you were Superman by then!” Thank you, Lois. Was she-? Yes, that sounded like sarcasm, not genuine-

“She needed help!” He complained.

“Suuuuure. From your parents’ place.” Wait was this actual jealousy or-

“It’s. Private-”

“Medical shi-” I started to say, but- pause. Mama and Papa Kent were. Nearby. “Stuff. Yes.”

“...Huh.” Lois said. “Well, hope you’re doing okay now.”

“Sure am.” Boobies. Bazoingas. Badonkaderos. Was used to just- chilling in the sidelines with group conversations. They stressed me out, a lot. Never knew when to interject. But! I could just. Vibe. Yesssssss. Lois asked if I’d be cool with giving her an interview, and I hissed in response. Clark’s parents gave. Coffee. Bless them. Wondrous individuals. Mmmmmmm. Caffeine. Caffeen. Cafiene. Someone knocked. Why? Oh, right, Lois’ dad was coming. Clark got up to get the door. I vibed. Nice vibes. Vibing. Phone? Pho-

Clark sure was coughing a lot. Glanced towards him. Door was open. He was. Uh. Pointing? Whispering something? At that distance? How was I supposed to-

Wait, super-hearing. Right. Focused-

“Cecihidehiderightnowinthekitchengogogogo-”

Well alright then?!

_

“What the fuck do you mean he’s the General-?!”

“ Language!” Kent’s mom said.

“Sorry.” Was keeping my voice down, we were. Conversing. In the kitchen. “Clark, what the fudge-”

“Heard you the first time.” He said. “And- I have no idea! We just- never talked about him!”

“And he saw you?!” I hissed. “Clark, he-”

“I don’t think he recognized me!”

“ How?!”

“Glasses!”

“That. That is the most fu- uh. That’s stupid. There’s no way that- oh god. It’s been working for months now. It works.” Paused. “I should get glasses.”

“You should.” He agreed.

“But for now. ” I whispered. “I should probably just. Uh. Bail? If he doesn’t recognize you.”

“That’s-” He let out a sigh. “I don’t- yeah. That’s probably. Smart. Sorry, Ceci.”

“Hey, no worries. You can apologise in Bagels. Uh, call me if you need help hiding the body.”

“The bod- Ceci, we’re not doing anything to Lois’ dad!”

“Uh-huh. Sure, champ. Later!”

Zoomies.

Now, I was considering outright leaving, but I decided to stick around in the area, just in case. I mean- if the General did recognize Clark as Superman, then there’d be people moving into position, right?

So-

I was in the perfect spot to see Clark’s ship emerge from the fucking Earth.

What.

What?!

What.

WHAT-

Oh it was launching. Things. Missiles-!?!? MISSILES-?!

LASER EYES QUALIFY AS POINT DEFENCE RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT RI-

I’d say I shot down. Five? Before they started landing. Landing. Not missiles! Mechs. Like the ones that had been beating the shit out of Supes! Wonderous! Incalculably gorgeous! Fantastic!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-   

Priorities!
At first, tried to stem the tide. Ineffective, ship launched way too fucking many. At this point, I could consistently take two bots at a time, but that wasn’t enough. So, instead, go back to the house and get Lois and Jimmy and Clark’s parents out- fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck-

WHAT WAS THE SHIP-

Opening a portal.

Opening a portal! On the other side? Bigger ship. Fantastic. Infinite paperclips. Infinite spaceships. If that one had a proportional load of mechs-

Then we wouldn’t be able to- 

Shit shit shit shit shit shit where the FUCK were-

There!

Clark, making out with his girlfriend. Now, dude?! Really-

Why the fuck were people crying- Clark floated up to me. Lois was yelling. “Red.” He said. Had a little white ball-orb-thing in his hand. “I’ve got a plan. Cover me-?”

What-? “ Explain, first-”

“There’s no time. Just- trust me, okay?”

Did I trust this-

Yes.

Nodded, did the thing.

Was-

I wanted to say easy. And it was, at first! Then Clark hit the ship, and started shoving it out of the atmosphere- and all the bots moved. At once. Towards us. 

Kill me now oh god oh fuck oh shit oh-

Overwhelming. Just like-

The Commune, just like-

No. 

Can do this, Ceci. You’ve got this. How high up were we? First- dodge beam, decapitate. They can’t pursue once blinded. Second, run through torso. Third-

It landed a hit. I recovered mid-air, tore its ‘heart’ out. Fourth-

“Don’t follow me!” Supes yelled, and then punched a hole into the ship. What-

Wait. Don’t follow me. Did that-

Fucking clown car idiot dumbass self-sacrificing motherfucker-

Followed him in. Of course. 

More bots inside. Tunnel fighting! Wahoo! The corridors in the ship were fucking big, but- small enough for their size to work in our favor, at least against the bots. Easy enough to rip and tear, and all that- “I told you not to follow me!” He yelled.

“Eat my dick and balls, Superman!” I snapped back. “You think I’m just going to let you get yourself killed?! Fuck you!”

He threw his hands up and snarled- 

As the AI-Hologram Man-thing just. Killed? One of the robots we were fighting. What-?

Was he on our-?! “We need to move!” Clark yelled, and he was correct, so I moved. “This rock! It- it destroys our tech. And- and us. Almost killed me. If I put it in whatever core this thing has-”

“So you were going to kill yourself?!” I snapped.

“People are going to die if that ship gets through!”

“That’s- you stupid fucking-” 

“You’d be affected too! You can’t-”

“You plant it, I’ll carry your sorry worthless fucking ass out of here!”

He snapped back a response, and just- nodded. Cool. Wonderful! Excellent! God-fucking- why had I let myself get involved with this stupid fucking city-

Took a bit to find it, but we did. Big red crystal. Probably the core. Maybe? Supes was flagging. I- relatively fresh. Also feeling it, though. He glanced at me. “Stand back.”

And since I. Was aware. That this was bad-

I did. He. Screamed, when he popped that little ball inside. That little crystal of plague pestilence agony pain death the very cells in your body restructured instructed to turn against themselves to annihilate the foreign pestilence that is you- 

It.

Burned.

Even from here. And this idiot had it in his- on his knees, how the fuck was he holding it and-

He threw. It hit the core. Embedded itself.

I-

Wasn’t flying. Couldn’t. So- staggered over. Dragged myself to him. He was on the ground. Hurt. Hurt more. Had to get closer to-

I-

Who-

No. Had a duty. The world, painted red. Friends. Rory. Rory’d feel bad. Pick up this fucking clown. Go. Walk. One foot in front of- ship was-

Something sparked. Couldn’t see. Burned.

Hurt. So much-

White. 

What-?

Hologram-man. Guy. Dude-? Saying.

Something.

Why were we floating-?

_

Woke up with a gun aimed at us. And a Lois in between, but-

Uh.

Fuck. Lois was saying some dumb shit to her dad- didn’t matter. Wouldn’t do anything. He was a cop- he’d-

“ -stand down. ”

REALLY?!
…Fuck it, gift horse, mouth, I was going to go back to being passed out, now.

Chapter Text

Right. Remember.

Why are you targeting this person? 

Reasonable amount of support. Major player in his party. How has he voted? In favor of funding arms sales to Boravia. Why is that bad? Boravia is a carbon copy of Israel, which is weird since Israel also exists here. Further elaboration unnecessary. What else?

Capitalist, but that’s every politician in this hell-time. Obama didn’t exist here to bring the Communist revolution to the 21st Century. This person is blocking the ban on conversion therapy. Is in favor of banning abortion. Spoke in favor of gunning down people protesting the murder of some Romani guy. I know from experience that that speech will, someday, turn to action. Has turned to action in the past.

He is a fascist. 

I’ve eliminated people who run those camps. Decent number of them. But this is the source. This is the person who represents their will made manifest.

This is today’s target.

I’ve gotten better at doing this, when compared to my first few acts in Mumbai.

Zip into the office. Make sure it’s him. He’s alone? Good. Grab him. Leave. He hasn’t started screaming yet. We’re going fast, and while there’s something that protects people we’re carrying at least a little bit, I’m going too fast for him to stay conscious. Keep going. Skimming above the ocean. Further, further.

Further. Space is an option, of course, but it’s much more likely that someone will see. People can watch the sky above, but nobody can watch the entire ocean.

Here.

Far enough from any shipping lanes, anything important. No underwater cities, or anything. Reach for his head, twist. Attach the weights. Drop him.

Another day passes.

_

“No, shee.” I said, through a mouthful of Bagel. “That’s the thing. It’s terrible for rehabilitation. I mean, you put people in a torture-rape hole for ten years, with nobody except other prisoners for company and no way to acquire skills, then when you let them out they’re on a list every employer checks before deciding whether to grace them with a job they need to live? Do I even need to explain how prisons are basically crime generators?”

“That’s- true, but some do offer a chance for prisoners to learn skills and work-”

“And they just exploit that for dirt cheap slavery labor, which creates obscene incentives that make locking people up profitable, Blue! But. Uh. Training in prisons is a good thing. Except job training and just- training in general. Should be free. To everyone.” Healthcare, too- but with the ship wrecked, that ship had. Sunk? Sunk. At least for now.

“That’s- true. I don’t disagree.”

Help Superman was woke my yapping at this boy was bearing fruit this was- oddly familiar? Why was I thinking of Eagles, all’ve a sudden?

“...But- we’re aliens, Red. We don’t have the right to dictate terms to-”

“ Dictate? Clark, half of my arguments are stolen verbatim from my reading group.”

He sat there. ‘There’ being the roof of- some fucking skyscraper, I ‘unno. “Your… reading group?”

“Yeah! I was. Uh. Used to be kind’ve shit at theory, but I realized I’d need to be better at yapping to present convincing arguments, so… rejoined! It’s. Kind’ve gone to shit since I was gone, they’ve got a really loud Hoxhaist in there who thinks Genghis Khan was a hero.”

“...Ceci, I only understood some of those words. But- even if that’s true, at least in places like America, democracies represent the will of the people. These friends of yours seem… smart, and like they know what they’re talking about, but-” Why did he sound like such a sad wet dog? I wanted to pet him. But. Theory. The patient needs theory-bites to live, doctor.

“Ah, but what is the will of the people when corporate lobbying groups have infinite money and the ability to produce an unending plague of propaganda? When all votes aren’t equal? Remember how Oil companies tricked people into viewing climate change as a matter of personal responsibility-” Holy shit rejoining a reading group had been such a good idea I only half-knew all this shit.

_

Chill. Lie on the floor. The floor was, in many ways, like a big rock. Cold. Satisfying to my lizard brain. To my cat brain. To purr on. Leslie reached over and scratched my head. I purred some more. I needed a tail. Wanted a tail, really. 

“Do you know someone who can forge an ID?” I asked. “I want one.”

“What do you need an ID for, supergirl?” Leslie muttered. 

“I ‘wanna. Uh.” Thought about that. “I ‘unno. I want one.”

“It’s pricy.”

“I no longer desire such an object.”

“ Incredible. ” Felt my phone buzz. Who? Clark. What? Invite to a thing. He knew where the ship from Thanksgiving had crashed.

Huh. Maybe the medical suite had-?

_

Antarctica? Wasn’t sure why this surprised me. Did I have. Any thoughts on this? Clark filled me in on the way, about his dreams, and-

“Okay, look- Lois, Jimmie, you’re great.” I said. “But why are we bringing them? They’re squishy humans, Clark.”

“Hey, we can help!” Lois protested, with her squishy human mouth. 

“I mean, what if those bots are still active?” 

“They’re my friends, and- we can protect them, right?” Okay. Sure. Alright then. Escort mission in the ice. Couldn’t see what would go wrong.

_

Things very quickly went wrong. Clark got separated, we found the ship, and there were, in fact, robots.

“I told you so.” I said, before twisting another one’s head off.

“We know! ” Jimmy yelled. “You’ve said that, like, twenty times!”

“Well, I did tell you so.”

“Oh, come on!”

It wasn’t. That bad. It was a somewhat relaxing trip where I got to punch robots and kept my ears open. The two squishy journalists weren’t in any real danger, except when the fucking walls shifted around and I had to spend time finding them again. And revealed. Fucking.

Task force. X.

REALLY?! AGAIN?! SUPERMAN FIND A NEW GOON SQUAD TO FIGHT CHALLENGE, IMPOSSIBLE-

They hadn’t spotted us yet, but-

They were salvaging tech. Which turned this from a mission where we needed to shut all this down to a mission where we needed to blow up the ship to deny the American Military access to it. Joy! Wonderfu-

Wait. 

Fuck. 

Wasn’t-

AI-guy. Hadn’t-

Assumed he’d have died back then, but-

What if he was still-?

Okay, this got more complicated, which made me even more annoyed we bought the squishy fucking humans alon-

Okay no. Not completely stupid. That green rock was still on the ship, right? We couldn’t touch it, humans could, which meant disposing of it would-

The walls shifted again, and deposited me right in front of Woman, Man in tech-armor, and the sword-prettyboy.

Brief pause as they stared at me, and I stared at the spaces between them. “So.” I said. “Uh. Trucies?”

They were not open to trucies.

_

Okay, did I enjoy working with Clark? Yes. The donuts and bagels were delicious. The noodles were delicious. He was fucking stupid, and hence adorable and like a small puppy. Lois was fun. Jimmy was.

He- existed? And was a conspiracy theorist? But are they really conspiracies when superpowers do in fact exist?

Where was I going with this? Right. I enjoyed working with Clark, but holy shit I really wanted to just kill these people that would make this a lot easier .

Couldn’t stop and fight both sword-skull boy and punchy man, their boss had a gun that actually hurt and I did not want to get hit by it again. Had to manage Lois and Jimmy getting harassed by robots. Had to slam face first into the Kryptonite pillar and nearly get executed-by-cop before Superman saved my ass.

Just typical, Saturday night things. Except it was fucking Tuesday. Tuesday! Insane! Anyway, AI-man teleported the entire ship away, turned it into a… floating. Crystal. Thing? And me and Jimmy bailed to let the lovebirds have their moment.

“So.” Jimmy said. “...What do you do on your own, anyway? I’ve been looking into you, and, uh. Doesn’t seem like you show up unless it’s with Clark.”

…Huh. That- “Private. Rather not talk about it.”

“Uh- that’s. Okay, I guess.” Pause. “But like- it’s Hero stuff, right? Saving puppies, stopping trains derailing-? Why wouldn’t you want to take the credit for it?”

“Is Clark doing it for the praise?”

“Huh. I guess not. But- like- imagine how many subscribers I would get, if-”

Jimmy. “But also, it’s not just hero stuff.”

Pause, before- “Woah. You’re robbing banks in your spare time! That’s how you don’t have a job!” Concerningly close. Wait, no, he was just right, I did occasionally rob banks, as long as they weren’t in Metropolis. 

“Ask me no questions, Jimmy, and I’ll tell you no lies.”

“Aw, come on! ” I’d need to ask Clark if the medical suite had survived-

_

It hadn’t. Fuck.

_

Check list. Who’s next? Aditya? No, he’ll have to be a disappearance, killing him will invite reprisals from people who blame Muslims for everything. Learned that in Mumbai. Then again, if it’s a suicide- but guns are hard to get in India, and they’d lie-

Then again, there are other ways. Just need a nearby roof…

_

New thing. What’s the thing? We’re breaking into a prison? I paused, for a moment, before typing out a reply-

> To free all the prisoners?

S: Maybe. Mostly to find Lois’ dad. 

> …The General????????

S:
S: Yes?

Fucks’ sakes, Clark. Thought about this, for a moment-

S: He’s not working for the government, anymore. They’ve got him in custody.

Good riddance? Eat shit? But- eh. Wasn’t actively morally repugnant, I just didn’t really care. Then again, Lois was a friend.

Almost typed out that I was coming, then remembered I could zoom, so I engaged in zoomies.

_

IT WAS TASK FORCE X AGAIN OF COURSE IT- wait, no . This made sense. Since, y’know. Lois’ dad was a part of that, so of course they were the ones holding him.

Cool.

…Did being a Politician Serial Killer make me crave variety in fights, or-?

_

Clark just tapped those guys to knock them out what the fuck.

Also, he had a cousin? What? I wanted to hear more about that I was fine with Lois’ dad getting tortured a little-

_

The dorks were fighting~ 

I’d reel in my hearing, but then I’d risk getting jumped, so I got to listen in on them hissing at each other.

“And who are you supposed to be?” Lois’ dad said.

“Uh.” I replied, quite eloquently. “Red.”

“I can tell.” He was looking at my outfit which was, in fact. Red. In places! It had the Councilism star on it! Communism! Clark and Lois were arguing about- the beacon? “You let my daughter get involved in all this?”

“Look, I just come along when C- uh. Superman invites me. I’m just chilling.”

“This is- chilling?! To you.”

Considered that. “ Yes- wait. Shit, coming this way, hide.” I hid. He-

Did not. Hide. He ran in the direction of the sound. Uh.

What? Go. Grab him like a cat. “What do you think you’re-”

“Put me down-”

“Ah. General. Collaborating with the aliens now, I see?” Ah, fuck. Woman. Tea emoji. 

_

See, we could’ve stood and fought, but at least in theory the General was our only objective here.

And a beacon for Clark’s cousin. And some kid’s dad. But! We hadn’t found those, yet, so no point in fighting, so we ran from flaming-radioactive-skull man, busted through a few walls, and proceeded to find a giant concentration camp.

I floated there. Blinked. Turned. “Clark, can I kill Amanda Waller?” That was Woman’s name, or so I had learned-

“What?!” He sputtered out. “No!”

“This is literally what the Nazis did, my guy. They’re grabbing undesirables and- okay, the difference is that Nazi experiments were stupid and dumb and didn’t work, but-”

“No killing!” Toddler. Infant! “We’re here to get these people out, not get revenge.” He took a breath. “Not unless you have to.” Oooo please please please please-

Was. Was this what cops felt like? Begging their victims to give them a- no, cops just shot you anyway then made up the reason oh fuck glowing skellington man-

_

Clark did, in fact, grab the Beacon. I noticed! Since. Y’know. Got thrown through the same wall he did. Superpowers. Helped fight melty-skull-man.

Well.

Not much of a fight. We dropped a bridge on him. But still!

Didn’t say anything, because, uh. Understandable? Wait, did say something. “Hey, hope your cousin’s cool.” There, he’d appreciate that.

“I.” Pause. “Thanks, Ce- uh. Red.” Incredible.

_

We had. A perfect opportunity. A perfect chance to slaughter US Military personnel! Cops! People who were about to gun down a crowd of unarmed escaping prisoners that they had just experimented on!

Literal Nazis!

And Clark just. Took their guns away! And called them poopy-heads! Come on already-

That said, he did in fact No-man-left-behind save everyone on a boat that just. Why did Jimmy have a boat? Where did this come from? I vaguely recalled that he was now bourgeois and cringe because he’d sold his Youflix account. 

Did I need to guillotine Jimmy? No. Thin ice, though.

…Needed to make sure the prisoners actually got where they needed to. And got. Support. And. Jobs? It had been a while since I had to do normal people shit like ‘pay rent’. Okay, no, I split the bill with Leslie and Rory, but-

_

Helped Superman deal with a reactor that was gonna explode or something? Also, had a not-quite-stern talk with the reactor’s owner-

“Hey, you owe money to Livewire.”

“W- what?! That- that loser didn’t even do her job! Just because two Super-”

“I will peel your skin off and feed you to a shark if you don’t pay my girlfriend.”

He froze. He sat there for a moment. “I’ll pay.”

“Good boy! If you tell anyone about this- shark. Peel. You get the idea.”

I zoomied.

_

Why was the General staying at Clark’s place? This sucked. Infinite suckage works! Immense! How dare he! I needed to pop over to eat instant noodles and ask about the cousin thing!

“You were literally working with him!” Leslie complained. Rory continued to give me pats from the spot where I was curled up in her lap. 

“...Yeah. Hey, I wouldn’t have fought you!”

“Well, how was I supposed to know that?!”

“You’re my girlfriend, Les. You have the Crime Pass-” Wait. “Are you, uh- actually mad?”

Brief silence. Rory- what was the Rory doing? Looking in Leslie’s direction. Big sad dog energy. She was fighting for me! Emotionally! Yay!

“ No. ” Leslie finally forced out. “I mean, I did still get paid, I guess.”

I nodded, wisely. “I told that- uh. What’s his face. Pink hair guy. That I’d peel his skin off.”

“Woah.” Rory said. “Have you ever-?”

“...I- strongly considered it, but that would be torture and that’s wrong. I’m a good and righteous little murderer, thank you very much.”

Leslie let out a snort. “Sure thing, hero. And when your friend finds out?”

Wegh. Not a great thought. “...Then I’ll probably have less friends, and that’ll suck. Unless I’ve done enough to radicalize him. I mean- he doesn’t really believe in prisons anymore! I have successfully convinced the Superman that sending a guy to jail is an Evil Act.”

Rory let out some kind’ve vaguely cute sound. Patted me. “Good job, puppy.” I purred.

“Dogs don’t purr.” Leslie grumbled.

“I’m a fucked up super-dog.” I declared. “Genetically modified. Recombination. Seven billion chromosomes.”

“Uh- huh. ”

“I mean. Mad scientists literally exist. How much d’you think I’d have to pay to-?”

“For anyone else? Couple million. For Miss knives-can’t-pierce my skin? All the money in the world.”

“But I want to be a furry-”

“There there.” Rory continued patting. Wondrous. Excellent comfort! “We’ll figure something out. Maybe. Hopefully?”

“Yay~!” 

“Think we could hit the STAR Labs thing?” Leslie muttered. “Always stuff there that’ll sell.”

“ Seriously, Liv?” Rory replied. “That’d get way too much heat on us-”

“Difficult, since you’re both already hot. ” I was the rizzler. The smoothest operator. Criminal girlfriends. Exce-

Was Leslie snickering? Probably. Kept on fiddling with my rock, smiled. Rory was turning on the TV, which was extremely her. Who even watched TV in 2023? Wasn’t it an outdated form of communication in the 21st century, just like those little- ring-phone thingies?

Silliness.

_

“Huh, they’re talking about your buddy.” Who? My wondrous pillow, Leslie. Wha-? Where? TV. Some kinda discussion at a conference, ‘The Superman Problem’. Was that. Jimmy? 

Stared at the screen. “Woah.” Red color scheme. Just like me! Except- y’know. Menacing and evil, instead of comrade-y and communist. 

“ I mean, look at his friend!” Some unpeggable twink named Lex was speak- wait a minute. “ Superwoman. Red. Who is she? Why did she only start showing up after Superman got a reputation as a ‘hero’? Well, with the help of some actual professionals- I have an answer.” Uh oh. “ See, they’d have you believe these two are heroes. That they only want to save us. ” What did he have on screen behind- I recognized. That house. That stairway. Wait, shit, I’d dealt with the cameras, hadn’t- “ But go against their desires, say the wrong thing- and this is what happens. ”

Video playback started. For a moment, nothing. And then-

A woman in a gas mask, wearing some very baggy clothes . The TERF Fuck she had grabbed by the throat. Just enough time for that stupid dickhead author to scream.

Before she went down the stairs with a very pleasant sounding crack.

Another video. That- shit, was that… Delhi? When I hit the Prime Minister-

Same setup. Only this time, he was at his desk one moment-

Hanging from a noose the next. And it kept. Going. One. Two. Three more videos. “ This is what happens when we don’t have a way to stop- ”

Rory let out a cough. “Uh. Ceci. You’re on TV.”

I stared at the screen. “...Shit.”

Right. Right! Panic. Anxiety! Terror! If Clark hadn’t seen that, he would, soon. “I mean. You can just- leave the country, right? And. Visit-” Leslie was talking. Yes.

“This is true!” I squeaked out. “But- I had plans! I- this is. Bad! Very bad-!” Because it was the thing. Public enemy number one! The big target! The one who had martyred a thousand Nazi fucks! The Red Boogeyman! Proof every bit of Red Scare propaganda was sort of almost not-at-all true. “ Shit. I. Um. I gotta go. I’ll be back after, uh. I dunno. Cleaning up? And-”

“It’s fine, Ceci. We’ll be around.” Rory said.

“...Thanks. Love you both.”

“You too, Ceci.”

Pause. Leslie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Me too. Now shoo. ”

I shooed.

_

Okay! Damage control. What?

How?

No, seriously, how? How in the fuck did you handle damage control on something like this-

“ Red .” Freeze frame. Record scratch. Slow turn.

Forced my best grin on. “So. Uh, you watched-”

“STAR Labs.” No humor in that voice. Hurray! Excellent! Okay, lock the fuck in, Ceci. Either you get this done perfectly, or you’re going to have to fight fucking Superman - “You- you saw the footage, didn’t you? Tell me- tell me it isn’t real. That this is a misunderstanding.”

It’d be so fucking easy. But- no. All-in. Breathe. It was night-time, now. “It’s real.”

“ Why-”

“Think about what I’ve been trying to tell you for months, Superman.” I hissed. “The people I killed- Ryanne? Major public figure, transphobe. Tino? A Nazi fuck who- ”

“That didn’t give you the right to- ”

“ And what gives them the right to kill people like me, Superman!?”

“They were helpless!”

“They’re ideological fucking leaders! A CEO denies someone health insurance, they can’t afford healthcare, they die! A Conservative gets healthcare for people like me pulled, legislated out of fucking existence, and another trans girl kills herself! I told you about how prisons treat people like me. You’ve done the fucking research, you know I was telling you the truth!”

“That’s-”

“And you think I’d just let them get away with it!? Nothing they do is illegal! You can’t beat them with fucking Journalism, if you expose them as a bunch of fucking pedophiles, their constituents will cheer! So what if they let inmates rape people like me, it isn’t fucking illegal! Capital protects its own!” Heart was racing. Needed. Needed him to get it, because the alternative- floated a bit closer. “You let Amanda live.”

“That’s-”

“You think more people won’t die because of that? Every day Task Force X remains in operation, more people vanish into their labs and they don’t come back out . You can’t put her in a cell. Sure, what she does is ‘illegal’, but it’s sanctioned by the US fucking government. Nothing has been done to shut them down after that stupid fucking News Story you put out-”

“You-”

“This was the only-”

“ Stop!” Felt the clouds- part. For a moment. Loud. Loud, loud, loud-

Breathe, Cecilia. And await- judgement? No. He didn’t have a right to judge me. Nobody did. “How many?”

“What-”

“ How many people have you killed, Red?”

What kind’ve question was- “...I stopped counting years ago.”

Silence, for a while. Wind kept blowing. Only other person in the sky was him, but- still felt like a thousand eyes were on me. “I can’t stop you, can I? Luthor was right. No way to stop people like us. No way to contain us. And even if there was, it’d just-”

“Only thing I’m guilty of is defending people who can’t defend themselves. Same as you.”

“We’re nothing- ” He fell silent. Took a breath. “You- you know where my parents live. My- friends.”

Oh. “I wouldn’t.”

“And how can I trust-”

“I never fucking lied to you! I told you I was doing my own thing! I told you you were fucking stupid for trusting me! And- I’m not lying when I say that.” Curled in on myself, a bit. “I won’t let you stand in my way, but- I’m not fucking hurting. Your parents. To get to you.”

No response.

It was quiet in the sky.

The crack of air, and-

He was gone. 

I didn’t follow.

_

Chapter Text

Hadn’t worked, today. Mostly. Out of.

I didn’t know. Supes hadn’t hunted me down. Wasn’t trying to- to what? Kill me? Knew he wouldn’t. Right?

…Went- back to the girlies. I mean- knew Clark wouldn’t. He wouldn’t target the people I was around, right? Fair’s fair. And.

If he was going to, it wouldn’t matter whether or not I was here. He’d do it. Any-

He wouldn’t don’t be stupid not the boy scout not- Clark.

“Okay.” Leslie grumbled. “Enough moping about your boyfriend, we’re taking you out.”

Huh? “What?”

“On a date.” Rory added. Huh.

“Not really feeling like-”

“Course you aren’t.” Leslie said. “Which is why it isn’t optional.” Excuse me- was. Rory’s arms, under my knees, behind my- why was she picking me up criminal illegal . Could I easily zoom out of her arms? Yes. Was I going to? No. Fruitlessly drummed on them, instead. Pitifully. Pathetically-

“I will carry you the entire way if you resist.” Rory said, cheerfully. 

“Evil.” I grumbled. “I’ll obey my vile and cruel girlfriends, I suppose.”

“Darn right you will.” Leslie declared. “Now come on, there’s this new ramen place that opened-”

Chorus. Rory? Rory! Rory knew the line! “Noodles are only good when they’re shitty, Leslie.”

“...You two are weirdos, you know that?”

_

This was definitely helping. Ice cream. Borgir. I was capable of consuming immense amounts of food on account of my body being-

Whatever the fuck it was. Hadn’t put on weight or lost it in a while despite living like some kind’ve cryptid. This meant that in times like these, I could terrorise a buffet that made the mistake of serving sushi. Avocado. Mushroom sushi. Cheese!!!! Japan was swearing vengeance on me right now. I knew it.

Did I out-eat Rory? Yes. Did I out-eat Leslie? Yes. “‘Least we got our money’s worth.” Leslie muttered, and I grinned. “Or, well. Your money’s worth.”

“You’re making me pay for my own treat?!” 

“No, but pretending you are is really funny.” Evil. Demonic! My sweet and wonderous girlfriends paid, we stepped outside, and woman about to be hit by a truck move move move-

Zoomies. She was. Surprisingly tricky to move. 

“Are you okay-” I started to say, before-

“ Red?! ” What.

“ Jimmy?! ” I sputtered out. 

We stared at each other, for a moment. Well, I stared at the space next to Jimmy’s- you get the idea, by now-

“You were assisting me?” Who- woman! Woman who was ‘elped! Yes- “I’m fine. You are- Red?”

Jimmy was still glaring. Uh. “ No. ” I said. “Kind’ve. It’s complicated.”

“But he called you-”

“That’s- don’t worry about it. I’m Cecilia. Friends call me Ceci.” 

“Uh-huh, Cecilia.” Jimmy muttered, but- he wasn’t calling me out! So- yippee!

“He does not call you Ceci.” The woman said. “Is he your enemy?”

Uh. “It’s complicated.”

“That’s one way to put it.” Jimmy muttered- before he saw something. What, who- Clark?! Why the FUCK WAS EVERYONE IN ONE SMALL AREA LIKE SOME KIND’VE FUCKING SITCOM-  it was fine he didn’t see me please don’t see me argh. “Uh. I. Gotta go. You’ve- yeah, you’ve got this lady. Don’tkillhertoookaythanksbyeeeeee!”

Oi, I only murdered fascists thank you very much. Was Clark- he saw me. He looked away. 

Okay. That was what we were doing. Coolokaythanks- woman! Person. “Anyway!” I said. “Uh. Do you need anything else, or-?”

“...I am looking for someone.” She admitted. “But- I do not believe you can help me find them.”

“I mean- no harm in asking? Small world, and all that.” Glanced over at- why did Leslie and Rory look so smug?

A man, a warrior, the only person in the universe- universe? Who would understand- “-My cousin.”

Waitafuckingminute. “Are you, uh.” Okay, not a conversation for the streets. Wait, shit, balls- um. “Gimme a second.” Did not zoop back to girlies. I. Walked. “Okay, so-”

Rory slammed an arm down on my shoulder. “Good luck, Ceci.”

“What? No, I’m not-”

“She’s cute.” Leslie agreed. “...If she stays with us, you’re paying half the rent.”

“I’m not rizzing her up!”

“Uh-huh.”

“Sure you aren’t.” Rory agreed.

“Remember to wear protection.”

“I don’t even have ovaries-!” I whined. Probably? I hadn’t actually checked after- after Clark’s ship did its thing-

They shoved me away, cackling. Devils! Hyenas! Monstrous creatures- woman was distracted by ice cream. She was. Staring at it.

…Well then.

_

Holy shit she was going through. So much ice cream. “This is delicious!”

“Yep, I can tell.” Adorable. Precious. Just like- just like her cousin. Ow. Should- should bring that up. But first. Priorities. “More?”

“There is more? ”

“There’s a criminally large amount of flavors. Consume as you wish, lady.” Although- “Don’t they have. Sweets? Wherever you’re from? Like- not ice cream, but…”

“That… they are not necessary.” Ah, right. The whole. However the fuck our bodies worked. But also hm we could eat so why- more ice cream arrived, she devoured. Seemed like she was just- ordering more of the same, though. Which. Girlboss? Good for her.

I too, devoured. Sustenance. Did this qualify as a date? No. Don’t be stupid. Were we private… enough? Yes. “So- you’re Kryptonian, right?”

She froze. Spoon in her hand snapped. “You- how do you-”

“I am one, too.” Careful. Really don’t want it to turn into a fight here stupid stupid why did I-

“ You-?! ” She seemed. Confused? Excited? “But- you are not my cousin. He is. Male. ” Oh no TERF Cousin. “And I heard his message! You do not-”

“Okay, one- people change. Sometimes people decide they don’t want to be a guy or something.”

“And they are simply- permitted to do as they-?”

“Eh, it- varies. But morally speaking, yes. And people who try to stop them transitioning are monsters who should be torn limb from limb. But anyways! Yeah, I’m not your cousin. Just- another Kryptonian who got sent here by her parents. But I know your cousin.”

She fuckin slammed her hands almost through the table- I was going to have to pay for that- and leaned forward. I leaned back. “You know him?! You can take me to him?!”

“Uh.” Probably- best to introduce them when he was in costume? Needed to vibe check this girl before introducing her to Clark Kent. “Yeah, gimme a sec.” Well. Okay. Was he almost definitely still mad? Yes. That said- phone.

Call. Ringing, and- “You’ve reached Clark Kent!”

No.

No.

No. No! Clark you fucking idiot why is THIS your- you KNOW I HAVE YOUR NUMBER-

“That is him! Cousin! It is I, Kara Zor-El-!” Okay, table was demolished now. Server looked- kinda horrified. Mouthed ‘sorry’ in their general direction.

“So.” I said. “Uh, yeah. Found your cousin. Meet up whenever you’re done with. Whatever you’re doing?” And- that was that. “Sorry, he couldn’t hear you. That’s- he’s busy right now? So- that was just a pre-recorded message. He’ll hear what you said later.” Kara. Cute name.

Kara frowned. “Can we not simply fetch him now? ”

“Eh, that’d be- rude. He might be in the middle of something important. He’ll get back to us when he notices the message, and- yeah.”

“But…”

“I also don’t really know. Where he is right now?” Checked, and- yeah, didn’t see him outside with X-ray vision. Wait, offer a carrot! “Also, we can get more food while we wait.”

Pause. Could sense the warring emotions within- 

“ Ahem. We’re going to need the two of you to leave.” Oh. Right.

_

Kara almost tried to fight the manager. As funny as that would be, I asked her not to.

_

She wasn’t very good at. Uh. Manners talked with her mouth full. Consumed hot dog. Sandwich. Pizza. Many soda. Part of me wondered if we could get sick from eating too much, but- probably not. 

“And- what is he like!? Does he rule this planet?”

“Uh. Nope, isn’t really interested in that. He’s- really nice, actually?” If- naive. Not my friend anymore. 

“ I see. ” She mumbled. “And a mighty warrior, yes?”

“I mean. I guess?”

“You guess?” 

“We’re Kryptonians. Don’t really have anyone around who’d be a fair fight, y’know?”

“Ah. I suppose we are a Superior species.” Uhoh. 

“I wouldn’t go. That far. We just have superstrength and stuff.”

“Yes. And? We are the perfect rulers-”

“Humans can compete with us with, like. Tech. Plus- the value of a life isn’t really derived from how good they are at punching people.” Oh shit oh fuck Clark’s cousin was incredibly devastatingly cringe oh no oh fuck- help she was inhaling those chips awwwwwwwwww- 

“I suppose. But they require the guiding hand of Krypton to be truly happy.” Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm oh no.

“See. I- that’s not. Really.”

_

Help I wasn’t-

Okay, I was getting to her a little bit. That said, I had no existing human governments to point to as an example of humans successfully and not-shittily ruling each other, since I was down to annihilate every existing government. 

“Then they may simply have advisors.” Kara declared. “Humans who know their world well, so that the ruler may consider their perspectives.” Kara noooo- “What. Is that?!” Pointing at. A plushie.

…

I had no choice.

_

Help she bought so many I was going to have to rob so many more banks after-

“And you have no memories of Krypton? That is… sad. But may be fixed! After I find Kal-El, I will share them with you!”

That. Uh. Okay, no, that actually sounded neat. “Cool. I. Look forward to it?” Help she was holding the big lizard my heart my soul-

“They are- beautiful.” Oh wait this was an actual emotional moment. “I- it meant. So much. To learn of Kal-El, and to find that there are more of us-! I- I believed I was alone, other than Father!”

…Eh. Eh? I cared about her because she was Clark’s cousin, not because she was a ‘fellow Kryptonian’. And because she was. Kind’ve adorable? Despite all the. Uh, y’know. Still- I could… get it. “Well, you aren’t, anymore. ‘Kay?” Help the way she just lit up- “Uh- who’s your dad?” Another-?  

“Primus Brainiac is the leader of the New Kryptonian Empire.” The new Kryptonian what- “He is dedicated to restoring- to restoring what was lost.” 

Hm . “Is he. Nice?”

“Of course! He is kind, wise, and a mighty warrior.” Hmm. “One could not ask for a better parent.” Okay then. Maybe I was reading too much into-? But the girl hadn’t had sweets until- 

“Did Krypton have sweets?”

Oh wow I could hear the shine in her eyes. Checked, and- yep. Positively sparkling. She hadn’t tried to make eye contact during this conversation, which was good. “You have no. Idea! ”

_

It was weird. Kara knew quite a bit about Krypton, but- didn’t know what sweets tasted like. Because she’d never been there. Because all she knew of it was- was memories from her Father. The Memories she wanted to share weren’t hers. Which. Um. Was it- again, was I overthinking it, or did this sound an awful lot like fetishizing the Krypton that was and why did she call it the New Empire those were bad things I needed to ask about-

And then, of course, everything went wrong.

See, stores have these little. TVs. And apparently, Clark was on TV. At a. Most eligible bachelor. Thing. Which was weird, considering he was still dating Lois and-

Holy fuck Kara could move faster than me how the fuck had she-

Wait.

Super hearing.

They were. Nearby.

Ah.

Fuck.

_

Caught up just in time to watch Clark get punted through the roof of whatever-fucking-studio he’d been in. Really. Uh. Flew. Which. Who in the fuck was- oh. That was. Her armor, wasn’t-? “K-Kara?” I sputtered out. “Hey, what’s-”

“He’s- you’re both weak! This planet has torn any shred of dignity from both of your shoulders, left him serving as entertainment, and you- you-!” Shit. Clark what the fuck happened Kara why- “Don’t. Stand in my way.” What-

OhfuckshewasgoingafterClark. Moment of thought- no. Not gonna let that happen. Zipped after her-

“ Red?! ” He sputtered out. “What are you doing- ”

“Trying to help you, dumbass!”

“You-”

“You too-?” Kara was speaking. Something in that voice. Ungood. Ow, my heart- “You’ve made your choice.” What-

Ow.

Kara- hit like a truck. I’d know! I’d been hit by several! Fairly certain I ploughed through a road, fortunately didn’t slam into anyone. Through anyone. Shit. Needed to get this fight out of the city, pretty sure Supes was thinking the same-

He slammed into the ground next. Okay then! Great! “Pathetic. To think I was- was happy to find more than one of you-” Her helmet was gone. What? Why was she just floating there oh nevermind laser shit-

Clark? Clark was. Clash of power? Dragon ball? Nonsense?! What? Huh? Okay. Sure. Fine. Run. Too much potential for collateral here. Supes zoomed, I followed. Got, what- a second of flight in? Enough to make it out of the city ow what was attached to my leg-

Hand. Attached to an arm! Attached to a Kara-

Wow she had a good throwing arm. Was this what it meant to bury someone six feet deep? Yes. Get myself back up to the surface, and-

Clark was down. In front of her. Wasn’t move- was breathing. Thank fuck. “Step away from him, Kara.”

“You. I-” Uh-oh. She froze, again. Like she was- what? Listening to something? Magic bullshit? It. Okay, just hit her then. Just-

But I’d seen how she smiled when- out of the corner of-

I hesitated. She- did not!

And then all of a sudden she was behind me and-

Couldn’t move.

Hurt. Everything- again? This seemed to happen- a lot. So much for being. Super. Rolled over onto my back. Was that blood? Coughed. Blood, definitely. She was- staring down at me. Floating above. 

And-

Oh.

That-

I was. Going to die here, wasn’t I? Not to Superman, not to the World, to-

To Clark’s cute cousin. Of all the- the stupid fucking ways-

And then she was gone.

_

Chapter Text

They. They implemented Martial fucking law. In Metropolis! The government! Amanda! Amanda fucking Waller! I knew I should’ve lasered her! Lasered all her goons! Literally all-

Motherfucker. And now Clark was gone, and- and. Shit! Shit!

“...Not what I expected from a first date.” Leslie muttered. “How’d you manage to get her to beat the shit out of you, anyway?”

I let out a whine. “Why are you assuming it was my fault?! She’s literally a fascist!”

“Uh-huh.”

“...And- adorable. Kinda.”

“Really? After she tried to kill you?!”

“I mean- she. Didn’t. Really- try? ” Winced. “Could’ve. Had me dead to rights.” And the way she’d just- latched onto ice cream and plushies and all kinds’ve shit.

Rory’s grip on me tightened, a bit. “...Yeah. Saw it on the news.” She muttered. “Don’t do that again, Ceci.”

“I mean. Superman’s-”

“Who cares about Superman?!” Leslie hissed. “He’s your enemy now! After that little show at STAR labs, he was probably ready to put you in a cell! ”

“He didn’t try, Les! It’s- he was conflicted, and he’s-” I let out a groan. “Look, I know it’s stupid, but- okay, think about it this way. If I want to date his cousin-”

“She almost killed you?!”

“I bought her a plushie! She hugged it!”

“She’s got it bad.” Rory muttered.

“ Very bad.” Leslie agreed.

“Look.” I said. “I’m half joking. She is cute, but I have only known her for one-”

Doorbell. What? We’d moved into some fancy-fucking penthouse, because my girlfriends were cringe bourgeois criminals after the payout from reactorman. Leslie let out a sigh. “I’ll get it.”

Fancy fucking bougie vid-screen doorbell-greeter-viewing thing- “Huh?” Rory said. What was she-

Lois?! “ Red?! Why are you here?” 

Opened my mouth to respond- “Because she’s our girlfriend.” Leslie said. “Got a problem with that?”

Weh.

Me.

Girlfriend.

Melty.

“ What?!”

_

“Look.” I said. “That’s- valid, but I also don’t want to ditch them and leave them to die?”

“Oh come on!” Leslie hissed. “Can you stop being a goody-two-shoes for five minutes?!”

“I am literally a Communist being a good person is half my personality.”

“...I mean- it is kind’ve adorable.” Rory admitted.

“I hate both of you.” Leslie muttered.

_

“So. Uh.” Jimmy was. Staring, wasn’t he? “While we’re. Waiting for my contact- how did the three of you meet?”

“That’s-” Leslie started to say.

“Oh, I’ve known Rory for, like- a year?” I said. “We never met up, though. We paint Warsword minifigs.”

Rory nodded. “She’s super good at it! Ooh, check out this Titan we painted together-!”

“...Aren’t those super expensive?” Jimmy asked.

I nodded. “Robbed a few banks.”

“Why are you telling them this?!” Leslie hissed.

“I mean, they know the other stuff. This is kinda insignificant in comparison-”

“You rob banks, too?!” Lois sputtered out.

“I’m good at it! Nobody notices until, like, a week later!”

Leslie was massaging her forehead. And- “Okay.” She said. “But we’re still charging you for this. Ceci isn’t helping unless you pay. Right, Ceci?”

Aw. Still, decent compromise. “Yes, dear.”

_

Jimmy’s contacts- to fly the ship, y’know- were a talking monkey and a brain in a jar.

…Was it weird that at this point, this barely even phased me? Wait, they were gay? Based as fuck.

“-no hurting people, or the deal’s off!” What. Whu?! Huh? 

“They are. Literally fascists.” I sputtered out. “How are you still being childish about this? They’ve instituted military law! It is entirely ethical to-”

“Look, it’s their funeral. ” Leslie muttered. Which- untrue, actually. I was decently confident in my ability to handle this non-lethally, but. Uh. 

I did not want to?! Urgh. These assholes tortured my girlfriends! They deserved to die! Slowly!

…Well. Technically this was a Superman-connected op, so-

He’d be sad if he learned we killed people to save him, wouldn’t he? Asshat.

In theory, this ought to be easy. Y’know. Since- Kryptonian. Of course, things could never be that simple, and my ass was still healing from the Kara fight. Which, uh. “How are we handling Kara?”

“ Kara-” Lois muttered. “Superman’s kidnapper? ”

“Yeah. I can’t beat her. Tried before with Supes, failed.” Wait- “Do you have the Kryptonite? You grabbed that from, uh-”

“ Yes. ” Lois muttered. “I do.”

“...So you’re just going to-?” Jimmy? Jimmy what.

“No? You’re going to. If I used Kryptonite we’d both- wait, shit. I don’t want to kill her.”

Leslie was grumbling again.”Right.” Jimmy said. “Good.”

“...Why do you care? You don’t know her.”

“I. Might have followed you two. A little.”

“That’s weird, dude.”

“You’re a serial killer! ”

“Of politicians! And fascists! Which-” Er. “Okay, she is a fascist, but.” I. Uh. Shit. “Look, she- I. Fuck you, I have infinite power, I’m allowed to be a hypocrite.”

Lois huffed. “Y’know, I feel like with infinite power, you should be less of a-”

“ Okay Ladies, quiet down.” Leslie interrupted. “Nobody’s killing the new girlfriend.”

I let out a groan. “She’s not my-”

_

See, I’d elaborate on the plan, but everyone knows that if you elaborate on a plan, then it doesn’t work.

Which.

I mean.

This one didn’t work perfectly, but-

We got on the ship. The ship wasn’t ready to launch? The science nerds fixed it. Robots and Deathstroke tried to kill us? We killed them.

The robots.

Not the guy named after masturbation. Just kinda. Got him out of the way. Was it harder than expected? Yes, because Leslie had to go rob the armory while Rory and me were fighting robots. But!

Worked out. Ship! Rory, me, robo-brain(named the Brain) (really?) (real creative.), gorilla-person(named Mallah) (see, this is what a COOL name-), Lois, and Jimmy on the ship! Portal-warp-teleport-bullshit.

And.

Uh.

Immediate. Kara. Right outside the window of our spaceship.

Jimmy started speaking on the intercom. I started speaking. Lois-

“Uh, hey-”

“ You. Where’s Clark-”

“H-hey! What are the odds-”

“...They are not very coordinated, are zey?” The Brain muttered. Rory was snickering.

Uh. “Do we take turns, or-”

“ Yes.” Lois hissed, before re-activating the intercom. “As Clark’s. Ex- girlfriend, I get the first one. You. Where is he?!” Wait, what? Ex? They broke up? When the fuck did that-

_

Kara had a dumb plan that involved leaving her behind, Jimmy called her out on it. Excellent! Approval! Jimmy was no longer trash-tier in my book. We stanned. Stanning. Stannis?

And-

“I am. Sorry.” She mumbled. “For hurting you.”

I shrugged. “ Eh. I lived.”

“...Still, I-” Pause. “Nevermind.”

Okay then-

“Who is- Heat Wave? To you?”

Uh. “Girlfriend. Partner? Yes.” Thought about that. “Yes.”

“O-oh. I see.”

“Yeah, her and Livewire, they’re my. Uh. Yeah.”

“You have- a Harem? Of humans?”

“Wh- no, it’s a polycule- ”

“Sure looks like a harem from here, Red.” Lois?! Lois! Evil-

“It’s true.” Rory agreed. “We’re part of the harem. The super-harem. ”

“Is this how Livvy feels?” I muttered.

“Probably!”

Fucking- women. 

_

Simple enough plan! Make sure each team had a Kryptonian, since we were the muscle- and. Wait. “...Shouldn’t we send a human on the team to check out Brainiac?” I muttered. “I mean, if we need to use the Kryptonite-”

“ No!” Kara sputtered out. “That- Father is. He is malfunctioning, Kryptonite would…” Ah. Right. Remembered what it had done to hologram-guy. Still didn’t know his name, although Lois had filled me in on…

But. If anyone had it coming, Brainiac-

“Hey, I’ll do it.” Who- Rory! “Don’t gotta take the Kryptonite. Just need to be there to watch your back, right?”

“You would… do this?” Kara sounded. What? Uh. Something. Made me want to pat her.

“‘Course! Anything for Ceci’s girlf-” Okay hold on hello interruption-

“Anyway! ” I said. Rory get that shit-eating grin off your face. “If shit goes sideways, you’re safe with us, okay?”

“Yeah!” Jimmy concurred. Jimmy? When had he joined this conver- “No way are we letting him hurt you!”

“He- Father does not hurt me-”

Uh-huh. Sure. Said every abuse victim in the history of ever, babe. Didn’t say that out loud, because I wasn’t that condescending, but- “Uh- huh. ” Jimmy said, doing the condescending for me. “But still! The offer stands!” Was Lois glaring at all of us? Yes, but she could cope and seethe. 

“That- I-”

“Yeah!” Rory said. “ Or you could stay at our place! I bet Liv wouldn’t mind.” True! She’d just make me pay more rent-

“Wh- no way!” Jimmy protested. “You’re all bad influences! She’s staying with me and Clark!”

Incredible.

_

Replayed the mission in my head. Okay, so I’d kissed Rory, told her to stay safe, given Kara a hug, and then we’d split up. Sensible so far. Went to the training room Kara thought Supes would be in- no Superman. Went to where Brainiac would supposed to be and Kara got launched through a wall by goth Superman with a boob window. Okay. Sure. Brainiac could brainwash, why not? That made sense. 

Now, why, exactly, could goth Superman beat Kara and me and Rory when me and Superman couldn’t beat- because I couldn’t go all out against my brainwashed ex-friend right shit fuck I’d eaten his noodles I’d gone to his Thanksgiving kill me now. 

Brainiac had beaten us with a fucking window, and Lois had. Had.

What the fuck, Lois. She’d. Slapped on the brainwashing helmet thing? To go after Clark? Which. I. Did not understand? How was that supposed to work?! Huh????? Whu?! 

Kara had lore. Ah, okay. Jimmy had hope. I. “I’ll be in the other room.” I said, and then left the room. And stared at the stars, and leaned against a wall. Fuck.

So- Clark got brainwashed. Lois was knocked out, but this meant very little as she was useless-

Wait, no. Useless in a fight, sure- okay, not really even that? She could hold Kryptonite. And. Be smart. I typically was not very smart. Stupid line of thought, focus. What was going to happen?

Apocalypse. Brainiac was going to do to Earth what Kara said Brainiac had made her do to-

Okay. Okay! Okay. Okay. 

Person? Person. “Hey.” Rory. Hello! “Are you okay?”

“I.” I said. “I don’t know? I. Look, I’m. Vaguely incapable of- conceiving of- it’s-”

“Hey. It’s-” All going to be okay, except she couldn’t say that, since. Y’know. Lie.

“I could. Comprehend Clark no longer being friends with me.” I said. “And, like, I’ve killed a lot of people, I’ve seen genocides, I’ve- the Commune, home, the-”

“Hey. Breathe, Ceci. ”

“Yeah. I’m- I’m calm. But. The World?! A fucking- Brainiac’s black- whatever world?! This- I-”

“We’ll- we’ll get back to Earth, we’ll get Liv’s help, and-”

“And what?! We had Brainiac three on one! We should’ve beat his ass! We- we’re not. Killing. Clark? Do we need to kill-”

“...You know, you’re all really bad at Secret Identities.”

What.

Oh.

Oh. 

Oh- was I laughing? I was laughing. 

Oopsie! I said Clark Kent’s name out loud! Oh no! By the way, the World is Probably going to fucking End-   

“We’ve got an ass to kick.” I muttered. “Fuck it. Narrative comprehension. First fight against a villain, of course you lose. We’ll win next time.”

“...I mean- Liv lost her first fight with-”

“Yes, because Superman is the villain. Get with the program, Rory. This is what we’re doing now.”

She let out a little chuckle. “‘Course it is.”

What the fuck was all this?! I used to kill Nazis!

_

We got shot down when we made it back to Metropolis. Bad! But not awful. Nobody died in the crash! All was well! But the cops.

The cops had Kryptonite.

Chapter Text

Okay. Okay! In a fucking van! Headed to a cell again! In-

I-

Kara? Kara’d given up. Same restraints as me. Kryptonian grade. Of course she had, we were going to die-

…Why had they even bothered with arresting us when they had us dead to-

Because it was easy. And trivial. And the only one left who could bail us out was fucking Liv, and she was also vulnerable to fucking Kryptonite and and and-

A hole forever they’re going to cut your hair they’re going to put you under the knife they’re going to take away your medicine they’re going they’re going they- they-

“ -Ceci- Ceci!”

My fault. “I’m sorry.” I mumbled. “Shouldn’t have- I- brought you into-”

“What? Nah. I- come on, I chose to come here. Knew the stakes. Besides- if we give up, the whole- the World’s-” Rory swallowed. “World’s gonna end.”

“It’s all my fault.” Jimmy mumbled. “I’m sorry, I-”

“How the fuck is it your fault, Jimmy-” I hissed out.

“Exactly. It is clearly mine- ” Kara began, which- okay, partially technically true but she was brainwashed so it didn’t-

We’d stopped. Why had we stopped?

Sound. Metal shearing. Fucking. Bolt cutters? And the van’s backdoor opened to reveal-

“ Steve?!” Jimmy sputtered out.

Whomst in the fucketh-

_

Still couldn’t believe some fucking Journalists had saved us from the cops. Were- were they all getting gunned down right now? Entirely- okay, no, people wouldn’t be this whimsical if they were. Which.

Kara was having a moment. Thing? “Jimmy.” I said. “Hug her?”

Both sputtered. Why? Friends hug friends. Common occurrence. “Kara, can I?” I asked. 

“B-both of you! May!”

“ Huh. ” Steve said. He was- he was driving. Focus on the road, guy. “Didn’t expect that to work.”

What to work-? Whatever. Hug Kara. Make sure Jimmy has space. Yes. Why was Rory snickering? Share the joke, woman-!

“Uh, guys?” Steve, again. “That evil-Superman’s coming out of his- castle! Thingy!”

Cock and ball torture.

_

See. It was going surprisingly well! For- ten seconds, maybe? Brainiac had been about to start slaughtering people, Kara had decked him, I’d slammed a car into his back, and he’d very briefly been on the back foot!

Task Force X had Kryptonite Robots. And these Robots did- literally nothing to Brainiac, while crippling our ability to fight. “You know. ” I hissed out, as I tried to get to my feet while Brainiac batted robots out of the fucking sky. “Ever since I met Supes- the power scaling of everything is just fucked. ”

“I- grrgh- do not know what that means, Cecilia!”

“I used to kill politicians! ” I wailed, before throwing myself back in the air to-

Why were the robots white now wait those were Brainacbots not Task Force Stupidbots-

Red orb at the tip of Braniac’s fortress. Growing. What- “ Oh no. ” Kara murmured. What? And then-

Zoomed towards it. Did I understand what the fuck she was cooking? No. Did I remember Clark doing the exact same fucking thing-

Yes. So, like a good little dipshit, I joined her under it, and-

“ Cecilia, no-! ”

Light

Blinding-

I-

Was Kara screaming? Maybe she was. Maybe I was. It-

I’d thought the Kryptonite was-

Help

No

Not again-

And it was over. When had I started holding onto her- fuck. At least. It worked, it was-

Charging up again. Oh. “Kara.” I mumbled. “What happens if that beam hits-”

“The- the city dies. And- and after that, the world. ”

Ah. Exactly what I’d thought, then.

Now, in retrospect, I realized how incredibly fucking stupid it was to stand under that beam after we already got hit by it once. I mean- all we’d do was buy a few seconds, then die, and then the World would die anyway. 

But-

Kara was there. And I wasn’t just going to leave her there. Sue me, maybe I was a little bit inspired by- ohfuckitwasfiringagainnononono-

Superman?!

I.

He.

What?

Wasn’t he-

He was just. Fine now? Huh? ‘What happened to Brainiac’ I wanted to ask. ‘How in the fuck are you suddenly not mind-controlled’. What came out was “What happened to the boob window?” 

He was no longer goth. No boob window. “What- Red- you- that’s your first question?!”

“Yes-”

“Well! Anyway! Seems a lot changed while I was-” FUCKING KRYPTONITE ROBOTS I WAS GOING TO PEEL LEX LIKE A FUCKING GRAPE-

_

Was this the season finale? Second fucking time in this fight we’d gotten kryptonite-blasted, second time this week where I’d almost gotten executed, only now-

“Don’t say a word. ” Leslie hissed.

Naturally, I said many words, because she was fighting the hacked Kryptonite robots and I loved her. “I always knew you were a revolutionary hero-”

“I will feed you Kryptonite in your noodles, Red!”

“Promise?” Yes, all the. Sane ‘villains’ upto this point had decided to form a Superhero team with some fucking engineer guy? Understandable, they lived on the planet, they would die if it exploded, just self-preservation, really. Grunted as I staggered to my feet. “Love you, babe.”

“Don’t be sappy in front of everyone-” The other villains would bully her! Oh no! My poor girlfriend-

Rory fucking tackle hugged her, and Leslie continued to hiss. “Babe!” Rory wailed. “I missed you so much!”

“You too.” She grumbled.

“And-” Ow my lungs. “Me?”

“You too- too? I guess.” Yay! I tutu! What the fuck even was today. Seriously? Still fighting god? I wanted to be morally grey again. This- today just kept fucking dragging on. I wanted to paint some fucking miniatures. I wanted to rip Brainiac’s. Brain. Out. Brainiac’s brain. Hehe. “You doing okay, Red?” Leslie. Wonderful girlfriend was speaking, yes.

I let out a wheeze. “No. This is giving me- I’m back. Overwhelming enemy? Literally fighting fascism? People I love? It’s- again. I don’t want to lose everyone again. I don’t-”

“Then that’s not gonna happen, dumbass!”

Yes.

Right. Okay. This is- “I’m going to have a breakdown when all this is over.” I said. “And eat- so much fucking Sushi.”

“Mm hm.”

“You’re paying.”

“Don’t push your luck, Hero.”

“I will push my luck, thank you very-”

_

Did we make it up to the fortress again? Yes. Did I almost have a heart attack because Rory got hit and think about Tiff and what happened and her face and-

No! It’s fine! Liv saved her! I was having a great day. This was fine. I wasn’t tired! I wasn’t exhausted. Nope.

Brainiac was saying a bunch of stupid fucking nonsense about how apparently he genocided Krypton oh wow good for you buddy what the fuck is an Eradicator Protocol-

Kara was screaming. Why was she-

Quiet. In Clark’s arms. No. Not again. Never again, I-

It was stupid, because Brainiac. Wasn’t. I didn’t- care? About him? He was just some stupid fucking robot. He didn’t. Represent anything. Mean anything. ‘The Robot who would be Empire’? Just.

Just another fascist just another boot on the ashes of home just another-

“Ceci-!” I almost got him, see. Could’ve sworn he was almost. Scared. Tore through one, two, three. Got to his main body. Started to tear at it-

Before Kara grabbed me and threw me off the fucking tower again again why couldn’t it just be over why must the nightmare never end-

An ocean of metal! A corporate tide! A thousand fucking jackboots pressing down on the throat of humanity while Clark tried to talk the dying mind of his sister into no longer wanting to kill us and it was pointless. Don’t you see? Ceci, she’s dead. You can’t- you can’t put her back together. Please. If I can just make what’s left look like-

She’s not meant to be in-

Protect them while Kara’s fucking corpse tries to-

I couldn’t. Hurt. Her-

No. Not gone yet. Not gone until you’re dead. Not gone until they’re dead. Breathe- “Follow my lead.” Clark-? Clark.

Yes.

Okay!

Lock the fuck in.

Breathe-

_

Without me, you are useless. A failure, a disgrace- your only worth is in Obedience, Kara.

Felt weird that it was. Simple. In the end. Just- held her, while she cried. We all-

We all did. Which was. Stupid. Squishy humans. Lois and Jimmy. She could’ve just- flexed a muscle. Spattered them on the sidewalk. But it- worked.

And this time, when she screamed- it tore steel from the sky.

Rubbed my eyes. I.

Okay no more poetic bullshit everything was fine again breakdown was scheduled for after all this. “What are we-?” I mumbled-

“Just- keep following our lead.”

Yes. Good plan. Wonderful plan. I liked this plan. What was the plan? Fuck if I-

_

Dear diary,

Twenty-four hours ago, I learned that the source of my power was the motherfucking sun. How? Well.

Kara fell into the sun.

And obviously, Clark followed her. And I followed her. Obviously. Which left us i n the sun’s gravity well. Unable to just. Fly out. Brainiac was dying because he’d just overdosed on Kryptonite to get us here when he tried to throw us into the sun, and-

And this is how we learned that the source of our power was. The. Sun! Motherfucking! As previously stated! Now you might say ‘Cecilia, how in the fuck did you not learn this earlier?’ And my response to this is-

Would your first action on learning you had superpowers be to fly into the fucking sun-

Brainiac was dead, by the way. Very dead. Obviously. Kara ripped his heart-core thingy out. Very metal. Very cool. She had passed out after, was currently lying in a bed in the Kents’ place. And I was. Uh. Outside. 

Kent’s parents …They probably knew too, didn’t they? About. What I did. They’d probably- heard in the news. Or Clark had told them. A nd I wasn’t ashamed. Wasn’t. Wasn’t going to stop doing it. But- Didn’t really want to face-

“Red.”

Huh. I wasn’t floating. Just- leaning against a wall. I’d already called Leslie and Rory, told them I was alright. Needed to catch a breather. Fiddle with a rock. “Blue.” I said. And-

He joined me, against the wall. I kept fidgeting, quietly. 

“So.” He said. “I’ve- been thinking. About our… disagreement. ”

I let out a snort. “That’s one way to-”

“You- why did you help-?”

“...Clark, Brainiac was going to destroy the entire world. My girlfriends live there. I live-”

“You didn’t know that. Still- came out to help me.” 

Ugh. “Because you’re tolerable and I like stealing your instant noodles. Asshole. And because you’re good people. Sorta.”

He was smiling, wasn’t he? Boy scout. Cunt- “Knew it’d be something like that.”

“Fuck you.”

“...Still disagree with you. Your- methods. But I. Can’t. If you- I’m still going to try to- thwart. You. You know? Not stop you, just…”

“Good fucking luck with that.” I muttered.

“But I can’t be everywhere at once. And- you.” He was quiet, for a moment. “Brainiac had the greatest warriors of species he’d wiped out- preserved. As AI. Holograms. Tortured, forever. I saw- three. That’s three entire worlds like this one that I- that I couldn’t have saved.”

“What does that have to do with-”

“How do you choose your- victims?”

Victims. Wrong way to think of them, Clark. Didn’t see what it had to do with-? Or- did I? He was- wondering, wasn’t he? If this was the same. If there had been a thousand little Brainiacs on his planet, the World we’d decided to protect. “...Got a bit into it before, but- just. People who are pushing policy that’ll kill, or running organizations that- do it. Just- anyone prominent, pushing the World towards the Conservative right. I mean, you’ve probably looked into-”

“Haven’t really had the time, yet. And- I’m guessing Lex didn’t spot all of them.”

Hah. “Not wrong. Funny that he missed Mumbai. Feel like that was my worst work.”

Pause. I heard him take a breath. “Worst how? ”

“Was really obvious that it wasn’t a human that had killed them, that it was murder. But- they still fucking. Blamed Muslims, anyway. Incited a little pogrom the cops couldn’t be bothered to stop.”

He swallowed. “Oh. Doesn’t that make you think what you’re doing is- those people died because of-”

“Me? Yeah. But the Shiv Sena is gone, today. Got a new Conservative party in its place, one I’ll have to work on, but- they’re less radical. Less Muslims getting lynched. Less claims of fucking Love Jihad.”   Clenched a fist. “Just- need to do better. Be cleaner.”

“And if- when you get it wrong, again?”

“Then people die, and I hope it was worth it.”

Again, that silence took over. The Kent family farm was- beautiful, honestly. Pleasant breeze, bright blue sky. Kind’ve place I’d never seen, back in- even if I wasn’t the type to appreciate nature, I could still- 

“And what gives you- us the right to do that?” Fucking twenty-questions looking- no, this was a good thing, he was-

“ Nothing.” I muttered. “Nothing gives us the right. We have power, and we have a responsibility to use it to stop evil. That’s all.”

“...That way lies tyranny, Red. Just because we’re powerful-”

“And the other side is already doing it. Capitalists are happy to use their infinite fucking money to get fascist fucks in power for tax breaks. If we fight fair, we lose. ”

“We didn’t lose to Brainiac.”

Wh- “Clark, we fucking killed Brainiac. We were going to throw him into the sun. ”

He took a second to process that.“ That- okay, bad example. But- what? We just do whatever we want? Because the bad guys do, too?”

“So we just do the right thing. ” I replied. “We fight evil, regardless of whether or not people want us to.”

“And how do you know the people you hurt were even going to- do evil? Some of the guys Lex mentioned are- were just- weirdos who wouldn’t ever amount to-”

“I’ve seen where it leads.” Had to- had to explain, didn’t I? “This- isn’t my first life, Blue.”

“What-?”

“I was born in 2093. I saw what happened when people kept saying the fascists would never gain power again, that capitalism was fine and would never get worse , that we should go high while they go low - the future where I let those assholes live is one where people are owned by corporations just the same as a fucking tent, where they cull any attempt to build something that treats people better, that shows that there’s another-” Breathe. “And then I- I died. And I woke up in the year two-thousand in a new body, and- and I can’t just watch that future fucking happen again! Not when I know a better world is possible, not when I- I had to watch my fucking world die in my arms -!” I couldn’t. Not- not when I didn’t want to see it again didn’t want to remember please-

Warm. Really fucking. Solid. Was- weird, that I hadn’t really hugged Clark until now, that he had to be the one to initiate. Didn’t stop me bawling into his shoulder. Or letting myself- j ust. Just for a little bit. See past that wall. The people I.
Once. Loved. Hold onto this- big fucking. Lummox. My friend.

Took a while. Not sure how long. “I’m not going to let that happen, Red.” He whispered. “I promise.”

Breathed. Got out of- of that hug, as nice as it’d been. Wiped my fucking face. “How? You can’t. I. Can’t. I’ve done so fucking much and I can’t. Know. It’s enough. That it’ll ever be enough, that humanity isn’t just doomed to butcher immigrants and slaughter minorities and enslave itself on the fucking altar of-”

“Because people are better than that. I- believe you. That you’ve seen a future. But that doesn’t have to be the future. As long as they have the chance-”

“They’ll waste it.”

“...You don’t really believe that, do you? Because if you do- there’s no point to what you’re doing. In saving the world. In- anything you believe.”

Breathe. “Yeah.” I mumbled. “You’re- right. I do believe people can be better. Seen. Seen it.” The commune had been beautiful, once. For so long. The stars hadn’t gone out.

So we stood there, for a while. Two idiots who couldn’t agree on how to save the world, or on if it even needed saving. And the cornfields were- still beautiful. The way they swayed. That pleasant rustling. 

“...I still think what you’re doing is wrong. ” Clark said, finally. “But- I. I don’t. Maybe you’re saving. Some. Lives? The wrong way, but- we can still talk, right? And- hey. Maybe someday, I’ll get through to you.”

That- was better than I’d hoped for, honestly. 

“So- so get your theory and bring it on.”

What. What?! I- I couldn’t help it. Started as a wheeze, developed into cackling like a fucking hyena. 

“I- hey! It wasn’t that-”

“Clark that was the dorkiest fucking- pff- I.” He told me to- to bring it on! Theory! I was going to die! Die laughing! Peak comedy! Help! No, really, help, I was going to need to read theory I didn’t want to read theory-

“I guess it- does sound kind’ve-”

“I’ll get you yet, Supes. Proper fuckin’ Commie any day now.” Took a breath. “And- hey. I couldn’t have done- what you did, today. Brought all those clowns together.” Basically had an army of misfits. Couldn’t have gotten through the bots without them. Couldn’t have saved. Kara.

“Hey, Livewire and Heat Wave-”

“Would have shown up anyway. They live here, idiot.”

“You can’t know that.”

Glared at the wall next to him, and-

Oh, fuck it. “Clark, I’m gonna date your cousin.”

“You. What-?!”

_

He wasn’t weird about it.

_

Leslie and Rory were and they bullied me RELENTLESSLY and were now my MORTAL ENEMIES who I was fated to destroy-

_

Kara got me a plushie i love her

Also Jimmy and Lois have joined the bullying me circle and I think Jimmy is also dating Kara why is nobody bullying him this is outrageous this is unfair I’m joining the next supervillain in their plans for world domination for revenge

…And probably packing this diary away until the next stupid fucking thing happens

_

Fin-Season 2

RED May Return!

Rule of Law, or the Rule of Krypton?

Yesterday, the democratically elected President of Boravia, one of the US’ most valued allies, was unseated by left-wing terrorists!

With the aid of the international fugitive ‘Red’, the People’s Front of Boravia seized control of the capital, slaughtering heroic BDF troopers who resisted this abominable war on democracy. One question echoes in the minds of every US citizen- with Superman unable or unwilling to stop this menace, who will preserve Humanity’s sovereignty in the face of-

-The crackdown on those who support the People’s Front continues, with several being arrested for-

-Superman says he won’t let us deport people? Where does it end? What RIGHT does he have to direct policy, all while colluding with a terrorist-!

_