Chapter Eight.
"Hey, Barry. I'm sorry, but we do need some time apart. To get my head together and figure out where I want to go in life. After everything that's happened, and everything that we've been through, I don't want to do this when my mind and my heart is not completely into it. People could get hurt. You're doing a good job without me. I'm on my way out of town by the time you read this...I'll be fine. Talk to you again sometime."
A second passes after Barry receives that particular message from Cisco. Caitlin and Iris stand on either side of him with hands on his shoulder. It takes a couple of minutes before the silence is broken by Iris.
"You know, perhaps it's for the best right now. It's actually pretty responsible not to try and force yourself back into the fray when you're not one hundred percent mentally there."
Caitlin nods in response. The message sounds how mentally defeated Cisco was after the murder of his brother at the hands of the Trickster. He stands right there, but can do absolutely nothing to help. Countless people die in the explosion caused by the Trickster.
One can see the nervous shifting and Iris can sense what he's thinking about. It becomes almost second nature at this point as far as Iris is concerned to read Barry's thoughts and more importantly see how much self-doubt and guilt that comes from his mind. Iris stretches out and places a single hand firmly on the back of Barry's neck.
"You don't know if you being there would have helped. And I know the other thing you're thinking about and you really can't have known that."
A sigh follows from Barry. He knows, boy does he ever know. Barry looks at his phone one more time. There's a small thought of him seeing Cisco face to face, but given the message, Cisco's already left town to clear his head. There's no indication that nothing is wrong other than grief or a bit of doubt.
It's a fine line to walk between concern and being just a tad bit pussy. Barry does his best not to thread over this line.
A figure coming up from the steps draws Barry's attention away from the conversation. Laurel stands in front of them. She can see the somber expressions on the face of Iris, Caitlin, and Barry.
"Is this a bad time?"
Barry shifts his attention towards Laurel.
"No, it's not a bad time. How are you doing?"
She sighs.
"Busy as it turns out. Felicity is still investigating the thing that flashed in the sky. I'm beginning to think there's something more weird going on than meets the eye. Especially when another one of these came up. Not sure if she showed you, but..."
Laurel pulls out a picture of the gentleman with symbols carved into him. The symbols match a similar pattern to the crazed lunatic down at the Central City Police Department. Barry's keen eye detects them in a blink of an eye.
"Yeah, I've seen them before. We're actually trying to figure out a way to get to another Earth to ask a friend of mine if she can help...but it's slow going."
"I'm sure you'll find a way."
Barry nods in response at the confident expression on Laurel's face.
"So, how are things going for you? Other things?"
"Things are quiet in Starling City. Oliver is about ready to head back into the field, but we don't want to rush things. Mostly because I think that he's trying to rush it because he's bored. Thea and I we can pick up the slack in the meantime and then..."
A figure coming up the steps brushes Laurel on the shoulder. Laurel jumps back at surprise at the young brunette girl who comes up to her.
"Laurel, this is Jesse, the daughter of the other Harrison Wells, the one that isn't disguised as an evil speedster who killed my mother."
"Right...it's a pleasure to meet you Jesse."
"Oh, the pleasure is all mine...you're...her...aren't you?"
Barry clears his throat before Jesse flies off the track. A small amused chuckle comes from Laurel before Jesse turns her attention properly to Barry. Jesse stands up straight and decides to tell him.
"It's ready. Well, Dad's about ninety-eight percent its ready and I checked his calculations and it seems pretty ready. It should be a smooth trip, providing of course she is able to help us. You did say that she was able to help us, right?"
"Right. She's able to help us. Kara said after the last time that if I needed any help, she would return the favor. And if she doesn't know, she has access to information which might be able to piece together these symbols."
Jesse bobs her head up and down in excitement. She grabs Barry's arm and drags him to the lab to the point where Iris and Caitlin burst out into laughter. Laurel looks at both of them in confusion, but still she is somewhat amused by the spectacle involved.
"I feel like I've missed something."
A grin comes over Iris's face as she pats Laurel on the shoulder. It's kind of hard to explain what's happening with outsiders, although perhaps Iris thinks it would be best to clue Laurel in.
"Well, it's a long story."
Caitlin joins Barry and Jesse in the lab while Sapphire and Wells go over the treadmill in front of them. They talk and it's pretty much all business between the two of them.
"The Speedforce Treadmill is an invention of mine which can send a speedster either back in time or to another dimensions. I've spent the better part of the last night, along with more coffee than is healthy modifying it until it's strong enough to withstand the trip to this other Earth, this Earth Thirty-Eight. You should be able to make the jump quiet easily, but it requires two speedsters for a jump this far."
A grin bounces over Jesse's face. She disappears and suits up to the chagrin of her father.
"Well, let's do it then. Barry and I can handle this and be back by dinner. Trust me."
"I assumed that it would be Ms. West and Mr. Allen..."
"But, neither of them have the experience of traveling between Earths like I do. Okay, Barry did a couple of times, but Iris hasn't been broken in and this is a long trip. You don't want someone who hasn't done this before, going in this deep, on their first time. I can guide Barry."
"Neither of them are my daughter as well."
The expression on Jesse's face falls and her arms fold over her chest.
"C'mon, Dad. I've done this before...the last thing you want is Barry to be lost in some kind of interdimensional void. No matter what kind of facade you put on in public, you really don't want that on your conscious. And besides, it will be much quicker if I guide him."
"She has a point."
Wells gives Iris, who steps into the lab, a sidelong look as if to say that she's not helping at all. Sapphire clears her throat.
"You'd want to wear these when you go through that portal. They're watches which track your vital signs, across many Earths. That way if there's some kind of problem, we'll be able to know. And if it red-lines and only when it red-lines..."
It's here which Sapphire gives Wells one of those looks which tells him that he better not try anything premature. Wells remains stoic and unbothered by the look on her face.
"We can pull you back."
Barry and Jesse just smile and nod and accept the watches. Lightweight, it's almost like they're not wearing them at all which works out well for both of them. Both speedsters line up outside of the portal and start running on the treadmill. Sparks fly from their body as enough energy opens up a portal to parts unknown and a portal to Earth Thirty-Eight.
Wells slides back in the chair while peering ever so lightly at where they left. The good news is there is no spike of their vitals and the tracker indicates they hit the right Earth.
"And now, we wait."
The rush of going through the portal ends up with Barry hitting the ground and Jesse landing right behind him. A small smile crosses over her face. Jesse bends down to help Barry up to his feet. The two speedsters hang onto each other when Barry regains his footing.
"Good on your feet, although you really need to figure out how to stick those landings."
"Mmm, maybe."
Barry completely takes a step back and suddenly a warning shot hits the ground. He avoids a second warning shot as does Jesse.
"That doesn't look like a welcoming committee."
"No, it really doesn't."
Several government agents step to surround the speedsters. They arm themselves with weapons and which point at them. Some of those weapons look like something that packs a punch.
Flash and Jesse Quick zip among the government agents and take as many weapons as they can. Neither of the speedsters want to sit around for very long to see what would happen if one of the weapons strike them. They pull away.
"Okay, this is nuts! We want to find your friend...and then...we run into a bunch of people shooting at us! I mean, I used to that because of who my father is, but still it's not fun just going there about ten seconds on a different..."
The ground shakes from a force punching down on it. Barry and Jesse fly back and smack into the edge of a wall. The wind knocks out of them when a figure drops down onto the ground next to them. Her arms fold and eyes flash out.
"Kara?"
A beam of heat vision launches to the ground and almost hits both Flash and Jesse Quick. Another beam hits the ground with the smell of burning rubble hitting both speedsters full on. Barry and Jesse take a couple of deep breaths.
"This is supposed to be your friend?"
Flash nods and realizes that there is no conceivable way they can fight Kara in a head on fight without getting their asses handed to them. He turns around and Jesse gets the hint for them to run and run as fast as they can go. They speed off in the opposite direction.
"Are you sure we got the right Earth? Your Dad might have messed up the calculations!"
"No, he couldn't have messed up the calculations. Because, I've checked them. And the fact that both of us might have messed up the calculations is a statistical improbability. It just doesn't work that way. It won't work that way and now..."
"Well, then that means it's her, but the lights are on, and no one is really..."
Jesse almost gets a heat vision blast to the back for her trouble. There's a couple of breaths from her .She struggles to keep pace with Barry and this Supergirl is approaching her at a pretty good speed. Jesse struggles to pump her legs just ever so further into position.
Barry reaches in and grabs Jesse by the hand. Sparks surround her hand as Barry grabs it and boosts their speed. Heat vision almost blasts the ground where they run on.
Hearts pumping and their bodies burning to consume energy, Jesse and Barry just clear the area and manage to get far enough away from Supergirl to be comfortable.
Returning to the scene of where it all started in a hope to give her some clarity seems like a pretty good idea. Iris stands in the middle of the street. She's not alone, as Laurel stands right in front of her with a frown on her face.
"So, this is where it happened? On this unassuming street corner?"
Iris swipes a scanner from Star Labs over the area. There's nothing strange in the air, unless you consider pollution to be strange, and really it just seems like a part of life these days. She swallows a lump in her throat and moves on in.
"Look at that!"
Laurel points out a military vehicle rolling down the street. Both she and Iris disappear into the alleyway off to the side to get a better look and also to shield themselves from the military men as they get off of the back of the truck. All of them walk with their arms swinging together to a certain point.
They walk towards a homeless shelter which does not make much sense all things considered. Iris peers over her shoulder to Laurel who just shrugs.
"We got another one."
"How many more are they?"
"I don't know, but we're going to have to have a closer look at everyone who is there. Hardcastle will have our heads if the media gets ahold of this."
The men break into a homeless shelter. Only moments pass when they drag out a haggard looking man with a scraggly beard and also symbols cut into his hands. He starts rolling his eyes back and speaking in tongues, along with a strangled alien language. One can tell from his body language how much this situation terrifies him. He tries to break free from the pack until one of the military men roughly force him down to a kneeling position and then drag him back up.
"Make sure there's no more in the area. We need to take in everyone for questioning. This disease can't spread."
"There are still a few metas in the area that we need to nab."
"We'll get to them when we have the chance. These babbling vagrants are much easier to get off on the street then someone with their facilities."
They haul the man in the back of the truck with his eyes just flashing over in fear. Laurel crouches at the edge of the alleyway and pulls out a small disc shaped device. She hurls it underneath the truck with pinpoint precision and it latches onto it.
"Now we can figure out where they're going."
Both Black Canary and Impulse keep a very clear distance from the truck as it rolls off. To where, the two of them really have no idea, although they suspect they will learn soon enough.
Both Jesse and Barry skid to a stop after finally putting enough distance between themselves and Supergirl. The two stand in the middle of a warehouse and Jesse leans against the wall.
"If that's supposed to be one of your friends, I'd hate to see how one of your enemies treats you when you come over to their Earth."
"She's not herself. I just don't know how. She mentioned how she was underneath something called Red Kryptonite before, but that's not it."
"Wait, she's Kryptonian?"
Jesse feels like she should know due to the powers and also the bright red "S" on her chest. Although to be fair, Jesse does not think as quickly as she wants when some super powered, although entirely hot, alien tries to fry her to a crisp with heat vision.
"Well, if she's like the Kryptonian that is on my planet, then she has a couple of weaknesses. One of them is magic, which to be fair, it's not a vulnerability as much as Kryptonians are invulnerable to it. And there is also red sunlight, which saps their energy. And finally, there's Kryptonite, the green kind. Granted, there are other kinds. The Red kind that you mentioned is unpredictable. But the green kind is crippling and lethal, although Dad had a theory that they could build an immunity to it in the right quantities. But, let's not hope she has."
"So, there's a Kryptonian on your Earth?"
Jesse nods in response with a smile on her face.
"One of the top protectors is a woman called Power Girl...she does remind me a lot of your friend come to think about it, only she's older. She spends a lot of time dealing with the big time threats though, the ones that affect the entire planet. She was also off world during Zoom's entire reign of terror...which sucks because our life might have been a lot easier if...well she had not been fighting space pirates or whatever she's does."
"Yeah, maybe. So...we should either find a magic user or a red sun or we find a piece of Kryptonite, or something."
A small smile appears over Jesse's face.
"I would think the Kryptonite would be the easiest of the three to get ahold of. At least I would think...maybe if we..."
The two speedsters keep on the move and they both think about the same thing. They need to get to Star Labs and run some tests and some research. Only there's one problem and that's the fact that Star Labs is not where it should be in Central City.
Rather, there's a very lavish park with children at play. The two blurs move around the area of the park hoping for some kind of hint.
"Well, it's not built on this world."
"We better head back then."
It's going to be difficult as Jesse is certain with the proper chemicals, she can create synthetic Kryptonite or at least a close enough approximation to slow Supergirl down. She just will not add tar like some idiot did back on her Earth. It split Power Girl into two halve, one good and one evil. Both hot, but still.
Jesse Quick and Flash return to National City and start to plot their next move. The sound of several vehicles moving in indicate that they are not alone. A small army of government agents in the area start deploying weapons.
"The dampeners should work against the speedsters. Slow them down enough for our Queen to succeed."
A group of DEO agents walk in. Several of them prepare to set up a piece of equipment which they hope will even the odds. Their eyes all shift in a milky and absent minded quality. Their hearts beat a bit quicker when moving into position.
"We must hurry and get the dampener up."
"These dampeners should work against the speedsters. Slow them down enough for our Queen to succeed."
"She will not be pleased how we have lost track of her. She wants them for her army. They can spread the will of the great one much faster."
The speed dampener starts to flicker to life. Little do the DEO agents know that the two speedsters linger a slight bit away from the entire situation. They decide to pick their shots wisely.
"I can still fight through the dampener...if I can distract them, do you think that you can shut it down?"
Jesse nods and smiles before squeezing the arm of the more experienced speedster. There's really nothing to it, she has it.
They part ways and Flash finds his way in front of these government agents. Guns find their way on the speedster. A smile comes over his face when locking eyes with the government agents next to him.
"How are you doing?"
One of the agents moves in to fire at Flash. Flash takes the weapon out of the hand of the agent and moves around. His movements become a bit more sluggish them before, but still good enough to keep the DEO agents firing on him. The blasts of energy almost clip him in the back of the neck.
Jesse moves ever so closer to the speed dampener the moment that all eyes were off of it. It's a pretty nifty piece of technology with Barry working his way to open the back of it. Jesse locates the wires which she needs to break it.
A blast of electricity shoots and bombards Jesse. She drops to her knees. Jesse almost pulls herself to a standing position before another blast causes her to skid out of control. Her heart beats ever so closer.
"I've got it down! But I feel like I'm walking in concrete!"
Flash pounces like a ping-pong ball from agent to agent, disarming and dismantling their weapons. He moves in front of the DEO agent in front of him. The brunette woman just gives him a smile and takes a small metal orb out to bombard the Flash with a wave of light.
The energy causes Flash's ears to ring when he tries to run. The speedster refuses to allow himself to be taken down so easily. He pushes up with the energy rippling and burning through his body. Flash moves ever so closer until he almost reaches his adversary.
A spark of light shoots from Barry's hand and knocks the orb out of the hand of the DEO Agent. She drops to the ground and Barry notices something on the back of her neck. He has to blink to make sure he gets a good enough look at it, but he's certain it's some kind of Starfish looking creature or something.
"Help me hold her so I can get this off!"
Jesse's in pretty quickly to hold the DEO agent down on the ground. Flash grabs the back of the neck of the government agent and a spark of light courses through his hands. Barry breaths in deeply with his attempt to rip the alien off of the back of the neck of this woman.
A loud scream echoes as the starfish comes off of the neck of the woman. Another burst of electricity erupts from the creature and causes it to smack against the wall. Barry makes sure it's contained with one of the containment orbs the DEO tried to use on them.
The government agent coughs a couple of times. Her eyes open up and she looks up to see two figures standing over her.
"Are you okay, Ms..."
"Agent...Alex Danvers of the DEO...and you're...you're him aren't you, the Flash?"
Barry answers with a nod in response. He leans down and offers Alex a hand to help her up. The government agent feels a bit weak when leaning against Barry. It takes her a long minute to get to walk on her own.
"You must be Kara's sister."
"Yes. So you know that..."
"Yes."
Alex swallows a lump in her throat. She keeps cool under the situation despite being under dire circumstances and there was a lot about this mess which as very frustrating. She turns herself back a little bit and decides to pretty much say the other thing is on your mind.
"So, you're the guy who Kara's been mumbling about in her sleep?"
Stealth is the friend of both Black Canary and Impulse. They step into a government facility. Nothing is completely out of the ordinary although both ladies hold a shrewd suspicion there's more to this place than meets the eye at first. All they have to do is walk and keep walking.
Several red lights appear on the side of their head. Figures move into the shadows. Black Canary opens her mouth about ready to fight and Impulse takes a good look at the weapons on them.
"Lower your weapons. It's only them."
The one and only Amanda Waller steps into the picture. Her eyes narrow the second she looks at Black Canary and Impulse.
"So, it appears that I'm not the only one who smells a rat here?"
"ARGUS isn't involved with some kind of cover up?"
The healthy dose of skepticism in Black Canary's voice is a trait she does not bother to hide. Waller keeps her eyes on the two women. One can almost see a cutting retort about ready to come from this particular woman.
"Contrary to popular belief, we're not involved with everything. And I don't like it anymore, but Hardcastle is a rogue and now he's hunting down people. I'll do everything possible to bring him in, but it's not easy. He switched trucks. So your little tracking plan didn't work as well as you thought it was."
Waller steps a bit closer and leans down.
"Perhaps you could illuminate me on something, Ms. West."
Iris feels that she should not be surprised with the fact Waller knows precisely whos he is. She stands up a bit straighter and looks the woman dead on in the eyes.
"One morning a month ago, I woke up with a headache. And also with a recurring dream that I was killed and done so in a disgraceful manner. Not benefiting someone of my stature. But, I'm here and I'm alive."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
The calculating smile only spreads over Waller's face.
"Then let me spell it out for you. There's something involving Mr. Allen. And I think I know exactly what is going on and what he did. The question is...where is he right now?"
"He's doing something important. And I think you know a fair bit more here than you're letting on."
One can see Waller's eyes narrow at Iris. Iris refuses to back down even though Waller glares at her.
"It's none of your business, but I was hunting down one of my deep cover agents who never made contact. He's investigating the same thing that you were, which you really should back off from. There are dangerous forces involved and there are people who would make you disappear."
"Including you."
If Iris's statement rattles Waller, she shows very little concern for it. She shifts a slight amount to the side and the intense stare down between the two women continue.
"The dreams I've been having indicate there's something unnatural happening. And despite what you think of me, I look away for a whole lot. But you don't want me to take a closer look into what you've been up to at Star Labs. And if something compromises the security of this great nation and the world, I have to act. And everything ties into the fact that Barry Allen disappeared a month ago."
Silence follows and they hit a wall with each other. Waller pulls a finger out of her mouth and locks her eyes back onto the two women involved.
"I will find out one way or another what's going on. Now I suggest you both clear out of them."
The two of them leave out one of the side entrances because it's obvious Hardcastle's men made a switch and now they are back to square one.
"Another one of the ripples I take it?"
Iris nods at her question. It seems like a mixed bag. The changes Barry causes show some good some bad and really in life, you have to take the good with the bad.
"We should be able to regroup here for now."
The trio of Alex, Jesse, and Barry enter an offsite DEO facility. It's only a temporary fix for a large problem and that problem is one of the most powerful people on this planet has been infected by a Starfish drone. This can and will be a problem.
"So what happened?"
Alex recalls what happened with the best clarity or at least as good as possible.
"Well, my recollection is a tiny bit fuzzy. From what I can tell, and from what happened, there was a distress call from a crashed meteor. And Supergirl went to investigate it. And the next thing we know, the Starfish attached itself to her and also began to infect all of the DEO with its drones."
Jesse crunches her nose in disgust.
"Good news is we can get all of the drones off."
Alex scratches the back of her neck. She's still sore from what they did. The drone which came off of her lays in a tank.
"There has to be a more efficient way of doing it. In the meantime, we really should make sure the Queen's been put down."
"We can do that. Just give me a minute to get into the vault."
Alex punches in the security codes. She hopes against all hope that the codes do not go through any changes or shifts. Several minutes pass before she gets into the vault. The green shine she expects to see does not come out of the vault.
"Damn it!"
The curse brings Barry away from helping Jesse scourge up the spare parts they need to create a transmitter which should hopefully shut down the Starfish drone.s
"What?"
"Someone is here. And they took the Kryptonite."
"How many people knew the codes?"
"A few...and hell I might have removed all of the Kryptonite when I was underneath the influence, and not remember it at the time. My mind is fuzzy."
"There has to be another way to contain her...even if it is harder."
Alex spends some time thinking. She recalls a cell the DEO built after the alien menace known as Darkseid brainwashed Superman. It just so happens it's in this facility and may be able to help contain Kara like enough to weaken her.
"The problem is getting her in the cell. It's in the basement and it has high powered red solar lamps inside. And a containment field which even she can't break."
The members of the DEO line up. One of them drop down to their knees and looks up into her eyes.
"Forgive us, our Queen. We did not mean to let him get away."
The possessed Supergirl stares through narrowed eyes at the man on his knees before her. He trembles out of absolute fear. Supergirl puts a hand on his head and makes him groan.
"You're lucky I'm a forgiving ruler and you should be considered extremely lucky that we need you. When the Star Conqueror arrives, he will decide how to deal with you. In the meantime, it's obvious that I'm going to need to send someone in there who is more competent at you."
A wide grin passes over the face of the Girl of Steel. She clears her throat.
"Manhunter, to me."
The man under the identity of Hank Henshaw, or rather J'onn J'onzz, walks into the picture. A large starfish is visible on the back of his neck along with an inhibitor device on the top of his head. A flicker of something in his eyes appears before the inhibitor blinks and flashes.
"You wished to speak to me, my Queen."
A very evident smile flickers over Kara's face.
"I want you to open the door for this facility. I feel that they may be hiding in there, potentially with their hostage."
"Yes, my Queen."
One sees a slight amount of hesitation coming from J'onn although his mental processes relax in time and the starfish controlling his body allows him to open the door. J'onn places a hand on the door and there's a small crack when it opens.
"I know that you're here. And I'm a forgiving Queen. Therefore, I'm going to offer you one choice. Join my army and all will be forgiven."
"My queen."
Kara stops when she notices Alex step outside. Her eyes fog over. The members of the DEO point their weapons at the woman before them. Kara draws in her breath and then looks over her shoulder to the rest of her minions. They all steady themselves back an inch or so.
"I thought you had been captured."
Dropping to one knee, Alex smiles at Kara. So far, so good, at least so good in her mind.
"I have the one they call Flash and his companion. They are in a holding cell in the facility. I can take to them if you would like."
"Yes. Manhunter, you are to come with me. The rest of you are to stay out there, at least until you give my signal. And await when one of my newest most powerful slaves show up."
The doors slide open with Alex, Kara, and J'onn stepping into the DEO facility. The rest of the members of the organization stand off to the side with their eyes faded over. There's really nothing going on in their heads, no thoughts of their own, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.
Some time passes, and Alex tries to remain calm and collected. There's so much about this plan which could go wrong in one of the most horrible manners possible. She leads Kara and J'onn down the steps. J'onn being there puts Alex on pins and needles because his ability to read minds would be the downfall. Alex tries to shift her thoughts towards loyalty towards the cause.
Even a strong mind cannot keep up this charade for very long. Alex takes a deep breath while leading them into the cell area.
"Wait."
J'onn's words cut through the air. A ripple in his forehead shows more prominence as he struggles. The inner nature of the Martian fights free from the control. The harder the Martian fights, the more the starfish drone attempts to exert some level of control. The fight and battle of wills continues to escalate.
"What?"
Kara realizes something is going on. J'onn struggles to take in a deep breath. Everything around him becomes that much harder for him to focus. Her face shines more ominously down the red light.
"The Martian is trying to block me...but Ms. Danvers has betrayed us."
Kara turns around and looks at Alex.
"Did you really think that you would get away from this for very long?"
"No!"
A super fast blur comes out of the shadows and knocks Kara into the wall. The breath comes out of her when she comes eye to eye with Flash.
"Just long enough to fool you!"
"You dare touch me?"
Supergirl's eyes burn red and she flies at Flash. Flash dodges the attack and hits a series of rapid fire punches to the side of her neck. The punches sting her and cause great confusion to spread over the drone attached her neck. A groan follows when Supergirl spins around and tries to nail Flash with a back hand punch.
"I don't understand."
Flash backs her up against the wall. She shrugs him off, with a bit less vigor than she would normally would before. A sweat splatters her face. She looks up and notices the red solar lamps lining the hallway and the windows which have filters over them, allowing red sunlight to come in as opposed to the yellow the Kryptonian needs to fuel her powers.
A loud grunt follows with J'onn struggling to fight his drone. It's a constant back and forth, tug of war over his mind. J'onn digs his fingers against the top of his head and lets out a hideous scream in response. J'onn slams himself back first against the wall and yells out in misery with what's going on.
"I'm really sorry about this."
Alex points a large cannon and pulls the trigger. Flames shoot out of it. The inner nature of the Martian kicks in and he keeps fighting against the drone controlling him.
The distraction allows Jesse to reach over and rip off the neural device controlling his mind. His shape shifting enters an erratic state. This throws the starfish off of him.
A very weakened J'onn drops down to the ground. The breath fades from his body the second he falls down to his knees.
"Come after me. You want me. Come and get me."
"No. You must think of me as a fool."
Supergirl refuses to rise to Flash's bait. She punches at the air next to him. Flash avoids Supergirl's punches and she decides to run to the nearest exit. She sends the heat vision towards the metal door which bounces off.
The two speedsters lock eyes. Jesse darts in front of Supergirl to block her progress. Flash comes behind her. Both of them snatch Supergirl up and the next thing she knows, they put her in a holding cell. The doors slide shut and the red solar lamps brighten.
"You won't...you won't dare..."
"I'm really sorry."
Alex activates the switch and releases paralyzing gas into the chamber. Now, de-powered, Kara succumbs to the gas and fades to black. A sigh follows from Alex the second she steps away from the cell.
It's not easy, but part of the job of working with the DEO. Keeping your emotions in check and making sure you put the good of the world in front of the good of a few people.
Even if one of those people is Alex's own sister.
Chapter Nine:
"Defeat the master and you'll free the slaves."
Jesse, Barry, and Alex stand around a table where they strap Kara down onto the table. Her body moves up and down with this oversized Starfish drone wrapping around her chest.
Barry leans down and whispers in her ear.
"Listen to me, Kara. I know you can fight this. You just have to summon enough inner strength to push that thing off of you. You're stronger than this."
"Yeah, she is, but...it's weakened her resolve and taken control of her nervous system."
Alex closes her eyes and tries to keep her emotions free. A hand on her shoulder snaps her out of the thoughts.
"We'll get her."
"I know you will. Why do I have a feeling that this is not going to be as easy as a process as it was to get the Starfish off of Kara as it was getting it off of me?"
Barry and Jesse look over Kara and unfortunately, Jesse's assessment is clearly on the money.
"Because it's not going to be."
A strand of hair blows away from Jesse's face.
"Okay, Kara, if you're still in there and you still can hear me, I want you to know that this is going to be hurt...actually it's just going to hurt you a lot, but hey, you'll be free from control. Barry, I need your help to rip the thing off her and we'll be good to go."
The words "I hope" do not leave Jesse's mouth even though they dominate her thoughts. Jesse flashes her attention over to Alex ever so briefly.
"It might be a good idea to step back."
"Right."
Alex steps back to let the two scientist speedsters do their work. They put their hands on the Starfish drone and discharge a heavy amount of energy in it.
The struggle to get the Starfish off of Kara takes several minutes and she puts up a hell of a fight. Barry and Jesse increase their resolve trying to shock the Starfish into releasing her.
The Starfish rips off of Kara, leaving a raw red outlight from where it latches onto her body. She starts to spasm all over the table.
Alex reaches over and switches the lamps to yellow solar radiation once Barry and Jesse free Kara from the Starfish. Kara continues to thrash around on the table with the wires connecting her to the heart monitor sending a discharge towards them.
Her heartbeat goes erratic and Alex almost lets out a screen when it flat lines.
"Stand back!"
Barry hopes this works, but really they don't have any other choices. He puts his hands on Kara's chest and discharges electricity into her body. Kara starts to spasm up and down with the intensity of the electricity overwhelming her. She almost collapses down onto the table.
"Again!"
The second time hits it at Jesse's signal. Kara's vial signs flicker in and out with Barry hitting pretty much all of the right marks. He holds back and then one more time slams his hands onto Kara's chest. Kara starts to shake all over the operating table.
"ONE MORE TIME!"
And so Barry sends the jolt of electricity down into Kara's heart. Kara screams out loud one more time and her body starts to shiver and shake.
Then, her mouth opens and several eggs fly out of it. The purple eggs splatter all over the table. Despite the repulsion he feels, Barry locks onto Kara's head and steadies her.
"Get it all out...get it all out."
Jesse takes a metal tin and Barry balances Kara's head over it. The eggs splatter out of her mouth. The little starfish drones which are not fully developed just yet lay in the tin, shivering and then melting in the light.
Finally, Kara's body stops revolting long enough to settle down. She sees Barry standing next to her and gives him a smile.
"Thank you."
Kara tries to squeeze his hand, but ends up missing him and squeezing the side of his leg. It's the thought that counts. Kara fades off to a fitful state of rest.
"What...just...happened?"
Jesse closes her eyes before turning around to address Alex's question.
"The Queen was using your sister to breed more of these Starfish drones."
Somehow, Alex does not throw up at this news. Barely.
X
Wells paces back and forth to the lab. Sapphire watches him while clicking a pen and Caitlin flips through the information she has, studying something. She takes a breath.
"Could you sit down for five minutes, please?"
"They should have been back by now."
Sapphire throws her head back. It's really tempting to flick the rubber band on her desk at the back of his head. She decides to settle for telling him the facts of the matter, yet again.
"The watches say their vitals are fine. They're just taking a bit longer because something came up."
"They better be focusing on the mission. I read Snow's reports and I'm concerned that Jesse might be afflicted by it as well."
"What?"
Caitlin adopts an innocent smile. Wells cups a hand to his forehead.
"Oh, don't make me say it? Don't make me say it, especially with my own daughter being involved?"
"You mean the Sex Force."
Wells slaps the hand to his forehead.
"It doesn't sound any better when you said it. I should have never let her go off on her own."
"She is old enough."
"She's still my daughter."
Sapphire takes a deep breath and decides to break into the conversation between Wells and Caitlin.
"Okay, you need to give her some space and learn to trust her. You're just going to end up pushing her further away, if you act like an overprotective mother hen. I know how single fathers get, how they get overprotective and they end up shadowing their daughters well to the point where it becomes almost creepy. It's only out of concern, I know, but...if you weren't her father..."
"And yet, I am."
"Give her some space before you push her away."
This conversation does not go any further when Laurel and Iris step into Star Labs. Caitlin looks up from her work and decides to ask them a question.
"Any luck?"
Both ladies shake their head in negative. One can tell how much Iris looks flustered.
"Nothing. We ran into Amanda Waller."
Caitlin grimaces at the thought of that. That's more than enough to ruin anyone's day, no matter what.
"Lovely."
"Not particularly."
A blip comes out over the system. Wells jumps up, thinking it might be Barry and Jesse coming back. He relaxes, and at the same time leans forward in interest when he sees something.
"What is it?"
"It's an incoming transmission and coming from Starling City."
This piece of information takes everyone back. Caitlin frowns and there's just another strand to this entire tangled web.
"And yes, of course I can track an approximate location."
X
Jesse shifts from one side to the other as Alex and Barry study the Queen Starfish. There's something about it which makes Jesse think the damn thing is staring into her very soul and that doesn't put her in a good state of mind.
"I don't understand. We took her down and yet the DEO is still infected with her drones."
Alex and Barry do not have the answers any more than Jesse does. A very deep round of laughter follows with a purple eye opening from the Queen Starfish. The creature only becomes even more ominous.
"I'm just a humble messenger to spread the great one's cause. And you only delay what is inevitable. He will rise once again and when he does, Starro will reign supreme. You cannot hope to stop what is to come."
"We won't let it happen."
"Foolish human, you have already lost. You should just bow down and beg for mercy."
Alex just gives the creepy thing which possessed her sister one of the most hateful stares possible.
"Yeah, but no."
A pinch to the bridge of the nose signals that Alex just goes deep into thought. She turns around to face both Jesse and Barry.
"So, are you sure that transmitter is going to work?"
"Well, yeah, but then again, I've only got five doctorates by the time most people graduate high school."
"Overachiever."
Jesse just smiles.
"Just because you're an underachiever…."
Barry clears his throat and causes Jesse to smile. She gets to the point.
"Okay, we freed two of the strongest people in the world from the drones. And these doors should keep anyone out that's going to cause trouble...at least I hope that they will."
Alex put her hand on the other woman's shoulder.
"They will."
The three of them put together some moving parts. The working design Jesse sketched up in a matter of minutes hangs from a tackboard right next to them.
"Hopefully nothing else bad happens."
Both Barry and Alex, who have a fair bit of experience of bad things happening at the worst times, in tandem, give Jesse one of the sharpest glares possible. Why did she have to say that?
The sign indicating that Metropolis is the home of Superman is one of the prominent landmarks in the city, along with the Daily Planet Globe. The protector of the city speeds up over the Metropolis sky as fast as he can fly, faster than a speeding bullet as the saying went.
He hears a frantic heartbeat at the edge of the city. A woman standing on the balcony and about to take a step ahead.
"Everyone is too cruel to me! I'm going to jump!"
Superman speeds in front of her on the balcony. The woman stands back.
"Hold on. Let's talk about this. You seem like you've had a bad day. If you would like, I could talk with you or take you to the doctor."
"Oh, everything's fine now that you're here, Superman."
The perfume she wears causes Superman to almost slump against the balcony. Trace amounts of Kryptonite in the perfume make Superman realize this is a set up just seconds before it's too late. And just seconds before she rushes over and slaps an object on the back of his neck.
His eyes glaze over.
"Do you understand your purpose?"
"Yes"
The robotic nature of Superman's tone shows he's now under the power. The hive mind may have lost one Kryptonian slave, but they will gain another. Superman drops down to the ground where a small group of Metropolis citizens stand before him.
"Everyone get ready. Our brave new world is about ready to come. Soon will all be one. And soon, I will lead you to our brand new lord and master. Starro will live!"
"Starro Lives! Starro Lives! Starro Lives."
The chants of Starro lives keeps chanting all over as more people will now be under control all thanks to Superman.
A dazed Kara Danvers stumbles into the room. She moves over to see Barry, Alex, and a girl she has not been properly introduced to, working over a transmitter. She puts a hand to the top of her head and almost staggers into the room.
"I wonder if this is what a hangover feels like."
Kara shivers and takes another step into the room. She comes across the monster in the cage. That eye is on her.
"Enjoy your freedom child. You will be Starro's soon enough."
"Ugh...I'm half tempted to get Kal's crystal and send this stupid thing into the Phantom Zone. Then it can grow legs and kneel before Zod for all I care."
Barry, Alex, and the third girl look up. Alex pulls out a seat for Kara to sit down. She sinks down, both physically and emotionally drained from what just happened with her.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like...well I feel like I look and I don't look too well."
"No, but normally you look too good."
Kara decides it would be rude not to properly say hi to Barry.
"Hey, Barry...sorry you had to see me like this...I don't really remember what happened, but I'm pretty sure it's pretty bad...and I have this awful taste in my mouth. It's like...I don't even know, I've never tasted anything this bad in my life. Do I even want to know what it is?"
The third party working on this satellite flashes a rather repulsed look over her eyes.
"No you don't...I'm Jesse by the way...it's nice to meet you now that you're not trying to take my head off."
A sheepish grin appears over Kara's face. She cannot honestly recall a second of what happens. It's just a sudden and constant blur no matter how hard she tries to remember it and she does try and remember it.
"Sorry about that..."
"No need to apologize."
"So, I was being halfway serious about sending this damn thing into the Phantom Zone!"
A squeeze from her sister's hand makes Kara think, unfortunately, that this is not as easy as it sounds.
"This one is a strong one, but not the master. The master is to come, his name is Starro and..."
"He's the King of the Star Conquerors, who has enslaved countless worlds and when he's depleted it of their resources, he's left each world a broken down husk and the people on it to die, other than a select few he's kept."
Alex blinks for a second.
"Astra told me...a long time ago. One of the reasons why Krypton was so isolated against other planets. Of course, it didn't help us from getting ripped apart from the inside."
Barry gently reaches over and puts his arm around Kara. Kara smiles at the touch from him it oddly comforts her even when her mind reflects to the doomed world, all of the friends and family she's lost.
"If he arrives, we can free as many slaves as we want. He'll crush us flat."
"No, he won't. Trust me."
Jesse finishes rigging together the final component. She's pretty sure the transmitter will work, at least she hopes that it will work.
"The two of you can get to the point of that tower we saw coming in...you know the one next that park?"
Barry nods, he knows what he talks about. Supergirl and Flash leave to get the relay point setup. They hope to get this done and as soon as possible.
X
A zip brings Supergirl and Flash to the top of the tower. The two of them work to get the relay point ready to go. It's a bit of delicate work, and obviously there is always so much which can go wrong with something like this. Supergirl pushes her hair back out of her face.
"So?"
Supergirl pauses for a second as if trying to figure out the best thing to say. She thinks it's a good thing that one of Barry's powers is that he cannot read minds. His full attention is on her and Kara tries not to lose all sense of self control over herself.
"I'm...very grateful for you being here and helping me and everything like that...but is there any reason why you came all the way over here? If you're here to see me, great, but...still..."
"It's actually something we've run into on our Earth. Some alien writing which I want you to take a look at, if you don't mind."
A small amount of disappointment comes over Kara's face. She hopes, perhaps a bit foolishly, he just came over to see her.
"Right...so what's been going on with you? You and...Iris wasn't it? Have things worked out there?"
"Great...it's working out great between us...our relationship took a turn which I didn't expect. But then again, given the evolution of what's going on with my powers, it's only practical."
A statement like that is only bound to hook someone's curiosity. Kara's no exception to this very obvious fact.
"Really, what?"
"So, is the transmitter in place?"
Flash switches to all business mode as Jesse Quick comes over. He pushes the ear piece in.
"Yeah...and how are things going on your end?"
"Ready, let's cross our fingers. They're going to come for the Queen and I think that it's best if we use her as bait."
"We've got the case with the Creepy Starfish Queen Drone thing."
Supergirl really thinks trapping the creepy thing in the Phantom Zone would be the best course of action. Conceding they need it as bait, she pulls it out of the box in a clear glass bubble it's contained in. The Queen's eye flashes over and unsettling laughter follows.
"What in Rao's name are you laughing about?"
"Look up in the sky."
A sonic blur hits the side of the tower and rattles it where Supergirl and Flash stand.
"Kal?"
The Man of Steel strikes the side of the tower one more time and causes it to rock. Flash holds onto the ledge and also onto Kara when the two of them almost take a tumble off the side of the tower.
"You do realize that if he brings this tower down, he screws up this entire plan?"
"Yeah, I know! I KNOW!"
Flash runs off of the edge of the tower and throws lightning at Superman. The damage done by this attack is minimal although it does a pretty good job of knocking him away from the tower.
The Queen breaks free of the containment and dives at Supergirl. Supergirl catches the Queen just moments before it latches onto her face. Pinpricks of light fire from her eyes and knocks the Queen Drone off of the edge of the tower to her hopeful untimely demise.
"Flash?" Supergirl? Anyone there?"
"Yeah, we've got a slight problem. Good news is, the relay point is still in place."
"And the bad news."
"Superman's been infected."
Two blurs zip from city to city with Superman gaining speed and accelerating. He smashes through a couple of buildings. Flash doubles back to make sure the flying glass does not strike any civilians.
Kryptonians without any inhibitions scare the hell out of Flash. That's the lesson of the day really. The Speedster pumps his legs on the ground and picks up a steady amount of momentum when he moves across to a certain point.
"You will join us or you will fall."
"I pick none of the above!"
Flash runs up the side of the building, runs across the building, and runs down. Superman drops down next to him and causes the ground to shake. Pieces of rumble fly up with Flash running up them. He punches the rubble at Super Speed at Superman. None of the hits register with Superman hitting them with dust.
He gets behind Superman in the cloud of dust and treats Superman like a super powered punching back. Superman spins around and Flash dodges his large hand.
A small flicker in Superman's eye shows that he's fighting at instances. Barry hits him with three upper cut punches which offer minimum effect.
"Kal, Superman...snap out of it!"
Superman goes right after Flash and he runs as fast as possible. The energy rips around him. Thankfully, a bit faster than a speeding bullet. Superman's super breath follows him and starts to ice over everything around him, including the ground.
'Well, this could suck.'
A blur comes from the other end and Supergirl nails Superman in the face with a roundhouse punch.
"Sorry."
Supergirl dives down and restrains her cousin. Flash moves in to send an electrical jolt through his fingers. He's getting a lot of practice with these precise surgeries. The star fish rips off of him and Superman flies back into the wall.
Superman shakes his head and looks up to see both his cousin and some man dressed in a red suit with a lightning bolt insignia on his chest.
"Kara?"
Supergirl nods in confirmation and offers her cousin a hand to get to his feet. Superman takes it and moves in with a shaky stance.
"How did I get here?"
"Did Jor-El ever tell you the story of the Star Conqueror?"
Kal recalls it through his training. He turns to the man who he hazily recalls removing the starfish drone from his neck. Kara smiles.
"Flash, this is Superman. Superman, this is Flash. There will be more time to get properly introduced earlier...now we got to save the world."
"So, you're Kara's cousin?"
Superman extends his hand and the two heroes shake hands.
"You don't happen to be the guy who Kara talks about her sleep, are you?"
"KAL!"
Flash respectfully declines to comment how Superman's only the second person to bring up this fact. Kara's mortification of her cousin embarrassing her is almost adorable, if it was not for the fact there's a problem.
The portal breaks open over the Earth and several of the drones move in.
"Problem!"
Jesse shouting in Barry's ear causes him to jump up.
"No kidding."
A Starfish as large as anything else casts a shadow over all of the buildings. The infected citizens and DEO agents all move over and bow before it.
"I mean seriously, the transmitter's not working...it's almost like there's something more powerful blocking it."
Barry runs complex calculations in his head. He knows that there's only a few seconds before everything turns around in the worst possible way.
"And we're seriously being breached!"
"Okay. Okay. I've got it...if we had more power...we can boost the transmitter...and maybe even stun Starro, at least in theory."
"I've got an idea."
Superman's statement brings Flash out of his thoughts. He turns to the Man of Steel and shows that he's all ears.
"We just need a diversion to get it set up."
A very bad feeling enters the pit of Flash's stomach at this thought. He nods and readies himself for what comes next.
Finally, after a long break, Starro returns to conquer a brand new world full of promise. The legions of follows line up down the way. The Queen, in a new vessel, stands a bit further. Starro peers down at his legions.
"Soon, my children. This entire world will be ours for the taking. We will rise up and we will free the people from their restraints. They will become one. There will be no sorrow, no pain, no war. There will be only Starro."
"Starro Lives! Starro Lives! Starro Lives!"
"We're not ready to give up this world just yet."
The speedster appears right underneath Starro. The Queen's eyes shift in anger.
"You. He stopped me from taking control of the one known as Kara Zor-El."
"That's right! I'm the one that got away. The big one that you couldn't reel in. And I'm about ready to screw up your plans yet again. How do you like that?"
The eyes of Starro shift against The Scarlet Speedster on the ground. The Queen and several Starro drones close in on him. Barry zips over to one side to avoid them. He jumps from person to person taking out as many weapons as possible. They all try and jump him at once.
Barry's vibrating hands hit the ground as fast as humanly possible and send the controlled drones flying. The STARRO Queen withdraws a blade. Seconds before she may hit, Barry avoids her attack.
"Too slow!"
STARRO shoots glops of purple goop down onto the ground. The eggs break open on the ground and almost submerge Flash onto the ground. Friction rises and falls with the Flash attempting to break out of the goo on the ground. One leg slams down onto the ground with Barry's struggles only increasing by each moment. He blurs through the sludge although it is a very laborious process.
"Now we have you..."
The drones swarm on Flash who breaks free. His arms move like a windmill and slams them back down onto the ground. The Speedster eases back a couple of inches before almost collapsing down onto the ground. One of the drones closes in on him with a starfish drone coming ever so closer to him.
A mental wave hits the drones all at the same time. The Queen turns herself around and eyes narrow in anger.
"Manhunter!"
J'onn staggers out. He's a bit shaky and at the same time tome ready to avenge being trapped by the Starro Drone earlier.
"You looked like you could use a hand."
"Thanks for that!"
A super speed punch allows the goop on the ground to pop. Barry makes sure to take as many drones as possible on the path to the King. He looks up into the sky.
"Now would be a really good time guys?"
STARRO's arms come down. Those slimy tentacles brush down onto the ground.
"I will have you! I will have all of you."
A beam of purple energy fires from the North. The impact connects to the back of STARRO's head and results in a hideous scream coming out of this creature. Barry observes the screams only escalating when it connects to the creature.
Supergirl and Superman both drop to the ground. The Queen's new vessel charges in. Supergirl dodges the blade and catches her arm. She flips the vessel down on the ground.
Jesse rushes into the battle as well. The drones freeze as if held into place. The transmitter in her hand unleashes a huge flux of energy to hold them into place.
"Guys! I think it's working!"
Supergirl's nervousness becomes very evident. The Queen rolls over onto the ground. Supergirl pushes her back down with a foot on the back of her head.
"Not with the big guy up there!"
The two Kryptonian cousins and the two speedsters lock eyes. Supergirl zips into the eye of the storm, with Superman following close behind. Jesse rushes off to the North and Flash takes the left turn. The four of them run at Starro from opposite directions and cause a cyclone.
"You only delay the inevitable!"
Time and space breaks with an energy vortex sending STARRO up. His children rip off of their human hosts along with his Queen. Supergirl punches the Queen hard through the energy portal to escalate her trip into oblivion.
Flash blinks at the rage dancing in her eyes.
"One might think you took possession a bit too personal."
"Maybe."
The big guy tears apart from Superman and Supergirl lifting him off of the ground. A cyclone rips the downed Starfish up and sends them packing.
"Okay, we got to close this now!"
Jesse and Barry vibrate their hands and cause the reversal of energy to seal the portal behind them. The two of them blast back and land onto the ground.
X-X-X
The cleanup effort is always one of the most frustrating parts of any mission. Alex turns her head back. Thankfully the throbbing headache which comes with possession ends.
Superman's already back to Metropolis because he has responsibilities there. Although he's always one call away. Alex leans over the wall and looks at Barry and Kara with a small smile on her face. Good for Kara if something happens there, not that Alex will do anything nefarious to help things along.
"I don't talk in my sleep all the time. It's just a couple of times. It only happens when people are around. I swear!"
Barry just gives her a little smile in response. Kara bites down on her lip.
"It's true!"
"I believe you Kara. It just happens to happen when people are around."
The most adorable pout appears over Kara's face. Barry wants to reach over and pat her on the head, Kara blows a strand of her hair away from her face.
A small look over her face shows Kara giving Barry a nice long looking over.
"Really liking the new suit. It really suits you."
"I just changed the colors."
"Well you wear it very nicely."
Kara's about as subtle as a freight train in the middle of the city when she brushes a hand over Barry's shoulder. The thought counts. She's staring at him very deeply.
"Kara!"
"What?"
Alex just ducks her head and looks very amused, even though she's trying to play the role of the stern big sister. To be fair, she doesn't necessary blame Kara, even if Barry's not quite her type.
"So how about we head back to my place and we can go over what we need to go over? And you can tell me how your relationship with Iris took a turn like you hadn't expect it. I swear, I think you're in some kind of collective harem deal by the way you were talking."
"Actually...it's a long story."
Kara sighs and puts a hand on Barry's chin.
"Well, we can take the long way around. If you can keep up with me."
Barry just frowns, does she really think that she can go faster than him? Well, maybe if she zips out the door with a bit of a headstart she might lead for a minute. Barry flashes off after her.
Jesse just turns her attention to Alex. A smile flickers on the corner of her lips.
"Five bucks says they might get sidetracked until tomorrow afternoon."
"I'd be a sucker if I said different."
Several systems flash behind Felicity. She moves down the hallway with a purpose. A smile flickers over her face as she pushes back a panel to reveal a secret room. Sticking her head inside allows her to do what she needs to do.
"Tell me whether or not he's made it back."
"You won't..."
"Get away with this. I know! They think that you've ditched them halfway across the world. Now, I'm not going to ask you nicely again. You remember what happened last time I didn't get what I want right away. I'm on a time table. So, step it up. Vibe, come on!"
A flicker of light flashes through the eyes.
"He's still on Earth Thirty-Eight with..."
"Supergirl?"
"How do you...?"
"Good boy. I knew I could count on you."
Felicity leaves the room and walks over. She drops down onto the ground. A small hint of agitation opens the door for a more tranquil thought. Her arms spread out with several lines of code flashing all around her. They flash over the walls as Felicity manipulates them.
"Did you finally catch on?"
Oliver Queen stands at the end of the hallway with a bow and arrow at Felicity's head. Felicity looks over her shoulder with a smile.
"Who are you and what have you done with Felicity?"
"It's amazing how you can stand to look at her after all the grief she's put you through. But, I guess misery loves company. You two truly are a match made in...well I'm sure you'd be a perfect match to some people. Love is illogical, not that emotions aren't normally."
Something causes Oliver's bow to drop down onto the ground. He fires off one arrow. Felicity turns around and catches it between her fingers with a surprising and uncharacteristic amount of of skill and grace.
He collapsed down to the ground, almost as if something paralyzes his body. How and why? Oliver barely peers up into her eyes.
"What did you do to her?"
A very bored looking Felicity flicks the arrow in her hand. She finally concedes to answering the man before her.
"She's here, but not in the driver's seat. I made Ms. Smoak take a nap. Her emoting was very taxing to my core processes."
"What did she ever do to you?"
"Nothing. The odds of her being there and having what I need were minuscule. There's a very powerful piece of technology I can latch on. Mr. Holt's little invention is fascinating and a marvel for your primitive little backwater. It's direct interface into Ms. Smoak's nervous system allowed me to take control of her mind and body."
"You need to let her go."
Felicity just pats Oliver on the top of the head. She gives him a look like a disobedient puppy dog who acts out of turn.
"No. Sorry! I don't. Not the worst body I could have been in, although I preferred a different model. But given Supergirl destroyed it, I'm going to have to hold my ground in this one until I rebuild my previous body. Which is an annoyingly laborious process even with one of Star Lab's most gifted scientists at my disposal."
"Just who are you?"
The arrow head brushes against Oliver's face.
"Barry Allen's already retrieving Kara Zor-El for me. He's played into my hands like a puppet. And she'll realize that I'm behind this. Heroes are so predictable."
Felicity kneels down next to Oliver. Oliver peers into her indigo colored eyes.
"I'm a collector of data. And I've come to the conclusion that humans will end up squandering their potential. They make poor choices that are lead by feelings and not facts."
"We can surprise you."
"Doubtful."
A smile crosses over Felicity's face, calculating, and cold, and not her usual cheerfulness either. One hand strokes Oliver's cheek as he struggles against the force that's weighing him down.
"Being inside of Ms. Smoak has its perks. The baggage the two of you share is not one of them."
With her next movement, Felicity impales Oliver with the arrow she caught. He collapses to the ground like a puppet having his strings cut.