Chapter 16Notes:Currently losing my mind at the discovery of the show Mary & George.
Chapter TextLucy hadn't been to a game night in years, let alone one with her recently ex-boyfriend and his friends. But she was oddly looking forward to it. Also hoping wine and a six-pack of beer was the right thing to bring. Adjusting her hold on the bag, she reached up and knocked on the door. And nearly laughed as it wasn't Kara who answered, of course not, "Johnson."
"I think you can call me Daisy, Lane?" She raised an amused brow as she waved her in.
And well, she could take that, "I'm not going to be the only one going by my last name."
"Lucy, come on, Kara's stirring, she's better at it than me." Daisy headed straight into the kitchen grabbed the spoon from Kara and swapped out with her at the oven.
Kara rolled her eyes, "She's lying, I was banished from chopping things."
"You almost chopped through the cutting board," Daisy pointed out while dumping the neatly cut cabbage into the stir fry.
Lucy raised a brow watching them, "Stir fry?
"Yeah, Kara got me a new cookbook, we weren't actually sure where to get half the ingredients or how to do like any of the complicated stuff, so we're just going with stir fry till I can get down to Chinatown and like kidnap a grandmother or something," Daisy explained from where she was stirring.
Kara excitedly took the bottle of wine and beer from Lucy, "Oh, Winn will love this, you got his favorite!"
"Am I the first one here?" Lucy had a feeling Daisy didn't arrive so much as just lived here. The laptop by the couch, the leather jacket that was thrown over a chair by the table, yeah, Daisy spent a lot of time here.
Kara nodded while putting the beer in the fridge, "Yup, you beat the boys."
"No surprise the Major is punctual," Daisy teased, and it was clearly teasing.
Lucy could feel herself relaxing, this was going to be fine. "So, what game are we playing tonight?"
"Since someone can see through cards," Daisy winked at a pouting Kara, "I understand our choices are Monopoly, Yahtzee, and Pictionary."
"I don't cheat," Kara was pouting, but oh, she definitely cheated.
Lucy couldn't help it, "Crinkle."
"Oh phewy!" Kara narrowed her eyes, "Alex told you?"
She leaned against the counter, and fuck, the food smelled good. "James might have mentioned it."
"Traitor," Kara bounced slightly, looking over her shoulder at Daisy, "You have to help me beat him for that."
"Uh, I haven't played a board game since I was a rookie. Pretty sure Lucy's a better co-conspirator for you." Daisy turned the heat off, neatly moving the pan off the burner.
Kara nudged Daisy while looking at Lucy, "Help me beat James?"
"Oh backstabbing already, I'm in." And Lucy knew the night was going to be a good one.
Lucy's sides hurt from laughing, a glass of wine in one hand, comfortably full from probably the healthiest hot meal she'd eaten in a week, as she watched Kara and Winn competing for the title of the best dancer at Just Dance. She looked at James, "It looks good on you."
"What does?" He looked at her from where he was sitting on the floor.
She glanced around them, "Being happy."
"What do you mean? Do you mean because we broke up?" James looked bewildered and confused at whether he should be feeling insulted or not.
She shook her hand, "National City is good for you."
"It could be good for you too," He offered, leaning back. Because he was James he genuinely meant it.
Lucy leaned her head against one hand, "Maybe."
"You're doing a good job at the DEO," James defended her because of course he did.
Daisy's attention turned to her, away from the dancing game Olympics, "He's not wrong."
She actually was surprised by that. "You barely know me?"
"I know your wildly perfectionist type. You couldn't do less than your best, and your best is competent," Daisy shrugged while gesturing to Kara. "And I think I like your priorities, Director."
James laughed, "She's got your number."
"Hey, learning to spot the competent officers you can follow the orders of without stressing about it is a skill," Daisy raised her beer to Lucy before taking a swig of it.
And that was a compliment, one that mattered. Lucy was hoping she wasn't being played by the woman. Prime CIA recruits and possible former assets were hard to gauge, you almost never knew what their actual agendas were.
"YES!!" Kara jumped slightly too high, nearly hitting the ceiling as she excitedly waved her arms. "Take that!"
Winn wheezed, slumping into the chair. "Don't know why I try."
"Good effort." James leaned over, handing Winn a beer. And it really was good for James to have a male friend who wasn't Clark.
Kara was shining in victory as she dropped onto the couch, nearly on top of Daisy, throwing her arms around her and hugging all excited victory. And it was hilarious, Daisy went stiff in surprise for a fraction of a second before softening into it without a second thought. It eased the paranoid part of Lucy that said something about Daisy wasn't what she presented. Lucy was risking a lot that Daisy was genuine in her bond with Kara.
Her watch beeped. Lucy looked down and sighed, her shoulders settling back into position. "I need to get going."
"DEO?" Kara looked over at her curiously.
She stood, genuinely reluctant to leave actually. "Upgrade went through this morning, taking half a night shift to make sure things stay quiet."
"If you need help just call," Kara was serious, more Supergirl than Kara.
Lucy gave a tip of her head, "Have fun."
Lucy still wasn't entirely comfortable in the blacks of the DEO, her army uniform might be stiff and unforgiving, but she missed the structure. She felt secure in it, a soft black undershirt ready for Kevlar to be pulled on over at the drop of a hat, black field pants, and boots. It was different. She'd adjust, it was her new uniform.
She was flipping through reports on the new security measure's she'd ordered put in place that morning. Nothing alarming, she was going to need to pick an Assistant Director soon. Lucy looked at the stack of resumes, well, that was a nightmare she wasn't ready for tonight. And then, a shiver ran down her spine and nothing mattered, and Lucy faded from being.
////
Kara set the Pictionary box down on the coffee table, "Girls against boys?"
"Oh, that's a terrible idea. Art is not a skill I have." Daisy raised her hands in surrender.
Winn's eyes lit up, "That sounds great Kara, let's get it set up!"
James was opening the box already, "No cheating."
"I don't cheat." It was unfair, she couldn't help seeing through things.
Daisy bumped their shoulders together. "Game night Queen here can't help winning."
Winn gave a nod of agreement that stilled halfway, his eyes going glassy.
"Winn?" Kara frowned before her attention snapped around as Daisy let out a hiss, her entire body going completely rigid, vibrations making the floor and walls shake before stopping suddenly. "Daisy!?" Kara grabbed Daisy's shoulder and the vibrations that shook through her hand and down her arm were almost violent in how tight and harsh they were.
"I'm good," Daisy was lying out right as she moved, tight, "Do you hear that?"
Kara couldn't hear anything unusual. She looked around and James' eyes were glazed as well, both of them standing up and walking towards the door like puppets, "James, Winn?" She was on her feet, what was going on?
"Fuck," Daisy shook her head like a dog with water in its ears, her face completely serious. "They're not in control. I think it's everyone, I can feel it."
Kara took a deep breath, alright, they were under attack. "We need to find who's doing this."
"I'll meet you on the roof of Catco," Daisy met her eyes. "Ten minutes."
She could do a flyover and see how widespread it was, find out where people were going and hopefully find out what was causing this. Kara was in her suit and out the window. She felt her stomach drop the more she saw, it wasn't just James and Winn, it was everyone. Daisy was right. And it was viscerally wrong.
Kara came to a stop on the roof of Catco, "It's the whole city, they're all on computers. I think this is Non."
"Your evil uncle?" Daisy gave a sharp nod. Her face, under her ridiculous mask that was smiling, was serious. Everything about her body language and tone was serious. "He's leading prisoners, he doesn't have the firepower to take a planet."
"The DEO," Kara breathed in realization. "The Fort Rozz prisoners and a lot of others are being held there. If he wants a larger army than he has he'll break them out."
Daisy didn't even bother replying to that, she just had her arm hooked around Kara's shoulders and was ready to get flown, and fast. Kara's arm wrapped around Daisy's waist to make sure she didn't fall off, and then Kara took off at speed for the DEO desert base. If there was a prison break in the process they didn't have time to talk it out.
The wind whistled in Kara's ears as she focused entirely on what was ahead, she could hear it before they reached the DEO, the computer in the control center repeating 'Warning, Containment Override'.
Kara shot them straight to the control room, releasing Daisy as vibrations pushed her away from her. As Kara came to a stop, she blasted enough freeze breath to send Lucy and the DEO agents harmlessly back from the alien in front of them. "Early parole is canceled." She didn't look behind her to know that Daisy had rolled to her feet. "The computers, I have this."
"Got it," Daisy replied without hesitation, her voice changer on.
Kara shot forward, her arm swinging for the woman she recognized from her cousin's fights as Maxima. The weight of Maxima's hits as they slugged at each other hurt. Maxima was strong in that awful way that ached as it hit.
She stumbled slightly as Maxima slammed a knee into her gut, before tossing her straight up into the ceiling.
Kara and the ceiling she'd bodily cracked came crashing down onto the floor. She barely moved out of the way before her head could be crushed under Maxima's booted foot. Using the momentum of rising up she slammed down, fist first into the other woman's face. Grabbing her, she flipped Maxima over and through a control table.
"That tickled," Maxima goaded as she kicked Kara straight in the face.
The force of it stunned Kara enough that her back hit the ground. And then a hand was on her throat, pinning her down as Maxima loomed over her.
"We could have been family, Kara Zor-El. I once sought to make your cousin my mate." She spat with all the venom of her being.
Kara couldn't help it. The idea of Kal with crazy criminal eyes siding with Non was disgusting, oh Rao she'd have had to have family meals with the woman if that'd happened. "Ew, gross!" She rocked and slammed her fist into Maxima's side, sending her stumbling off of her.
Flying to her feet, she braced and then punched Maxima in the dead center of her chest, hard.
Maxima slammed into a metal support wall hard enough to bend the metal, her body limply hitting the floor.
Panting slightly, Kara turned to the sound of footsteps that changed to gunfire before she was facing them. A sharp cry of pain escaped her lips as the burning sensation of metal sunk into her arm. She looked up sharply at Lucy and Vasquez coming straight for her with guns up, and kryptonite clips in.
Kara didn't even manage to start to run before both women were sent flying away from her, their guns falling to pieces in mid-air. She looked to the computer control station, to see Daisy standing there, arm raised.
"What the fuck? They have Kryptonite bullets?" Daisy marched straight to the two women she'd just sent flying and had them handcuffed to the wall before either of them was really conscious.
Kara's shoulders slumped in relief, she hissed looking at her bicep, the awful sick glow of kryptonite coming from the wound. The pain made her injured arm shake, and she could feel the awful razorblade scraping feel of the kryptonite burning outward from the bullet. Gritting her teeth she reached through the hole in her suit and pulled the bullet out. It was awful. It hurt, she felt like she was going to puke. But shaking, weak, and sweaty she pulled it free with an awful squelch.
Tossing the bullet aside she looked around. What was this?
"Hey, hey it's ok." Daisy was suddenly there, one gloved hand on the side of her face the other touching her bicep near where she'd been shot. "The DEO is secure, I locked their systems. It'll take hours for their techies to get in. We've got time to figure this out. Ok?"
Kara leaned into the touch. "We need to know what Myriad is. I heard them talking about it before we got here. It was Astra's plot, it was from Krypton."
"Ok, we need something with records from Krypton. Does that exist?" Daisy's hand on her bicep hummed, her posture softening as she clearly realized the bullet wound was healing rapidly.
She leaned forward pressing her forehead against the stupid plastic on Daisy's forehead. She ran through the options. She needed her cousin. Kal would know where more resources were. The crystal here in the DEO didn't have anything on Myriad, Kara's mother hadn't given her access to that. But Jor might have given Kal that information. It wasn't his crime he was hiding after all. "The Fortress might have records about it."
"Awesome, want me to come with or stay and hold the fort down?" Daisy asked, pulling back a half step, her hands falling back to her sides.
Kara looked through the stupid plastic mask, with its smiling LED lights, and at Daisy's expression underneath that was concerned but waiting for her to make the call. "No, you might know to ask questions I won't. I'll fly us."
"Sweet, remind me next time that the evil uncle who has pledged to fight you is a higher priority than fascist government fuckers. That was my bad." Daisy easily stepped to her side, throwing her arm over Kara's shoulders. "Also flight, I need to get better at that shit."
Kara shot a look at the glassy eyes of Lucy and Vasquez, and then her eyes cutting through the walls. It was secure here. She looked back to Daisy, "I'll try to remember it." And then she flew them out.
Kara's feet had barely hit the floor of the Fortress before she was calling out. "Kelex!"
"An ice palace?" Daisy was hissing as she yanked off her mask. "You have an ice palace just sitting around in the Artic!?!"
"Kelex, are you here?" She looked around desperate for help, for answers.
"How may I assist you, Lady Kara?" The familiar robotic voice of Kelex came.
She turned, relieved at the nostalgic shape of a Kelex personal assistant robot. "Where is Kal-El? He didn't respond to his beacon."
"Kal-El is attending to a matter off-world." Kelex's arm moved with a programmed gesture of pacification.
Daisy's voice was quiet behind her. "You have a robot in your secret lair? That is so cool."
Kara ignored Daisy, she'd normally be very excited to share this, but they didn't have time, not with everyone in National City under mind control. "Kelex, I need you to tell me about Myriad."
"Warning. This construct is not authorized to discuss Myriad." Kelex's metal limbs approximated anxiety.
And Kara, Kara was sick of her people's, her family's secrets being denied to her like she was a child. "You were designed to obey the members of the honorable House of El, and to preserve the memory of Krypton wherever it went. If you don't override your orders, Myriad will destroy the House of El, and the memory of Krypton will be lost forever." Her voice took on a weight she so rarely used, her anger burning through. "You will have failed in your prime directive."
Kelex's robotic form bent, and then turned, hovering off, away from her.
"Please," Kara was not above begging. They needed this information, they had needed it months ago, but now she couldn't afford to not have it.
"Hello Kara," A voice said that Kara would know anywhere.
She spun on her heel, her voice half exhale, "Mom."
It wasn't Alura in truth, just a projection. But the image still cut. "Myriad was developed on Krypton by your aunt. It was created to prevent the planet's imminent destruction." Her voice was her mother's, the tone robotic and without life. "We had strangled the planet's resources beyond recovery."
Kara ached as she stepped closer to the projection.
"The politicians argued, but could not agree on what to do. Thus, according to high records, Astra implemented her own solution. Myriad. Technology designed to force everyone to her way of thinking."
Kara already knew that in part, the words she and Daisy had already used for what was happening still fell from her lips, "Mind Control."
"When they were caught attempting to use the Myriad technology against the people of Argo City, Astra and Non were arrested."
Kara stood, the familiar pain of it bracing. "And sentenced to Fort Rozz." She could still remember her aunt's pleas for them to work together, to save the planet together. "That's what they've been trying to do all along. They've been trying to use Myriad on Earth. To save the planet." Her head shook slightly. "But I don't understand. Why is everyone so afraid to talk about it?" Why had she been denied this information? "Why wouldn't you even speak of it?"
"Myriad could be used to enslave whole worlds at the push of a button. The High Council determined that if knowledge of such technology were to get out, it would upset the delicate balance of power of the galaxy."
"Mom, please." She looked at her mother's illusion of a face, desperate for compassion from a program that lacked that personhood. "You have to tell me how to stop this."
"I am sorry, my dear Kara. Once started, Myriad cannot be stopped."
Kara nodded in defeat, because of course. All of this, for nothing. She nearly cried at the feel of Daisy's hand on her shoulder.
Daisy just tightened her hold. "We'll find a way to stop it."
"And if we can't?" Kara looked at Daisy, and she knew Daisy's answer before she said it. She still listened though.
Daisy's head just tilted slightly, "Giving up isn't in the cards."
Chapter 17Chapter TextDaisy was in agonizing pain. The Myriad signal left her feeling nearly drunk from the way it rattled in her brain, her bones. They didn't have time for her to be in pain though. And Kara didn't need to be bothered with it. She was still functional and had long been able to find clarity through pain. So it was barely a thought to keep herself braced and functional as she and Kara landed on the balcony of Catco, walking in. "That's some Zombie shit."
"What are they doing?" Kara said as she walked into the office space, everyone had the same blank, glazed expression as they worked on what was definitely alien coding.
Daisy glanced at a screen, "Going to guess that's a Kryptonian coding language?"
"It is, what is Non up to?" Kara's eyes were flicking across the screen, at least understanding more than Daisy was.
Daisy grimaced under her mask as Kara tried to get Winn to react, to say something, to be her friend. This whole thing was so fucked up. She grit her teeth. The signal felt like a wave, and it was just…so much information and a kind of vibration she hadn't felt before. She couldn't just follow it to its source. It felt like it was reflecting off of everything…also she was pretty sure it was being broadcast downwards.
Her attention turned to a screen broadcasting the news. "Supergirl, the news."
It was the first look at General Sam Lane's face, that Daisy had had. His words were not comforting -"The United States Army has taken up position at every entranceway into National City. Until this threat is neutralized, National City has effectively been quarantined."-
Daisy grimaced, "It's not the worst strategy." She looked at Kara, "If this starts to spread they'll bomb the city. We don't have a lot of time."
"Can you get me on the phone with him?" Kara was mission-focused, and she was going to play everything then.
Daisy just nodded and grabbed a cellphone of according to the name plaque, Kelly's desk.
And, five minutes later, Daisy had to admit, it was impressive listening to Kara hit the emotional key to the General. His daughter Lucy was safe, and Kara just needed him to buy them time to keep her that way. It was a risky ploy, but Kara genuinely meant it, so it was working. Daisy could admit it, Kara was inspiring. When was the last time she'd been forced to use nothing but belief and it hadn't gotten her ass kicked? To be fair, she was pretty sure Kara was better at it than her.
Supergirl hung up the phone, "He'll buy us time, we-"
Her words cut off at the sound of the elevator dinging.
Daisy and Kara both looked and just kind of silently stared at the actual ridiculous nonsense happening now.
Cat fucking Grant walked out of the elevator, totally focused on her cellphone, sunglasses on, and miserly sass on point. "Kiera, call Harrison Ford and tell him that I'm flattered, but once and for all, I do not date older men, especially when they're married."
Kara cleared her throat, face plastered in disbelief.
"Oh!" Cat turned, pulling her sunglasses off. "Supergirl, what a pleasant surprise, did we have a nine am? Maybe to discuss your terrible taste in girls?"
"You're not a mindless drone?" Kara breathed in disbelief.
Cat was looking at her cell phone again, very millennial of her in Daisy's opinion. "No, I learned that lesson when Demi Moore and I wore the same dress to the premiere of Ghosts. Never again."
"You know, if anyone was immune I'm not surprised." Daisy finally spoke up, cause as hilarious as it was to watch Kara waffle, they needed Cat to stop staring at the phone.
Cat's attention was carefully casual as it turned to Daisy, and then her eyes tightened ever so slightly. "You brought a friend, hate the new mask. It's tacky."
"Supergirl said my first one was creepy since it didn't have eyes." And because she knew the LED face was distinctly creepier looking, Daisy thought it was kind of awesome. "But, your office." She waved at the mindless, mind-controlled zombie people.
Cat looked at the office. "Hmm, well, yes, they are a bit more quiet than usual. Maybe my reign of terror has finally reached its peaked effectiveness." It'd have been convincing if Daisy hadn't been able to feel her heartbeat.
Kara was frustrated past the point of playing the game though. "No, look at them! It's not just them either, it's the entire city." She stepped forward waving to the window. "Look!"
There was a moment, Cat had a flicker of hesitation before she stepped to the window and looked out. It would have been impossible for her to miss the marching people down below as they went where Non commanded. "Oh, my God." And her tone was perhaps honest for the first time that Daisy had heard it. "What's happening to everyone?"
"Alien mind-control." Daisy shifted her weight to her other leg. "Trying to figure out how to stop it, so if you've got a great insight into how you're immune, that'd be helpful."
Kara cut in before Cat could snap at her for that, "Please Ms. Grant, do you know why you're not affected, anything that could explain it?"
"Wait a minute, if it's affecting everyone, then are any of us safe?" The weight of the situation was finally dawning on the woman.
Daisy had her gun out and aimed at the stairwell at the feeling of movement from it. "Don't move."
A man with dark hair and a face she, unfortunately, recognized held his hands up. "Not the welcome I was expecting, but I've come to help, and I do have my moments."
"Lord," Kara zipped to Daisy's side, pulling her gun arm down. "What are you doing here?"
Max Lord spread his arms, prancing into the room. "Do Kryptonians gloat? Because I'll bet wherever he is, ol' Uncle Non is feeling pretty good about himself."
"Why am I not surprised your brain is intact, Max?" And shockingly Cat sounded as pleased about the man's presence as Daisy was. "What is it they say? Only cockroaches will survive the apocalypse." She turned striding into her office.
Max was def bothered by that. "Happy to see you too, Cat. You look lovely, considering the end is nigh."
"Why weren't you affected?" Kara cut through the bullshit.
Max actually answered her, the asshole. "Ion blockers." he tapped the thin plastic and metal thing that honestly looked like a fancy headset on the side of his head. "I realized the Kryptonians were using my LTE interface system. That's why they broke into my lab over Christmas. They're using my satellites to send neural signals directly into the minds of everyone in National City. These scramble the signal before they reach my brain."
"If you invented technology that blocks Myriad, why didn't you give it to the DEO?" Kara looked half baffled and half ready to strangle the man.
And Max proved to be exactly as swarmy as his stupid face looked. "Once Henshaw and his Trusted Girl Friday stepped down, I had no one at the DEO to trust."
"And reaching out to Supergirl about it was what, too complicated for you?" Daisy scoffed, that was weak, an excuse at best to make himself feel better because the cost, effort, and vulnerability in allowing others to have access to whatever he knew was needed to stop this was more than he was willing to give.
Cat arched a brow, "As much as it pains me, Hot Topic Girl has a point." She waved a hand, "And clearly, not everybody needs this ear-wig thingy, because I don't have one and my brain is perfectly intact."
Max walked toward Cat, wagging his finger at her with what he definitely thought was playful confidence. "I see you got the earrings I sent you last night."
"Oh, I get it." Cat clucked her tongue. "Ion blockers in the diamonds? Oh, so many karats and yet so functional."
His chuckle was remarkably smug. Also, Christ, they were flirting. "Didn't seem right for the world to lose Cat Grant's mind." He reached out, brushing Cat's hair away from her ear, before dropping his hand and turning back to the rest of the room. "Speaking of, where is your faithful assistant? Out marching with the masses?"
Cat sighed, disappointed, which burn. "Don't be glib, Max."
"As much fun as it is to watch you two flirt, mind control, city, evil plots." Daisy snapped her fingers. "Is there a way to make like a big Ion blocker?"
Max's laughter was derisive.
"You think this is funny?" Kara cut in with the same burning frustration that was covering for pain and helplessness. Pain and helplessness that had been far too raw at the Fortress.
Daisy didn't physically reach out, instead, she thrummed a vibration in Kara's arm.
Max was serious as he walked into Kara's personal space. "Everything I have feared has come to pass. I couldn't be more serious."
"We have to stop them. They're using your satellites. Can't you reprogram them and destroy Myriad from the inside?" Kara asked, desperate for a solution.
Daisy swallowed, they could fly her into space, she could dust the satellites but…that'd be toast for her, and it'd leave every other aspect of the attack.
"I tried. There's some pretty epic force fields around those satellites at the moment." Max was as frustrated and helpless as Kara. And forcefields meant the single shot Daisy might be able to get at the satellites was far less than a guarantee so that Hail Mary was probably out unless they literally failed every other option.
Cat cut in. "You're always 10 steps ahead, Max. I know you have a plan."
"Of course I do," Max clicked his tongue, something almost manic about him. "We kill them all."
There was a silence as his words sunk in. Surprisingly, it was Cat who broke it.
She scoffed, "Max, how exactly do you plan on killing an army of Supermans?"
"I'll tell you the plan when I know you're both on board. Can't have muscles or broody over there trying to stop me." Max actually meant it. He really was proposing genocide.
Kara didn't deserve to be dumped in a fucked up situation like this. Her words proved that. "Killing is never the solution."
"Except we're way past villains-of-the-week and kittens stuck in trees. We're at war. And the only way to win a war is to kill the enemy before they kill us. So, time to grow up and put on the big girl cape."
Daisy physically stepped between him and Kara. "Back the fuck off. If it comes down to it, I'll do the killing. I'm not afraid of getting more blood on my hands, and you do not get to call someone weak for not being willing to commit mass premeditated murder. But sorry if your word is the only evidence we have that the only option is genocide, I don't find that convincing. You're a xenophobic fuckboy, and you're not a god. So I'm going to need more than 'because you say so' before I start slaughtering people."
"I'm sorry, but we're at war. Your little 'girlfriend' is going to have to get her hands dirty or we are all going to be mindless slaves." Max was condescending, just waiting to dismiss her and going back into cutting into Supergirl.
It was probably a good thing he couldn't see her face. Daisy stepped straight into his personal bubble. "One, you're only still breathing because she told me not to kill you. You really should be nicer to her. Two, we don't need whatever weapon you have to kill Kryptonians, you just have to point me at them if it comes to that."
"Quake," Kara laid a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back slightly.
Daisy turned looking at her, "I mean it. And you know what my power is, if killing is the only option I can do it. It's what I was made for."
"Made for?" Cat said.
Daisy looked back at Max, "Walk me through why you think killing them all is a good idea. If it is, I'll do it. If it's not, you shut up and do something useful."
"Fascinating as this is, looks like someone made it through security," Cat said, and she was scared and not hiding it as well as she thought she was.
Daisy didn't need her eyes to know the man was Kryptonian, his vibrations told her. He felt like Kara, that same dense vibration so different from a human. She easily slid just behind Kara's shoulder as Kara moved to face this newest threat. The fact they were implicitly protecting Max fucking Lord only bothered Daisy a bit.
And that was def Non from the asshole in charge voice. "The people of this City have already knelt before me. Soon you will too. I don't want to fight you, child."
"Afraid I'll win?" And it hurt to hear Kara trying to be strong when it was so apparent this man meantfamily to her.
Non's raspy voice replied with care for that. "You've already lost. Accept it and the glorious fulfillment of Astra's vision." He tipped his head, "In the end, she defeated you."
"This doesn't look like a victory to me. And all you're doing is betraying her." Kara's posture and tone softened ever so slightly, the vibration of her voice desperate to get this man, her uncle, to listen. "I was with Astra in her final moments. We forgave each other, we paid respect to our blood bonds. She didn't want this."
Non wasn't willing to hear it. "Of course she did. It's what everyone wants," and he believed his words, absolutely. "Peace on Earth. Goodwill towards man."
"It's a lot less like Christmas out there and more like Dawn of the Dead." Cat remarked, probably intending it to be quipper, but respect for back-talking the alien who could paste her.
Non's quiet pride in his work sparked with anger. "The human race finally has a chance to live. Or it will suffer the same fate as Krypton." Oh, bad guy monologue time. "And the same thing is happening on Earth, with a populace more interested in reality stars and political circuses than working together to solve the world's problems."
"So, mind control is the answer to global warming?" Max clucked his tongue and fuck that guy did that a lot. "Why didn't I think of that?"
Non was a fanatic, but Daisy grimaced under her mask. "Thanks to Myriad there are no more racial divisions, no political parties. Only one people, working with one purpose towards one goal. To save the world."
"Except you haven't saved them, you've enslaved them." Cat crossed her arms, disdain readily apparent.
Kara picked up from where Cat had started, "Humanity is better than this. If you really want this planet to avoid the fate of Krypton, then work with us."
"With these people?" The disdain was dripping from Non's voice as he gestured at Cat and Max. "These two are the best of your world and all they do is help the populace amuse themselves to death. If anything they laid the groundwork for me."
Winn spoke up from where he'd been mindlessly typing, his voice empty. "You've already turned us into drones."
"Winn! Winn, can you hear me?" Kara lunged toward him, desperate for her friend back.
But Daisy was looking at Non, and she was realizing he meant it. Deeply, and utterly meant his stated goals. This was his tribute to his wife, his mate. It was his ideals, his love for his one companion through life, everything of who he was. She didn't twitch as James walked in, his voice the same deadness as Winn's.
"Your inventions have drowned out sense and turned it into nonsense," James uttered.
Winn seamlessly picked up where James left off. "But now everyone is united, everyone's creativity and thought dedicated to eradicating famine, disease, climate change."
Max spoke and as afraid and condescending as he was, there was a certain admiration there. "You're harvesting the brain power of everyone in the city to solve the world's problems? National City is a giant think tank?"
"This is not the way to solve the world's problems." Kara's arms were open, horror on her face.
Winn's empty voice replied, or rather Non's thoughts through Winn's mouth. "Your heroics have done nothing to save the planet."
"This is the inevitability of Myriad." James picked up. And it was telling in horrific ways that Non was choosing these two men as his speak pieces.
Kara swayed slightly. "Non, stop this!"
"These are your friends, aren't they?" He replied, which fun, everyone in the room was just not even pretending they didn't know Kara and Supergirl were the same person.
Kara's voice was soft. "Let them go."
"I have lived with loss. Allow me to return the favor." He tipped his head in a sick mockery of manners.
"Kelly?" Cat knew, they all knew why James, Winn and apparently Kelly all started walking toward different windows.
Daisy was sick of this. She pulled out her gun and tranqed all three of them, dropping their bodies before they could get out of the room in quick succession. She faced Non, ignoring the yelp of alarm from Cat and swearing from Max. "What's the end game? You make them solve their problems, and then what?"
"And who are you?" Non turned his attention to her, cold and evaluating.
Daisy straightened, holstering her gun. "Quake, of House Kasius." It disgusted her to use that, but she knew it would matter to Non, and that mattered more than her feelings on the matter.
He hissed, barely keeping from recoiling. "What could possibly bring one of your depraved ilk into an alliance with a daughter of the House of El?"
"Your niece is hot," she shrugged. "And I didn't have anything better to do. Bonus points, she didn't try to murder me on principle like you're considering."
A muscle ticked in his jaw, "No Kree alone could stand before a Kryptonian under the yellow sun."
"Good thing I'm only part Kree then. A full-blooded Kree would make an issue at the House Kasius thing, but since I killed every other member of the House I don't really give a fuck." Daisy cocked a hip slightly, purposeful disregard in her body language since the voice modulator wasn't going to quite get it across. "To your whole, thing." She waved a hand, "It's neat, very ambitious, very clean. But uh, why do you think humans don't already know how to do that? And kind of insulting you think Maxwell Lord and Cat Grant are the best of humanity."
Non stared at her, "What?"
"I mean Cat Grant is a media personality, she might be winning gold medals at being a bitch, but at humanity?" Daisy wiggled her hand. "And Max there is a scared dipshit with more money than sense. I mean google the top inventors of just this country and he's not the top. He's up there, but the world?"
Non's gaze on her was harsh. "And yet you would defend them for something as dirty and petty as lust?"
"I mean sounds more interesting than your mind control world." Daisy let the entire room vibrate from the air to the floor. "But you've said your piece. Supergirl and these two human pieces of shit will consider it. I don't know about them, but everyone here who matters knows what loss is. Or didn't you and Supergirl both lose a planet? And I have my own parents' blood on my hands. I've lost count of how many I've killed and how many I've lost. Loss is cheap. We got your message."
He was still for a moment, but finally, he tipped his head to her, "Very well I will take your terms, Kree." Non's attention turned to Kara. "Do not stand against me, or everyone you know, love, and care for will die. Accept defeat. Not even allying with monsters will save you. I have already saved National City. Next, I will save the world." With that, he flew out.
As Non left Daisy's senses, she let her passive threat fade, the vibrations of the room returning to normal. She glanced at Kara as she felt the hand on her upper arm.
"Thank you," Kara squeezed her arm.
Daisy nodded to her.
"I'm sorry, didn't understand all of that, but why is Non still alive if you could have killed him?" Max half sneered with contempt, desperately shoving down his blatant terror.
"Because he thinks he's a hero," Daisy glared at Max, not that he could see her glare, but she hoped he got the point. "He has the entire population of this city held hostage and he's not going to start murdering them unless it's to fuck with Supergirl, or he's pushed to it. We don't know if that's true of his second in command. So unless you want to roll the dice on everyone's lives, keeping the asshole who isn't planning on mass murder in charge of the bad guy faction seems smart, fuckwhit."
Chapter 18Chapter TextKara landed on the sidewalk below Catco before picking up the phone call. She knew who it was, not many people knew the number to her super-phone, "Hey."
-"Kara? Are you all right?"-
Her sister's voice felt like a punch in the gut. It'd been weeks since she'd heard her since she'd seen her. Kara hadn't gone this long without her sister since the day she arrived on Earth. Her breathing trembled from how badly she wanted Alex there. "I'm fine."
-"You're lying."- Alex stated with a resigned sigh.
Kara could feel something settling, she wasn't alone, her sister wasn't a mindless drone. "A bit." Because she had Daisy, she had Cat, they'd figure it out. And what was going on in National City wasn't what was important with Alex. "Did you reach Cadmus? Did you and Hank find your dad?"
-"We were on our way there until we heard about all this."- Alex's frustration was audible.
Every word eased something inside of Kara, Alex was safe. "Where are you now?"
-"At Mom's."-
"Stay there. If you come to National City, Myriad will take over you too." Kara felt like she could breathe fully for the first time in hours.
Alex's stubborn soul couldn't sound like she was chaffing at that more. "There's no way I'm leaving you there by yourself."
"I'm not alone." Thank Rao, Kara didn't know what she'd have done if she was alone. "I'm, uh…I'm with Quake and Ms. Grant."
And oh Alex was not happy about that. -"Quake?! The villain who's been flirting with you on tv! And wait, why wasn't Cat affected?"-
"Quake's a good person and she's helping." Kara really wished there was enough time to hug her for stopping Non earlier. "And um…Maxwell Lord protected Ms. Grant and himself."
-"Of course he did. Kara, we never know when we can trust him. And we're coming back to you working with a villain!"-
"You know what? I don't really have a choice right now. You don't know what it's like here. It's my only option. And I trust Quake to protect me if Lord tries something. I love you, Alex."
-"Kara, liste-"
Kara hung up before she could let Alex spiral on her. She winced, that was going to bite her in the butt later. But she didn't have time to explain Quake and why it meant Kara wasn't alone in this. She kicked off, flying back up to the executive floor of Catco. She really wanted to walk right to where Daisy was sitting, legs kicked up on a desk and doing something on her phone, and slump into her. A hug would be really nice right now.
"You ok?" Daisy looked up, that stupid creepy mask facing her.
Maxwell wasn't content to wait, however, cutting in before Kara could reply. "Are you finally ready to do what needs to be done?"
She just sighed, settling back into the moment, that she needed to be strong still. "What's your plan?"
"Before you and I sang Kumbaya and decided to be friends, I was working on a weapon to use against the Kryptonians. All Kryptonians." Maxwell stood up from where he'd been sitting.
Kara crossed her arms. "What kind of weapon?"
"A bomb." He didn't have a shred of shame. "Filled with Kryptonite dust. It'll irradiate the entire city. Choke them all. No more Myriad."
Ms. Grant who'd been walking toward them paused, before speaking into her phone. "Um, Anderson, do you think you could hold on for just a skosh?" She looked at Maxwell, "Forgive me, but won't that kill Supergirl and Superman?"
"Not if she flies up and detonates it over the city center. Then she and he skedaddle. She won't be able to come back to National City for roughly fifty years…"
Cat laughed, it wasn't a nice laugh.
"But that's a small price to pay to save the world, right?" Maxwell's smarmy voice stung.
Kara forced herself to ask, she could feel the rising hum from Daisy. She felt herself settling at that, it wasn't going to be necessary then. But she still needed to ask. "What about the human beings? Will they be affected at all?"
"The concussive force to properly displace the Kryptonite dust will result in some losses." He said like one might say the weather might be terrible.
Cat made a very distinctive 'Hmm' sound. "Anderson, I'm gonna have to call you back. What exactly are we talking about Max? Losses"
"8% of the population." He had actual discomfort at that.
Ms. Grant replied back. "8% of four million people? That's over three hundred thousand people, Max."
"Versus the seven billion people on the planet that Non wants to turn into zombies," He snapped hotly.
"Hey!" Daisy was up and out of her seat. "How do we even know the bomb would stop this?"
Max's expression was pure venom as he looked at Daisy. "Well, we wouldn't need to bomb ourselves if you were willing to actually handle the issue instead of just talking about it."
"I'm not opposed to killing, I'm opposed to committing genocide when we don't even know if it'll help." Daisy's shoulders were braced, one hand clenched. "So tell me, Max, do we even know Non and his army are in National City? Because if they're not, you've just killed 8% of the population here for nothing, and trapped both of the Super's outside of the city and unable to help stop this."
The air in Kara's lungs felt cold. She hadn't…why hadn't she thought of that? Her voice was less strong than she'd have wanted. "The DEO doesn't know where Non and the Fort Rozz prisoners have been hiding out."
"And they can fucking fly fast enough that distance isn't really going to be a handicap." Daisy waved at Kara, her eerie mask focused on Maxwell. "So tell me, what makes you so sure this will even give Non and his Kryptonian followers a nosebleed?"
Maxwell's heart beat in his chest, "I swore to save this world, this is our only option."
"So you don't know." Ms. Grant's voice was full of disgust.
Daisy stepped forward, encroaching on Maxwell's space, and this time he stepped backward. "And Non's forces are full of non-Kryptonians. What's your plan when one of them gets the controls for Myriad? What if they want to kill humanity instead of making them a living think tank? We have time for a solution while Non is in charge. The second that changes, things could get very dark or very bloody very fast. What's your plan for the other aliens following Non's commands, fuckface?"
"Then what's your plan!?" Maxwell burst out, arms jerking sharply at his sides. "We can't do nothing while our planet is subjugated!"
"Enough!" Ms. Grant snapped. She looked between Daisy and Maxwell. "Both of you." She looked at Daisy, "Hot Topic Murder Twit, go back to playing with your phone." Her eyes settled on Maxwell, and they were far colder then. "Sit down and maybe reflect on how you just proposed killing hundreds of thousands of people for nothing. I have no doubt if you try and leave or kill innocent people again our nightmare fuel over there will tranq you, likely with more glee than such an act deserves." Her attention turned to Kara. "You, with me." And then she strode through her office and toward her balcony.
Kara felt rather left-footed. She was pretty sure all of them did.
Daisy let out a bark of staticy laughter, "If you need me, I'm right here."
She smiled in gratitude at Daisy and then followed Ms. Grant out onto her balcony. Kara quietly settled against the railing just down from where Ms. Grant was.
Ms. Grant spoke up with a sigh after a few quiet moments "I've always liked the view out this window. Wish I had it from my office." Her tone was more real, softer out here. "I like looking at the park. All the people. Mothers pushing their strollers. Kids playing. I wonder which of them would have died in Max's moronic attempt to save the city?"
"I don't know how to fight this." Kara admitted the horrible truth. She looked at her boss, her mentor. "What do I do? Quake won't say it, but she wants to hunt Non and his army down, take the fight to him. She's only not saying it because she knows what that means. But I don't know what to do."
Ms. Grant looked at her, "You could come up with something better than murder or irradiating the city. Not that the last one is still on the table."
"My mother was faced with this decision on Krypton. And she chose wrong. I love her, but she didn't save Krypton like she promised. And my planet died. My culture. My home. My parents. Everything was just wiped from the stars." Kara blew out a breath, she knew that the moment they brought the fight to Non, or moved from this tower their course would be locked. She didn't know what course would save the people of the city. "How can I let that happen?"
Cat's voice was…kind. "I know you're scared. I am too. But so is Max. And so is Non, for that matter. Even Quake is scared. All of you are letting your fear guide you, but somebody has to find the courage to stand up even though they're afraid."
Ms. Grant was steady as she stood there, admitting weakness when she hated showing weakness more than anyone Kara had ever met. "You know, the worst decisions that I've ever made in my life were based on fear. But you showed me that there was another way to be strong, by having faith in people. By believing that goodness would prevail. And because of you, I started letting people in." She chuckled lowly. "I even opened myself up to my assistant, Kiera, who helped me have a relationship with my son again. Now, I can't tell you what to do, Supergirl. But if you've taught me anything, you taught me that hope is stronger than fear."
Kara could feel her eyes burning with tears she couldn't shed.
"And that is what I think of every time I look at that." She pointed at the crest on Kara's chest. "You've changed me. And I am not easy to change. And I believe that you can change everyone out there. Not with violence, not with fear. Just be Supergirl. That's all anyone's ever needed from you."
And Kara felt herself fill with purpose, "Thank you, Cat. That gives me an idea." A crazy, wildly idealistic idea. But one that had to be given a chance.
Kara risked sliding her hand into Daisy's and squeezing as they waited for Cat to unlock the door to the old broadcast office. It was dark, Maxwell and Ms. Grant were focused on the door, the mission. She looked at Daisy and felt her shoulders loosen at the expression on Daisy's face beneath that stupid mask.
Daisy just squeezed her hand back, the warm humming sensation going right up her arm. She nodded to her, quiet approval, and it meant a lot. That Daisy was going to go along, didn't need to be convinced, or argued around like Maxwell had needed to be. Just was there to help. And not angry at her.
Except, "You're bleeding?!" Kara reached to the side of Daisy's head, and that was blood trickling from her ear, and she could see it through the mask, the sluggish trail from her nose.
"It's nothing." Daisy caught Kara's hand where it had brushed her wig's hair aside to better see her ear.
Ms. Grant turned around, "Excuse me?"
"It's the signal, feels like a migraine from hell, I think it's breaking some capillaries but I'm healing faster than it can do any real damage." Daisy squeezed Kara's wrist gently before dropping it. "I promise, I've fought with way worse than this."
Maxwell's eyes were hard. "We don't have time to delay this."
"He's right," Daisy flicked her fingers, the door opened and she walked straight through past them before looking around. "So, we're sure this stuff is still functional?"
Ms. Grant seemed to recover first, just marching in behind her. "Well, no reason why it shouldn't."
Maxwell looked at the old technology and dusty everything as Ms. Grant started pulling fabric covers off. "So, you brought us to your very first, very out of the way, TV station so we can…what? Dust off your daytime Emmy?"
"No, Max, Actually we are here to inspire." Ms. Grant was full of certainty and purpose as she worked. Kara just quietly followed suit and shot worried looks at Daisy. "We are going to show them a symbol. One of optimism, love, and yes, hope." The defensive certainty was comforting. "A sight so undeniable, that people will recognize it even under this spell."
Daisy dropped down powering up the ancient systems. "I can help, maybe, with some of this."
Max dropped his arms to his sides. "Where do we start?"
Kara was mostly doing as instructed as Maxwell and Daisy shot each other dirty looks as they coordinated on getting the system up and running. She was also keeping her mouth shut because her worry wouldn't help, and she had a feeling if she said something Maxwell would say something rude again, and Daisy might actually punch his nose in if he did.
"Do you think we can do it?" Ms. Grant asked.
Maxwell didn't look up from the wires he was currently connecting as Daisy adjusted the dials. "We can't stop Mryiad's signal, but we can piggyback off of it." he rolled to another tower of tech Kara wasn't even sure the name of. "We're lucky this TV station is old."
"Not that old." Ms. Grant corrected.
Maxwell shot a look over at her, "Not old-old. But old enough that it uses broadcast technology instead of digital."
"I like digital," Daisy grumbled from her corner.
Maxwell, shockingly, ignored the bait. "We can transmit a signal by calibrating it to Myriad's frequency, without leaving any online fingerprints."
Kara couldn't help herself, "Take that, Indigo!"
"Can I just say, if Non's apparent tech support wasn't actually eviler than my bloodline, I'd want to compare notes," Daisy remarked as she leaned back, whatever it was she'd been working on lighting up successfully.
"It'll ride the wave without anybody knowing a thing." Maxwell was smug but then looked disturbed that he apparently agreed with Daisy on anything.
Ms. Grant looked at Maxwell, and she meant her words for him and not all of them. "I have one question for you, Max."
"Shoot," Maxwell looked at her curiously.
She had a look on her face that made Kara look away, because nope, nope, nope. "The earrings, how did you know I would wear them?"
"I didn't." And oh Rao, why did they have to keep flirting? He was the worst. "I guess I just had hope."
They all stiffened or startled at a loud bang.
Kara looked at them, "Stay here." The door slammed shut in her face before she could walk through it. She spun looking at Daisy in frustration. "You're bleeding!"
"You're not going to go fight whatever that is without me. You have my back, I have yours, that was the deal. A bloody nose isn't changing that." Daisy wasn't going to let herself be left behind.
Kara hesitated but nodded, "Fine, but you let me lead if we can help it."
"Sir, yes sir." Daisy gave a casual salute as she strode towards her, the door opening, "You giving orders, very hot."
She threw her eyes to the ceiling, of course now was when Daisy decided to go back to flirting with her while dressed as Quake. Even if…maybe she was relieved to have Daisy with her as she followed her out, to see who or what Non had sent to stop them.
Kara was suddenly more grateful than anything that Daisy was with her as she saw who was waiting for them. "Alex?" Dread ran down her spine. "What are you doing here? I told you not to come."
And it was Alex, Kara would never mistake her for anyone else. But she was in a metal exoskeleton, one that glowed a sickeningly familiar green. And the words that came from her mouth were not her own. "I warned you what would happen if you worked against me. I found your ultimate opponent. One that knows your every weakness."
"No!" Kara couldn't, she couldn't do this. Panic was all she had at this. Her words came out with a stammer. "I'm not doing this. I am not going to fight my sister." Her voice rose to a shout, "DID YOU HEAR THAT, NON?! If you want to fight me, come out here and do it yourself. I'm not going to hurt her."
"You have no choice." Alex's dull, lifeless voice replied. "Kill Alex Danvers or let her kill you."
Daisy grabbed Kara's shoulder pulling her back, raising one hand, every metal joint in the exoskeleton snapping. "Fuck that." She moved, and fast. A light brush of vibrations told Kara to stay put rather than actually moving her or preventing her from moving.
It was fast, Alex was stuck in the wreckage of what had once been a suit, and Daisy was faster than any human. She had Alex flipped and pressed into the asphalt in seconds, her arms twisted behind her, and her knee keeping Alex down.
Daisy looked up, "You wanted to try out the hope thing, I think we have patient Zero."
An ugly chocked sound of pure relief came from Kara's chest and out of her mouth. "Thank Rao." She stumbled forward to her knees in front of Alex, whose glazed eyes were looking up at her as she uselessly fought against Daisy's hold. She reached out, her trembling fingers touching Alex's face. "Alex, I know you're in there."
Alex wiggled, but at least Non's voice wasn't sickenly puppetting her mouth. He was probably desperately trying to figure out what had cut his puppet's strings.
"Alex, this isn't you." Kara didn't know how, she'd been so sure she could do it before, but here, with her sister in front of her, she just wanted to cry. "You can beat this ok, I know you can."
Kara sobbed as she felt the tick of vibrations against her. "We're a family, you are my sister. I love you and I know you love me. This, this is nothing to all the years and things you've given up because I'm your sister. Because we're stronger together, and I'm right here. Stronger together. And you're the strongest person I know. You can do anything you want because you wouldn't let anything stop you." She swallowed, forcing out every drop of sincerity that she had into her voice. "You are Alex Danvers, and nothing, especially not Non can change that! I need you to come back to me, please."
"Kara?" And it was like something was blinked away from Alex's eyes.
She outright cried, "Yeah, it's me."
And then Alex was scrambling up, Daisy releasing her and floating off of her. Alex's hands grabbed Kara's shoulders, "I'm so sorry, I didn't, I didn't mean to." She blanched, ripping the holstered sword off of her back and tossing away from her like it was on fire before lunging forward, wrapping her arms around Kara. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
Kara hugged Alex as tightly as she dared, "It wasn't your fault, it wasn't you, you came back to me."
She looked up, her vision blurry with tears, and she saw Daisy just quietly standing there, scanning the area for danger, keeping watch so that Kara and Alex could have this. And Kara realized with stunning clarity that she couldn't bear the thought of Daisy not being by her side. Of her leaving.
Daisy who listened, who understood, who stood by her side, and supported her every time. Who was dependable, who had stopped Kara from having to fight her sister. Who was in pain right now, because Myriad was hurting her, but was still here. Daisy who Kara had been leaning on since all of this started, hadn't uttered a word of complaint about it. And who Kara felt better every time they touched. Every time she felt the hum of her vibrations, was reminded of her presence. Who was good and kind. Who she could never repay this to. And Kara, might, probably, definitely, be kind of in love with her.
"Too tight!" Alex wheezed.
Kara loosened her arms, pulling her attention back to her sister. And she felt warm, her sister was here, and Daisy and just…that could and would wait till this was over. Because neither of them would leave her side. "Why did you come back?"
"I love you too," Alex's expression was faintly watery too.
Kara just laughed, "You shouldn't have come but it's so good to see you."
"Kara! Alex!" A wonderfully familiar voice called from across the parking lot.
Kara's head snapped around, barely faster than Alex's, and not without noticing that Daisy was very aware and ready to intercede if need be. She spoke, more to tell Daisy who this was, "Eliza, J'onn!"
"Are you both alright?!" Eliza half stumbled as she rushed to them.
And Kara couldn't help smiling. "We're alright."