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They were struggling to get to the temporal rift. The Legion ship was under enemy fire. Sparks flew out of the panels, but neither occupant of the craft did any more than flinch.
The two of them, a man and a woman, were working hard at their consoles. The woman was piloting while the man was using every trick, he knew to keep them flying, repairing damage, rerouting resources, and preventing their pursuers from hacking into their computer systems, but just barely.
They are screaming back and forth to be heard over the alarms that are blaring.
The ship makes it through the temporal rift. Ahead of them they can see Earth… North America… National City. Despite the desperate attempts of both, they aren’t slowing down. The view of National City would have been pretty with the setting sun reflecting off the buildings if it hadn’t been for how quickly it was approaching.
The ship crashed into National City, destroying it in a large explosion.
Nia woke up in her apartment with the early morning light streaming in through the windows. The prophetic dream still replaying in her head. Nia pushed her blankets aside and got out of bed. She wandered into the kitchen, giving her roommate a distracted good morning as she went to get a cup of coffee. Nia didn’t recognize the two people by name, but she thought she could vaguely remember having seen the man before. They had both been wearing black outfits, but the woman had pink in hers as well. There was one thing that had been familiar. Each had a ring on, black and gold, with an L and a comet. She’d seen that ring on Brainy.She went back to her room as she sipped her coffee. Her phone was on its charger. Setting the coffee mug down, she picked up her phone and scrolled through the contacts until she found Brainy.He answered instantly.“Hey Brainy, this is Nia. I had a dream. You know, one of those dreams.”“That is most concerning,” Brainy said. “I would like to meet with you, and we can discuss this dream.”Nia had gone to meet up with Brainy and Kara Danvers. They both knew about her abilities and she trusted them to help her figure out what to do about her precognitive dream.Kara was sitting on the couch with body language that was rigidly tense. Brainiac Five appeared as he always did, but there was a twinge of concern at the edges of his eyes. Nia did her best to relax, she wasn’t as exhausted as she had been last time, she’d come to them about her dreams. “In my dream it’s inside of a space ship. There are two people in it, a man and a woman. They’re trying to get somewhere but they’re being chased by someone. They make it through a thing and then suddenly they’re above National City, but they are going too fast. They can’t stop. The ship crashes in the city and then,” Nia hesitates, “it explodes, destroying everything.”Kara was leaning forward, playing with the edges of her glasses as Nia described her dream. “Was there anything else?” “They were both wearing rings, like Brainy’s,” Nia said.That got a visible reaction out of both Kara and Brainy. “Was there anything to indicate what time it was?” Brainy asked.Nia stopped, she tried to think and then nodded. “It was day and close to sunset.”Kara and Brainy had thanked Nia for telling them about the dream, promising that they’d help with dealing with the situation. Nia promised to call if she had any more dreams before leaving.Together, Kara and Brainy went to CatCo. The old forgotten room that Kara had once used as a base of operations with James and Winn was still there, filled with the equipment that Winn had left. When James had taken over at CatCo he’d prevented that one room from being used for anything else in the past two years.“Impressive. To be expected of something set up by Winn,” Brainy said as he looked around at everything.“I just wish that we still had access to all of the technology at the DEO,” Kara said as she crossed her arms. Losing the DEO and even Alex as an ally still stung.Brainy sat down at the computer and began to type rapidly.“This will work well. Winn left a back-door exploit into CatCo, allowing easy access to their satellites. As soon as the Legion ship appears in our time plane we’ll know.”Kara sat down on a chair next to Brainy. “This must be hard for you. Two of your friends are in danger.” She reached out and placed a hand on top of Brainy’s arm.“I am concerned, but we have a seventy five percent chance of successfully saving the Legion ship from destruction.”As they waited, James stopped in to check on them, bringing pizza with him. They gave him a quick update and before leaving he reminded them to call if there was anything he could do to help.Kara would wander over to the window to look out with a mixture of impatience and worry every few minutes.“Legion ship is entering the upper atmosphere,” Brainy said. Kara was moving faster than the human eye could follow. She shed her normal clothing to reveal her Supergirl outfit beneath. Only her normal clothing remained in the room as she rushed to the roof and out into the sky.Supergirl flew, the wind snapping her cape out behind her. National City was behind her as she closed the gap to the Legion ship. She flew above it, turning in midair and matching speed with it. She placed her hands on top and flexed her fingers, digging into the metal. Supergirl pulled up as she slowed down. The Legion ship slowed as Kara leveled it off. They were still heading to the ground, but it was more controlled. She shifted to turn both of them, taking them out of town. Once she had put miles in between them and the city, she set the Legion ship down.Supergirl landed on the ground next to the ship as the door opened. Smoke spilled out. Staggering and coughing, two figures were revealed as the came out.“Winn!” Supergirl called out as she wrapped her friend in a hug. “Imra, are the two of you alright?”“We’re fine, Kara,” Winn said. “Thanks for the save.”“Anytime. What brings both of you to the past?”“Kara, we need your help. The timeline, including your present, is in danger,” Imra said.Kara, Brainy, Winn, Imra, J’onn and James were gathered in J’onn’s office. Without access to the DEO it was the best place for the group to meet. Winn and James had exchanged hugs when they were reunited. “What’s this about the timeline being in danger?” Kara asked as she played with the edge of her glasses.“In the future most of the Legion are fighting Vril Dox,” Imra said. “Vril Dox is a member of my race,” Brainy added.“Two months ago, we detected a temporal rift on Earth. When Lightning Lad went to check it out, he found a teenage Kryptonian male,” Imra said.“It was Clark,” Winn said.“We brought him back to Legion headquarters, tried to keep how much he learnt about his future to a minimum and searched for a rift to send him back home to his proper time. We did eventually locate one on Aruj. Triplicate Girl and Bouncing Boy took Clark in a Legion ship to Aruj. The plan was to pilot the ship through the rift, then take him back to Earth and drop him off at the Kent Farm,” Imra said. Kara let all of that sink in. A teenage Clark was in the future. If he didn’t get back to his proper time then it would change not just the future of the Legion, but Kara’s own past and present. Without Clark on Earth to find her pod she wouldn’t have made it to the Danvers, she might have even ended up in the custody of the DEO back before J’onn took the identity of Hank Henshaw. Without Superman, and potentially without Supergirl, the Earth would be defenseless. “What do you need from us?” Kara asked as she stood up.“Once Winn and Brainy finish repairs of the Legion ship, we’ll return to the future with Brainy and Kara,” Imra said. “Once there, the two of you will head to Aruj.”“To protect the timeline, I’ve made an alternate costume for Kara and we’ll use a different codename for her,” Winn said.“It’s not the bare midriff costume?” Kara asked“No, it’s the boob window one.” “Winn!”“Joke! It was a joke. I wouldn’t make you a costume with a boob window.”James had been silently listening during all of this. “J’onn, Nia, and I can keep things in hand here. I’ll ask Nia to tell me if she has any more visions.”J’onn nodded. “If we need back up we’ll call the Flash for assistance.”Kara was strapped into the Legion ship. Winn and Imra were up front together, while Brainy was across from Kara. Being strapped inside of a vehicle was different from flying. It made her feel powerless unlike when she was flying on her own.“Have you given thought as to what name you will go by in front of Clark?” Brainy asked.“Something similar to Supergirl but not the same,” Kara said.“Then Superwoman?” Brainy steepled his fingers in front of himself.“I want to avoid the whole ‘super’ thing around him.” She wanted something that she could easily associate with her normal codename, but wouldn’t be obvious to Clark when Kara’s ship crashed in his future.“Marvel. Grand. Exquisite. Power. Strong. Do any of these help?”“Power… Hmm… Power Girl. That doesn’t sound that bad.” Kara smiled at him. “Thanks, Brainy.”Kara watched in excitement as they came in for a landing at Legion headquarters. All the buildings were so tall, but there was plenty of greenery around them as well. While the buildings gave off a feel of being metal, she noticed that they didn’t seem to reflect the sun the way actual metal would.She didn’t get to see much more as the Legion ship landed. Kara got up from her seat, feeling just a little unsteady. As she moved, she felt more comfortable again. The door opened and revealed a very familiar face. “Nia!” Kara said, surprised to see her protégé in the future.“I’m sorry, who?” the woman that looked so much like Nia said.“Kara, meet Nura Nal, a descendant of Nia Nal and a member of the Legion,” Brainy said. “Call me Dream Girl,” Nura said with a friendly smile. “Any changes while we were gone?” Imra asked as she got off the ship and onto the landing field.“None, the bulk of Legion forces are holding strong against Vril’s offensive. They were worried about if Vril's ships shot you down, I sent them an update when your ship was detected. I haven’t had any more premonitions and the life signs for Clark Kent and Triplicate Girl are holding steady. There were some fluctuations with Bouncing Boy, but they are holding.”Nura and Imra led the group inside of the building.Kara felt herself looking around like she was a tourist. Few people from her time had ever seen this. Things were colorful, everything was slick, and like the outside, there were plenty of green plants. Large windows let sunlight stream inside. “Pretty cool, isn’t it,” Winn said.“It’s amazing.”“I’ve done a lot of good here, Kara. But I do miss everyone in the past too,” Winn said. “Come on, let me show you the suit I have for you.”Winn lead Kara through the building. Even though the halls seemed to wander and wind, there was an intuitive logic to it that was hard to express in words but easy to follow. Before they even reached their destination, Kara felt like she could navigate around easily.When they entered the armory, Kara saw a costume on a dress form. It was white with blue trim, and a red cape attached on one shoulder with a gold epaulet. It was full body, like Imra’s. It also included blue boots, blue gloves, and a red belt.“So, you just happened to have a suit made for me?” Kara asked.“I was hoping that you’d get to visit someday, and I wanted you to have something for here.”Kara rejoined Brainy on another Legion ship. This one was identical to the other, minus all the damage. She sat next to Brainy, leaving him to pilot. While Kara had some experience piloting space craft, and the controls for the Legion ship were in English, Brainy was still more experienced with it.“Isn’t it dangerous for you to return to the thirty-first century?” Kara had been thinking about this since getting changed into her temporary costume.“It is. I could be infected by the same virus as the rest of the Coulon race, but as long as we complete our mission in a timely manner and then return to your era, I should face minimal risk. The epicenter of the virus is Colu.” Brainy’s eyes were focused on the instruments before him.“Do you miss being here, being part of the Legion?”“Sometimes, yes, I do, but I have made friends in your time as well. Yourself, Alex, Nia, J’onn,” Brainy continuing on, listing various DEO agents and other people he’d come to know.”It must be hard, for both Winn and Brainy. They both had friends in their original times but had also made new ones in their new homes. No matter where they stayed, they would have to say goodbye to people that they cared about.“Well, I want you to know that I’m lucky to have you as a friend and as my ally,” Kara said with a smile and a hand placed on Brainy’s arm.The Legion ship landed under the cover of night. When the door opened it was to a sticky humid heat and lush orange vegetation.“I’ve triangulated the position of the three of them. Flying would get us to them quickly, however our enemy will be more likely to spot us. Traveling on foot will be slower but will allow us to maintain the element of surprise.” Brainy stepped out of the Legion and onto the dirt.“There’s another option.” Kara was grinning at him. Barry got to do this all the time, now it was Kara’s turn. “I can hold you in my arms while I run at superspeed.”“Yes, that would allow the best of both,” Brainy agreed.Kara lifted Brainy up in her arms, a leg under his knees and the other around his back. “Are you ready?”“Indeed.”Kara was moving, faster than any else had ever moved in the history of the planet. She moved around six legged herbivores nibbling at prickly growths on the orange plants, predators moving stealthily through the underbrush, crystal formations that stuck out of the ground, and more beautiful plants than she could ever hope to remember. She heard speaking and heartbeats and so she followed them to a shipIt was brown, with patches all over its hull. Old damage from many previous battles was still visible even with the repair work.“Pirates,” Brainy said. “I can access one of their computers, but I need to get inside first.”“How strong is the metal? Can I force my way in?” Kara asked.“Most easily, though the ship would no longer be space worthy.”“Alright, I’ll tear my way in, get everyone’s attention and you get into their computers and find out everything you can,” she said.“I agree with this plan.” Brainy looked from the ship to Kara.Kara didn’t give any warning before moving with astonishing speed to the ship. She brought back a fist and punched it clear through the hull. It was a good foot thick. She felt a slight electric shock as she broke electrical systems. Kara pulled her fist back and with a hole created, grabbed a hand on either side and ripped a jagged hole that ran up and down. It was tall enough and big enough that any person would be able to easily move through it.There were surprised cries from the pirates as Kara stepped through the hole, her cape fluttering behind her. Two of them, one human and one a race Kara didn’t recognize with spikes running down her back, were nearby. The woman with the spikes managed to get her weapon out of its holster and fired at Kara. Kara was long gone when the laser reached where she was. Flying, Kara blew past both of them and into the ship’s interior. An alarm was going off. Kara was knocked back as she hit a forcefield, just like from Star Trek. When she tried to turn back there was another blocking her way. There was a shimmer to the air in front of and behind her. Kara looked up. No shimmer there. With one arm outstretched Kara flew up, through the ceiling and burst out of the floor of the next deck up. This continued on, Kara flying up and down the halls, never stopping long to fight, causing destruction and mayhem, crashing through walls, floors, and ceilings when it seemed like they were about to trap her.“Power Girl, I have control of the ship’s systems,” Brainiac said over the ship’s speakers. “The prisoners are C deck, starboard, fore.” “Got it.” Kara followed Brainy’s instructions, taking the most direct route even if it meant going through more of the ship’s walls. She came to a cage, inside was a red solar lamp and three people. There was a teenage boy with glasses, that Kara instantly recognized as Clark, a young woman in a white, orange, and purple costume, and another young man in a black costume. “I’m going to get all of you out of there.”Kara’s eyes glowed white hot before heat vision sliced through the door of the cage, causing it to fall off with a dull thud.“Thanks, Power Girl,” Triplicate Girl said with an amused smile, “I’ve always wanted to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”“You’re a legend amongst the Legion,” Bouncing Boy said.“Power Girl?” Clark asked Kara.“My name is Kar…en. Karen Starr,” Kara hastily introduced herself. “I’m not a Legion member but I’m a friend of the Legion.”Clark and the others were rescued. The Science Police had arrested the pirates. All that was left was to wait for a rift to develop that could send Clark back to his proper time and Kara and Brainy back to hers.“Hey, Karen,” Clark said as he approached Kara.“What is it Clark?” Kara asked. She had tried to balance getting to see her cousin as a teenager and avoiding him to protect the timeline.“I have powers, like you. I don’t know anybody back home with powers and I was wondering if you could teach me how to use mine.” Clark shifted nervously.“Clark-““I know I have to go back to my time as soon as they find a new rift. I just want to learn until then.” There was a hopeful eagerness in Clark's voice.“C’mon,” Kara led the way outside. “Let’s start with flying. You know capes make it easier for us to maneuver when flying at high speeds.”Dreamer and Guardian had their hands full. Anti-alien sentiments hadn’t died when Benjamin Lockwood was locked up. It only made him a martyr. Violence against aliens had only gotten worse. Dreamer had a vision of the Children of Liberty forcing aliens to jump off a roof. That is what had brought the two of them here.Dreamer was still learning how to use her premonitions in combat. She’d also been practicing hand to hand with Guardian so she wouldn’t be entirely reliant on her powers.Three Children of Liberty had her cornered at the edge of the roof. “Time to jump, little girl,” the one closest to her said.For just a second, she fell asleep, and saw an image of herself falling, only to be caught by a figure in red and blue. “Good idea.” Dreamer turned and jumped off the roof. She fell for only a moment before Supergirl caught her.“That was close,” Supergirl said as she flew back up.“I knew you’d catch me. I saw it.” Dreamer was set back on the roof on the other side. Supergirl and Brainiac Five landed next to her.“Welcome home,” Guardian called out before bashing a weapon out of one man’s hand with his shield.It was good to be home. She was glad to see Winn doing so well in the future and getting a chance to help Clark was something she was going to always treasure. But in the end, even with the DEO after her identity and Alex not remembering the truth, she was glad to be back in her own time.“How are you feeling, Brainy?” Kara asked. They were sitting on her living room couch together watching Quantum Leap.“I believe I have not been compromised with Vril Dox’s virus,” Brainy said.“I mean how do you feel emotionally,” Kara asked as she turned her head away from the television to look at him.“I am feeling homesick, but I would feel that way if I remained with the Legion.”Kara got off the couch, took Brainy’s hand and pulled him up. “Let’s go get something to eat. Anything that you’re hungry for?”“I would enjoy curry.” Brainy straightened out his shirt once he was standing.“Curry it is. My treat.”She still held his hand as they left her apartment together to go out for curry.