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CHAPTER 1
>> 2038 -- Earth 38They were overwhelmed, tired, and beaten. They had fought so hard, yet more of them came. They were indestructible unless you hit the weak spot under its chin, a narrow opening. It wreaked of death, shot lasers from its eyes, and had kryptonite knives for hands. All the teams had been called in to help, but it didn’t do any good. They were still losing. Almost everyone who was still alive was there fighting to their last breath. Supergirl was off fighting the Evil Supergirl, who was brought from another Earth. They had already lost Lyla. She was covered in cuts and a deep gash to the lower back, Lucy burned beyond recognition, Zari was bleeding out and was missing her left eye, and Ava had been decapitated. Lena was in her powered super suit trying as best she could to help out. They were all beaten to the ground one way or another. Sara tried her best to shoot the monsters from the sky using the Waverider, but the damage was extensive. The Juniors, as Sara had dubbed them, were all suited up to help their parents fight when J’onn said, “Stop right there! I admire your bravery and courage, but there is no way I will allow you all to go out there and fight... those things. I’m not dismissing you. There will be more battles to come. Your parents can handle this one,” He was running comms. It was his job to watch over the teenagers, and there was no way in hell he was letting any of them get killed. They may have all been teenagers old enough to patrol the streets and protect the innocents in mild fights, but that didn’t mean they would fight those things right now. Miran, Winn and Lyra’s son, and Johanna, Cisco, and Gypsy’s daughter, had been working on a special project for a few months now that would help defeat those mutated beasts. Ever since the genetically modified, giant, zombie-like creatures showed up, they had started to build an interdimensional portal device not unlike the one Cisco had given them in case of emergencies. All the Juniors agreed that right now seemed like a big emergency. The Juniors wouldn’t let their parents die because they couldn’t risk the teens getting hurt. Calibrating the device to a different frequency but keeping it focused on the same earth would help lead them to a different time. One that could give them an opportunity to figure out how to beat the monsters that had invaded and overtaken most of their earth. All they knew was when they would arrive. It would be around the first few years of Supergirl’s career. After writing a note for J’onn to find, the Juniors grabbed all their gear and headed to The Playground, their training grounds/hangout spot/work area. The earth-1 Juniors had their Playground at Star Labs. Heading towards the big, shared workstation in the middle of the room, the doors shut and locked to ensure they wouldn’t be disturbed. Miran hit a few buttons on his tablet to quickly ensure that the DEO’s security defense system he and Johanna built would hold. Looking at the security cameras for the closed-off parking garage, he noticed a hole in the concrete about 7 feet tall that wasn’t there 2 minutes ago. Before he could react, the group heard big, thundering footsteps dangerously close to the Playground doors. Miran hurriedly activated the small device as the brute slammed through the shut doors. The familiar blue swirling portal opened, but it wouldn’t hold correctly until Johanna focused on stabilizing it with her powers. Lu and Star started deflecting the beast’s laser beams with their own and protecting the rest of the team from getting hit. Laurel, Jeremy, and Tommy started shooting arrows and swinging batons as they looked for weak spots. They knew they had to pierce under the left shoulder blade to wound it, but it was hard to penetrate the heavy armor fused to it. Jamie and Ella started to shoot at its face to try and blind it temporarily. It only seemed to annoy the beast. Marty gathered all the gear the team had dropped when they entered the fight and went through the portal. Next to go through were Laurel and Jeremy, who’d already had their gear strapped to their backs. Tommy exhausted his supply of arrows as he ran through the blue swirl, following his teammates. Jamie jumped through after narrowly avoiding a giant, clawed fist with Ella in tow. Lu and Star flew around the monstrosity at supersonic speeds while shooting lasers from their eyes. They were simultaneously deflecting the attacks thrown their way. The beast’s arms flailed wildly at the twins until it landed a hit. Lu fell and cracked the floor. There was a deep cut running across her abdomen. Star saw blood… a lot of blood. Star’s heat vision went straight through the beast’s head as she screamed in agony. She didn’t look back as she quickly picked up her counterpart and jumped through the portal, following directly behind Johanna and Miran. << >> 2018 -- Earth 38Winn looked behind him to his found family as he walked onto the loading ramp of the Legion ship. His tears flowed freely as the door closed. He kept thinking about the people he was leaving behind. Kara, Alex, J’onn, James, Lena, and Lyra. Sweet Lyra, they had little time together, and he would forever cherish their moments. He loved her. He didn’t want to abandon their relationship, but he had a responsibility to uphold for the world to keep its peace. The door was shut, the ship flew away, and Winn was gone. Alex turned towards the training room to take out her emotions onto some poor punching bag. She didn’t say a word, and everyone moved out of her way. Alex wasn’t just sad that Winn wouldn’t be there anymore. She was angry. He was her little brother and one of her closest friends. She hated that he had to leave, call her selfish, but she didn’t want him to go. She wanted to keep him confined to his desk where she knew he was safe. As she flurried her arms and legs at the punching bag, she felt no more relaxed and not in the least bit at ease. Kara decided to go on a patrol through the city. She knew Winn leaving was best, but that didn’t mean she had to be happy about it. Kara was happy for Winn, she was, but she didn’t want him to leave. He had been with her since the beginning of her newest journey. He designed her super suit and protected her secret. Winn was a very important part of her life. He was the closest thing she ever had to a brother, and she loved him as one too. He was the one there when she first became Supergirl. He helped her in ways she could never thank him for. J’onn marched to the control panel to stare menacingly at the screens in front of it. His face did not match the emotion he was feeling. J’onn had practically adopted Winn when he joined the DEO. It felt like he was sending his son away to begin his own life. He was extremely proud of Winn and what he had accomplished here. He never doubted Winn was destined for greatness, and neither he nor anyone else would get in the way. It didn’t matter that his destiny was in the future. He was proud. << >> 2018 -- Earth 38The Juniors all came tumbling through the portal one by one right outside the warehouse district in National City. Miran quickly checked the date and time to see when they ended up. Seeing that it was the year 2018, he confirmed they made it. As he looked around to make sure the whole team had come through the portal, he saw Star with Lu limp in her arms. Lu was bleeding, and Star was covered in it. He couldn’t even tell where all the blood was coming from. As soon as the confirmation was given to Star that they’d made it, she told the team to find an empty warehouse to use as a home base. “Don’t leave or make any commotion until we return. I’m taking Lu to the DEO.” Looking down at her sister, she whispered in Kryptonian, “You will be just fine. I promise you, if you die, I will bring you back, just to kill you again for making me go through this… I love you so much. Please just hang on until we get you all patched up.” Star heard Lu’s heartbeat continue to grow weaker as she launched into the sky and flew toward the DEO, toward her mother, toward help... The Legion had been gone for quite a few hours now, and the team hadn’t started feeling any better. It was around 11 at night. Nobody had left the DEO yet, and they were still lingering, hoping to get that last semblance of normal. The mood was gloomy without Winn’s sarcastic comments or constant humming. It was almost empty except for the few agents wandering the halls waiting for an assignment. Supergirl had just flown in from a bank robbery when an alert blasted through the facility. It was from the system Winn had set up to detect inter-dimensional disturbances. J’onn, Alex, and Lena were already gathered around the main control center, having stopped pretending not to be sad. All their heads popped up with the sudden noise. Vasquez was already typing on her keyboard, trying to find the location of the disturbance. Supergirl was about to launch into flight when a young girl landed hard enough on the balcony to crack it. She was holding another girl that looked exactly like her but unconscious. They were both covered in blood. When she landed, every gun in the main control room went up, and every agent into a fighting stance. The girl started to walk towards them but was stopped by the agents standing in the way. Alex said, “Don’t move. Stay where you are!” Her gun was drawn as well, ready for anything. The girl started frantically looking around the room as if searching for someone. She looked straight at Kara and Lena. Supergirl slightly stepped in front of Lena, like a superhuman shield. Star began to speak, “Supergirl,” she pleaded, “you have to help me! She’s dying, bleeding out! She needs help,” She started forward, but again, she was stopped by the several guns pointed at her. Star didn’t want to risk hurting Lu more, so she stayed put. Who knows what that kryptonite did to her powers? Star looked to Alex next. “Please, she’s bleeding out, please… Just let me go to the med-bay, and I can fix her with the sun lamps!!” By now, she was crying so much she could barely get the words out. Alex hesitated for a split second before ordering everyone to stand down. She didn’t know who these girls were, but she wasn’t going to let either of them die. Star moved forward towards the med bay with purpose. She wasn’t going to allow her sister to die on her watch or anyone else’s. She made a promise. She was going to keep it. When she got to the med bay, followed closely by Alex, Supergirl, Lena, and J’onn, the doctors on duty tried to take Lu from Star. Star growled slightly, and her heat vision flared in a warning. The crests on both of their suits suddenly became apparent as Lu was carefully laid on the bed. The House of El. “Why are you wearing my crest? Who are you?” Kara fired off the questions before she could think of them. She and Kal-El were the only surviving members of her house. Star quickly told them, “It doesn’t matter right now. My sister is dying. I need you all to stand behind that wall while I fix these lamps. Supergirl, hold her down with as much force as possible when the lamps turn on, ok?” Star had quickly transformed from the scared teenager she had been moments before into the leader she was born to be at that moment. “Uh... Ah… I can’t do that. She would be crushed--” Kara stumbled through the sentence before being interrupted. “I know how strong you are! Use all of it! With as much energy she’s going to be infused with, she’s going to need it,” Star began opening the backs of the sunlamps and fiddling with the wires inside as if she’d done it a thousand times. Alex protested, “Hey! Don’t touch those, tell me what you need, and I can help,” Star glared at her and continued to tweak the lamps. “I know how sophisticated they are! I got this. Get behind that wall and stay there until we’re done,” Star was working quickly and efficiently. Alex was hesitant and continued looking at her disapprovingly. Reluctantly, she joined Lena and J’onn behind the protected glass wall. As Star moved from lamp to lamp, she told Kara, “I need you to get in position at her feet. I’ll be at her shoulders. As soon as the lamps turn on, she's going to seize and lose control of her powers. Don’t let her fly off the table or kick you.” She twisted the last wires into the device before setting the delayed starter and timer. She rushed to Lu’s shoulders and looked down into Lu’s eyes. “We have 5 seconds before that turns on, so hold her now.” Kara was about to protest again, but Star interrupted in Kryptonian, “I swear to Rao, don’t let my sister die because you are too scared to use your strength! Get it together, and help me save her,” Kara immediately held down the injured girl with as much force as she could, suddenly a little scared at how much the girl looked like a battle-hardened general at that moment. She held the same tone as her Aunt in the heat of battle. The lamps turned on. Lu immediately started fighting against the restraints that were her sister and Supergirl. Lu’s eyes spouted out heat vision. Star met it with her own. They had to hold Lu down for about 20 seconds before the lamps would finish their job and deactivate. It felt as if an eternity was passing. Lu collapsed and stopped breathing, appearing dead after the lamps powered down. Star quickly moved the lamps out of the way and rushed to Lu’s side. She’d only seen this one time, and it had worked. She was hoping and praying for the same results for her own sister. Lu abruptly inhaled and sat up to find Star looking at her with a sense of great relief, eyes shining. “Rao... That was a rush! Oof--” Star interrupted her with a hug. Lu squeezed her back and melted into her sister. When Star wouldn’t let go, Lu pulled away. Star suddenly backed up and began pacing back and forth angrily. A complete turnaround from the delighted and relieved mood she was in a few seconds before. “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! You are smarter than this,” Star didn’t hesitate as she slip into Kryptonian, "If you ever do that to me again, Alura, I swear to Rao that I will kick your ass to Argo City and back!!!! What the hell is wrong with you?!? What makes you think it’s ok to block a shot like that?!? We’ve trained to fight together since we were younglings. You didn’t need to get in the way. I saw it coming!! You know I could have dodged that shot, yet you jumped in front of it!! That monster almost killed you!! I thought you were DEAD. UGHGHAHH!!” Star continued pacing and making frustrated noises. Lu was starting to get upset. Sucking in a breath, she hopped off of the bed. “Excuse you, Astra, but you don’t get to yell at me like that!! You would have done the same thing if you saw your sister about to be sliced open by a genetically modified, giant monster!!,” Lu softened her voice at the classic “Danvers’ I’m sorry pouty face” Star was pulling. She continued in English, “I was only trying to protect you. I have priorities. You will always be at the top of that list. I would never let anything happen to you if I could help it. I could never lose you. I’m sorry. I love you so much.” “I love you too…” Star regretted yelling at her sister. She was glad she was alive and, thankfully, no longer bleeding. Star pulled her sister into a hug as they both let silent tears roll down their faces. After a moment, they heard someone clear their throat. They were suddenly aware of just how much attention they had drawn towards themselves. They both glared at the straggling agents outside the med bay. They quickly looked away and continued walking down the hall. Together they turned towards the four adults that were impatiently waiting for answers.>>
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CHAPTER 2
>> All four adults stood surprised at what had just occurred between the two teenagers. Kara stood still, gaping like a fish, while Alex, Lena, and J’onn were just short of the same look. “First, I know you just had a very traumatic experience. Agent Danvers will need to assess you,” he pointedly looked at Lu, “Then you are going to answer, who you are, why you are here, what attacked her, and many other questions. Am I understood?” J’onn was as serious as he could be. Lu sat back in her bed. Star stood next to her, nervously shuffling her feet. She had lost most of the confidence and authority she had gained when she entered the DEO med bay. Lu and Star both looked at each other before Star began speaking. “Understood, sir, but we were in the middle of a situation. We can’t abandon it.” “I’m sorry, but we can’t let you leave. Our protocol must be followed, and paperwork has to be filled out. Supergirl will check it out.” J’onn told them. Star glanced at Lena, who was standing there studying them. She kept looking at Kara as well with the same look. Kara was still standing in shock, but gradually her resolve hardened. She had come to a decision. “Who are you? Where did you learn Kryptonian? Why are you wearing the House of El’s coat of arms? You aren’t of the Great House of El, I would know. Explain yourselves!” Kara suddenly burst out all the questions she was thinking out loud. She was angry that these teenagers would just blatantly disrespect her House like that, but they seemed to have the powers of a Kryptonian. She needed answers. What if there were more of her house that had survived? Could this be too good to be true? They were named after her mother and aunt; she had heard them call each other by name. “We will have plenty of time for your questions later,” Star looked to Alex, “First, I need you to check Lu for anything else that can’t be healed in the next hour or so.” “I’m fine, Star. I don’t want anyone, no matter who it is, poking and prodding at me like an animal! I’m not a baby.” Lu decided she was completely healed. That is not how that works. Star poked her sister in the shoulder and pointedly looked at Alex when Lu let out a short “OW” and then groaned. “It doesn’t matter whether you are a baby or not! The sun lamps can only heal you so much, don’t try to power through it. We saw how well that worked with Jeju last time…” The mood seemed to drop as the two girls looked at each other with a look of deep emotional pain and great loss. Lu glanced briefly at Lena. Lena had felt a sense of comfort with these two girls that she had only felt with one other person… Kara. She didn’t know how to explain it. “Fine, but don’t talk to anyone without me, especially Jo! This won’t take more than an hour. I’ve been through this before.” Lu replied, defeated. Star started to snicker. “Okay, I’ll wait, but only if you admit you have a crush on her…” “Pfft, whaatttt?? Noo, I don’t have a crush on Johanna! You’re crazy to even think that!” “You know she likes you too, right?” Star was so utterly disgusted at their awkward flirting and obliviousness by now. “I mean, she blatantly stares at you when you work out… Like all the time. Plus, the awkward, oblivious flirting doesn’t help my sanity any. Admit it, and I’ll wait.” Lu looked excitedly over at her sister, “Wait, really?! Did she say anything? What do you mean by flirting? We’re just friends!!” “Mmmhmmm, you guys are ‘just friends,’ exactly like how mom and Jeju were ‘just friends’... You realize everyone except you guys can feel the sexual tension, right?” “Okayy!! You guys are done talking about that! How old are you guys, 15? 16? You shouldn’t even be thinking about having… s-e-x right now!” Kara was tomato red as she said that. She ignored how much the oblivious flirting and denial sounded familiar. “Just because you aren’t having sex doesn’t mean we can’t!!” Star regretted the sentence as soon as it came out. Realizing that nobody knew who they were and how they were connected. Alex was failing to hold in a laugh. Lena was blushing a slight shade of pink with a small smirk adorning her lips. J’onn was shaking his head. Kara quickly turned an even brighter shade of red. She wasn’t sure if she was angry or embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. That was wrong of me. It’s none of my business…” She felt terrible and quite embarrassed. Everyone, even Lu, looked at Star in surprise. She wasn’t one to apologize often, and you could tell from her hard exterior. “That was very rude, and I accept your apology,” Kara stated after a few moments of silence. Lena just looked at Supergirl in surprise. Realizing how much Supergirl seemed like someone else she knew, with her sheepish expression and stance. What let her know for sure was the nervous movement to push her glasses up, but she wasn’t wearing any. This wasn’t Supergirl right now. This was Kara Danvers, Lena’s best friend. “K-Kara?” Lena didn’t know how to react or what to feel with this realization. Supergirl, no Kara, looked like a deer caught in headlights. Before she could protest, Lena took a few steps between them and pinned Kara’s hair with her hands. “Say it… Tell me that you didn’t lie to me about our entire friendship!” “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I never wanted you to find out this way. I thought there would be a perfect time to tell you, but it never came,” Kara had started crying while she stared at Lena’s stonewalled face, “Please.. I’m so sorry, Lena”. “It wasn’t her fault for not telling you who she is. She wanted to tell you, but she didn’t want to put you in any more danger than you were already in. Knowing who Supergirl is putting a target on your back,” Lu interjected before anyone else could get a word in. “I know you don’t know me, but trust me when I tell you she doesn’t want to lose you.” Lena looked from Lu to Kara. She didn’t know what to say or even what to think. “How would you know? We just met you.” Lu looked down sheepishly, “Let’s just say I’ve been through this before. I know how it feels to want to protect a friend. Not telling you was her way of keeping you out of danger. You’re already in constant danger as it is. Why would she want to add to that?” Lena seemed to deflate, the anger leaving her body. The only thing left was the sadness from being left in the dark. She opened her mouth to speak, “I don’t know how I can trust you again,” she was looking at Kara, “You know how I feel about being lied to. I need some space. Some time to clear my head would be helpful. I don’t want to leave just yet. I want to hear the answers these girls haven’t told us.” Kara smiled, “That’s okay with me, and I completely understand. Take the space and time you need. Just remember that I love you, Lena. You’re my best friend, and I don’t want to lose you. As for these two,” gesturing to the girls still huddled closely together, “questions will be answered. Alex will look at your sister and make sure she’s okay.” J’onn hadn’t said a word until now, but it was important that these two weren’t a danger. “Alex, escort both to the conference room on the third floor when you are done with your checkup. We will be having a very extensive debrief. Supergirl, Lena, if you wish to be there, you are welcome.” Alex nodded in recognition. Kara looked like she wanted to follow Lena but decided to respect her decision for space. Alex started towards the bed Lu was sitting in, “I don’t appreciate you touching these,” referencing the sun lamps Star had tampered with. Alex saw Star lower her head apologetically and adjusted her tone to a more benevolent one, “What are your names? Is there a name you prefer to go by? I need something to call you while you’re here, right?” “You can call me Lu. That’s Star,” Star looked up at Alex when Lu spoke, but Alex had already moved to the table on the wall gathering supplies. She was different now than she was in the future. She looked all the seasoned warrior they knew her to be, but she didn’t hold the love they felt in her heart yet. She didn’t know them. The twins made eye contact, having a silent conversation. It wasn’t a few seconds later when Alex came walking back over to the bed. She had plenty of supplies in a cart next to her. “Lu, I need to know what I’m checking for here. How did this wound come about? I also need to know what kind of alien you are. I don’t want to assume.” “I am half Kryptonian half human. I was cut from here,” pointing to the top of her abdomen, “to here,” following the laceration line that was no longer visible on her skin all the way to the bottom of her stomach. Alex looked at her incredulously. She didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds. Then finally, “The sun lamps may have healed you on the outside, but it’s not a guarantee that you don’t still have internal bleeding. I’m going to run a few tests.” “Okay,” Lu accepted her fate and sat back in bed. Hopefully, this wouldn’t take too long. Lu hated being in a hospital bed. She didn’t like feeling like a lab rat.<< >> Alex was done with her exam. Her patient was 100% healthy. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was her energy output, which was through the roof. That was to be expected after the scene the two teens caused earlier. While giving Lu her exam, both girls refused to answer questions unrelated to the now non-existent injury. Alex was beyond frustrated but didn’t show a thing. She knew the questions would be answered once they went to the conference room. The three walked through the conference room door and shut it behind them. J’onn was sitting at the head of a long conference table. He hit a button next to him, and the glass became a solid gray color. The world outside the room melted away from the Supers’ senses. “This room was designed to block all super hearing to give complete privacy when needed. This is a private conversation. Everyone, sit down. It’s time to answer some questions.” J’onn motioned to the chairs around the table. Alex joined Kara and Lena on the right side of the table while Lu and Star sat on the left side. J’onn was at the head of the table with a tablet in front of him. Kara looked at both girls, studying them, looking at their crests proudly worn on their chests. Before anyone else could say a thing, she blurted out, “Why are you wearing the House of El crest?” Lu answered, “We are of the House of El. It is our birthright.” Not skipping a beat, Kara asked another question, “Who are you? My cousin and I are the last surviving members of the El family.” Star and Lu made eye contact, having another silent conversation the others weren’t privy to. It was almost rude how loud the conversation was, although there weren’t any words spoken. Star answered this time, “To be completely honest, we can’t tell you too much information without jeopardizing our lives. If we say one wrong thing, we could cease to exist. The most we can tell you is that we are from the future. We returned to prevent a great war, a life-ending one.” “Wait, wouldn’t Mon-el and the Legion have told us about this? They left today with Winn!” Alex bellowed, looking at the others around the table. Nobody seemed to have an answer. Alex turned her head and looked at Lu and Star expectantly. Star said, “We don’t know. We wouldn’t have come here if they did. This is the only solution we could think of. Everyone’s gone. The only ones left to fight were on their last dredges of strength. It was a losing fight. If we didn’t get out when we did, we would be dead.” “Wait a minute. If you’re both from the future, you must be Kal-El’s or Kara’s children. Considering you both yelled each other’s full first names earlier,” Lena looked at Kara, “Alura and Astra must be yours.” Lu and Star’s eyes bulged slightly before both realized it was Lena. She was a genius, after all, and they hadn’t been very careful in the med bay. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Who knows how this would affect the timeline? They both looked at Kara, trying to gauge how she felt about this life-changing information. She was tearing up. Neither of them could tell if they were good tears or bad. Kara looked at both of her daughters, tears gathered in her eyes, “I-I can’t believe it,” she started smiling through the tears and continued, “How is this even possible?” “Well, when two parents love each other very mu—” Lu smacked Star in the arm before she could finish that sentence. Lu’s face was filled with mirth but also a hint of disgust. “Would you quit that? You do too much.” She turned towards Kara, her Jeju, her mother, “You are our Jeju, but we can’t say anything else. You shouldn’t have even found out. It’s too late now, so I guess there isn’t anything we can do.” Star spoke with tension in her throat, “You should know one thing, though, we didn’t come here alone. We brought what was left of our team. A lot of our people died.” Her voice cracked as the last sentence left her mouth. The room fell silent for a couple of seconds. Alex was sitting in quiet contemplation, probably analyzing the situation and trying to find the best question to ask first. Finally, she said, “I’m very sorry. We all understand what it feels like to lose one of our own. We need to know, who else did you bring? I understand we can’t know much about the future, but to preserve our timeline, damage control needs to be done.” Lu and Star looked at each other, once again speaking in their own silent language. Star nodded, “We brought nine people with us. There are 11, including ourselves. There was no guarantee they would survive if we left them and no guarantee they wouldn’t be killed upon arrival here in the past. Bringing our team with us here would not have gone well.” “We’d like to meet this team of yours. Maybe we can work together to prevent this war from ever happening.” J’onn had taken point. Being the director, it wasn’t much of a surprise. “Star and I don’t think it’s a good idea to let anyone else in on this so early. If we bring in our team, we need guarantees that no one will be harmed or detained. We haven’t done anything wrong.” Talking to them like Lu hadn’t known them her entire life was hard. Not spilling the beans about their moms was even harder. Both were sitting at the table with them. “Give us a couple of minutes to talk before any arrangements or guarantees are made,” J’onn motioned for Alex, Kara, and Lena to follow him outside the room. Star and Lu sat silently while they filed into the corridor outside the conference room. The room was still super hearing-proof, so they waited until the door was closed all the way. Both of them, very aware of the paranoia of the DEO, checked the room for any active bugs with their super hearing and x-ray vision. Seeing that the room was clean and they had a few minutes, they turned towards each other. Star started talking first, “What the heck are we going to do? They can’t meet the rest of the team. That could put not only this Earth but Earth 1 in danger as well.” “I don’t know, but it’s not likely that we can get out of this without introducing them. Hopefully, everyone else is doing okay. I don’t want this to go downhill too fast,” Lu said. “I think we can introduce them without too many aberrations to the timeline showing up,” Star wasn’t even sure what she was saying before she continued, “Or we can super speed out when they open the door to come back in?” Lu stared at Star incredulously, “Are you serious? They would see that coming!” She was whisper yelling at this point, “Please pitch a better idea before they come back.” Star said, “If we get caught, it’s not that big of a deal. We can just cooperate and get out later, but we can’t keep giving them information. We came here for a reason, and it might be irrelevant if we mess up the timeline too much. Have you not learned anything from Uncle Barry’s timeline screwups? Nora talked about how she messed up the timeline too. We have to be very very careful.” Lu responded, “I remember what happened. If we make a run for it, we have to be quick. They won’t let us escape a second time.” Before Star could say a word, the door opened. The twins looked at each other and decided they were most definitely making a run for it. They waited until Kara walked in, then Alex, and right as J’onn stepped through and Lena was about to block the doorway, they bolted. The conference room wasn’t too far away from the balcony they arrived on, so it didn’t take too long for them to reach it. Star and Lu were gone before Kara could register what happened with her own super speed. I guess the suits Lena had designed for them were working perfectly.
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CHAPTER 3
<< >> 2018 – Earth 38 The Juniors walked for a few minutes before they found a good, abandoned warehouse to set up as their base of operations. Hopefully, the dusty, mildewed space wasn’t their home base for long. They needed somewhere to hide from the people of this time and somewhere to plan their move against their future enemy. With Lu injured and Star taking her to get help, Laurel was in charge. Laurel was like the den mother for the Juniors, even though she wasn’t the oldest. It wasn’t her job, but she took it upon herself to be responsible for the group of heathens that had traveled to a different time. Laurel gathered everyone in a huddle, “Okay, guys, we need to do a building sweep and patrol before we set anything up. We need to have everything done before Lu and Star come back.” Johanna interrupted, “Do you think Lu will be okay? She looked bad when we got here. I’m worried.” Laurel gave her a comforting look and hugged her, “Everything will be okay. They’re getting the best help possible right now. My mama won’t let anything happen to her, and we all know Star is protective over Lu. They’ve got this, I promise.” Johanna left the hug and returned to standing in the huddle. She felt little comfort and wouldn’t be reassured until she saw Lu with her own two eyes. She appreciated the sentiment from Laurel, though, “Thank you.” “You’re very welcome. Now on to business. I need everyone to do something. We can’t waste any time. Tommy and Connor are on perimeter check. Jeremy, Jamie, and Ella sweep the inside of the building and check for anything suspicious. Miran and Marty check for any surveillance devices monitoring this building. Johanna, you’re going to be with me doing a supply check. Everyone remember to use the comms if something is found or anyone is in trouble.” Laurel didn’t want to give any impression to the others, but she could tell how upset Jo was. There was a chorus of “Yes, ma’ams” and “On it, boss,” and everyone went their separate ways. Laurel and Johanna began checking everything they brought with them. Before anything could be done, they each grabbed three small spheres. They threw them into the air at different points around their area. The sphere didn’t come back down. Instead, they lit up and floated about 10 feet in the air. They proceeded to lay everything out and were both pleased they had everything they packed when quickly preparing for the trip. The only thing they needed to procure was food and drink. Tommy came over the comms they wore, “All clear on the South and West end of the perimeter.” Connor followed up with, “All clear on the North and East end of the perimeter.” “Okay, come inside and join Jo and me,” Laurel said. Miran and Marty came back to where Laurel and Jo were standing. “There’s no bugs or video surveillance. All clear on our end,” Marty’s back was straight, and his voice was serious. Laurel could tell he was also worried about Lu. Hopefully, they would be back soon and calm everyone’s nerves. “Awesome, we’re just waiting on Jeremy, Jamie, and Ella to join us before we decide how the layout will look,” as soon as Laurel said that, the comms crackled to life again. First, Jeremy, “All clear on my end.” Then Ella said, “Same here, all clear.” Jamie’s response took a couple of agonizing seconds to come through, “Yep, all clear here too.” Once they all met back where the supplies were laid out, they devised a layout they liked. The sleeping space and individual sleeping spots were chosen first. They all grabbed the small container they had brought, set it down, and pressed a small button on the top. The container unfurled into military-like cots. They were small, but they were enough. They each grabbed their tightly folded blankets and placed them like a pillow at the head of the cot. “Okay, that looks good! One space down, on to the next,” Marty said as he was already grabbing the biggest box from the array of things they had laid out. It could fit in the palm of his hand. He took it over to the middle of the area they had claimed and set it down on a table there. He pressed his finger to the top and scanned his fingerprint. The box started humming and came to life. Holographic monitors appeared above it. “I love doing that,” Marty was smiling and started tapping away at the monitors with Miran next to him doing the same thing. Jeremy had grabbed a couple of small boxes and a backpack. He turned to Laurel, “I have what little medical supplies I could grab before we left. Everything will go in this backpack. There’s nothing extensive. It’s a first-aid kit at best,” his tone let Laurel know her brother was beating himself up for not being able to save their cousin. “Jeremy, there’s nothing you could have done to save her here. She’s going to be okay, trust Mom,” Laurel knew he wasn’t big on physical touch when in emotional distress, “Can I give you a hug?” “Thank you, I think I’ll be okay for now, though. I just need to focus on something else. I’ll talk to Jamie and see how she’s doing.” “Okay, love you, brother.” Laurel turned and walked over to her cot. She sat down and buried her face in her hands. She knew this would be hard, but this was a lot to deal with. The anticipation of her cousin’s survival wasn’t any help. She didn’t pray, but she was seriously considering asking Rao for a miracle.<< >> Kara watched them leave, but she was too slow to stop them. She almost didn’t want to go after them. Going after them meant more questions than answers. She couldn’t believe her daughters from the future were here. If they were here, didn’t that mean something happened to her? She would never abandon her family. J’onn was ready to act and track their flight patterns, but Alex stopped him. She could see how distressed Kara had become. “Maybe we should wait. I understand the urgency, sir, but I think we all need time to process what just happened. This was a lot of information given all at once.” “I agree, and I’m confident we can find them. It shouldn’t be much trouble with them being half-Kryptonian. I saw Alex collect some of Alura’s blood from the table she was lying on, so maybe she can start fact-checking their story,” Lena said. She was calm but also rattled. Time travel existed, and she might have just met two-time travelers, “In the meantime, I’m going to take that space I talked about. Good luck, and if there are any updates, I would like to know,” she made her way to the parking garage with her own sample of blood from Alura. Alex said, “I think that’s a good idea. Kara, I need to talk to you,” she led Kara to her lab, “Kara, I… I need to know if this is what you want. Those might be your kids. I don’t want to do anything without your saying so. I understand J’onn is my boss, but you are my sister, which is a lot to deal with.” Kara hadn’t said much of anything since watching the two girls fly away. Slowly she looked to Alex, “I want to know. I need to know those may or may not be my children, but if they are, I need to be there for them. I don’t want to leave them to fend for themselves in a new place. Please, run the blood through whatever tests you have. I need to know.” “Are you sure? This is big,” Alex said. “Yes, thank you for asking. Just do it. I don’t want to wait anymore.” Kara confirmed again with a nod and left Alex in her lab. Kara wished Winn was here. J’onn didn’t think it was a good idea to leave the girls be, especially since they could be a danger. Even if they were who they said they were, they are children. He was in his office sitting at his desk when Kara knocked on the door and made her way inside. She sat down on his couch and didn’t say a word. J’onn finally broke the silence, “How are you doing with all of this? I understand that was quite a lot of information dropped on you.” Kara opened her mouth to talk, but nothing came out. She tried again, but nothing. She finally said, “If they are my children, what do I do? I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to think. I thought it was impossible for a human and Kryptonian to have a child. They had to leave their world and come to a new one. I can relate to that, but I have no idea what they’ve been through. If they tell me, it could ruin the timeline. I just don’t know what to do.” Her babble ended, and she sat there fiddling with her fingers. “Kara, this is a big situation we’ve found ourselves in. I can’t tell you what to do. I can tell you that if they are from the future, there may be ways invented to make having a half-human, half-Kryptonian child possible. Let that give you hope. As for them and the timeline they’ve already disrupted, wasn’t that the point? They did say there was a big war. Maybe their coming back is a turning point. We will find them and get some more answers. Alex should be back with some results soon.” J’onn hoped he helped, but he couldn’t really tell. Kara thanked him and left the office before he could say another word.<< >>Lena was riding the elevator up to her penthouse, thinking about the vile in her pocket. She didn’t know for sure, but they sure seemed like Kara’s kids. If they really were from the future, that would open so many possibilities. First, she had to confirm her suspicions. She wasn’t completely positive Alex and Superg—Kara would call her back with any updates. Lena walked into her apartment and opened her at-home lab. It was behind the false wall she had installed before she moved in. Some things weren’t meant to be done at work, and this was one of them. She switched her jacket for her lab coat and put the vile on the table. She got to work on running an analysis on the blood, running it for any abnormalities. It took a long time, but the test came back. They were half-Kryptonian and half-human. They were telling the truth to Alex. There were other questions to consider as well. Were they cloned and mutated by her mother or brother to get information? There was no way to tell if they were from the future without real proof from the girls themselves. Maybe their team members would be able to help as well. While looking at the results on the screen, she noticed something odd. She decided to run the test results again. Maybe something went wrong, or the sample was contaminated. No, the results were the same. Those were her children too. How could that be possible? There wasn’t a way to make a child between a Kryptonian and a human, according to her brother’s research. This was raising a lot more questions. She knew she had a crush on Kara, but Kara was straight. Maybe she wasn’t. She never asked. She just saw her with James and then Mon-El. It hurt Lena to even think about it, and she just made the connection that Kara was Supergirl. She didn’t trust Kara. Why would she ever be with her after a betrayal like that? The teens didn’t disappear after she found out, so maybe she can find it in her heart to forgive her. No, she needed time. She can’t just make a decision like that. She was also running out of time. If the DEO found the kids before she did, she may not be able to get the answers she was looking for. She knows Kara and Alex would never hurt the kids, but she didn’t know how the DEO would react to finding out they were from the future. They could be stuck there in a cell if found out. She had to do something. She had to find her children.<< >> Lu and Star took off from the balcony. Star could tell Lu was struggling and grabbed her before she dropped from the sky. She flew towards the warehouse district, where she knew her team was. Lu pointed towards a dark building that looked completely abandoned. There was too much lead to see properly, so she used her super hearing to confirm. Their team was there, so she dove as fast as possible without hurting Lu and landed in the alley next to the building. Star supported Lu, who looked worse for wear without the sun lamps on her. They walked to the door and knocked. The door opened, and Jo was on the other side. She immediately pulled them inside and wrapped Lu in her arms. “What in Rao’s name would you scare me like that for? You’re terrible,” she muttered into Lu’s neck. “Don’t ever do that to me again.” Lu just gripped her tighter and relaxed into Jo’s arms, “I’m sorry for worrying you. I’ll do my best not to die from now on.” She knew Jo wasn’t mad, but wanted to reassure her anyways. The way she was holding her made it hard not to stay there forever. Star cleared her throat, and they pulled away from each other. The whole team was standing there with Jeremy and Laurel in front, waiting for their turn to pull Lu and Star into a hug. Once everyone got their fill, they all went to the sleeping area. “I know what just happened was traumatic for all of us, but we need a debrief. What happened?” Laurel was the first to speak up once they were all sitting. “Since I was incapacitated for most of the beginning, you start Star,” Lu looked pointedly at her sister. Star began to tell the story. Skipping out on the parts where she wanted to hug her moms and kill her sister for almost dying. “So, we took the first chance and broke for it. We couldn’t chance being stuck in a cell or risk any more information about our time.” “They want to meet everyone. We told them it wasn’t a good idea, but it wasn't up to us. I think we should take a vote,” Lu looked around the group. “Before anyone votes, we need to discuss the dangers of revealing ourselves. Aunt Lena figured out who you were so quickly. What’s to keep her from doing the same to us,” It was Connor who spoke. He was the most critical of every situation. His parents drilled it into him. He made a good point, “Also, how are we supposed to introduce ourselves without chancing being put in a cell? I don’t think we should go at all. We can do this ourselves.” “I think we should keep who we are to ourselves. We just have to be careful about what we say. We’ve all been trained to withstand torture and interrogation. We got this,” Tommy said, “Lu, Star, from what you saw and experienced, do you think they would be open to a meeting?” “I think our Jeju would, and Mom too. Honestly, if we went to anyone, I would say Mom. She was the most calm and rational. Plus, she doesn’t know she’s our mom.” “Tommy’s right, it’s too late to keep Lu and Star a secret, but they haven’t met or talked to any of us. If everyone can keep a lid on who they are, we’ll be fine. It’s not a bad idea to go to Aunt Lena. She might even be willing to help us,” Jamie said. Ella was quiet most of the conversation but decided it was time to say something, “Jamie, how are we supposed to approach her without scaring her or getting caught by the DEO? What if she gives us up?” “She won’t! She may not be the same Mom in the future, but she still has more morals and compassion than most people. I think we should go to her,” Lu’s voice was strong with conviction. She trusted her mom and wasn’t going to doubt her now. “Nobody was trying to insult Aunt Lena. We all just want to be careful. I agree with Connor on handling this ourselves,” Marty interjected before things could get heated. “Okay, all in favor of approaching Aunt Lena; raise your hand,” Laurel said. Lu and Star’s hands went up immediately. Laurel raised her own hand and watched as Marty’s stayed down. Jo and Tommy’s hands raised while Connor kept his hand down. Jeremy and Jamie both raised their hands at the same time. Marty and Connor kept their hands down. Ella was the last one to raise her hand. “Okay, we do this together or not at all. Marty, Miran, Connor, you kept your hands down. Are you going to come with us to talk to Aunt Lena?” Laurel’s voice never wavered. They all knew it was going to have to be a team effort. After some contemplation, they all agreed they would join. They might disagree with this being a smart idea, but they weren’t going to let their team go without them. “Okay, get some sleep. Jeremy, can you get the portable sun lamps and get Lu some extra sunlight?” Star said before helping Lu to her cot. Lu was mostly healed, but Star could tell there was still some discomfort in her stiff movements. Jeremy set up the portable sun lamps and went to his own bed to rest up for the next day. << >>
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CHAPTER 4
<< >> 2018 – Earth 38 Kara woke up on her couch, never reaching her bed. There were empty tubs of ice cream and pizza on the table. She usually ate her feelings, and last night was no exception. When Alex called her back into the lab to confirm that Alura and Astra were her children, she didn’t know what to do. She went home and decided to deal with it in the morning. The buzzing noise that woke her up was Alex calling. Probably called to check on her, but she didn’t want to talk to Alex right now. She wanted to find answers to the questions she hadn’t even asked. She knew it was dangerous for future information, but she didn’t care at that moment. She super sped her way through her morning routine. There was no need to call out of work since it was a Saturday. Changing into her super suit, she jumped from her balcony and headed for breakfast. She grabbed four boxes of sticky buns and drank her first coffee on her way to the DEO. Hopefully, they made some progress on locating the kids. Kara landed on the balcony with her remaining breakfast and headed toward Alex’s lab. She could hear her working and felt bad for ignoring her call earlier that morning. She walked through the door and plopped down on the seat next to her sister. “You look hungry. You should eat something,” Kara said. “I see you have some sticky buns,” when Alex went to grab one for herself, she was met with a soft slap to her hand. “I said you should eat something, not eat MY something,” Kara stuck her tongue out and continued, “Have you found anything else that could help find them?” “Well, there isn’t a lot to go on, and I’m not sure how to track them. Alura might have some residual energy from the sun lamp’s burst of energy, but I doubt it. She consumed most of it to heal her injury. By now, she’s probably completely healed.” Alex turned away from the microscope before her, “How are you feeling? What’s going through that brain of yours?” “I’m not okay, but I’m also not not okay? I’m going stir-crazy after having all that information thrown at me, and I can’t get answers from people who aren’t here. Do you think they’ll come back if we can’t find them? I hope we didn’t scare them off. They came to us for help. They knew we would help,” Kara’s forehead crinkle became prominent as she spoke. “Hey, I wouldn’t worry too much. They seemed competent and were willing to give us a little bit of information. If they want to stop this future war, I think they’ll come back. Plus, I think they’ll want to see their Aunt Alex again, she’s cool,” Alex was trying to break the tension. It worked because Kara laughed, and the crinkle went away. “Thank you, I needed that. I’ll let you get back to work. Would you like something to eat? If I’m right, you stayed here all night trying to find answers,” Kara said. “Yes, that would be wonderful. There’s coffee and blueberry muffins in the break room if you could grab me one of each. Thank you!” Alex yelled the sentiment as Kara was walking out of the room towards the said break room.<< >> Lena was walking to her kitchen to make herself a pot of coffee. All the while thinking about the events of the night before. She had kids. Whoa. She had kids with Kara. Whoa. She was up late working on a way to locate the kids. There wasn’t much she could do about it. There might be a way to locate them based on their alien biology, but they’re half-human, so that makes things harder. As Lena was pouring her finished cup of coffee, she heard a thump on her balcony. The only person who ever showed up on her balcony was Supergirl. She took a sip of her coffee while waiting for her to knock. She still needed space; the betrayal was so fresh. She heard a knock and turned around. It wasn’t Superg—Kara, it was Alura and Astra. “Coming,” Lena stated as she rounded her kitchen to open the balcony doors, “Come in. Would you like something to eat or drink?” She had the rigid posture of a Luthor that she’d been raised to have. Her voice was cool and detached, but inside, she was jumping for joy at the chance to speak and see them again. She was trying to control her racing thoughts and make sense of why they would come to talk to her and not the DEO. “We’re okay, thank you, though,” Lu answered. She smelled the coffee and took a glance at the pot. It did not go unnoticed. Lena walked over to the pot and grabbed two more cups. She poured their coffee and motioned towards the fridge, “There is cream in the fridge and sugar next to the pot. Help yourself.” Star walked over to the coffee mug and started making hers while Lu was a bit more hesitant, “Thank you,” said Star. “So, what brings you here? I would’ve thought you’d go to Kara first, seeing as she is your mother.” Lena wasn’t going to reveal she knew she was also their mother right away. They obviously trusted her for that very reason. “We talked with our team and took a vote. We decided if someone would help us, it should be you. You figured out who we are. That has to count for something,” Lu said. “Well, it wasn’t very hard with you two calling each other by name. The way you looked at Kara was also a dead giveaway. You love her. Thank you for trusting me, but I’m not sure how I can help you. I don’t even know what your problem is,” Lena was flattered even though she knew who she was to them, “the only information you gave me was about the war in the future. Nothing about the enemy was shared, and I don’t have superpowers to help you if I did.” “You are one of the smartest people we know, and Lu and I know a lot of smart people. You can help us,” Star responded in a confident tone. “That reminds me, what would you like to be called? I’ve noticed you shorten your names,” Lena was getting to know her children. She wanted to know everything. She never saw herself as a mom, but she could get used to the idea of creating such amazing people. Lu and Star looked at each other. Lena noticed they did this quite a bit. It was fascinating how they could have a conversation without any words, “I go by Lu, and you know my full name is Alura. I’m named after Jeju’s mom.” Star immediately followed, “I go by Star. Thank you for asking. I don’t usually like to go by my full name. Only Jeju does that,” she looked at Lu while she continued with, “Mom only does it when we’re in trouble.” Lena’s heart became warm at hearing the word mom coming from Star’s mouth, “Who’s Mom, Star?” “Uhm, I don’t think it would be a good idea to say,” she looked over to Lu with wide eyes after stuttering through the sentence. “Well, I hate to lie to you, but I already know who Mom is. I ran Lu’s blood through an analysis. I wanted to confirm my suspicion and ensure you were telling the truth about your origins. I apologize, but I didn’t want to scare you away. I hope this doesn’t complicate things too much. I can still try my best to help you out in whatever ways you need,” Lena said. “What—well, I guess we should’ve expected that. You figured out who we were like immediately and who Jeju was to us. I don’t know why we thought you couldn’t figure it out. I guess we were hoping for the best. I feel a little violated, but there’s nothing we can do now,” Lu said. Star looked back and forth between her mom and Lu, “Well, you and Jeju aren’t together yet, and I don’t know how this will affect us. You and Jeju are kind of oblivious. Lu, we have to do something.” “We can’t do anything; at this point, we have to let this play out. Hopefully, now that they know they have kids, they’ll buck up and do something about it,” Lu said. Both girls stopped paying attention to Lena while they talked. Probably for the best, she was hiding her blush behind her coffee mug. Kara didn’t like her, did she? They were best friends, or they were before the betrayal. Kara and Supergirl had done nothing but support and protect her, though. Lena knew deep down this betrayal was another form of protection. Lena was interrupted from her thoughts by Lu and Star’s conversation, “Listen, we’re still here, so they still get together. Let’s not worry until something happens. Mom—Lena, we need you to meet the rest of our team. Maybe then we can bring Jeju and Aunt Alex in. Grandpa J’onn would be helpful, but he’s still grumpy. He might be okay once Aunt Alex and Jeju talk him down. They need to be brought in before that, though. What do you think about us taking you to meet our team?” Lena noticed that Star got the babbling from Kara. “Yes, I would be willing to meet your team. I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t want to go without some confirmation of my safety. Maybe you should bring them here. I would be okay with that if you were,” Lena may be their mother, but she wasn’t going to disregard her own safety. “We’d be okay with that. Give us just a second,” Lu said as she and Star walked to the balcony. They both started talking. Star touched the bracelet on her wrist, and a hologram appeared above it. She couldn’t see what was on the hologram, but she was interacting with it like it was a touch screen. They had to be from the future, and there wasn’t any tech even close to that sophistication yet. They stayed out there for a few minutes like this. Lena had finished her coffee and decided to get a refill. If this was going to be her day, she needed more fuel. As she was pouring her coffee, the girls came back in. Lu said, “They’re on the way. While we wait, how would you suggest we bring in Jeju and Aunt Alex?” “I think once I meet your team, it would be smart to bring them in later today. It’s Saturday, Kara doesn’t have work, and Alex is always at work. I know you seem very hesitant about involving the DEO, so I could invite them here when you’re ready. That wouldn’t be too much all at once, would it?” Lena didn’t know how they would react, but she could protect the kids here. There weren’t DEO agents willing to shoot children crawling through her apartment. “No, I think we would be okay with that,” Star responded. “While we have some time, tell me about the bracelets on your wrists. I noticed you both have one, and Star’s has a hologram feature. Is it some kind of computer?” Lena decided she would ask. “Oh, well, these are the casing for our suits. I helped design them,” Star blushed a bit, but with a smile, continued explaining, “They were made to interact without biometrics and can be programmed to look however we want. Each of our team has one with our suit stored inside. The hologram is a comms feature. Each is connected to the closed circuit system we have; that way, they can’t be hacked into. Would you like to see the suit expansion in action? It’s actually really cool.” Lena was intrigued from the beginning of the explanation, “Yes, that would be amazing,” she motioned to the center of the room. Star walked over to the spot and shared an excited look with Lu. “Here we go…” Star tapped the barely visible House of El emblem on the bracelet. Her suit expanded from the bracelet like a liquid and her t-shirt and jeans seemed to disappear. The whole suit formed in only a few seconds and went from an almost liquid state to a solid state in even less time. The suit was no longer stained in blood from the night before. Star stood taller and held her head higher. She was Supergirl’s daughter. Kara’s daughter. Her entire demeanor was heroic. There were no other words. Star tapped the bracelet again, and the suit melted back into her bracelet, once again revealing her clothes without so much as one wrinkle. Lena had so many questions and was almost bursting at the seams. Star was just as excited to show off and discuss what she had helped build. Before either could get a word out, Lena’s phone rang. She answered, “Hello?” There were a few words said on the other end, “Send them up, thank you,” she hung up and turned her head towards both girls, “Your team is here. They should be upstairs in just a minute.”<< >> Kara had been antsy all morning. When she left the DEO to go on patrol, it took everything in her not to check on Lena. She was mad, upset, and hurt. She had to give her the space she asked for. Kara distracted herself with the citizens of National City that needed help. She had to get her mind off of Astra and Alura, too. If she kept herself busy, she wouldn’t bother Alex and J’onn while they looked for ways to find them. She wasn’t much help hovering and asking if they had found anything yet. After a couple of hours of hero work, the city was relatively quiet. The police and firefighters could handle the rest on their own. Supergirl wasn’t needed for every single emergency. Kara headed for the DEO with a couple of boxes of Chinese food a family-owned restaurant gave her for putting out a fire. She would never take money, but who was she to turn down food? As she walked into Alex’s lab, she noticed Alex quickly switch tabs on her screen. “That wasn’t suspicious at all. What are you doing over there?” Kara inquired. “N-nothing, nope, I’m just working on some lab samples. What’s in the bag?” Alex tried to switch topics, but Kara wasn’t letting it go. “Alex, come on,” Kara went to grab the mouse and look for herself, “You’re Facebook stalking Maggie? I thought that was beneath you. You told me you didn’t care what she was up to. You broke up, remember?” “I know, I know. I just had a weak moment. I don’t want to talk about it. Anyway, I looked through Alura’s blood samples again, and she seems to have all the genetic markers of a Kryptonian. That means she should have all the powers you have. I’m not sure how the half-human part of her affects her powers. I want to run some more tests and maybe see how Astra’s blood looks as well. She obviously has flight. She flew Alura here,” Alex’s curiosity was soaring. “I understand you want to know more, but a big reason they didn’t want to be here is because they didn’t want to be lab rats. Did you find anything else in Alura’s sample?” “Yes, I was looking through, and obviously, it was familiar. I’ve seen your DNA enough times to recognize it, but there was something else familiar about it. I ran the sample against the rest of our database, and you’ll never guess who’s a 50% match for her DNA.” Alex stared at Kara, almost expecting her to guess who it was. “I am not guessing. Just tell me,” Kara blushed at thinking who the other parent could be and why they would be in the DEO database. “Lena Luthor,” there was a pause after Alex said that. “Lena? As in my Lena? My best friend? My best friend, who’s mad at me right now for not telling her I’m Supergirl?” Kara was flabbergasted, completely taken for a loop. She had no clue what to say. Lena and her were just friends. There’s no way that Lena liked her, let alone wanted to be with her. Not that Kara couldn’t see it. No, wait, they were just friends…, right? “Yes, Lena. Hey, are you okay? You’re blushing,” Alex looked at Kara’s face, slowly getting even more red. “I-I’m fine. How would that even be possible?” Kara knew how humans became pregnant, but she wasn’t a human male. “Well, as your daughter said, ‘When two parents love each other very much,’” Alex started snickering when Kara looked at her with a full-blown blush and covered Alex’s mouth with her hand. “Stop, stop, I know how, I just… whatever,” Kara said, “Let me think about this some more before you tell anyone else, okay? I don’t want this to get to her and freak her out. I want to tell her. I just need to figure out how,” She looked at Alex with the Danvers' patented pouty face. “Okay, alright, I’ll let you tell her. You can’t expect me to keep this to myself forever, though. I do have to tell J’onn eventually. Just let me know how that conversation goes, okay?” Alex knew this was going to be hard for Kara to do. She also knew if she did it for her, it would not turn out well, so she agreed to keep the secret for now. Kara left the lab with her head spinning from the information she was just given. What was she going to tell Lena? There were so many things she had to figure out before she went to Lena. The kids weren’t very forthcoming with information either. She needed to talk to them. Kara lifted off the balcony and flew back to her apartment. She forgot about the Chinese food in her hand and put it on the kitchen counter. She changed clothes and decided now was as good a time as any to eat her way through this problem. Maybe at the bottom of these potstickers, there was an answer to how she was going to tell Lena they were going to have kids together sometime in the future… << >>
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CHAPTER 5
<< >> 2018 – Earth 38 The Juniors were all cramped into the private elevator leading up to Lena’s apartment. The ride was short, but it felt like forever. The elevator dinged at the top. All nine of them filed out and up to the apartment door. Lu and Star hadn’t indicated danger, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be prepared for a fight. They were all tense when Laurel walked up to the door and knocked. There was a moment of pause before the door opened. Lena looked at the group of teenagers standing outside her door. She knew the girls told her there were nine other members on their team, but this was a lot. Lena gestured for them to come in, “Welcome, take a seat or stand, your choice.” Each of the kids filed in and went straight to Lu and Star. Lena could tell they were close, checking on each other to ensure everyone was okay. They each found a spot and sat either on the floor or the sectional in the living room where Lena had talked with Lu and Star before they got there. Lena observed each of them as she shut the door and walked over to her own seat. Raised to be a good host for guests who came through her door, she said, “Okay, would anyone like a drink? I have some water and fruit smoothies in the fridge. You can help yourself.” They all got up to grab one or the other and sat back down. They must have been thirsty. She didn’t even think about them being able to find food and water. They just came from the future, and she didn’t know if they had money. She had plenty of money, “Would you guys like to order some food? It’s on me. I don’t usually keep my fridge stocked with anything fresh. I work a lot, so there’s no need.” Laurel spoke up, “Yes, that would be amazing. Thank you. I know what everyone likes if you want to start introductions while I call something in. Would you like something as well? It’s almost lunchtime. Have you eaten?” Laurel was very aware of her mother’s eating habits, and Lena, being her aunt, came to the same assumption, especially after that comment about not having anything fresh stocked in her fridge. “uhm,” Lena looked at her watch, and sure enough, it was 11:30 in the morning, “Yes, I’ll eat anything vegan. Thank you…?” Lena was asking her name. “Laurel, my name is Laurel,” she said. “Thank you, Laurel,” Lena gave her one last look before handing her a phone docked on the side table beside her chair. Laurel was tall but didn’t seem to tower over any of her team. She wore a red shirt that matched her long hair, black jeans, doc marten boots, and a black leather jacket. Her warm demeanor did not match the vibes her presence was giving off. Laurel walked to the balcony while dialing. “I’ll start. My name is Lena. I’m sure you know that being from the future and all,” Lena looked at the person sitting on one end of the sectional. Her hair was braided and laid over her shoulder. She wore a plain white T-shirt and dark blue cargo pants with Vans. She occasionally glanced at Lu, which made Lena think this was the Johanna the girls had discussed the day before. “What is your name?” “My name is Johanna, but you can call me Jo. Nice to meet you… again,” Jo had a smirk as she said that last part. She was snarky. Good to know. “Funny,” Lena moved on to the person sitting next to Jo, “and what’s your name?” “My name is Marty, shortened from Martin,” He was wearing a black button-up shirt tucked into black slacks. His shoes were nice, but they didn’t have the shine they should’ve. Lena guessed that was because of the way they had to rush from where… or when they were from. He had a gentleness to him, “It’s good to see you, Lena.” Lena felt how familiar the sentence was for him to say, “This is my first time seeing you, but it’s good for me as well.” The person next to Marty raised their hand, “Hi, I’m Miran. It’s really good to see you.” “Hello Miran, it’s very nice to meet you,” She had been looking at him. She could tell he was an alien but didn’t know why she felt like she knew him. She had never seen him before; she would’ve recognized the ridges on his forehead leading towards his nose and continuing on his cheekbones. The way he talked was so familiar, and she couldn’t place the feeling. The girl sitting with her legs to her chest next to Miran spoke in a quieter tone, “Hello, my name is Ella. Not short for anything. Thank you for buying us food and welcoming us into your home.” Lena felt her heart warm hearing those words, “You are very welcome; it’s no trouble at all. I have plenty of money to spare. It’s very nice to meet you, Ella,” she seemed to brighten hearing those words. Ella’s hair was in a bob, and she wore a long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans. Lena started to wonder if she should’ve offered anything else, like a place for them to stay. Where were they sleeping? Were they safe? Before Lena could ask any of her forming questions, the girl sitting next to Ella with her arms crossed across her chest introduced herself, “The name’s Jamie, I’m not telling you my full name. Not because I don’t like you, but because I don’t let anyone but my Mami call me that,” Lena wasn’t offended. She could tell that it was still a sensitive subject to the girl. “All right, Jamie, I appreciate you letting me know. It’s nice to meet you,” Lena looked at her a moment more. She was almost regal in the way she held herself and the way she looked. She wore a black sleeveless shirt and two leather bands around both biceps. Her hair was flowing down in waves around her shoulders. There were a lot of them, they all had so much to talk about still, but this was necessary. If Lena was going to understand how to help them, she had to know who she was helping. A boy was wearing a grey T-shirt and black jeans, sitting beside Jamie. His hair was a dirty blond that looked messy on purpose. He seemed to lean into her, which was interesting. He said, “My name is Jeremy. I’m Laurel’s brother. It’s nice to see a friendly face Aun—Lena,” Lena caught the slip-up but decided not to say anything about it. “Hello Jeremy, you seem like a nice kid,” Lena had suspicions about Jeremy and Laurel. Laurel looked a lot like someone she knew, and Jeremy’s slip of almost calling her “Aunt Lena” pretty much solidified those suspicions. She would have to investigate that as well. “Speaking of Laurel, is she done ordering the food? I’m starving!” Lu interrupted the lineup of introductions happening. Star agreed, “I think I could eat a whole restaurant’s worth of potstickers right now.” As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Laurel walked back into the room. “Oh, I know, but that’s nothing new. You and Lu could always eat that much. That’s why it took me so long to order. You both have never-ending pits for stomachs,” Laurel rolled her eyes as she said that. Lena snickered. That sounded exactly like Kara. Hearing them interact like this was endearing: “I gave them the address and told them we would pay upon arrival.” “Sounds amazing, thank you. If you would like to find a seat, we are almost through the introductions,” Lena said as Laurel found a seat next to Lu and Star on the couch opposite the sectional. “Hi, my name is Tommy. Thank you for the food. We all appreciate it,” Tommy gave a little wave as he introduced himself. He had long, blonde hair tied up in a bun. He was in black jeans and a white T-shirt. His shoes were the pop of color for his outfit. They were a nice jade color that matched his eyes. Lena gave him a little wave in return with a small smile. “And who is the young man sitting on the end over here?” Lena asked. His stoic look made it seem like he’d grown up too fast. “Hello, my name is Connor. Very nice to see you,” Connor’s voice had a deep rasp to it. He wore a black T-shirt and jacket paired with some black cargo pants. He looked older than the other teenagers sitting before Lena but still fit into the group dynamic. “Connor, nice to meet you,” Lena looked at the teenagers sitting in her living room. She knew their names, and apparently, they had all met her before. She must be a part of their lives. They were all friends and teammates with her daughters. That’s still weird for Lena to think about. She has daughters, or she will have daughters. “I know you all came here under duress. Lu and Star came to the DEO seeking help for the first time. I understand why you didn’t want their help. How do you think I can be of assistance?” Lena asked. Star and Lu had another one of their silent conversations, then Lu nodded, “No, we don’t trust the DEO. We knew they would turn us into lab rats if we stayed there. Aunt Alex would never hurt us, but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t be blinded by science. I believe you can help us find the person responsible for creating the monsters like the one who hurt me,” Lu had become grim at the last sentence, almost reluctant to continue. “Sounds reasonable. I don’t much trust the DEO myself. The only reason I help is because of Kara,” Lena had almost called her Supergirl but realized there wasn’t a difference between the two anymore, “Who is the person responsible, and why do you think I could find them better than Kara?” “I don’t think you’re going to like the answer, and it’s not something we like to think about much,” Star said. Lena noticed how the whole room seemed to look at something other than her or the girls. That wasn’t a good sign. They were very engaged in the conversation before this point.<< >>Alex had been trying to work on locating the girls all night and most of the morning with no results. She was frustrated. What could she do? There wasn’t much of a solution without prominent energy sources in odd places or a device they could track. Maybe she could get in touch with some of Kara’s friends from Earth-1. Sara might be able to help. She traveled time as a full-time job and lived on a time ship. Sara, Rao, that would be an awkward conversation when the time came. They hooked up at Barry and Iris’ wedding, and some advice was given, but they hadn’t spoken since. She admired Sara in a way she hadn’t with Maggie, and there hadn’t been anyone else since then. Alex had to talk to Kara. She had the device to go to Earth-1. Barry would know how to contact Sara, and he might even have a way to help. She’d heard about his exploits with the timeline. Alex picked up the phone and called Kara. The phone rang briefly before Kara answered, “Hey, I think I have an idea. Can you bring the Earth-1 interdimensional device to my office in an hour? I’m thinking our friends there might be more of a help than anyone here. They’ve had timeline dalliances before,” Alex was hoping Kara would agree quickly so they could do this. “Uhm, yeah, I can bring it there. I’m not sure we should leave without J’onn and Lena, though. They’ve been here since Alura and Astra first arrived. Lena was also the first to figure out they were my kids,” Kara felt as if she couldn’t leave without her. Lena asked for time, but she also asked for updates. This was a journey for all of them now. Alex was hesitant, but she wasn’t sure Kara would agree to go without Lena, “Okay, I need about 20 minutes to prep for a trip there. Does that give you enough time to get to Lena and explain the situation?” “Yes, that should be okay. Hopefully, she’ll speak with me. I messed up, but I was just trying to protect her. I’ll figure it out. I’ll see you in 20,” Kara felt nervous about talking to Lena, but she can help both the girls and Kara. Kara couldn’t tell, but Alex sure could. Lena and Kara were in love with each other. ‘Best Friends’ her ass. You didn’t take your best friend to the nicest restaurant in town for dinner and pay or ask them to be your plus one to a fundraiser without some strong feelings. The amount of time they spent together wasn’t suspicious at all. It’s not like they cuddled on each other’s couches or gazed dreamily into each other’s eyes, either...<< >> After Kara got off the phone with Alex, she started to panic a bit. She had already gone on patrol and sat in her apartment, eating a big bowl of hibachi and watching Netflix. She had to get dressed, no wait, Lena knew she was Supergirl. Maybe she shouldn’t show up as Supergirl with all this being so fresh, or was that the best option? Kara decided going as Supergirl might make this a bit less awkward. The suit gave Kara more confidence, and she was about to go on a mission. She changed out of her pajamas and into her suit once again. She’d already wasted 5 minutes thinking about what to wear. She couldn’t waste any more. Kara listened to Lena’s heartbeat. It was almost background noise in her mind at all times, a comforting sound she could look to any time of day. The only heartbeats other than Lena's were Alex’s and Eliza’s, her adoptive mother's, but she lived and grew up with them. Kara flew towards where she knew Lena was, her apartment. She started to tune into Lena’s apartment when she got closer. She could hear her talking. She loved listening to her speak. Her voice had such a lovely tone. Suddenly she registered what she had said. “I know you all came here under duress. Lu and Star came to the DEO seeking help for the first time. I understand why you didn’t want their help. How do you think I can be of assistance?” Lena asked. Was she talking about the girls? What was happening? “No, we don’t trust the DEO. We knew they would turn us into lab rats if we stayed there. Aunt Alex would never hurt us, but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t be blinded by science. I believe you can help us find the person responsible for creating the monsters like the one who hurt me,” Kara heard Alura’s voice. Wait, that couldn’t be right, could it? “Sounds reasonable. I don’t much trust the DEO myself. The only reason I help is because of Kara,” Lena trusted her. Kara’s heart melted at hearing her say that, but it didn’t dispel her confusion, “Who is the person responsible, and why do you think I could find them better than Kara?” “I don’t think you’re going to like the answer, and it’s not something we like to think about much,” Kara heard Star’s voice. That meant they both came to find Lena first, and they were talking. Kara was out of sight 10 feet above Lena’s balcony.
She couldn’t wait anymore, so she landed and immediately made eye contact with Lena. Lu and Star looked back as well. They were so beautiful. She thought it would be so much longer before she got to see them. Lena held her hand up and told the large group to sit in her living room to give her just a second. That must be Alura and Astra’s team. Kara wondered why they would introduce themselves to Lena before Kara and Alex. Kara had paid attention when the girls revealed their mistrust of the DEO to Lena, but she still felt hurt at not being that person. Lena had no idea that the girls were also hers. Kara had no right to feel jealous. Kara and no right to also not let Lena in on that fact. She was about to ask her to go on a mission to another world with her. Shouldn’t she be honest? Lena walked over to the window with wide eyes, “Kara? What are you doing here?” Lena didn’t know what to say. She had an apartment full of teenagers she knew Kara wanted to speak to. She was planning to bring her in later in the conversation, but that was out the window now. “I-I came to ask you for a favor. Something to help Astra and Alura, but I see you already are,” Kara didn’t realize how icy her voice had been. “They came to me because they don’t trust the DEO, not because they don’t trust you. They asked me if I would be willing to meet their team and bring you and Alex in separately after they explained,” Lena was trying to defuse the situation, but she could feel the hurt coming from Kara. Her forehead crinkle appeared and showed no signs of going away. Kara crossed her arms over her chest and glanced behind Lena at the teens sitting in her living room. They were all staring at them and tried to pretend they weren’t when she looked in. She caught Alura and Astra’s eyes and realized they were why she was there. She wouldn’t abandon them in their time of need, “Lena, Alex had a pretty good idea, and I think it will still work.” “If this is for Star and Lu, I think it would be beneficial for them to be included in this conversation,” Lena motioned for her to come inside as she turned towards to shut balcony door. From Alex’s tests, Kara knew the girls had most likely heard every word they said. Kara also noticed that Lena had called them ‘Star and Lu.’ “Everyone, I’m sure you know her from the future, but this is Supergirl. She may have a plan to help with your current predicament,” Lena looked to Kara to finish the explanation she had started outside. “Hello, everyone. I’m sure I will be able to get to know you all soon. My sister, Alex, came up with an idea. I’m sure you’re all aware of the multiverse theory?” upon seeing the group confirm her inference, she continued, “Alex suggested we make our way to Earth-1 to get help from some of our friends there. The superheroes known as the Flash and the White Canary might be able to help with fixing the timeline without making you all disappear. I’m glad you’re here. It would help to have you explain the situation. I don’t know much about it, and they will need more to go on than there will be a future war that kills millions of people.” Laurel said, “I think that would be an excellent idea, but we take a vote as a team,” she wanted to see her family on Earth-1 but didn’t think it was fair to choose for them, “Those for going to Earth-1 raise your hand,” It was a unanimous vote, they all said yes. Laurel’s smile gave away her excitement. “I can get Alex super quick. That way, everyone doesn’t have to go to a different location. Kara should probably come with me, though; she hasn’t met me yet. My name is Johanna,” She introduced herself to Kara. Lu nodded at Jo and then looked to Kara for confirmation, “Are you okay with that?” she said. Kara looked at Jo, confused. How could she travel faster than a Kryptonian? Kara said, “Yes, that’s fine. The faster, the better, I guess. Let me text her first. I don’t want her to pull a gun or something even more dangerous as we get there,” Kara pulled out her phone and sent off the text. Then she joined Jo in the open space between the kitchen and living room. Lena’s apartment was spacious. “Please keep all hands and feet inside the portal,” Jo said as she opened a blue, swirling portal like the one the entire group was about to enter. She grabbed Kara’s hand and stepped through, leaving everyone behind.<< >> Alex looked at her phone after putting her prepped bag on the table. Kara had texted her, “Don’t be alarmed, don’t pull a gun, please. We are bringing you to us,” Just as she read it, a portal opened in the corner of her lab. Her eyes widened, and she put her hand to the gun strapped to her waist. She remembered the text and lowered her hand when she saw a strange girl with a long flowing braid step out, holding Kara’s hand. “What the heck Kara, what are you doing? Who is this?” Alex questioned. “This is Johanna, she’s a part of Alura and Astra’s team, and they are all coming with us to Earth-1. We came from Lena’s apartment, and we are going to leave from there. Everyone is ready to go,” Kara reached out her hand to her sister. Alex grabbed it and walked through the still-open portal. As they stepped through the portal, Lena’s apartment materialized, and Alex came face to face with a dozen teenagers and Lena. They were all sitting or standing in her living room, “Kara, why was I looking for a way to find them when they were here the whole time? Better yet, Lena, why was I up all night looking for a way to find them when they were here the whole time?” << >>
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CHAPTER 6
<< >> 2018 – Earth 38 There wasn’t an answer that Lena could provide Alex with for why they were there. The teenagers showed up without her knowledge, and she wouldn’t report them when they agreed to explain and then bring Kara and Alex into the loop. “I didn’t know they were going to show up this morning. It’s not important now that everyone is here. What’s this plan of yours, and how will we get to Earth-1?” Lena asked. “Kara has the interdimensional extrapolator that Cisco made when Barry came for her help last time. We’re going to go and ask for Barry’s help. Once we get there, he can help us find Sara, who might also have some help for us,” Alex explained. She looked around the room for the first time. There were a lot of people on Alura and Astra’s team. Hearing Alex mention the extrapolator, Kara held it up, “Alura, Astra, I’m sure you’ve seen one of these before. I noticed Johanna also opened a similar portal when picking up Alex.” Star could see Alex and Kara looking around the room. The curiosity was palpable. “Before we go anywhere, introductions are needed. This is Connor, Tommy, Jamie, Ella, Martin, Miran, Jo, Jeremy, and Laurel,” she pointed to each of them as she listed off their names, “You’ve already met us, but I’m Star, and she’s Lu. There’s no need for full first names here, please, and thank you.” Kara said, “Oh okay. Lu and Star. I like that,” she looked at each of them and then to Lena. They made eye contact. Neither knew what to make of it, so they broke it just as quickly. “Now, is everyone ready to go to Earth-1?” Connor said in a more excited tone. He was already standing up. The room erupted in noise as all the Juniors started speaking simultaneously, with varying excitement levels. They were all checking their backpack straps and the bracelets they wore. Lu and Star were grouped up, with Laurel and Jeremy talking in low tones. Kara knew it was wrong to eavesdrop but couldn’t help herself. She heard Laurel say, “We have to be careful, but I can’t wait. I missed having them around without worrying about someone dying every five minutes. I hope they aren’t too mad if they find out about you know what,” Jeremy put his hand on Laurel’s arm in a comforting way that reminded Kara of Alex. She heard the affection in his voice, “It’s going to be okay; I promise. Lu and Star were just fine, right guys?” He looked at both of her daughters. They both nodded their heads, “Yeah, we got this. Speaking of, do you have everything you need? We can’t leave anything here if all of us are going.” Lu looked at Jeremy and gestured to his backpack. “All good, and we didn’t leave anything set up at the temporary base either. Martin and Miran have the high-tech stuff in their bags, and I have all my medical equipment.” Jeremy was cut off by Alex trying to get the group under control. “Okay, calm down, everyone. Get it together. We can’t waste any more time,” Alex’s voice was commanding, and she was ready. Kara held up the extrapolator again and pressed the button to activate the portal. Alex and Kara stepped through first, the Juniors followed, and Lena came through last.<< >> 2018 – Earth 1 The alarms were going off for a breach. The Flash zoomed into the room to intercept whoever was coming through. Cisco, Caitlin, and Iris were quick behind him. They saw the blue swirl in the middle of the room and Kara coming out of it. Following her was a woman they had never seen before. Suddenly a flood of people came through the breach. The last person to come through was a woman with long raven hair in a very nice suit. “Supergirl?” the Flash was confused at the influx of people in the cortex, “What’s going on? Who are all these people?” He looked at the group and noticed that most of them were teenagers. One stared very hard at Cisco and kept looking away quickly. “We need your help. We also need Sara’s help. These kids are from the future, and I hear you have some experience in that area,” Kara looked slightly amused before turning serious again, “We’ve never dealt with something this big, and I’m definitely out of my depth.” “Okay, well, let’s move to a different room so you can explain more. This sounds like we’re all going to need some coffee,” Iris said. She was already moving to the lounge area to make a couple of pots. “This is going to be a long day,” Cisco muttered to Caitlin as they followed Iris down the hall. The group followed Barry as he went in the same direction.<< >> Johanna pulled Lu to the back of the group, away from any adults, “Lu, this is weird right? We haven’t had much time to discuss this, but what will we tell them? It’s not like we can tell them who we are without messing the timeline up too bad.” Lu grabbed Jo’s hand and looked her in the eyes, “Listen, it’s going to be all right. Your dad and Uncle Barry will be able to help us. Aunt Sara too. We’ll tell them about the war and our enemy. Hopefully, we’ll be able to ask Aunt Sara how she would deal with this mess. I don’t want everyone to die all over again. None of us do.” They had all reached the lounge area. It looked different. There wasn’t as much furniture, and the layout was different. The colors were all wrong. The vibes were off. Jo hopped up on the bar and crossed her legs. She looked very comfortable there. The other Juniors followed her lead and found a spot to sit or stand. Iris was still making coffee but had begun to pass out mugs to the adults standing or sitting closest to her, “How many of you want a mug?” Iris asked the room of people. Everyone except Ella and Connor raised their hand, “Excellent.” “Supergirl, would you like to tell us what’s going on?” Barry asked Kara. “Everyone here knows my secret identity, I just didn’t have time to change out of my super suit,” Kara said, “I guess we should start with introductions. Then we can have them start explaining the situation. We don’t know too much except that those two,” she pointed to Lu and Star, “are my children from the future.” Iris, Barry, Cisco, and Caitlin all had surprised looks on their faces. Iris said, “Oh? Wow, that’s a lot to hear. Are you even dating anyone? I thought you were taking it slow after Mon-El, and you?” “Yeah, I am,” Kara’s face blushed, and she looked to the floor. She tried to push her glasses up and remembered she didn’t have any, so she brushed her hair behind her ear instead, “They haven’t been very forthcoming about their other parent, but we know they are half-human.” “Interesting. We were sure you couldn’t procreate with anyone who wasn’t Kryptonian. Alex and I were testing last time she was here for the wedding,” Caitlin looked at Alex, then to Lu and Star, “Do you know how you were conceived? Were you carried to term in embryo? If you guys have full powers, I’m guessing Kara had to have carried you,” She was going down a rabbit hole, and Barry could see it. “Caitlin, they can’t tell us too much. Otherwise, the timeline might wipe them out of existence. Maybe we should let them explain. No questions until they are done,” Barry was amused, but he’d been through a multitude of timeline breaks and didn’t want to start another one now. Sara should be here, they said they needed her help, and he needed someone else to help regulate the information, “Speaking of the timeline, can someone get a hold of Sara and tell her to get here? I can’t handle a timeline disruption like this without another expert.” Cisco said, “Yes, I already left her a message,” He was holding his tablet and typing away, “She should be here in a couple of minutes. Do we want to wait for explanations until she gets here? The coffee is still brewing anyway, and I need some.” Laurel said, “Yes, explaining this once is more than enough trauma to relive. There are also too many of us to deal with introductions so much. We know everyone coming, and that’s here. You guys just need to know who we are.” Jeremy smacked her in the arm, “Hey! I don’t think they were supposed to know that dummy. Didn’t we agree on a controlled flow of information for the safety of the timeline? That wasn’t very controlled.” Laurel looked at Jeremy with something in her eyes that made him sit up more from his seat. They were having a battle of wills, and you could tell how often they had these types of interactions. Laurel eventually wilted and huffed, “Yes, I know, but we weren’t going to be able to hide that. Plus, I don’t want to be introduced to everyone. We’ve known them our entire lives.” Jamie inserted her voice into the interaction, “Hey, both of you, calm down. Now is not the time for a family squabble, and you know it. What’s done is done. Get over it.” The adults in the room were all observing the teens’ conversation. Connor and Tommy were rolling their eyes at the siblings in action. Ella had gotten up to help Iris pass out the cups of coffee that had been made. There was another pot being brewed. Jo was still sitting on the counter, trying not to stare at Cisco. The rest of the teens were either snickering or looking between the adults in the room. There was a chime on Cisco’s tablet, and he said, “Sara and the Legends are here. They just text and said, ‘See you in 2 minutes’, but I’m not sure who’s with her.” “Great, this is our biggest room that isn’t in rubble, and we’ve almost filled it. There are not enough seats for this,” Caitlin said. They all turned their heads to the door when they heard Sara’s voice, “Long time no see! It seems you’ve gotten yourselves into a Super,” she winked, “sticky situation. Anyone want to tell the group what’s going on?” “Oh god, stop with the Dad jokes,” Star said as she rolled her eyes, “We haven’t even eaten yet. Can we get some food, please?” Barry and Kara locked eyes, and Barry said, “How does everyone feel about pizza and wings?” There was a chorus of people speaking at once. Lu said, “We eat just as much, maybe more than Jeju and you. We’re going to need the whole restaurant’s worth of food. Oh, Rao, I could eat so much. We ordered food and left before it got there. Bad idea. Thank you, thank you.” “Cisco, can you order four of Barry and Kara’s usual and then a multitude of other food for the rest of us? Thank you,” Iris said.“Hey, I get everyone is hungry, but let’s get on with the explanations while Cisco is doing that,” Sara had rubbed off the dad joke comment from earlier. “Finally, yes, we would,” Jo clapped her hands as she said, “I’ll start. My name is Johanna, but you can all call me Jo.” “Well then,” Sara laughed at how quickly she said that. The teens quickly introduced themselves. They had already wasted so much time waiting for people to show up. Their family was big, but wow, they were all so slow-moving in their prime. “Now that everyone is here, I guess we should start with the big one. Why did we come back in the first place? There’s a war. A bad one, where you are all dying or are already dead. There were so many casualties that it was hard to count who we lost. Slowly it became about whom we had left,” Johanna was the one to start off the conversation. “We didn’t really have a plan, just a half-baked theory, to be honest. Doing something as drastic as going back in time was always a last resort. Our alpha team was beaten. There wasn’t anything else we could have done to beat them in brute strength. Our next best option was to beat them when they haven’t got the power to win,” Laurel said as she was looking around the room, reading all the adults’ reactions to what she was saying. Barry had a contemplative look on his face. It was something he had been through before but within different circumstances. Kara and Lena both looked a little heartbroken. They both knew their daughters had been through a lot, but this must’ve meant there was nobody left to protect them or the world. Alex looked at Laurel, and they made eye contact. Alex saw something like helplessness covered in confidence. Laurel looked away quickly and glanced at Sara, afraid of what she might see. There was an understanding in her eyes. She knew it was because of the woman she was named for. Laurel had heard stories of her aunt her whole life. She yearned to be as much of a hero as she was. Laurel didn’t know how to look away from the eyes she had captured, it seemed like the moment was too deep. Jeremy spoke and broke the silence across the room, “The people our parents and family fought weren’t afraid of killing children for the cause. It started out as an alien vendetta, something of a genocide. Eventually, it became a war against anyone who would stand against them. We only knew of two leaders, but they came from multiple universes. One was from Earth-38, the other from Earth-1,” he didn’t want to be the one to reveal who and what they were fighting. “We have plenty of theories on who the other leaders were, but there was no proof. Without proof, we could condemn the wrong people for a crime they never committed. Star and I asked Johanna for help developing the technology to get us to this time. We were already on Earth-38, so that wasn’t a problem,” Lu looked to Jo as she said that last sentence. The room could feel the emotion in her voice as she continued, “There was a chance it wouldn’t work and a chance we could be wiped from existence. We all decided it was worth it.” The heaviness in the air was palpable. Star took Lu’s hand in hers. It was a silent understanding between the two that Star would finish her thought, “No matter the consequences to the future we lived in, it was worth it to save the people of both Earth-1 and Earth-38. They could only jump to and from each universe because of a technology we let get away. It was our fault and our problem to fix.” “You’re all children. It wasn’t your fault,” Barry told them. He knew how survivor’s guilt felt, “If this was the only choice you could take, I won’t fault you for it. I’ve made plenty of mistakes myself,” Barry took Iris’ hand as he said that. Sara looked to Barry, “We’ve been in the timeline fighting aberrations for quite a while now. Technically, you are all aberrations. It’s not right to go back in time just to save people who’ve died.” She’s wanted to save her sister the entire time she’s been on the Waverider. She understood the teens’ predicament, but they did this without considering any consequences. “Mo- Sara, don’t condemn us for a choice we can no longer undo. All we can do is fix what’s going to happen. You can’t send us back, and we won’t go back. We’ve come too far to give up. Without knowledge of the threat ahead, you all miss what’s happening right under your noses,” Laurel couldn’t take the condescending tone any longer. She knew her mom could help, there was no doubt, but it almost seemed like she was telling them to quit. It’s not like they wanted to be blinked out of existence. “Laurel, it’s okay, take a breath,” Jeremy was sitting right next to her and could tell the anxiety and anger were flowing inside her. The impending anxiety attack could be avoided, “She wasn’t implying we quit. I think she was trying to say that whatever we do from now on needs to be thought out. Something as big as saving the world always comes at a cost. We were all aware of it before we jumped. If we blink out of existence, it should be for the greater good of all the worlds we came back to save.” Laurel took a few breaths and took the hand offered on her other side. It was Ella. She wasn’t much of a talker in emotional situations but was always there to offer Laurel support amid an anxiety attack. They had become few and far between but hadn’t completely gone away. Losing her mama created a great weight on her soul. Laurel felt she could have stopped her from sacrificing her life for someone who died regardless. Lena wasn’t the only one analytical about the word choice and slip-ups within the group. Iris was slowly putting together some pieces of the puzzle. Others had begun to do so as well. Iris looked between Laurel and Jeremy, “You two…?” “No!” Everyone was shocked at the outburst. Tommy was the one who said it, but it was too late. The others had put it together. Sara looked between Laurel and Jeremy, a light shining in her eyes. She barely had a voice when she said, “Are-are you, my kids? You almost called me mom? It makes sense. You’re named after my sister. I guess she’s your aunt?” The teens looked throughout their own team. Well, shit, it was already out. Trying to hide this was hard when they needed so much help. They didn’t know much of anything about this time. Sure, they’d heard stories, but the adults were all different. None of them expected to be found out so soon. It wouldn’t be long before everyone made the connections to which kids were who’s kids. “Yes… yes,” Laurel lowered her head and buried it in her hands. She only looked up when her hands were lifted from her face. She looked up to see the bright blue eyes her brother had inherited. Her mom wasn’t the same mom she remembered, but she was still here. Tears formed in Laurel’s eyes, and Sara embraced her. “I’ve got you; it’s going to be okay. We’ll figure out what’s going on,” Sara felt something she never thought she would, a maternal instinct to protect her child. She couldn’t explain it, but she could feel the connection with the confirmation. She opened her arms and pulled Jeremy into her hug. That was her daughter, and she had a son.<< >> The group decided to give Laurel, Jeremy, and Sara the room. It was a very emotionally charged moment that none of them wished to interrupt. Both kids were crying and hugging Sara with everything in them. The only person to linger was Alex. She stood in the doorway, hesitant to leave. Alex couldn’t explain the feeling as she saw them embracing before her. Those kids, there was something about them that drew her to them. She already loved her nieces and couldn’t place the feeling she felt when she looked at Laurel and Jeremy. Jeremy? Jeremy. Jeremiah? She began to put pieces of a puzzle together that she wasn’t aware of even starting. Standing in the doorway, she noticed Sara looking up at her. Based on their conversations during the fiasco of Barry and Iris’ wedding, Alex guessed Sara had also begun to piece it together. Sara pulled away from the hug, “I need you to be honest with me, please. I know it could jeopardize the timeline, but I believe everything will work out the way it’s supposed to even if we change the future,” she waved Alex over from the doorway. Alex felt so many things but couldn’t even decipher one. Alex looked at both kids in front of her and Sara and said, “Who’s your other parent?” There was a long silence. The teens looked at each other, and Jeremy nodded. It was almost imperceptible. “Our parents are Sara Lance and Alex Danvers. Hi Mama, I missed you,” Jeremy hugged Alex with everything he had. When she died, it hit him the hardest. There wasn’t a thing that could console him for over a year. Laurel had been taken, and Mama gave her life to save his sister. Jeremy was prepared to save his sister by any means, even at the cost of his own life. When Alex gave herself instead, he stood there. Watching as it all happened through the eyes of a drone, powerless to change the outcome. Laurel was restrained and knocked out; all she could remember was waking up in the compound holding Jeremy’s hand. He had to relay the events and refused to let her see the video. Laurel didn’t see her mother die, and Jeremy wouldn’t let her. Laurel joined the hug and dragged Sara in too. Neither Laurel nor Jeremy cared about the timeline at that moment. Both were just happy to have their parents back in the same room. Alex kissed both on the head and made eye contact with Sara. She wasn’t sure how to take the news that she would be having children with this woman. She and Maggie had just broken up for that very reason. The way they talked and hugged her made it seem like she wasn’t there for them in the future. The overthinking stopped when Sara wiped the tear that ran down Alex’s face and looked at their kids. It was as if they both agreed that their children would survive whatever happened. There weren’t any other options, and they knew that. As they all backed away from each other, Sara looked at Alex. She could sense the curiosity welling up inside of her. Sara spoke to Alex, “We can’t ask too many questions on how or why. I know you and your science brain are already cooking up questions and tests to run, “the amusement faded as she continued, “Right now, all we need to do is figure out how to help. It’s time to call everyone back in. We need to know who’s been targeting our worlds and how we will stop them before they succeed.” << >>
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
CHAPTER 7
<< >> 2018 – Earth 1 The Juniors were all standing together in the main hall outside the lounge area. They all knew the feeling of losing one parent or another, and they were happy for Jeremy and Laurel to have both alive and in the same room again. Lu and Star were holding hands. They also had that privilege recently. Many of them would encounter their parents at one point or another while they were in the past. It was inevitable with the help they needed to fix the war. “I turned on the shield. We’re good to speak freely,” Miran said. He developed a shield strong enough to block any super hearing. It was connected to all their bracelets and became a part of their suits when deployed. Marty said, “Thank you. Guys, was it this weird to see your parents in the same room again? Unbothered by the problems we had before we came here? My dad was just in front of me, and he didn’t even know he was my dad.” “Yes, but you haven’t spoken to him yet, and your mom isn’t here either. Just wait until you hear how happy they sound. It’s even weirder,” Lu told Marty. She turned to Jo, “How are you feeling about seeing your dad again?” “I want to hug him and tell him how much progress I’ve made in my powers. I want to tell him about all the technology I’ve made and reworked from his own. I know he would love it. I remember sitting in his shop at the desk he made me and working together. I miss it so much. I can’t just out myself, though,” Johanna said. “Honestly, it’s going to come out regardless. We’ve seen how smart they are, even as young as they seem. What’s the harm in telling them? It might make it more likely for them to help and look for solutions,” Tommy reasoned with the rest of them. He made a good point. Connor held his hand up, “I don’t think it’s a good idea to just come out with it. We have to think strategically about this. Just because some of them are okay with it doesn’t mean the rest of them won’t freak out. Jo, how do you think your dad would react to hearing, ‘Hi, my name is Johanna. I know we just met, but I’m your daughter. Mom just broke your heart, but that won’t be a problem,’” The pitch in his voice was off, but the tone was spot on. It made Tommy and Lu giggle a bit. “My voice doesn’t sound like that, you bonehead. I wouldn’t tell him like that. I don’t know how that conversation would go, but I’d love for him to know. He will find out if I have to use my powers anyway. Just like Tommy said, it will happen eventually,” Jo said. “It only took Aunt Lena a day and a half to figure out who both of their moms were. It shouldn’t take too long for the rest of them. Maybe Uncle Ray might have a hard time. He’s a bit oblivious sometimes, no offense Marty,” Miran said, “My mom isn’t here, and Dad is so far in the future, there’s no way I could run into him, at least not for another couple of years.” “Should we just tell them? I know it’s a lot of information to dump on them all at once, but it might be worth it. My only worry would be telling them who all our parents are. What if they decide not to get together because of what happens afterward? If we don’t tell them, are they going to be mad when they finally figure it out?” Star asked. They were all valid questions. Jamie said, “Okay, Ms. Rambles A Lot, we get it. There are a lot of risks, and we voluntarily came here knowing them. We didn’t have time to discuss this situation before we left. Now that we’re here, it’s become an issue that needs to be solved. Since being here, we’ve all become aware of our situation. We should take a vote. It’s how we do things; I don’t think it should change now. All those in favor of coming clean once we go back in, raise your hand,” Jamie raised her hand first. She looked around, and there was a mix of yes’s, and no’s throughout the whole group. They all looked towards the exit of the lounge area as Laurel and Jeremy walked out. “It’s time we go back in. We’ve waited long enough to finish this explanation,” Jeremy said. “We’re voting on whether or not we should tell everyone who we are and who our parents are. You are part of the team. What are your votes?” Lu asked. “I would’ve disagreed with that before, but I can’t say no now that Jeremy and I just went through that. What do you say, little brother?” Laurel asked Jeremy. “It’s a no from me. It was an accident they found out, but I hate to risk our lives with something so sensitive. I wouldn’t want to do that to anyone else on the team. Come on, let’s go find some seats and try our best not to destroy the timeline,” He waved them over to the door. Jeremy’s vote was the tiebreaker for the team. They weren’t going to tell the adults who their parents were. There weren’t any guarantees that they wouldn’t be found out, regardless.<< >> Teams Supergirl, Flash, and the Legends were all in the Cortex. They had to talk about what just happened and how they should handle the group of teens that came from the future. “Okay, to preface what happened in there, you should all know something. When the kids showed up for the first time, it was only Lu and Star. Lu was seriously injured, and we weren’t sure she would survive the injuries she’d shown up with. The threat is real. Both of those girls are half-human and half-Kryptonian. They are Kara’s kids,” Alex said. Kara looked at Lena and then up at the ceiling to break the accidental eye contact. It was quick, but Lena began to wonder if Kara knew Lena was their mom too. She would have to figure out a time to have that conversation. Kara said, “Alex ran some blood tests after they left and confirmed it. Lena figured out who they were to me within 30 minutes of them being there and talking to us,” Kara had to hold herself back from beaming with pride at how smart Lena was. “Okay, okay. That’s kind of cool, though, right? Kids from the future. There are quite a few of them. I did a head count of eleven in total. Maybe some of us are also their parents,” Ray had this excited look on his face. Mick slapped the back of his head and wiped it right off. “Hey, Pretty Boy, shut up. Now is not the time to get all puppylike over a bunch of snotty-nosed kids,” Mick said with his usual attitude and grunt. “Guys, that might be something to consider. They all grew up knowing each other, so it’s possible they could be any of our kids,” Caitlin said. “If there’s anything we’ve learned about traveling through time, it’s how dangerous knowing too much about our future can be. For us, it’s a loophole, though. The future hasn’t happened yet. We just need to figure out what needs to change while ensuring these kids survive,” Zari said. She knew just how badly she wanted to change what happened to her brother and if she could help someone in the same way she was going to. Sara had the same problem with her sister’s fate. “They’ve been cagey about who these future enemies are and how much destruction they caused. The only thing we know is that the death toll on all our teams was significant,” Iris looked around the room as she said this. These were her friends, and she had fought alongside all of them. She had already decided to help and knew her husband, Barry, would do the same. “We need to help them, but we also need to be careful about how. Helping them could be what sets off this war in the first place. Knowing who they are isn’t the most pressing issue here,” Barry said. Cisco butted in, “Or, this is the turning point in a war that hasn’t happened yet. They’re from the future, so we have more time to assess our enemy and figure out a battle strategy, if it even comes to that. We could save everyone if we can stop them before they even form their evil ideas.” Lena said, “They have future technology that blows anything we have out of the water. They developed most of it themselves. Their suits are in those small black bracelet cuffs on their wrists. Have you noticed that every single one of them is wearing one? Star gave me a short demonstration of the way hers works. It’s almost as if the bracelet sends out a liquid that molds over her entire body. She explained how she can program it to look however she wants. It’s also a comm link and computer that monitors the vitals of the person wearing it. I’m sure it does more, but I didn’t get very long to talk shop before we came here.” Cisco pointed out, “We need to get together and talk shop then. Tomorrow, once everything is settled a bit, Lena, Ray, Caitlin, and anyone who would like to join, should come to my workshop. We might be able to get some answers or upgrades to our own tech that could help. If they developed most of the technology they have themselves, we could use their help too,” his tablet dinged, “The food is here. Who wants to help me bring it to the lounge?” Multiple people raised their hands or said something along the lines of, “I’ll help.” Just as the ones getting the food were leaving, the adults turned towards the door where Sara was standing, “Come on, we have a conversation to finish. The kids are already in there, so hurry up.”<< >> The Juniors watched as the adults came in and found a place to sit or stand. The room was charged with energy, and the tension was palpable. There was nervousness too. The last people to enter the room had food with them and started setting it out across the tables and the bar. The teens grabbed some and started chowing down. Lu and Star each had four baskets of wings and three pizza boxes in their laps and in front of them. Sara and Alex were standing next to each other, shoulders touching. They hadn’t had a conversation yet, but they were going to talk about this whole situation. They had kids together. They weren’t the only ones who discovered they had kids in the room. Kara grabbed her food and looked at Lena, and they made eye contact again. Quickly looking away and to the kids, Kara thought how hard it would be to tell Lena about her being the mother of her children. It was a scary thought, but it would have to happen eventually. Kara also found out that she had a niece and nephew in the room. Alex must’ve been so happy to learn she had children, but there wasn’t a big mystery about who the other mother of her children was. Sara and Alex almost seemed giddy at the news. Kara wasn’t jealous, not one bit. Lena saw Kara break eye contact and look at their children. She must’ve been feeling all sorts of things, and unlike Alex, she didn’t have another parent to talk through all those emotions. Lena had to tell her she knew she was Lu and Star’s Mom. It wasn’t fair to either of them to keep it a secret. Lena decided she would ask to talk to her once they were done there. Interrupting Kara and Lena’s thoughts was Lu. She said, “We need to tell you about the enemy we face in the future. It’s a lot of information, and I think it’s a given that some information be held back for everyone’s safety.” Star spoke, “I’m not sure how many of you here know, but Lu and I are Kara and Lena’s children. A perfect 50/50 of each of their DNA,” Kara and Lena looked at each other and noticed neither was surprised. They were going to have a long conversation after this. Star continued, “Our grandmother, Lillian Luthor, wasn’t thrilled that Mom and Jeju got married. She was even more upset to find out they had kids together…” When Star’s mouth filled with pizza, Lu spoke, “She was so angry. She didn’t even know we existed until we were five years old. She tried to kidnap us but couldn’t get close, thanks to Mom’s defensive measures. Lillian allied with Maxwell Lord and Simon Tycho. They began experimenting and inventing a way to convert a human into Kryptonian killing machines. There were kryptonite swords and Nth metal skeletons. Practically Metallo 2.0 units of mass destruction. They were all completely under Lillian’s control.”Both Lu and Star looked at Lena, who was a stone wall. They could tell she was devastated but not surprised at her mother’s hateful actions. “When she learned how to jump Earths she met her other partners who had vendettas against either vigilantes or metahumans. There was a man from Earth-1. He went by Ra’s Al Ghul, head of the League of Assassins and League of Shadows. He only encouraged Lillian’s rage. It was a scary combination. He kept giving his soldiers to her for ‘enhancement.’ She was sending out more and more trained Metallo 2.0 soldiers to Earth-38,” Ella said, shaking her head, trying to get away from the memories of the monsters. “They learned how to get to Earths other than the ones both were from. They began jumping from Earth to Earth, gathering more recruits and adding them to the slow-building army. Lillian even came back with her own Supergirl, but we have no idea which Earth she belonged to. Aunt Kara almost died the first time they encountered one another. They had found a man named Deathstroke on another Earth who became a general in their army,” Jo said. She was so disgusted she didn’t realize she slipped up calling Kara ‘Aunt.’ Hopefully, nobody noticed. “The worst part was when they bombed Catco and L-Corp at the same time. There weren’t enough people on call to handle both. There was a scary amount of Metallo 2.0 units deployed to add to the chaos. We decided as a team to come back before any of this happened. That day everyone was called in to handle the Metallo units. Jeju was going back and forth with Evil Supergirl, and most of the others were dead or dying as we said before. A Metallo 2.0 broke into the base of operations at the time we left and killed J’onn. We almost didn’t make it out alive,” Miran was almost crying while talking about all the destruction. None of them had allowed themselves to feel what was happening. This was the first still moment they’d had in 2 years. Star spoke up, “When building the machine, we added a fail-safe. It had only one use before blowing up. Jo had to help us keep it stable with her powers. We only had a couple of weeks to get it up and running. We didn’t know we were leaving until the night of. It was really hard, but we didn’t have anyone left except for the team.” Connor said, “We know you think it was your idea, but we needed all the Earth-1 heroes’ help just as much as Earth-38’s heroes. The insurgency went deep enough that the ruins of all the Earths they ravaged made them unrecognizable. This is a problem for everyone, and we didn’t have another choice unless we wanted to die.” Tommy looked to Connor but spoke to the room, “We’re going to need Team Arrow as well, but we can wait to bring them in until we figure out a rough plan. Unc- Diggle is going to be so freaked out,” he chuckled a bit before looking to the rest of his team. “I know we dumped a lot on all of you, but there wasn’t another way to do this. You’re all part of the inner circle now. There is a certain responsibility to knowing everything, so keep these details to yourselves. None of us are trying to blink out of existence, please, and thank you,” Jamie said. She still wanted to tell them who they were, but she knew it was better in the long run for them not to know right away. There was too much risk involved. Barry nodded his head and said, “That was a lot of information. Why don’t we break until tomorrow? I have some apartments I inherited when I got Star Labs. We can meet in the morning once everyone has had time to process. Iris, can you help divide everyone into rooms?” Iris stood up from her seat at the bar, “Yes, Babe. I got this," She turned to the rest of the crowded room, "Okay, people, let’s get you a nice bed to sleep in. There are two rooms per apartment, and about,” she paused to count the guests in the lounge, “fourteen of you. Excellent,” Iris grabbed the tablet on the counter and started typing. Sara turned to Alex, “If you want, you can stay on the Waverider? I have some room in my bed, and we can talk too,” the suggestion in her voice was evident. Alex looked at Kara and saw her nod in confirmation, “I’d love that, thank you. Iris, you don’t need to worry about a room for me then.” “Sounds good to me. Everyone grab a roommate, and we’ll get you settled. The apartments aren’t too far from here,” Iris turned to talk to her team while the room erupted in people talking. << >>
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
CHAPTER 8
<<
>>
2018 – Earth 1
The two best friends were still fighting and needed to talk. They knew Lena was Lu and Star's other parent but didn’t tell each other. This conversation had been on hold and needed to happen. It couldn’t wait any longer. They hadn’t spoken to each other the whole way there, and the entire time they were getting ready for bed.
Lena had untucked the comforter on her bed and was about to get in when she realized she had to say something. She left her room and stood in the doorway of Kara’s. She watched as Kara brushed her hair from her shower. She didn’t have her glasses on, but she was still Kara. “Hey,” Lena said softly.
Kara looked at Lena’s reflection in the mirror while staying in place. Her back was turned to the door, “Hi,” she said just as softly.
They both spoke at the same time, “I’m sorry.”
They giggled, and Kara said, “I think we should talk. I’ll go first. I’m really sorry I wasn’t the one to tell you Lu and Star were your kids too. Alex tested Lu’s blood later that night, and it matched your blood in the system. I had no idea how to bring it up, and I hated keeping another secret from you,” She turned around at the last sentence and made eye contact.
“It’s all right, Darling. I didn’t know how to bring it up, either. I honestly thought it was better to keep a secret. You heard them. If something happens that goes against their existing, they’ll disappear. I’m already attached. They resemble so much of you, especially with the rambling,” she smiled.
“I-I don’t ramble that bad,” the pout was apparent on Kara’s face, “How did you find out they were yours too?”
“I snuck a vile of blood while everyone was distracted. I found out right before the girls showed up at my apartment, so I didn’t have much time to process the information. The longer I interact with them, the more I notice similarities between them and us. It’s quite beautiful to watch, but I never thought I would be a mother. I didn’t want to turn out like my own,” Lena looked at the ground, breaking eye contact with Kara.
“Well, I can forgive you for keeping that secret. I have no room to talk since I did the same thing. The kids are amazing. They have your eyes, Lena. It seems like they have some of your snark, too,” Kara giggled.
“Excuse me, ma’am? I could say they got some of that snark from you, too,” Lena’s smile lessened but didn’t disappear, “I appreciate your forgiveness. It will take some time for me to forgive you for keeping your identity a secret. I trusted you, and it hurts that you didn’t think I could keep that a secret. I was under the impression that I knew who you were,” Lena said.
“I kept it a secret because I didn’t want you to be in danger. It was so hard for me not to say anything. There were moments when I wanted to tell you, but I value you too much to put you at risk like that. Everyone who knows has been attacked or targeted because of it. Being a Luthor and knowing who Supergirl is would double the chances of an attack,” Kara said while tears formed in her eyes.
“Don’t cry, darling,” Lena stepped into the room, pulled Kara up from her seat, and hugged her, “I understand why you didn’t tell me. Finding out after knowing you for so long and becoming so close to you hurt. You’re my favorite person Kara. It's a bonus that you have superpowers. Now I can convince you to get lunch from Paris, or dinner from Italy,” Lena tried to lighten the mood.
Kara snuggled her face in Lena’s neck and inhaled, her lips barely brushing Lena’s neck. Lena gasped a bit, and Kara could hear her heartbeat quicken. Kara pulled away just enough to look Lena in the eyes. The contact was heated, and the temperature in the room grew. Lena looked down at Kara’s lips and asked a silent question. Kara leaned forward and kissed her in an answer.
Both felt something release in themselves. Both had been in denial of wanting this very thing for almost a year. The kiss became deeper and Kara let out a low groan.
Lena pulled back and gasped for air. She could hear Kara’s slight whimper at the loss of contact, “Darling, I would love to see where this is headed, but I think we should talk first. What do you want?”
Kara looked into Lena’s eyes and said, “I want you. I want our kids. What do you want?”
“I want you too. Our kids, huh? I like the sound of that, love. Come here and cuddle me,” Lena pulled Kara towards the bed and laid down. Kara threw her arm and a leg over Lena, and they fell asleep in each other’s arms.
<<
>>
The Juniors were all paired off into 5 different apartments and had changed into their pajamas. The Juniors, Lena and Kara, were in the same hall. The teens had all converged in one apartment to discuss the day’s events and figure out what they needed to do next. It wouldn’t be easy, but they had to devise some sort of plan before the timeline fractured.
With Kara and Lena in the same hall, they had to activate the sound buffers installed in their bracelets. The team needed to be able to talk freely, and Kara’s super hearing would be a problem if she heard something she wasn’t supposed to.
Connor said, “Well, there were more reveals than we thought, but minimal damage was done. We’re all still here. Jeremy, Laurel, how are you guys? I know today must’ve been hard,” He showed a hard exterior to most people, but this was his family. He had to check in and make sure they were okay.
“It was tough, but I can’t explain the joy of seeing Mama again. I missed her so much,” Jeremy said, “I’m glad you guys were there.”
Laurel reached over to grip his hand in hers, “I feel the exact same way. There aren’t any words. It felt so crazy being in the same room again. I don’t want to say goodbye any time soon.”
Lu and Star made eye contact, and Star nodded. Lu said, “That’s how it felt to see Mom and Jeju in the same room again. It was almost too normal. How weird was that?”
Jo raised her hand, “It was definitely weird. I was trying my best not to look at Dad the whole time. I feel like everyone noticed. He looked so stoic I forgot he and Mom broke up for a time before they got back together. I missed seeing everyone so hopeful and full of life.”
Marty poked his head up from his bracelet’s hologram, “Hey guys, do you think we could stay in the same room tonight? I know we have a lot of room, but I don’t want to sleep apart from everyone.”
“We could do a giant pillow fort in the living room here like we used to do for movie night sleepovers in the compound!” Tommy got an excited look on his face, and he looked around the room to see how everyone else was feeling about it.
“That’s a perfect idea. I didn’t want to say anything, but I didn’t want to be apart from you guys either,” Miran felt a bit out of place. He needed some familiarity.
Laurel stood up and said, “Everyone go grab as many pillows from your rooms as you can. We can continue talking while we build our mega fort.”
Everyone left and collected pillows and blankets and dropped them in the middle of the living room. It didn’t take long to have everything set up with spots for everyone. Miran grabbed an orb from his backpack and tossed it up in the middle of the fort. It gave off a soft warmth and light. It made them all feel a bit better being close and huddled together.
Laurel looked proudly at the fort they made, “This is perfect. I love this. It almost feels like we didn’t go back in time to save humanity.”
“It feels safe in here. I love it,” Ella said. She was looking at Laurel, “Can we cuddle?” She stuck out her bottom lip and opened her eyes wider. It’s almost like she thought Laurel was going to say no.
“Of course, come here,” Laurel opened her arms, and Ella practically jumped on her.
Lu was already sprawled out with her head on Star’s shoulder and her legs entangled with Jo’s legs. Marty was playing with Miran’s hair while it was lying in his lap. Jeremy was lying in between Jamie’s legs, also getting his hair played with. Tommy was lying back with his hands behind his head and using Connor, who was on his stomach, as a footrest.
Connor chuckled, “This is nice, I missed this, but we need to get back to the situation at hand,” always so on task, “How does the timeline look, Marty? It’s been a busy day, and we don’t really know what’s going to come of it.”
Marty tapped his bracelet, and it expanded a bit before a hologram showed up above it. He was silently typing before he said, “It’s still the same as before. I mean, if minor changes happened, it’s not affecting the war. Even being back and explaining to them, nothing has changed. I’m guessing we need to take some drastic action?”
Jamie’s hands were moving rhythmically as she talked, “I know we need their help, but I think some side missions are in order. Messing with the timeline too drastically can cause too much damage and work against us. It’s not smart to just take out the people who eventually team up. Maybe we can try to curb them into a better lifestyle?”
It was quiet for a couple of seconds, “Do you think we even caught them early enough? I mean, Darkseid is a whole different ballgame, so count him out for emotional redemption. The only way to keep him uninvolved is to stop Lillian from learning about multiple Earths. Ra’s already heard rumors about a portal to other worlds but never made a move to learn more until she found him,” Lu was trying to think of a way to deter her grandmother, but they weren’t sure how the technology was even discovered.
“Hey, we need to figure out how to change things for the better and not blink out of existence. We could give the good guys a leg up. I’m almost certain that my dad wants to know more about the tech we have. We just have to strategize with them to figure it out,” Johanna had that look on her face that all of them recognized. She had an idea.
“Spit it out. We can see through those eyeballs of yours it’s been forming the whole time you’ve been talking,” Lu said. She loved teasing Jo and seeing the red tint appear on her face. It was cute.
Jo stuttered a bit, “I- You- ugh,” she took a breath and continued, “Anyway, there are obviously some things we can’t give them, but we can give them some upgraded suits. I wish we had our lab, but we’ll have to make do with what we’re given. What do you guys think?”
Star got a bit excited hearing about the project, “I think that can be arranged.”
Laurel said, “Tomorrow, we need to come up with a timeline of where everyone is and what they’re up to. It shouldn’t be too hard if we can use the satellites set up at the Labs. Right now, we need to get some rest. Sleep well, everyone. We got this.”
Marty grabbed the sun orb and put it in Miran’s backpack before lying back down. There was a chorus of “goodnight” from everyone as they got comfortable and drifted off.
<<
>>
Alex and the Legends made their way to the Waverider parked on the roof. The whole way up, she could hear Zari and Ray talking about what kind of technology they might be able to play with tomorrow. Mick would grunt ever so often and mumble about wanting a beer. She and Sara were walking next to each other silently, but the tension was palpable.
Alex decided to break the silence, “I noticed some of your team members weren’t with you when you came in. Did they stay on the ship?”
Sara looked over, “Yeah, they decided to get caught up once we were done talking. We just got back from a mission, so they wanted to clean themselves up and get some rest. I feel like I need to do the same.”
Just as Sara said that they had reached the roof and the landing pad. The ship decloaked, and the bay door opened for them to step inside. The ship looked the same as it did before, except for a few burn marks and scratches on the wall. Alex had only seen the ship twice, but it still felt familiar regardless. She followed Sara to the bridge.
Sara walked up to the office and grabbed a bottle of Scotch, “You want some of this?”
“Yes, please,” Alex confirmed.
“Perfect, we can drink these in the privacy of my room. Follow me,” Sara started down the hall without looking back to make sure Alex was there. She had no need, she was a highly trained assassin, and she could feel her staring at her.
They stopped in front of the door she assumed was Sara’s. It opened for them with a swish. Stepping inside, Alex looked around while Sara sat the bottle and glasses down to pour. She noticed there weren’t many personal items around other than a picture on the bedside table. She recognized Quentin with his arms around Sara and another girl who looked around the same age as her.
“That’s my sister,” Sara had seen Alex looking at the framed picture, “She was an amazing person. She never backed down from a challenge and always had it in her heart to forgive. I miss her,” Sara had finished pouring and handed Alex the glass.
“She seems like a wonderful person, just like you,” Alex watched Sara take a sip of her scotch.
Sara looked away from the picture, “I’m no saint, but I guess no one is. You know, I never thought I would be a mother. It occurred to me years ago that I might never get the opportunity to. Today was a testament to the opposite. We have some amazing kids.”
Alex finished her glass and motioned for another, “I’ve always wanted kids. It’s the one thing I could always see myself as. Maggie and I broke up over it. To tell you I was surprised today would be an understatement. I love them already,” Alex grabbed the offered glass and saw Sara staring at her with something in her eyes.
“I honestly didn’t think much would come of our one-night stand. How is your butt, by the way? Is it better?” Sara smirked at the blush covering Alex’s face.
“It’s okay, thank you very much,” Alex stuck her tongue out, “This is a weird situation, but for some reason, you’re making it feel okay. Is that a superpower you have?”
“No,” Sara chuckled, “I’m not sure why, but you do the same for me.”
“How do you feel about us having kids together?” Alex asked.
“I’m not sure yet. I’m glad it was with someone as badass as you. I want to get to know them and find out who they are as people. I think I’d like to get to know who you are as a person, too,” Sara finished her own drink and sat her glass down on the side table next to the bed. She grabbed Alex’s glass and sat it down next to her own.
“Hey, I wasn’t done with that,” Alex said with some false offense.
Sara reached out and cradled Alex’s face with her hand. Alex looked at Sara’s lips, then at her eyes, and back again. Sara leaned forward and kissed her. It didn’t take any time for Alex to kiss back. Alex’s hand rested on the back of Sara’s neck, pulling her closer.
Sara pulled away to look at the beautiful woman in front of her. Alex made eye contact, “I think I’d like to get to know you too. If every kiss is like
that
,” Alex didn’t get to finish her sentence as Sara kissed her again.
Alex was slowly laid flat on the bed. Both knew this was only the beginning of their night as Sara positioned herself in between Alex’s legs.
Alex was glad she wouldn’t have to sneak out in the morning this time. Her ass would be thankful.
<<
>>
Barry and Iris were sitting in bed. Iris was typing on her laptop while Barry looked at the ceiling. There was a lot to think about. There were eleven teenagers from the future that had every intention of changing the timeline. He had to figure something out. He’d already done enough damage himself, messing with the timeline. He had no idea what was coming next.
“Babe, I can hear you thinking. It’s going to be okay. We’ve handled a lot worse than a group of teenagers before. What’s running through your brain right now,” Iris giggled at the unintended joke and rubbed circles on her husband’s hand.
“I know we can help, but I’m scared. What if we do this and mess things up worse? We aren’t supposed to know too much about the future. There’s a lot on the line here, and these kids’ lives are in the balance. If we say or do one wrong thing, they could vanish, completely erased from the timeline. I’ve already seen the consequences of changing things. Diggle doesn’t have a daughter anymore, Cisco’s brother died, and Caitlin got powers. There’s a lot that can go wrong. I’m just worried for their safety and ours,” Barry finished off his ramble with a sigh.
Iris closed her laptop and turned her full attention to Barry, “I can see how stressful this is for you, but remember that you have people here who can help shoulder these things. It’s not all on you to fix this. We have the Legends, Kara, Alex, Lena, and every one of our friends. You are not alone in this, and neither are those kids.”
“Those kids have been through so much. The way they were talking, I could hear the pain of a lost parent. I was the same way when my mom died, and it still comes up sometimes. We need to do everything we can to make sure our future is not their past,” Barry said. He couldn’t bring his parents back, but he could save theirs.
“You know the Legends talk about loopholes all the time. I think we just found ours,” Iris was smiling softly.
“I’m so happy you agreed to marry me. I don’t know what I would do without you. I love you, Iris West-Allen. You’re my lightning rod,” Barry kissed Iris’ forehead softly.
“Okay, Flash, it’s time for bed. I don’t think I can handle being tired tomorrow. We ran out of coffee, and I need to go to the store in the morning for more. Goodnight, Babe,” She got under the covers and leaned over to turn off her bedside lamp.
Barry looked at his wife one more time before he got under the covers, turned his lamp off, and went to sleep.
<<
>>
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
CHAPTER 9
<< >> Before Alex and Sara went to sleep, Sara told Gideon to wake everyone on the ship for a morning debrief. She was going to need their help with the teens. When she woke up, she went directly to Gideon’s hub in front of her office. “Good to see everyone is up and ready for the day,” Sara said sarcastically. Mick already had a beer in his hand and didn’t look like he was completely awake. Zari was rubbing her eyes and absently typing on her tablet. Nate wasn’t looking too hot either. He was still in his pajama pants. Amaya, Ray, and Jax were the only ones dressed and awake for the debrief. “I’m still waking up. You can’t blame me after hearing you guys all night,” Zari said. “Captain got some goodies last night, huh?” Nate was making faces and pointing between Sara and Alex. Alex had a blush on her face as Sara said, “Stop it. Now’s not the time. I called you all here for a debrief on yesterday’s conversation.” After the group heard what she had to say, they were completely awake. The few people who weren’t a part of the group who left the Waverider had all of their jaws on the floor. “Cap, you have kids? From the future? With Alex frickin’ Danvers?” Amaya was in shock but kept giving Sara an approving look. “Yes, anyway, I need Zari, Ray, and Jax on the tech team. Everyone else will be on strategy planning. Everyone has 15 minutes to get ready to leave,” Sara’s dismissal was understood, and the team got to moving.<< >> The Juniors walked into the cortex to find everyone already there and talking amongst themselves. Lena and Kara were trailing in behind them, holding hands. Star and Lu had noticed and kept nudging the other and looking toward them. Lena let go of Kara’s hand and walked to where Cisco was talking with Ray, “Hello, boys, how about we gather some of the kids and head to the lab? I’m quite excited to see what they have in store.” “Yes! I’m ready to start working on some of the techs I’ve seen. It should be a good time. Who should we ask to come through? I’m not sure who’s technologically inclined other than Star,” Ray had his signature smile plastered on his face. “Maybe we should just ask them. They all seem pretty smart, so it’s best not to assume anything,” Cisco turned toward the teens standing in a big group behind them and said, “Excuse me!” he gestured to the whole room, “I think we’ve come up with a plan for today. We were wondering if it’d be okay for us to ask about some of the technology you’ve brought back with you. I have my lab, so we’ll have somewhere to work and plenty of people who can help understand it.”
“We actually discussed that last night. We would like to share some of what we have to give you guys a leg up on the competition. Star, Marty, Jo, and Miran are our tech people so that they can help within those limits. Lu, Laurel, Jeremy, Ella, Tommy, Jamie, and I are on the strategic side of things, so we can help with assembling the timeline and those who wish to destroy our worlds,” Connor took over, assigning the team to help today’s activities, “Is everyone good with that?” He turned to his teammates, who all enthusiastically nodded. “Okay then, let’s get started. I can tell today is going to be long,” Cisco waved to those who were joining him in his lab to follow him through the hallway. Everyone else stayed in the cortex, waiting for orders or directions from Barry.<< >> “Alright, so I guess this is it. I guess we can first go about this by… uhm… okay, so let’s start by,” Barry trailed off. This moment reminded him of when Oliver whispered the answers to him during the Dominators’ attack. He wasn’t usually in charge of this many people. It was overwhelming. Lu stepped forward, “Let’s start by identifying who is on this Earth and will eventually join Lillian in her efforts. Once we do that, we need to keep them under some surveillance or occasional check-ins,” She felt the authority take over her figure as she spoke. She was becoming the leader she was trained to be, and it felt great. “Yes, that sounds like a great plan. I like that. We can use the satellites and database we have set up,” Barry sat in front of the computer and started typing. Laurel said, “The first and hardest person we need to locate is Ra’s Al Ghul,” she tapped her bracelet, and a hologram popped up with his face, “He goes into hiding soon, and we need to catch him before he disappears. Uncle Ollie killed him, but he found a Lazarus Pit with the help of Talia. It’s going to be years before he surfaces again.” “Shit, I thought he was gone for good. After their fight, he was presumed dead for good, so I’m not sure where he could have gone,” Sara’s eyebrows were scrunched together in thought, “Maybe we need to bring Oliver in on this. He’s got the second most experience other than myself with the League.” “Out of the question for now. We’ve already discussed this. He’s dealing with someone that needs to be put down. If we bring him in now, he won’t finish it in time,” Tommy had a dark look on his face as he said. “Agreed, let him finish what’s happening now. I’d give it a couple of weeks before we can call him in to help,” Connor’s tone ended the conversation as fast as it started. “If anyone is brought in, it should be Auntie Nys,” Jeremy’s smile broadened at the look Laurel gave him. “Jeremy! You’re not allowed to be evil. You’re a good guy,” Laurel moved to smack his arm, but Jeremy moved out of the way before her hand reached him. Alex and Sara watched their kids’ banter in adoration and curiosity. Alex spoke up, “Who’s Auntie Nys?” Sara replied too quickly, “The daughter of Ra’s Al Ghul, and nobody we need to worry about right now. We are not bringing her in unless absolutely necessary,” She gave the teens a dirty look, and they withered under her stare. Sara found that interesting. “Back to the conversation at hand, Damien Dahrk will also be a flight risk, but we don’t need to worry about him yet,” Ella said. “That’s not possible. He was destroyed while killing Mallus,” Nate interjected. “Anyway,” Ella pretended like she couldn’t hear Nate speak, “the Joker is the only other villain on this Earth that will be a problem. He and Batman already battled it out and he’s been presumed dead. We have no idea where he is, only that his secret identity is Jack Napier.” “Whoa, the Batman is real?? I thought he was an urban myth,” Zari said. “Just wait until you meet Batwoman,” Laurel said with a glint in her eye as she sighed. “Ew keep your superhero crushes to yourself,” Ella poked her in the ribs. “You shush. I admire her fighting style and suit, nothing crush-like to think of,” Laurel huffed. Kara and Alex made eye contact at the blush coating Laurel’s face. Kara said, “I wonder where she got that from?” “I need to hit something,” Alex mumbled. “I have the satellites searching for the people you named. In the meantime, how about we see what you guys can do?” Barry pointed to the screens showing the ongoing search. “Excellent idea,” Caitlin said, “Would it be okay if we monitored each of you to get a handle on your powers and vitals?” She was curious but still wanted consent. “Everyone okay with that say ‘I,’” Laurel said to her teammates standing around the room. She heard everyone agree and smiled at Caitlin, “Looks like a unanimous vote on our end. Let’s go, I’d like to hit something.” Kara looked at Alex with a smirk and avoided her own smack in the ribs.<< >> The teens and adults headed to Cisco’s lab were all fairly excited to talk shop. Star and Lena had already talked a bit about the bracelets her team wore, but not in as much detail. Jo walked into the lab and immediately pulled out the chair at the desk opposite Cisco’s and sat down. Cisco gave her a look and ignored it. The kids must’ve spent some time here before. Lena, Ray, Zari, and Jax were standing around the lab. Star, Marty, and Miran were also standing while Jo sat in the chair opposite Cisco. Star was the first to call the attention of the group, “Okay, people, time to get to work. Our team talked last night about what we could do to help. A lot of what we have could protect everyone here way better than what you have now. We don’t have the materials to make the suits we currently have, but we could adapt Ray’s nanobot technology to work similarly.” Jo jumped in, “We should probably demonstrate before we get into how our technology works. Miran, would you like to go first?” He stepped forward excitedly, “Yes, it’s about time,” his smile never faded as he double-tapped his bracelet. Lena noticed it was virtually the same as when Star did the same in her apartment. The bracelet expanded like a liquid across his body and almost as quickly turned into a solid. His clothes were no longer visible, which made all of them wonder if they faded into the suit as well. Miran’s suit was skintight and gave the illusion of spandex. The shirt was a long sleeve red, darker than Lu and Star’s suits, and had blue shoulder pads. On the front of his shirt were two emblems. On his right shoulder was the DEO emblem, and on his left shoulder was the House of El. His pants were black with blue accents near his ankles, the same blue as his shoulder pads. His shoes were shaped to his feet and appeared padded and made for balance. His belt was thin and silver with a buckle on it. “This is the suit I designed for myself. Our suits hold a lot of the same properties while still being customized for our powers and skill sets. Mine has the power to harness electricity and wield it,” He held his hands out, and two hilts appeared from the suit. He held them out for the room to see, “The suit holds our weapons. We converted a lot of our technology from J’onn’s Martian tech and Aunt Kara’s cape from Krypton. We might be able to do the same with the nanites Ray invented as well.” Miran kept his suit deployed and motioned for Marty to go next. “Alrighty then, I guess it’s my turn,” he stepped forward as Marty stepped back. He took a breath before double tapping his own bracelet. His suit molded itself over his body the same as Miran’s did. His was a bit different, as it didn’t look like a super suit. It was a black button-down, black slacks, and the same silver belt and black shoes as Miran’s. A slick, black helmet formed over his face with no distinct features. Marty tapped the side of his helmet, and it melted into the top of the suit, “Mine is still in development. I don’t usually go into the field. I like staying in the safety of the main hub. My suit still provides the same protection as everyone else’s, with a more office-type vibe. If I need anything, the suit holds a blaster. All of our suits hold comm links and an AI for anything we might need. Uncle Winn’s protective shield technology was converted into all of our suits if the Kryptonian cloth doesn’t do its job.” He stepped back, and Jo stood up. She nervously looked at the group of adults standing in front of her. She designed this suit with her dad and hoped he liked what she brought to life. She double-tapped her bracelet and held her arms out slightly. Her suit melded to her body from the cuff. It was a bit different from Miran’s and Marty’s, more suited to her personality. She had what looked like a red leather jacket, the same color as Miran’s suit. Instead of blue shoulder accents, there were black accents. She unzipped the jacket to reveal a dark grey crop top that matched the color of her pants. There was a red streak that went from the top of her right leg and continued down her left leg. She had the same belt as the other two, with the addition of another belt that was slightly askew. It had canisters attached to it, which the adults could only assume went with the gun strapped to her thigh. The shoes were also the same as the others. “I brought this suit to life, but I can’t take all the credit for designing it. I had a lot of help. I don’t have full control of my powers yet,” she looked bashful after she said that, “so I compensate with my sonic boom pistol. The canisters on my belt power it and are recharged once I place them back on the belt. That was the hardest part of the suit, to be honest.” “They’re so cool, though. You’re most definitely getting better with your powers, too, Jo. You helped us get here,” Star said with a hand placed on her shoulder, “I know we’re all very proud of you, love.” “Thank you, but I still have a long way to go,” Jo smiled and sat back down as Star stepped forward. “Mom has already seen my suit, but I’ll never turn down an opportunity like this,” Star smirked and double-tapped her cuff. Her suit covered her body and solidified. She looked every bit the leader she was born to be. The classic red and blue Supergirl and Superman wore adorned her body. Her suit was a bit different. Her suit was solid blue with thick red stitching running down her arms and crisscrossing at her torso right under the red House of El emblem. The stitching ran down the sides of her thighs and into the backs of her boots. The top of her boots was red, coming to a point right above and below her knees. Under the red of her boots was the same blue as her suit with no added height like Kara’s. The feet of her boots looked the same as the others did. Her cape ran down her back and almost flowed even without wind to billow it out. Her belt was the same silver without the buckle. “My suit was designed to let my movement be free. It’s completely outfitted with biometric sensors and kryptonite shields. Lu should have never gotten hurt with that in place. We still aren’t sure how that happened. They must’ve changed how they made the Kryptonite for the Metallo 2.0 soldiers. Our suits each have one dose of adrenaline in case of emergencies. Mine and Lu’s have one sun bomb to help us in case Kryptonite does pierce our suit. Lu was too badly hurt for hers to work, even temporarily,” Star looked upset and angry, but as soon as it hit her face, it disappeared.“Okay, so now that we have seen what your suits can do, let’s see what we can come up with,” Cisco said. He was already moving to a workstation beside his desk. << >> Barry led the teens and remaining adults to a makeshift training room. It was unused, and the adults needed to see what they were dealing with. The teens weren’t too old, but who knows how powerful they were. “It’s not what we’re used to, but we can make this work,” Lu said as she double-tapped her bracelet. Her suit deployed and solidified to her body. It was the same blue and red as Kara’s. Her cape flowed down her shoulders and back. There were red accents along her arms and thighs. Her boots were red, with blue accents along the top of her calves, and a silver belt around her waist, “Are we sparring or what?” She had an excited look on her face as the other members of her team also double-tapped their bracelets. Laurel’s suit looked like it was all leather. Her jacket was a dark grey with ruffles on her shoulders and biceps. It was unzipped to reveal a violet top. Her belt was the same as Lu’s. The dark grey continued with her pants, with black stitching running across the front, stopping at her knees. She had a couple of throwing knives strapped to her left thigh and a gun strapped below it on her right. Her boots were black but had no heel. Instead, they looked more like the shoes a person sneaking around would wear. Jeremy’s suit was a skintight black. There were dark blue accents on his sides going from the bottom of his armpits to the top of his waist. He had gauntlets on his forearms the same color as his accents. His belt was the same silver as the others, and he had a strap on his left thigh. There wasn’t a weapon attached there. It was apparent when he snapped his wrist, and a handle appeared there. He touched the top of the handle, and it expanded into a bo staff. There was a thin smirk fixed on his face as he made eye contact with Jamie. Jamie’s smirk matched Jeremy’s as her suit also formed. The suit was similar to what she had been wearing before. Her top changed from a tank top to a skintight crop top. It revealed a rock-hard set of abs. Her pants were pitch black and matched the straps fixed to her arms. The boots she wore were thigh-high and the same shade of black as the gauntlets on her forearms. She flicked her wrist, and a sword engraved with writing none of them had seen before materialized in her hands. Ella’s suit was a thick blue leather with black accents near her feet that continued to her shoes. A blue helmet fixed itself to her head. She looked a lot more like the warrior she was trained to be than the small teen she made herself out to be when out of her uniform. There was a gun strapped to her leg and a silver belt just like the others on her waist. Tommy’s suit was a dark green with grey lines running along his entire body. It contrasted well with the silver belt. There were mini arrows with different colored feathers strapped to his right thigh. He flicked his wrist, and a handle appeared. He touched the side of it with his thumb, and it expanded into a bow. He looked proud to be in his suit again. His entire demeanor changed from a background character to a main character. Connor’s suit was the simplest. It was all black and had a red collar around his neck. He had a gun strapped to his thigh as well. His muscles seemed to pop, with the suit accenting his physique. He looked more like a man than a teenager at that moment. He was one of the oldest of the group and started training a lot earlier than the others. They all stood in a circle and waited for one of the adults to speak. They all had their jaws on the floor again, and the kids looked like they might laugh any moment. “Okay, are we going to spar with each other or you guys?” Tommy said. He saw Caitlin grabbing stickies to put on the Juniors and remaining adults, “We have biometric sensors in our suits with display systems if you’d rather use those. We can link our suits up with the computer right there if you want.” “We should definitely see everyone one on one to get accurate measurements. Linking up with the computer would make this more streamlined, so each of you should do that before stepping up to fight. You guys sparring with each other wouldn’t give us the results we’re looking for, so I think you should choose one of the adults to spar with. Who wants to go first?” Caitlin was in doctor mode and was ready to see what they could do. “I’ll go first. I choose Sara,” Jeremy said. He hadn’t fought with his mom in her prime. Let’s see if she’s as good as she said she is. << >>
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
CHAPTER 10
<< >> Jeremy flicked his wrist, and a second bo staff appeared. He handed it to Sara and returned to his spot a couple of feet away from her. The group stepped back to give Sara and Jeremy some room. Caitlin had attached stickies to Sara’s chest and temples that sent signals to her computer. Jeremy had already synced his suit to the computer so she could read his vitals simultaneously. The two began circling each other, knowing whoever struck first was at a disadvantage. Sara waited and circled, all the while observing her opponent. She took the initiative and twirled the bo staff with impressive finesse. She struck at Jeremy’s legs with a quick lunge, aiming to knock him off balance. Jeremy effortlessly evaded the attack with a leap backward. He countered by swirling his staff, creating a whirling barrier against Sara’s attacks. The room filled with the rhythmic clash of metal against metal as they exchanged blows, demonstrating their expertise and agility. As they continued, Alex wondered what type of metal the staff was made of. Maybe she could get some weapons made with it too. Sara tried a sweeping attack, aiming for Jeremy’s midsection, but he swiftly ducked under the staff and delivered a powerful upward strike. The impact was met with a loud crack, but Sara expertly regained her stance, undeterred. She was trained to take hits and keep moving. They moved in sync; it was pretty mesmerizing, each anticipating the other’s moves. With lightning speed, Sara feints a high strike, then abruptly changes direction, aiming low at Jeremy’s feet. He jumped to avoid the blow and used the momentum to execute a mid-air somersault, landing behind Sara. The intensity of the battle rose as they pushed each other to their limits. Sweat was dripping down their faces, but they remained focused and determined. In a final display of skill, Sara and Jeremy simultaneously struck their bo staffs against the ground, sending shockwaves through the concrete floor. They both leaped into the air, spinning their bo staffs above their heads. With a resounding clash, their staffs collide mid-air, creating a brilliant spark of energy. They landed several feet away, bo staffs still in hand. They locked eyes again, acknowledging each other’s skill. A mutual respect was felt between them, and they lowered their weapons, signifying the end of their battle. Neither tapped out, but it’s evident that both Sara and Jeremy were masters of their craft. “That was fun,” He said while taking deep breaths, “We should do that again sometime.” Sara laughed, “I haven’t had a good spar like that since the League. Who taught you to do that?” “That’s probably not a smart thing to disclose,” Connor said, “I think the only thing we can say is that we’ve trained since we could hold a weapon and walk at the same time. It was dangerous for us not to.” “I’m sorry. I hope you were still able to be kids,” Iris looked genuinely sad for the group in front of her. She couldn’t imagine what it must’ve been like. “We were okay,” Lu said, “Me next,” she walked up to the computer in front of Caitlin and touched her bracelet to it, “The only wise choice would be Jeju.” “Okay, are you completely sure you want to do this? I don’t want to hurt you,” Kara had a sour look on her face at the thought. “Don’t worry, Jeju,” Lu said with a laugh, “I got this, and you can always tap out.” Tommy snickered and put a hand over his mouth to try and hide it. “Let’s go then,” Kara said as they stepped where Sara and Jeremy had been moments before. Lu gently floated into the air and saw Supergirl do the same. They began circling each other once they were a good twenty feet off the ground. Lu shot forward like a speeding comet and launched a series of rapid punches toward Supergirl, who effortlessly dodged each one with her superior speed and reflexes. Kara admired the skill she saw in Lu. She was a formidable opponent. Supergirl created a smokescreen with a quick burst of heat vision from her eyes, momentarily blocking their view. As the smoke dissipated, Lu scanned the room for her mother. Suddenly, Kara descended from above, attempting to catch Lu off guard with a surprise attack. Lu was more than prepared. With a spin faster than human eyes could see, she countered her mother’s attack, locking her arm in a powerful hold. Her daughter’s strength and agility took Supergirl aback. Supergirl grinned and locked eyes with Lu, who smiled back at her. Lu said, “I hope you’re not going easy on me, Jeju.” Kara laughed and playfully winked, and the spar continued. The two engaged in a dazzling display of aerial combat, blocking and countering each other’s moves. Despite Kara’s experience, Lu’s unpredictable fighting style kept her on her toes. Lu managed to get a few solid hits on Supergirl. Their blows charged with incredible speed and precision, and the room echoed with the resounding clashes. With a burst of strength, Lu managed to lock Kara in a hold, immobilizing her. Supergirl could feel the pressure of her daughter’s power and couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. Lu was an incredible fighter, worthy of the legacy of the House of El. “Okay, okay, you win,” Kara said while tapping the floor. She looked at Lu once they were both upright again, “I couldn’t be prouder of you, and I’m sure your sister shares the same skills as you. I remember you saying you trained together.” “Thanks, Jeju,” Lu blushed at hearing her mother’s praise. She felt both joy and honor from the experience. “Oh, oh, oh! I want to go next,” Ella said, “Watching all this fighting is making me itch.” Laurel giggled at hearing that, “After Ella, I’ll go. Who do you want to fight, Ella?” “Mick,” she said with a mischievous tint to her voice. “Half-Pint wants to fight me? Let’s do this then,” Mick walked to the sparring area. “Good luck,” Tommy told him. “I don’t need luck,” Mick said with a grunt. Mick unleashed a torrent of fiery blasts from his heat gun without hesitation. Flames danced and swirled through the air, aiming to engulf Ella. The quick-witted teen was ready. She raised her arm, and a translucent shield formed from her wrist. The flames crashed against it harmlessly. Ella returned fire with the gun that was previously strapped to her leg. Mick dodged to the side, the pulses searing the ground where he once stood. As Ella continued to fire, she noticed Mick inching closer, using his flames as cover. Acting fast, Ella pressed her thumb to her belt, which activated a blinding flash of light. Mick stumbled back, temporarily blinded by the unexpected burst. Ella seized the advantage and lunged forward, shield raised like a battering ram. She collided with Mick and sent him sprawling backward. Mick wasn’t one to be taken down easily and recovered quickly with rage in his eyes. He sent a massive fireball toward Ella. She rolled out of the way just in time. She had to think quickly, so she set her pulse gun to rapid fire and unleashed a multitude of pulses forcing Mick on the defensive. He returned fire, but Ella’s shield held strong. Ella charged forward, shield raised, to close the distance between them. Mick anticipated the move and sidestepped, grabbing Ella’s pulse gun. The two struggled, their strength battling to win. Ella broke free with a quick kick. She took her chance as Mick held his knee. She fired a powerful energy back, knocking him off his feet. “Fine, kid. You won this round,” Mick growled the sentence at her like a weapon. He stood up and walked over to her. Begrudgingly he held his hand out as a sign of respect, “You did good.” Ella shook his hand and waited until she walked away to reveal the smile building on her face. Laurel hugged Ella and kissed the crown of her head, “You did amazing. I’m proud of you.” “Thank you, Laur,” She hugged her back, then pushed her forward, “Go get ‘em.” Laurel looked around the group, feigning indecision, but she knew exactly who she wanted to fight. She focused her gaze and said, “Come on, mama, let’s see what you got. No weapons, just hand to hand,” Laurel tapped her wrist, and a hologram came up. She typed a few options, and the weapons strapped to her body melted into her suit. “All right, kiddo. Show me what you’ve got,” Alex has wanted to get some sparring since she found out she had children. It had been a long couple of days, and she was curious to see how trained her daughter was. Laurel had a glimmer of excitement in her eyes, “Bring it on, Mama.” Without wasting a second, Laurel launched into action, aiming a quick series of punches at Alex. Her movements were swift and agile, showcasing the training she’d received from various trainers throughout her life. Alex skillfully dodged Laurel’s strikes, already impressed by her technique. She countered with a spinning kick, but Laurel gracefully evaded the attack, proving her ability to anticipate her mother’s moves. The spar continued with a flurry of movements. Both moved in sync, exchanging punches, kicks, and blocks. Their movements flowed effortlessly, like a well-oiled machine. As the fight intensified, Laurel brought her A-game, launching a powerful combination of strikes. Alex’s experience and training allowed her to evade each attack, but Laurel’s determination pushed her to up her game. With a swift sweep of her leg, Laurel attempted to trip her mother, but Alex anticipated it and leaped backward to avoid being caught off balance. Alex seized an opening and went for a grappling move, attempting to pin Laurel down. Her daughter’s reflexes were lightning-fast, and she reversed the hold, surprising Alex. In a flurry of motion, Alex grabbed her daughter’s arm and flipped her over her shoulder and onto the ground with a thud. Alex was on top of Laurel and ready to deliver the final blow. Laurel knew she’d been had, so she tapped the ground. Sweat was glistening off both of their bodies. Laurel said, “That was a good one. You perform better when you’re challenged,” Laurel’s smirk was evident as she held her hand out for a handshake. “Come here,” Alex pulled her into a hug instead, and Laurel sunk into her Mama’s arms. It had been too long since she’d felt the pride radiating off her like that. It felt amazing. Tommy, Connor, and Jamie were the only ones left out of the group. Tommy and Connor turned towards each other and had a silent conversation with each other. Jamie understood what was about to happen and said, “You guys are so immature, but I’ll humor you. I bet on Connor. He wins every time you play. Best two out of three.” “That’s not fair. You always bet on him. Give me a chance, wouldya?” Tommy asked. “Just play,” Jamie leaned back and crossed her arms as she watched them play rock, paper, scissors. Tommy won the first round and smirked. Connor wiped it off his face as he won rounds two and three. “How do you do that? It’s not fair. Every single time too,” pouting, he stood off to the side as Connor stepped up to choose his opponent. “I’ll go with Barry,” Connor’s victory was gone, and all that was left was determination. “Remember sparring is all about learning and improving together. Let’s have some fun, test our skills, and help each other become better fighters. Ready?” Barry was a bit hesitant to fight Connor but not discouraged. Barry began moving with incredible speed, a blur of lightning. Connor was taking it slow, displaying precise and calculated movements. The teen’s training allowed him to somewhat anticipate Barry’s actions, making it challenging for him to land a direct hit. Barry continued darting around Connor, testing his defenses, and looking for openings. He was throwing punches and kicks faster than the human eye could see, trying to exploit any weaknesses in Connor’s defense. He was able to block or dodge most of Barry’s hits. In response to the hits he was receiving, Connor maintained a strong and composed stance, focused on anticipating Barry’s movements. He tried to trip up the speedster or redirect his momentum to gain the upper hand, but Barry’s speed still gave him an edge. Connor remained resilient even as Barry used short bursts of speed to surprise the teen or evade strikes easily. Connor used his ability to read body language and adapt to Barry’s tactics to try and wear him down, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Connor feigned an attack to the left and struck right, catching Barry off guard. His speed wasn’t enough at that moment. “That was a good hit,” Barry encouraged Connor. Despite the surprise, Barry upped the ante with speed and agility. In the end, Connor tapped out, having taken enough hits, and knew he couldn’t beat him one-on-one. “Thank you for the experience,” Connor said as he nodded towards the speedster. Barry nodded in mutual respect and returned to the spot he was standing in before. He was surprised the teen managed to land a few hits. He was trained well. Tommy synced his suit with the computer and pointed to Nate, “Let’s see what he’s got in the tank today.” Nate stepped forward and said, “You do know who you’re dealing with, right kid?” “Absolutely,” Tommy said, “Come on, Jamie still has to beat the tail feathers off of whoever she chooses, and I’d like to see that.” Nate charged forward, his steel-enhanced fists at the ready. Tommy skillfully evaded the initial strikes, dodging and rolling with unparalleled agility. He fired a series of arrows, hoping to create distance between them. Nate deflected some with his metal body, but the precision proved to be a challenge, as several arrows found their mark. Nate lunged at Tommy, his powerful blows threatening to overwhelm the teen, but his resourcefulness came into play. He quickly analyzed his opponent’s fighting style and found an opening. Using his expertise in hand-to-hand combat, Tommy executed a swift combo of punches and kicks that made Nate stagger backward. Tommy fired a specialized arrow before Nate could recover with a high-tech device attached to it. The device emitted an electrifying pulse upon impact and momentarily disabled Nate’s steel body. The hero winced, feeling the shock course through his body. With a window of opportunity, Tommy launched a series of calculated attacks, targeting Nate’s exposed areas. As Nate struggled to regain his composure, Tommy threw a roundhouse kick that sent Nate tumbling backward. Nate tapped the ground, still feeling the electricity thrum through his body. “Dang, kid. That was over quickly. I need to get in the gym more,” Nate grabbed Tommy’s offered hand and stood up. “You lasted a lot longer than most would. Good spar,” Tommy walked away, leaving Jamie the last one to fight. Jamie was hesitant to spar with any of these people. She didn’t want to hurt them by accident. There was a big chance that could happen, so she had to think carefully about who she chose to spar with. “Kara, would you be willing to go again? I don’t want to hurt anyone here, and you seem the most indestructible,” Jamie said with a slight blush. Kara tilted her head like a curious puppy, “I’m good to go again. You aren’t Kryptonian, if you don’t mind me asking. What are you?” “I don’t mind at all. I’m a Valkyrie. I’m half human, but I have all the powers of a Valkyrie, so I’m not sure how the human part of me comes into play,” Jamie said. “I’ve heard of the Valkyries. I won’t hold back,” Kara was surprised to hear of a half-human, half-Valkyrie. There weren’t many Valkyries left, and she was sure they couldn't procreate with any species. Jamie gracefully approached a waiting Supergirl. Her wings unfurled with an aura of confidence. The room was in awe of the power displayed as they hovered above the ground. Jamie lunged forward, her speed matching Supergirl’s own. Jamie’s combat skills and supernatural agility proved challenging even for the Kryptonian. Their fists collided with resounding force, each strike sending shockwaves through the air. Jamie’s wings added another dimension to her offense. It allowed her to maneuver with incredible speed and deliver surprise attacks. Kara retaliated with her super strength, aiming powerful punches and shooting heat vision toward her. Jamie evaded, her wings creating a shield against the heat vision. Jamie summoned her Valkyrie battle cry, a sonic wave that disoriented Supergirl momentarily. She used the opportunity to deliver a powerful kick, sending Supergirl to the ground with a thud. Kara recovered quickly and refused to let a single blow deter her. The battle raged on, with each warrior gaining the upper hand and losing it just as quickly. Jamie wanted the fight to be over, so she channeled her energy into a final strike in one decisive move. A blast of ethereal force sends Supergirl crashing to the ground. Kara tapped the ground before Jamie could deliver another blow. She noticed the distinction between the physical force she exerted and the almost magical strength with which Jamie wielded. Kara got up and said to her, “That was amazing. You’re a great sparring partner. I’m curious to see what you can do in a real fight.” “Thank you, Kara. I appreciate that,” Jamie said. She wasn’t sure if she should use the full extent of her powers until she met an enemy worth them. She only ever knew her mami, Maggie, so she’d had to learn how to use her powers independently. The research she’d done wasn’t pervasive either. There weren’t many books or materials to learn from. Maybe she could find her other parent here in the past. She’d have to go back to Earth-38, though. Caitlin interrupted Jamie’s thoughts and the conversation by calling everyone to her attention. “Despite being young and some of you not being completely human, you’ve trained a lot. Your stamina and endurance are impressive. I’m sure the scope of your full abilities hasn’t been shown today, but it’s enough to confirm your stories.” The computer chimed, and a notification popped up. The satellites had finished their search. They all headed back to the cortex to read the findings. They talked to each other about the spars they had finished. The cliques between the Juniors and the adults were beginning to fade. << >>
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CHAPTER 11
<< >> The conversation had been going on for quite some time about upgrading the heroes’ suits with the supplies on hand. Many minor disagreements fizzled out. Star was trying to explain how they had gotten the Kryptonian fabric without giving too much information about the future and risking never having it in the first place. “Listen, I can’t fully explain it to you. Unfortunately, we don’t have the technology to do what we need to get more, so we’ll have to find the next best thing,” Star said, frustration clear in her voice. Miran had his AI hologram pulled up in front of him as he typed on it, “I’m looking up what’s available at this time. It says here that A.R.G.U.S. has some experimental ballistic material they’ve been working on. We could ask Uncle D if he can get us a piece. We can’t go in, and I don’t think he’d trust us. Big macho man and his trust issues,” he had taken the chair Jo was sitting in before with his feet propped up on a footstool. They were exhausted; this was the closest they could get to the material they needed for more suits. It’s not like they could get or make more X-kryptonite to replicate what suits they had on hand already. Marty could see where Miran’s thought process was leading him, so he jumped in, “Gideon can replicate it using the fabricator already on the ship. All she needs is a sample to go off. With the nanites, we can convert it into a ring like Uncle Barry’s or a cuff like we wear.” “Yes, but we need to be careful with how we do this. There’s a chance it could fall into the wrong hands. We need to develop a biometric scanner to customize it to the person it was made for. Mom, could you go back to your lab and get the portable suit and research you’ve been working on for Jeju? We could use some of the blueprints and ideas,” Star said with her hand to her chin and eyebrows scrunched together. She was in full work mode. “Uhm, I suppose so. Nobody is supposed to know about that yet. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised anymore,” Lena huffed. Zari was thinking about the ideas being thrown out, “If we can get the sample fabric, Gideon shouldn’t have a problem replicating it. I’ve been trying to put it together in my head, and I think it’s completely doable for the sensors to be coded to a specific person. Who’s going to need a suit? I can start coding and figuring those out.” “I think everyone needs something. If what you told us is true, we will need to be as prepared as possible. I have some new designs ready for Team Flash and some generic ones I haven’t been able to use yet. It shouldn’t take long with some help,” Cisco said. He was eager to start. “Sounds like a lot of work. Can any of you help me start coding the suits for people?” Zari asked the group. Miran perked up, “I got you. We only need a DNA sample from everyone to get their suits done. I also have some code filed away that can make the process go a lot faster,” He’d been on the original team designing the suits all the Juniors wore, along with Star. Ray’s smile was fixed on his face as he said, “Gideon can help make more nanites. Man, this is so exciting. I haven’t been able to work like this in a while. It’s like the old days when Felicity and I were working in the lab on the A.T.O.M suit.” Star was calculating a plan in her head while everyone was coming up with assignments for themselves, “Mom and I will pop back to Earth-38 and come back with her research and prototype. While that’s happening, Miran and Zari can start the coding for the biometric scanners. Ray and Marty can head back to the Waverider to start replicating the nanites. Cisco, you should start designing some suits for everyone in the meantime. Jo, you’re pretty good at finding colors and styles to fit everyone. Do you think you could help him out with the suits?” Star knew what she was doing and had no shame as she directed her attention to the girl. Jo sputtered, “Uhm… Yeah, I guess. I didn’t know you thought so highly of my skills,” she could see the slight mischievousness plastered on Star’s face as she looked at her. Jo wasn’t one to be pushed into something she didn’t want to do, and she was grateful for the opportunity to work with her Dad one-on-one. She was sure Star just wanted to see her nervous. “Oh, don’t be so coy. Lu loves her suit,” Star said. Jo blushed at the mention of Lu, “She does? I mean, of course, she does.” Star saw the blush and smirked at how easy it was to tease Jo. If neither Jo nor Lu acknowledged their crush, she wouldn’t give up on teasing them until they did. She could see how much they looked at each other and how they acted. Lu was so much like their parents that she couldn’t stand it. “Before we go, we should let everyone else know what we’re up to. If anything, Kara or Alex might want to come back and get some things from home,” Lena said. Someone had to be a responsible adult around here, and it wasn’t anyone in this room.<< >> The screens only held the location of one of the people they were looking for. Damien Dahrk was spotted in Star City. Ra’s and the Joker’s results were inconclusive. It would take time to find them then. There couldn’t be that many places to hide. “He’s supposed to be dead and erased from the timeline. How is this possible?” Sara was looking at the man who killed her sister on a security camera. He had been leaving a grocery store with a jug of orange juice in one hand and a loaf of bread in the other. There was no way that man was casually buying groceries. She’d have thought he had goons for that or something. “The only way to confirm it’s him and what timeline he’s from is to go to Star City and find him. The time stamp says this was recorded yesterday afternoon,” Iris said. Before anyone could respond, the group working in Cisco’s lab walked in. They were all relatively excited and talking amongst themselves. “I’m not sure how everything is going on your end, but I think we’ve got a good start on developing everyone's upgraded suits. It shouldn’t take too long either,” Cisco said. He looked around the room and could see the possibilities and potential. Barry looked over to Cisco, “That’s great!” Caitlin chimed in, “We also got some biometrics and different things to go off of with the Juniors’ powers and skills. They all got some sparring in as well. I’d like to see what the rest of you can do. If I had to guess, you’re all combat trained somehow.” Jo and Star looked at each other and laughed. Star responded for the group of teens that had been with Cisco, “Yes, we all have combat training. Arranging a time to let you see what we’ve got shouldn’t be a problem, but we need to finish the jobs we’ve gotten for the suits first. They should be a priority considering how outdated everyone’s suits are, no offense.” Barry balked and closed his mouth as quickly as it opened. He effortlessly switched topics, “I’m glad we’ve gotten some headway in that department. The only person we were able to locate is Damien Dahrk. According to Sara, he’s no longer supposed to be a part of the timeline. He was caught on this surveillance camera in Star City yesterday. We should send a team to investigate that angle while the satellites search for the other two.” Sara spoke, “I can head up the team going to Star City. It was my home for most of my life. What do you guys need to make us some new suits?” she asked. Jo stepped forward and started speaking, “We came up with a plan that actually includes one or two of us going to Star City, so that works out,” She turned to Connor, Tommy, and Laurel, “I know we all agreed on keeping Team Arrow out of this until they finish their whole situation, but maybe we can help them and get what we need at the same time?” “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I’m not even sure if he’s out of jail yet. Miran, can you check and see?” Tommy said with a scrunched-up look on his face. He wasn’t sure exactly the dates. It wasn’t like this was a big blip on the radar with everything that’s happened between then and now. “Give me a second,” he said while looking up the information. Miran’s face lit up, “He’s supposed to get out in two days. Wow, we didn’t even mean to, but we timed that great.” “That’ll give Sara and whoever goes with her two days to track down Damien. We should probably assume Oliver and Dig will need suits. Rene, Curtis, and Felicity, too,” Barry said to the group. “Okay, well, Team Supersuits has their assignments. Lena and Star are going back to Earth-38 for some research and probably some other essentials,” Ray looked over to the other side of the room, “If either of you two needs anything, now is probably the time before we get too busy,” he gestured towards Kara and Alex. “I could use some extra clothes that don’t have ‘Star Labs’ on them,” Kara said with a smile. She missed her civilian clothes, “Lu, would you like to come with us? It shouldn’t be too long before we’re back, maybe a couple of hours.” “Yes, that sounds good to me. Ella, you coming too?” Lu looked at her and received a nod in confirmation, “Awesome.” “I’m in the same boat. N-not that I don’t like wearing yours,” Alex stuttered as she looked at Sara. She had grabbed a t-shirt and pants from Sara’s closet that morning instead of the ones from the day before, “Thank you, by the way.” “Jeez, Mama, it hurts to watch,” Jeremy said with a grimace painting his face. Alex only blushed further at hearing her son say that and ducked her head. Laurel and Jeremy both giggled at that. Sara’s smirk only grew at the teasing, “It didn’t hurt last night.” “Ew, ew, ew gross,” Laurel stuck her tongue out and made a face of disgust, “On that note, subject change. Who’s heading to Star City?” “I’m thinking a small team, nothing too obvious. Amaya and Mick would probably be best suited for this one. Whoever is coming from Team Supersuits? I’m guessing that’s Ray. If you and Jeremy want to come, that would be okay too. I still have my loft there. It’s not super spacious, so sleeping arrangements might be a little tight,” Sara said. Jeremy responded, “I think I want to go with Mama,” he looked at his sister and knew she’d already decided. “I’ll stick with Mom,” Laurel nodded to her brother in agreement. They weren’t going to let anything happen to their moms. “Okay, let’s do this then. Without an assignment, the rest of the Legends can go hang out on the Waverider. We can’t afford any messes to clean up, understand?” Sara looked specifically at Nate. “What? Why am I singled out?” Nate adopted an offended look. “Just be careful and stick close to each other. When Constantine comes back with Wally from whatever they’re doing with the jump ship, let them know they’re in trouble,” Sara’s voice was stern and didn’t allow any refusal. Nate nodded and gave her a thumbs-up. He released a held breath when she looked away from him. His captain could be really scary sometimes. “Someone has to tell Dad what’s happening so he knows not to worry. Cecile might be able to help me convince him to make enough food for those of us staying put,” Iris said. She wasn’t too keen on letting him in on everything, but he still worried when he hadn’t heard from her or Barry for more than a day. Letting him know Wally is coming to town would also be a highlight for him.<< >> A swirling blue portal opened in the middle of Lena’s penthouse, and six people came through. Lena looked around her apartment and almost expected it to look different. They’d only been gone for a day and a half, but it had felt like a week. Lena turned towards the rest of the people standing around her, “I’m going to pack a bag and get some things done while we’re here. Let’s say we all meet back in,” she looked at her watch, “Four hours?” When she saw everyone agree, she turned to walk to her room. Lu and Star locked eyes and had another conversation the room wasn’t privy to. Star broke eye contact and looked to Kara, “Jeju, can I go with you? Lu wants to stay here with Mom, and I’d feel better if one of us was with you.” Kara didn’t think twice. She was just excited that her children wanted to be around her, “Of course! We should drop Alex and Jeremy off at her apartment before we go to mine.” Alex looked at Jeremy and knew there wasn’t a chance she was going anywhere without him. He had this look on his face she couldn’t refuse. She was already in love with both of her children. She’d wanted to be a mother her whole life, and if this were what it looked like, she would happily accept it. “I call piggybacking on Star,” Jeremy looked away from his Mama and beamed at his cousin. “Why can’t I carry you like a normal person? Laurel lets me,” She huffed as he jumped on her back with an ecstatic look on his face. Kara also let Alex jump on her back, knowing she would refuse to be held like a damsel in distress. Mother and daughter took off into the sky towards Alex’s apartment.<< >> Lena had packed a bag of clothes and entered her private lab, with Lu following closely. So far, she’d bonded with Star mostly, so she couldn’t wait to get to know her. She was curious but felt she shouldn’t push for conversation. “Mom,” Lena was still not used to the term being said so casually, “I can’t believe all of the stuff you have in development that you haven’t tried to make available to the public. You could help so many people. You have the funds and an R&D department to help, so what’s the holdup? Most of this is way beyond what is out there right now,” Lu was walking around the lab easily. “Most of the things in my private lab won’t be approved by my current board of directors or aren’t completed enough to go into development. My mother still has her hands in a lot of what goes on at L-Corp no matter how much I clean house,” Lena was downloading the virtual notes for the suit she had upgraded for Kara and checking her email. It had really backed up while she was gone, and she knew Jess needed to know she was okay before heading out again. “Yeah, I get that. I wish it were easier. I’ve got a lot of ideas I haven’t told the world yet. Star and the team are the only ones who know, really. Maybe you could help me finish one of my more thought-out ideas while we’re here. I want to think it has potential,” Lu looked at Lena with the Danvers’ signature puppy dog eyes. Lena was captivated by how much her daughter looked like Kara right then. Those were the same eyes she gave into every time her best friend asked to eat ice cream and cuddle with her in front of the TV. How could she say no? “After we finish making everyone’s suits, that would be amazing, Darling.” Lu’s smile practically lit up the room at hearing that. With no hesitation, she pulled Lena into a hug and buried her face in her shoulder. She missed the innocent conversation that wasn’t filled with worry. It had been a long time since there had been any normalcy for her entire team. This would be good for all of them. What was a little selfishness in being close to her parents again? Star and she deserved every minute they could get.<< >> Alex and Jeremy were dropped off in the alley next to Alex’s apartment. They watched Kara and Star fly away and walked inside the building. The entire time they were in the elevator, neither talked. Jeremy kept sneaking glances at her, and finally, she broke the silence as they entered her home. “You’ve known me your whole life, but this is my first time meeting you. Why don’t you tell me about yourself? What do you like to do?” Alex inquired. “I like to spar with the team. We didn’t have much to do other than read and study. We were able to finish standard schooling pretty quickly. I even started getting my medical degree. There’s a more widely accepted range of medical schools in the future. Xenobiology was my focus, but I was also learning human biology. I’ve quickly become the team medic in the field. If I’d had the tools and materials to help Lu, she never would’ve gone to the DEO,” He said with pride as his back straightened. “Wow, that’s amazing,” she replied while grabbing her go bag and another duffle, “How long have you been practicing as the team medic?” “It’s been a couple of years. I was kind of forced into it after a mission had gone wrong,” He trailed off, and the room was filled with silence. “Understandable. It’s not a job for the weak, though. I’ve had to fix Kara far too many times, and it never gets easier,” Alex had begun putting clothes and other essentials into the duffle as she talked. She’d looked away from her son while she did so. “I’m still learning to be strong. I like the work. It makes me useful to the team for something other than hitting things. That’s fun too,” Jeremy had sat on the couch as his Mama was packing, “I have a question.” Alex hummed as she left her room for the kitchen, “What’s your question?” She looked at him curiously as she grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, offering him one as she drank from her own. He nodded and easily caught the bottle, “Now that you know you have children, does it change anything for you? I-I know about what happened with Maggie. I’m pretty sure that was recent enough for you.” Alex choked on her water and cleared her throat. She had not been expecting that. She wasn’t even sure where it had come from. She thought about it, “No, it doesn’t change anything for me. I’ve always known I wanted to be a mother. It was Maggie who didn’t. She was scared, I think. I never expected having two almost grown kids show up from the future. I’m definitely not upset about it, though. Why did you ask about Maggie?” His muscles tightened but hid his reaction to her returning question as best he could, “She meant a lot to you, and I was worried. Finding out about your two kids with another woman right after a breakup isn’t always something you’d want to happen. I know how long it took you to be okay again. I just wanted to know.” Alex walked over to Jeremy and sat next to him on the couch, “It’s okay to be curious,” she reached out and hugged him around the shoulders. He leaned into it and realized everything might turn out okay.<< >>
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter 12
<<>> Supergirl and Star were flying towards the loft near Alex's apartment. Star felt amazing flying next to her Jeju again. She wished Lu was here but understood her need to be with Mom. There wasn't much time to do what they needed, and they wanted time with their parents. Star listened to the people below. It was peaceful to hear them all milling about and living their lives. Star turned her head to look at Jeju flying next to her. They were lapping the city to throw off anyone from below who might be paying too much attention to them when Kara quirked her head. Star tuned into the city below a bit more and heard it. There was a robbery in a corner store. Star listened to see if the police were close enough to help, but they were at least 10 minutes away. Star looked at Kara with hopeful eyes. She hadn't been able to do any real hero work since they returned from a war zone. The National City from the future was nowhere near the National City from now. The wind roared as they flew, but Star heard her Jeju perfectly. "Star, would you like to come along? It won't take long." "Of course, let's go, Jeju," Star took a sharp turn towards the robbery a few miles away. They both landed at the same time. Kara was assessing the scene before going in. There were two people with masks on and armed with guns. The shop owner was bleeding from his eyebrow and profusely begging for his life while one of the assailants was waving a gun at him. The other man in a mask was filling a bag with the register money and cigarettes behind the counter. Star and Kara continued to the front door and let themselves in. Faster than any human could start blinking, the two in masks were unarmed, staring at two scary superheroes. Star took the bag and opened it up, "You know, cigarettes kill you, right?" The men just scoffed and struggled to get free from the zip ties Kara bound them with. "Hey, are you alright? Do you need medical attention?" Supergirl asked the shop owner. "I-I'm okay. My wife has medical supplies to patch me up," he said, "Thank you, Supergirl. I don't know what we would do without you. Who is this?" the shop owner gestured towards Star. "Hi! I'm Supernova. Nice to meet you. I'm just visiting and wanted to help. What's your name, sir?" Kara looked at Star while she talked with the man. She was natural. Her people skills were excellent, and Kara couldn't be prouder of how she was handling a simple save like this one. "My name is Jordan; thank you, Supernova. I hope to see more of you helping where you can. I can't ever thank you enough. Here, take some sandwiches from the hot plate. I insist," he said while packing a bag full of food for them both. Kara and Star grabbed the bag and bid the lovely shop owner farewell. They took off and weaved their way through the city several times before landing on Kara's balcony to get clothes and other necessities. <<>> Laurel wandered around the Waverider as Sara and the rest of the team going to Star City got ready to head out. She felt at home here and missed the worn metal walls with the occasional scuff or burn mark. She approached Gideon's console and ran her hand along the edge. "Hello, Ms. Danvers-Lance," Gideon's voice said as her holographic head appeared, "Is there something I can help you with?" "Please, Gideon, call me Laurel. I can't stand all that formal name-calling. How are you? It's been a minute since I've seen your lovely face," Laurel's tone was amused. She had expected the AI to know who she was but was curious if she'd remember the shenanigans they would get into. "From this version of my ship, I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you yet. I know who you are and the reputation you and your team gained as superheroes at this point in your life. You are a part of the timeline, after all," Gideon's projected head followed Laurel. At the same time, she traveled her fingertips along the console. Laurel pressed several buttons, "Now, don't tell anyone what I'm about to give you. I know you love pranking people, and I want to start our relationship off right." She continued pressing a few more buttons while Gideon looked on in curiosity. She could tell Laurel wasn't doing anything to harm the ship, so she wasn't too worried. The teen flipped a panel up and tugged at some wires, unhooking them. She pulled a small device out of her pocket and wired it in. Once she finished, she looked up at Gideon, "I'm going to reboot you. Don't freak out when you come back online, Ms. Ma'am." "I'm not sure what you mean, but I'll try my best to contain any emotions that may leak through my programming," Gideon's holographic head disappeared when Laurel pressed a button on the console. It didn't take more than a few seconds for Gideon to come back online. Gideon's holographic head hadn't appeared above the console, "Laurel, what did you do?? Where's Gideon?" Sara stormed onto the captain's deck with her pissy face on. Her daughter couldn't help but giggle at the sight. She had missed it so much. "Mom, calm down. She was just rebooted. Give her a couple of seconds before you freak out. This is gonna be awesome!!" Laurel wasn't one for electronics too much, but she had learned enough about Gideon from Marty while living on the ship to know what's what. There was a moment when Sara didn't know how to react. Maybe it was her daughter calling her 'Mom,' or she didn't know what she would do if Laurel messed up something with Gideon's hardware. She wasn't someone who really saw herself as a mother of a teenager until now. Gideon squealed in excitement before she appeared. Laurel knew she would get excited but forgot how much this had meant to Gideon the first time she was rebooted with that little device in her console. She would have to get Marty to help upgrade her a bit more, but this was worth bringing back in the future. Sara jumped a bit at the sudden noise. Before she knew what was happening, Gideon appeared right before her instead of over the console. It wasn't just her head, either. She had a whole body. She was walking around the deck. Oh lord, Sara's face wasn't the impenetrable mask of an assassin twice killed; it had taken on the same face her dad had when she came home at 5 in the morning through her window. "Laurel, what did you do to Gideon?" It was the most calm voice she could muster. Not that it was really all that calm. It was more of a tea kettle about to tell you the water is done boiling. When Laurel heard her mother's voice rise that high and her face red, she couldn't help herself. She burst out laughing while clutching her stomach. "Mo-Mom, BAHAHAHA," she couldn't finish her sentence. While Laurel laughed, Gideon was watching the scene with a hint of amusement on her face. Eventually, she spoke. Her voice still came through the ship's speakers, "Captain Lance, I thought it was quite an upgrade. What do you think of my new avatar? I quite like it," Gideon looked at her hands and the rest of her body. Laurel had calmed enough to talk, "Gideon, you can choose any wardrobe you want. Different outfits are programmed into the chip. You can also mix and match if you don't like any of the outfits already put together," She looked at her mom again and giggled, "I'm sorry for freaking you out, Mom. Gideon and I just wanted to have a little fun." Sara looked at her daughter and couldn't help it when the anger left her body. Sara watched as Gideon tried on different outfits and smiled. This would take a lot of getting used to, but it didn't seem so scary when she had her team and Alex beside her. "Gideon, we have to prank the rest of the team. Your body can only visualize on the captain's deck for now, but we'll fix that soon enough when Marty comes on board," Laurel and Gideon looked at each other and smiled. <<>> Lena had downloaded all of the programs, documents, and plans she needed onto a USB for the rest of the team to go through. Lu had left her to do her thing and raided her fridge of all vegetables and perishables that she thought might go bad while they were away. Lena watched Lu stuff her face just like Kara did at all times. It was genetic, excellent, "Hey, I'm going to call Jess and make sure she knows I'm not going to be at work for a couple of days. She'll be glad I'm actually taking some of the vacation days I've accrued. Please, eat all of the food you want. I can't bear to waste all of that." Lu looked up with a bite of salad in her mouth and nodded. At least she would eat vegetables. There was kale in that salad, too. Lena had hoped that she and Kara at least raised the two with a good sense of eating greens. Lena called Jess and told her that she was going off the grid for a 2-week vacation. Lu could hear Jess squeal through the phone held up to Lena's ear without super hearing. There was a knock on the door, so Lena checked her watch. Ah, most likely Alex or Kara. It was about time for them to meet back at her place. Lu squinted her eyes at the door and excitedly sped to the door before Lena could move two steps. "Aunt Alex! I missed you," Lu said with a hug, "Missed you too," Lu said to Jeremy with a shoulder punch that had him wincing. Alex was a bit surprised at the hug but didn't seem too bothered by it. She looked at Lena and said, "Kara shouldn't be too far behind. She offered to fly us, but I'm not interested in doing that any more than I have to." Lena laughed, "I can say the same. I hate heights." They sat on the couch and engaged in small talk until there was another knock on the door. Lu sped to open it and pulled Star and Kara into a very tight-looking hug. When Kara tapped Lu's shoulder and a couple of cracks were heard, she finally let go. "I'm sorry; I just missed you guys, is all. Are we ready to go?" "Yep, I have everything I need in my duffle," Kara said. "That you stole from me," Alex complained in a low voice. "Hey, it has so many pockets, and I like it, okay? Don't be rude, and try to keep things to yourself. You weren't even using it anymore," Kara told her. "Okay, okay. Let's go, I have everything too. Let me just grab my bag," Lena said, but before she could, Star picked it up and gave her a look that definitely meant for Lena to just deal with it. Kara pressed the button on the portal device, and a blue swirl appeared before the group. <<>> Cisco was standing in the central control room with the Juniors, Kara, Alex, Lena, Barry, Iris, and Caitlin. "So let me get this straight, you all have superhero names, but I didn't name you?" Cisco had a flabbergasted look on his face when the Juniors all nodded their heads in confirmation, "What are they? I must have approved or at least given suggestions." "No, you weren't there when we all debuted. Otherwise, we would probably be named something cute," Tommy said with a grimace. "Uh- I am the best at naming heroes and villains. If other people do it, it just doesn't sound right. Like that one time–" Cisco was cut off by Barry. "It's okay, you're not the overlord of naming new heroes or villains, it's okay. Let's just hear the names. I'm curious to hear what they came up with," Caitlin interjected. "Okay, okay, calm down. Take a couple of breaths," Jo said, "My superhero name is Rift Rider," she was beaming as she announced herself. She had been working on her name ever since she found out she had powers. There were a lot of rocky ones that just didn't work out. "I like that one. What kind of rifts do you ride?" Cisco said, wiggling his eyebrows at his so-called joke. Miran and Marty looked at each other and shook their heads. Jo held up her hand and created a portal like the one Lena and the others came through earlier that day. As soon as it opened, she put her hand down, and it closed. Cisco looked at Jo a little closer, but before he could say anything or make any connections, Lu spoke up. "Jo actually helped us a bit with our names. She was kind of the last yes or no on whether we came out as a super with that name," Lu said with a soft smile in Jo's direction. "Stop making love eyes and tell them your name," Star said with a finger towards her mouth in a gagging motion. Lu sputtered but continued, "My superhero name is Solaris. It took me a while to come up with it, but I think it fits very well." Kara looked at her daughter and then at Lena. "Darling, don't start tearing up. You still have to hear what Star's superhero name is," Lena put a hand on Kara's shoulder to provide some comfort. She knew Kara was happy about the name, but she didn't see a problem with giving a little bit of physical support. "Thanks, Mom," Star stepped up next to Lu, "My superhero name is Supernova. I had to stick with the 'Super' thing you guys had going on. I went through a lot of bad ones before I got to this one." "Kids, that is wonderful. I'm so proud of you," Kara said, walking up to them and pulling them into a big group hug. She wasn't crying, but her watery eyes could tell a different story. Once Kara let Lu and Star go, Marty spoke up, "My superhero name is Atlas. It's actually an acronym for the suit I have. It stands for A Technologically Limitless Agent Suit. It can do almost all of what Lu and Star can do except freeze breath and heat vision. I'm continuously adding new features. I'm working on an active camouflage feature so I can be virtually invisible," The smile on his face let the other Juniors know they needed to get him off of the topic before he disappeared for two days working on his suit. Miran gripped Marty's shoulder and said, "Okay, you can work on it sometime later. We have to finish, and I'd like you to be here." "Okay, I'll chill out… for now," Marty's smile hadn't dissipated, but he let Miran introduce himself. "My superhero name is Vanguard. Stoic yet badass, right?" Miran said "I like that one. Why didn't I get that name?" Alex asked "Because you didn't think of it, Big Sister," Kara stuck her tongue out and turned back to the group of teens. The Juniors laughed at the look on Alex's face. Laurel stepped forward a bit and looked at the adults in front of her, "I started going by Artemis. Jeremy and I have been obsessed with Greek mythology since we were kids, so…" "I go by Apollo, who's the brother of Artemis. It just made sense with both of the gods being protectors of various things," Jeremy said. The siblings did their handshake that they'd made up when they were little, and both crossed their arms. They looked over to Jamie, who was standing slightly behind them. Jamie looked at them and sighed, "I guess I'm next, huh? I go by Valkyrie. Nothing special, just half of my species. Next," she looked to her right and nodded to Ella. "Awesome, my turn. I go by Vague. I usually wear a helmet or disguise my face in some way, but it works well. I'm always in the shadows, ready to put some criminals in the slammer," Ella said with a smirk on her face. Tommy chuckled, "Don't underestimate her. She's good at what she does. I've lost at ultimate hide and seek so many times because of her. My hero's name is Spectre. I may or may not have been into this super old show called Suits for the longest time. Still, to be honest." "Hey! Suits isn't old. I'm pretty sure it's still got another season coming out," Caitlin looked offended at the 'super old' comment. "He didn't mean to offend anyone. You guys are still young. It's not like in the future with all the wrinkles and the gray hair," Laurel teased the group of adults in front of her with an innocent look on her face. "Listen up, young lady, there's this phrase that says 'respect your elders,' you better listen to it. We're still in our prime. We can kick some ass," Sara said with a finger pointed at her. Connor was patiently waiting for his turn. He was the last of the group to introduce himself, but he always enjoyed watching the bickering. It was amusing. "Anyways, I believe there's one young man waiting to introduce himself again. What's your hero name, Connor?" Iris asked in an attempt to interrupt the mother/daughter thing going on. Connor glanced to the side and saw Laurel slyly knuckle punch Tommy behind her back. He shook his head with a small smile before speaking, "Well, since you asked, I go by Barrage. Jo and Tommy helped me with that one. The one I came up with wasn't fitting at all." "Not fitting. I'm pretty sure you grew out of the name as soon as you grew out of the cape you made for yourself using a blanket," Ella said with laughter as she nudged Connor's ribs. "We do not need to bring back any of those memories. We're real heroes now. I'm glad to have grown up with such an amazing group of friends who became my family," Connor said in a rare show of emotions in front of the adults. The Juniors descended into a flurry of sound and conversations. The adults took that as their cue to let the kids be kids for as long as they could. There was a lot coming up that might take away those little moments of childlike joy. Everyone dispersed to different parts of the building and enjoyed the peaceful moment. <<>>
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter 13
<<
>>
It had been four days since the different teams got their assignments and started prepping. The supersuits were almost completely designed. Ray’s nanites were already uploaded, so Gideon could continue fabricating more. They just needed to ask Diggle for his help acquiring the experimental ballistic material for the fabric. The lab had a steady workflow, with everyone bouncing ideas off each other.
Barry was doing his regular scouting and protecting of Central City while the different teams were getting ready to head out on their respective missions. Kara and a couple of the Legends were helping where they could. The city wasn’t quiet, but there didn’t seem to be any big bads for now.
Sara and Laurel had been talking and training in the gym. Alex would occasionally join them for a spar or five when she got the chance for a break from the lab with Caitlin. Jeremy and Alex had gotten closer after their conversation on Earth 38 in her apartment.
A lot was happening all at once, and Star Labs was the most full it had been since before the particle accelerator explosion.
When Jo walked in and stood in the doorway, Caitlin looked at something through her microscope. Caitlin looked up at the small knock, “Oh, hey. Can I help you with anything?” Caitlin greeted her.
“No, I was just wondering if I could take a break in here. The suits are pretty much out of the design phase, and I could use some peace. Not that the tech lab isn’t peaceful. I just needed a different atmosphere.” Jo started to ramble when Caitlin waved her hand so she could sit next to her.
“Come sit down. I could use a bit of company. Usually, Alex is in here with me, but I think Sara and Laurel have her occupied at the moment,” Caitlin chuckled a bit.
“Laurel loved-loves to spar with her moms. She wants to be better than them so badly. She’ll swear she’s so close to besting them every time she loses,” Jo laughed.
Caitlin quirked a bit at the slip-up, “What do you mean loved?”
Jo sucked in a breath and grimaced, “It’s better for the timeline if I didn’t say that at all, and I’m sure you know I can’t answer that.”
“Yeah, I know. The amount of times Barry has messed up the timeline, I should know better,” Caitlin shook her head and looked back at the sample in her microscope.
Jo breathed out and leaned back in her chair. Her mind was racing with thoughts and questions she wanted to ask her Aunt Caitlin, but she really just wanted a hug. Would it be too much to ask for one? Would it be weird? She didn’t even know Jo. Honestly, what did it matter? It’s just a hug, “Hey, do you think I could get a hug? I don’t want to be weird or anything since you don’t really know me that well, but I know it never hurts to ask.”
Caitlin looked up from her sample and didn’t even hesitate. There was something about this girl that made it easy to give affection. She stood up, held her arms open, and watched as the girl’s face practically lit up. Jo smooshed her face into her Aunt’s shoulder and gave her the tightest hug she could without feeling like she was taking away her breath. It made all of this worth it. The pain and tiptoeing were worth it for a hug from her favorite person apart from her mom and dad.
They broke apart, and Jo swiped a tear from her face before Caitlin could see. It was a happy tear, but still.
Both of them had sat back down when Laurel walked up to the door and knocked on the frame, “Hey Jo, Caitlin. I just wanted to let you know that we’re about to leave for Star City. If you guys want to see us off, that would be great.”
Jo stood up, “I’d love to, but you know we won’t miss you that much,” she stook her tongue out at Laurel but followed her with a laugh as all three of them walked toward where the rest of the group was gathered to say goodbye.
<<
>>
The Juniors were all gathered in a circle about 20 feet away from the Waverider when Jo and Laurel joined them. Marty, Tommy, and Connor all had their suits on already, so Laurel deployed her own as well. Ella was watching as Laurel did this, and a slight blush appeared on her face at the sight.
Miran noticed and poked her in the side as she slapped his hand away. He laughed, turned towards Marty, and continued the hushed conversation they were having before Jo and Laurel arrived. They were giggling and pushing each other's shoulders with large smiles on their faces. It was really quite adorable.
Once everyone settled down from all the hugs and well wishes, Laurel took charge of the Junior’s attention, “Alright, everyone, while we’re gone, everyone needs to be responsible and smart about what is said and done here, okay? I know we all know this, but there’s no harm in a reminder. I love you all, and I want everyone to be safe.”
There were grumbles of acknowledgment, and one or two “You’re no fun” were heard from the group, but they all knew how important it was for their future and their worlds for them to be careful and discreet.
Laurel, Marty, Connor, and Tommy all started walking to the adults who were huddled at the entrance to the Waverider. They had a feeling they walked into the wrong part of their conversation because everything quieted upon their arrival.
“Damn, no need to shut up on our account,” Tommy snarked.
Connor elbowed him hard in the ribs, “Hey! Chill bro. They still don’t fully know who we are yet and what we can handle. We’ll just have to prove it to them,” Connor said with a stern look on his face.
Sara smirked at Laurel’s unimpressed expression at the two. It seemed like this was normal, “No need to get feisty, we were just talking strategy. We can get you guys caught up on the ride over,” she turned away from the teens and towards Barry and Kara, “Just let me know if we need to head back early, we should only be a day or two. I’m leaving a few of the legends here to help with whatever you might need. We definitely don’t need any extra attention with Olly just getting out of jail.”
Kara pulled all of the kids into a hug one by one and told them to be safe. When she got to Sara, she hugged her tight enough to make her gasp, “Protect my niece, and no one gets thrown into the sun,” she completed her hug and statement with a pointed look.
Barry looked at Sara and said, “Hey, I would wish you good luck, but that’s just gonna jinx it. Tell Oliver I said Hey, and I’m glad he’s alright.”
“I will. You guys stay safe, and seriously, if you need us,” she didn’t finish her sentence as she turned towards the door of the Waverider and summoned the rest of the teens onboard.
<<
>>
Sara didn’t need to look behind her as she walked towards the front of the ship to know the four teens were following. Ray was already standing in front of the console typing something in when they walked into the galley. He looked up, and a smile plastered itself onto his face, “Hey guys! Welcome aboard, mateys!” He said in a bad impression of a pirate’s voice.
“Uncle Ray, calm down. We’ve all been on board before,” Laurel said with a chuckle. She missed his antics, but sometimes they really were cringy. She looked up as Nate and Rory walked up to them.
“Wanna get us caught up on the agenda while we’re in Star City?” Nate pointed towards where Gideon’s head projection usually is.
The rest of the team had been crashing in a hotel room close to Star Labs for a couple of days. They had all missed big, comfy beds and alone time. Nobody knew about Gideon’s new body yet except for Laurel, Sara, and the rest of the Juniors, who had witnessed it in the future and knew Laurel’s intentions. Marty had come in and given her a few upgrades over the last couple of days but didn’t say anything about the new avatar to any of the usual crew on the ship.
Nate was looking at the spot where Gideon’s head should be, and he had a confused look on his face. “Well? Are we going in blind?”
Gideon popped into the galley right in front of Nate’s face with a sleek outfit on and long hair. She looked beautiful, “Of course, Mr. Heywood. Nobody will be going into this mission ‘blind.’ That wouldn’t work too well for reconnaissance.”
As soon as Gideon’s avatar popped up in front of Nate, Mick had his heat gun powered up and ready to fry her. Nate and Ray screamed like little girls, and Laurel, Marty, Tommy, and Connor all busted out laughing. Sara stood to the side and shook her head with a slight smile on her face.
“Mick! Put that down. It’s just Gideon,” Sara said, “The kids gave her a couple of upgrades, and apparently Gideon loves pranks.”
Nate looked at Gideon a bit more after he realized she wasn’t a threat, “Wow, you look great, Gideon! That’s a fancy-looking suit you’ve got on.”
Ray had an excited look on his face and looked like he was about to start asking SO many questions. Sara decided to cut that off before it started. They had a mission to go on, and questions could wait.
Sara took control of the room easily, “Okay, team, this should be an easy in and out operation. We are going to collect information on Darhk and his whereabouts and inform Team Arrow of what’s going on with all of the extra time travel. We are not going in for a fight,” She looked at Rory, who snorted and took another swig from his beer.
“I need everyone on their A-Game for this. We can’t afford any mistakes,” Sara looked around the console and nodded her head, “Everyone get buckled up. Gideon, prepare for takeoff. We’re going to Star City, and we don’t want anyone to know we’re coming, so make sure we aren’t spotted.”
“Yes, Captain. Star City 2018,” Gideon’s voice reverberated through the room as everyone found a seat and strapped in.
<<
>>
The Waverider landed on the top of Oliver’s club Verdant. It was camouflaged so the people of Star City wouldn’t think aliens were invading or something. The whole point of the mission was stealth and recon. It would undermine everything if they were spotted by Darhk or the police.
As soon as they landed, Sara stood up and walked to the center console, “We need to keep a low profile. I can’t say this enough. We will NOT be going out to any bars or getting into any fights while we are here,” She looked at Mick when she said that and continued, “If you feel the need to drink in a bar, you can grab a drink here and head right back down to the bunker.”
He grunted in recognition, not looking too happy about it.
“Okay, we’re all going to change clothes and get into something less likely to catch anyone’s attention. Meet back here in 5 minutes so we can head to the bunker. I need to call Felicity to make sure she knows we’re coming down,” Sara, Mick, and Ray all left for their rooms to change and left the teens where they were standing.
Connor was the only one out of the four to have limited his time on the Waverider growing up. His parents weren’t too excited about him being on a time ship very often. He looked to Laurel, Marty, and Tommy, “What’s the plan? I’m not telling anyone anything about my parentage or much else. I’m here because you wanted me to be.”
Laurel sighed, “I understand. None of us were supposed to tell our parents who they were. It was inevitable that some of them would find out, but we need to limit our exposure. There’s no telling what one little slip can do to our existence. Don’t you remember when Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris watched Nora disappear from the timeline? We can’t risk that happening.”
Tommy looked at Marty and Connor, “Laurel’s moms already know who she is. This is not the time for any of us to reveal anything. There’s no telling who we’re going to run into or what will be said. Everyone just needs to keep our training in mind and make sure nobody catches on. No sentimental feelings or looks that’ll make it so much harder to get what we came for done.”
Connor nodded in agreement, and Marty gave a thumbs up. Laurel grabbed all three of them and pulled them into a group hug. There were no words for the danger the Juniors had put themselves in, but they knew they needed to stick together. After all, that was all they had left of the life they had left.
The teens pulled apart when they heard Ray whistling as he walked down the hallway towards them. Their five minutes were up, and it was time to get their heads in the game.
“Alrighty party people, who’s ready to get this show on the road?” He was carrying a duffle bag, probably with some of his clothes and personal items he might need. His smile was the same one they had all seen countless times. He clapped his hands together as Sara and Mick joined them.
“Ray, please save some of that joy for when you see Ollie. I’m sure he could use it,” Sara said innocently. Tommy looked at her and smirked a bit. His dad
had
just gotten out of prison, and he couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when Ray tried to hug him.
<<
>>
After Sara’s team left in the Waverider, Cisco and his little minions of science returned to the lab to continue working on the supersuits. Gideon had recreated enough of Ray’s nanites for the team to start working on some of the new suits. Unfortunately, they still had to wait for Sara and the rest of the team to get back before they could start synthesizing them.
The “little minions” were all excitedly working at their stations. Lu and Jo were buzzing around the lab, checking out the designs and schematics on everyone’s screens. Some awesome features were going to be added to the older supers’ suits.
Star was sitting in a chair with her AI pulled up on her suit. She was typing, scrolling, and swiping away at something she was working on when Ella walked up to her with a sigh.
Star continued working without so much as a glance in Ella’s direction, so Ella pulled a chair up, sat right next to her, and sighed again. Star didn’t stop her work but huffed a bit at Ella. When she realized Star wasn’t going to stop working, she sighed louder and sprawled dramatically on top of Star’s lap.
“Yes? What can I do for you, your majesty?” Star asked with a sarcastic tone as she turned off the holographic screen in front of her, “Can I get you anything? Maybe a certain someone on a time ship in Star City you can bother?”
Ella blushed a bit and sat up in her chair, “No, I just wanted to do something else that isn’t working on the supersuits for like 2 hours. There’s not much you guys can do without material to make them anyway. Wanna spar? We can put up the red sunlight orbs.”
Star looked at her for a second while she thought about it. She could use some time to refresh her mind and come back with new ideas. It was only two hours, why not? “Sure, let’s do it. Maybe we can rope Jeju and Aunt Alex into sparring, too? Then we could go two on two,” Star said enthusiastically.
“Hell yeah, let’s do it. You might have to turn on the Danvers's pout, though. Aunt Alex is in the lab with Caitlin right now working on something.” Ella pulled Star out of her seat to go find the two adults.
They found Kara first and she agreed without any pouts or begging. She had only sparred with Lu and just wanted to be included in her daughter’s life as much as possible. They all three went to Caitlin’s lab and found the scientists with their faces in microscopes.
“Hello, Aunt Alex!” Star said, startling Caitlin. Ella giggled as she watched her jump up from her microscope. Alex just looked up, used to the antics with Kara always trying to sneak up on her.
“Well hi,” She took a closer look at the three people standing just inside the doorway of the lab, “Is there something you need?”
“We were wondering,” She watched as Star continued, “if you wanted to take a break and come spar with us for a bit?”
“Caitlin and I are actually about to make a breakthrough. I can probably spare some time in a couple of hours if you still want to.” Alex said as she finished writing a note on the paper in front of her.
Ella and Star made eye contact and nodded slightly in agreement, “Aunt Alex, please? We need four people for a two on two. Plus we have red sub orbs for Jeju and me, that way it will be a fair fight.” Star could feel she just needed a little extra push, so she put on the signature pout that always worked.
Alex looked up at the mention of new Kryptonian technology, “Really? Red sun orbs? How do those work?” Alex saw the look on Star’s face and knew she was Kara’s kid. There’s no way she was getting guilted into stopping work right now. However, there was a promise of new technology she could observe. They might let her study one, but stopping now would mean she’d lose her groove.
Ella knew her Aunt Alex was overthinking. She could see it on her forehead, so she turned to her Aunt Kara, “You know, I think she just doesn’t have it in her right now. She’s been studying all day, we should just leave her to her microscope.”
Alex’s eyebrow lifted as she put away her things and stood up, “If that’s what you think, you’re in for a world of hurt little lady.”
Ella, Star, and Kara giggled. They all saw and heard the trap being laid, and the moment Alex was caught.
“Wow, I can’t believe I didn’t see that before. Well played, well played. Now let’s go, so I can kick all of your butts,” Alex rolled her eyes as they all started towards the sparring space.
<<
>>
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter 14
<<
>>
Felicity ended the call she’d received only minutes before. She looked over to where Oliver was sparring with the wing-chun dummy near the mats and to where Dig was cleaning his guns. She knew they’d be excited to see Sara but wasn’t too sure about the other new guests she had yet to meet.
“Hey, Dig, Oliver, can you come here? I have some news," she said. They stopped what they were doing and headed over to the computer where she had sat back down.
“What’s going on? It’s not even 6 pm yet. Did something happen?” Oliver asked. He was always ready to protect somebody.
“No, nothing like that. Sara is back in town and is coming down to the Arrow Cave in a couple of minutes,” Felicity said. She held her finger up before either of the boys could say anything, “She called and told me she’s got some news coupled with some new guests that are also coming down. They aren’t a security risk to us, but you never know.”
“Who are they?” Dig asked after he stopped smiling at Felicity’s ‘Arrow Cave.’
“I don’t know yet. I guess we’re about to find out,” Felicity said as she pulled up the club security tapes and looked for Sara.
They were all huddled in front of the camera with Sara on it. She was with Mick and Ray for sure; they weren’t new, but there were four other people whose faces they couldn’t see walking with them outside the club and around back. They looked trained as well, watching for threats all around the building. Maybe some of Nyssa’s people? No, not without Nyssa being with them, and she usually came alone.
They turned around in wait as they heard the beeping of the security system giving Sara and her companions entry to the bunker. Sara’s face was first and greatly welcomed by all three of the people waiting for her arrival. Ray and Mick were next, then the other four they had yet to meet.
The four coming up the rear looked young once they took their hoods off. Like teenagers, actually. The one heading up the group was a tall young man with a caramel skin tone and broad, muscular shoulders. He carried himself with confidence as he walked down the steps, but he wasn’t making eye contact with any of the three waiting for the group.
The one walking behind the first young man was not that much shorter than him, actually. He had a tan but fair skin with a lanky, misleading posture about him. Oliver could tell he was making sure he looked as nonthreatening as possible, he did the same thing. His hair was put in a man bun atop his head and he kept looking at Felicity.
The third was a boy who didn’t look as built as the other two, but still with some muscle on his shoulders. He was dressed quite nicely and had a strong jawline that only complimented his well-done hair and bravado. He was wearing a nice, black button-down shirt with some light gray pants. He didn’t look too much like a fighter, but looks can be deceiving.
The last of the four new people walking towards them was a girl who couldn’t be more than 17 years old. She was keeping her head down, but Diggle could see her looking around the bunker in intervals. She had brunette hair but looked dyed red in the light. Her eyes kept shooting back to Sara though. Interesting.
They all came up on the raised platform where Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity were. Sara hugged them all and greeted them with a wonderful familiarity. Ray hugged Felicity and went in for a hug with Oliver who placed a hand out to stop him. Ray’s chest bounced off of his hand and his face showed a dejected look when he realized he wouldn’t be getting one.
The four new people giggled at the looks on Ray and Oliver’s faces. At the sound, Sara turned towards them and shushed them. Sara turned back towards Team Arrow and motioned for the four to come forward for introductions.
“This is Connor,” she pointed to the broad-shouldered boy who’d walked down the stairs first. She continued on the line in order they walked down the stairs, “Tommy, Marty, and,” she paused as she looked at the girl, “Laurel, my daughter”.
“You’re daughter?? How old is she? You weren’t pregnant when we were kids,” Oliver exclaimed.
“Calm down, I’ll explain everything. It’s actually kind of why we’re here. There’s been a lot going on recently, and by recently I mean like within the last week,” Sara looked like she needed a drink, but nobody said anything about it.
“Okay then, it looks like I’m going to be ordering takeout. Is everybody okay with Big Belly Burger, or do I need to dig in the drawer for another menu?” Felicity asked a lot of people now standing in the Foundry.
There was a chorus of “Yes please” “I could eat” and “That’s fine” from the group. Everyone placed their order.
“We should wait to talk until after we eat. It’s going to be a long conversation, and I’m not looking forward to watching them try to talk with their mouths open again,” Sara said with an exasperated sigh.
“Okay then, Dig, do you think you could go pick this up? It should be ready in about 15 minutes,” Felicity asked her friend.
“I got you, are we splitting payment or?” Dig asked. He’d been stuck with the bill too many times to count, so he’d learned to ask.
“I got it. Gideon printed off a card for me before we left the ship with plenty of money on it,” Sara told the group.
Dig left to pick the food up, and the teens got comfortable in the Arrow Cave. Oliver watched as Sara’s daughter walked down towards where he had been training earlier. She waved the boy with the bun, Tommy, over to the mats.
“Ready to get your ass kicked?” Laurel said. Now that Oliver thought about it, it was a fitting name for the girl who looked so much like her namesake.
“I’m ready when you are,” Tommy said with a jab to the side of her head. Oliver watched as they danced around the mats.
They were well-trained. He was studying them as they continued in a flurry of hands and feet. He could see the use of jiu-jitsu, muay thai, judo, and wing chun. The teens were incredibly well-trained. They only looked 16 or 17 years old. He could only wonder what they went through to get to such great lengths in their training.
Connor walked up to Oliver as he watched the two on the mats, “They’re good aren’t they?”
“Yeah, I can see the training being used very well. Who trained them?” Oliver asked.
“I can’t tell you that, but you’ll find out a lot soon enough,” Connor and Oliver stood in silence after that while watching the two. Oliver knew when answers weren’t going to be shared.
While the boys were watching the two on the mats Sara and Felicity were talking in front of the computer setup.
Martin was standing silently behind them analyzing Felicity’s work desk. He was mildly impressed with everything he could see without checking the software downloaded.
Felicity saw him staring, “Hey, my name is Felicity,” she held out her hand for a handshake, “I see you looking at my system. Would you like to come check it out?” Normally she would never let a stranger come anywhere near her stuff, but he came with Sara and he looked like a curious little cat.
“Oh, um. No, I’m okay. I don’t want to intrude. I know how sacred a work environment can be. You can show me if you want though,” Marty said to his Aunt Felicity. He knew how touchy she could get, and he would never want to upset her. She was one of his favorite heroes and a wonderful role model he’s had for most of his life.
“How sweet, you can come to check out some of the programs I’m running right now if you like. I’ll walk you through them,” Felicity said. She watched as he eagerly came up to the desk and watched her tap on her keyboard and move the mouse to pull up something she was working on in the background of all the Arrow surveillance.
Sara could tell she was officially dismissed from the conversation when they started saying words like “algorithm,” “framework,” and “repository”. That last one was the one she walked away from, it sounded too much like a suppository. She decided to join the two on the mats.
She watched until there was a pause in sparring, “Can I join?”
“Sure! We doing teams or what?” Laurel said. She looked at Tommy and then back at Sara.
“We can do teams. You two against me sound alright?” Sara said.
Tommy smirked a bit, “Sounds alright to me. We could use some more practice against an old person.”
“Old?! Get your little butts ready to lose, bad,” Sara was appalled and offended at the implication of her being old.
<<
>>
Cisco, Lu, and Jo were all in the lab huddled around Lena and the computer she was typing on. Lena had the research she’d brought from Earth-38 pulled up on it. There was a lot they could convert for the suits. She had already been designing a better suit for Supergirl that would protect her in worst-case scenarios.
“You know, we could use this,” Lu pointed to something on the screen, “I think it would work well with the material we’re going to get and the nanites.”
Lena made a note on her legal pad she was using to compile data, “Okay, that… We could improve this a bit though. Can you and Miran start working on this?” Lena looked at Lu and held up the sheet she had written on.
“Yeah sure, it shouldn’t take too long either. He’s super good at figuring out how things work,” Lu responded as she took the page her Mom was holding out for her and left the room to find Miran. They could hear her talking to him on comms as she walked down the hallway.
“I’m going to let you guys keep on here. I’ve got a couple more ideas brewing for the different suit designs. Let me know if you need me for anything else,” Jo said with a wave goodbye. She already had her AI pulled up as she swiped through the air.
Lena looked at Cisco, “Pull up a chair, we’ve got a lot of information to sift through. Also, I want to talk about a certain teenager who gets entirely too excited to talk to you.”
“What do you mean? Jo? She’s just enamored with the absolute coolness that is me. She’s probably met me in the future anyway. They seem to know everyone they’ve seen so far.”
“You can’t tell me you don’t see it? She looks at you with adoration, but doesn’t call you ‘Uncle’. She looks at you every single time she says something. It’s like she
craves
your validation. Also, she couldn’t stop sneaking looks at you when we first came over from my Earth.”
She could see Cisco slowly connecting the dots. Sometimes people were so slow it was scary, especially because this one was so smart.
“Oh, ooooh, oh…” Cisco’s face changed with every “oh” that came out of his mouth, “Oh my gosh, she’s… she’s…”
“Yes, she’s your daughter. Plus, how do you think they got back here? There’s no way one of your extrapolators just brought them back in time. She probably inherited your powers too and learned how to refine them to space and time,” Lena explained.
“But, who would her mom be? I’m still heartbroken over Gypsy. I can’t imagine being with anyone else. I know for sure Gypsy isn’t pregnant, we’d been so careful. There’s no way any of us would’ve had kids within the next couple of years except for Barry and Iris,” Cisco was rambling and couldn’t quite keep his thoughts inside his head anymore.
“Listen, I know exactly what you’re going through. When I found out I had kids, that’s two, I was in so much shock. It’s a lot to deal with, but let her come to you. She’ll tell you when and if she’s ready. If I can see it with so much clarity now, she’s not far behind on wanting you to know who she is,” Lena comforted Cisco with words as he leaned back in his chair with a look of surprise still on his face.
“You know, I would’ve thought you made that connection before. It was so obvious. Let’s go ahead and get your mind off of that and get to work. It’s going to be a long night,” Lena turned towards her computer screen and started typing away.
<<
>>
Jo walked through the main room where Iris and Ella were monitoring the city for threats. It was a Saturday, so Iris had some time to hang out.
“Hey, you doing alright?” Ella asked Jo as she distractedly walked and worked.
“Mm, gonna go sit on a couch. Love you,” Jo mumbled as she kept walking towards the common room/break room.
Ella giggled at the words and looked back to the screens in front of her. There wasn’t much going on. It wasn’t weird, but nothing that the local police force couldn’t handle on their own.
“There’s not much activity today. Not that that’s a bad thing, but still,” Iris said with a shrug, “So, what do you like to do Ella? Anything fun you do when you’re not being a giggly teenager?”
Ella looked up from the screen she was monitoring, “Not a lot, I like riding my motorcycle. I’m kind of sad I couldn’t bring it with us back here. It was my baby. I just put some new mods on it like a month ago,” Ella sighed.
“Whoa, a motorcycle. Do you even have your license yet?” Iris said.
Ella laughed at the look on her face, “Yeah, I got it right as I turned 16 a couple of months ago, but I’ve been riding dirt bikes and smaller cycles since I was like 12. My moms were super cool about it. They would ride with me when they had time. I started building my own when I turned 15”
“Well, that sounds like a fun time. I’m glad you got that experience. We don’t have any bikes you can ride right now, unfortunately. Got anything else you like to do?”
“I like beating up bad guys,” Ella wiggled her eyebrows up and down making Iris laugh a bit at the goofy look.
“You sound a lot like some heroes I know, is that what you want to do when you grow up? Be a hero?” Iris asked.
“I’ve thought a lot about it. I like being in the field, it’s exhilarating, but if I’m being honest, I like coming up with strategies behind the computers more. I’m good at looking at the big picture and leading people where they need to go. Plus, my team trusts me completely to send them where they can be the most help in a situation. I know you understand that with your role on Team Flash, right?” Ella said.
“Yeah, I do get that. It has its own exhilaration. You know, Felicity is really good at that too. Hopefully, I’ll get to see her soon. There’s apparently a crisis we’re dealing with, so she’ll probably make the trip once she finds out about the new suits and everything that’s going on. Well, not going on, but will be going on. There’s no way Sara can keep a secret from her,” Iris was interrupted when an alarm started going off and the screens started flashing with an alert symbol.
There was a rush of people in the control room all of a sudden. Kara, Lu, Star, Alex, Zari, Jeremy, Jamie, and almost everyone except Barry were there. At least there were heroes in the city who could help when Barry was late to the party.
Ella looked at Lu and Star, “We aren’t supposed to help, but this looks a little big for just the Flash to handle. I’m not even sure they know who Lobo is.”
<<
>>
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
<<
>>
After hearing the whole story, at least what the adults knew already, from Sara with occasional comments and edits from the teens sitting across from them, Team Arrow was taking everything in. Oliver was holding his face with his hands and breathing slowly, Felicity kept looking between the teens with a thoughtful expression, and Diggle was pacing back and forth. His fries had gone cold a while ago.
“So you’re telling me that we have to fight not only Darhk but an entire ‘league’ of villains that have teamed up from different fucking Earths?” Diggle exclaimed. Felicity gasped at the vulgarity of his language. She’d never heard him say more than ‘hell’ or ‘damn.’
“Dig, there are children!” Felicity said with a harsh tone to her voice, “You can use different words, and you know it.”
Connor, Tommy, and Laurel all got wide-eyed at the patented ‘Loud Voice’. They saw Oliver snicker a bit at Diggle getting reprimanded and knew it wouldn’t take much for the tables to turn on him.
“Okay, okay, I know this is a lot to take in, but we need to get it together. Everything will be okay as long as we work together,” Laurel raised her voice to get everyone’s attention, “We need Uncle D’s help. We only ask because this is a dire need. We would never ask you to compromise any relationships or opportunities for you otherwise.”
“Uncle D?? Whoa, whoa, calm down kid. I don’t even know who you are, don’t get familiar yet. I’m not even comfortable with all the stuff we’ve encountered before with Barry and Metahumans yet. Let alone, time-traveling teenage heroes who apparently say the apocalypse is coming,” Diggle hadn’t taken one breath throughout the entire rant, so when he gasped for air Felicity rubbed his shoulder in support. She understood how overwhelming it all was for him sometimes.
“I’m sorry, I’ll just call you Dig if that’s okay?” Laurel said with a look that was guilty but also looked like there was a signature Lance smirk hidden beneath it.
All Dig could do was nod and glower over at her and the other teens. Connor’s face was blank, not one microexpression to figure out. Tommy on the other hand was just flat-out smirking and holding in a chuckle at best.
“All we need you to do is grab a sample of a fabric from an A.R.G.U.S. lab. We know you still have full clearance, so it would be easier for you to go in and act normal than for us to get caught. We have a team of people in Central City working on new suits for everyone that are safer and offer more technological advancements for better control, speed, agility, and firepower,” Laurel said.
Tommy spoke up as he stood, “It’s not quite the same as ours, but it’s as close as we can get without being in the future,” as he finished the sentence he tapped his bracelet and his suit trailed out of it and molded to fit his body. The green is as familiar to Team Arrow as could be. It was the same one that Oliver wore.
Oliver’s thoughts were running wild, trying to connect the dots. Why was he wearing a version of the Arrow suit? There was a quiver on his back as well. Maybe he took in another protege and passed on the color as well. He looked to Felicity and back to the kid. The brief eye contact was enough to know they were thinking the same thing, “Why are you wearing my colors, Kid? Your name is Tommy, so there was obviously a connection to me before the suit. You’re my kid, aren’t you?”
“Can’t say a word, sorry. Coming back from the future rules. There’s already been too much revealed by other unspecified Juniors,” He said with a dirty look at Laurel. He got a whack in the arm for that one.
“Unspecified my ass,” she mumbled with the smack.
“Guys, enough, we need to get that fabric piece before something goes wrong, and we also need to get back to Central City. There’s too much at stake to be messing around. So, are you in or are you in?” Connor asked Team Arrow. There wasn’t much room to say no considering everything they were told by the Teens with Sara backing their story up.
“Give us a couple of minutes, go spar or something. Sara come here,” Oliver, Felicity, Diggle, and Sara all walked to the other side of the Arrow Cave while the kids walked to the mats, “So, is everything they said really true? Have you double-checked their story?”
Sara sighed, “Well since they’ve already traveled back in time and changed things it makes it really hard to check a changed future. Also, I don’t need to tell you that if it were true, we need their knowledge of the future to help prevent it. There’s also the problem of them maybe not being born with changing the past as well. They could just blink out of existence at one wrong word or action. The butterfly effect is real,” Sara was looking at Felicity. She had her thinking face on.
When she noticed Sara staring she cleared her throat, “Well, I think we should help. If this whole ‘end of the world as we know it’ thing is going to keep happening, we might as well try to stop it. I think we’ve done this enough times to be able to do something about it.”
Dig nodded, “I’ll do it, but I don’t like all this back from the future stuff. I’m still not used to the aliens and metas and fracking magic. I think Lyla will help, I might need to bring her in on this if she starts asking too many questions. We could use her help and resources if things get too messy anyway.”
“I agree, it’s never a bad option having a badass woman helping out,” Sara said while wiggling her eyebrows.
“I need to make a call. Keep the kids away from my stuff. I don’t want their grubby little fingers on everything,” Dig said before walking away with his phone in his hand.
>>
<<
“Who’s Lobo?” Iris asked as she stared at the computer console like she was looking for an answer there.
“Lobo is a homicidal maniac who’s basically indestructible. He can regenerate from one blood cell. There’s a couple of ways we can get him to leave the city alone though. We’ve had to deal with his antics a couple of times in our time,” Jamie said to the group of adults listening while gearing up for a fight.
“That’s a terrible name, I could’ve done a way better job. Maybe he’d be open to a rebranding?” Cisco started mumbling to himself trying out new names that he thought might work.
“I can distract him if everyone splits up to help civilians. I could also use some air support. He’s got this space cycle. Ella’s obsessed with it, she could tell you more about it than I can,” Jamie gestured toward where Ella was standing.
“OH! Okay, well, it’s like super fast. He can go from 0 to a billion instantaneously. There’s only a couple of people that can even see it at that speed and half of them are in this room,” She looked around and Barry had shown up in his suit already. There wasn’t a lot of time for standing around and talking, so she tried to be quick, “If we can we need to get him off of it and distract him from causing chaos throughout the city. We don’t know what he wants here. He could be after anything from tech to someone he’s been paid to find or kill. He will kill anyone in his way, or really anyone.”
“Okay, I think I got the gist of this,” Barry said, “We don’t need everyone out in the field,” he saw the disgruntled looks on the faces of everyone in the room.
“He’s right, we need a specialized team of people who know what they’re doing and can get the situation under control without much damage to the surrounding buildings and people,” Alex said. She looked over to a grateful Barry and nodded her head.
“We need Kara, Alex, Jamie, Ella, Miran, and Jeremy. A small enough team with enough firepower to get this Lobo character out of here,” Barry was hoping this wasn’t too much, but he was also worried it wasn’t enough. He didn’t know who Lobo was or what he was capable of. Barry was glad it was nighttime, so the citizen casualties would be at a low. They were still in the city though, so it wasn’t a promise.
Cisco looked at the group that had been called forward, “Is everyone ready for the trip? I’m going to open a portal straight to where the satellite placed him. Get ready,” the Juniors in the group all double-tapped their bracelets. Alex was already in her tactical gear from the time it took Barry to say her name. Kara and Barry blurred for a second and they were ready too. That didn’t take long at all.
Cisco flared out his arm and opened a blue swirling portal. He watched as they all jumped through. All he had after that was Iris who was monitoring the coms. It was sure to be a good fight.
<<
>>
Laurel looked at her communicator and saw the text that had been sent a good ten minutes ago. “Oh shit,” it came out before she could filter her automatic response. She looked over to Marty, Tommy, and Connor. They all checked their own communicators and saw the same thing. There wasn’t any way they could leave without the swab. The team was depending on them, they couldn’t come back empty-handed.
Felicity and Sara looked over to the kids, and immediately they could tell something was wrong. Ray was almost completely oblivious to the looks on the kids' faces, so it looked like he wasn’t going to be of much help.
Sara looked at Felicity for a split second before deciding to just ask, “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”
“Nothing, it’s fine. It’s nothing the rest of the team can’t handle without us,” Connor said to the three adults sitting with them.
“What can they handle?” Felicity had a determined look on her face as she looked at each of them individually and all together at the same time. Laurel was not used to this look being turned on her.
The agreement to downplay the situation fell apart when Sara and Felicity teamed up with the stern “mom” looks. They didn’t seem like they were going to back down anytime soon. It wasn’t that bad, really. The Juniors had faced Lobo plenty of times, just not alone.
“There’s an anti-hero named Lobo that’s shown up in Central City. If he’s shown up that means there’s a reason. If anyone gets in his way, it could get bad. It’s nothing too big for the rest of our team to handle with the help of Team Flash and Supergirl’s own team. He’s just a dick, and doesn’t like to back down,” Tommy broke under the weight of his mom’s stare. She could pry anything out of him with that look.
Connor and Martin looked at him with disappointed looks. They thought he would last a lot longer than that, but they overestimated his ability to withstand his mother.
Martin spoke up, “It’s not like we can leave to go help anyway. We
need
to get that fabric. It’s quite literally a matter of life and death. There are certain people who need that protection for the fights to come. It’s going to be a bumpy ride, if we wait, it could be even worse,” He needed them to understand the amount of concern that needed to come with this situation. It wasn’t like there was a choice, not really.
“He’s right, they’ll be fine. None of us need to go, we’ll only make it harder for them,” Laurel said with a sigh.
Sara didn’t know if she should believe them, but there wasn’t anything they could do right now anyway. There wasn’t much they could do until they’d completed their mission. It wasn’t just the fabric they needed to come back with, they still had to run surveillance on Darhk.
<<
>>
The streets were almost completely empty. That was a bonus, but it didn’t help that the air was thick with tension as they faced Lobo.
The heroes stood in a loose formation in the middle of a deserted city street. Lobo grinned, his chain wrapped around his arm, the hook at the end glinting in the neon lights. His eyes held a determined glint, “Alright, who’s first?? The Main Man ain’t got all night,” he shouted at the group.
Supergirl took the first stand. She took a step forward, her eyes glowing an eerie red. The Flash cracked his knuckles, his body vibrated with anticipation. Alex adjusted the gauntlets she was wielding, ready to fire. Jamie drew her sword, its edge shimmering. The three Juniors took their positions elsewhere. Jeremy was aiming a rifle from a nearby rooftop, Miran was setting up gadgets around the “battlefield”, and Ella was sitting a fair distance away with a perfect aerial view.
Ella was communicating strategies based on the strengths of her teammates and the position of everyone against Lobo.
Supergirl speaks in that loud, dominating voice, “We’ve taken down tougher guys than you, Lobo. Surrender now, and no one has to get hurt.”
Lobo laughed, a deep, guttural sound. He looked at her, “You’re funny, Girl Scout. But you know what they say about the last Czarnian? We don’t go down easy.”
Suddenly the Flash burst into motion, creating a vortex to disorient Lobo. Supergirl flew in with a powerful punch, but Lobo sidestepped easily, swinging his chain at her. It wrapped around her waist, and he yanked her down, slamming her into the concrete.
Jamie charged, and her sword clashed with Lobo’s chain. The two engaged in a fierce melee, with Lobo’s brute strength against her skill and might. They exchanged blows, neither gained the upper hand.
Alex snuck in behind Lobo and fired a concussive blast with her gauntlets. He grunted and turned to face her, but Alex dodged his swipe and landed a series of precise strokes to his ribs. Lobo grinned through the pain, grabbed Alex, and tossed her aside.
The Flash zipped around, landing rapid punches to Lobo’s face and torso. Lobo growled in frustration, his wounds were healing almost instantly.
“Hold still, you little pest!!” Lobo huffed. He grabbed a nearby car and hurled it at the Flash, who phased through it, but the distraction gave Lobo a moment to focus on the others. Jeremy fired a round-off, but the bullets ricocheted off of Lobo’s thick skin.
Miran pressed a button on his wrist that activated a device that would send off a pulse toward Lobo. It momentarily stunned Lobo, but the effects didn’t last long.
Supergirl had recovered, her eyes were blazing. She unleashed a blast of heat vision that hit Lobo square in the chest. He roared in pain but remained standing.
Supergirl looked at him, “Give up, Lobo. You’re outmatched”
He looked at her with a feral look in his eyes, “Not by a longshot, sweetheart.”
He charged at Supergirl, their clash sent shockwaves through the street. Jamie and Alex joined the fight, their coordinated attacks pushing Lobo back. The Flash circled them, creating a whirlwind to further disorient him.
Lobo snarled at the realization that he was losing ground and fast. He reached for something and activated a bomb attached to his bike. He glared at the heroes not giving up the fight, “Time to make my exit. See you losers later!”
With that the bomb exploded, creating a massive smoke screen. When it cleared, Lobo was gone. The heroes were left standing in the wreckage bruised but victorious.
Ella was in their ears the entire time letting everyone know when and where to attack. She broke the silence that had settled upon the group, “He’ll be back, but we’ll be ready next time.
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Felicity and Sara were sitting in the bunker speaking about Darhk and how they were going to find him. It was going to take a lot of work, but they were going to find him. It had been about a day and a half since they had shown up out of the blue asking for favors galore. This was the one thing Sara knew they would help with.
Laurel, Tommy, and Connor were talking to their counterparts about how the fight with Lobo went and the aftermath. It was nice to hear some enthusiasm, but it was a little disturbing to hear teenagers talk about violence in such an exciting way. I guess it came with the vigilante territory.
The two women looked up as they heard a spark in the space Ray and Marty were working in. They were fiddling with some machine Sara didn’t care to know about. It was sweet though, seeing Ray get excited about something with someone other than the team. There weren’t a lot of people who could tolerate tech speak for very long.
The door to the bunker beeped and Dig walked in with Oliver. Diggle had a box in his arms and Oliver was in a suit with his tie loosened. The Juniors who were in attendance got up to see what Dig had with him. Oliver moved out of the way, so as not to get pummeled by the excited teens.
“I got what you needed. I had to jump through so many hoops, that I promised Lyla a vacation to Bora Bora and a kid-free week soon. You better be glad we know some trusted babysitters, or you wouldn’t have gotten this.” Dig shook his head as Marty grabbed the box and looked it over.
There was a keypad and a fingerprint scanner. It seemed largely untouched, but he looked up to Diggle anyway, “Were you given clearance?”
“No, but I trust that won’t be a problem. You look capable enough with all that tech you carry around on your wrists,” Diggle walked to the weapons rack and started field-stripping his pistol without looking behind him.
“Good thing he’s right,” Laurel said, “Marty can you open and reprogram it, please,” it wasn’t a question, she knew he could do it. She just wanted to put a passcode and scan someone’s fingerprint to keep it secured from others who may or may not try to steal it before they can get it back to the tech team in Central City.
Marty got to work, it wouldn’t take more than 5 minutes if he took his time.
“Aha!” Felicity exclaimed, “I found him. Well not
him
, but a trace of where he might be. You should be able to go on recon tonight. Do you need coms to stay connected to the bunker?”
“No we can just pair ours to your system,” Laurel held up her bracelet and typed a command into the holographic screen. It dinged and Felicity saw the four new com links that showed up on the screen.
“Okay, I’ll let you all get ready then. You should be safe to head out in 6-7 hours. It’ll be dark enough and the police won’t be too bad. Oliver, are you joining them?” Felicity could tell he was tired and not quite ready to start thinking about Laurel’s death too hard, but he would always be ready to avenge a loved one.
“Yes, just recon? Why not more? If there’s a problem in the future, wouldn’t taking him out of the equation now solve a lot of problems?” Oliver had a lot of questions for someone who liked beating people up.
“We don’t know what plans may or may not have been put in motion, we can’t act too quickly. You have to remember that the future chaos had been in planning for decades. This isn’t something to be rushed. If we make one wrong move, it could doom us all into never existing in the first place,” Tommy looked at Oliver with a frustrated and disappointed face, like Oliver should’ve known better than to ask. Felicity thought it almost looked like a young Oliver was looking at himself…
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