A CHANGE OF HEART
Superman stood for a long time in the STAR Labs facility where he had just relinquished a misplaced Lois Lane to her own dimension, gazing across the room long after the static white light had faded with a taunting fizzle. For the brief time she'd been here, he'd felt as though he had recovered _his_ Lois, the intrepid reporter that had perished in a car bombing nearly five years ago. She had made him see things from a new perspective, helped him to understand the folly of his well-intended actions. And now she was gone.
Again.
He wasn't sure how long he simply remained there in the abandoned, run-down building, but it had felt like an eternity when he left to drift up towards the high rooftops of Metropolis and resume his musings. So caught up was he in his troubled thoughts that he hardly noticed when a shadow fell across his path, blocking the light of the moon. He glanced up and regarded the newcomer who greeted him with a barrage of questions.
"What's going on, Kal? I go away for one evening and everything goes crazy around here. Luthor's dead, people are milling around in the streets past curfew, the monument in the middle of town is in ruins..."
The Man of Steel appraised his young companion in a new light. Kara In-Ze had turned out to be the law enforcer he'd always aspired for her to be; he had taught her well. Or had he? Superman realised now that he'd made a grievous mistake - several of them in succession, actually - and training the young Argosian to follow his lead and control the city with an iron fist had only been one of them.
She noticed his distant expression and tipped her head to the side, raising an eyebrow. "Kal? Did you hear me?"
"Yes, Kara. I heard you." Slowly, he lifted into the air and held out his hand, indicating that she should follow. "Come with me. We have some things to discuss."
A puzzled frown upon her face, Kara rose after him and glided by his side as they moved higher into the sky, soon surrounded by an explosion of stars and tendrils of wispy clouds bathed in moonlight. Here he paused, hovering in midair, as did Kara. She regarded him expectantly.
The Man of Steel took a moment before he spoke, trying to sort out what he wanted to say. "Kara...we can't go on like this anymore. It's wrong to force our will on other people the way we've been doing. We have to stop."
He looked up at her to gauge her reaction. She stared at him, a stunned expression on her face. "Stop? But we've done such a good job cleaning up Metropolis. The city's never been safer."
"It's never been more frightened, either," he added, making certain he had her full attention. "Look, Kara, I know what I've told you the past few years, what I've taught you to do and think, but...I was wrong." It was a tough admission to make. After so many years of delivering his word as law - literally - Superman hated having to say that he'd made a mistake.
The young woman before him narrowed her eyes. "You're saying it was wrong to try to eliminate crime from Metropolis? That we should have let it run unchecked?"
"Of course not. All I'm saying is...it's time for a change. We've hurt a lot of people. They need protectors who will defend their rights, not dictators that force them into obeying rules."
"But humanity is weak! They have to be controlled, otherwise they'll end up destroying themselves! You said so yourself!" Kara folded her arms across her chest. "Or have you forgotten that?"
Superman flinched. _I could never forget that,_ he told himself. _It'll haunt me the rest of my life._ "Humanity is not weak, Kara. If anything, they've showed me how strong they can be, even in the face of impossible odds. They can be willing to risk their own freedom, their own _lives,_ to stand up for what they believe in." He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I remember teaching you the value of that ideal, as well."
Kara glared up at him, her expression conflicted. "You've changed in the day I've been gone, Kal-El," she told him. Betrayal and confusion warred in her soft tone. "What happened to the super-man who told me never to be controlled by my emotions? Who taught me to do what I knew was right, above all else?"
"That man...is gone, Kara. He died when I talked with Lois again."
The fair-haired girl blinked and leaned forward in disbelief. "You talked with Lois?"
"Not the Lois of this dimension. She came from another Metropolis - one where I'd saved her from that car bomb, where the people of this city were free and happy and felt safe knowing that I'd protect them. They didn't fear their defenders like they do here, Kara. Those defenders didn't terrorise them into obeying the law."
She was still clearly skeptical. "Where is she now?"
"Back home in her Metropolis, where she belongs." He hesitated and added softly, "With her Superman."
"Careful, Kal-El." Kara's voice had a dangerous edge to it. "You sound like you're starting to let your emotions get the better of you."
"There's nothing wrong with feeling emotion, Kara. It can be awful sometimes, but other times it feels wonderful. You believed that once - you knew it in your soul. You followed your heart, Kara, and did what you believed what was right, in here - " He pointed to her chest. " - not up here." Superman gave her a gentle touch to the forehead.
She darted away from his touch and regarded him through eyes narrowed in absolute fury. "You feed me your dogma for four years about the way a 'proper' defender of Metropolis should feel," she hissed at him, her fists clenched, "and now, all of a sudden, you have a change of heart and tell me I was right before? How _dare_ you?" She was fighting back tears now. "How dare you do this to me after you separated me from everything I valued, everything I _loved_? Wasn't it bad enough it happened to you? Did you have to make me miserable too?!"
He reached forward to put his hands on her trembling shoulders. "Kara, I never meant to do that to you. You have to know that I'd never willingly put anyone through the agony I went through after I lost Lois."
She jerked away, raising her fists in front of her. Tears streamed silently down her cheeks, but her voice was under absolute, excruciating control. "You've grown weak, Kal-El," she told him. "You're no longer fit to help me guard the city. By giving in to your human emotions, you've proven yourself unworthy of the position you held above them. In short, you are a traitor."
The Man of Steel reached for her again. "Kara, please listen to - "
"TRAITOR!" she roared at him, slamming her fist into his jaw. For a girl half the age of her adversary, she was incredibly strong; Superman, unprepared for this attack, was sent reeling, plummeting straight to earth. She followed, diving after him like a falcon descending on its prey.
They met in midfall, she seizing him by the front of his black-and-red uniform and delivering another shattering blow to his face. He blocked the punch aimed at his stomach and shoved her away, trying to force some sense into her so she could realise what she was doing.
Kara needed no such moments of affirmation. She was fueled by the rage of betrayal and an unwavering commitment to duty that had been planted in her from the start of her crime-fighting career. Again she leaped at him, seeking blood.
He dodged her attack and launched one of his own, grabbing and swinging her into the side of a building. The last thing he wanted to do was harm her, particularly when she was feeling so angry and hurt in the first place, but she was beyond reasoning and would likely not stop until she had killed him or exhausted herself. At this point, the former seemed a more probable ending to this confrontation.
Kara shot out of the rubble, her lip curled back in a snarl. She lunged forward, arms outstretched, but once more he moved out of the way so that she flew underneath him. He propelled her into the ground with a well-aimed swat and began desperately searching for something to contain her with. The only thing within reach was a lamppost, which he quickly uprooted and wrapped around the outraged superteen, immobilising her.
"Kara, you have to calm down!" he ordered her. "We can talk this through. I know you're angry, but beating me into a pulp isn't going to do any good." He was rewarded for his efforts by a blast of heat vision aimed just below his midsection. "Fine, have it your way. I'll be back when you're ready to settle down and discuss things."
Superman lifted into the sky and took off at top speed. He knew his final 'offer' was merely a bluff; she would untwist that bent hunk of metal and be back on his trail in no time. But before that happened, he hoped to have put some major distance between them - and finding a spot to hide and to plan wouldn't hurt, either.
He did not pick a lead-lined bomb shelter or other such likely place as his refuge; she would look for those places first, and hopefully, by the time she'd located and searched every lead-lined building in Metropolis, she'd have calmed down enough to want to talk rather than fight.
It occurred to him that the freedom fighters celebrating their victory over Luthor might not be safe under these circumstances. In her current state of mind, Kara was likely to lash out at anyone who got in her way, and she might possibly rouse Luthor's troops to strike against the rebels as well. Hoping Kara was still occupied, Superman took the shortest possible route to the destroyed monument, where he knew most of the rebels would still be gathered.
Having his only living relative turned against him like this filled him with a pain he had not felt in nearly five years. Kara had been more than a student and partner in ridding his beloved city of wrongdoing; she was like a sister to him. He'd always cared deeply for her, though he'd chosen to bury such feelings long ago.
Where had he gone wrong? All he'd wanted was to prevent the same tragedy from happening to others as had happened to him. He'd had the citizenry's best interests at heart in the beginning; but after a while, he acknowledged, it had become more a quest for vengeance than anything else. Superman had already started cracking down hard on criminals when he'd forged the alliance with Lex Luthor, the man he'd long considered his greatest enemy. Even so, after a year there was still more crime in Metropolis than the superhero would have liked, and he'd felt it might be time to seek outside assistance.
Even today he wasn't sure just why he had chosen to make the journey to Krypton - or rather, to what remained of Krypton since its demise three decades ago. He had encountered other Kryptonians on one occasion, freeing them from an interdimensional limbo known as the Phantom Zone, but they had wanted to overthrow his home and rule it for themselves. Kal-El had seen to it that they'd never try to take over another world again. His encounter with Jax-Ur and Mala had piqued his curiosity; he'd wondered, against all common sense, if perhaps there were other Kryptonians who had survived the holocaust by escaping to another planet or colonising a nearby moon.
And so the Man of Steel had begun reworking the rocket that brought him to Earth to make the same journey in reverse, overseeing the preparations as they were made in a LexCorp research facility. On several of these occasions, Lex Luthor had joined him, observing the technicians' work.
"I trust your people will take care of Metropolis while I'm gone, Luthor." It was not a question; it was almost a threat.
Luthor, however, was not a man to be easily intimidated. "Of course, Superman. Please remember that I have something of a vested interest in the continued well-being of this city, myself. Rest assured, Metropolis will be in good hands."
Pushing all doubts to the back of his mind, Superman had made the journey as soon as the ship was deemed ready for interstellar travel. It had been a long shot, he'd known all along, and he had been rather disappointed to find that there were no survivors of the late, great Krypton; but the young fair-haired girl he'd discovered in a cryogenic suspension chamber on the nearby icy planet of Argo had filled him with hope. She had not been what he'd been expecting, but if she had all the latent talents of her Kryptonian kin waiting to flourish under Earth's yellow sun, she would do nicely.
Kara proved to be an apt pupil upon her arrival to Earth. Absorbing the power-enhancing rays of the sun, she grew quickly in strength and intellect, and swiftly mastered her other newfound skills as well. Once she had adapted to her new home and learned its language and customs, Kal-El had started training her to aid in his neverending battle against wrongdoing. When she could best him in mock-combat, employing every trick and strategy he'd taught her, he started taking her out with him on routine patrols of the city.
Despite the speed at which she learned and grew, however, she was still not entirely certain just why such drastic measures were being taken in response to relatively insignificant crimes. Her formal education in this matter began late one night as the pair soared through the starry sky over Metropolis, keeping a lookout for trouble.
Kal-El's super hearing alerted him to the sound of breaking glass somewhere down below, and without a word he swooped earthwards, knowing Kara would follow. He located the source of the noise: a small market with a shattered front window. Kal-El motioned to Kara to join him as he perched on the roof of a nearby building, observing the scene below.
"X-ray that store," he told her. "What do you see?"
She squinted, leaning forward a bit. "I see...a man. Moving through the aisles, grabbing things off the shelves and putting them in a bag."
"Very good. What do we do now?"
"Um, swoop down there and grab him, I guess." She gave a little half-shrug, glancing up at her mentor for affirmation. He nodded, and dropped off the building, shooting for the tiny shop and its non-paying customer. Kara was hot on his heels, landing outside the building as Superman emerged, carrying the thief by the front of his shirt. She was shocked at how emaciated the poor man looked; he clearly hadn't eaten in a while. No wonder he was stealing food.
"Please," the man begged, "let me go. My family is waiting for me - I had to get food for them. They'll starve to death if they go without much longer."
"Save it," Superman growled. "I've heard all your feeble excuses. I'm sure you'll get adequate meals in prison." With his captive in tow, he lifted off and headed in the direction of the police station, leaving Kara to stare in his wake. Something about this just didn't feel right.
She confronted the Man of Steel about it after he'd handed the thief over to the authorities. "Kal-El," she began, rather uncertainly. "I know that man was stealing, and it was wrong, but...he was starving. I could tell; couldn't you?"
"Then we've done him a favour," the Kryptonian replied, staring straight ahead as he glided once more through the night sky. "He'll get all the food he needs in jail."
"Kal, I know what the jails are like. The men there are animals. You've seen how they fight each other for food - that man will starve to death for sure there, if the other prisoners don't kill him for sport," she added in disgust.
"He was stealing, Kara. He had to be punished."
"But he had a family - he said so, and I'm sure he wasn't lying about that..."
Superman chuckled humourlessly. "I admire your optimism, Kara, but I've been at this a lot longer than you have, and he probably was lying."
"But what if he wasn't? Now that he's in jail, his family will probably starve to death too." Her tone was accusing.
"He should have thought of that before he tried robbing that store," Superman told his protege, schooling his patience.
"He looked so desperate. Maybe he didn't have any other choice," Kara persisted.
"There's always another choice, Kara," he responded. "He could have chosen to get a job and earn food for his family, instead of stealing from those who are trying to make an honest living. Look," he began before she could jump in with another arguement. "By robbing that store, he was taking food from the shopkeeper's family. That's not right either, is it?"
"The shopkeeper could probably afford it," she retorted. "What harm is it going to do in the end if a man takes some food for his starving family?"
Kal-El heaved a sigh and drew to a halt, hovering in midair. "All right," he conceded, "let's say we let this robber go, just this once. After him, who'll it be? A mugger? A murderer? A gang of terrorists?" His voice rose accusingly with every word. "Crime is crime, Kara. One criminal is no different from another. There's no such thing as petty theft. Not anymore," he muttered, gliding off.
She gazed after him, still troubled, then followed to help finish his rounds.
After a few weeks of patrolling with her, Kal-El saw fit to trust Kara with solo missions. She did not raise the issue of the food-thief again, and this apparantly was an indicator to him that she'd come around to his way of thinking and realised her error. In truth, she was only marginally less confused; she understood the gist of what her teacher was saying, but part of her still disagreed with his methods.
She mulled over the moral dilemma often in her mind, usually while she was patrolling. Metropolis was pretty quiet, for the most part; Superman was so effective in dealing with criminals that their like-minded counterparts who had not yet been caught committing crimes found it more prudent to stay indoors and avoid the Man of Steel's wrath. There were always a couple of muggings, brawls, or break-ins, but these could all be dealt with quickly and fairly easily.
Suicide Slum was another matter. The section of Metropolis that overlooked Hob's Bay was the poorest and meanest area of the city, and crime there was almost three times as frequent as it was in the more respectable parts of town. Kara was a bit apprehensive her first night covering the Slum, but she felt confident that she could handle whatever came her way.
It was about midnight that first evening when she caught sight of a lone figure cutting through an alley between two dilapidated, run-down buildings. He didn't look particularly suspicious, but she decided to keep an eye on him, anyway. It was, after all, the first action she'd seen all night.
It turned out that she hadn't made too bad a decision. As the teen neared the end of the alley, three larger figures stepped in his path, blocking his way. Kara lighted atop one of the buildings and peered down into the passageway, her enhanced sight and hearing keeping her informed of the young men's every word and movement.
The largest of the three figures moved towards the loner, brandishing a length of chain which he swung casually in one hand. "We don't like people comin' through here uninvited, pal."
The interloper backed away cautiously. "S-Sorry. I didn't know." He turned to leave, only to see four more thugs emerge wraithlike from the shadows.
"Well, around here, knowledge is power. You're gonna have to pay," the leader explained, moving closer to his quarry.
"I don't have anything on me..."
"Aw, now that's too bad," the head thug said insincerely, still advancing. His six goons followed his lead, each of them producing weapons of some sort. "If you can't pay, we'll have to find some other way to make an example of ya. I mean, if we let you just waltz on through here, who's it gonna be next? Your homies, your ol' lady, Lex Luthor?"
Kara bristled. Those words sounded awfully familiar to her.
The lone teen glanced around, growing visibly nervous. "Look, I don't want any trouble, okay?"
The first thug only laughed. "Shoulda thought o' that before you came through our turf, punk."
The loner tensed as he crouched into a defensive posture, prepared to fight for his life or make a break for it. Kara decided to make sure he wouldn't have to exercise either of those options. Leaping down from the building, she landed neatly beside him in the centre of the circle, causing the encroaching thugs to scramble back a few steps. One of them dropped his crowbar and pointed to her with a wavering hand.
"It's that superchick! Let's get outta here!" The gang members followed his lead, scattering up and down the alley.
Kara frowned, not liking the sound of that moniker one bit. She turned to the shocked boy standing beside her. "Stay right here," she told him, and dashed up the alley to catch the leader and the two goons flanking him. Depositing them into a nearby dumpster, she sped in the other direction to grab the other four thugs, snatching them up two at a time and dumping them into the trash receptacle with their companions. She then hefted the whole dumpster into the air and flew it to the police station, setting it down outside and lingering only long enough to make sure she'd gotten the attention of the startled cops within.
She was mildly surprised to see that the boy she'd saved had actually followed her instructions; he hadn't moved an inch since she'd left. He stood there, gaping at her with mixed fear and fascination.
Kara tipped her head to one side, then reached forward to wave one hand in front of his face. "Hey, you okay?"
In response he jumped back, looking half-ready to bolt at her sudden movement. Kara withdrew her hand. "Whoa! Don't freak out on me now. I just saved your life, you know," she told him, crossing her arms in a mock-serious display of authority.
The kid relaxed a bit, looking sheepish. "Oh. Oh, yeah! Thanks."
A pause. Kara asked, "Where do you live? I could escort you home, if you want."
He blinked and waved away her offer. "Nah, 'sokay. It's not far."
She studied him a little more closely, since he was not making any attempt to leave the alley in a hurry. He wasn't much taller than she was, and appeared to be about her age, as well - in Earther years, anyway. He had a rather lean, compact build, which he hid under baggy jeans and a long coat, and sported a scruffy shock of red hair, inquisitive blue eyes, and a smattering of freckles which for some reason she found quite appealing.
He broke the silence by introducing himself. "I'm Jimmy. Jimmy Olsen." She started to return the courtesy when he cut her off. "I know who you are. You're Superman's helper, his...Supergirl?" He kind of shrugged and gave her a little half-grin.
Kara grinned back. She liked that name, for reasons she couldn't explain - possibly because it wasn't being hurled at her like an epithet by fearful crooks. "Most people just call me Kara," she told him. _Well, Kal does, anyway._
She stepped towards him and, despite his previous assurances that her assistance was no longer needed, they exited the alleyway together, emerging on a narrow, pothole-filled street bordered on either side by dilapidated buildings with blocked-up windows. The few streetlights that had not been broken by rock-throwing delinquints or stray bullets struggled valiantly to provide illumination for any who ventured past them. Far overhead, the cloud cover was starting to dissipate, revealing the velvet expanse of sky and its countless points of light.
As they walked, more questions filled Kara's head. "What were you doing out alone this late?" she asked Jimmy.
He shrugged again. "I was meeting with some friends and lost track of time, I guess. Anyway, I've lived here my whole life. I can take care of myself. Most of the time, that is," he added somewhat sheepishly.
"I've never done anything in this part of town before," Kara admitted. "That was the first time I've ever stopped a crime in Suicide Slum."
"Hey, I'm not complainin'," Jimmy laughed.
"You think I did okay?" Kara was thrilled. "Kal - I mean, Superman will be so pleased to know that. I don't think he really believes I'm ready to help him protect the city yet."
Jimmy glanced upwards, a pensive look on his face. "He sure is different nowadays," he said, furrowing his brow.
Kara looked over at him. "You know him?"
"Yeah, sort of. I mean, I used to. Don't see him that much anymore - guess he's really busy these days, huh?"
"How did you get to know him?" she asked, suddenly curious.
"Well, actually, he had to get me out of trouble a lot," Jimmy admitted. "Stuff just seemed to happen all the time, workin' at the Planet."
"The Daily Planet?" Kara had heard of the newspaper and had read some archived copies while studying Kal's super-hero career, but the paper had been shut down for some time, having been bought out by LexCorp shortly after Superman had joined with Luthor.
"Yeah," Jimmy responded, his voice growing more animated, "it was the greatest. I was a photographer. I got to hang out with some of the best. There was Perry White, our editor - I always used to call him 'Chief', which I don't think he really liked - and Angela Chen, and Ron Troupe...and Clark and Lois." He trailed off, faltering in his stride a bit before increasing his pace.
Kara matched his stride, peering over at him. "Who are Clark and Lois?" The names sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite seem to place them.
"Clark Kent and Lois Lane. The Planet's best reporters. Two of my friends...my heroes. I looked up to them as much as I did Superman." His voice grew tight, his tone clipped.
"I've heard of them," Kara said. "What happened to them after the Planet shut down?"
Jimmy gave a short little bark of a laugh. "It's what happened to them _before_ ," he corrected her. He took some time to finish responding to her question. "Lois...Lois died in a car-bombing a couple years ago. Superman tried, but there was just nothing he could do to save her. Everyone was pretty shook up after that, 'specially Clark. He just...disappeared not too long before Luthor shut down the Planet. I never found out what happened to him."
Kara had some idea what had happened, though. She recognised the moniker of Clark Kent as that of the human identity Kal-El had adopted in order to better assimilate himself to the people he had sworn to help protect. Lois' name, too, was somewhat familiar to Kara, though she knew much less about the famed reporter; all Kara really knew was that Lane had written a great many articles about Superman's exploits, and that Kal had cared for her. Something told the Argosian that Lois' death and the sudden disappearance of the Kent persona were not casually related.
She switched topics, slightly. "What happened to the others at the Planet?"
"I dunno what happened to Ron and Angela. The Chief didn't like Luthor taking over the paper at all, though, and he sure wasn't shy about sayin' what he thought. Luthor didn't seem too happy with him, but he promised he had a position available in his company that Perry could have. And y'know, I haven't heard a thing about the Chief since the Planet shut down. I'm not sure what happened to him, but I've got a couple of ideas." Jimmy sounded angry. "Nobody could get a job after Luthor axed the Planet, unless they somehow got in his good graces. Me 'n Ron 'n Angela, we weren't that lucky."
"That sounds awful," Kara sympathised. "Listen, let me talk to Superman about this. I'm sure he can do something."
"You think he'd actually care?" Jimmy asked bitterly. "He's got enough problems without worrying about whether or not a couple of people can find work. 'Sides, he and Luthor are pals." He glanced up at her, his expression defiant. "Are you gonna turn me in, now that I've told you all this?"
"Of course not," she assured him. "But Superman should hear about your concerns. He does care about what happens to the people of Metropolis. We both do - that's why we're trying to make a difference."
Jimmy nodded. "I guess that's true." He stopped in front of a shabby-looking apartment building with walls covered in graffiti. "Well, here we are. Thanks for walking with me." He gave her another grin, which she returned. "Maybe I'll see you again sometime - y'know, when I'm not about to die or something."
She laughed, lifting into the air. "Count on it," she told him. "And try to stay out of trouble!"
Kara watched him ascend the steps and made sure he made it into his apartment without further incident, then flew off to finish her patrol. She would meet with Kal-El shortly before dawn; until then, she could plan what she wanted to say to him.
"How'd things go?" the Last Son of Krypton asked of his young apprentice when they met atop the Lexcorp building.
"Great," she enthused. "I broke up a couple of fights, stopped a carjacking, rounded up a bunch of punks about to pound someone..." Kara glanced over in his direction. "Met a kid named Jimmy Olsen."
Kal-El turned slightly to look at her, one eyebrow raised in surprise. She didn't miss the flicker of recognition that sparked in his eyes. "Still can't stay out of trouble, can he?" the Kryptonian said with a rare smile.
"We talked afterward," she continued, growing serious. "He told me about the Daily Planet, and about...you and Lois."
Superman's expression turned hard, and he looked away, facing forward again. Kara touched his arm. "Kal...Clark - " she started.
"Don't call me that again," he ordered her, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Clark Kent doesn't exist. He died with Lois."
"Kal, I know you cared for her. I sensed it every time you mentioned her." _Not that you ever have talked about her much,_ she added silently. "It hurt you when she died, even though you tried to save her, and now you're compensating by buckling down on everyone else in the city."
"That's not true," he said firmly, fixing her with an angry glare. "I realised that I just wasn't doing enough, and people got hurt because of it."
"People are getting hurt now, too," she protested. "Do you even know what happened to all your friends at the Planet after Luthor took it over? They're all jobless or homeless or _dead,_ Kal."
He flinched, barely. "It couldn't be helped," he insisted, once more gazing into the distance. "I joined with Luthor for the greater good of the city. We're fighting a war, Kara, and war is never pretty. There are always casualties."
"What about Lois? Was _she_ just a casualty too?"
He whirled on her, anger smoldering in his eyes. For a long moment the two simply stared at each other, unmoving and silent. "You don't understand," he growled. "You just don't know...what she meant to me..." He turned away, his face hidden in shadow, but Kara was sure she'd seen tears threatening to fall.
"You're right," she told him softly. "I don't know what she meant to you. But I know she meant a lot. And it's okay that you feel upset and angry about losing her..."
"No, Kara, it isn't." He lifted his head high, narrowing his eyes. "Never let your emotions control you. Human feelings like anger, fear, greed...these make you weak. We are above human emotions, Kara. There is no room for them if we're to be effective in protecting this city."
She shook her head slowly in disbelief. "You say one thing and do another, Kal. Everything you do is fueled by your feelings - your anger, your grief..."
"You don't _understand!_" he roared again, leaping into the air. He hovered, glowering down at her before a look of pain crossed his features. His voice fell to a whisper. "You don't understand...and I pray that you'll never have to."
He sped off into the night, and Kara was once more alone, with a turmoil of thoughts and feelings her only company.
Kara continued to patrol on her own as well as assisting Kal-El when certain incidents were too large for him to contain on his own. He seemed a little more distant since their confrontation of the night she'd met Jimmy, but he did seem confident of her ability to handle things herself.
She also continued to see the red-haired teen on a regular basis, taking a little time out of her nightly rounds to seek him out and talk with him. She was careful to limit the amount of time she spent engaging in such liesurely activities and always kept her eyes and ears open for signs of trouble, however. Kara enjoyed spending time with Jimmy, whom she considered to be her first real friend on Earth. She liked and respected Kal-El, of course - he had saved her from a non-life of frozen sleep on Argo, after all - but he could be so imposing and cold at times. She found Jimmy much easier to relate to, and despite her mentor's warnings not to get involved with the human population of Metropolis more than was absolutely necessary, she felt a deep affection for him growing.
The young woman did try to abide by Superman's other guidelines - she was learning to see things more objectively, to remove herself from the situation and simply try to ensure that justice was served. She finally felt that she was managing a happy balance between the two things she cared most about: protecting the city and maintaining her newly-forged friendship.
That illusion of balance was shattered one evening as Kara was finishing her nightly patrol. As she was preparing to head for the LexCorp building and report to Kal-El, the shrill sound of an electronic alarm drew her attention to the north end of town, not far from where she was now. Speeding towards the scene of the crime, Kara used her enhanced hearing to pinpoint exactly where the alarm was coming from. She arrived at a jewelry store which sported a brand-new hole in its front window. As she drew closer, she spotted several figures rapidly exiting the building, clutching sacks of loot as they headed for a waiting car. They leaped into the vehicle, but for whatever reason did not depart just yet. What - or who - were they waiting for?
_Time for questions later,_ Kara reminded herself, and swooped into view. The robbers - all of whom looked surprisingly young, Kara noted - took one look at the approaching black-clad figure and abandoned the car as quickly as they'd gotten in. There was no time to go after them individually; she'd have to take them all out at once. She aimed a blast of heat vision at the car's fuel tank, watching with satisfaction as the vehicle exploded, knocking the fleeing crooks off their feet. They lay where they'd fallen, groaning weakly; they wouldn't be going anywhere for a while.
Movement out of the corner of her eye drew Kara's attention away from the unconscious teenagers. Another kid was attempting to leave the scene, his shadowy form highlighted by the flames leaping from the remains of the demolished car. "Oh no you don't," she muttered as she rushed towards him, plowing into him from behind with enough force to knock him flat. She landed in front of him, waiting for the would-be criminal to look up before she started interrogating him. The girl wasn't expecting to recognise the blue eyes that eventually met hers.
"Jimmy?" she gasped in disbelief.
The fear that had been evident on his face was replaced by relief for a fleeting moment. Still looking unsure as to what the superheroine might do to him, Jimmy pushed himself to his feet.
Kara was at a loss for words, but managed to sputter, "Why, Jimmy? Why this?"
"I had to!" he answered, sounding desperate. "Look, my mom's sick - I dunno with what, but she needs a doctor, only we can't afford one and the clinics are full. She was gonna die if she didn't get help, Kara. I had to do something."
She gazed at his earnest, panicked face, not knowing what to do. She'd caught him leaving the scene of a crime, he'd admitted to breaking in with those other kids, but...this was _Jimmy_ she was looking at here, her only friend in Metropolis. She knew he wouldn't do something like this without good reason; it just wasn't in his nature.
A distinctive _whoosh_ from overhead caused them both to look up. Superman had arrived on the scene and was approaching the prone forms of the kids who'd been knocked out by the blast; red and blue flashing lights could be seen in the distance as well, blaring sirens heralding their imminent arrival. The two teens turned back to each other, he looking worried, she looking torn.
"What are you gonna do?" he asked when she continued to stare at him, silent and unmoving. His voice shook ever so slightly.
Kara made her decision. "You have to go, Jimmy," she told him seriously. He glanced over at his fallen companions. "There's no hope for your friends; you'll have to leave them. Go, now, while Superman's busy with them."
Jimmy glanced back at her one last time, then turned and fled.
"Run, Jimmy," she urged him softly. A strong breeze ruffled her hair, and she looked up in shock to see Kal-El speeding after her friend. She watched, unable to move or speak as he landed in front of the teen, looking as stern and unmovable as stone. When Jimmy tried to back away from him, the Man of Steel grabbed him by the front of the shirt and held him aloft until a squad car arrived for him.
Kal-El watched the police depart with Jimmy in tow, not turning to face Kara as she approached him. "Why did you let him go, Kara?"
"Kal, I - "
"You had every opportunity to apprehend him and make sure he didn't get away. Instead, I had to do it for you." He glared down at her. "Explain yourself."
"He's my _friend!_" she exploded. "He was your friend too, once - or have you forgotten that?"
"I could call him 'friend' only so long as we both remained on the same side of the law," he informed her coldly. "Tonight he betrayed that trust. He's going where he belongs."
"I can't believe you," she hissed at him. "You're willing to just - abandon one of your friends, just like that?"
"He did this on his own, Kara! He chose his own path. I only did what I had to - and what you _should have_ done. See, this is what I warned you about," he continued as she struggled for the words to say. "You got involved with him and let your feelings cloud your judgment. You failed to be impartial and objective. You let your emotions control you." His eyes softened the tiniest bit, letting her see the disappointment that was there. "And in doing so, you let me down - let your city down."
Kara looked away. She was furious at Kal's actions, horrified at what he'd done to Jimmy, and ashamed of the notion that she'd failed her mentor. She turned back to see him rising slowly into the air, that same displeased look on his face. "I have to help the police finish up here," he told her. "Go to our meeting place. We'll talk later." And he was gone.
She stared after him for a moment or two, then angrily dashed away the tears that were forming in her eyes. Still frustrated, she took off in the opposite direction, thinking as she went.
He was probably right, she realised. She hadn't been thinking clearly. If she was to be as good a protector as Kal-El was, she was going to have to stop letting her feelings get in the way. Total detachment - that's what was needed in these situations. From this moment on, she would be the model of Argosian restraint, vowing her dedication to one thing and one thing only: the well-being of the city, whatever it cost.
But there was something she had to do first. If she guessed right, the police car would by this point be a few blocks away from the station on Timm and 38th...
She had little trouble locating the vehicle with Jimmy inside. As soon as it was within view, she set her plan into action, puncturing one of the rear tires with a carefully-aimed blast of heat vision. As the car began veering out of control, she sent it spinning in circles with a gust of super-breath, wincing a bit as it slid and plowed into a fire hydrant. While the cops were distracted with radioing for help, Kara darted in at superspeed, ripped open the back door, and quickly disappeared again.
Concealed in the shadow of a building, she watched as Jimmy stumbled out of the car, handcuffed, and took advantage of the situation by making a break for it. The cop who tried to follow found her door mysteriously welded shut.
Jimmy didn't stop moving until he was several blocks away, where he crouched behind a mailbox to catch his breath and work at picking the lock on the handcuffs. He started and looked up when Kara's shadow fell over him, the look of fear on his face melting into one of relief. She winced internally at the sight of the gash on his forehead, wishing she could've found another way to free him and at the same time preserve her reputation as a force for good in the eyes of the law.
"Kara! Am I glad to see you!" he cried, standing up to greet her. "I knew you wouldn't let - "
"This is the last time I can help you, Jimmy," she told him tonelessly, reaching forward to snap the chain connecting the handcuffs. "I can't always be around to get you out of trouble. I've got a whole city to take care of."
She glanced up, her heart breaking at the hurt, puzzled frown on his face. "Whaddya mean?" he asked tentatively.
"I mean that you're on your own from now on," she responded. It took every ounce of her control to maintain the cold indifference in her voice. She wished there were some other way to do this.
Jimmy's eyes hardened as he regarded her. "Okay," he said, spreading his hands and backing away. "I get it. Wouldn't wanna tear you away from your more important work of busting jaywalkers or something." He turned, shoving his hands into his pockets and scowling at his betrayer. "Thanks a lot."
Kara watched him storm off down the sidewalk, kicking an empty soda can as he went. After a few paces, he broke into a run and soon disappeared around a corner. As soon as he was out of sight, Kara dropped the stern facade she'd put up and let her arms hang limply at her sides. Tears streamed unchecked down her cheeks.
"Jimmy, I'm so sorry," she whispered.
The change in Kara was remarkable after that. Kal-El monitered her actions for some time afterward, both with and without her knowledge, and was pleasantly surprised when she showed no more signs of emotional attachment to any of the people she was supposed to be apprehending. Soon she had developed almost as fearsome a reputation as her teacher, and it was well-deserved. The super-powered pair had Metropolis under absolute control, and this pleased both Superman and Lex Luthor, who felt additionally smug in having the world's most powerful being working for him.
After a time of relative quiet, Kal-El began to hear rumblings of some sort of underground resistance movement that seemed about to make its presence known. He felt fairly confident he could put a stop to whatever activities the hooligans might have planned, and so mentioned little of the matter to Kara. Instead, he sent his apprentice to investigate the actions of some costumed vigilante in far-off Gotham City, requesting that she keep a close eye on his movements and report back to him every night. This she did for several weeks in place of her usual patrolling duties while Kal kept things under control and awaited the coming forth of the resistance.
He had counted on much of the rebels' arsenal, but never in a thousand lifetimes would he have guessed that their most powerful weapon would come quite by accident from another dimension, in the form of a fiery, raven-haired woman named Lois Lane.
Upon returning from Gotham one night, Kara was surprised to see that her city seemed to have suffered some damage. The monument to the Luthor-Superman team had been destroyed on one side, surrounded by chunks of shattered concrete and bits of blackened wreckage. People were fairly running riot in the streets, gathered round the monument and the LexCorp building. She could not find Kal-El at first, and for a moment wondered if somehow they had managed to overthrow him. Kara discarded this notion almost immediately; no one could harm Kal-El, unless they had a lot of guts and a chunk of Kryptonite. Plenty of people had the gumption, but none of them had access to the glowing green mineral, which was kept in natural and synthetic forms in high-security LexCorp science labs.
A quick chat with one of Luthor's personal aides informed her otherwise. It seemed that the rebel movement to which Kal had made passing references had reared its ugly head, breaking into one of the research centres earlier that evening. She had been only mildly surprised to learn that one of the thieves had been escaped juvenile delinquint James Olsen, who had once more evaded capture - although he had been shot and wounded by one Officer Turpin as he fled the scene - and managed to get away with a sizeable chunk of synthetic Kryptonite. Later, Olsen and the rest of the rebels had been rounded up in their hideout, located in the basement of the old Planet building, by a team led by Commander Mercy Graves; Luthor had confiscated the stolen Kryptonite after making sure all the captives had been placed in detention centres.
The rest of the story made Kara's mind reel. Luthor had turned on Superman, using the deadly green rock against his former ally before escaping the wrath of the freed rebels in a jet. Superman had followed and after a brief aerial battle, the jet had crashed into the monument, killing Luthor.
As she'd sought out her Kryptonian relative, Kara had found herself wondering at this most recent turn of events. Why had Luthor tried to kill Superman? Why had Superman let loose the rebels Luthor's men had caught only hours before?
Kal had blamed his change of heart on a dead woman. Well, if you bought his story, it had really been a Lois from another dimension, but at this point Kara wasn't sure what to believe. All she knew was that everything she'd come to accept as being right and proper had been turned upside down in the course of an evening.
She wasn't even sure what to make of the news that Jimmy had emerged from hiding with a group of rebels. Part of her deep down was thrilled to hear that he was still alive, but another part of her - the part that held sway over her day-to-day life - was disgusted that he had cast his lot with malcontents. Still, it was fitting; he was a convicted criminal after all, so it only made sense that he consort with others like himself.
Kara had spent the last hour after her explosive conversation with Kal-El searching the city for her wayward relative. After a while she realised her efforts were probably futile; Kal had most likely gone into hiding with those rebellious upstart humans. Well, then, she would find him when she located the rebels' newest base of operations. If he had chosen to associate with criminals, he would get the exact same treatment. No mercy.
With that thought in mind, she lifted off to find Commander Graves and arrange some sort of strategy. Kal-El might have taken leave of his senses, but Kara would not allow herself to weaken.
The rebels had relocated to the basement of a typically nondescript condemned building. Having tasted victory after a long and arduous struggle, they had been loath to go back into hiding, but they had a healthy appreciation of the threat the Argosian posed; unlike Superman, she had not experienced any sort of emotional turnaround and would probably not hesitate to kill anyone who got in her way.
The Man of Steel remained with them. Had he been facing any other foe, he wouldn't have dreamed of simply sitting idle when he could be out battling the fiend; but he simply couldn't bring himself to fight Kara, even if she was out to destroy him. If he could return from the brink of the emotionless abyss he'd been floating over, surely she could, too. He would not pound her senseless when there was still a chance to redeem her.
He was grateful for the chance at redemption some of the rebels were giving him. A few of the resistance welcomed his presence, willing to forgive a lengthy but temporary lapse in judgment and hoping that having him on their side might tip the scales a bit more in their favour during the coming battle. These individuals were in the minority, though. Most of those crowded into the temporary shelter regarded the Kryptonian with looks of resentment, fear, or outright hatred. Those that were bothering to look at him at all, anyway.
Superman gazed at the weary faces around him, frowning sadly. How much damage had he done in the past five years? How long would it take to regain the people's trust? Would they ever put their faith in him again? The questions and self-doubt ate away at him, feeding off his fears. The thing that scared him more than any other was the thought that he would fail someone. Beings with the power to bend steel, see through buildings and burn holes in solid objects just by looking at them should have no excuse for failing in whatever task they undertook. In the wake of Lois' death, when he'd been consumed by self-hatred for not being there for the woman he loved, Superman had been so concerned with trying not to neglect anyone else he hadn't even realised that ultimately he was letting down an entire city. The fresh knowledge of that failure gnawed at him, a taunting reminder telling him in Luthor's voice that everything he had assumed to be a success had actually contributed to this one spectacular downfall.
Superman's attention was drawn to some sort of commotion at the opposite end of the room; the rest of the rebels were gathering around a woman who seemed to hold some sort of authority over the others. The super-hero watched the crowd for a moment before becoming aware of a presence at his side. Looking down, he saw it was Jimmy.
"Williams is calling a meeting," the younger man informed him. "C'mon, she'll probably want you to say something about the...situation out there."
The Kryptonian followed as Jimmy hurried over to the crowd, not unaware of the way in which most of the rebels edged away from the black-clad figure as he approached. The pair focused their attention on a stocky blonde woman standing before them, her green eyes radiating strength and fire despite the dark circles that surrounded them in her worry-lined face. She spoke in a strong, clear voice for all to hear.
"You might have noticed that we have a newcomer in our midst," she began. Several dozen heads turned surreptitiously in Kal-El's direction. "Superman has reminded us that even though we have won a battle against Luthor, there is still much to do before we will be truly free. Supergirl is still on the loose, and from what I hear she is not happy." The woman's face was grim. "As you know, for some time we've been working on a weapon to aid us in our fight against this city’s dicatators. We've been informed that the device is not quite ready yet, but it seems our hand has been forced somewhat by this new development. We need a team to go to Emil and help him in whatever way possible to finish the process."
Superman started and leaned over to whisper to Jimmy. "Emil? Emil Hamilton, from STAR Labs?"
The young rebel nodded, his eyes still on the woman in the front of the room. "He was one of the lucky ones that was able to rebuild after STAR's funding got cut," he muttered so only the Kryptonian could hear. "He's been doing a lot of work for us - weapons systems and stuff. Now this."
The rebel leader was finishing her announcement, picking out several individuals to make the dangerous journey to Emil Hamilton's hidden lab. "Carson, O'toole, Klein and Olsen," she dictated. "Go see what you can do. It might involve running errands around town, so take some protection." Her eyes fell on the tall black-clad figure standing at the back of the crowd. "Take Superman with you," she added. "After all, he may know a thing or two about this subject the rest of us don't."
O'toole, a lanky young woman with the reflexes of a cat, led Kal-El and the other three rebels to the lab, located in a blocked-off subway tunnel far beneath the streets of Metropolis. Carson, a stocky African-American man, was the first to enter the dimly-lit cavern, calling out greetings to the professor.
"Doctor Hamilton! We've come to help you with that new gadget of yours." He grasped Emil's hand before gesturing behind him to where the other members of the group were entering the room. "We've brought a little...extra help."
Hamilton's eyes lit upon the Man of Steel, registering surprise. "Superman," he said, his voice steady. "I didn't think I'd ever have the opportunity to see you face-to-face again."
The scientist's manner was polite and formal, as always, but also conveyed a sense of warmth and respect the Kryptonian found refreshingly welcome. Emil Hamilton, formerly of STAR Labs, had not suffered the last few years much better than any of the other rebels; his silvery hair flowed down his shoulders, and a bushy beard replaced the neat goatee of days past. He had somehow managed to keep his horn-rimmed spectacles more or less intact, though they appeared to be held together by virtue of generous amounts of duct tape. A tattered lab coat covered his ragged clothes; its condition matched that of much of the rest of the equipment in the room, though everything was arranged in a neat, orderly fashion. Being forced into hiding had not reduced the pride the man took in his work.
"What've you got so far, Doc?" Jimmy asked.
Hamilton turned back to his desk, gesturing for the others to follow. "I think it's nearly ready," he answered. "But I must warn you, this is all based on educated guesses. There is, unfortunately, no way to tell for sure if this device will work as expected until it actually comes into contact with its intended target."
Producing a key from the pocket of his lab coat, Hamilton unlocked a drawer in the battered desk and withdrew a compact box-shaped device, its dull grey surface adorned with an LED readout and a single button.
“What exactly does this thing do, again?” Klein asked the professor, peering at the device.
“It emits a form of red sunlight, to put it simply,” Hamilton replied, holding the object up for his guests to examine. “It will rapidly weaken a being powered by a yellow sun without killing them; think of it as a kinder, gentler alternative to Kryptonite.”
“Don’t we have to...y’know, test it?” Klein suggested in a whisper, glancing over at Superman warily.
“Hey, the big guy’s on our side now, Klein,” O’toole reminded him with a reprimanding look. “Get over it.”
"Guess there's only one way to know if you've got it down, huh Doc?" Carson glanced over at the scientist. "Take this into the warzone."
Hamilton nodded, perusing a sheaf of notes he’d taken from the desk as Klein and O'toole read over his shoulder. "I can see no reason to put off the final test any longer. But if this doesn't work, you realise you may very well be marching to your graves."
"That's a chance we're gonna have to take," Jimmy acknowledged, stepping forward. Hamilton gave his notes over to his acolytes and handed the tiny weapon to the red-maned youth, who placed it in his tattered leather satchel. "Let's just hope you got it right on the first try. I guess you'll find out soon enough, though..."
Hamilton nodded, watching the five rebels head back into the subterranean shadows. "Good luck," he called after them.
Superman, bringing up the rear of the procession, turned to glance over his shoulder at his old friend. "Thanks," he replied. "I think we're going to need it."
The professor waited until the black-clad figure had melted back into the inky blackness of the tunnel, then slumped down into his chair. There had been plenty of times in the past when others had relied upon his scientific expertise, but never before had so much ridden on it as now. Emil Hamilton sat alone in the darkness and, for the first time in a long time, he prayed.
The rebels kept to the pre-dawn shadows on the return trip from the lab, as was their habit, though they were not entirely certain why they needed to maintain such secrecy. With their new super-powered ally, they had little to fear from Luthor's troops - unless, of course, they happened to be carrying Kryptonite, which was unlikely if Supergirl was with them - and they did, after all, have to test the new technology. Still, a bit of apprehension was only natural, particularly after years of darting for cover at the first sign of shocktrooper armour or the _whoosh_ announcing an otherworldly visitor.
Several times Kal-El thought he noticed a familiar form - a svelte, long-haired young woman in black garb - but it was only as a fleeting movement from the corner of his eye which disappeared as soon as he tried to focus on it more closely. He would have chalked it up to a heightened sense of paranoia, but Kal-El had learned long ago never to discount such near-sightings as figments of the imagination.
He leaned forward to mutter in Carson's ear, "I think we're being followed."
The low warning reached the ears of the rest of the group; they stiffened and began glancing around nervously, searching for their stalker.
A flood of brilliant light turned the darkness to day, blinding the rebels and causing them to utter yelps of surprise as they froze in place. Not needing to shield his eyes from the glare, Superman could see that they were surrounded by a squadron of police cars, their headlights trained on the five figures huddled against a wall. A familiar sound of rushing air caused the Kryptonian to glance up, clenching his jaw in a mix of remorse and frustration.
Kara hovered above the semicircle of Lexcorp vehicles, her icy blue eyes burning with fury and bloodlust. "Take 'em down hard, guys," she shouted to the waiting troops, then finished in a whisper meant for her relative's ears only, "The traitor is mine."
Fully armed and clad in protective armour, the team surged forward, their rifles and handguns blazing. The rebels scattered, diving for cover before opening fire with their own weapons. Superman leaped forward and managed to send several of the troopers sprawling with one mighty swing before he was bowled over by the infuriated Kara. The Argosian's impact knocked him into the wall behind them, leaving a vaguely Kryptonian-shaped indentation in the crumbling brickwork. The Man of Steel gave his attacker a powerful shove, slamming her into several more shocktroopers.
The rebels were holding their own, managing to keep the rest of the troops at bay with a barrage of gunfire. A couple of well-aimed shots had managed to knock out one car's headlights, and Klein was dutifully aiming at another vehicle's fuel tank. A hit to the shoulder caused him to reel back with a cry of pain, slumping against the wall and clutching his wounded arm. O'toole leaped in to cover her comrade, taking the last few necessary shots at the targeted squad car and shielding the injured young man from the resulting explosion. The rebels had seen it coming and taken cover in time, but those troopers nearest to the fireball were blasted forward, slamming into the wall with enough force to knock them senseless.
Commander Graves - looking somewhat the worse for wear after her scuffle with Lois and her brief internment in one of the holding cells, courtesy of the vengeful rebels - emerged to lead the remaining soldiers in a charge on the outnumbered malcontents. Superman turned his heat vision on a couple of the enemy's weapons, making them drop the warped and melted hunks of metal before his attention was called elsewhere.
The Kryptonian’s counterattack had knocked several of the troopers out of commission, but it had barely fazed Kara, who lunged at Kal-El once more. He needed room to manoeuver, though he hated to abandon Jimmy and the others in their moment of crisis; however, if he played it right, he might be able to help eliminate their problem while tending to his own. Lifting off, he shot straight upwards and moved into a tight loop, slamming into the shock troops at top speed and scattering them like bowling pins before arching upwards again, Kara in hot pursuit. Graves, having only been grazed by the aerial manoeuver, was the only one left standing; although she fought like a demon, Superman felt fairly certain the three remaining rebels could take care of her.
That left Kara. Glancing back over his shoulder, Kal-El could see that she was gaining fast, unbridled fury etched across her features. Twin beams of heat vision shot from her eyes, striking him in the small of his back; he jerked in pain, faltering in his course for only a moment, but that was all the time Kara needed to put on a burst of speed and deliver a solid kick to her enemy’s wounded back. A grunt escaped the Man of Steel and he found himself plummeting to earth, his descent unchecked.
The shock of his impact left a crater in the pavement and jarred every bone in his body three times over; car alarms began to go off, their shrieking cacophony echoing for blocks. Kara pounced on him from above, her fists pounding into him again and again without respite. Every part of his being screamed at him to fight back, but something deep within prevented the Kryptonian from doing anything other than try to shield his head with his aching arms; he could not bring himself to attack the monster he’d created, and soon he would not be able to.
A couple of blocks away, Carson and O’toole were lifting a handcuffed, struggling and furious Mercy Graves into the backseat of one of the undamaged police cars when they were alerted to the life-or-death struggle of the two superhumans. A distant _thud_ and the resultant shrilling of car alarms caused the rebels – and Mercy – to glance up, startled. Jimmy, tending to Klein’s wounded shoulder, scrambled to his feet; after a moment’s hesitation and a muttered curse, he took off running at top speed towards the source of the commotion.
He skidded to a stop, slightly winded, upon catching sight of Metropolis’ former defenders pitted in a desperate battle against each other. But it seemed Superman wasn’t even trying; Kara was pummeling the life out of him, and he wasn’t even fighting back.
Possibly because he _couldn’t_.
Tearing open his satchel, Jimmy fumbled for the device Hamilton had given them. Withdrawing it from the bag, he eyed it for a moment before aiming the gadget at Supergirl and pressing the button.
A concentrated blast of red light discharged from the nose end of the small box, connecting with its target forcefully enough to knock Kara to one side. Jimmy spared the device a brief, astonished glance, wondering briefly just what kind of special features Professor Hamilton had built into it, before hurrying over to Superman’s prone form.
"Superman! You okay?" Jimmy knelt down, peering into the battered face of the Man of Steel. Superman, grimacing, managed to nod, and started to push himself up on his elbows. He glanced wearily over at Kara, who appeared to be none the worse for wear after encountering Hamilton's red sun device. She looked up to face her attacker, and Jimmy's eyes met hers.
"Jimmy," she stated coolly, regaining her composure. "I should've known I'd come across you sooner or later. What are you doing with this traitor?" She spared a quick glance through narrowed eyes at Kal-El as Jimmy approached her.
"We're fighting for what we believe in, Kara," he told her evenly. "Just like you are."
She bristled. "You are _nothing_ like me," she hissed. "I'm trying to protect this city, and you and your friends are doing what you can to destroy it."
"Who's destroying it?!" he barked at her, long-suppressed anger rising to the surface. "Kara, do you have any idea how many people have died or worse since you took it upon yourself to rule Metropolis with an iron fist?"
"I'm only doing my duty," Kara responded, but it seemed clear her resolve was weakening. "It's my job to fight crime and keep Metropolis from harm."
"Maybe at first." He was standing barely two feet away from her. "But it's not like that anymore. Something went wrong and a lot of people wound up getting hurt."
She stared past him, brow furrowed, lost in denial. "It couldn't be helped..."
"Is that all you can do? Make excuses for yourself?" Jimmy gestured wildly, his frustration and anger returning. "You told me once that you'd always wanted to do something to save your homeworld. What exactly did you have in mind, Kara? Were you gonna force your will on everyone the minute you got the chance? Is that what you wanted?"
Standing rigid and motionless for the duration of the conversation, Kara suddenly exploded into action.
"Shut _UP!_"
Baring her teeth, she swung at Jimmy with uncontrolled rage. Her blow connected solidly with his face, and she was barely aware of his body slumping to the pavement. A long moment later, Kara felt the red haze clear, and she found herself filled with the accumulated shame and horror of everything she'd done from four years ago up till that moment.
Chest heaving, Kara tore her gaze from the young man’s body to see Kal-El and the three other rebels staring at her, shocked. She tried to come up with an explanation, but no words would form, and she simply could not bring herself to make any more excuses. Staggering back a few paces, she stole one last glance at Jimmy's inert form and launched herself skyward, little more than a silken blur against the dawning light.
Nobody moved for a minute or so; silence reigned until a low groan pierced the stillness, moving those four who could do so to motion. Superman knelt beside Jimmy, as his young friend had done only a few moments previous. The Kryptonian's heightened senses informed him that the younger man's heartrate was only slightly above normal - to be expected, after his confrontation with Kara - and that there seemed to be no internal injuries.
O'toole leaned down to shake her comrade's shoulder. "Jim, c’mon, talk to me. Are you okay?"
He groaned again, wincing as he put a hand to his throbbing temple. "I think so," he responded a moment later. Groggily, he rested a hand on the satchel which contained the device Hamilton had given them. "Lucky for me this thing worked after all."
Superman placed his hand on Jimmy's shoulder, catching his gaze. "I'll be back," he told the gathered rebels. "There's something I have to check on."
Kal had often told her of this place. He'd said it was where he went when he needed some privacy, a little time alone. And right now that was definitely what Kara needed - solitude.
She shivered slightly - not from the cold of the Arctic fortress, but as an empathetic response to what lay ahead of her. She would be alone up here with her thoughts, a turmoil of confusion and grief; for how long, she didn't know. She would keep herself secluded until she'd gotten everything figured out in her mind, if in fact she ever did. She wasn't sure if she'd ever be ready to return to the society she'd wronged so grievously. For a moment she found herself wishing she could simply lapse into a frozen sleep and forget everything that had happened since she'd arrived on Earth, to awaken in a time when all memories of her wrongdoing had faded and she could start anew. But there was to be no escape from her actions; that, she imagined, was the price of living.
With a shuddering sigh, Kara began walking down the long icy corridor into the heart of the fortress.
"Are you sure they're ready for this?" Kal-El asked, gazing at the throng of people gathered on the sidewalk below.
"Trust me, they're ready." Jimmy walked with the massive figure to the edge of the Daily Planet building, craning his neck to peer up into his friend's apprehensive face. "They've been waiting for this a long time."
The Kryptonian nodded, taking a deep breath. "We all have."
He crouched and leaped off the ledge of the building, turning his face up towards the sun. Far below, thousands of heads snapped up to catch sight of the familiar figure, once more clothed in brilliant azure and scarlet. A cheer rose from the crowd, the jubilant cries of a people confident in the knowledge that they were under the protection of the son of another world who had lost his way but returned to them once more.
Swooping through the cloudless sky, Superman heard the cheer and smiled, once more looking forward to the future he shared with his city.
~fin~