LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 34.2
After Kara teleported back to Fawcett City and was making her way to her apartment, she saw Captain Marvel flying above her, leaving a trail of dispersed clouds as he moved towards a corner of the city.
Using her X-Ray vision, Kara saw that it was just a bank robbery. Seeing that the Captain would arrive before her, and that his enemies were just normal people, Kara shrugged and continued walking.
Who the hell thinks it’s a good idea to rob a bank in Captain Marvel’s city? Rao, that’s another level of stupid.
Closing the door behind her, Kara finally deactivated her holographic display, revealing her missing eye. Gently massaging her temple and scratching an itch from the re-growing eye she threw her security equipment on the table.
The container filled with her drones, clattered on the wooden surface and almost spilled. Before she could do anything else, Dexter weaved between her feet and she grabbed him, squeezing the cat against her cheek for a second until it had enough and tried to claw at her.
“Fine, fine, I’m releasing you.” Dropping him on top of the table, Kara pulled out her phone and started checking her internet search bots.
With half a day to trawl the net, her programs had gathered a lot of generic information on Poison Ivy, but nothing to indicate her current location. The bots had managed to find a useful tidbit though. It seemed like Count Vertigo was currently in the country.
In a hurry, Kara readjusted her bots’ search parameters, making them start looking for any members of the Injustice League: Black Adam, Wotan, Joker and… she couldn’t really remember the others.
Would they be acting faster than normal? Did The Light need them to draw attention before what the plot would dictate in canon? Or were they just gathering to get comfortable with each other and plan?
Kara shook her head. No, she couldn’t just assume that The Light’s plans remained the same; she had already interfered so much that they could have changed their goals, or how they were going to go about fulfilling them.
Well, at least she managed to deliver a huge blow to them before they started adapting. It would be wonderful if The Light didn’t adapt to her moves, but that would also be very unlikely.
Kara would have to re-evaluate her suppositions. After her attack on Infinity Island, her elimination of Felix Faust and the villains starting to deny The Light, any plan that they had was probably well and truly scrapped.
With some concern about her own plans, Kara gathered her things and went to her room to start considering where she’d get access to a supply of equipment for Dr. Spencer’s research. Remembering something she had read in her previous life, Kara threw herself on the bed and considered how to approach this.
Pulling her phone out, she tapped a finger on the screen for a few seconds, then made up her mind and called one of her associates. “Hello, Mister Swift.”
“Good evening, my dear. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call? I do not believe we have any operations planned.” Came the elegant voice from the other side as the Shade answered his phone.
“I may have a new operation in mind, one that may require the entire team, but I still need to gather more information for that.” She commented, thinking about Poison Ivy’s rescue. “But I’m not actually calling about that, it’s a more… personal reason.”
“Personal, you say? I confess I did not expect any connection of such nature between us.” The Shade commented with amusement. “Should we have this conversation in person then?”
“No, I only wished to ask if you were still connected to Caldecott Industries.” There was a long silence on the other side of the line.
“Hmmm, I do, in fact, have some connections there.” The Shade said, being careful with his wording. “I do not, however, have any intentions of involving them in this side of the business.”
“I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear; it’s not really about that.” Putting a hand over her eye, Kara considered her next words carefully. “I need a supplier for medical equipment and materials, as well as help with some genetic projects. I have no intention of involving it with any Superheroic, or villainous, actions, but I needed a company that I can trust.”
“Does your cousin not trust STAR Labs? It IS the leading developer here in the New World.”
“I prefer not to put all my eggs in the same basket, and, while my cousin may trust them, I’m not certain STAR Labs are entirely safe, it is a good company, but I have security concerns.” Kara adjusted her position on the bed and felt Dexter jumping in with her, demanding she give him some water. “Still, they would probably be my second choice.”
“I see. I’ll arrange a meeting for you, in your civilian identity of course.” The Shade said, his voice making it clear that the last part wasn’t a choice.
“Of course.” Kara agreed, she only wanted to get a business deal with them, not draw any attention towards her company or her other activities.
Hearing the door opening, Kara said her goodbyes and turned off her phone. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself. In a way, her talk with Kori wasn’t dangerous, or even that life changing, but why was she more anxious about this than she had been about attacking Infinity Island?
Using her X-Ray vision, Kara looked at Kori entering their home and sucked in a breath. The Tamaranean looked around herself, not seeing any signs of Kara in the house. “Friend Kara?”
Instead of answering, Kara thought about the kiss, about how she wanted to get into a relationship with the girl, and about how easy Red Arrow had died, how dangerous it was… and how she had lost everything twice over.
Krypton had exploded, taking with it almost everything she had cared about, her family, her friends… her future. Her original Earth was also gone, it hadn’t been destroyed, but she doubted she would even see it again, even with the level of technology in DC.
Drawing her legs to her chest, Kara hugged herself, her breathing coming faster and faster. Really, even if she could open a portal to her original Earth, what then? Her parents had been almost sixty when she died, were they even alive right now? Over thirty years after her rebirth?
No, she had lost two families, and she couldn’t handle losing any more, she just…
A warm hand cut off her trail of thought and Kara looked up, staring right at Kori’s concerned eyes. Kori’s hand gripped her arms and gently pried her fingers from their vice like grip at her legs.
Adjusting her place between Kara’s legs, Kori cupped her face between her hands and forced Kara to fully focus on her eyes for a few seconds.
Kara felt her muscles relaxing; her breathing starting to go back to normal as she stared at the green eyes in front of her, gripping one of Kori’s hands with her own, Kara squeezed tightly and finally managed to form a smile. “Thanks.”
Leaning down, Kori kissed Kara’s lips, her touch very brief and light, offering comfort and support. Still holding her hand, the Tamaranean kicked off her boots and sat down on the bed beside her, putting her back against the headboard. “I apologize; I did not intend for our talk to cause you such distress.”
“It wasn’t that, not really.” Kara sighed, leaning sideways and resting her head against Kori’s shoulder. “I had to meet someone I really didn’t want to earlier today, then everything just hit me all at once… I, it’s just…” Kara couldn’t really explain, she couldn’t explain how much she feared losing everything again, how she feared getting involved with things.
Caring about her cousin was easy. He was Superman after all and very few things could hurt him, and there were even less now that she kept bothering him to wear the damn radiation shield. Kori, however, was vastly more fragile.
“Friend Kara, may I tell you about my planet?” Kori finally spoke, interlocking their fingers and smiling at her.
“Sure.”
“Tamaran is a wonderful planet, full of wonders and beauty; it is also a planet at war.” Kori let her head lean down on top of Kara’s, closing her eyes as she remembered. “My sister was shunned for her disability, and I was raised as the future queen of our people. By the time I started my training, I had lost two uncles to the war and, in the following years, the Citadel increased its assaults, killing many.”
Kara felt Kori’s hand squeezing her’s, but her strength was quickly failing as she let herself think about her planet and started to lose her powers.
“Together with Komand’r, I was sent to Okara for military training, but I was aware it was also to protect us, and then…” Shaking her head, Kori lifted their hands. For a second, she just looked at them, her smile falling away. “On my planet, I learned that there will always be people trying to hurt us or the people we care about, and sometimes, there is nothing we can do to prevent, or even affect, that. But that does not mean we should give up, that we should not care, that we should not love.”
Bringing Kara’s hand closer, Kori kissed her finger, then smiled again, regaining her strength. “Friend Kara, our bonds are what give us strength. Even if it is painful, even if it is hard. The memories are still there, they are still beautiful, they can still make you smile as you remember them and, if you can smile, you win.”
Kara didn’t say anything, just continued taking comfort in Kori's presence. She couldn’t help admiring the Tamaranean princess's strength. Sometimes, seeing how cheerful and happy Kori was, Kara forgot she wasn’t the only one who had suffered.
Eventually, Kara took a deep breath. Releasing Kori’s hand, Kara pushed herself away from the headboard and sat atop Kori’s thighs, staring directly at her friend’s face. “Thanks for talking about it. I guess it’s about time I stopped avoiding things, huh?”
“I do not wish to hasten you, Friend Kara.” Kori smiled in a way that illuminated her whole face. “I understand that most other races are not as open as we Tamaraneans.”
“No, it IS time I stop avoiding things.” Kara closed her eyes for a second, letting go of her fear. Opening them again, she put an arm at Kori’s side and leaned over. For a second, she paused just above Kori’s lips.
The pregnant pause stretched for a full second, but it felt like an entire hour. Kara’s heart was beating like a hummingbird’s, and she could hear Kori’s beating alongside it. Finally, she pushed herself forward and captured Kori’s lips.
Pushing herself forward, Kori’s hands slowly snaked their way around Kara’s waist. The kiss deepened, their mouths opening slightly as Kori answered with eagerness and Kara quickly lost track of time. The only question remaining in her mind was why she hadn’t done this before.
