Superflash:Collison Course (Volume 2)

Chapter 28: Attack on Solitude

At the Fortress Barry was pacing in extreme frustration as Kara was still in the regeneration matrix.  He knew he had to be patient and let the procedure run its course but the waiting was driving him mad.  On the other Earth, Kal-L had only taken two hours to get back mostly to normal, so Barry told himself to calm down and take some deep breaths.  Kara had far more years of memories to recover.  So he knew the process would be long and grueling.  Finally Clark had to divert his attention from his cousin fully to Barry, not that he hadn’t been focused on both of them anyway.

“Barry, why don’t you go home?”

“What? No…I can’t.  Kara needs me.  I need to be here, Clark.  What if she comes out of this and I’m not here for her…”

“Barry, she’ll be fine.  I promise.  And I know she would understand if you were protecting Central and National.  She knows you love her, but you’re both heroes.  You have a job to do, and maybe doing it would keep you better focused.  Trust me; we’ll let you know when the procedure is done.”

“Clark…”

“Seriously Barry…go do something constructive.  Use that big brain of yours to…”

“Find the Worldkillers.  That’s what you’re going to say, right Clark?”

“Not my first thought, but we do need to know where they are.  We need to be prepared for whatever comes next.  Besides, it isn’t like they know where the Fortress is.  We’ll be safe here.”

“All right Clark…but…”

“Yes…I’ll call you as soon as Kara wakes up.  Now go.”

Barry took off, immediately running for home with Clark’s assurances that Kara would be fine and he would call as soon as any change occurred.  Neither of them could know that they were both wrong and the Worldkillers were being led to the Fortress at the very same moment.  On his way back to Central, Barry had another idea and called Cisco to meet him in National City.  While Star Labs had top of the line equipment, the D.E.O. was better suited to handle the search.  Upon his arrival, Barry saw Alex giving orders while J’onn and M’Gann were being checked over by the medical teams.

“Agent Danvers!  What’s…what did I miss?”

“Flash?  You’ve missed quite a bit around here.  How’s Supergirl?”

“She’s healing.  I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you more in the loop but…”

“Time enough for apologies later.  You were protecting her and I wouldn’t expect any less.  We’ve got bigger problems to deal with right now.”

“Bigger than the Worldkillers?  What could be worse?”

“I’ll show you, and J’onn will tell you.”

Alex led the way to where J’onn was receiving a final check-up before the Doctors turned their attention completely to M’Gann.  Barry stopped and stared in shock at the multiple injuries both Martians had received.  The young hero was disheartened by the image, knowing that if he and Kara had been there, this might not have happened.   As if reading Barry’s thoughts, J’onn spoke up to assuage his concerns.

“None of this was your fault Flash.  Had you been here, the same would have happened to you, but most likely much; much worse.”