Of Knights and Aliens

Chapter 83

(Starts before the explosion)

Lena waves over Alex and Maggie, hoping they'll see the urgency in her movements and come closer to her. They see the worry in her expression and rush over.

"What is it? Why is Kara rushing around like that? I know we should get out of here quick but..." Alex trails off, gesturing for Lena to speak.

"We need to get out of here as soon as possible. I know my mother, Sir Alex, and I know she always has something up her sleeve."

"Lillian is dead, Lena." Alex reminds her, hoping she's just being paranoid (while knowing she's definitely not just paranoid).

"But her scientists aren't. What they've build isn't. Lillian, she always had a fail safe and I know that while she probably didn't expect to die, I know she has some kind of plan in case of something like this." Lena says.

"So we definitely need to get out of here." Alex looks at her blur of a sister, her eyebrows scrunched with worry.

Lena lets out a breath and nods. "Yeah, we really do. I-"

They hear the explosion before they feel it. Maggie, Lena, and Alex are all highly trained and either have natural or learned quick reflexes. When they hear a thundering BOOM that shakes the room, they make themselves as small as possible, getting down on the ground. Lena's surprised she doesn't feel the heat of the explosion on her back. When the roaring of the explosion and the flames does down, Lena opens her eyes and looks around.

The first thing she notices is a pair of red combat boots, connected to deep blue pants. She looks up to see Kara, her face a mask of determination, standing above her, Maggie, and Alex. She's holding her cape up, which is probably why they didn't get hurt.

"Is it done?" Lena asks softly.

Kara's mask slips into one of deep concern as she nods and drops to her knees in front of three of the most important people in her life. Her eyes are wide and her lower lip trembles with fear. She can hear the pounding of hearts all over the room, can smell the sweat and the fear, but her only focus is on them.

Kara almost lost them. Her sister, her sisters (Maggie's definitely become part of the family now). Her girlfriend, her partner, her best friend. She almost lost them. She almost lost everything. Again.

"Kara?" Lena's voice snaps her back into reality.

Kara sucks in a deep breath. Lena slowly reaches up and cups Kara's face. Kara puts her own hand over Lena's, reveling in the contact. It's only now that she realizes she's crying and her hands are shaking. Lena moves so she's sitting up and envelopes Kara into a tight hug, squeezing her as tightly as she can. Alex and Maggie have sit up by then and join in, making it a little group hug.

Kara burrows her head into Lena's shoulder and Lena doesn't mind the tears on her armor. After Kara gathers herself and wipes away the last of her tears, she scans the three of them with her X-ray vision to make sure that her cape blocked everything, to make sure they're okay. Kara lets go of Lena's hand reluctantly and floats up, her legs not quite sturdy enough for her to trust them with her weight. She scans everyone else as well.

The others are getting off of the floor, some having been thrown by the blast. Those with few or no injuries are helping the others. Some have been knocked unconscious, but not bad enough for immediate medical attention to be needed. Kara helps some people up before returning to them.

Maggie's staring at the hole the explosion made in the ceiling, exposing what this building is made of. There's two layers of rocks with a thin layer of lead in between them. There are black scorch marks all around it, a ring around it and then it thins, like arms reaching outwards.