Supergirl stirred and immediately realized that she had passed out. She jerked herself up on her hands while remaining sitting on the hard concrete floor. Immediately her arms began to shake and shooting pains erupted from her shoulder. Instinctively she reached for the burning flesh still wet with blood. The touch of her own flesh sent shoots of fiery anguish throughout the region.

She remembered where that wound had come from and she thought of the people at that scene who might still need her help.

 

Where was she? What happened to her? Why was she in pain? How did that explosion affect her? Her mind filled with worry. People could be in trouble and there was something terribly wrong with her! It was almost as if Kryptonite were present. But there was no Kryptonite around, at least not a type she was aware of. To her knowledge there was no form of Kryptonite that could make her vulnerable and not cause wracking pain to her body. It would have explained her powers being gone, but without the toxic radiation that the green mineral produced from under the effects of the yellow sun. That wasn't the case here.

She pushed herself up and got off the floor. What was happening to her? She felt terrible! Her head seemed to swim. Gaining her balance and looking around, she saw the fallen white Hyabusa and a single overhead light in a large empty space. The traces of the door that the white rider had left could be seen on the other side of the structure and the thick garage like door on the other side was closed.

She stood straight and listened for several moments. There was no sound at all. She wondered if she might be under surveillance and she scanned the lit areas of the large warehouse-like room that might possess cameras. She could see none with visible light, but when she attempted to see through a burst of X-ray vision she was a hardly surprised her eyes refused to penetrate the x-ray bands.

'My powers ...' she thought, 'Just like Kryptonite.' She wondered how long she had been here. Laying on the floor and unconscious. Laying here without her powers while people might be needing her help.

She walked with a slight limp to the door that the other woman had exited through. And pressing hard, Supergirl was not surprised to find that the door remained solidly closed. She pressed her ear against the flat metal and to her surprise she heard the murmuring of a conversation. She pressed against the door harder but the metal was so dense and the seams so solid there was no way she could make out the voices or words.

As she listened one voice grew louder. It seemed like an argument. Then suddenly it seemed to stop.

Supergirl strained to listen and she heard a door open. Someone was coming. She heard a muffled voice on the other side. She still couldn't make out what was being said.

Then there was a sound of grinding metal on the other side of the door. It sounded like an old access hatch on a submarine. She considered a quick manuver against whoever was entering, but the gruesome throbbing in her left shoulder mocked such thoughts. She was in no condition to over power anyone so instead she backed away from the door as it opened.

She felt terribly vulnerable and her powerlessness brought on a discomfort that she was not at all used to feeling. She bore her fear down. They would not know it. She would not show them. What did these people want with her? How did they do this to her? She summoned her confidence and straightened her back and folded her arms. Though bloodied, she presented a stately and still imposing stare.

A man entered the room. Behind him, came the woman in the white body suit. The woman had a cautious expression on her face which wasn't exactly friendly but it wasn't exactly hostile either. Supergirl remembered what she had been told by the white rider. This must've been the man she was referring to.

Supergirl turned back to the man who was dressed rather casually. A designer shirt with an abstract print of white and light blue. He wore black pants and casual shoes. He wore no jewelry other than a silver watch, no visible tattoos - his hair was mid length and blond though slightly ruffled which fit his well shaven face. He looked a little uneasy and this strangely comforted Supergirl. He looked at her square in the face and seemed completely unsure of where to begin.

"Are you ... alright?" He said finally while keeping his distance and sinking a thumb into one of his pockets.

"She's Supergirl." The white rider said quickly. "She'll be fine." The woman crossed in front of the man and headed towards her motorcycle.

"Who are you? How long have I been here?" Supergirl said sharply.

"A few hours." The man replied. He seemed to think before answering her first question. Then he said, "My name is Vic. I'm a friend."

'I'm a friend.' Supergirl thought. It was the phrase Superman had taught her to use when surprising people whom she intended to help.

Supergirl was incredulous. She didn't want to reveal that her powers were gone but she also didn't want to pretend that she had them either. But what she really wanted was to escape. The confined space, the darkness, her lost powers - none of it was good. And she didn't believe this so called 'Vic' and his friendliness either.

The white rider was lifting the customized motorcycle back onto its wheels and Supergirl noticed some of the customized design elements on the bike. There were steel rails and rods that almost completely protected the bike during its high speed skid into this warehouse. Upon examining the side, she could see the replaceable 'bumpers' with deep scratches but the white fairings and black engine components were completely unharmed. The bike was designed to go down at high speeds. It had been well prepared for the trap set for Supergirl and this renewed Supergirl's unease.

"There are people out there who need my help." Supergirl said.

"Look, I know you're hurting and I'm sorry that you were ... brought here like this." He said giving a side long glance towards the white rider. "I have no intention of keeping you here against your will, but please ... come with me. I have something very important to tell you about."

"I'm on a mission from the police chi--"

"Richardson - precinct 22 ... advanced weapons deployment ... I know. Like I said ... I have a lot to talk to you about."

He turned to open the door again as the rider fired up her motorcycle. The stunningly powerful engine roared to life.

Vic opened the door and gestured for her to go through. Supergirl hesitated for only a moment but decided that she had little choice without her powers. As much as she disliked the white rider she didn't like the prospect of being alone with Vic either.

Vic closed the door behind them leaving the rider alone to check her bike before she sped off into the night. Supergirl and this stranger were suddenly in a very small corridor together. She looked at his face watching him earnestly as he stepped around her for the next door. This one had a key code on it.

Vic punched in a code and a click in the doors locking mechanism signaled its release. He turned towards her, "Take this as a gesture of my good will. It's time to give you back your powers."

He pulled the door opened and immediately Supergirl felt a rush of energy flow through her. The aching in her legs, arms and body disappeared almost instantly. She straightened her back and hadn't even realized, until now, that she had been slouching. She breathed in deeply as her body felt renewed, enlivened and energized. She felt alive again!

She looked down at her shoulder which had completely healed though there were still stains of blood on her costume. The virtually impervious blue fabric still torn which happens either from extremely intense impacts or else ... a loss of her powers. She had a lot of questions, but with her powers back now she felt much more inclined to talk.

She turned her head back to Vic who seemed quite satisfied. He suddenly looked a lot nicer to her now. A pleasant half smile and friendly green eyes under a well groomed head of hair. He wasn't exactly an eye-sore she thought pleasantly.

Supergirl walked through the opened door into a much larger room than the confined hallway. There was an advanced computer station to the right with about a dozen screens and two chairs. To the left was a refrigerator with a bar and a single stool. The room was clean. There were no clothes, plates, glasses or anything at all out of place.

The lights were low and the shades were drawn on the far side. It was clearly dark outside. Supergirl walked into the room which felt like an apartment, strangely! Although for an apartment there was definitely an aura of class to the place with expensive furniture and highly expensive computer workstations.

Supergirl turned with her back facing the kitchen and looked back towards Vic. "What happened to my powers in there?" Supergirl asked deducing that it had something to do with the room. "And why did she bring me here?"

Vic took a breath and considered carefully. Although he had hours to prepare this speech he knew it was going to be a hard sell. "Understand that what I'm about to tell you will get me killed if the wrong people learn about it. If they learn about me."

His face was grave and he waited for her to confirm. Supergirl nodded accepting the gravity of his tone.

"Five years ago, I worked for a private company called 'XR metalics'. We specialized in creating surfaces for extreme conditions ... space shuttles, military avionics, submersible crafts even advanced infantry body armor. I was volunteered for a project that peaked my interested. It was a military applications project codenamed 'Star Shield'. When I was briefed for the project, the government official explained to me that there were two working theories on Kryptonian powers ..."

Now Supergirl leaned forward. "Go on." She prompted.

"The first being that Superman ... and you ... were like batteries that were charged by the sun. The theory was that if you or Superman could expend a great deal of energy during the night, you would weaken and become vulnerable. But this theory was generally discarded in place of the second. The other theory presumes that you ... uhh ... Kryptonians don't actually get your powers from the sun's light, but instead, something else that the sun emits. The theory goes that some of the suns particles travel through the earth and constantly charge you and Superman making you no less vulnerable at night than in broad day light. Project Star Shield was supposed to block all forms of emitted particles from the sun, even those that pass through the earth thus 'powering' you in the dead of night."

"I see ..." Supergirl said thoughtfully. "So you've created a prison. Really - I mean that's what it is, right? A prison for me ... or my cousin!?"

"Yes. Exactly. They claimed it was for defense but I didn't buy it. The government liason told me that if you or Superman ever went out of control, they'd need a way to ... contain the situation. In a way it made sense to me, Supergirl. I understand why they wanted a way to protect themselves should it ever be necessary, but if word ever got out that there was an metal alloy capable of being stripping Superman and Supergirl of their powers ... The world couldn't take that risk. I couldn't risk that formula falling into the wrong hands. So naturally ... I finished it myself. Verified that it worked ... and then lead my team down a false path. I made them burn through the allocated budget making sure the project couldn't complete. When we submitted our request for additional funding government reviewed our progress." Vic chuckled. "They promptly shut us down."

"So you secretly kept the formula for this alloy?"

"I didn't trust the knowledge of this in anyone else's hands so I established a working facility here, shielded it and planned to keep it a secret unless it should ever be needed. That's why you lost your powers in there, the entire room, including the floor is shielded with an alloy designed to prevent the suns particles from reaching you."

"I see." Supergirl said still feeling very uncomfortable that a room with the right walls, floor and ceiling could strip her of her abilities.

"And you and ... her ... are the only ones who know about it?" Supergirl asked wondering how deeply she trusted this stranger.

"Nicole? Yes. She knew about it. And she's the only other person who does."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Look, I understand why you might feel that way about her, and this might be hard for you to believe ... but I told her to make contact with you. She's one of New York's most valuable guardians. She helps me watch this city and keep it safe." Vic explained.

"Why was bringing me here the safest thing to do? She could have killed someone driving the way she was?!" Supergirl said straightening.

"It was the safest thing to do because she didn't want to risk another explosion going off."

"What?" She said sharply and clearly taken aback.

"What would you say if I told you that your powers had caused that blast to go off."

"I'd say that's insane!" Supergirl responded. Her voice now brissling with anger. "I can't create a blast like that! You don't know anything about me!" Supergirl said standing and leaning towards him.

"You? No ... but someone else can." Vic explained. "Nicole got your attention, drew you away from the scene  and secured you here until I arrived. It may not have been the most elegant approach, but she needed to get you away from there, and quickly."

Supergirl recalled hearing Nicole's quiet voice; what she had said. Nicole was rather ... efficient. In a cold and mercenary-like way. It had worked like clockwork. She knew just what to say and just how to get under Supergirl's skin to start that dangerous high speed chase.

"That's how Nicole is. I employ her services to get the job done cleanly and she always delivers. She's about the best us humans have to offer." Vic finished in jest.

"How ... could my powers be used ... like that ...?" Supergirl said turning away and thinking of anything or anyone that she or even Superman had met that might be able to do that.

"RavenTech." Vic said simply.

"RavenTech?" Supergirl repeated. "I've ... never heard of that."

"Most people haven't RavenTech is a shadow company. It has its fingers in all kinds of pots. Nicole has been helping me watch them for some time now."

"Watch them for what?" She asked.

"If all of RavenTech's assets, both domestic and foreign were united, they'd probably rival LexCorp and Queen Industries. Not that I care much for any of these, but what they've started getting into recently is actually quite scary. Vic motioned towards her shoulder."

She glanced down at it and then back to him. their eyes locked. Time froze.

Supergirl finally broke his stare and Vic continued.

"Nicole and I have been able to uncover some very illegal projects but the one we've been watching as closely as possible is called Angel."

"What is that? Angel?"

"Ok look." Vic sat down in one of the computer terminal chairs. When a company like RavenTech's research division comes out with a project, they analyze it's progress and assess it's value to perspective purchasers or markets as it progresses. If they ever feel like it will fail, they'll pull the plug on it. But this ... Angel project is something very VERY different."

He went on. "For starters, it originated out of a mental health and research branch of the company that neither I nor Nicole paid much attention to until this Angel project started making waves there. All of a sudden they started hiding information on the project and detaching references to it from their main data structures. It was obvious only because Nicole and I have been watching them so closely."

"So what ... exactly is project Angel?"

Vic leaned back in his chair and looked up. This seemed to be a signal for conjecture mixed with fact on his part. "It has something to do with 'reshaping reality.' We're assuming it's a subject because of it's origins but from what Nicole has found in the last few days, it appears to be a person capable of ... well ... capable of changing reality. Affecting the world or people's perception of the world at least. To sort of dictate how people experience reality."

"That sounds like science fiction to me."

Vic nodded at her shoulder. "Would the coroner think so if that blast had sent a piece of shrapnel into your heart?"

Supergirl stared down at the bloodied and sliced costume. 'How could this be?' she thought.

 

 

 

 

Alana Preston entered a room and quietly closed the door behind her. "You sent him out for me?" She asked looking at Angel who sat atop her small white bed. Alana was referring to the guard who had been there only moments before. He left the room with his hand pressed against his ear and a small stream of blood running between his fingers.

"He didn't want to listen to me." Angel said. "So I made him. Now, we can be alone together ... like sisters!"

If Angel had said that very same thing yesterday, Alana might have been repelled in utter disgust, but not today. Not now.

"You've never had a sister, Angel?" She said playfully.

"No. And I didn't want one ... until today."

"What made you change your mind?" Alana inquired.

"You made me powerful. You let me do something the Master wouldn't let me do."

"Ok stop. Stop right there." Alana said preparing to gamble with her first devious manipulation. "Don't call him 'master' ... he's not your 'master'."

Angel smiled. She liked this game, "He taught me to use my gift. He believes in me." she said playing coy.

"Yes, he did. But he didn't do it to help you, Angel. He's doing it to help himself. Just like all people with power over others. They just ... help themselves to whatever they want."

"I don't mind. He says it's why I have my powers." She said suddenly fondling a little doll to distract herself and finding it difficult to repress the urge to do something contrary to Roche's will again. She enjoyed seeing Alana's mind in action. It was amusing to her and she liked playing with people. Yes, playing with people was fun!

"Is that why Supergirl has her powers, Angel? Does she do Roche's bidding too?"

This move caught Angel off guard. She could guess minds, read some thoughts, but this wasn't a place she anticipated Alana going. The doll thudded on the floor.

"Supergirl ..." Came an almost snake-like whisper.

"What do you know about her? Where is she? I've never felt ... like that before. I want to see her again!" Angel said excitedly.

"I know how you feel." Alana said deviously. "I'd like to see her again too." She continued distantly. "But ..."

"But what?" Angel said with a quivering lip.

"Roche wouldn't like that." Alana said turning back to the wiry haired girl.

Alana laughed. "That didn't stop us before, did it?"

"No it didn't." Alana said with a gentle giggle.

"I've never had a sister." Alana said preparing to deliver her final mouthful of calculating venom. "If I had one ... I want her to stand with me. To stand for women everywhere and not let herself be ruled by the whims of a man."

Angel seemed to think hard on this. She knew what Alana was suggesting. She remembered the sensation she had when she disobeyed Roche's order earlier today. She remembered the freedom she felt when she tapped into Supergirl and the amazing sense of ... liberation and power all from doing what she 'shouldn't' have done. "Do you think I could be a sister like that ... ?" She asked distantly expecting Alana to say 'no'.

Alana turned around. "I suppose, Angel." Then she turned back to Angel and said, "But there's one thing sisters always have to be able to do together and that's the first thing we would need to do."

Angel suddenly became very excited. She leaned forward as if she were sharing a special secret with her soon to be older sister. "What's that?" She whispered while barely managing to contain her bubbling excitement.

"Sisters always need to be able to ..." Alana chose her words very carefully. "... have fun together." She finished while looking into Angel's eyes again.

Angel peered back for several moments before finally she agreed to the unspoken thought. A twisted smile spread across her lips.

Just then the door opened. Antonio's head appeared. "Hey baby." He said. His voice a bit quaky upon seeing Angel. "Let's head out, alright?"

Alana didn't even turn to face him. "I'm going to stay with Angel tonight. See you later."

Antonio remained frozen in utter astonishment. There was no discussion to be had. No coercing. No convincing. Alana was like a wall of ice and when all this registered, Antonio simply closed the door and left.

"You see?" Alana said continuing to stare at Angel. "No man controls me. And that makes me strong. So what do you say? Shall we head out and have some fun?"

Angel seemed about ready to explode in anticipation. "Definitely!" she squealed with glee.

 

 

 

 

Supergirl tracked the motorcycle from the air which was driving inconspicuously in the slow lane several cars back from a truck. Nicole had called in a few minutes ago. She and Vic had been monitoring live satellite feeds through image recognition software and they were figuring out how to track movements of arms that a division of RavenTech was supposedly using to disburse weapons into cities. But Supergirl wondered if the call had come to separate her from Vic. She smirked at the prospect of Nicole being uneasy about something.

Supergirl glided gracefully high enough in the night sky to be totally invisible but from her vantage point the world seemed to be a clearer place.

She focused her vision on the truck shifting her vision into UV light and then into X-ray. Gradually the truck's exterior panels disappeared. There were large boxes in the cargo area and 3 men sitting in the cab just as Nicole had described. The crates in the back where carrying mostly furniture or large wood and metal components but hidden under some of the top layers of material she could see the carefully molded forms of assault rifles. Nicole was right. Did that woman ever mess up?

The truck pulled off the freeway and took a right into a 4 lane road business class road splitting various business parks. The more luxurious corporate headquarters or satellite offices were near the freeway. But the truck passed these and took a left turn into a more worn quarter.

Some of the buildings here had been vacant for a while while others were still actively seeking new business. Most of them were auto parts and distributors, metal working, lumber related, food distribution and processing and the like. There were some office complexes and business parks. All empty and dark at this hour.

Nicole rode a fair ways back with her front lamp off masking her completely from the truck she was following. She saw the truck pull into a drive way and then drive all the way to the back of the large company building which wasn't in use any longer.

The truck turned around and back in to a deposit station and the 3 men got out. No one else was around.

Supergirl saw Nicole pass the place and pull in to another empty business parking lot a little further down. She descended from the sky to rendezvous with Nicole.

"They are carrying weapons." Supergirl said landing gracefully near the white motorcycle.

"Yes." Nicole said shortly. "I do my research." She said wanting to both add what she felt was a fine point as well as a bit of a slight.

Supergirl tried to brush off the comment as Nicole leaned onto her bike peering through an IR lens. Supergirl focused as well penetrating the building between them to see the men on the other side unloading the crates with weapons and leaving the rest of the material on the truck.

A car showed up with three people inside and it pulled up near the truck. When Nicole saw it, she tightened the straps on a black backpack and took off running for the building. She was deft and nimble just as she was on the motorcycle. Supergirl hovered after her keeping equally as quiet.

Nicole rounded the building where the truck was and checked a door on the side leading in. It was locked. She was preparing to move to another possible point of entry as the 3 people in the car approached the building.

"Here." Supergirl said quietly. She reached up and crushed the door handle as if it were cotton candy. With a quick twist, the handle came off and the door quietly drifted backwards opening.

Nicole grunted suppressing her surprise that Supergirl had managed that so quietly.

The two graceful ladies slipped inside of an empty office with a door that lead to the larger open space where the 6 people were now meeting up.

"You were told to come at 2:30." One of the 3 men from truck said.

"I had to get in here myself and see if this was for real." An African American said advancing towards the men unloading the truck. He was flanked by a youthful female who looked more than a little rough around the edges. On his other side was a much larger and taller man who didn't seem to be the talkative type.

"What's not for real?" Another of the trucking crew said cracking open a crate and throwing some of the boards on top aside. A slew of high caliber automatic weapons lay inside.

"So what's the catch?" The black man said. "You guys comin' on down here, droppin' off enough bullet hoses to storm russia or some shit and ya'all ain't asking for nothing in return? That don't sit right."

"Fine. Then leave it here." Came the response. Tensions felt very high and both sides were nervous. The casual street tone seemed like a fine blade teetering on turning one way or the other.

Supergirl and Nicole inched forward and peered into the shipping area from behind a stack of crates.

They saw one of the truck's crew pull an assault rifle from a mount behind the cab's seat but on the opposite side or the truck. No one else could see it.

Supergirl rose and prepared to take flight. Nicole grabbed her arm and gave her sharp warning against her intentions.

The Girl of Steel wanted an explanation but the close quarters prohibited dialogue. Nicole just shook her head and held up her hand in a 'wait' signal.

The gun carrying man inched around the front of the van in a flanking position on the gang the deliverables were meant for but he kept his weapon concealed behind the truck.

"Leave." The trucking crew's leader ordered. "Come back at 2:30 or don't come back for all I care. Either way you need to leave now."

"Naw, I don't think so." The african american said. "Cause you know what?"

"What?" The driver said incredulously.

"You're under arrest."

"NYPD, don't move!" The woman said drawing a small pistol from under her vest.

The delivery people froze but only for a moment. The leader dove behind the truck as the assault rifle weilder started opening up on the police.

The lady bent low and fired a half dozen rounds giving her associate a chance to move from the incoming assault rifle fire. In seconds everyone was clear from the deadly open areas and all had guns firing. Bullets whizzed by punching holes in walls and ceilings and ricocheting off of the building's exposed steel framing.

Nicole was still holding Supergirl's arm when the gunshots started. Supergirl wasn't waiting any longer. She shoved Nicole back and burst into the air diving for the man with the assault rifle.

He turned just in time to see her two fists stretched out in front of her slam into his face. He fell backwards into a tower of crates instantly unconscious. He'd be nursing a broken nose when he came around.

Then she turned and flew into the 2nd man taking him down with a sharp slap to the side of his head. The last of the crew had picked up a very large shoulder mounted weapon designed to cut through tank armor.

"Bitch!" He cried chambering a round and pointing it towards the female officer who stood frozen behind the wooden crates. The shoulder mounted weapon looked terrifying.

Supergirl shook her head in warning. The man seemed to consider executing the officer vs the consequences of those action and he decided that perhaps the shells would be better suited in Supergirl - the real threat. He turned and pulled the trigger sending a massive explosive tipped round Supergirl's forehead.

She tilted her head forward and let the gigantic shell pounded into her head just above the bridge of her nose. The shell exploded on impact sending a flash of fire to envelop Supergirl but then nearly instantly it dissipated. The weapon was more of a concussive design than anything else.

The frightened thug unloaded another round and another and another in semi-automatic fashion each shell flattening itself against her chest, shoulder or leg and then falling in a smoldering thud to the concrete floor.

Supergirl often gave people a fair chance to surrender but she was not and did not appreciate being used for target practice. She began to run towards the man who had incidentally dreamed of being chased by beautiful women on more than one occasion however this did not fit the bill for that fantasy.

He began screaming as he unloaded the rounds as fast as he could searching for a vulnerable place on the maid of might's body to slow her down or stop her.

He found none.

Supergirl leaned back and lifted herself into the air while flipping out her right leg in a wicked looking vertical blade kick catching the man under the chin with her boot.

She flipped backwards while he too flipped backwards. She landing gracefully on one foot and a knee while he landed unconscious on his chest and face.

And suddenly the room was quiet.

"Supergirl!" Came the voice of the female officer.

Supergirl ran over to the woman who was keeping pressure on the african american officer who had lead the sting.

"Oh God." She gasped as she saw the shoulder wound dangerously close to his heart.

"It's Ok, coach. I'll walk it off." He said with a smirk.

Supergirl reached down and lifted up the man in her arms. "Can you handle them?" She asked looking to make sure the female officer and her other partner were ok.

"Yes." The woman said.

"Go!" Said the other cop. As he drew his cuffs to start the arrests and make sure the men didn't recover to become threats again.

Supergirl prepared to lift off but she caught Nicole's face beside her hiding place. Supergirl's face was a mix of anger and sadness.

"Officer?" Supergirl said. "There's another woman here, she's not with them."

With that Supergirl punched a hole in the roof and raced as fast as she could towards a central hospital.

 

 

 

Supergirl rarely waited in hospitals for people she rescued but she was extremely upset about this Officer Williams that she'd brought in an hour ago. No. She was furious. She could have stopped the whole thing and she didn't.

His family had been notified and were on their way down. The doctor's promised the Girl of Steel that they'd give her an update when they had one and she decided to wait.

So she had time to think about this whole thing. She wanted to blame herself, she wanted to blame Nicole for delaying her, she wanted to blame the illegal arms thugs.

Yes, it could have been worse if she wasn't there. Williams most likely would have died from the same wound and then the police would have been outnumbered in the firefight. Their support teams were nearby but not close enough to get in by the time the action had started and more people could have been killed.

But she didn't go when she felt like she should have. She waited because Nicole had wanted her to. Or not wanted to give away her position or ... who cares! A man was in critical condition under the knife and perhaps he didn't have to be if she'd have just acted!

She remembered how Nicole had implied the value of research and preparation and perhaps that's what really made her hesitate. If that's what costed Williams his life ... It was Nicole's fault. Supergirl had plenty of experience stopping thugs and gangs... more so than Nicole probably ever dreamed about having. What gave her the right to dictate to Supergirl how and when to act? She shouldn't have listened. She had the power to stop all of this before it started and she didn't ... so ... was it her fault too then?

"Supergirl?" Came a trembling voice.

Supergirl turned to see a tear filled african american woman with her 7 year old boy.

"Mrs. Williams?" Supergirl replied.

"I ... heard you brought him in tonight." Mrs. Williams replied.

"Yes. I did." Supergirl said her shoulders sank a little and she felt considerably less angry now, rather, she felt simply deflated.

"What -- happened to you?" Mrs. Williams asked looking at Supergirl's shoulder. The skin under had of course been healed but her costume didn't heal like her body did.

"Oh, that wasn't ... it's nothing." She said.

Mrs. Williams, an emotional train wreck came over and embraced Supergirl. "Thank you for bringing him. If you hadn't been there ... They told me he wouldn't have ... Is he going to be alright?"

"I ... I don't know. I was waiting to hear as well. I really hope so." Supergirl returned the embrace and Mrs. Williams sobbed loudly in fear of her husband's survival.

For several long moments, Supergirl simply stood there and tried to comfort the poor woman hoping she wouldn't become a widow tonight.

When their embrace finally broke she looked down at the frightened 7 year old boy. "You know you're daddy is a very brave man." Supergirl said.

The boy nodded slowly as his mother took his hand in hers. "Yes he is." Mrs. Williams confirmed. "Yes he is."

Supergirl saw Nicole enter the emergency waiting room. She still had her riding suit on, but she wore a long black coat to conceal her flashy outfit. Beside her was the tall and rather attractive figure she knew as Vic.

Her blood boiled ... but in a way ... two ways. Vic was here. She couldn't explain it. Her body demanded action. It was an urge she couldn't deny.

"Excuse me." She said leaving Mrs. Williams and her son.

She strode towards Vic and Nicole.

"Any word, yet?" Vic asked.

"I'll have one with you." Supergirl said grabbing the collar of Nicole's jacket and flying through the hospital hall through the swinging doors then up into the night sky. She was a blur of blue and red with ferocity burning in her eyes and anger in her throat.

Supergirl knew enough about Nicole to know that she wasn't 'ordinary'. Whatever her training or background ... she wasn't the type of woman to be easily caught off guard, but this wildly surprising move and certain death in the form of pavement 550 feet below would probably do the trick.

"Mad at me, Supergirl?" Nicole said in a equanimous tone. Supergirl was amazed. She focused on trying to get the upper hand and against Nicole that wasn't proving to be easy.

"Cops or not, I want to know why you didn't let me go after them the second that thug grabbed the gun. No one had to get hurt tonight let alone die!"

Supergirl clutched the heavy coat and stared hard at Nicole's expressionless face.

"Are you angry at me or yourself, Supergirl?"

"He could die! His life wouldn't be in jeopardy now if it weren't for you! If you'd have let me do my job! He'd be safe now!"

"Someone is going to find a way to kill you because of that, Supergirl." Nicole said cooly.

"What?" Said perplexed.

"You can't resist acting because you're bullet proof. Because you're strong ... because you can escape from just about any situation even if you're caught unprepared." Nicole said extending her arms out referring to the air around her. "You're predictable. Predictability is vulnerability." With that, Nicole raised her hands over her head and slipped through the arms of the jacket falling like a rock through the air towards the street below with her hands folded peacefully across her chest.

Supergirl hovered in momentary shock, but then snapped into action. She sprung towards the falling woman like a bolt of lightning. 'She's absolutely nuts!' Supergirl thought.

While free falling, Nicole made no effort to reach out for the pursuing Supergirl. She had no fear in her eyes and showed no emotion at all. She fell peacefully as if fully prepared to embrace death.

Supergirl hooked her arm around the woman's waist and reeled hard against gravity managing to freeze them both only a few feet above the ground. She held still hovering as on lookers spotted the brilliant colors of the Girl of Steel.

"You're crazy!" Supergirl said as a crowd began to form outside the hospital.

"It's why I'm still alive, Supergirl." Nicole said.

Supergirl dropped Nicole to the street a few feet below. It was at such an angle that Nicole couldn't land on her feet and she collapsed onto her butt.

"Why you're still alive is a miracle beyond my understanding."

"Did you predict that I'd slip out of my jacket?" She didn't wait for Supergirl to answer. "Of course you didn't. But I knew you'd catch me."

"I didn't have to."

"But you did and I knew you would." Nicole said sharply. "We humans take risks in order to achieve. We take risks on each other and sometimes we learn that survival comes at a price. Predictability is vulnerability. It presents a risk to everyone you work with." The crowd around them now was quite dense and onlookers made no secret of their eavesdropping on these two gorgeous women, one on her butt staring up at the other floating in the air.

Those last words were sharp. Cutting in a deep way and Supergirl didn't fully understand why. But they burned even coming from someone she had as little attachment to as Nicole. Nicole was once again voicing her warning about keeping Vic safe but doing so in a way that no one else but Supergirl would catch on to. "Maybe you haven't figured it out yet -", Supergirl called floating downward towards the ground, "- taking risks to help others is what I do. I don't always have the luxury of planning every detail before I have to act."

Nicole stood up. And glared back at Supergirl who hovered a few feet off the ground still with her cape and hair flowing in the wind. Supergirl wanted to make sure Nicole was looking up at her.

"Then let's hope no one figures out how to kill you, Supergirl ... because if they do, then the job won't be very difficult." Nicole said cooly.

Supergirl looked up to see Vic looking on with a concerned expression. He was relieved to see that no one was hurt but he was also not thrilled about this little spat either. Not at all.

Supergirl turned back to Nicole. Her soul still angry at feeling ... predicted ... which was the point Nicole was trying to drive home. She was frustrated and infuriated at Nicole still. "You're on your own." Supergirl said sharply. And with that she darted off into the night sky.

 

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