"Thanks for bringing me here Miss Kara." Billy said for the third time, a bouquet of flowers held firmly in his hands. "I know you may not like her after what she did, but Amber really wanted to meet you and apologize."
"Don't worry kid." Kara said as she handed the guard their day pass and identification, the man checked their information on his computer and nodded. "Besides, I'm not heartless. I can give people second chances if they're working to get better."
The kid gave her a huge smile at that, a second later they stopped in front of a metal door and waited until the guard buzzed them through.
STAR Labs wasn't exactly a maximum security prison, but their preparations to protect their research were very thorough, and they did work with the Justice League to monitor and help meta-humans with dangerous or uncontrollable powers.
Seeing as Amy was still underage, had willingly handed herself over when rescued from Mr. Mind, and Billy had vouched for her as Captain Marvel, the law had allowed her to stay in one of STAR Labs' facilities if she also went through mandatory therapy.
"Hello, you must be Kara Danvers." said a middle aged woman as she saw them approaching. "I'm Sharon Banks, Amy and Amber's psychologist. I'm glad you could bring Mister Batson here, they both greatly enjoy his visits."
"They're still separated?" Kara asked as she shook the woman's hand.
"Yes, Amy was able to absorb the other two personalities we identified as her Id and Inner child, but Amber is still separated." The doctor said and stopped in front of a thick metal door. "Billy, why don't you go ahead and meet with them while I talk with Miss Kara?"
"Right, thanks for letting me see her Mrs. Banks." Billy took a breath and entered the room, his flowers in front of him. "Hi Amy, Amber."
"Billy!"
"Hey pipsqueak, about time you showed up again."
The door closed behind him leaving Kara alone with the psychologist. The woman seemed to be watching Kara's face in search of something so Kara just lifted a quizzical eyebrow and decided to wait her out. Finally, the doctor sighed.
"Right, I was told Amber had hurt you before. As her doctor I must know, are you here to yell at her or blame her?"
For a brief moment Kara just looked at the closed door and thought about it, did she blame Amber for her actions? A little bit, but the girl was only fourteen and had been abused by her parents.
Kara wasn't exactly the forgiving type but, surrounded as she was by people like Billy, Kori and her cousin, she couldn't help but want to be a better person.
She hadn't lied to Billy earlier, she was willing to give the kid a second chance. The girl hadn't even caused any deaths before she was controlled by Mr. Mind.
"I haven't exactly forgotten what she did, but I'm willing to forgive it, once." Kara confessed, to which the doctor smiled at her.
"Good. I wasn't completely certain if you should meet with Amber yet. It could do a lot of good to the girl, yes, but it could also set her back by a lot." The doctor looked at the door with a frown on her face. Turning back to Kara, she took a deep breath. "It's not a chance I would have taken myself, but I was overruled by Doctor Wilcox. Still, I'm glad my fear appears to have been groundless."
Kara prepared herself to enter the room, but decided to give Billy a little more time alone with the girls. "Say, do you know why they're still separated like that?"
"Doctor Wilcox believes it's something in her meta-gene reacting with Captain Marvel's powers. Amy and Amber were the only ones to retain their powers when separated. The Doctor believes their power has taken over and changed after getting super charged by the Captain's and is fuelling their separate existences."
"And you?" Kara had to ask, the woman really didn't seem happy with her superior's decisions.
"I believe they don't want to be united." Retreating from the door the Doctor sat down on a couple of chairs in the hallway then leaned back against the wall. "Amber's personality was formed as a way to protect Amy from the rest of the world; I believe she's refusing to unite with the original because she wants to protect Amy from the guilt she feels about what happened."
"Wouldn't it help if I forgave her?"
"Possibly, but not forgiving her could do far more damage." Lifting her glasses and scratching at her eyes in frustration the Doctor continued. "At this point I'm not certain they can ever be joined. We have been keeping the both of them in the same room and going through the same procedures, but they have been separated for such a long time their experiences have greatly differed."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"That's just it, we still don't know. I'm a psychologist and even in my area of expertise I'm not certain. They're the first known case of split personalities also having split bodies and her condition doesn't really have a cure." The doctor gave Kara a bitter smile. "The standard treatment is usually just tries to integrate as much of the personalities together as possible into one while finding a way to manage the dissonance, but they have diverged so much and are acting so independent from one another… It could be best to just stay as they are now."
"I take it that's not the healthiest option?" Kara had to ask.
"Again, we don't know. Can she even stay separated indefinitely or is their independence only gonna make it worse when it ends? That's not even considering the possible physical side-effects. We're doing our best, but her case is complicated."
Kara didn't know what else to say and the Doctor seemed to realize she had said too much leaving an awkward atmosphere between them that stretched for almost a full minute.
"Alright then, I think I've given them enough time alone." Kara finally broke the silence and opened the door.
Both Billy and Amy sat on her bed, their legs crossed while Amber was sitting beside them and pretending not to be interested. Billy had a cell phone out and was showing them some pictures while telling her about his latest training session with Zatara.
Beside the bed, Billy's bouquet of flowers rested inside a jar of water where Amy had put them.
All three of them lifted their heads and looked at her when she entered, Amy smiled at her, but Amber just avoided her eyes. "Hey, I heard you girls were receiving visits already."
"Yeah, Doctor Wilcox said we should start interacting more," Amy said while leaning over Billy. "He's even going to start letting us out of the lab for exercise."
"Yep, guy's an asshole, but at least he knows we're getting fed up with being lab rats."
"Amber!" The original twin scolded but Amber just shrugged.
"What? Are you gonna tell me he isn't an utter asshole?" Amber looked at her twin with annoyance. "Bastard tries to separate us every chance he gets."
This time it was Amy who avoided her twin's eyes, too polite to answer the question.
Kara frowned, wasn't STAR labs trying to keep them together to avoid deviating their personalities and experiences even more? Guess the good doctor decided they were better off separated. Either that or he was a complete bastard only interested in research data. Something to follow-up on later.
Grabbing a chair, Kara pulled it closer and sat together with Amber so they could hear Billy's story and watch him cast a very basic ball of light. Kara immediately looked for any cameras, but it seemed like the girls weren't monitored while in their room.
Amber seemed incredibly on edge with her, but she eventually relaxed and became much more focused on Billy's fledging magical abilities.
Kara thought the three of them looked incredibly cute together. Despite being older, the two girls hung on Billy's every word with Amy leaning over his body, their shoulders touching and Amber herself squeezed on top of the bed with them while peaking over her twin's shoulders acting incredibly interested in his fights as Captain Marvel.
An hour later, the Doctor knocked on the door and poked her head inside, warning them that visiting hours were over.
Billy hugged Amy under Kara's amused eyes, then he went towards Amber and the rebellious teen looked at Kara, then towards her twin and back at Kara. With a long suffering sigh, she let the boy hug her, her face flushed with embarrassment.
Kara managed to keep from snickering.
Just before they left the room, Amber grabbed at Kara's shirt, causing her to stop and turn towards the girl again. "What is it?"
"Are you alright?" The girl asked with a tiny voice, her eyes meeting Kara's with a desperate need. "Shit, I don't know how to do this. Look, I'm really sorry about what happened; I didn't mean to hurt people so much."
Kara looked at the girl again and saw deep regret. Putting a hand over her head she messed up her hair. "Look kid, I'm not gonna say it was nothing, but most of it wasn't really your fault. 'You' didn't kill anybody, or even hurt me that seriously. Just don't do it again and I can forgive you."
"I'm not a fucking kid," Amber slapped her hand away. "And I won't, I swear I won't."
She glanced back towards Amy, her face turning into a protective smile.
"Then don't worry about it. Just try to find a way to make up for the damage you caused when you're out of here." Kara told her and saw the Kid nod in understanding.
"Could you… could you find that little kid's name? I know I fucked up and hurt her family so I wanted to…" She swallowed hard as she seemed to gather herself. "To apologize."
"I'll find out." Looking towards the hallway Kara saw that Billy was already waiting for her at a corner. "I'll visit again next week, alright?"
"Yeah… thanks."
Kara and Billy stepped out of the building and made their way towards the Zeta-Tube, Kara still had a meeting with Kori and Wonder Woman for some training, but she wasn't in a hurry, it wasn't even three in the evening. Kori trained with her mentor until eight.
"Thanks for coming, Miss Kara." Billy said as he squeezed her hand. "I know I could come as Captain Marvel, but Amber is always on edge when I show up like that."
"It's fine. We wouldn't want your little girlfriend to be uncomfortable, now would we?" She smirked.
"Ack. That's not… nevermind." He just gave up when he saw the amused smirk on her face causing Kara to laugh out loud.
"So, which one do you prefer: the delicate one or the tomboy?" She couldn't help poking at the kid.
Once they were completely out of sight Billy checked his phone and got excited, releasing her hand he stepped back from her. "I'm sorry Miss Kara, but the League is calling for me. Shazam!"
With a flash of lightning, the little kid was gone leaving a large man in its place, Kara snickered again. "I can't believe you're fleeing in terror from me."
"Sorry, can't hear you, have to go." He said while avoiding her eyes, then he flew away as fast as he could, leaving a highly amused Kara behind.
Half an hour later Kara stepped onto Wonder Woman's private beach in Greece. She quickly made sure there weren't any cameras or surveillance devices turned her way and pulled her mask away from her face.
From further into the beach Kara saw Kori waving at her before taking a punch to the face for her distraction. Quickly refocusing, the princess started fighting back against Troia, their bodies floating a few centimeters above the sand as they traded blows.
Wonder Woman herself turned towards Kara and smiled. "Kara, Starfire said you'd be coming over today."
"Hello, and thank you for the invitation. Is that what she's gonna call herself now?" She asked, somewhat surprised despite herself.
Kara had already changed things so much she half expected Kori to call herself Wonder Girl or something.
"Yes, Princess Koriand'r decided to use the translated meaning of her name while acting as my apprentice." Wonder Woman replied. Lifting an arm in front of her face almost faster than Kara could react, the heroine deflected a starbolt towards the sea causing it to explode and shower them in a thin mist. "Do not aim towards the spectators. Not all of them are going to be as powerful as me and it creates a bad habit!"
"Apologies!" Kori shouted back while dodging a kick aimed at her head.
"They seem evenly matched." Kara commented and Wonder Woman shook her head.
"No, Starfire almost matches me in skill, she holds back to allow Troia to grow."
Looking at the fight going on, Kara couldn't really see it. Then again, both fighters were far more skilled than her.
Watching as Kori put Troia's arm in a joint lock and dropped the both of them violently towards the sand Kara considered how she'd fight them.
Well, besides turning hundreds of drones into teleporting bombs like her prosthetic eye or bombarding them with heat vision from a kilometer away.
Even wounded, Kara was clearly still far stronger, faster and more resistant than both of them. Her best strategy would be to take a few hits and get close enough to use strength to end the fight in a single hit.
She could probably take four or five blows for every one she dealt and still win the fight.
Unable to escape from the joint lock, Troia tapped out on the sand. Wonder Woman nodded towards Kara and went to talk with her sister letting Kori fly closer and give her a back breaking hug.
"Friend Kara, you came!"
"Told you I would," She said as she hugged her friend back. "Punching my problems away may not be my preferred method, but that doesn't mean I can't see the advantages of knowing how to do so."
"It is wonderful to have you here." Kori finally released her and floated away, "Please, would you like to do the sparring with me?"
"Starfire." Wonder Woman called as she helped Troia back to her feet. "Sorry to interrupt, but I was thinking of testing Kara's skill before anything else."
"It is not a problem. I have only taught Kara for a short time, but she is a most adroit pupil."
"What do you say, Kara? Feeling up for a spar?" Wonder Woman asked with a jovial tone as she waited at the same spot Kori and Troia had been fighting.
"I guess." Kara said and started stretching her arms as she walked towards the heroine. "You know I had no martial training before meeting Starfire less than three months ago, right?"
"Don't worry. I just want to get an idea of your condition. I'll hold back."
"Fine, just say when."
"I'm ready when you are." Wonder Woman answered with a kind smile.
"Fight well Friend Kara! I am sure The Wonder Woman will refrain from breaking too many of your bones!" Kori oh-so-helpfully cheered from the sidelines.
Well, she had been considering how she'd do in a straight up fight. Guess it was time to find out.
Without warning Kara accelerated as fast as she could and tried to punch her opponent in the face with a surprise attack, she tried to put everything behind the blow and end the fight as soon as it started. Fair fights were for idiots and people willing to lose after all.
Wonder Woman punched her back, her fist hitting Kara's with enough strength to cause a shockwave. Not exactly prepared for the collision, Kara was sent flying back, her feet digging into the ground and sliding back for almost two hundred meters before she managed to stop herself.
Her entire arm had gone numb from the collision and she had to shake it a little to regain the feeling, opening and closing her fist. Kara finally used her flight to float up and pull herself out of the ground she had sunk into.
Looking back towards the hero, Kara saw the woman hadn't moved from the spot, her body relaxed and only an eyebrow lifted at her. With an amused smile the Wonder Woman asked. "What was that?"
Kara considered her answer. Did she really think she could sucker punch Wonder Woman, or that she'd be stronger than her for that matter? Yes, yes she did.
"'Arrogance', I guess." She said with a sigh, Looking at the undisturbed sand under Wonder Woman's feet she couldn't help but frown. "Damn, you didn't even move."
"Kara, we can fly just by thinking about it, pushing against the ground for leverage is almost never the right option."
"Right, I knew that." Kara grumbled, then got serious and started using what little Kori had taught her.
At first she tried to bombard Wonder Woman with short blasts of her heat vision, but the heroine deflected them all with her bracelets and it seemed like doing any damage that way would cost far more than Kara was willing to use.
Her heat vision was one of her most costly abilities and she didn't want to waste it, she also didn't want to use her shouts or ice breath when she anticipated they wouldn't really do any damage and only cause her pain.
The two of them clashed with incredible strength. Moving as fast as she could, Kara delivered an overwhelming series of blows which Wonder Woman either dodged or blocked before striking back and forcing her to defend herself.
At first the Heroine's blows sent her flying back for dozens of meters or caused her to sink into the ground but, after only a couple of exchanges, Kara started to get the hang of things. Eventually, she only had to take a few steps back every time she was hit.
Then Kara started using her heat vision while in melee range, making Wonder Woman have to always keep track of her eye.
In truth, at their level, the ground was more a suggestion than the actual field of battle. Both of them could easily sink several kilometers into the ground without even making an effort if they wanted to.
The answer then on how to prevent being sent flying was, obviously enough, to use her flight ability. The only reason Wonder Woman didn't fly back or sink into the ground for hundreds of meters with every blow was because she was stopping herself from doing so.
Unfortunately, that also meant you had to take the full brunt of the blow every time, absorbing it all instead of dispersing it or turning it into momentum.
"Good, you really do learn fast." Wonder Woman complimented even as she leaned back, dodging a punch and making Kara overextend before kicking at her exposed ribs. "Sometimes, if you have the range, you'll still want to let yourself be sent flying. It gives you a few more seconds to counter the force of the blow or take a breath, but we're often fighting in a populated area so it's best not to count on that being an option."
Breathing hard and with her clothes soaked in sweat, Kara held her aching ribs and nodded towards her sparring partner.
Wonder Woman herself wasn't completely unscratched, Kara managed to get a few lucky hits in and the heroine had a new bruise on her cheek. She also had a light coat of sweat and a few strands of hair falling over her face.
"Ha, that was a great warm up," Wonder Woman laughed when she saw the disbelief in Kara's face, she waved a hand through her hair tucking the stray strands back and continued. "Don't worry, we're not sparring anymore, you wouldn't benefit from it anyway."
"Oh thank Rao! I don't think I could go for another round."
"Have to say, I didn't think you could last so long Blondie." Troia commented from the sidelines. "Not much skill there, but still much better than I expected from someone with so little training."
"I informed you of her prowess, Friend Troia." Kori stated happily while bringing a cup of water for the two.
"Yeah, I suppose you did." Troia nodded and looked at Kara with newfound respect. "So, are you gonna be joining us for training from now on?"
Kara grabbed at the water and drank it all in a single gulp before pushing against her knees and straightening her body again, considering things a little she breathed out and nodded.
"Yeah, I can't do this every day, but I think I'm gonna start coming at least twice a week from now on."
After that Wonder Woman started teaching them how to fight against stronger opponents and having them test their moves against each other.
In her last life, Kara had always heard that footwork was one of the most important things in a fight, but that meant less than zero when you could fly.
In fact, most of what the Amazon was teaching them was about how to avoid causing destruction and, if you were pushing against the ground and using footwork, you were probably causing a lot of damage to the streets.
Also, being hit through a building was surprisingly dangerous for the building, and for everyone inside it. No matter how often Kara had seen it in comics and cartoons a significant part of her lesson was reserved for how to avoid becoming a person shaped wrecking ball.
They only stopped an hour after the sun had set. Wonder Woman's house had half a dozen showers and, after washing themselves, they had a nice meal prepared by a chef she employed and trusted.
Outside of combat, both Diana and Troia wore comfortable white dresses with no sleeves. Kori herself wore only a tank top and gym shorts that hugged her body and left most of her legs and belly exposed.
Since her own clothes had gotten soaked with sweat, Kara had borrowed one of Troia's dresses with leather shoulder straps that was surprisingly comfortable, and fit her incredibly well.
She still preferred to wear pants, but having a few dresses wouldn't be entirely bad.
After dinner Troia threw herself down onto the sofa before starting to look for a movie to watch and Kori followed her out of curiosity.
Seeing as they were left alone Kara decided to take the chance and ask the woman about something.
"Say, Miss Diana…" Kara started to say.
"Just Diana outside the costume Kara." The older woman interrupted with a smile as she drank a glass of wine.
"Right, Diana, do you know how I could get in contact with Bruce in my civilian identity?" She asked, Kara could probably find out a way to do it herself, but there was no way to know how long that would take. "I wrote a business proposition I know he'd be interested in, but I'm not sure how to approach him without being suspicious."
Diana looked at her with some curiosity, but didn't ask how she knew Batman's secret identity. Looking at Troia and Kori busy in the living room she thought about the question.
"Well, Bruce does have a reputation as a playboy." She finally said with some hesitation. "There's gonna be a fundraising event in Gotham two days from now, the best way to approach him would be as a beautiful woman there."
Kara lifted an eyebrow at her in disbelief. "Are you saying I should…?"
"Well, you did ask and it is the easiest way." She smiled at Kara with amusement. "It definitely wouldn't raise any alarms about why he might be interested in your proposal."
"Ugh… just, ugh."
Damn it. Kara supposed Bruce Wayne was handsome enough, but he was her cousin's best friend… and old compared to her.
Although… now that she thought about it, that last part didn't weight as much for her, considering her previous life and all.
"Fine, I guess it wouldn't hurt." She said after considering the matter for a full minute. "Still, letting people think I got a deal because of my body just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth."
"Then don't do it. It's not a matter of life or death, is it?"
"No, I suppose it isn't." Kara sighed and took a glass of wine herself.
"Don't tell Clark I let you do that." Diana joked as she filled her glass.
"What? We're in Greece and I'm already 18 anyway, it says right there in my documents." Kara answered back smugly and traded amused smiles with the Amazon.
Soon, all four of them were sitting comfortably on Diana's giant sofa, even Diana had taken off her shoes and lay sprawled between a little mountain of pillows.
This time it was Kori that laid her head over Kara's lap as they relaxed while watching DC's version of the Lord of The Rings.
______
A shout to Xhaustedhero, AkumaSmaG, Iori Daemona Angel, AlliterativeArts (Eric Faust), Icewing, Comics, DERMONIAN, Davvy chappie and Phillip Nguyen for supporting my work!
An even bigger thanks to Eric Faust for also helping me improve this chapter
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