"♪ You don't gotta feel alone ♪
♪ When I got you by my side, oh my ♪
♪ Baby we could lay down ♪
♪ Watch the candle burn the night, so bright ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah, no matter the road or the distance ♪
♪ You know that home is when I am with you ♪
♪ And anywhere we go, ooh ♪
♪ I always feel at home, ooh ♪
♪ Whenever I'm with you, my ride or die ♪
♪ Yeah, you right there by my side, and you know, ooh ♪
♪ Whenever I'm with you, I feel him ♪
"Will you stop singing?!" Kara pushed her words through gritted teeth. Her hands covered her ears, and her eyes glowed red, ready to burn a hole through Zion, who was seated next to her.
"Hey, show a little appreciation for the song and the singer. It's a good song," Zion replied, sitting in the pilot seat, flying Ship out of Earth.
"I don't care about the song, but your singing is like scratching a blackboard with nails. It's sickening," Kara retorted, her brows creased in pain. "You sing like a marmot's shriek!"
"Hey, don't hate my singing," Zion replied, his voice grating on Kara.
Every time Zion opened his mouth, Kara felt like a thousand needles were stabbing into her ears. Her ears were already ringing from the Sonic Blaster, but Zion was being a pain on top of that. She already hated him talking, now she hated his singing. She was beginning to hate Zion in a new light.
"Just shut up, dude," Kara shouted back.
"Okay, okay, okay," Zion answered, controlling his voice to a decibel as to not harm Kara's ears.
Kara visibly relaxed, turning to look at Zion suspiciously. If he had the capability to change his voice, it meant that he was intentionally torturing her with his voice. However, Zion kept a straight face under Kara's stare. He could actually control his voice pitch perfectly—one of the perks he gained after evolution. But why would he display his capabilities?
***
"You need help," Zion's voice echoed in the silence as Kara stood still, her eyes glaring at him hard. Zion just shrugged off her glare and walked up to her. Standing next to her, he noticed that Kara was taller than him. If he remembered right, she was about his height.
Is she taller? Even if his body had undergone enhancement, he still retained his dimensions. That could only mean— Kara had grown. How did she grow? Is she having a second growth? Is it because she is getting the nutrients she lacked before? Is she going through puberty? Do Kryptonians even go through puberty? Can't ask her that, can I? But she has grown tall, now she is looking down on me. Maybe I should grow a few inches, I can do that.
Zion's mind began to wander everywhere as he spiraled further.
"Why would I need your help?" Kara questioned pointedly, her female instincts telling her that Zion was thinking something—unethical.
"Yes, yes, why was I here?" Zion jabbered, snapping out of his wandering thoughts. "Ah, yes. You need help, don't you?"
Kara huffed at his response, "As if I need your help!"
She didn't need his help, she never did. She could have dealt with the thugs without his help. She was just taken by surprise and their weapons were very effective against her. If she was in need of help, Kal-El would have appeared. Even if she had fallen, she would have been relatively unharmed. She turned away from Zion, ready to leave without hearing his stupid reason.
"I know your powers have begun to fluctuate, Kara. You were already struggling to maintain control for the past few days, weeks?" Zion's words stopped Kara, making her turn with a deadly glare.
"Are you stalking me?"
"No?" Zion asked sarcastically.
"What do you know?" She inquired, her voice tinged with frustration.
As Zion stated, her powers had been unstable for the past week. Her vision was out of focus and needed more control, having headaches from time to time. She even sneezed, turning part of the field to ice. Her senses were on overload, making her see atoms at one moment and through Earth the next. She even had trouble flying one day. Her power was acting all weird, and she didn't even know why. She had checked herself in Kal-El's fortress, but it revealed nothing. But Zion knew. She hadn't even talked about it to Kal-El.
Zion only gave her a smile as he now stood a foot away from her. He raised a finger and pushed against the "S". Kara looked like she was about to bite his hand off but didn't move.
"You are in the process of Transfiguration," he gave her a little push, causing her to fall off the edge.
Kara tried to manipulate her Magnetic Flux to halt herself, but whatever boost Zion had given her had run its course. She saw Zion jump from the edge, diving headfirst towards her.
"I am going to kill you one day, Zion," Kara muttered.
Zion just shrugged. "You will not, and I am trying to help." He twisted his body to face up as he brought his hand to his mouth and blew a loud whistle that caused Kara to flinch. Kara saw something black jump from the top of the skyscraper, quickly morphing into a spaceship, accelerating towards them.
"Unlike Kal-El, you didn't grow up under the sun," Zion left the in-between unsaid. "So, unlike him, your body just tapped into that potential later in life. You were only using it like a torch connected to a battery. But now that your body had reached its solar charge threshold, it's adapting to your power. Evolving to a new form. Or should I say that you are charged up and now it's time to transform."
Zion cut the talk just in time as Ship extended its tendrils, pulling them into it. After a momentary darkness, both found themselves seated inside a highly advanced spaceship with very comfy chairs.
"For the next few weeks, your power will grow exponentially," Zion said as he piloted Ship out of Metropolis. "Which makes you dangerous to live in a world made of glass."
"What are you planning?" Kara asked as she sat comfortably, deciding to focus on the important matter.
"You will be staying with me in the Castle until your powers stabilize," Zion answered shortly. "I need to run some tests and see what other powers you will gain with the enhancement of your present powers."
"Hmm," Kara hummed in acceptance.
"While you are at it, I think it's better for you to train to cover your weaknesses," Zion suggested.
"I don't need to train," Kara refused. "I am strong enough."
"Yeah, strong enough to punch someone into orbit, but not enough to defeat someone of equal strength or those who exploit your weaknesses," Zion remarked mockingly. "You know the key weaknesses of Kryptonians?"
"Kryptonite, magic, and red sun radiation," Kara entertained the question with an answer. "And I'm immune to Kryptonite."
Kal-El was very adamant about teaching her that. He didn't want her to get caught in an unexpected situation. But she already discovered Kryptonite was nothing but a glowing rock to her. Only red radiation did anything to her, and she hadn't had the chance to fight a mage.
"No, you are not immune," Zion bit back. "The only reason you are immune is due to the quantum frequency the Kryptonite in this universe vibrates at differs from yours, it doesn't even exist. Same reason you are mostly immune to magic. But not to red radiation. A human could use those to weaken you and beat you with pure skill. Take away your strength, you are just any other human who walks the street of Metropolis. A Gothamite would beat you through grit alone. Same goes for those with similar strength. Do you know how many other aliens are there that have similar powers to yours? You would be at a great disadvantage because you can't just punch them into orbit. You are weak, Kara."
Zion held nothing back and berated Kara by pointing out all her weaknesses. From her physical weakness to her mental one. He only stopped after Kara fully went silent.
"God, I sound just like my dad," Zion sighed, turning on the music and switching to hyperspace jump. "You will train with my guard, Barda. I will take care of Metropolis for the next few weeks."
"Barda?" Kara questioned.
"One of Darkseid's elites, leader of the Furies, finest warrior Apokolips had ever produced," Zion listed her titles.
"Do you trust her?" Kara questioned.
"Yes, I do," Zion answered. "I promised to turn Apokolips to dust, so everything's fine for now. She will help you get better at fighting opponents of equal strength."
"Hmm," Kara just hummed.
"Orrr... you could fight me." Zion turned to her, "Of course, I will go easy on you."
Kara didn't answer.
Zion turned back to driving as the Ship entered hyperspace without the slightest rustle. The song shifted to a catchy one. Zion slowly hummed and went into full singing when they arrived at Mars.
***
"So this is where you live?" Black Manta muttered as he snuffed out the cigarette he was smoking and approached the lighthouse.
Since he resurfaced on land, he had taken a day to get his things in order before hunting for his prey. It wasn't hard to find the lighthouse with all the information the fishmen gave him. He was here for reconnaissance. Gathering
as much information as possible before he came to confrontation. He would deliver the half-fish without its fins.
"You can't do this, Thomas," a shout came from inside.
"I already told you, Doctor Shin. You can't publish that information; it will bring trouble from not only the land but also the sea," another voice answered.
David quickly hid and peeked inside. He saw two men, one ruffled and gritty while the other looked like a disheveled scholar wearing glasses. David sensed an opportunity and kept himself hidden, listening.
"But it's a great discovery, and I've been keeping it under wraps for decades. They're about to shut me down, Thomas. All my hard work is about to be ruined," the man, now known as Dr. Shin, shouted in desperation.
"Doctor Shin, I'm sorry, but we agreed to do this without outside knowledge. No one can know about Arthur's nor Atlantis's existence," Thomas sounded like he was caught between a rock and a hard place. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to do this."
"This can't end like this, Thomas, not like this. In a world where we are now ruled by an alien dictator, you still fear Atlanteans? This was our chance for something greater, Thomas. We can't let it end like this," Dr. Shin shouted, pulling on Thomas's shirt.
"I am sorry for this, Dr. Shin," Thomas apologized, pulling the man's hand away from his shirt. "Please leave," he said curtly.
"It's a mistake, Thomas," Dr. Shin said as he stormed out and got into his car.
David marked the number of the car as he watched it leave. A malicious smile formed on his lips as a plan took shape in his mind. He then turned and walked away from the Light house.