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72. Mission to Mars

 

September 19-22, 2017 (pregnancy week 28/29)

First thing in the morning, Alex and Kara got a text from J’onn.  They met him at the DEO where he, Winn and Lucy were waiting for them.  

 

“J'onn?  Is everything okay?” Alex checked. 

 

“Yeah, yeah,” he responded.  “Everything's great.  I just... I just needed to talk to you all.  I have to go away for a few days.  I'm gonna need you to manage the DEO until I get back.”

 

“Where are you going?” Lucy asked.

 

“Mars,” J’onn replied simply.

 

“Mars?” Alex repeated.

 

“M'gann sent me a message,” he explained.  “She needs my help.”

 

“Help with what?” Winn wanted to know.

 

“The message was short, urgent.  I tried to make contact, but I couldn't reach her,” he growled.  “But I can sense that she's in danger.”

 

“No, J'onn, you're the last Green Martian,” Kara reminded him.  “The Whites have been trying to kill your kind for centuries.  Going back would be a suicide mission.”

 

“Look,” J’onn said, crossing his arms, “M'gann came to our aid when we were in need. I must go for M'gann.”

 

“If you are going to Mars, then Kara is going with you,” Alex demanded.

 

“Yeah,” Kara agreed.

 

“I won't have you endanger your life just to fight my battles,” J’onn argued.

 

“Your battles are my battles, J'onn,” Kara told him.

 

“I can't take you away from your family,” he shook his head.

 

“Are you kidding?” Alex huffed.  “If I thought that I could survive Mars, then I'd be right there fighting by your side.”

 

“J'onn, if Krypton still existed and I had to go back to where my parents were buried, under rubble, I know you wouldn't let me do it alone.”

XXXXXXXXXXXX

“Mom!  I did it!” Carter said, bursting into his mother’s office.

 

Cat cocked her head to the side and smiled softly, “Did what, my son?”

 

“I asked Jamie to be my girlfriend!” he beamed.

 

Cat’s eyes widened.  “Oh, really?”

 

“Yeah!” he exclaimed dreamily.  “We kissed and everything!”

 

“Wow!” Cat grinned at her son.  “I’m impressed.  That was very brave of you.”

 

Carter just kept smiling stupidly.  “She’s so perfect, Mom.”

 

Cat pressed her lips together.  “You shouldn’t put her up on such a high pedestal, sweetie.  She’s just a person like you and me.  She makes mistakes, and she has problems just like any normal human being.  She’s not perfect, despite how it may seem.  Give her some leeway, so when she does make a mistake, you don’t hurt so much over it, OK?”

 

Carter nodded seriously.  “OK, Mom.”

 

“I’m proud of you, Carter.  This is a big deal.  How about after school we go out for some ice cream?”

 

“Yeah!” Carter cheered.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

J’onn took Kara to an old storage facility.

 

“Shouldn't we just call Winn to fire up the transmat portal?” Kara suggested.

 

“No, you can't transmat planet to planet without a gate on the other side.  We'll have to get to Mars the old fashioned way,” he explained, opening the storage room door and revealing an old 50’s style car.

 

Kara examined the vehicle.  “It's a cool car.  So, is this like an elevator to a secret hangar that'll... take us to-”

 

“No, it isn't,” J’onn replied, lowering himself into the driver’s seat.

 

“This is your ship?” Kara asked in disbelief.

 

J’onn nodded.  “Yup.”

 

“We're taking this to Mars?” she double-checked.

 

“Yes we are,” he confirmed.

 

“Okay…” she said, opening up the passenger side door and hopping into the seat.

 

J’onn gave her a look.  “Careful with the leather there, Supergirl.”

 

“Sorry,” she apologized and looked around her seat.  “There's no seat belt.”

 

“It's from a different era,” he reminded her.

 

“And a different planet,” she added.

 

“I come from a race of shapeshifters, Kara.  Why shouldn't our technology shapeshift too?”

 

“Fair enough.”

 

J’onn turned on the engine and pulled out of the little storage room.  As soon as they got outside, the ship transformed into an actual, proper spaceship.  J’onn turned on some jamming rock music, and then they were off.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Cat took Carter to his favorite ice cream parlor after school.  “So, tell me all about it.” she requested.

 

He told her what had happened with Jamie the night before.

 

“And how was the kiss?” she smiled at him.

 

He blushed.  “So good,” he breathed with a bashful grin.

 

“I just ask you two not to get up to any funny business,” she told him.

 

He frowned.  “What do you mean?”

 

She raised her eyebrow at him.  “You know what I mean.”

 

Carter blushed scarlet.  “Mom!”

 

“I’m serious, son.  You’re much too young for all that.”

 

“I just want to be able to hug her and hold her hand and sometimes kiss her.  I’ve been dying to be able to touch her, and now I finally can.”

 

“Alright, sweetie,” she conceded.  “But when you do get old enough to have sex, I expect you to wear a condom at all times.”

 

“Mom!” Carter complained.

 

“I mean it,” she pressed.  “You’re not going to make me an early grandmother.”

 

“OK, OK,” he grumbled.  “Can we talk about something else now?”

 

“Certainly,” she agreed.  “What should we get Alex for her birthday?”

 

Carter pressed his lips together thoughtfully.  “Hmm, I bet she’d love a new gun!”

 

Cat chuckled.  “I’m sure she would, but we’re not doing that.”

 

“Ummm…” he thought.  “She likes horror movies.”

 

“That sounds a bit more reasonable,” she nodded.  “Shall we go to the mall and look through the movies when we’re done here?”

 

“Yeah!”

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Kara and J’onn arrived at the red planet a few hours later, and Kara followed him through a labyrinth of tunnels until they got to a big metal door.

 

“What now?” she checked. 

 

The door started opening, “I think we're here,” he replied.  “M'gann!” he exclaimed, excited to see his old friend.

 

“J'onn, you came!” she said, running up and hugging him. “I wasn't sure that you would.” 

 

He kissed her on the cheek.  “I'd do anything for you, M'gann. You know that.” 

 

M'gann looked at Supergirl, “Kara, you didn't have to-” 

 

“You came when we needed you,” Kara responded. 

 

Next thing they knew, a group of White Martians were joining them in the hall.  

 

“Till'all,” M’gann warned.

 

Till’all growled, transforming into human shape.  “If he's worried about the sight of White Martians, he came to the wrong planet.”

 

“Meet Till'all,” M’gann introduced.  “One of our best fighters, but his bedside manner could use some work. And N'keyy, a new recruit.” M’gann waved her hand toward another humanoid White Martian.

 

“It's an honor, J'onn J'onzz,” N’keyy said, shaking his hand.  “M'gann's told us about you, how you inspired her to rise up and-”

 

“Enough!” Till’all interrupted her.  “We've already wasted a day trying to bring him here!” 

 

“Wasted?” Kara repeated.  “We came all this way to fight alongside you.” 

 

“We didn't bring you here to fight,” Till’all growled. 

 

“Silence, Till'all,” M’gann snapped.  “That's an order.” 

 

“What's going on, M'gann?” J’onn demanded. 

 

“We recently stormed a White Martian base near the D'ori'i crater,” M’gann explained.

 

“There was a prison camp there for Green Martians, N’keyy added. 

 

“There were dozens of camps,” J’onn huffed. 

 

“Well, this one was still in operation,” Till’all told him. 

 

“How is that possible?” Kara asked. 

 

J’onn frowned.  “I'm the only Green Martian left.”

 

“No,” M’gann said.  “There's another one.  I brought you here because I didn't think you'd believe me unless you saw this for yourself.”  She led him to a screen on the side of the wall, and when she pulled up the video feed, J’onn just stared in shock. 

 

“J'onn?  Who is it?” Kara asked. 

 

“It's my father,” J’onn replied in disbelief.  

XXXXXXXXXXXX

“Eliza, the lasagna is incredible,” Maggie complimented.  You and the girls did a great job.  Before I met Alex and Kara, I ordered in so much, I forgot what real food tasted like.” 

 

“Thank you.  It is the girls' favorite.  I'm just sorry Kara couldn't be here for it.  I know whatever she is doing with J'onn is important, but... I just-  I do worry about her.”

 

“You know, it's been hard, but she's working through it,” Alex told her.

 

“Well, this week is about happy matters of the heart.  And I did want to make a baby board for you three this week, but Alex said you two have no childhood pictures?” she said to Maggie and Lena.

 

“No,” Maggie answered.

 

Lena shook her head.

 

“If you don't mind my asking... How long has it been since you've talked to your parents?” Eliza asked Maggie.

 

“Um, since I was 14.”

 

“You know what, Mom? Let's just talk about something else,” Alex suggested.

 

“No, no, Alex, it's okay,” Maggie assured her.  “Um... I told a girl at school that I liked her and my parents found out.  I came home that day, it was winter, and my dad was there with a suitcase, and he told me to get into the car.  And... we drove in silence.  And I just stared out the window looking at the icicles on the trees, and I was terrified to say anything, but finally I said... I said, ‘Papi, what did I do?’  And then he just looked at me with such contempt... and said, um... ‘You shamed me.’   And then he pulled up to my aunt's house, and left me with my suitcase.  That was the last thing that my father said to me.”

 

“The only thing shameful about that story is how your father treated you, Maggie,” Eliza soothed.

 

“Yeah,” Alex said, wrapping her arm around the detective and leaning their heads together.  

 

“Yeah,” everyone at the table agreed.

 

“Why don’t you have any pictures, Lena?” Cat inquired.

 

Lena sighed.  “If there are any, they’d be at my parents’ house in Metropolis,” she explained.  “And I’m not really interested in going back to that place.”

 

“Fair enough,” Cat replied.  “We’ll just have to figure something else out.  That’s all.”

XXXXXXXXXXXX

“It's him!” J’onn exclaimed.  “He's alive!  My wife, my daughters?” 

 

M’gann shook her head sadly.

 

“So they kept him and only him alive for hundreds of years?” Kara questioned.  “Why?” 

 

“M'yrnn J'onzz is the high religious leader of the Green Martians,” M’gann explained. 

 

“Not even the worst of the Whites would kill the prime servant of H'ronmeer,” N’keyy added.

 

“Instead they sentenced him to a fate worse than death!” J’onn shouted.  “Alone for centuries, thinking he was the last of his kind.  Of his people!” 

 

“Soon they'll all be dead,” Till’all growled.  “We're running out of time.” 

 

“What does he mean?” Kara demanded. 

 

“We believe your father knows how to find the Staff of Kolar,” M’gann told them.

 

“You can't be serious!” J’onn huffed.

 

Kara was confused, “Staff of what?”

 

“Kolar,” N’keyy repeated.

 

J’onn was outraged.  “It's a myth, it's a parable!  My father used to tell me stories about it.  ‘Be a good boy or H'ronmeer will strike you down.’  It isn't real!” 

 

“It is,” M’gann insisted. “And the White Martians have found out where it's buried.” 

 

“The staff of your god H'ronmeer is a psychic weapon,” N’keyy explained. 

 

“Which means that if the Whites find it they can track down every resistance fighter and kill us where we stand.  We'd be helpless,” Till’all complained. 

 

“We raided the base hoping to find the staff's location but they had already moved on,” N’keyy continued.  “Your father had been left behind.  They didn't realize how valuable he'd be to us.” 

 

“Valuable?  What are you talking about?” J’onn shouted.

 

“We believe he knows where the Whites are planning to dig,” M’gann told him. 

 

Kara turned to her, “Won't he tell you where it is?” 

 

M’gann shook her head.  “He has closed his mind to us, completely.  We can't read it.” 

 

“He is willing to let us die, and he calls himself a man of God,” Till’all growled. 

 

“That man of God was tortured for centuries by your people!” J’onn shouted at him. 

 

“Then you understand what is at stake,” Till’all replied.  “If we don't find the staff first, our resistance is finished, and then the monsters who slaughtered your people get this planet, once and for all.”

 

“We need you to go to your father, J'onn,” M’gann said gently.  “Convince him to help us, and then we can save Mars.  Together.”

XXXXXXXXXXXX

“You never told me the whole story about your dad and the car,” Alex said gently to her wife.

 

“Me either,” Lena pouted.

 

“What's the point?” Maggie shrugged unhappily.

 

“We wanna share everything with you, Maggie,” Alex explained.  “I mean, the good and the bad. I knew that he was hard on you, but-” 

 

“Before that day, he was the best father,” Maggie interrupted.  “I know he sounds like a monster, but... you just don't know where he came from.”

 

“Well, it sounds like you still really love him,” Lena observed.

 

“I don't know, I am just saying that he didn't have it easy,” Maggie sighed.

 

“Well, have you ever thought about calling him?” Alex suggested. 

 

Maggie scoffed.  “Of course I have.” 

 

“And?” 

 

The detective shook her head.  “My aunt told me that my mother removed every picture of me from the photo albums. They erased me.  I’m afraid of what they’ll say to me.” 

 

“Look, what your family did to you was incredibly hurtful, but sometimes parents can do really stupid things when they are up against something they don't understand. What if you called them to ask if they’re coming to the shower?” Alex suggested.

 

“Are you kidding?” Maggie huffed.

 

“Well, it's the perfect excuse to reach out,” Lena told her.

 

“Yeah, right. ‘You kicked me out because I'm gay, but, hey, are you coming to my gay baby shower?’” 

 

“It was a long time ago. Maggie, the world has changed. Maybe they have too,” Alex shrugged.

 

“I don't think so.  Babe, look, I love you.  Just please drop it.  Okay?”

 

Alex sighed.  “Alright.  I’m sorry.”  She pulled Maggie into a hug and just held her for a minute, with Lena coming up behind Maggie and hugging her too.

 

“We love you so much, Maggie,” Lena whispered in her ear.

 

“So, so much,” Alex agreed.

 

“I love you guys too,” Maggie answered.  “Can we lay on the bed and cuddle for a while, please?”

 

“Absolutely,” said Lena.

 

“You got it, babe,” Alex agreed, giving her a kiss.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

J’onn cautiously entered the room where his father was currently on his knees with his eyes closed.

 

“I'm praying,” M'yrnn spoke.  “Leave me be.” 

 

J’onn walked around to face his father.  “I think that this time... H'ronmeer will allow you a moment of personal indulgence.  It's me, Father.  It's J'onn.”

 

M'yrnn just stared at him. 

 

“You're angry with me... for abandoning you... as you should be.  I know how you must have felt, alone all these years, thinking you'd never see another Green Martian, thinking our entire family had been destroyed…”

 

M'yrnn reached out and touched J’onn’s face.  “You really thought such a trick would work on me?”

 

“Father?” 

 

“I survived two centuries of imprisonment and torture... alone.  So, if you think exploiting the form of my dead son will break me, you are a fool.  I will never tell you where the Staff of Kolar is.”

 

“Father, it's me, J'onn.  I lived.  I fled to Earth, I survived.”

 

M'yrnn laughed.  “You give yourself away, White.  My son would never have fled.”

XXXXXXXXXXXX

“Hola, Papi.  Soy yo, Margarita.  Como esta?...  I'm living in National City now…  Oh, Tia told you...  I'm a cop.  I like it, it's good.  So, um, anyway, I’m calling because... I'm having a baby... No, I am married... No, it’s not… Her name is Alex.  Anyway, we’re having a party.  A baby shower, next month, and, um... You probably can't make it, but I thought maybe I would invite you...  Si, I'd like it if you came. Si puede.  I sent you guys an invitation in the mail.  You should get it any day now.  Anyway, I hope you and Mom are good… Cuidese.”  She hung up the phone and sighed.  “Why did I do that?”

XXXXXXXXXXXX

J’onn paced the room.  “I don't understand why he couldn't sense me.  He couldn't see me.” 

 

“He's been in prison a long time. He's probably used to tricks,” Kara figured. 

 

“Enough of this. I'm going in,” Till’all growled.

 

“You will not,” M’gann ordered.

 

“If the Green won't share the information willingly, we'll have to invoke the right of Tyagar and take it by force!” Till’all insisted.

 

“What's Tyagar?” Kara asked.

 

“It will allow him to force through my father's mental block and show him where the staff is,” J’onn explained.

 

Kara frowned.  “Could that hurt him?”

 

“It could kill him,” M’gann confirmed.

 

“We don't have a choice,” Till’all huffed.

 

“There's always a choice,” Kara debated. 

 

“Our survival depends on getting this information,” Till’all stepped threateningly toward J’onn.

 

“Is that all you care about?  Survival?” J’onn hollered.

 

Till’all stepped forward again.  “I swore to die fighting for this resistance, but I am not gonna die standing here... waiting.” 

 

When Till’all tried to walk past him, J’onn grabbed his arm roughly.  “You think you have what it takes to break my father's mind?  More powerful Martians than you have tried, boy.”

 

“Enough!” M’gann stepped in.  “Till'all is right about one thing.  If we don't find the staff soon, we're finished.  So you have to do this, J'onn.  You have to get through to your father.  Can you?” 

 

J’onn nodded.  “I can. And I will.”

 

“Good.  So hurry.  Because time is running out,” M’gann and the others stepped out to give J’onn a chance to talk to his father.

 

“You ever wonder, Kara, what your parents would say to you if they could see you now, after all this time?” He asked Kara.  “What they'd think of the person you've become?”

 

“Every day,” Kara nodded.  “They'd be proud of me.”

 

“Yeah, I thought that too, and I actually got the chance to ask.  My father thinks I am a coward.”

 

“Then he doesn't know you,” Kara soothed.  “Because the man I know has dedicated his entire life to making sure what happened on Mars never happens anywhere else. So go in there, J'onn, and show your father who his son really is.”

 

J’onn nodded and stepped into the room where his father was once again.

 

“One thing I'll give you Whites, you don't take no for an answer,” M'yrnn said.

 

“As I told you before, Father, I am not a White Martian.”

 

M'yrnn turned around and looked at J’onn, seeing him in his human form.  “Or even a Green Martian, it seems.  It is the custom of my people to take the shape of our guests... for your comfort if not for my own.”  He transfigured himself into a humanoid shape. 

 

“I am well aware of our Martian customs and lore,” J’onn replied.

 

“Mars was once a paradise,” M'yrnn spoke.  “But H'ronmeer wanted to test his children, Phobos and Deimos. To be sure they were worthy of it. So he offered them two gifts.”

 

“A book of sacred symbols on morals that govern Martian life, and the staff, a weapon,” J’onn remembered.

 

“The symbols could be shared, but the staff wielded by only one,” M'yrnn continued.

 

J’onn knew the story his father spoke of.  “Deimos chose the symbols. Phobos chose the staff.  He was the first White Martian.”

 

“H'ronmeer was furious that his son would choose destruction over knowledge.  And so, Phobos was banished to the underworld.  But his descendants clawed their way back and slaughtered my people.”

 

“Our people!” J’onn insisted.  “I am your son.”

 

“H'ronmeer buried the staff for a reason.  The Whites disgraced his name by slaughtering my people.  I will serve my God by refusing to let you use his staff to slaughter each other too.”

 

In the other room, Till’all was getting anxious.  “I'm sorry M'gann, but I am doing this for us.”  He punched M’gann so hard, it sent her flying back into the cavern wall with a grunt.

 

Supergirl leapt into action, blocking Till’all’s way and punching him across the room.  She ran down the hall to the room where J’onn and his father were.  “J'onn! We need to get out of here now!”

 

“I am not going anywhere with you people,” M'yrnn said defiantly.

 

“Sadly, I don't think you have much of a choice,” Kara told him, punching out another White Martian.  “Where can we go?  Where is safe?”

 

“Home,” J’onn replied.

 

The three of them ran back out to the car and flew a few miles away, landing at a beautiful, if dilapidated house.  They entered cautiously.

 

“This was your home?” Kara asked.

 

“No,” M'yrnn answered.  “It was mine.”  His lip trembled.  “How dare you?”

 

“Father-”

 

“How dare you bring me here?”  M'yrnn slapped J’onn across the face.  “It was one thing to take my son's form but to bring me back here, to the place where your people stole our lives from us…”

 

“I brought you here to prove it.  If I wasn't your son, how would I know this place?” J’onn tried to convince him.

 

M'yrnn spoke shakily, “You've done... what your people couldn't do for over two centuries.  You've broken me.  So kill me if you want, but until you do, I will spend my final moments praying for the ruins of my slaughtered family.”  He crossed the room and knelt down on the floor to pray.

 

J’onn and Kara just looked gravely at one another for a minute, but Kara had to try to help.  She crossed the room to kneel down by M'yrnn.  “I'm... I'm sorry to interrupt your prayers but I think it's important that you hear me right now.”

 

“What is left to say?” he mourned.

 

“Look at me,” she requested.  When he did, she continued, “I'm not a White Martian. You can sense that, can't you?  You know it's true?”

 

He reached out and touched her temple.  “You're Kryptonian.”

 

“Yes, that's right.  I come from a dead planet. I come from a dead people. Just like you.”

 

“Krypton is gone. But my world remains, and every day for 200 years, I have been forced to remember the horror of what happened to my people.”

 

Kara nodded meekly.  “You're right.”

 

“There is no future for Mars,” M'yrnn told her.

 

“Not for Green Martians, no,” she confirmed.  “But this is bigger than you now. This is about your faith.”

 

“What do you know of my God?” he challenged.

 

“I heard you earlier,” she confessed.  “H'ronmeer tests us.  This is a test.  You have a chance to save your planet.  Not for your people, maybe, but for another people who want to do better than those that came before.  I don't blame you for not wanting to believe that J'onn is actually your son.  I don't blame you for not wanting to open your mind because if it weren't true…”

 

“It would be like losing him all over again,” he finished.

 

“Yes. Whether or not you believe he is your son, he wants to save Mars.  So please, M'yrnn, open your mind just a little bit.  Just give him a chance.”

 

M'yrnn turned to J’onn cautiously.

 

J’onn raised his hand and reached out towards his father’s temple, but didn’t touch him yet.  “May I?”  M'yrnn nodded, and J’onn touched his temple, suddenly transforming the room into a bright, beautiful household.

 

Kara looked around in awe.

 

“This is my favorite memory,” J’onn told them.  “This is our home, Father.  I haven't thought about this in a long time. Can you see it?” 

 

M'yrnn stared in fascination.  “I see it.  I remember it.”

 

As they watched, two little girl Green Martians came skipping down the stairs.  

 

“K'hym, T'ania,” M'yrnn smiled. 

 

“My daughters,” J’onn confirmed.  “Your granddaughters.” 

 

“They're beautiful, J'onn,” Kara observed. 

 

“They were excited about something.  They were terrible at keeping secrets,” J’onn remembered. 

 

“What did they know?” Kara asked. 

 

“That I had left worship early to surprise J'onn,” M'yrnn told her. 

 

As they watched, a younger M'yrnn came through the front door, and the children ran to greet him.  “K'hymm, T'ania. Look at you two. You're getting much bigger, K’hymm. T'ania, give me that smile.  Yes.  Does he know?  Daddy doesn't know, does he?  Did they tell you?” He asked as a young J’onn walked through the back door.

 

“You came,” young J’onn exclaimed happily.

 

“Yes, I did,” Young M'yrnn confirmed.  “Happy birthday, my son.” 

 

“Thank you, Father.  Thank you.  Thank you for coming.”  He turned to his daughters and proudly said, “You kept a secret.  You kept a secret!”

 

As the vision faded, M'yrnn’s face lit up.  “J'onn.  My son.” 

 

J’onn hugged him tightly.  “Father.  I missed you.” 

 

“I'm so sorry for not believing you.  I'm so sorry, J'onn.” 

 

“I'm the one that should be sorry.”

 

“How did you survive?” M’yrnn asked.  “Why did you come back here?” 

 

“The staff, Father.  It's urgent.  There's still time.” 

 

“No, there isn't,” Till’all said from the doorway.  “We need the staff. Now.” 

 

M’gann shook her head apologetically.  “I'm sorry, J'onn.” 

 

“J'onn,” M'yrnn said.  “It's okay.  The staff isn't far.  They're taking it to the hive below the L'oren crater.” 

 

“Let's go,” J’onn said, taking his father by the hand.

XXX

Kara drove the ship in its car form into the hive below the L’oren crater, blasting the radio.  

 

♪ Oh baby baby ♪ ♪ How was I supposed to know ♪ 

 

“Hi!” she greeted the chanting White Martians cheerfully.  “Hi!  I'm, uh... I'm sorry to bother you during... whatever it is you are doing. But, I think I took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and... Can any of you give me directions back to Earth?”

 

The White Martians growled at her as she stepped out of the car.

 

“You know, I thought I took that tunnel but my GPS is all screwed up down here and it keeps trying to get me to make this suicidal left turn.”  As the White Martians snarled and stepped toward her, she said, “You might wanna check your rear view.”

 

♪ Hit me baby one more time ♪ 

 

J’onn and the White Martian resistance leaped down into the room, and the brawl was on.  Supergirl punched the closest White Martian across the room while the resistance took on the others.  When Supergirl spotted J’onn going down, she called out to him, “J’onn!”  She started to run towards him, but two fighting White Martians blocked her way.  She looked back and forth between them and just punched one.

 

Unharmed, Till’all morphed back into his humanoid form, “How did you know which one was me?” 

 

She shrugged.  “I didn't.”

 

Suddenly, there was a screeching sound that brought the resistance to their knees from pain.

 

“Till'all?” she said.  When she looked around, she saw the whole group lying on the ground clutching their heads.

 

“Supergirl!” J’onn called out.  “It's the staff!”

 

Kara ran towards the three Martians around the staff, but one of them grabbed her fist and raised her above his head like a pro wrestling match.  She couldn’t get out of his clutches. 

 

J’onn climbed into the car and transformed it into the ship.  “This is for my people!” he shouted, firing the ship’s weapons at the evil Whites.

 

The White Martians fell to the ground, and Supergirl picked up the staff, wielding its power and using it to take out the remaining evil Whites.

 

Once there was only the resistance left, everyone stood up and sighed in relief.

 

“Good job, Supergirl,” J’onn said, hugging her and then wincing when she twinged his injured shoulder.

 

“I'm sorry!”

 

“It's okay,” he assured her. 

 

Kara turned to Till’all and presented him with the staff.

 

“Thank you,” he said in amazement.

 

“This belongs to the resistance now,” she said.

 

Everyone applauded and cheered as Till’all handed the staff over to M’gann, and she raised it in the air victoriously.

 

When they returned to their base, M'yrnn greeted them cheerfully.  “You found it.” 

 

“Yes,” M’gann confirmed. “And we stopped them.”  She handed the staff over to J’onn. 

 

“H'ronmeer's staff, Father,” J’onn said, presenting the staff to the elder. 

 

M'yrnn studied the staff in fascination.  “It's one thing to dedicate your life to God, it's another thing to see God's grace in person.”  He handed the staff back to his son. 

 

“So what happens to it now?” N’keyy asked. 

 

“I suppose that's up to them,” Till’all answered. 

 

“Up to us?” Kara questioned. 

 

“I saw what the staff did back there,” he said.  “It's too powerful of a weapon for either side to have.  Take it to Earth.  Bury it.  If we're gonna win this planet, we have to be better than our enemies.” 

 

J’onn stepped forward and offered his hand to the resistance fighter.  “I underestimated you.”

 

“And I you,” Till’all agreed, shaking J’onn’s hand. 

 

The DEO director stepped toward M’gann, giving her puppy eyes.  “I don't suppose that I can persuade you to come back to Earth.” 

 

She shook her head.  “My fight is here.  The war is far from over.  We've come closer to victory than ever before, thanks to you.”

 

“I'll see you soon,” he said, hugging her and kissing her on the cheek. 

 

“I hope that's true,” she replied. 

 

“So…” Kara said to J’onn, “What about your father?”

 

XXX

 

“So, this is Earth,” M'yrnn observed.

 

“This isn't even the nice part,” Kara pointed out.

 

“I don't know,” M'yrnn mused.  “I rather like it.”  He wandered over and fascinatedly picked up some grass out of the dirt. 

 

“You know, I'm not sure I could have done this without you,” J’onn told Kara, giving her a hug. 

 

“Yes, you could have,” she assured him.  “You're the strongest man and Martian I've ever known.  I was glad I could be there to help you anyway.” 

 

“I'll see you tomorrow,” he said.

 

“You got it, boss.  Welcome to Earth, Mr. J'onzz, you raised a good one.”  With that, she rocketed into the sky and headed home. 

 

M'yrnn watched in awe.  “Can everyone on this planet do that?” 

 

“No.  She's special,” J’onn informed him.

 

“So, what do we do now?” M'yrnn inquired. 

 

“We go home, Father. We go home.”

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Kara tried to be quiet when she got back to Ms. Grant’s place.  It was fairly late, and she was pretty sure everyone was sleeping.  She floated up the stairs, so she didn’t make any noise, and checked on her daughters in their room.  She didn’t mean to wake them up, but they must not have had their red sun bands on because as soon as she poked her head in the door, they both popped their heads up and looked at her.  “Sorry,” she whispered.

 

“Mama!” they exclaimed happily, jumping out of bed and running to hug her.  “We missed you.”

 

“I missed you too, babies,” she said, kissing their heads and hugging them tightly.  “Three days wasn’t so bad, was it?”

 

“No, it wasn’t,” Jessie answered.  “It’s better than that one time you went to another dimension.  You were gone for over a week that time!”

 

“I know, I’m sorry.  I don’t like leaving you, but this was really important.  I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow, OK?”

 

“OK,” Jamie replied.

 

“Go back to bed, OK?” she urged.  “And put your red sun bands on.  Why do you have them off?”

 

“So we could hear if the mommies needed anything,” Jessie reminded her.

 

“Oh, right.  Thank you for taking care of them while I was gone.  Did everything go OK?

 

“Yes,” they confirmed.

 

“Good.  I love you girls.”

 

“Love you too, Mama.  Goodnight.”

 

“Goodnight,” she said, kissing them one last time.  She watched them put their red sun bands back on and climb into bed.  She closed the door softly and headed towards her room, thankful that her daughters had so far lived up to their promises to help out.

 

When she opened the door to her room, she found her wives all three crashed out on the bed snoring away.  She smiled until she realized they were so sprawled out that there was no room for her.  She didn’t dare wake them up, so she just curled up on the floor and zonked out almost immediately.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Alex woke up a couple of hours later.  “Kara!  You’re home!” she exclaimed with relief.  “What are you doing on the floor?”

 

Kara jerked awake at the sound of Alex’s voice.  She rubbed her eyes and looked around, trying to get her bearings.  When she remembered where she was and how she got there, she smiled sheepishly.  “You guys were sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake you up.”

 

“Help me get up, I have to pee,” Alex requested.

 

Kara climbed up off the floor and hoisted her wife up and off the bed, so she could use the restroom.  She sat on the edge of the bed waiting for Alex to come back.

 

“Kara?” Maggie mumbled sleepily from the middle of the bed.

 

“Hi, honey,” Kara cooed at her.

 

Maggie made grabby hands at her, so Kara crawled over and gave her a few kisses.

 

“We missed you,” Maggie whispered.

 

Kara stroked Maggie’s cheek, “I missed you too honey bunny.  Are you doing OK?”

 

The detective nodded, “Yeah.  You?”

 

“I’m good.  Everything went surprisingly smoothly.”

 

“I’m glad.”

 

Lena grumbled and opened her eyes sleepily.  “Kara?”

 

“It’s me, sweetheart.  I’m home.”

 

The CEO rubbed her eyes and tried to wake up a little.  “I missed you.”

 

“I missed you too sweetie.”  Kara got up and walked around the bed to sit by Lena and give her kisses.

 

“I need to pee,” the brunette mumbled.

 

“OK, Alex should be out of there any second now.”  She helped Lena sit up, and sure enough Alex came out of the bathroom a few seconds later.

 

“I’m next,” Maggie yawned, as Lena headed in.

 

Kara scooped Maggie up out of the middle of the bed and set her on her feet, then Alex came over to get hugs and kisses of her own.

 

“How’d it go?” Alex asked.

 

“Really good,” Kara replied.  “I’ll tell you all about it in the morning, OK?”

 

“Sounds good.”

 

After everyone had used the restroom, Kara got them all settled back in the bed, and now she could actually sleep in the bed with them, so she was extra happy.

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