Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Breakout.

"So, I suppose you are wondering why you were brought here, Lana."

Lana shifted from her seat, blinking. Her hands were clammy. This government agent stared her down, an unsympathetic look on his face. He was outside of the cell, she was tripped in it. Surgical tools could be seen from her vantage point, and the smell of decay filled the air.

"I'll tell you why I brought you here," said Carter, as he held onto the bars, peering through the cell. "You know something. Otherwise you wouldn't have had that journal. The fact many people seem to be after one little book is very suspicious. The fact it happened in Smallville of all places, well that just adds a bit more intrigue to this situation, now does it?"

"I don't…I don't…I don't know what you're talking about," said Lana, her breath quickening in and out, as she tried to maintain a straight face.

"Well, you did live there for years, it's the home of the strange and the mysterious, the meteor capital of the world," said Carter, as he walked around his lab. "For years, I've been wondering, is there other intelligent life out there? Over the years, many events have pointed to the fact that there are aliens among us. The conspiracy theories about this base, well they aren't so much theories as you can see."

Carter paused for dramatic effect, and then continued.

"We do conduct aircraft testing for sure, but the wildest explanation often is the truth. Alien spacecraft has been brought to this base, and picked apart, bit by bit. The visitors have been studied, and then dissected, before their remains are destroyed. Yet it's not who comes here that matters, but rather what they brought here."

Carter lit up a cigarette. He took a drag from it, and blew smoke into the room.

"Technology that could benefit humanity, or destroy it given the right motivation," breathed Carter, as he tapped on the side of her cell. "Once that meteor shower hit about eighteen or so years ago, I was just a lowly pencil pusher. Yet, I found myself rising through the ranks. Granted, I've had some very valuable and influential friends. Would you hazard a guess to who one of those men would be?"

Lana just mustered a dirty look.

"The Luthors gave me a leg up when they could," said Carter, as he turned away from Lana for the moment. "Lex called me; he implied you knew about certain matters involving the extra-terrestrials. This journal belongs to the owner of the Shining Light Foundation, Mr. Harry Potter. Are you acquainted?"

"We've met," said Lana shortly. "He…asked me to hold onto the journal for him, until he could retrieve it. He has very important business."

"Lana, we both know that's a lie," said Carter, as he took another drag of his cigarette. "This journal was purchased by Luthorcorp years ago. Yet, it is just blank pages. It's almost like someone bought it, but did not have a chance to fill it in. Yet, I spill acid on it, burn it with fire, or try and rip it apart. It does not get damaged at all. Why do you suppose that is?"

"I don't know!"

Carter just had a grin appear on his face.

"I trust we could fill many books with what you may not know, Ms. Lang," said Carter. "But I know you know something. I know you're hiding something. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

Carter turned to Lana, face to face with her.

"Either way, I will find out what you know about strange occurrences in Smallville. For years and years, these meteor freaks have shown great power. But with some chemicals and the right combination of the crystalized rocks, we can create our own home grown variety. Of course, there are some who escaped when Rosalina Sinclair attacked us."

Carter hid his forearm, which had been severely injured in that battle with that woman. He scowled.

"Sinclair is part of an alien invasion force, along with Harry Potter and Kara Kent," said Carter. "And I believe there is a fourth one, Kara's cousin, he may be involved in this little incident as well. Do you know what I'm talking about Lana?"

Lana shook her head. She knew, but she was not about to betray Clark to this madman.

"I was just holding onto that journal, I swear!" yelled Lana.

"No, Lex Luthor assured me you stole it, and you were trying to hack into his personal computers," said Carter. "It does make me wonder what other illegal activities you might be up to, Lana. I'll give you a few minutes to think where your loyalties lie. Is your life really worth gambling away for something like this?"

Lana was left alone. Carter walked out, to check to see if Harry Potter had come after his journal. So far, there was nothing picked up on the radar. It would be able to clock anything unless there was a severe magnetic disturbance. Look outs would be posted to make sure. If Potter arrived, he would be spotted.

Carter would make sure this E.T. did not find his journal, and phone home.

"So, what are we supposed to be looking for again?"

"Anything suspicious."

"Yeah security's tight, there's no way this Potter is going to get one past us."

A flash of light was seen in the distance, over by the fence. The troops rushed over to investigate the source of the disturbance. They were just grunts, doing their job. They had a duty to their country, and would protect the security of this nation. Most of them really had no opinion about extra-terrestrials, either good or bad.

"Look over there!"

The troops all stared into the distance, and saw a blinding light. The figure running in the distance matched that of Harry Potter. They all spread out to see if they could get a hold of him.

Invisible, the real Harry Potter snuck past them. Now security had been sliced down, he could make his way into one of the bunkers. Two guards rushed by, as a scientist made his way in. Harry followed the scientist, invisible, to see what the man was up to. His footsteps were silent.

With any luck, there would be a computer system that would point him to the journal.

'That journal better be important for all the hell I'm going through over it,' thought Harry, as he continued to shadow the scientist. The scientist walked over to a case, where a familiar glowing rock had been stored. Bags of liquefied Kryptonite were placed on the floor.

"You're the last one, aren't you?" asked the scientist, as he turned over the rock in his hand. "It's just as well, Luthorcorp should be sending more over before too long."

The scientist turned around, and was paralyzed, unable to move. A hooded figure appeared in front of him. The scientist screamed, and staggered backwards, nearly falling over.

"No, it's my time, it's…." started the scientist but he found his mouth shut, immediately.

"I will return to you the ability to speak, if you promise not to be so melodramatic. Just nod if you understand."

The scientist nodded fearfully, and the ability to speak returned to him.

"What are you doing with these meteor rocks?"

"I'm…it's an experiment," said the scientist, as sweat rolled down his face. "The government is trying to figure out what's going on…we're experimenting on people, injecting the liquefied rocks into them…"

The figure swooped down onto the scientist, and he felt a sudden chill.

"It's no one important, just convicts, really I swear to God," said the scientist, his heart rate and his breathing sped up.

"That's the only free lie you get. I know for a fact you've been taking orphans, and experimenting on them with those rocks. So I would highly recommend you tell me the truth."

"Fine, it's not like…well they won't be missed, will they?" asked the scientist, but he was flipped upside down.

"You have a choice. Tell me who your supplier is for the meteors, or I'll just pluck the information out of your mind. You can believe I won't be gentle about it. You have fifteen seconds, start talking."

"Luthorcorp, it's Luthorcorp," stammered the scientist. "I swear…I'm just a man doing my job. I have to make money; I have a wife and children."

The scientist returned to an upward position, dizzy from the blood rushing to his head.

"That point actually decreases my sympathy for you," said the Herald of Death, as he pinned the scientist to the wall.

"Help, someone help me!" yelled the scientist, but no one rescued him.

"No one can hear your screams, but me," said the robed figure, as he held the scientist in place "Anything else you know anything about a journal."

"No, I just break down the meteor rocks, and prepare the injections, I don't know anything about any journal," stammered the scientist.

"Very well, you seem to be telling the truth. You have hit your head, and will wake up in six hours. I will be nothing but a hallucination due to the stress of working too much."

The scientist was thrown down onto the ground, as Harry stepped over his unconscious form. He disposed of the stores of liquefied Kryptonite, first.

He walked over towards the computer that was open. After a bit of effort, he managed to hack into the defenses around the base, to cause some more headaches for these people. Harry began to search the base, and found the location of more stores of liquefied Kryptonite. He also found the location of several test subjects. A guy named Carter appeared to be in charge of the entire operation.

'Son of a bitch, that's the bastard who experimented on Claire,' thought Harry. 'And there are other children, who weren't so lucky….died…dead…brain dead…a few are still alive…for what it's worth..well I'm going to have to shut both Carter and his little super soldier experiment down. He seems to be obsessed with aliens, but I'm going to make sure he's going down hard for what he's done.'

Harry went invisible again, copying the information, so he could access it easily. Then, he slid into the shadows. Carter's main base of operations appeared to be deep underground, and a great deal of the liquid Kryptonite was stored with him.

He had to keep moving, as he sent another decoy in the air, in the opposite direction where he was headed.

Harry glided above the ground, to ensure that he would not even make any footsteps. He listened closely, as everyone ran around, panicked security had gone haywire.

"Potter's flying around outside, he's causing havoc with the base's defenses!"

Harry remained silent, as the door opened. He slipped inside, as two scientists walked out. He saw the next storage of liquefied Kryptonite. He disposed of it immediately. He waved his hand, and a scientist on the outside walked in, before he walked out.

He popped into each and every lab, destroying the deposits one at a time, liberating any test subjects he found and sending the containment pods to the basement of the Shining Light Foundation Headquarters.

Clark sat on the cot in the holding cell at the Shining Light Foundation. Lionel remained rather calm, as he reclined back, and ate the meal that had been provided for the two captives.

"Well what you wish about Mr. Potter, but at least he does not let the people who break in go hungry," said Lionel, in between bites.

"Yes, there's that," said Clark, as he tried to super speed into the glass, but it bounced him back.

"You will find that to be a foolish move. These cells were designed in case any our patients became too much to control. Therefore, they are made of an alloy that will repel any powers back tenfold if someone gets unruly."

Lionel nodded, as Clark rubbed his head.

'The best security is something that no one notices,' thought Lionel.

"Look, this was a misunderstanding," said Clark. "We just wanted to…I just came here to see my cousin, Kara. I wanted to see how she was doing; she seemed rather stressed lately…"

"It is common protocol to call before coming," said the head of security, as he chewed on a toothpick and spit it out.

"You can't even make one exception," said Lionel. "I swear, if you let us out, we'll never bother you again."

"It's not our decision," said the head of security. "Just sit there, and be thankful that Mr. Potter isn't here. He would like to know why you were snooping around. If you had hurt one of our guests, you would not be getting the luxury holding cell."

"I was not under the impression that Harry Potter could make such decisions," said Lionel. "Isn't that best left up to local law enforcement?"

"Once you're on this property, Mr. Potter is the law."

Clark's ears perked up as he heard his cousin's voice talking to security. Kara walked down the hallway, dressed in business attire, with her hair clipped back and she wore a pair of eyeglasses. She stopped in front of the holding cell, and her eyes looked from Clark to Lionel.

It was a long time before she spoke, and the anticipation made it far worse for Clark.

"You're the intruder," said Kara in a cool voice. Kara was calm and collected, and Clark slid back as she surveyed him.

"Yes, I was looking for you, we had a misunderstanding with security," said Clark, and Kara just shook her head.

"I'm sure you misunderstood that protocol for this building is that all guests are supposed to present themselves at the front desk," said Kara, as she stared him down. "You're also supposed to call to make an appointment."

"It was an honest mistake, I just wanted to see how you were," said Clark. "I haven't seen you in a while and…"

"I was fine, until I had to bolt down to Headquarters, I thought someone dangerous broke in," said Kara, as her eyes narrowed. "What were you really doing here? And who is this, and what is he doing here?"

Kara opened the cell and slipped in, before she closed the door behind her. Only her and Harry could open them from the inside.

"This is Lionel Luthor, he's….helping me look for something," said Clark.

"Oh, is he?" asked Kara, as she stood with her back at the wall, and looked at Lionel with a look of deep disgust. "He was talking to Harry this morning. Pulled him away from our breakfast together before we could finish, and…I suppose you tried to rope Harry into whatever you're doing."

"I just wanted to find out what Mr. Potter knew about a crystal you were rumored to be holding," said Lionel.

"Who told you this?" asked Kara, as she grabbed Lionel.

"I believe that doesn't matter now, "said Lionel, remaining cool despite the situation he was in. "All that matters is as long as you have the crystal, it puts Clark in danger."

"I don't have the crystal though," said Kara, as her arms folded over. "Do you two really think that we would just leave a highly dangerous Kryptonian crystal lying around in this building? Where we have children who could pick it up, and play with it?"

Lionel and Clark registered that, and both shook their heads.

"It was a shot in the dark," said Clark with a sheepish grin.

"So, you both thought you could break into this building without permission, and steal my crystal, without permission," said Kara, as she leaned back, but then she flicked Lionel in the chest with one finger. Lionel fell to the ground, knocked unconscious.

"Kara, what did you do?" asked Clark.

"Nothing fatal," said Kara, as Lionel rested on the floor. "You can now talk to me, but I don't want him knowing what we talk about."

Clark's shoulders slumped, as he looked his cousin in the eye.

"Jor-El sent me to get the crystal, as part of my training," said Clark, and that caused Kara's mood go from slightly annoyed to rather agitated in the blink of an eye.

"Jor-El is dead," said Kara in a cold voice.

"Well not the original Jor-El, but he left an artificial intelligence of himself behind to guide me," said Clark, and Kara just folded her arms and her lips curled into a frown, giving Clark the look of deepest disgust. "He thinks both you and Harry are…that you could be…a danger to me."

"I see," said Kara in a brisk voice. "So the great and powerful Jor-El decided to take it upon himself to give you an order, and you fell into line. Did you ever think to talk to me or Harry about the crystal? Instead you do this little cloak and dagger act where you sneak around this building."

"I didn't…" said Clark, as he shook his head. "I thought you would just…about the crystal…"

"You can't even justify what you're doing," said Kara. "I can hear it in your voice; you're fighting with yourself in your mind. Your voice is breaking. You want to trust me, but you're afraid of incurring the wrath of Jor-El."

"He's been right in the past," said Clark in a small voice.

"Maybe," said Kara, as she looked away. "But don't think I'm going to just accept something at face value because Jor-El said it. You know why."

Clark nodded slowly. Kara informed him of that quite clearly.

"I'm going to leave you here Clark, and you should really think about what you did," said Kara, as she turned around. "The decision what's going to happen to you is going to be left in Harry's hands. I hope he's in a good enough mood when he comes back, for your sake."

"Why wouldn't Harry be in a good mood?" asked Clark.

"Oh, dear Lana decided to take his mother's journal," said Kara, as she looked at Clark, contempt dripping from her voice. "And now thanks to her, Harry has to go chasing after it, and risk having his powers exposed to the government!"

"I'm just Lana didn't mean any harm, she might have picked it up somewhere," said Clark, but Kara just snorted at that thought.

"You trust Lana, of course you trust her," said Kara in a sarcastic voice. "She's hurt you before, Clark, and….just never mind. That's your own problem to deal with. I do wonder how many times you're going to let that girl step on your heart before you open your eyes."

"Kara I…"

"I'm done talking to you!" yelled Kara. "Just sit in the cell, and be quiet, you don't understand what you've done! And if anything happens to Harry, it's going your fault because I wasn't there to help him!"

Kara remained silent for another second, but then spoke once more.

"And if you just actually walked up to Harry or me like an adult, and asked about the crystal, you wouldn't be in the fix you are in, Kal-El!"

Without another word, Kara stormed off. Clark remained in the cell, as Lionel continued to snooze on the floor from after what Kara did to him. He wondered if this day could get any worse.

Then he remembered a very important detail. Harry was not here. He remembered what happened to him the first time he met Harry, when he took a step onto Harry's property. Then when he followed Harry and Kara, he got pulled into another dimension, and lectured about what he was doing.

Clark was not looking forward to that meeting.

Kara walked down the hallway towards her office, taking a deep calming breath to rein in her temper. She was about to get in touch with Harry, to see if he had any luck with liberating the journal. As her journey continued, she was stopped by a ten year old girl with red hair.

"Oh, hi, Claire, "said Kara, who tried to remain cheerful for the sake of the young girl.

It was remarkable how far Claire had come in the past couple of months. She had a slightly haunted look in her eyes, and had nightmares for the longest time, but Harry walked her through them. Harry could have been spending that time tracking down the journal, but he helped a young girl who had been tortured and tormented that needed help.

"Look Kara, I drew this!" cried Claire, exhibiting a youthful innocence that Kara hoped the girl would never lose.

"Well, let me see it," said Kara as she took the piece of paper.

She surveyed the paper; it was a picture of Claire, Kara, and Harry.

"That's very pretty, Claire," said Kara, with a smile towards the girl. "You did a good job; I'm going to have to show Harry this, okay?"

"Do you think he'll like it?" asked Claire in a shy voice.

"I'm sure he'll love it as much as I do," said Kara. "Now, I've got work to do, lunch should be in a little bit. Just run along, and see if everyone else is ready."

"Can I ask you a question?" asked Claire.

"I guess that wouldn't hurt," said Kara, as she took a cup of water from the water cooler, and took a drink.

"When are you and Harry going to get together?" asked Claire suddenly, and Kara spat out the water in surprise.

"I…well…you see…Claire, you shouldn't really be bothered by that," said Kara, as she tried to desperately regain her composure.

"You two should really just get over yourselves, and just kiss already," added Claire in a completely innocent voice. "You really should work out your sexual tension, um I don't know what that is, but it sounded like something you should do."

"Claire!" yelled Kara in a reproachful voice. "Where did you pick up something like that?"

"Oh, I heard Chloe say it a couple of days ago," said Claire with a dismissive shrug.

"I see," said Kara in a calm voice.

'I'm going to have to have a chat with Chloe later,' thought Kara to herself.

"Claire, please run along, I need to…talk to Harry," said Kara, but she did not like the devious smile on the little girl's face.

She blamed Chloe, this was all her fault.

Kara entered her office, reaching her desk. Immediately, she received a message from Harry.

Kara,

I'm closing in on the journal. This time, I'm pretty sure I'm going to get it. Maybe, ninety five percent chance of success, this time, I hope.

Don't come after me, they've got enough Kryptonite to level a village. I mean it this time. I really care about you, and I don't want to see you get hurt. It would be the worst day of my life.

If I'm not back by morning, I'm likely getting dissected, and we can all blame Lana for it. Oh and Death as well, we can blame her as well for causing me on a wild goose chase over a book. And if I don't come back, thanks for everything, I really appreciate everything you helped me with.

Take Care,

Harry.

Kara held the note in her hand. She read it over, her eyes focusing on a couple of particular lines.

"He's going to come back," said Kara in an undertone. "I l…he has to come back."

The note was held in her hands, like a cherished possession. She read over the lines, "I really care about you, and I don't want to see you get hurt. It would be the worst day of my life."

A smile appeared on her face.

Patience was a virtue. Good things came to those who waited.

Carter had Lana bound and gagged, a metallic headband strapped over her head.

"I'm just going to ask you a few simple questions, Lana," said Carter, as he leaned down, peering down in her face "And this little machine, taken from an alien ship, will tell me what you're thinking about."

The phone ringing distracted Carter. He took a moment to answer the call.

"Yes, what is it?" asked Carter.

"This is Lex Luthor," said Lex.

"Ah, Lex, what can I do for you?" asked Carter in a faux polite voice.

"You know what I want Carter," said Lex. "I told you Lana was up to something about your line of work. All I asked for in return was the journal, but I found out that your government agents swiped it from underneath my men's nose when they had tracked it down."

"That journal is no simple journal," said Carter.

"You have my property," said Lex, ignoring what Carter said.

"The journal was confiscated as contraband, alien contraband," said Carter, as he held the cell phone. "You wouldn't want to be implicated in anything seedy, would you Lex?"

"I would weather the storm," said Lex in a calm tone of voice. "If I had the wrong people in Washington take a closer look at you, your genetic experiments, and the like, they might shut you down cold and you'd disappear."

Carter just chuckled.

"You don't get it Lex, while you're doing big business, I'm saving the world," said Carter. "These aliens are a threat, and I'm going to pick apart Lana Lang's mind, to find out if she knows anything beyond the official word coming out of Smallville."

"Denote her brain to science for all I care," said Lex dismissively. "I need the journal, I was…"

"You were what, Lex?" asked Carter.

Lex remained silent.

"Let's make a deal," said Lex. "I'll supply you with more meteor rocks; your supply must be running low. I'll even bring you test subjects. The journal on the other hand, is something that I want."

"Everyone seems to want this journal, I feel I'm holding a bomb in my hands," chuckled Carter. "One that could wipe out all of humanity."

"Just cut to the chase," said Lex.

"No deal Lex, I'm sorry, but that journal is too valuable and too dangerous for me to allow it to fall into your hands."

The phone conversation ended, and Carter immediately caught a visual. He saw Harry Potter flying across the skies, on a computer screen. He had gotten sloppy in his arrogance.

"Men, I have a visual on Potter," said Carter. "Make sure you give in a suitable response."

"Copy that," said the man over the intercom.

Carter turned on his heel slowly. A smile appeared on his face, as he leaned down over Lana.

"Okay, Lana, where were we before we were rudely interrupted?" asked Carter, as he made sure the wires were hooked. "This may short circuit your brain, but since you would not cooperate, it's…"

What it was never was stated, as a loud explosion rang out from the hallway. Carter tensed up.

'One of the lab experiments must have backfired,' thought Carter, as he moved out to check on what happened.

Lana remained on the table, but the wires were cut from her head. She looked up, confused, as the straps were removed.

Then she found herself rendered completely unconscious.

The invisible form of Harry Potter shoved a tin can into Lana's hand and transported her away from the area. She would land somewhere in Kansas, where he couldn't be bothered to figure out at this point.

He spotted the journal on the desk.

Harry reached forward, and closed his eyes. Immediately, when he touched the journal, he almost expected an anvil to fall on his head, or the journal to be magically sucked into a black hole or something inconvenient to happen.

Yet he held the journal in his hand. Harry tucked the journal in his cloak, and disapparated back to his home in the blink of an eye.

Harry dropped the journal off home, placed it in a secure vault, and returned, placing the fake Lex handed him in its place. Charms were placed on it to maintain the illusion that it was the original, and not a cheap fake.

Carter returned with several men at that moment.

One by one, they dropped from impact blows to the head. They appeared to have just blacked out.

"He's here," whispered Carter, as he reached under the table, to pick up a large gun. "Okay, alien, I'm not afraid of you."

"Really, you think I'm an alien?" asked the Herald of Death as he appeared. Carter tried to incinerate the robed figure, but the weapon was yanked out of his hand.

"Stay back, stay away from me!" yelled Carter, nearly falling backwards. "Every single man on this base will be after you, they're coming right now."

Carter tried to press a button, but nothing happened.

"Your men are chasing ghosts around the desert, and I disabled the intercom," said the robed figure, as he held out his an energy scythe. "Did you really think you could get one up on me?"

"You….what are you?" asked Carter as he felt absolutely terrified. "The meteor shower, you had to arrive in it, eighteen years ago?"

"No, but the truth is something your simple mind cannot fathom," said the Herald of Death. "Now, I'm going to ask you a question. How do you justify experimenting on children?

"They're nothing, freaks, no one wanted them!" yelled Carter.

"Wrong answer," said the Herald of Death, as Carter was pushed onto his knees. He lost the use of his limbs. He was then pulled back to his feet.

"I…maybe we should make a deal," managed Carter, shaking madly.

"I don't make deals with vermin," said the Herald of Death. "I exterminate them."

An energy scythe appeared in mid-air, and Carter had been sliced in the chest. He flew back, and struck the circuit breaker box. He was promptly electrocuted. He screamed in agony, until he passed out. The lights in the lab flickered. The slain form of Agent Carter slumped to the ground, burned to a crisp.

Harry popped over to the main computer. He downloaded the information from the file, about other bases the government was working on, with various experiments around the country. All of them involved meteors. Harry reached the file on him.

He made some slight alterations, using the passcodes he ripped from Carter's mind. Lana was released because she didn't know anything. The investigation was a dead end. Harry and Kara's records checked out, they weren't alien invaders threatening the freedom of American citizens.

Harry sighed, as he stepped out. He erased any traces of his presence here. Carter would be found, the official word would be he died of accidental electrocution.

The Herald of Death disappeared into the night, as he prepared to report to the Shining Light Foundation. First he made ensured the journal was safe, and secure. He nodded when he verified that fact.

'I'll take a look at you, later," said Harry, as he saw the journal, next to Kara's crystal in the vault in his basement. He activated the protection spells around the vault.

After all the hell he went over through the journal, he was not taking any chances whatsoever.

Carter had been found on the floor, as the events of this afternoon were investigated.

"He was accidentally electrocuted, one of his little science projects did him in," said a doctor, as he leaned over the remained form of the government agent.

"So it appears his theory was way off base," said an agent as he looked at the computer. "There's calls coming in from Washington, this entire project is going to be called under question. We're all going dark, being re-transferred. The freaks…well they just disappeared."

Everyone looked around, as they saw the journal. Lex Luthor walked into the lab at this time. He continued to quicken his strides to the journal.

"Carter did me a favor and reclaimed this journal for me," said Lex, as he reached forward. "Its Luthorcorp property, and I would hate to see any of you get the book thrown at you."

The journal was handed to Lex. He snatched it away, and walked out the door. His limo was parked outside of the gates. The bald young man held the journal, a smile of triumph on his face.

He was blissfully ignorant of what he truthfully held in his hands.

Kara sat at her desk as lunch had passed, with a couple of hours away from dinner, and looked up at the door clicking open. Harry entered her office. She looked at him, a smile appearing on her face.

"Harry!" yelled Kara, as she nearly knocked over the desk, and flew over, to throw her arms around Harry.

"Nice to see you too, Kara, "said Harry, as he returned the hug. "I got the journal; it's locked up safely with your crystal."

"Oh," said Kara, as she deflated. Now that he had the journal, it was the moment of truth "Well…that's great Harry, you got the journal. Did you figure out what the big deal was?"

"It can wait," said Harry, as he wrapped his arms around her waist, and held her tight.

"Harry," said Kara, looking up into Harry's green eyes. It took a minute to regain her composure "That journal…you looked for it for months, it was important to you. You spent all of your time obsessing over it like…"

"Like it was the most important thing in the world?" asked Harry, as he pulled her closer. Kara looked up at him, nodding slowly. "It's not."

Kara looked at Harry, opening her mouth, but Harry cut her off.

"I only got the journal, because I had to. I'm doing this, because I want to."

Kara was about to ask what Harry meant. She never got the chance. Suddenly, Harry leaned forward, and kissed her. Full on, on the lips, without any regrets or hesitation.

Her mind and body went numb. On pure instincts, Kara did the only thing she could think of. She kissed back.

Their arms were wrapped around each other's waist. Kara sighed softly into Harry's mouth, and Harry deepened the kiss. Moving her arms up, Kara ran her fingers through Harry's hair. Harry's hands roamed all over her body. The kiss continued for several minutes.

Harry slowly backed up, as Kara nearly collapsed on the desk, but Harry grabbed her hand to prevent her from falling, and pulled her back up.

They stared at each other before Kara spoke.

"Wow," she sighed. "That was…it was…amazing."

Harry just smiled. He scooped Kara up in his arms, and gave her one more kiss.

The most beautiful girl in the entire universe was in his arms, and he was kissing her.

His only regret was not doing this sooner.