I changed this story's title since it was better.

Now that Kara is liberated by Barry and Dinah and is on the run with them, they have to reassemble a strong team with whoever's still alive and/or not captured and brainwashed, in order to take on Superman who is now more powerful and dangerous than ever before and is building a massive army to serve him and despite her own powers, Kara herself may not be enough to stop him and so, she seeks help from others.

I am so sorry this took so fucking long to post. I didn't feel right about the first chapter, so I came up with a new idea for Kara's escape and posted it here along with what was to be the second chapter. I then got so many other ideas and I was scrambling for which idea to post. I was becoming stressed by that, how long this took and, unable to wait any loner, I decided to post this half now and save the other half for another chapter.

This is a combination of both chapters, the first half being a remake of chapter 1, so read and review. It was such a fucking headache for me to write this, but I pulled it off finally.

I woke up laying on a soft bed, feeling disoriented. My vision was blurry and it took a moment for it to readjust to normal.

As I regained consciousness, I struggled to remember what happened to me. I recalled the battle against Brainiac having ended in the favor of Earth whose heroes and villains rallied together against the Coulan. However, when the fighting ended, a new battle began between Kal-El (known to everyone as "Superman") and Bruce Wayne (who was called "Batman") over Brainiac's fate. Batman and his followers wanted to keep Brainiac alive in order to restore Earth's abducted cities while Kal and his followers wished to kill him and undo everything with the ship themselves. I sided with Batman against Kal because, as unforgivable as Brainiac's destruction of Krypton and countless other worlds may be and as much as I hated him, I could not allow Kal to kill Brainiac no matter how evil he was. It went against the House of El's meaning and because of Kal's bad reputation among Earth's people, he had to be stopped from making a huge mistake.

That didn't stop Kal from attempting to murder the world collector or from fighting Batman and his followers.

Another thing I remembered was me and Kal fighting each other in the Batcave when the fight was taken away from the ship. I tried to reach out to the heroic, compassionate side he I heard he once had one more time, reminding him of what our crest symbol stood for and that his past and current actions were in the wrong.

But he simply brushed it off, still refusing to listen to reason from anyone, even me.

If Jor-El had been more like Zod, he might have saved Krypton . . . and I will save the Earth!

It was hopeless and so I had no choice but to engage him in battle.

I lost. Our fight ended with him rendering me unconscious and that was it.

I hoped Batman prevailed because I recalled him wearing Kryptonite armor in order to fight Kal better. As much as I disliked Kryptonite so much, at least it was in the hands of a good person like Batman and Kal was out of control and had to be stopped.

When my vision returned, I noticed that I was surrounded by red lights.

Red lights? The only time I saw red light, other than on Krypton, was when I discovered Kal locked inside that giant prison cell. Those lights mirrored Krypton's red sun which depowered him.

My eyes fully opened and I jolted upright. I got a better look around and when I did, I suddenly realized where I was.

I wished to Rao it were not true, but it was.

I was inside the same cell that housed Kal! Someone placed me in here after I was knocked out!

I tried using my powers, but nothing happened! I was powerless and trapped in here and it was obvious who put me inside.

Either Kal or Diana did this to me as they were the only two opponents of Batman and I when we last saw each other.

I stood up, approached the cell's walls and I punched it with my hand, but nothing happened and all I got was a pained fist.

Rao, that hurt!

But if Kal and Diana locked me in this cage, then that must mean that Batman must have lost the fight against them! I was his best defense against them and without me . . .

Oh no! What happened to him? Knowing Diana and Kal now, they must have killed him!

What do I do now? My powers are disabled in this cell and I couldn't get out at all! I was vulnerable to anything now!

I tried finding another way out, but no success. With no powers to help me, my only option was to wait until somebody came to me and so, I returned to the bed and sat there in wait. Someone had to come sometime.

Later, I heard and saw the door to the chamber open and a shadowy figure was stepping in.

The lights made it difficult to see who it was until the figure got closer to the cell.

I got closer to the figure and finally saw who it was.

Diana . . . known to all as "Wonder Woman".

She was walking in, holding a tray of food in her hands. For me, perhaps. Now that I was rendered powerless, I was vulnerable to thirst and starvation like most of Earth's people.

"You are awake finally." she said.

I glared at her in anger.

"What do you want?" I asked her. Did she come to gloat over me being in here?

"I came to check on you. The last time I did that was an hour ago and you were unresponsive then. You have been like that in this cell for three whole days. Kal really did beat you into submission, though I admit that I had no idea he could inflict enough damage to render you unconscious for that long." she answered and placed the meal tray into the cell through a slit.

"In case you are wondering, this is what prisoners are served here. So far, you are the only one incarcerated for now. We are still searching for any remaining enemies at the moment, but they too will join you for lockup soon and the Insurgency will be disabled forever." she said.

"Did you put me in here?" I asked.

"No, Kal did. I just watched him do it. He believes this is for your own good Kara, and so do I. Opposing us was a wrong move of you to do." she said.

"You tried to kill two people, Diana. What did you expect from someone who does not believe in killing?" I asked sarcastically.

"They had it coming, Kara and you were wrong to save them. I am unsure of what became of Harley Quinn and Cheetah got away because of you, both your fault. I heard that Kal approved of my deeds when you reported me to him." she said.

"Where's Batman? Did you kill him?" I asked her, wanting to know what became of the person who tried to stop Kal.

"No and neither did Kal. I wanted to end him, I admit, but Kal felt that his death would make him into a symbol of martyrdom for all who oppose the Regime government and he could not have that. Brainiac's technology will aid in restoring our rule over the Earth and Bruce Wayne was a fool to interfere with our plans.

She sighed in disappointment and said, "And to think I once had romantic feelings for him."

Diana and Batman once dated?! Gross! The thought alone made me want to vomit.

"Let me out of here, now!" I demanded.

"I cannot do that, Kara. This is the price you must pay for defying us. Nobody, not even you, can turn on us and roam free without punishment. The Regime will rise again and Earth will be saved from itself. Brainiac's arrival and invasion proved what would happen to Earth without our leadership. If we were not imprisoned earlier long before his invasion, we might have prevented casualties earlier than Batman's way. Krypton would still be around if its people adapted the same methods we performed. Pacifist nations, worlds, peoples, all of them wind up vulnerable to extremist-like beings such as Brainiac and Metropolis was living proof of that." Diana said.

Humans need strong leadership. We have to save them from themselves.

If Jor-El had been more like Zod, he might have saved Krypton.

Those words played in my head the moment Diana said what she just said.

"What you and Kal are doing isn't leading, it's ruling and you both need to stop." I said.

"What we are doing is right, Kara. The Regime government made things right with the world. Crime and murder rates were greatly reduced than without our ways. Cities and towns everywhere ended their petty conflicts over stupid reasons. All of humanity lived in peace and all of the viciousness they displayed to one another for years became rare all thanks to the Regime. We are Earth's true saviors, its protectors. Without us, people like Brainiac would have conquered and exterminated Earth and you wanted to help him by siding against us, against me, your mentor and only friend. I even thought of you as a sibling, a fellow, powerful sister fighting evil side by side and bringing peace to all. Kal would have been proud of something like that had you stayed with our cause. I was wrong about you, I am afraid." she said.

I was ashamed to have ever befriended this heartless, cold woman. I was starting to realize that this behavior of hers was the reason she was disliked a lot by her own Amazon people as I recalled many of them doing their best to stop me from freeing her and I now regretted liberating her from her own imprisonment like I did with Damien.

"The friendship we had was based on lies, Diana. You, Adam and Damien used my confusion to your advantage. When I fought Kal, I heard what Batman said to you about your actions starting a war. You terrorized everyone with your ways! You stripped them of their freedoms and their right to choose for themselves! That's dictatorship and you achieved it with totalitarianism, militarism, fascism, just about everything that causes trouble! While I too believe in world peace and the need to combat evil, your version is the wrong way to achieve it and always will be! Whatever 'sisterhood' we had was shattered the second I discovered your and Kal's true colors. You are both delusional in the head!" I said.

Diana simply rolled her eyes.

"It is you who is the delusional one, Kara. You have no idea what Earth society was like before the Regime existed. It was an absolute mess. Crime and corruption were everywhere. Everyday someone was murdered, robbed, raped, cheated, and we were the maids and butlers sent to clean up the mess. No matter how many times we saved the world, it always managed to get itself back into jeopardy again. Then one day when the worst happened because of the Joker, Kal decided that enough was enough. He took serious charge over its people and I was one of the few who supported his cause and I still do. Crime died thanks to us and everything was perfect from then on and it was all because we no longer hold back. As Kal always says, 'justice requires order'. He is correct and we were the ones to deliver it. We do it because we can and because we must. The only people that disliked our way are Batman and those who are stupid enough to follow him, including our former members Green Lantern, Lex Luthor, The Flash and Shazam. While Flash and Lantern escaped punishment for their treachery, Shazam and Luthor were not so lucky." she said.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked. I heard of this Shazam person before. He was a teenage boy who had the ability to transform himself into a super-powered adult just by uttering his own name and gaining the abilities of six god-like beings and making him just as strong and powerful as Kal himself. Black Adam could do a similar thing, but with the names of different people. I was told that he worked for Kal's side until he was, one day, killed during a battle to save Gotham and Metropolis from total destruction five Earth years earlier.

As for this Lex Luthor person, I heard he was a wealthy man and dear friend of Kal's who fought alongside him until it was discovered that he was a mole agent for Batman who was plotting against him from the day he was recruited into the Regime. I was told that he was the one who tried to destroy Gotham and Metropolis, the event in which Shazam supposedly got killed in, and later tried to kill Kal with a Kryptonite-powered weapon until Kal foiled it and captured him. Lex apparently committed suicide, choosing death over being a prisoner of Kal's.

I was starting to suspect something wrong about what I was told about those two, but I wanted to hear it from this mentally deranged Amazon.

"Were the deaths of Lex Luthor and that Shazam person more lies?" I asked.

"Actually, the version you heard were Black Adam and Damien Wayne's ideas. They both twisted the truth about how Shazam and Lex Luthor really died. While they both did perish, it was in a different way than you were led to believe."

She then proceeded to tell me of what really happened and I gasped in shock, mostly of the part of Kal killing a child.

"Kal murdered a teenager?!" I questioned.

"It was a lawful execution Kara, not a murder. They are different things. Shazam should have never questioned Kal's orders and Lex Luthor should have never kept his loyalty to Batman from the start, but they did anyway and both men deserved what happened. That is what we do to traitors here. Humanity was safe under our rule before and it will be once again now that we have achieved victory and those Insurgent criminals will face justice for their crimes against us as judged by Kal, including you, Kara. We will not face a second defeat at the hands of those outlaws." she said.

Diana was completely insane, no better than that Joker person I've heard about!

These people truly are monsters, especially Kal . . . my own cousin . . . a killer. A murderer of men, of women, even children! The death of his unborn child was accidental, but his killing of a teenage super being, that was intentional.

"You going to 'execute' me too, Diana? Like Kal did to those two while you watched it happen?!" I asked her.

"No. Although you are a traitor to the Regime, you are also the only family Kal has left, so he has forbade any lethal or harmful actions against you. He lost two loved ones, he refuses to lose another even if it is you and despite my dislike of you now, I will still abide by his wishes." she said.

"Where's Kal? I want to have a word with him now." I demanded.

"He is busy at the moment. But I will be sure to inform him of your request and he will make his appearance with you whenever he can. Until then, I am all the company you will have in this prison." she said.

"What happened to you, Diana? I heard you were once an honorable Amazon and one of Earth's heroes, an icon and a favorite of Earth's people until you slipped into darkness and became one of Earth's biggest threats and ruined your image among everybody." I said.

"You will not be able to talk your way out of your imprisonment, Kara. This is what you deserve. Plus, you are not the only one to make that boring speech to me. I have heard it hundreds of times from people trying to reach my 'inner self' or 'the real Wonder Woman'. That part of me died a long time ago. This is me now and I am here to stay. How we did things before the destruction of Metropolis was what led to the deaths of millions of people and it made us weak back then. This is how things work on this world and I have no remorse for doing my duty as a peacekeeper of mankind. Batman's false cause is a worthless one and he lost. You lost. The Insurgency lost. The Regime won. Get used to it." she said.

"Now I'm wishing Harley did wound you back there." I said. I didn't mean that in a lethal way, but still, I really did wish Harley Quinn injured Diana to keep her from fighting.

Diana scoffed.

"You still take a liking to that insane clown? She is a criminal." Diana said.

"That''s what you and Kal say about foes of your and Kal's." I said. Why did she hate Harley Quinn so much? I barely knew the Earth woman, but I was still horrified at seeing Diana impale her like that.

"Harley Quinn is a murderer, Kara. She aligned herself with the Joker and helped him commit nefarious crimes over the years. She even helped him annihilate Metropolis with that nuclear weapon! She and Joker are the whole reason Kal lost his family and why the Regime was formed afterwards, to make sure monsters like her do not harm others and yet Bruce still welcomed her into his band of resistors. Then again, it does make sense for an opponent of the Regime like him to recruit another like her among them." Diana said.

I stared at the Amazon in shock and disgrace. Now she's accusing Harley of destroying Metropolis? What a, how Earth people say, "crazy bitch" as I've heard people say during the fighting.

"Yeah right, Diana. After all you did to me, you expect me to believe your lies about Harley. I know I just met her a few days ago, but she was friendly with me despite my background and relation to Kal and now here you are, treating me like I'm still the naive girl I came to Earth as. You are stupid." I said.

"Believe what you want, Kara, but in time, you will learn, and have to accept, the truth about Harley Quinn and you will express the same hatred of her as Kal and I do. I will see you later." she said and turned around and walked away.

"Diana!" I called out to her, but she kept walking.

While she was still within hearing range, I suddenly yelled an offensive curse word at her in Kryptonese. It was a word I'd rather not repeat in English or any of Earth's languages and while I don't usually use vulgar words at all, in this case, I gladly made an exception. My parents hated profanity all the time and they would flip out if they heard anyone using them near us back on Krypton. I was once caught swearing when I thought I was alone and one of them said, "Kara Zor-El! You watch your language, young lady!"

I wasn't aware of whether or not Diana was fluent in my people's language since she or anyone else in the Regime ever told me, but the Amazon princess stopped in her tracks and turned around with a look of anger on her face.

She walked up to the glass panel of the cell and stopped in front of me with rage-filled eyes. I did not flinch or move away. I just stood in place, glaring right back and completely satisfied to have gotten to her.

"Kara, you should consider yourself lucky that I am not allowed to inflict any harm upon you during your incarceration otherwise I would enter that cell myself and deliver unto you the severe physical punishment you are deserving right now! You are not to speak such words like that to me, ever! Understand?" she asked angrily.

I remained standing, not saying anything to her, but also letting her know that I stood by my statement and had no remorse for it at all. She deserved what I said to her.

A few seconds later, Diana turned around again and walked away. I didn't bother to yell anymore swear words at her as I felt I made my point.

Shallow witch! I thought.

She was gone and I sat on my cell bed, lost in my thoughts.

What happened? I escaped Krypton from a lethal collector, got lost in space during my escape, came to Earth years later to see and protect the only family I had in existence from all threats only to discover that he was not only a fully grown man, but that he, himself, was the threat the whole time. All I wanted was to fight for truth and justice alongside my cousin, but I had no idea that I was fighting alongside a group of people who opposed it and against the ones who supported it. I felt so embarrassed of my blindness to the truth of things.

Back when I stayed with Diana and Black Adam, I've learned some things about Kal's life on Earth that began with the day his pod crash-landing on a farm in a town called "Smallville" where a married Earth man and woman named Jonathan and Martha Kent found Kal inside as an infant. They adopted and raised him as their own son and gave him the name "Clark Kent". Kal later attended Earth schools as he got older and was utterly terrified upon the development of his powers for the first time, eventually finding work as a journalist in that city Metropolis when he reached adulthood, meeting and falling in love with Lois Lane (I was shown several images of her and how she got along with Kal) who was also his co-worker, fighting crime and supervillains under the "Superman" name he was known by, meeting and fighting Batman when the two didn't know each other well at first, thinking the other was a threat, until they later settled their differences and formed a superhero group called "Justice League" with other superheroes, saving the world from big threats and earning Earth's admiration of them in the process.

Then one day, from what little information I was given, an Earth-born madman called "The Joker", who was one of Batman's enemies, set up a trap that involved Kal. Eventually, this trap of the Joker's caused the deaths of both Lois, their unborn child, and all of Metropolis as it was blown up by a nuclear weapon. This event was what apparently fractured Kal's heroism and changed him into the person I apparently witnessed. Even though I don't know the whole story about the Regime's founding days, what I saw out there spoke for me about them. Of course, as Diana put it, she, Kal and Adam formed a new team of "heroes" that were dead-set on eliminating all crime and "bringing peace" to all of Earth. Unfortunately, now I realize that their so-called "protection" of Earth was more like a dictatorship. They were ruling over them in a fascist-style reign with Kal as the leader and I could not stomach that.

I also heard that Harley Quinn, the woman whom Diana tried to kill after fighting that Cheetah person, was once an accomplice and lover of the Joker. Due to the Regime members being deceptive with me, I refused to buy that. It was obviously another lie about Earth's heroes. Whatever they told me about them, I refuse to believe now and discarded the rest.

And I was dumb and naive enough to support the very kind of cause that I despised and went against my family's beliefs. It made me sick.

All that I've been through in the last couple of days opened my eyes to why Kal was housed in here and I was a complete fool for helping with the job of freeing and siding with him and look where my ignorance got me. Rao, how could I have been so stupid?

The frightened looks Earth's people gave me and the other Regime members.

The happiness they expressed from seeing Batman and his team.

The signs, symbols and posters on walls, vehicles and doors I saw everywhere that expressed hatred for Kal and tattered, burnt images of our symbol and praise and support for Batman. I first assumed those were propaganda Batman and his group planted in order to make Kal and his followers look bad from what I believed from Diana and Adam's tales about them.

But these were all warning signs, hints to Kal's infamy among Earth's people and, even with my advanced vision, I was still blind to see it.

I felt that I failed. I failed my family, my reason for coming to Earth, to safeguard Kal and raise him right, failed all of Krypton, all of Earth and now Kal-El, my only living relative in the universe, was the very thing that was the exact opposite of what the House of El stood against.

The only good thing was that I was the only Kryptonian from my family who still believed in my crest's meaning while it was feared and perverted everywhere because of him. I was the only one who still believed in good and was utterly horrified at what has happened.

My stomach was growling. I was starving and much sooner now that I had no powers due to these red lights engulfing me.

I picked up the tray and looked at the contents. At first, I believed they was contaminated with something sickening or dangerous, but I figured Diana, despite being my enemy now, would not dare poison me because, as she put it, Kal ordered her not to hurt me at all and she was fiercely loyal to him. That meant he needed me alive and healthy for something which, knowing him now, had to be sinister and I would be no good to him if I was sick, injured or dying. Even Kal would not kill me despite us being enemies now.

Taking a chance, I ate the food. It was good, I admit. Was this what he survived on during his captivity in here?

After eating my meal, I went back to the bed and sat down. Diana and Kal couldn't leave me alone in this cage forever despite their wickedness.

Eventually, I got another visitor. This time it was not Diana. It was Kal himself. But he looked different. Rather than the uniform he wore before, he was wearing an entirely new attire. It looked like his costume, but it was purple. The crest was different, so was his cape and, above all, his eyes were eerily different from his original ones. It's as if he were possessed by a ghost or something.

His new appearance resembled . . . Brainiac!

Rao, what did he do to himself?!

"You bonded with Brainiac's ship?" I asked him.

If this was possible, then that means . . .

"Brainiac is dead. The remaining cities have been restored and just like I told you, Earth is at peace." he said in a creepy way.

I knew it. He murdered Brainiac in order to steal his technology and ship to increase his power. Now he was a bigger threat to all than the now-dead Coulan.

"Under your heel." I told him sternly.

"I wish you'd come around, Kara. I'm building a new army to protect the Earth. There are billions of warriors trapped in Brainiac's collection. Kryptonians, Daxamites, Czarnians . . . I'll have a legion whose power rivals the combined Lantern Corps . . . and I want you to lead it with me." he said.

Was he serious? He becomes a dictator of Earth, kills people, claims that his deeds are "for the good of everyone", locks me inside this red light cage after giving me a beating and he expects me to side with him? Really?! That was not going to happen, relative or not.

"Never Kal." I told him defiantly.

"You'll either make the right choice or I'll make it for you." he said with light warning.

Before I could ask him what he meant by that, someone else entered the chamber and stopped by Kal's side. It was not Diana, Damien, Cyborg or Black Adam.

It was someone I did recognize, but there was something utterly wrong with this person and I could only gasp with my hands over my open mouth in horror as I saw who it was.

It was the most sickening thing I have ever witnessed since Krypton's destruction.

At first, I spited this person upon our first time meeting each other, but after realizing that I was wrong about what I was told, I accepted this person as a friend and fought alongside the individual to save Earth from Brainiac and later from Kal himself.

Now, he was an ally to Kal . . . but not willingly and not like how they were before Kal's descent to madness.

Standing beside Kal was none other than Batman! However, Kal had done something very awful to him. After fusing with Brainiac's technology, he had also placed one of Brainiac's old mind-control helmets on Batman's head, converting him into his personal slave! His bat symbol was altered to resemble his new "allegiance" to Kal, a combination of his symbol and Kal's dark version of the House of El's. I was deeply frightened by what Kal had done to this Earth man and I was certain that it would haunt me forever.

So this is what happened to him after our defeat. Rao, Kal had become a lost cause. A psychotic being. A combined version of Brainiac, Zod and possibly that warlord from Apokolips whose name I can't remember at the moment!

"What's it going to be?" he asked me, staring at me alongside the Earth man under his control.

He was threatening to convert me into a forced servant of his like he had done with Batman if I rejected him!

"Batman? Can you hear me?" I asked the mind-controlled vigilante.

He said nothing. All he did was stare at me with those horrible, remorseless eyes of his.

"It's me, Kara! Supergirl! Snap out of it!" I said.

"Silence, prisoner. You will not speak unless Chancellor Kal-El here speaks to you first." Batman said in a dark, synthetic-like tone.

"Well said, Bruce." said Kal.

I gasped. He never spoke to me like that before even when I was against him upon our first meeting. But then again, this was not him. It was that awful helmet doing to him what Kal programmed it to do.

"As I was saying, what is your decision regarding my army?" Kal asked me.

After a while of shock, I gave my answer.

"I will never serve you, Kal! You are an absolute monster to everyone, to Earth, to Krypton! No matter what you do, I will never be your slave! You hear me?! NEVER!" I shouted. Despite my situation and this nightmarish sight, I still refused Kal's forceful offer. If I went down fighting him, then so be it! It was better than submitting willingly.

"Very well, Kara. You made your choice and now I will make mine. Batman, flood the cell with sleeping gas. As long as the red sun emitters are still active, she will be vulnerable to the gas and will be easier to handle than if she's awake." he said to me and then to the mind-controlled Batman.

My eyes widened upon hearing that.

"Sleeping gas?" I asked fearfully.

"Yes. This cage is equipped with a sleeping gas option that they used on me a few times when I was in here. It was unleashed on me whenever I refused to obey orders or if I 'misbehaved'. Now I'm going to do the same to you and I will have you taken to Brainiac's ship, or should I say my ship, to undergo the same conversion process Bruce here did. You should have been more cooperative, Kara, otherwise I wouldn't have had to resort to doing this." he said remorselessly.

Batman walked toward the cell's control panel and pressed a few buttons. I wasn't able to see what he was pressing.

I was beginning to be frightened.

"Batman, stop!" I said.

He ignored me.

"On your order, Chancellor." said Batman.

"Don't worry, Kara. It will be over soon and you will embrace the power like I have. This won't hurt a bit." he said.

"Don't do this, Kal!" I pleaded.

"Proceed." Kal said and Batman pressed a switch and the cell began to flood with a strange, blue gas.

"Please stop, Kal! Don't do this to me!" I said as the gas inched closer to me. I sucked in a large amount of air and placed my gloved hands over my face to block it out. This would be futile and I would have to breathe shortly and the gas would infect me. Still, it was instinctual.

"Without your powers, Kara, you can't hold your breath in forever. You have to breathe sometime and not a moment too soon." Kal said as he and Batman stared at the situation going on in my cell.

He was right. I couldn't hold my breath for long like I used to. In a very short amount of time, my lungs were burning and my face started turning red. The pain mirrored that of what I felt when I fought that robot thing in space. I suffocated there and now it was happening here.

I punched and kicked at the glass walls. I knew it wouldn't work, but I was desperate.

Nononono!

Eventually, against my will, I breathed out and inhaled the gas.

Oh no! It can't end this way! It. Just. Can't!

Despite all this, I did not blame Batman for drugging me. He was literally not himself and Kal was forcing him to go against me. The real Batman would never do this.

I started to feel drowsy and my poundings against the walls were weakening. I tried to resist the gas' effects on me, but it was getting harder to do so as I fell to my hands and knees on the ground. I could do nothing to prevent this or escape.

This was it. In a matter of minutes, I will become a mindless slave for Kal! I would be forced to go against what I stood for and attack, kill and control everyone that stood against Kal's path against my will, especially some of those from Batman's group who were kind to me. The House of El's meaning would be lost forever and with my abilities, nobody would be able to stop me.

Mother, father, Uncle Jor, Aunt Lara . . . I'm so sorry. I failed you . . .

My eyelids grew heavy and I yawned. I was feeling so sleepy.

Can't . . . sleep . . . got to . . . fight it . . .!

It was no good. The gas was too strong and I plopped on the ground and began to succumb to the gas. My eyes felt heavy, I couldn't fight it anymore and I fell asleep. Whatever happened next, I did not hear it and I could not interact with it. I was vulnerable to Kal's whim now.

I woke up later inside what looked like another building, but it was not a prison this time.

I sat up and looked around. Wherever I was looked different. I also noticed a few things about myself: I was fully energized, I had my powers back as I could feel them right now, I did not have a mind control helmet on my head so I still had my free will and I was floating above a table.

Freaking out, I panicked and crashed onto the floor.

"Oh good, you're awake." said a voice that was in the room with me.

I recognized him instantly. It was that speedster metahuman, "The Flash" I believe he was called. He approached me with his mask off, allowing me to see his face fully.

"Where . . . where am I?" I asked while standing up.

"You're in a hideout of ours, very far away from the prison. Do you remember me?" he said.

"Yes. You're Barry Allen, that Flash person who fought alongside Batman." I said.

"How do you know my-?" he asked.

"Diana told me once, before the invasion." I answered and he shrugged, knowing Diana would tell me.

"Okay yes, that's my real name." he said.

"Speaking of Batman, where is he anyway?" I asked.

Barry pointed behind me and I turned around and saw Batman laying on a couch.

I approached him to see for myself. What surprised me was that the helmet that controlled him was now gone. They got it off, but how?

"How'd I get my powers back?" I asked Barry.

"We used a yellow solar grenade on you when you were unconscious. It restored all your powers and healed you of the sleeping gas faster than letting it wear out on its own." he said.

"Who freed me from that prison?" I asked.

"I did with some help from a couple of others." he said.

"Not to sound ungrateful and such, but why?" I asked.

"To break you out, of course. Sorry we took long. We had to prepare properly. Despite my speed, Clark is still dangerous to handle." he said.

"Whose 'we'?" I asked.

"Hello Supergirl." asked someone else who entered. It was a woman I didn't recognize before. She had blonde hair, a leather jacket, fingerless gloves,, a choker collar on her neck, fishnet stockings on her legs, and boots.

"Who are you?" I asked her.

"Name's Dinah Lance. I go by 'Black Canary'. Barry and I were the ones who liberated you from that prison." she answered.

"You helped?" I asked.

"Of course." she said.

"What powers do you have? That is, if you have any." I asked.

"I have impressive fighting skill and I can unleash a powerful, sonic scream with my voice. It's so strong, it can even make Superman's ears bleed which I've done a few times to him before. He deserved 'em though. I only use it as a last resort in battle, so other than that, I prefer fighting with my fists and boots." she said

This woman can emit a high-pitched scream that was capable of causing injuries to someone like Kal? How powerful and painful. However, nowadays, it may be necessary.

"Did you use this scream of yours on him?" I asked.

"I wanted to, but we did our job without raising any alarms." she said.

"I was gassed when you guys were there, so I couldn't see what was going on at the prison. What happened?" I asked and they told me.

According to them, they teleported inside, attacked Kal with a Kryptonite gas grenade and Barry took down Kal while Dinah handled Batman. They opened the cell and Barry quickly got me out while I was unconscious, put Kal back inside the cell with the solar emitters still on, doused him with the same gas he drugged me with and teleported us all out of the prison and to this new place. Dinah admitted to breaking both of Kal's arms prior to the escape, something she said about paying him back for something he did to her years ago which I'd probably learn later. After learning what happened to me prior to their arrival, they used that yellow solar grenade Barry mentioned on me and it's what woke me up. They said I was out for a few minutes and that without the solar grenade, I would have woken up much later.

"How did you guys get that helmet off him?" I asked about Batman.

"We didn't. Someone else did." said Barry.

"Who?" I asked.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened and another person entered with us.

This newcomer was another woman and she was dressed in a black top hat, a tuxedo-like shirt, fishnets on her legs like Dinah and was holding a wand in her hand.

I was never told of this person before.

"That would be me. Glad you two made it out in one piece." the mystery woman said to me and then to Barry and Dinah.

"Yeah, even with my speed, I was still nervous about breaching into the prison." said Barry.

"I wasn't. Powers or not, Clark doesn't scare me one bit. He, however, is going to be scared of me eventually when the time comes." Dinah said with venom in her voice. Whatever Kal did to her must have been big enough to anger Dinah like this.

The unnamed woman looked at me. I didn't know how to react to her presence. Normally, I'd be afraid of someone who approaches me like that, but since my rescuers know her, she had to be friendly.

"So you're Supergirl, the new Kryptonian visitor to Earth." she said to me.

I guessed that this woman was also informed of me.

"Yes. Who are you?" I asked.

"I am Zatanna Zatara, master magician and friend to the resistance group. I was the one who sent Flash and Black Canary to free you from that prison after learning all about you and your good nature. Glad to meet you." she said.

"Thanks, you too." I said.

The woman, now identified as 'Zatanna', got a glimpse of Batman laying on the table.

"There was a helmet on him that was-" I said.

"I know. I removed it." said Zatanna.

"How?" I asked her.

"I can perform magic spells and use them in any manner I want just by speaking backwards of what spell I cast. Since we couldn't find Batman's signal disrupter device, the thing he used on Brainiac, and they had no other way of getting it off without risking Batman's health, I was asked to remove the helmet with my magic and I did. It's gone now, never to be used again." she said.

I asked what else she could do with her power and she told me what she could and could not do and it amazed me that she was capable of performing almost anything with it. While I had bad experiences with magic users, this woman seemed alright. She even demonstrated for me by filling a small cup next to me with water. Feeling thirsty and being informed that it was safe to drink, I drank it.

"Why else do you think I called myself 'master magician'?" Zatanna replied when she finished.

I was relieved that Batman was finally freed of the helmet, thanks to Zatanna. But he was still unconscious. Perhaps it was because he was wearing that device for days and it'll probably take time for the effects to wear off. I hoped he would be back to his old self again when he woke up.

"Thank you for freeing him, Zatanna. Believe me, I was just as horrified by what Kal did to him as you three were and I strongly dislike what he's done before and what he's about to do eventually." I told the magician, hoping she would not blame me for Batman's condition or for Kal's plans for Earth's inhabitants.

As upsetting as she was from his condition, Zatanna expressed no negative feelings toward me.

"I know. I have nothing against you for Clark's deeds. As I've said, I'm aware of all you've done for Batman and our group after being mislead by the Regime. You came here hoping to prove yourself as a defender and, although you arrived late and sided with the wrong people at first, you still made your true intentions known when you stood up to Superman and his loyalists." she said.

"Do the rest of your group know about me?" I asked.

"Yes. They all know what you truly stand for and that's why we planned your breakout, to fight with us against the real enemy. Now, let's go meet the others, shall we?" said Zatanna.

I quickly scooped Batman in my arms again. He was easy to carry now that my strength was back.

Despite how he treated me in the prison and almost helped Kal convert me into his slave, I was glad they didn't leave him behind. He was much of a victim of Kal's as I was. If this was somehow over eventually, I would apologize to him for siding with Kal.

That prison was one of the few horrible experiences I've ever endured. Being a captured prisoner of Brainiac's was frightening enough. Being a captured prisoner of Kal-El? The son of my uncle Jor-El and aunt Lara Lor-Van and biological cousin to me? That was utter madness! Thank Rao these two people freed me. I thought I would never escape and nobody cared for me because of my relation to Kal, the person who terrorized them all. Although, in a way, if I did leave that cell, unlike this manner, it'd be as a mind-controlled slave minion under Kal's command as he had done with Batman. I knew that Kal's followers would eventually free him and begin a search for us at some point and I was determined to not let them find me when that started. I was not going to let them capture me again.

I had a feeling that my parents and my aunt and uncle are probably watching all of this in shame in the afterlife, by which I mean shame of Kal.

By now, word of the Kal's victory and Batman's defeat had probably spread everywhere and this would most definitely frighten them all into hiding, afraid of reliving whatever evil Kal and his followers had committed upon them all.

Everyone was now in danger from him and Batman's team and I failed to save them from that.

Humans need strong leadership. We have to save them from themselves.

Humans needed saving alright, saving from Kal and I would be one of the warriors to do it when I was strong enough.

Poor Earth people. I wished I could help them now, but I couldn't yet. I will eventually once I gathered myself from the recent events I suffered through and prepared better. One cannot enter combat with an unfocused mind and that was me at the moment. They did not deserve what Kal did to them previously and what he had in mind for them eventually and I had to be the one to stop him.

My mind was still wrapped around the nagging thought that I was fooled into believing he was the enemy against peace and justice when he was truly the guardian of it. Now he was incapacitated and I felt partly guilty for not only buying the pack of lies I was told, but for also being related to the person who spread terror and bloodshed throughout all of Earth. At least, before succumbing to Kal's horrible will, Batman was able to see me as a mislead, misunderstood person in time and showed no hostility toward me because of my link to Kal and of my heritage. I admit that he was kinda distrusting of me at first for an undeniable reason, but he was not hateful toward me and he later treated me better than some of the others. I was more than eager to help set things right and reverse all the damage Kal had done.

Since Batman never gave up on me, I refused to give up on him either.

"Are we at that place where we all discussed the plan of stopping Brainiac?" I asked.

"You mean the Hall of Justice? Oh, we're not there and we won't be going there. Clark already knows where it is since, aside from the meeting, he used to work there during his hero days. We all did as it was the main hangout spot for all Justice League members and because of how things are these days, if we went there now, he'll figure out our location, burst inside and attack and kill us all or have his minions do that for him. We can't risk venturing there again. It's suicide." said Barry.

"Then where are we at?" I asked.

"We're at a place called the Tower of Fate. It's a supernatural realm that exists outside space and time. It's the one place where Clark can't reach us. Well, at least not again, we hope." said Dinah.

"'Again'? Did something happen between Kal and this Tower of Fate place?" I asked.

"Yeah, we'll also explain that at a later time. If your feeling better now, we'd like to introduce you to the others." said Dinah.

"Others?" I asked.

"Those who've sided with Batman, as well as those who fear and/or hate Clark and want nothing to do with him, are all waiting for us. We were sent to fetch you to add more defense for our new cause of stopping the returning Regime." said Barry.

"Did we go anywhere else before here?" I asked.

"Yeah. Before heading to the prison, we made a quick stop to supply ourselves with the grenades we used." said Dinah.

"You did?" I asked.

Yeah. So, besides 'Supergirl', what's your real name? If Superman has an alien-sounding name like 'Kal-El', then I suppose you do too?" Dinah asked me.

"I'm Kara Zor-El, the cousin of Kal-El, or 'Superman' as you call him. 'Supergirl' is a title I selected after hearing about Kal's exploits as Earth's protector and I felt I should name myself after him to follow in his heroic footsteps, or so I believed at the time when I was naive to his current ways. Now that I know about him, I can't figure out what else to call myself. If 'Superman' scares people, I suppose 'Supergirl' might too and I may have to abandon my codename. Plus, I'm dressed like him and that may give people the wrong impression about me. I've kinda seen it during the invasion when people screamed and ran away from me wherever I went. I was puzzled by their reactions." I said.

"Your codename, or what you wear, don't matter, Kara. It's what you do that counts. You should stick to 'Supergirl' because it's easier to remember. It's just a title, no big deal, really. Though to be honest, I wasn't really thrilled of learning of your existence at first, considering our experience with your homicidal cousin, but I dropped all doubts I had of you after learning your background and I chose to help spring you out. As stated earlier, we could use a friendly Kryptonian on our side in our upcoming battle against an evil one. So, what do you say, Kara? You in?" Dinah asked me.

"Oh absolutely. I refuse to side with Kal ever again. Even though he is my relative, I still can't allow him to rule over others because it goes against what I was taught back on Krypton, against what our family legacy stood for." I said.

"Good." she said and looked at Batman again.

"By the way, what in the blue hell did Superman do to Batman before we freed you? He attacked us in ways I never saw him do before. Even in training sessions, he never behaved like that." she questioned.

I told her and added the following:

"He came close to repeating the process with me and he would have succeeded if not for you two interfering. If he did that to me, there would be no stopping us, Kryptonite or not." I said, fear creeping into my voice.

Dinah gasped in horror. Her eyes filled with sadness and grief. Judging from the look on her face, she must have been a close friend of Batman's.

Her face evolved from sadness to anger.

"Oh Clark is so gonna fucking pay dearly for this!" she said angrily.

"Did you know Batman before?" I asked her.

"Yeah. He helped me out many times, before and after, the Regime existed. Bossing the world around and killing opposers of Clark's reign was bad enough, but what he did to Bruce here . . . that's a step too far." said Dinah.

"Dinah, you said you injured Kal before bringing me here and said it was for something he did to you. What did he do to anger you enough to hurt him?" I asked. Something told me I would dislike the answer.

Dinah took a deep breathe and told me her reasons.

I gasped in horror when she finished.

"He did that?!" I asked.

"Yeah and I even have the scar to prove it. Here." she said and lifted her shirt and jacket just enough to expose a part of her stomach where I saw a hideous-looking scar on her abdomen.

"Oh . . . my . . . I-I-I can't believe Kal would resort to doing that. I am so sorry he did that to you, Dinah." I said.

"Don't be. He did it, not you." she said and covered her scar with her clothing.

"Do you hate me?" I asked her.

"Why would I hate you, Kara?" she asked.

"You know, because I'm another Kryptonian? I'm related to Superman? What he did to everyone, this world, to Batman and to you? Kal's proven to be evil and irredeemable and I assumed everyone would hate me because of him." I said.

Dinah approached me calmly with a calm look on her face.

"I don't hate you one bit, Kara. Like I said, I dropped my paranoia of you when I learned you were different from Superman. It's been a while since we've had a heroic Kryptonian and that's you. Yes, you're related to him and you're both powerful, but you are not him whatsoever. Like you said, you don't share his views and sided against him. Just because he's the world's biggest alien asshole doesn't mean you are, too." said Dinah.

I turned around, unable to let either of them see me shed tears that were threatening to escape my eyes from what I just learned about most things. Those who stood up to Kal got killed by him and in the most brutal way unimaginable.

I remembered the chat I had with him at the Fortress before we went after Brainiac.

Diana said the Joker was executed. Were you the one who . . .?

I took one life to save millions.

But it wasn't just one Kal, was it? How many? How many?!

Even though Kal never gave me a direct answer. his silence, and the look on his face when I asked him that last question, told me that it was more than just that Joker person I heard about and just recently, besides Brainiac (not that I cared for him even though I was against the idea of killing him no matter how evil he was), this Oliver Queen person and, as Diana admitted to me, Lex Luthor and Shazam.

Everywhere I go, people are afraid of this. Now I know why.

That moment, also, hinted to me of Kal's inner darkness prior to his admission to it all. I remembered how frightened Earth's people were of me and my crest, a symbol that was meant to represent hope and salvation, and I didn't understand why they feared it then. I assumed they were confused of my sudden appearance and were scared and stressed because of Brainiac's invasion. Just how many died by his hands?

I felt extremely foolish for not getting the hint sooner and I felt it was partly my fault for what's about to happen. Rao, I wished I wasn't related to Kal now. Why did I lose my fight against him at Batman's hideout? Things might have been way different had Batman and I won against Kal and Diana. A novice Kryptonian (me) with a few months of combat training versus a veteran Kryptonian (him) with years of combat training from fighting real villainous foes. It was obvious that I would lose to him. I bested Kal in battle the first time, but I guess I got lucky that time unlike currently.

"Hey, how did you two know where to find me?" I asked.

"We figured Clark wouldn't dare kill his only living relative despite the opposite views you and him have of everything and that he'd drag you to his old red sun cell instead because it's the one and only place on Earth that can contain a Kryptonian as it held him for five years. We were proven right when we entered and saw you inside. However, we didn't exactly expect Batman to be your prison guard, though. That was a shocker." Barry said.

"That reminds me, Diana said you were a part of his Regime. Is that true?" I asked Barry.

He swallowed nervously. Although Diana was a mentally-deranged person, I still had the need to know if she was telling the truth about this speedster man.

"I hate to admit it, but . . . yes. I once served as a Regime member. It's too long to explain now, so I'd rather wait until later to tell you." he said and I agreed to it.

"You probably hate me, don't you?" he asked, repeating what I asked Dinah earlier.

Although him admitting to serving Kal's government did upset me, his exploits from earlier, mostly trying to stop Kal with me, made me unable to become angry at him for helping Kal oppose freedom for humankind before.

"No. I don't hate you. You and Dinah never hated me as she admitted recently, so I cannot see any reason to." I said.

"So you don't resent me for helping him before?" he asked me.

"Not one bit. I don't see a Regime member standing in front of me. I see a friend, a fellow warrior for real justice who saved me from the clutches of the true enemy. I'm happy being near, and working alongside, you and I won't desert you guys. Your rescue of me proved it. Besides, if I did hate you for working for the Regime, it'd be hypocritical of me to do so since I also did the same thing you did. I was just not yet aware of what they and Batman's followers truly stood for." I said to him.

"I did until I came to my senses and backed off. The same thing happened to Green Lantern. Remember him?" he asked me.

"That guy with the green ring and suit? Of course I do." I said.

"He too fought for Clark's cause once. Now he serves Batman's cause. I'm not fully knowledgeable on what made him change his mind due to the invasion thing taking place so suddenly. He said something about the Universe Guardians, the people in charge of all Green Lanterns, granting him a second chance and just in time, too. You''ll have to ask him for the full story when we see him again." said Barry.

"Is he alright? I saw what happened to him when he fought Kal." I wondered.

"He's fine. His hand's fully healed now because his ring can heal most wounds and injuries on himself or on others if he chooses to. He's lucky Clark didn't break the ring or he'd be in bigger trouble. I'm not even sure if breaking a Lantern ring is possible or not. I've never used a Lantern ring before, so how can I know the answer? Dinah here also had trouble being around him and I and for good reason." he said.

"It's true. I wasn't too keen on seeing them because of their previous work with Superman. I'm still dissolving that part slowly, but he was my best shot at freeing you. If they want my friendship back, they must earn it." she said.

"Sounds fair." I said.

"That's what she said before." said Barry. Dinah made a face at him.

I didn't get it.

Zatanna, Barry and Dinah led me to another location of the Tower.

We entered a large hall room where I saw many other people gathered inside. Most of them I recognized as loyalists to Batman and some I've never seen before.

None of them noticed me, but this allowed me to get a better, uninterrupted look at them all.

The first person I laid my eyes on was Green Lantern, whose real name was Hal Jordan. He looked the same from last time. I remembered him helping Barry, Batman and I deal with Kal after Brainiac was defeated. I also saw Kal crushing Jordan's hand during the fight. I managed to see it seconds before Barry and I rushed in to stop Kal from killing him. As Barry stated, his hand was better thanks to his ring. I used my x-ray vision on his hand and it confirmed it.

Moving on to the next person I selected at random, I saw, and recognized, the fire-producing, dark-skinned human from the prison who helped in trying to stop me, Cyborg and Diana from freeing Kal prior to Batman's arrival. I think his name was "Firestorm", as I remembered Batman addressing him as previously. Diana and Adam told me he was evil and heartless. How stupid I now felt for believing that. I hoped he was understanding of me now despite what I did to him and his companion who looked familiar to me who was also not seen anywhere in this hall, by the way. I could have sworn that I've seen that blue-skinned metahuman somewhere before. But where? My mind was so focused on the current situation at hand right now that I could not think properly.

The next people I saw were:

An elderly-looking man chatting with the Firestorm guy. I don't remember seeing him anywhere at the prison or anywhere during the battle for Earth. Who was he and what abilities did he possess to help with the upcoming fight against Kal's Regime?

A man dressed in green and carrying a bow and an arrow-filled quiver on his back.

A young woman who was dressed similarly to Batman, but with red hair sticking out from the back of her mask. She was sitting down, reading a book.

A young, orange-skinned teenage girl who was dressed in a purple uniform that covered some of her body, long-leg boots or stockings and had fire-like hair an she was eating a triangle-shaped food item with cheese, red sauce and a yellow substance on top. I didn't know what it was. From the girl's appearance, I recognized her as a native from Tameran, a world whose inhabitants harness the ability to learn the languages of others just from touching them, mostly with a kiss on the lips. I wondered if Tameran was still around. Did it suffer the same fate Krypton did? Did Brainiac collect anything from there? Was this girl the only one of her kind left?

A man wearing a suit that resembled Barry's, complete with a different lightning bolt streak design. However, instead of a mask, he wore a metal helmet with wings on the sides. Based on his appearance, I assumed he also had high-speed abilities, too. Perhaps they were related or something?

A blonde-haired woman who wore a white colored bodysuit with a red colored V-shaped hole in the middle of her costume that exposed some of her chest, had blue gloves, blue boots and a red cape on her back. What made me curious about this woman was that she looked like me! She had the same hair, eyes, skin tone and face as I! The only difference, other than her uniform, was that she looked a few years older than me, like she was in her late 20's or early 30's. I wondered who she was and why she was here. Did she escape Krypton, too?

A masked human who was seen inspecting some gun weapons he had in his possession. His mask was red and his jacket, gloves and pants were brown. With his jacket open, I was able to see body armor on him and he had a red bird-like symbol on his chest kinda like Batman's. He made me nervous.

A stranger with a large helmet that had glowing red eyes and wore what looked like a black scuba-diving uniform and had a speargun on his back. He resembled a sailor or a fisher of some sort. While he had the physical appearance of a human being, the helmet that concealed his entire head and face made it impossible for me to decipher his species as human or something else. I looked human too and yet, I was not one. His appearance and weapon of choice reminded me of that individual with the trident weapon and dressed in ocean-inspired clothing, the one who said that Brainiac put everyone at risk. What was his name again? I think he was called "Aquaman" or something. I couldn't remember.

A man was seen reading a physics book. He was dressed in a suit that appeared as if he were a space traveler, equipped with a weird gun of some sort on his side. What powers did he have?

A normal-looking woman that was dressed in regular clothing. She didn't appear like a fighter or a soldier of any sort. The young woman looked confused and nervous. She wore a necklace that looked more like a tech device than a fashion item. I wondered what abilities and/or fighting skills she had in case she had no powers.

A man who wore some kind of odd eye wear on his eyes that covered them completely. He held a weird firearm in his hands that produced frosty mist and he wore a coat and a pair of pants, gloves and boots. His appearance made him look like one of those humans who lived in, or traveled to, cold places. There was no icy weather in the tower, so why wear that kind of gear?

A man who looked like an assassin like the red masked one was seen talking to a teenage girl. Unlike the other one, his mask had one red-colored eye on it while the rest was silver-looking. He too carried a few firearms on him and had what looked like guns on his wrists.

Another dark-skinned human, a female this time, was seen. She wore a yellow jungle-themed uniform with brown stripes and a necklace like the other woman that looked normal did, only it looked different. I didn't recall seeing her anywhere during the fighting.

A man with a weird bamboo hat upon his head who wore what looked like the clothing a monk would wear and he had a medallion with a dragon logo. His eyes were pure white and without pupils, as if he were undead or possessed and bits of electricity was flowing and sparking all over him. This told me that he had powers similar to Black Adam's. Was he magic too?

A man wearing a white-blue mask over his face and a blue outfit was standing next to the one with the bamboo hat. Only his eyes were uncovered and I saw misty fog appearing from his hands and feet. He reminded me of that other cold-themed person I saw a minute ago. I think people like him were called "ninjas" here on Earth.

A large, demon-like person was seen drinking a bottle of an alcoholic beverage. He had horns on his head that looked more like stumps. His hair was tied back like a ponytail. He wore a big, brown trench coat, baggy pants and a pointed tail was sticking out from behind him. He had a revolver gun in a holster and, surprisingly enough, his right hand was bigger than his left and seemed to be made of stone. Who was he and where did he come from?

Another dark-skinned man who, like the one with the bamboo hat, was also sparking electricity from his body. He wore googles too.

I saw the other feline woman sitting and inspecting her claws. I remembered her from the meeting. I believe she's called "Catwoman". I also remembered Batman telling that Cyborg person to take her and Harley with him to a place called "Arkham Asylum". Diana and Adam told me she was a petty thief who stole rare treasures and seduced men before robbing them blind of whatever they carried that was of value and that she joined Kal's Regime until abandoning them in favor of Batman.

Just when I thought seeing a demon-man was shocking enough, I also happened to spot four creatures that were most definitely not human-looking at all! They looked like giant-size, humanoid turtles and they were all dressed in ninja garb, but with different colored masks over their eyes, probably making it easy to tell them apart, and they each carried ninja weapons on them. They were also seen munching on that same food-item the Tameranian girl ate. What were four giant ninja mutant turtles doing here and where in Rao's name did they come from?

The only person that I didn't see in the crowd was Harley Quinn. Where was she? Was she still at that hospital I sent her too? I hope Kal and his friends didn't kill her!

I placed Batman on a nearby cough on a side of the large room without anybody noticing me.

"We're back!" Zatanna said and they all turned to look at us.

"Hey, it's her." I heard someone say. I didn't need my super-hearing to hear that and everyone looked directly at me.

"That's Supergirl?"

"She's just a kid, a teenager. Younger than Superman."

"Dude, she's smokin' hot!"

"Totally, man!"

"At least she isn't like 'Super-Dick'. All the powers, but minus the 'Space Mussolini' part."

These were what I heard them say. Since I was here now, I might as well get to know them all. Because of the Regime's deceitful nature, I wanted to learn everything about these people and I meant every-thing.

There was going to be a long introduction. Better now than never.

Finally, it's about fuckin' time I posted something on this fic! Like I said before, I'm so sorry for taking long to get back to this! Believe me, a year of waiting's been killin' me and I was ITCHING to post something sooner. But, better late than never, I suppose. Anyone still with me other than a certain loyal reader who's been patiently asking me about this for an entire year?

I am going to take a break from this for a week or two before I post my other chapter. It will not be whole 'nother year this time, just for a couple of weeks to gather myself after spending a year writing and rewriting this sumbitch chapter and I am mentally exhausted as hell right now!

Can anyone believe it's been a whole year since Injustice 2 was released? Just like this fic. Time went by fast and I just gotta say . . . DAYAAMN!

PS: In response to someone's long-asked question: Kara's not fully aware of HQ's past because, since this is from her POV, I have to pretend to not know about certain things, you know, I gotta think like she would think. Example, the scene where Diana tells Kara about Harley being an outlaw who was half responsible for the events that turned Superman to the dark side. Kara shrugs it off as another lie due to knowing about the Regime's own evil now and having been lied to and believing Diana to be insane. She's now untrusting of anything they said to her and, for the moment, she still thinks Harley's innocent and Diana's a complete liar and I wrote that down because, as stated, it's her POV and she doesn't know the full story . . . yet. She will though in the next chapter and I have a pretty good idea of how to portray her reaction to the upsetting news when she finds out.

Guess the names of the recruits for the new Resistance team. I know you know, but still, I'd like to hear it. Pweaaase?

Read and review, I don't really care what responses I get.

Well, enjoy until next time!