*pokes head in* I'm baaaaaack! :D

Well, I never really went anywhere, but I'm back for this book! Hope everyone's ready to dust it off, because with Arrow finished and Supergirl nearing its twentieth episode, I think I've got enough material to work with and finally bring this back. :)

First order of business is that this will not be the last book in the series. There will be one more, which will be the finale episodes for the entire Arrowverse. Yes, that means "The Good, the Bad, and the Cuddly," "We Are The Flash," "Life Sentence," and "Supergirl Returns" will all be happening, and it will be one big team-up again.

Second order of business is assuring everyone that I will be throwing so much canon from "Life Sentence" out the window that none of you should have any concerns about dumb moves on Oliver's part. He will not be going to the FBI, and he will most certainly not be going to prison. I'm trying to give Kariver a happily ever after here, and dropping him in prison is not happily ever after.

And third order of business . . . the heroes are still recovering from Kara's brutal takedown, but Mon-El has an idea, and Kara meets - in my opinion - a very hilarious character who won me over the moment I saw him.

Enjoy the first part of "Legion of Super-Heroes," everyone!

***

If the heroes of Earth-1 hadn't been in and out of the medbay enough times to coax the man to leave for just a few minutes, they would have thought Oliver would have won the Guinness World Record for the longest time spent as a statue.

Not that Barry blamed him, of course. If Kara was the love of his life, he would be spending every second of every day she was in a coma by her side, too. And except for the precious few times he, Thea, and Slade could get Oliver to move, it was either himself, Sara, Slade, Malcolm, Laurel, or one of Kara's team members that took Oliver's place until the archer returned. The Earth-X invasion had proved just how much Oliver loved his fiancée, but if Barry hadn't known then, he knew for sure now.

Because while Kara looked dead, it seemed like seeing his beloved in a coma was killing Oliver slowly, too.

"Two days," Oliver finally muttered, voice slightly hoarse from having barely used it in the past few days.

"I know," was all Barry could find in him to say.

"Two days she's been like this," Oliver ground out, shaking his head. "You know, I never thought I would see her like this again after what Cadmus did to her? The Earth-Xers did a number on her, but Cadmus was awful to her. And Overgirl was powerful, but this Kryptonian?"

"We should've been more prepared, man," Barry shook his head. "She surprised all of us."

"She took Ray and Firestorm out without batting an eye, from what we could tell," Oliver deadpanned. "Your lightning did nothing to her. I don't know how much more you could have done."

Barry sighed, then looked up when footsteps entered the medbay. Oliver didn't even look away from where his hands were holding Kara's. "I'm not moving," he said.

"I'm not going to make you," Mon-El shook his head. "Just figured you may want this."

Oliver finally looked away as Mon-El held out an open water bottle for him, and Oliver finally nodded, letting go of Kara's hand with one of his, reaching out to take the drink. "Thank you."

Mon-El nodded, and Barry mouthed "thank you" to the Daxamite before heading for the door to update the others. Mon-El watched him go, then looked down at Kara and sighed. "I'd ask how she's doing, but she looks the same."

"Hasn't moved," Oliver shook his head. "Hasn't made a sound."

Mon-El chewed his lip. "I may have an idea," he finally said.

Oliver blinked and looked up at him. "What?"

"The D.E.O. and Team Flash have tried everything they can to help her, short of going back to Earth-1 and letting . . . uh, whoever Gideon is, try and help her," Mon-El explained. "But the Legion may have something that could work. I didn't want to offer anything right away in case you guys had something that could work, but since Kara's condition hasn't changed . . . "

He shrugged, and Oliver looked between him and Kara. "Did you tell Alex?" he asked.

"I figured I should tell you first," Mon-El said. "I don't know where we stand on the friendship scale, but everyone's desperate to help Kara, and you haven't left her for more than a few minutes. I'm going to tell Alex based on what your answer is."

Oliver looked back down at his limp fiancée, then took a deep breath. "What's your idea?"

***

Kara blinked her eyes open, flinching slightly away from the sunlight streaming through her windows. She slowly sat up, scooting to the edge of her bed, and looked around her room, frowning. Something was wrong, but she couldn't figure out what.

Knocking interrupted her thoughts, and Kara shook herself more awake, climbing out of bed and moving through her loft. She opened the door to see who was outside, and did a double take when she saw a blue-skinned, white-haired male in a skin-tight black jumpsuit. When he turned around to look at her, she saw three blue lights in his forehead and a familiar upside-down triangle formed by three dots on the chest of his suit.

The man stared at her, looking just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. "It's . . . you," he said faintly, looking at her in awe.

"Can I help you?" Kara asked slowly.

"Now you're talking to me," the man gulped. "Supergirl is talking to me."

Kara leapt forward the moment he said her name. "Inside," she hissed, grabbing him and pushing him inside, closing the door behind them. "Now."

"I am Brainiac 5," the man told her as soon as the door shut, turning to face her and linking his fingers together behind his back. "Half-computer, half-organic lifeform, all Coluan, and, not to brag, but a 12th-level intellect." Kara blinked, still confused, and elaborated more. "My name is Querl Dox, but the Legionnaires just call me Brainy."

"Legionnaires?" Kara repeated, blinking rapidly. "Did Mon-El send you?"
"Yes!" Querl nodded. "Yes, to make sure that your neural pathways are clear and intact." He picked up a vase of flowers, twisting it this way and that, examining the purple and white blossoms. "Your brain is in truly remarkable health for someone languishing in a coma."

Kara balked, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, did you say a coma?"

"Mmm?" Querl turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "Did I bury the lede? You've been in a coma for two days."

Kara shook her head, the wrong feeling growing stronger. "I'm in my loft!"

"Wow," Querl muttered before perking up. "Oh! You mean the physical manifestation of the place in which your subconscious feels most comfortable? That loft?"

Kara gaped like a fish for a few seconds as Querl passed her, then spun around. "If I'm in a coma, how are you here?"

"Mon-El woke me up from hypersleep to communicate with you on behalf of him, your family, and your fellow heroes," he answered. "31st century technology. It's also what's keeping you alive."

"Alive?" Kara repeated faintly.

"Reign defeated you," Querl nodded, frowning. "Don't you remember?"

~ "Stay with us, Kara." ~

~ Hovering above the burnt field, Ray and Firestorm flanking her, looking down at the Kryptonian symbol. ~

~ The black-clothed, black-masked Kryptonian throwing punches that overpowered her, despite the attempts from Barry, Ray, and Firestorm to help. ~

~ Reign's cruel, sneering face as she dropped Kara from the roof, Nate catching her just before she hit the concrete. ~

~ "Come on, angel. Fight!" ~

Kara jerked as if she could back away from the memories, swallowing hard as Oliver's voice echoed in her head. "No, this is crazy," she stammered, looking around. "This – " She turned back to Querl, gaze hardening. "Reign is still out there. People are dying. I have to wake up!"

Querl blinked, trying to think that through as Kara ran past him. "I don't think you're listening to me," he began, turning around.

He found Kara yanking on her loft door, trying with all her might to open it. "What?" she gasped in confusion, yanking even harder.

"Can we just, maybe, relax a little bit?" Querl tried hopefully.

"Damn it!" Kara yelled, turning around and collapsing against the door, panting heavily, face growing angrier. "It won't open!"

***

Oliver stood with Mon-El on one side, Slade on the other, with J'onn, Imra, Alex, and Winn on Mon-El's other side, Malcolm, Laurel, Barry, and Sara on the other side of Slade. All of them were watching in anticipation as Querl stood in front of the tank Kara was floating in, the Coluan standing still.

When Querl suddenly took a deep breath and turned around, all of them turned their attention from Kara to him. "Well, the good news is her mind is active and alert," he reported.

Oliver let out his breath in a rush, his entire body relaxing. "Good," Slade sighed in relief, Laurel turning into Malcolm, the archer giving her a one-armed hug as Barry and Sara high-fived.

"Oh, thank God," Alex breathed at the same time, Imra smiling happily.

"Yes," Querl nodded, wincing. "The bad news is she is very angry."

"Well, I'm sure she loves being trapped inside a mind prison," Winn said sarcastically.

"So you're speaking with her right now, even though you're speaking with us?" Sara asked.

Querl nodded, pointing to the white device on Kara's forehead. "The crown connects to my internal AI core. It translates her brainwaves to English and sends electronic signals back to her."

"These tanks have incredible healing power, so she just needs to rest and let it do its work," Imra told Oliver reassuringly.

"Thank you," he told her gratefully. "All three of you."

The Legionnaires nodded, but Barry frowned. "You guys are from the future . . . did you know this was gonna happen to Kara?"

"No," Mon-El shook his head. "But she's through the worst of it. She'll live."

"I'll kill her myself if she doesn't," Laurel mumbled.

"But when will she wake up?" Malcolm asked.

Mon-El sighed. "We don't know."

"Well, Reign is still out there," J'onn frowned. "I don't like our odds without Supergirl by our side."

"I mean, Reign's been quiet," Winn looked at them. "Maybe she got injured, too?"

"I hope so," Sara narrowed her eyes.

"It's only a matter of time before she strikes again," Alex nodded.

"Well, you'll have help," Barry told J'onn. "Iris and I agreed, we're not leaving until we know Kara's woken up."

"Same with us," Sara nodded.

"Thank you," J'onn told them gratefully.

"Really, thank you," Oliver looked over at them. "It means a lot."

"Nowhere we'd rather be right now," Barry clapped a hand on his shoulder.

***

Ruby gulped as she hurried through the house, looking over her shoulder nervously. When she saw movement from the other end of the hall, she ran past the staircase and into the kitchen, ducking to hide around the corner. She took a few deep breaths, watching out of the corner of her eye. When Sam came around the corner, she grinned and raised her Nerf gun, firing quickly.

Sam squealed, backing up and returning fire. Ruby kept firing at her, though, and Sam backed up, crashing into a table behind the couch. "Oh, crap!" she jumped, startled, then raised her arms when Ruby ran up, firing repeatedly. "OK, stop! Hold on, pause game!"

Ruby giggled, lowering her gun. "And you thought I was gonna break something!"

"Ah, jeez," Sam sighed, crouching down to pick up a broken frame, picking up pieces of glass, too.

A car honked from outside, and Ruby turned. "That's Clara."

"Ah, already?" Sam complained.

"The movie's in half an hour," Ruby reminded her.

"OK," Sam nodded, standing up and taking the frame over to the counter. "Well, you're making me dinner tonight, right? It's your turn."

"Any dietary restrictions I should know about?" Ruby teased.

"I'm allergic to bad food," Sam answered seriously.

"OK," Ruby grinned. "Well, save up for dinner. Don't eat too much." She paused when she saw her mom completely still, looking down at the newspaper. Ruby peered past her, keeping in a shiver when she saw it was of the black-clothed Kryptonian standing over a beaten Supergirl, the headline reading "Rogue Kryptonian Still At Large." "Mom," she reached up, kissing her cheek. "Love you."

She left without looking behind her. Had she stayed a few more seconds, she may have seen Sam's eyes flash red.

***

"You have done well, my child," the Fortress hologram smirked as Reign looked up from where she was kneeling. "You easily vanquished the daughter of the House of El. You left your mark on the city. But there is much yet to be accomplished."

"What would you have me do?" Reign asked.

"This world needs to be cleansed. Not just of sinners, but those who harbor them. It is time to deliver the awakening."

"How?"

"Those who would do evil operate in broad daylight without shame, for the righteous have cast their eyes to the ground. Force their gaze back to the light. Show them what justice really is."

***

Lena looked up from a few flyers in her hands when she inhaled a whiff of caffeine, and her eyes widened when she saw who was walking up. "How did you remember?"

"Scientists and geniuses all seem to have one thing in common," Harry answered, handing her one of the steaming cups he held. "We all can't run without coffee. And you drank it enough, so it was easy to remember your favorite."

"First he gets me coffee, then he compliments me," Lena raised an eyebrow. "My, how you are moving up in the world."

Harry snorted. "Well, it's either you or being around all the worry warts back you know where."

Lena tilted her head. "Was that a compliment?"

"Yes," Harry assured her.

"Well, then," Lena smirked, taking a quick sip. "Thank you very much."

"Thank you," a voice from behind said, and Harry and Lena looked over as Iris hung up her phone, James looking away from the multitude of screens broadcasting the news, many asking where Supergirl was. "That was Barry," Iris told them, smiling. "They've found a way to help her. They've already established her mind is fine."

"Oh, thank God," Lena closed her eyes in relief.

"Best news in two days," James grinned.

"Do they know how long it'll take for her to wake up?" Harry asked.

"That they still don't know," Iris shook her head. "On the other hand, it sounds like this Querl Dox person is entertaining to be around."

"Who's he?" Lena raised an eyebrow.

"According to Mon-El, a 12th-level intellect."

"Oh, boy," Harry snorted.

The sound of glass shattering made all four turn, and CatCo employees scattered as a man, battered and bruised, collapsed on the floor. His eyes were wide and unseeing, and he didn't move at all. Panic quickly rose as Reign flew in afterwards, walking in like she owned the building. Lena clenched her jaw, pushing past the others, Harry and James behind her, Iris raising her phone to record them. "Why have you come here?" Lena demanded.

"To deliver a message," Reign answered.

"We are not your messengers," Lena growled.

Reign just smirked. "Yes, you are." She turned and pointed at one of the employees. "You," she barked. "Turn your camera on me." The man hastily complied, and Reign pointed at the man on the ground. "This man was a thief, condemned by his own actions. You've allowed sin to take root and fester like a weed. And worst of all, you have looked away. Apathy is the greatest sin of all. From now on, it will be punished in kind. There will be no more mercy. There will only be justice. I'm here to help."

She gave Lena one last look before walking towards the window, flying out as quickly as she arrived. Lena exchanged worried looks with the others in the room as Iris ended the recording, typing out a message to Barry as well before sending it. "I may need more caffeine," she finally whispered to Harry.

"No kidding," Harry sighed, looking down at the thief's corpse.

***

"Hey, guys! You've gotta see this!"

Oliver turned away from the tanks when he heard Barry yell, and exchanging worried looks with Slade, he hurried out. "What is it?" he asked, Sara coming from the other direction with some of the Legends.

"We jinxed it," Barry said grimly, holding his phone out to Mon-El. "Can you put this on the screen?"

"Yeah," Mon-El nodded, taking Barry's phone.

"Iris just sent this," Barry explained as Mon-El worked. "Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear."

Stein watched Reign's message play, then shook his head. "Did she just declare war on criminality in National City?"

"She did worse than that," Caitlin whispered. "She just declared war on the entire justice system!"

"We have to stop her," Alex swallowed.

"Without Supergirl?" J'onn raised an eyebrow.

"Hello? The heroes and vigilantes that took down an invasion of Nazis from Earth-X?" Winn gestured to the Earth-1 visitors. "And remember, we also have a literal Legion of superheroes here!"

Mon-El sighed heavily, and Oliver closed his eyes, already knowing what he was about to say. "I owe you all my life," he said. "And I hope you know that I would do anything I could for you. But, unfortunately, this can't be our fight."

"What?" Ray blinked.

"Surely we can help them somehow," Imra said.

"If we die now, we will endanger the future," Mon-El shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Zari frowned, folding her arms.

"We're on a mission," Mon-El began.

"Careful," Querl warned.

Mon-El sighed, carefully picking his words. "Our involvement here could jeopardize that."

"I hate time travel," Cisco grumbled.

Barry silently held out his fist, and Cisco bumped it with his own. Mon-El's lips twitched upwards in a small smile at the sight. "Is there anything you know that can help us?" Amaya asked.

"Well, what we do know is that Supergirl lives, and that eventually, Reign will leave," Mon-El nodded.

"That's it?" Nate blinked.

"That's all you've got?" Thea scowled.

"We really don't know much at all," Imra nodded.

"In the year 2455, Earth experienced a third-degree extinction phenomenon," Querl said.

"Humanity came together, but Earth suffered catastrophic destruction," Imra continued. "It wasn't just loss of life. It was its history, culture, art, music."

"It was everything interesting," Querl summed up.

Nate cringed at the thought. "Wow," Felicity whispered.

"Mon-El taught us everything we know," Imra nodded. "From Aristotle, Shakespeare, Bon Jovi – "

Malcolm snorted slightly at that, then winced when Laurel smacked the back of his head. "But we have some gaps," Mon-El finished. "And unfortunately, even if we know the end result, we don't necessarily know how it happens."

"So we know that Supergirl lives, and we know that Reign leaves, eventually," Alex ground her teeth.

Mon-El nodded. "But without knowing how much time we have, Reign could slaughter thousands," Slade closed his eye.

"So what do we do to avoid that happening?" Lily looked around.

"The Sundown Protocol," J'onn sighed, and everyone looked at him, confused. "A highly-classified contingency plan to take down Superman if ever he turns against us. Red sun grenades, sound bombs, Kryptonite darts . . . everything we'd need to take down a rogue Kryptonian on the loose."

Oliver's jaw clenched. "J'onn, we got rid of all the Kryptonite after what went down with Cadmus."

"We helped you with that," Dig nodded in agreement.

"Clark and Kara agreed to get rid of it," Alex affirmed.

"That was before Reign," J'onn stated. "We still have the Kryptonite from Coville's probe, right?"

Oliver, Malcolm, Laurel, and Winn all groaned simultaneously, confusing the others, but Winn nodded reluctantly. "Do we want to know?" Jax looked around.

"Kara had a cult worshiping her," Malcolm answered.

Cisco choked on air. "What?"

"Long story short, he had soil from Krypton, and that means he had Kryptonite," Oliver cut in.

"Which can be used against Reign," Sara nodded.

"Oliver, you don't need to come with us for it," J'onn began.

"Reign is why my fiancée is unconscious in a tank from the 31st century, and was nearly beaten to death," Oliver's voice rang sharply in the room, making Barry wince. "It was hard using Kryptonite against Overgirl because she looked like Kara. Reign doesn't, and Kara is going to be nowhere near this fight when we go against her. Like hell am I not taking a chance to go after her."

J'onn sighed, then nodded. "Well, how can I not join in after hearing that?" Sara walked up to Oliver's side.

"League of Superheroes, ready for action," Cisco nodded, then winced. "No. God, no. We need a better name than that."

"Name later," Alex shook her head. "Prep whatever you have to . . . but before you use it, there's someone I have to talk to."

***

Alex didn't go alone, either. When she walked in to speak with Coville, she had Amaya and Zari with her. "Ooo," Alex winced in mock sympathy when she saw the black eye Coville was sporting. "Your eye! What happened to you?"

"Oh, I was spreading the truth to my fellow inmates," Coville answered as she sat down. "They would have preferred I lied."

"Do you want to spread a little truth to me?" Alex tilted her head. "I'll pass it along to Supergirl. You're her biggest fan, right? She said that you knew about the reign of the beast. What else do you know that can help us beat her?"

"Beat her?" Coville repeated. "She's already won."

"What?" Zari's voice rang out sharply.

"She hasn't won," Amaya shook her head. "Supergirl is still alive."

"She was supposed to rise, find her faith, and deliver it," Coville shook his head. "But Supergirl refused her faith and she failed the test."

"Supergirl will defeat her," Alex said confidently. "You just have to help us stop her."

"Supergirl lost so that Reign can prepare us for what comes next," Coville leaned forward.

Zari chuckled, making all three look at her. "Look, buddy, I don't know what drugs you were on – or still are on, but I don't care about that," she sauntered over, planting her hands on the table. "All I care about is one thing that, despite all your worshiping, you don't seem to know when I've only known her for a few weeks, and not very well." She leaned down and smirked. "You should never underestimate Supergirl."

***

Oh, Kariver . . . how I missed writing you in this series, even if one of you is in a coma right now.

On the other hand, I totally think this is a good theme for both Kariver and this series. I heard it in an Avengers fan video, and I think it's perfect.

https://youtu.be/qMa0-ExKiM0

Agreed? :)

Not sure when the next chapter will come out, because everyone knows what happens if I get too enthusiastic and end up burning myself out. Rest assured, I hope to get it done soon. :)