The Not Quite Justice League in... The Bee's Pleas!!!

[stands_for_hope]

[continued from here]

Finishing his article, clearing everything with Keith, those things took time. That was why it took a few hours before Clark was ready to make his usual call to Lois that night. He had worried that he might not make the time window that she cleared every day to talk to him and the others, but he was proud to say that he'd left himself an even half an hour as long as everything was to schedule.

After the fifth time she didn't pick up (didn't so much as text or ping him), it became clear that things were very much off schedule.

Clark made his way back to the main floor where everyone seemed to congregate and headed straight for Tony, holding up the phone to him.

"I know we're all tired and we've certainly had a long day, but... can you find out where Lois's phone is from the number here?"

In all the madness of the day, all the fighting and the close calls and the weakness brought on by the proximity of kryptonite, he'd lost track of her heartbeat. Usually, it was simple enough to pick up over the phone once again, a steady pulse that he could find his way back to once the phonecall had ended.

He couldn't hear her. He couldn't tell where she was. And she wasn't answering her phone. She always answered her phone. He didn't want to think anything was wrong, but he wasn't naive enough to discount something like this. Not after today. Not after they'd pulled out kryptonite weapons.

Comments

[highaboveyou]

Tony looked up from the conversation he and Keith had been having with Jarvis and Eddie, brows raised. "Problems?" But he brought a panel with him, offering it out. "Here, write it in the little box there with a fingertip. Between Jarvis, Eddie, and the Kitts, we should be able to satellite locate that number - especially since we've got the satellites back."

[stands_for_hope]

Clark swallowed, his worry clear in his eyes, but he did what Tony told him to do and stepped back to let the techs do their magic.

[highaboveyou]

There was a hum - a rather distinctive hum - from Eddie before the screen zoomed in, locating, focusing. "Coordinates found in the country of Bialya," he said. "Satellite mapping is the only surveillance I can access. There are no nearer cameras I can use."

[stands_for_hope]

Clark looked at the coordinates, glanced at the visual of the location, and raised a finger before disappearing with a soft spoken 'thank you' left on the wind.

Downstairs, Sandy woke up with his hands on his head, shaking at the vision he'd seen.

[secondtry]

When he sat up, Mike sat up, too, arms wrapping around him reflexively. "S'okay," he murmured. "S'okay..."

[granularity]

It was... so much nicer. So much nicer waking up with someone's arms around him, the chill of the nightmare visions, of what could be if he didn't act, mitigated just a little by the presence of another person. Someone who cared about him.

He sucked in a breath, shaking his head to try and clear his thoughts, put things in order, before letting himself lean up against Mike.

"Vision. Someone... someone close to Clark. She's in danger."

[secondtry]

Mike kissed his temple. "Then we'll go talk to 'em," he murmured. "We'll go make sure they know something's going down." He stroked Sandy's hair. "Lemme get my boots on and we'll go - and I promise, Kitt, I'll come back and clean up your back seat."

He rubbed Sandy's back for a few more moments before he slowly started to let go so he could get his shoes back on.

[granularity]

Sandy nodded and started hastily pulling on his own clothes, his coat, his hat, even the boots that had dropped down below the seat. The last piece, the mask, filtered back into place and perhaps then Mike could see that mask was as much a security blanket as it was a tool, something familiar and comforting in it's own way, a piece of someone Sandy missed dearly.

[secondtry]

The mask didn't really bother him. Not really. It reminded him a little of plague doctors, but it didn't bother him. He squeezed Sandy's shoulder once his boots were on, and he climbed out of the driver's seat, patting the door on the way. "We'll be back later. How are you feeling?"

"I am much better. Thank you."

"Good. You keep recharging." And then he was holding his hand out for Sandy to take. It was a bit of a walk from where they were to an elevator.

[granularity]

Sandy let his gloves reform on his hands before taking Mike's, the tremors starting to subside now.

"I'm assuming they either made their move or are going to make their move soon," Sandy said quietly as they made their way to the elevator.

[secondtry]

"We'll find out in just a few," Mike said, letting go of his hand to wrap his arm around Sandy's shoulders instead. "And we'll figure out what we need to do."

A touch to the button, and then a touch to the floor button inside and they were on their way, doors opening in just a few moments to the room where Tony and Keith were standing. "Hey, guys," he said as soon as they'd arrived. "Anything up?"

"Well, our favourite resident alien took off after looking up his girlfriend's number. She's in Bialya."

Mike winced instinctively. "Well there's one place I can't go."

[granularity]

Sandy looked over at Mike and the eyebrow might not have been visible but the headtilt spoke volumes.

"His girlfriend? What does she look like? Do you have a picture?"

He stepped towards the computers.

"I had a vision."

[highaboveyou]

"Jarvis?"

"Of course, sir." The panel Tony offered out had images of Lois Lane appearing on it, slightly blue-tinted, but unmistakeable.

[granularity]

Dammit.

"That's her. The woman in the vision I had. If she isn't already in the hands of HYDRA, she will be soon enough. Skulls and tentacles..."

He looked over at Mike and was about to say more when a red-blue blur zipped through the window and an extremely upset Clark appeared amongst them.

"She was staying at a house in Qurac, working with sources within Biayla. When I got there, the family was dead and Lois was nowhere to be found. Her camera, her computer, her phone... it was all still there but there was no trace of her. Not even for me. Neighbors said that Bialyan troops crossed the border two hours ago, attacked the home, and left. They didn't know any more since they hadn't known the family was housing her."

He swallowed hard, his face visibly warring between worry for Lois, anger at her capture, and mourning for those who had died for the simple act of helping her.

He looked up at the ceiling then.

"JARVIS, please alert Steve, Jim and Diana that they're needed up on the main floor. Tell them it's urgent."

[highaboveyou]

"Immediately, sir," the AI agreed, and did exactly that.

Keith stood up. "Okay, what can we do?" he asked. "I mean... Okay, between what happened to me in Alaska, everything here today, what Michael was talking about, and now this... Is this revenge for us... foiling the UN thing, or killing Zola?"

[stands_for_hope]

"I don't know," Clark said quietly, looking down, looking away from everyone as much to keep them safe as so they couldn't see the ruby red light that was building within his eyes.

"I don't know if she's dead, I don't know if she's okay. I don't know what they want with her, if this has anything to do with me or the attacks or anything..."

Clark's voice was calm, infinitely calm, but the air was wobbling faintly around him.

Sandy looked from Mike to Tony and finally to the elevator. He didn't know what to do...

Except for one thing. Holding up a hand, he walked over and pulled out his phone. Dialing a number as quickly as he could in his gloves, he put it up to the mask.

"PeeGee, don't call out the troops, but I think you're going to want to head to Metropolis. Right now. No, I know we were going to talk about it, and I know this is going to be difficult, but things just got serious. Yes. Yes. He's going to need you."

[kolodnoykovki]

The moment Jarvis had said they were needed, Jim was up, ignoring shoes, halfway ignoring clothes. He had his pants fastened but was still pulling on a shirt when he walked in--

And he was immediately at Clark's side, unafraid but far from unconcerned. "Jarvis told me," he said, voice forced into calm. "We'll get her back." He crouched, hand on his shoulder. Hydra had crossed a dangerous line. Yes, Zola was necessary to deal with, but this was his family. Nobody messed with his family.

[stands_for_hope]

Jim's hand on him steadied him more than anything else could have, had him finally breathing in and out, and if he leaned into the touch like he wanted to let all his weight go, Jim certainly understood. Steve and Diana walked in a moment later, Diana's face a promise of death to those who had acted against Lois and Steve...

Steve looked little better.

"Did he tell you the details?" Clark asked quietly, "Sandy here has more. He said he had a vision."

Sand nodded and stepped forward.

"I did. Some of the details won't become clear until we start acting, but the most important part was that she wore a red cloak with your symbol on it. Figures in skull masks with tentacles, an obvious reference to HYDRA, were attacking her while she struggled to stay silent. And there was... buzzing. Like a thousand bees."

Clark's face went hard.

"Queen Bee. Leader of Bialya."

Sandy nodded, as that was a perfectly reasonable explanation.

"The rest of the JSA is currently patching themselves up, but... a friend is on the way."

[kolodnoykovki]

"...They're trying to get to you through her," Jim said softly. "And it's a perfect weapon." He could see it. He could feel through it. "If Queen Bee's involved, then anybody who's attracted to women can't go in."

And that was, honestly, most of them. Unless.

"I'll go."

[stands_for_hope]

"We are all going to go," Diana said with a lift of her head, "and we will deal with the wiles of the Queen of Bialya when the matter comes to a head. I cannot believe that whatever power she holds is stronger than the bonds of sisterhood, family, and love that we hold."

Steve agreed with a firm nod.

"I'm not sitting around here while my niece is going through who knows what."

Sandy's attention was taken by something out side of the building, a flick of white out the window. He walked over to the opening and stuck his arm out, waving for whoever it was to come in. Dithering on the point wouldn't help anyone. If she'd come, she was going to help. If she was going to help, she was going to meet him. If she was going to meet him, she might as well come in.

Steve noticed Sand's strange behavior and walked over to look out the window himself and found himself facing an extremely muscular woman in a white outfit with a... very interesting design and a familiar red cape. She smiled at him, threw off a salute, then floated through the window looking at Clark.

Clark turned... and blinked as he took her in. She, on the other hand, swallowed hard and her eyes started to sheen.

Rao, he looks so much like him. So much like my Kal...

Then her head went up as Sandy gestured to her.

"May I present the current chairwoman of the JSA: Powergirl."

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim stared - just for a moment, but he stared, and then he offered his hand. "Nice to meet you. They call me Firebrand."

And the house of Am's seal was unhidden on his arm, his shirt still not on. Clark was more important. Saving Lois was more important. His scars were just scars and his arm was his arm.

"I'm his brother."

[stands_for_hope]

Clark just stared at her, stared as he took in what his eyes were telling him, what he could hear and feel.

Another Kryptonian. She was Kryptonian. And if her physiology didn't say it, her focus on his chest, on the seal that sat on Jim's arm, told him that he wasn't just tricking himself.

The woman herself took his hand, her eyes widening somewhat as she took in that the stone that made up a part of his arm was in fact sunstone, before she nodded her head in greeting.

"Kal-L?" she asked quietly of Clark, turning to look at Jim. "And you are... you wear the seal of M."

Clark was about to nod, but he heard the slight difference, the inflection of the name.

"My given name on Krypton was Kal-El, of the House of El. My father was Jor-El. My brother, Jim, is an adopted member of the House of Am. You're--"

The woman nodded, taking that in, something in her accepting it before she held out her other hand to shake his. He took it.

"Kara Zor-L," she said with a faint, somewhat brittle smile. "It's complicated but... hello, cousin." She tilted her hand to Sandy. "I'm here to help."

[kolodnoykovki]

"...Wish we could've found you in happier times," Jim said. "This is Steve. Seems like you recognise him. And this is Diana, Princess of Themyscira. Over there is Tony Stark, Keith Orbit, and Mike Knight."

Mike raised a hand in greeting, reminding himself that face was higher than ... keyhole. He needed to behave, he was with someone he was interested in.

"We need to get Lois back," Jim went on, insistent, "and any help you can give is welcome."

[stands_for_hope]

She noticed Mike's attention, and crossed her arms. It didn't help. She probably knew that, which was why she was smirking. Then her attention went back to Jim.

"Hard to miss Captain America in a room. And Diana," she nodded in greeting, "I've heard about your mom but I never got to meet her. Either way, it's an honor."

"Greetings, sister," Diana said with a bow of her head that made Kara smile.

Clark looked over at her and breathed in deep before pointing to the screen.

"The woman there is my... she's deeply important to me. She's also Jim and Steve's niece, and Diana's-"

"Sister," Diana said firmly. "My sister in all ways that matter."

Clark nodded in agreement before turning back to Kara.

"From what we've been able to piece together from witnesses and Sand's vision, she's been taken by Queen Bialya in alliance with HYDRA, more than likely trying to get to me. From what Sand's said, she's still alive, but we all know that's just a matter of time. We need to find her and we need to get her out of wherever she is."

"Then it sounds like they know you might be coming," Kara observed before glancing over at Sand, "but they probably don't have any idea about me. Two Kryptonians hit harder than one."

"Powergirl is also insurance against a possible problem that could be caused by Queen Bee's abilities. Obviously, you are not immune. She is.

"And judging by what happened with Kendra, you're not either, Sandy, so I'm assuming you're going to be doing recon and staying out of the way?"

"That's correct."

"Good. You can introduce me to the boyfriend when we get back."

...it was a damn good thing he was wearing a mask. No one could see him blush.

[kolodnoykovki]

"They took her - probably because she helped me once, too," Jim said, "so they'll be expecting me. ...But they probably don't know what their own training did to me." His smile was bitter. "So I'm going. Just give me time to armor up and I'm ready."

"I'll stay here," Tony said, "and Keith will, too - we can probably help with troop movements, especially since we've got a ... secret weapon. As long as he doesn't mind us borrowing his skills."

"Not at all," came the tenor voice from one of Jarvis's speakers. "I was rather waiting for you to ask."