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Chapter Text

31^st Century

Location: Earth - Founding Member of The United Planets

Legion Headquarters - Member Habitation Building

 Brainiac 5’s Laboratory

Querl Dox meticulously added the finishing touches to the purple forcefield belt on the table before him.

It had been delicate work making such a small version of his own protective belt, but even more so in this case: He had had to invent a component that would neutralize the effects of any and all types of Kryptonite listed in the UP’s database, lest the forcefield belt be rendered useless when its future wearer came into contact with the one thing that could kill them.

The Legionnaire known as Brainiac-5 had been working on this project non-stop for the past week, his determination to meet the deadline encouraged by his affection for the belt’s would-be owner. He would have forgotten to eat had a red-blue blur not whooshed in and out of his lab throughout the week, always leaving a gust of wind in its wake… and a tempting food dish on his desk.

It had taken an average of 7.3 minutes to eat each dish provided for him, which was time he could have otherwise spent working on the belt each day - but he had an organic body and that body needed to be feed.

On a more personal note: Brainiac-5 did not want to face the wrath of the one who had so carefully crafted said meals by refusing to eat them, as it would have proven detrimental to his home life.

Besides, each meal had been rather agreeable to his taste palate.

So committed to his current project, Brainiac-5 ignored the automatic hum of the laboratory doors when they opened up behind him.

Those who lived and worked in the Legion Headquarters knew there were only two people allowed to interrupt the 12^th level intellect while he was in his lab: The first one had left him the sandwich he had eaten a few hours ago and - judging from the soft patter of small feet and the tiny arms that subsequently wrapped around his leg in a vice grip - the second one had just arrived.

Still concentrating on the belt, Brainiac-5 let one hand fall to his side and rest affectionately atop a silky blonde head.

“It’s past your bedtime, Lexie.”

“Had a bad dream,” came the response, followed by the tightening of her grip.

Querl winced.

The child was slowly developing her mother’s strength, but had not yet mastered her control.  

He momentarily turned away from his project to study the little girl currently attached to his leg. When she raised her head to return his gaze, he saw she was holding back tears.

This gave him pause.

Alexandra Kaj Dox-El was not a child who cried without reason. 

He gently pried her arms from around his leg – as gentle as one could be with a half-Kryptonian child who did not want to let go – and crouched down to meet her eyes.

“You don’t normally react this way to bad dreams,” he began as he wiped an escaped tear from her pale blue cheek.  

As a 12^th level intellect herself, the child would often look at her dreams from a logical perspective, even at the tender age of four – soon to be five, Brainy reminded himself.  

To see her disturbed by one was concerning.

“It was scary,” she sniffled.

“What did you dream about?”

“A woman,” Lexie replied. “She wanted to know about me – where I came from, who my parents were. She… she started looking through my head, and broke down one of my firewalls! I… I put up another one really quick, but she hurt me!” The girl wrapped her arms around Brainiac-5’s neck, burying her face in his shoulder. “She looked like US, daddy! Why did she look like US?” 

The belt was immediately forgotten in favour of the child shaking in his arms.

“We must talk to your mother,” Querl decided.

He quickly picked the girl up and headed back to their living quarters.

 Dox-El Habitation Quarters

“How did Six dream about your mom, dude?” Winslow Schott Jr. asked Querl in a hushed whisper as the two conversed in the living room.

“I do not think it was a dream, Winn.”

“What do you mean?”

“Lexie is at the age now where most Coluans develop the ability to connect remotely with one another’s AI core, thus leaving their minds available for others to find. The connection is only done with permission for the sole purpose of exchanging knowledge, but one must have solid firewalls to prevent tampering from those who would attempt to take advantage of the invitation. Being that she is half-Kryptonian, Lexie’s ability to build stronger firewalls may be a bit delayed. My mother, no doubt, took advantage of that.”

“But your mom is so far away from here!”

“It doesn’t matter. If she was looking for another Brainiac to connect with, she would have easily found Lexie - especially at such a vulnerable stage in her development. Having said that, however--” he let the sentence trail off.

“You want to make sure the Colu Maximum Security Penitentiary still has Brainiac-4 in residence,” Winn finished for him.

Brainy nodded, “There is only a .025 % chance of her escaping based on the precautions I have taken with her imprisonment, but if you could contact Colu tonight on my behalf, it would be much appreciated. I would normally do it myself, but—”

“… but you gotta take care of the kid. It’s fine.” Winn replied. “I’ll let you guys know what I find out.” He then glanced through the opened door to Lexie’s room, where he could see the girl currently being comforted by her mother. “Can I say goodnight? I have something to give her.” He held up the metal case he had brought with him. “It was supposed to be her birthday present, but I think she might need it tonight.”

“Of course,” Brainy answered, and watched as Winn headed into Lexie’s bedroom. He opened up the case and pulled out what looked like a toy cat, then touched something on its stomach. It immediately came to life: moving, purring, and meowing like a living, breathing animal. Streaky2, he called it.

Lexie shrieked in delight as she snuggled the cat close. It returned her affection by rubbing its face against hers.

Kara Zor-el – the Legionnaire known as Supergirl throughout the galaxy - stepped out of the bedroom, leaving Winn to explain the cat’s abilities and limitations to her daughter.

“So, what are we going to do?” She began as she approached Brainiac-5. “We can’t have that monst—” she stopped, remembering whom she was referring to, “That person invading Lexie’s head again!”

“You would have been correct the first time,” Querl replied. “I plan to connect with Lexie’s AI core and strengthen her firewalls until she’s able to do so herself. It would be best, however, if her mind was at rest.”

“I wish Alex was here. She would probably kick Brainiac-4's ass.” Kara sighed, referring to her sister who was currently playing Ambassador for the Legion.

“She'll be back tomorrow morning,” Brainy assured her.

She nodded, and the two headed back into Lexie’s room, thanking Winn for both the gift and his help in cheering up the distressed child.

Winn said his goodnights to the three, and headed out, leaving Streaky2 to curl up beside the four-year-old.

Kara sat down beside her daughter and took her hand, “Do you think you’ll be able to sleep tonight, Lexie?”

Lexie shook her head vehemently. “If I close my eyes, the scary lady will come back!”

“No, she won’t,” Kara promised. “We’ll make sure of that.” Lexie still seemed unsure. “Do you want me to sing to you?” Kara asked. Lexie nodded, and Kara began to sing a Kryptonian lullaby. She could see her daughter begin to relax at the sound of her voice.

On the other side of the bed, Querl Dox affectionately ran his fingers over the inborn symbol on the child’s forehead, then closed his eyes and gently connected with her AI core.

 Brainiac-6’s Mindscape/AI core

Brainiac-5 studied the psychological facsimile of Lexie’s bedroom and touched a hand to the wall behind her desk. The paint shimmered away to reveal glowing purple circuitry – her firewall.

“Did I do it wrong?” came a small voice behind him.

He turned to see Brainiac-6 looking up at him, Streaky2 standing beside her with its tail curled around her leg.

It appeared the two had bonded enough in their brief introduction to connect their AI cores.

He was glad for it.

“No, you did nothing wrong,” he assured Six. “But there is always room for improvement. Come,” he motioned for her to move closer, “You see, you need to build these circuits in a tighter formation. That way, there is not enough space for anyone to slip through, nor break them apart.” He proceeded to show her how to weave the firewall tighter. “Once this wall is done, we will work on the others,” he indicated the rest of the bedroom. “And the door, of course.”

Lexie nodded, and proceeded to build her firewall the way he had showed her. He assisted in the weaving and double checked her work, smiling proudly when he saw how quickly she was learning.

The first wall had been completed and Lexie had begun working on the second wall when Streaky2 left her side to hiss and growl at the door.

The four-year-old looked up at Brainiac-5, eyes wide with fear.

“Continue what you’re doing. I will take care of this.”

He headed to the door, opening it quickly enough to violently shove the blue-skinned white-haired Coluan female back out into the darkness.

He then stepped through the doorway himself, finally ready to confront the sociopath who had dared invade his daughter’s mind.

 Dox-El Habitation quarters

“Thanks, Winn,” Kara replied to the image on the video wall. “That’s a relief.”

“Yeah. Brainiac-4 is still asleep in her cell, with no signs of an attempted escape.” Winn explained. “I asked if a guard could stay there overnight just to be sure it’s not some trick. They agreed.” He then smiled, “Being a member of the Legion has its privileges. You can tell people what to do!”

“Not always,” Kara pointed out with a smile. “Just sometimes.”

“Ahh, good enough!” He answered. “G’night, Kara.”

“G’night, Winn.”

The video blinked out.

Kara stood up and peeked into the doorway of Lexie’s room.

Querl sat perfectly still on the chair beside the girl’s bed, his fingers entwined with hers.

He glanced up for a moment to catch Kara’s eyes, then nodded in acknowledgment before returning his concentration to the task at hand.

Kara took that to mean he was still in Lexie’s head.

All she could do now was sit and wait…

Chapter Text

31^st Century

Location: Earth - Founding Member of The United Planets

On the fringes of Brainiac-6’s Mindscape/AI Core

With a quick wave of his hand, Brainiac-5 placed a firewall over the door to Lexie’s room, preventing the woman in front of him from attempting to enter again.

“You will no longer be seeing her, Mother!”  

Brainiac-4 cocked her head to the side as she studied her son.

“You are protective of the child,” she began. “But why? Should you not show more interest in the fact that there is yet another Brainiac in existence?” She was perplexed for only a moment before the realization hit her, then began to laugh – a cold and mirthless sound. “I see,” she nodded. “That creature is your offspring!”

“Leave.”

“Come now, son! Do tell - what female was desperate enough to procreate with you?”

“I will tell you nothing more of my child nor her mother,” Querl snapped. “You will leave of your own accord, or I will sever your connection in the most painful way possible.”

“Hmmm,” Brainiac-4 pursed her lips thoughtfully. “You are still with her mother. Living as a family, is that it?” She closed her eyes a moment, the symbol on her forehead glowing brighter. “The child is not full Coluan, is she? There is something else there. AH… one of the other alien Heroes you insist on associating yourself with. But which one?” She opened her eyes once more, “And have I attempted to kill her yet? I’m quite sure I have attempted to kill most of your friends.”

Brainiac-4 then grinned, “Though trying to kill you was indeed the most enjoyable act of violence I have ever performed, I do wonder what it would feel like trying to kill my grandchild? Would she handle the torture as well as you did?”

Brainiac-5’s hand suddenly shot out, strong fingers wrapping tightly around Brainiac-4’s neck.

“You. Will. Leave.” He hissed, “Or. I. Will. MAKE you!” He warned the former leader of the Dark Circle.

Her eyes grew wide, impressed by his actions. “Well, there it is!” She gasped out, “You’re just like the rest of us!”

Querl felt his grip tighten… then realized what he was doing and immediately let go.

Brainiac-4 gulped for air, her hands coming up to her throat protectively. “You were such an angry child. Do you remember?” She asked hoarsely. “Oh, I was watching you. Morbid curiosity, I suppose," she added upon his surprised look. "The doctor who raised you – Dr. Nix, was it? - tried desperately to sooth your rage. He succeeded to an extent. But those traits are always there within you. You cannot escape your nature.”

“I won’t deny I share many of our unfortunate family traits,” Querl admitted. “But how I choose to use them is very different than how the rest of our family chooses to use them.”

“Yes,” Brainiac-4 sighed with disappointment. “Your logic was always somewhat flawed when it came to that. There was so much more you could have done with your life than play hero. You could have used your great intellect to enslave, destroy, and reign supreme over those you insisted on saving, rather than letting them continue to live their pathetic little lives any way they wished.”

“I have no desire to reign over anyone. I simply wish to be who I am, and live my own pathetic little life, as you would say.” He met her eyes once more. “Now I will ask you for the last time – will you leave, or must I make you leave?”

“You should come visit me, son. It gets awfully boring in that prison. It makes a 12^th Level intellect start thinking of ways to escape,” she taunted.

“Do you think I have not thought of various ways you could escape?” he asked. “I took precautions long ago to assure that will never happen.”

“Of course you did,” she scowled. “But I may yet outthink you one day.”

“Not any day soon, Mother. Goodbye!” 

Querl quickly severed Brainiac-4’s link to Lexie’s mind, hearing his mother’s cry of pain as he did so.

He did not care.

 Dox-El Habitation Quarters

Still in her partial sleep state, Kara suddenly felt herself being lifted off the couch and carried into the bedroom. Her eyes shot open as soon as she felt the soft mattress beneath her and the blanket lifted up over her.

“Querl?”

“Yes, sorry,” he replied in the darkness as he slid beneath the covers beside her. “I was trying to carry you with as little chance of disturbing you as possible. You fell asleep on the couch, and there was an 87.5% possibility you would have woken up with a sore neck if I had left you there.”

She rolled over, resting her head on his chest and sliding an arm around his waist. “You were connected to Lexie for a couple of hours. What happened?”

“I taught her how to strengthen her firewalls. She learned quite quickly.” He began as he stroked Kara’s hair, “And… my mother attempted to connect with her once more,” he felt Kara’s strong fingers suddenly dig into his hip, her body going stiff. “I severed Brainiac-4’s connection to her mind and helped Lexie finish reinforcing her firewalls. Her AI core is impenetrable now, unless she allows permission. Brainiac-4 will never have access to her again.”  

The fingers on his hip relaxed, her body growing lax once again. “And?”

“How do you know there’s an and?”

“I can feel the tension in your body.”

Querl took a deep breath and released it. “I nearly strangled Mother,” he admitted ashamedly. “You know I’m not usually violent, but when she threatened to do to Lexie what she did to me all those years ago, I … reacted.” He explained. “I eventually released my grip, of course. But for a moment, I didn’t want to.”

 “I don’t think I would have shown that much restraint,” Kara admitted.

“You would have,” he replied knowingly. “You do not kill.”

“I don’t know,” Kara sighed. “Threatening our daughter is crossing the line.”

“Our daughter,” Querl repeated, then let out a small huff of breath. “I never thought such a thing could be possible.”

Kara let out a small laugh, “Your body is organic, Brainy. It was bound to happen eventually, considering how often we- “

“That - that’s not what I meant!” he interrupted, a little embarrassed at the way she had interpreted his words.

“I know,” she replied. “I just like teasing you.” She paused, then spoke again. “I mean, it is a lot though.”

“Kara…”

“You always…” She cleared her throat and began imitating him, “‘calculate the best course of action to achieve the desired result’.” He could hear the smile in her voice, “And you ARE good at achieving the desired result. Actually - you’re amazing at it.”

“Grife,” he groaned. “You have twisted my moment of introspection into something else entirely.”  

“Are you pouting?” she teased.

“No,” he paused. “Maybe?”

Kara chuckled in response. “I’m sorry,” she finally replied. “It’s just - I was so scared when you told me what happened. Knowing that Lexie is safe now…” she exhaled, “I guess I just needed to relieve the stress with jokes, you know?”

“I know,” he answered. “I was feeling somewhat anxious myself, but our daughter is protected and that's all that matters.” He was quiet for a moment, then added perceptively, “You're going to Colu tomorrow, aren’t you?” It was more of a statement than a question.

“Damned right, I am!” Kara snapped. “No one messes with my family!”

He knew it was pointless to talk her out of it.

“Just make sure you’re back in time for Lexie’s birthday party.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”  

The two lay in the silent darkness, but neither were able to find sleep.

“Are you still feeling stressed?” Querl asked quietly when he heard Kara toss and turn for the fifth time in ten minutes.

“A bit, yeah,” Kara replied softly. “You still feeling anxious?”

“A little, yes,” he answered, then added “But I've calculated the best course of action to achieve the desired result of relieving both our tension - and perhaps exhausting us enough for a proper sleep... if you would be interested in such action, that is.”

Kara threw her head back and laughed, then gladly took him up on the offer.

 Location: Colu - Member of The United Planets

Colu Maximum Security Penitentiary

Psychiatric Ward for the Criminally Insane

“And what brings the Galaxy’s most beloved hero to my humble abode?” Brainiac-4 asked as she studied the cape-clad blonde before her.

The two sat in a highly guarded meeting area devoid of any technology Brainiac-4 could control, with Supergirl’s blue eyes figuratively burning a hole right through her- something the Coluan was aware she could do quite literally, if she chose to.

“I'm here to tell you to stay away from Brainiac-5 and Brainiac-6,” the Kryptonian began harshly. “You will not attempt to contact them in any way, nor will you send any of your minions to do so in your stead.”

“I am locked up here,” Brainiac-4 replied innocently, “What minions could I possibly have?”

“Don’t play dumb with me!” Supergirl warned. “The Dark Circle would never abandon their leader.”

“You seem rather protective of a family whose lust for blood destroyed many a solar system, Supergirl.”

“Querl and Lexie have nothing to do with you or Vril, or the rest of your kin. Nor do you have the right to make any type of comparison!” Supergirl snapped.

“Querl and Lexie?” Brainiac-4 repeated, then began to laugh – a high-pitched and frighteningly maniacal sound. “So you are the one who bedded my son and bore him a child! Well… that is quite the little twist, isn’t it, Daughter-in-law?”

“Never call me that!” Supergirl hissed. “YOU are not part of MY family!”

“But a Kryptonian reproducing with a Brainiac?” Brainiac-4 tsk’d, “What would your people say? After everything they’ve been through-”

“I didn’t come here to talk about my people!” Supergirl interrupted, slamming her hands down on the table. “I came here to warn you.” She leaned in as close to Brainiac-4 as possible, her voice low and dangerous. “IF you try to harm my mate or my child ever again, I will snap your neck so fast you won’t know what hit you!”

Brainiac-4 offered another icy smile. “Everyone knows Supergirl doesn’t kill.”

“No, Supergirl doesn't kill,” the Legionnaire agreed, “But a Kryptonian protecting her child? Her family? That’s a very different story.”

Brainiac-4’s blue skin grew a shade paler as her sense of self-preservation quickly kicked in.

The Coluan knew enough about organics to understand how one would kill to protect their offspring, even if she herself had never cared for her own.

“Yes,” Brainiac-4 nodded slowly. “That would be a very different story.”

“Then we’re understood?”  

“We are understood, Supergirl.” Brainiac-4 replied, her unblinking eyes never leaving the woman in front of her.

“Good.”

Supergirl stepped away from Brainiac-4 with a smile and knocked on the door to the meeting room.  

“We’re done here,” she informed the guard who entered. “Thank you for your time.”

The guard bowed his head respectfully, and motioned for two others to lead Brainiac-4 back to her cell.

Supergirl glanced at the clock as she headed back out into the reception area.

Kara Zor-El would be home just on time to attend her daughter’s Fifth Birthday party.

END