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31st CENTURY – LEGION HQ
It was the blood curdling scream that woke him.
“Winn…!”
And the heartbreaking cry of his name that brought him to full alertness.
“What’s happening to me, Winn?”
Winslow Schott Jr bolted upright in bed and turned to the white-haired woman beside him. Her ice blue eyes were wide with fear, her face wet with tears.
“Nura? What—”
“I had a dream,” she sobbed. “There was me… and there was darkness. Just darkness, Winn. Nothing else. No life. No death. Nothing. I was surrounded by darkness!”
“Oh, grife!” Winn gasped as small glowing cracks began to appear along her skin. “Nura!” He grabbed for her hand, but found only phosphorescent particles sliding through his fingers. “NURA! Stay with me!”
But it was too late.
By the time the rest of the Legionnaires arrived in Winn’s quarters, he was cradling nothing but the luminous fragments that had once been Nura Nal.
21st Century - Earth
The excitement from the DEO agents was palpable as the Legion ship landed on the secluded air strip behind the DEO compound.
Brainiac 5 watched as the spacecraft made ground and the stairs beneath the hull opened up to reveal the all-too-familiar pilot slowly disembarking.
As soon as Winn was clear of the ship, Kara Danvers and DEO Director Alex Danvers immediately ran to encircle him.
Brainy’s brow furrowed as he studied Winn’s response to their hugs.
He was holding them tightly, his face somber.
Querl saw Winn speak to them - and their hugs of joy quickly became embraces of comfort.
He grew alarmed.
Had something happened to the other Legionnaires?
Brainiac 5 quickly made his way towards Winn, who acknowledged him immediately.
“We need your 12th Level intellect, Brainy,” he began desperately. “Something’s happened to Nura!”
Querl felt his stomach drop.
“What happened?” he demanded, immediately on alert.
“She disappeared!” Winn exclaimed.
“Where was she last seen?”
“No, Brainy,” Winn’s voice broke. “She disappeared. She was right beside me one minute, then the next I was holding dust! She’s GONE. Erased! I don’t know how. I don’t know why—” He suddenly froze, eyes focused on something over Brainy’s shoulder. “N-Nura?”
Brainy turned to see a costumed Dreamer several feet away, and motioned for her to join them.
“Nia,” Brainy corrected. “Her name is Nia Nal.”
Nia joined Brainy’s side and held a hand out to their visitor, “Winn, right? I’ve heard a lot about you. It's nice to finally meet you.”
“You-you look just like her…” Winn breathed.
His eyes then fell to Brainy and Nia’s entwined fingers, and the realization kicked in.
Winn’s earlier despair immediately turned to anger.
“12th Level Intellect, MY ASS!” Winn yelled. “You got Nura THANOS’D, you stupid son of a—”
Kara immediately jumped between Winn and Brainy, “Winn, calm down! I’m sure Brainy will find a way to fix this.”
“FIX this?” Winn sputtered, “How the HELL can he fix this when HE’S the one that caused it?!”
“Calm down, Winn!” Alex barked. Winn stopped speaking, jaw clenched as he fumed silently. “How about you two go into one of the meeting rooms and have a little talk, okay?”
It wasn’t a request.
“What happened?” Nia asked, confused at the scene playing out before her.
Alex’s demeanor grew softer. “Uh, nothing. Don’t worry about it, Nia.” Alex put an arm around Nia’s shoulder and gently turned her away from the two men. “Come with me. I need to check you’re not injured after your training session.”
“I’m totally fine,” Nia replied. Alex begged to differ, and the two disappeared into the DEO infirmary.
Once Nia and Alex were out of ear shot, Kara turned her attention back to Brainy and Winn.
“This way!” Kara ordered, motioning them to follow, “Pretty sure a major conversation needs to happen … like, NOW!”
Winn was noticeably shaking as he glared at Brainy from across the table - in the very same DEO meeting room where the Coluan had once asked him to help save the future.
Kara stood off in the corner, ready to jump into action should things turn bad.
“You KNEW!” Winn shouted at Brainy. “You KNEW what your relationship with her could do to the timeline, and you STILL did it!”
Kara immediately moved forward and placed a hand on Winn’s shoulder.
He took the hint.
“I dared to hope that perhaps my calculations were wrong,” Brainy explained calmly.
“Your calculations are NEVER wrong!” Winn snapped. “You’re a BRAINIAC!”
Brainy closed his eyes, a hand rubbing his temples.
He could hear the voices of his ancestors in the back of his head. The boxes – the cages – he had locked them in would never be strong enough to completely drown them out.
Not anymore.
“Winn,” he began slowly, his voice barely above a whisper, “If Nura was written out of existence, that means---”
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<REWIND
31st Century - Colu
Brainiac 5 felt the shackles digging into his wrists as the guards dragged him through the high security Coluan prison he was expected to spend the rest of his life in.
He had been inventing things. Things that were otherwise considered illegal on Colu.
He had not created these inventions to harm, though. He had merely created them because the ideas lived in his head.
So many ideas…
So many ways his inventions could be used…
The government had grown wise to his actions and had begun to fear him, just as they feared every Brainiac.
They had immediately raided his lab and taken him into custody.
Brainiac 5’s eyes studied each and every guard escorting him to his new home, memorizing their faces without exception.
“You are all so primitive!” he boasted. “Such insignificant fools! Do you not realize the genius you are locking up?! RELEASE me!”
They did not comply.
But of course they wouldn’t. After all - the Galaxy had feared Brainiacs for centuries. Having one in custody was a triumph the likes of which had never been experienced among any member of the United Planets.
Very well then…
One thought.
One simple thought.
That was all it took for the prison’s entire computer system to go into overload, cages opening to free the worst of the worst of the Galaxy’s criminals.
Criminals who would be ever so grateful to the one who freed them.
... Let them be afraid!
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<REWIND
21st Century Earth – DEO Infirmary
Winn sat by Kara’s bedside, holding one hand while Alex held the other.
Supergirl’s battle with Reign had shattered her body beyond belief, and while every broken bone and every torn muscle was slowly knitting together under the sun lamps, National City’s saviour had not yet woken up.
How long had it been? A week? Two weeks? Longer?
“Please,” Winn sniffed to the unconscious form before him. “Please wake up. Open your eyes, Kara… please?”
Alex suddenly let out a sobbing gasp, “No! NO…!” She turned to Winn, eyes haunted, tears escaping unbound. “Th-the monitors. Winn… the… the monitors…. They—” she couldn’t continue.
Winn looked over at the monitors himself.
There was no brain activity.
Not even a single blip.
“No… god, Kara… No…”
Supergirl was dead.
<<PRESENT>>
“If Nura is written out of existence…” Brainy's voice was barely above a whisper, “That means ---”
“That means you’re never saved by her,” Winn interrupted furiously, “She never leads you off that dark path, you never join the Legion, and you’re never able to overcome your ancestral memory! You end up just like the rest of them!” he spat. “A heartless, cruel, unfeeling MONSTER!”
“Winn!” Kara’s grip on his shoulder tightened just a little.
The voices in Querl’s head were growing louder now, seeping through the chains and locks he had put on them.
“And Kara DIES, Querl,” Winn continued, his voice cracking. “Don’t you get that? She DIES without you!”
“Enough,” Kara’s voice was stern. “Don’t put that on him.”
“But it’s true!” Winn insisted as he looked up at the Kryptonian beside him. “Why pretend it’s not? You would have been brain dead if he hadn’t--” he couldn’t continue.
Kara dies without me… Brainy realized.
No! No, I can’t let Kara die. I can’t!
It was happening again. THEY were taking control once more.
There was only one way to stop it… stop everything…
He had to save the timeline.
----INTERLUDE-----
31st Century - Colu
Brainiac 5’s eyes studied each and every guard escorting him to his new home, memorizing their faces without exception.
“You are all so primitive!” he boasted. “Such insignificant fools! Do you not realize the genius you are locking up?! RELEASE me!”
They did not comply.
“Halt!” The Prison warden suddenly stepped in front of the guards. “RJ Brande has insisted the Brainiac,” he spat out the word as if it were bitter, “meet with his representative.”
A murmur of protest bubbled up amongst the guards.
The Warden raised his hand for silence, “I know. But seeing as Mr. Brande is a rather generous donator to this prison, the board has agreed.”
The Warden motioned for the guards to follow him, with their charge in tow.
Brainiac 5 soon found himself in an interview room, strapped to his chair, hands restrained flat on the table, and legs shackled at the ankles.
With an unwelcoming sneer, he glared at the white-haired woman sitting prettily on the other side of the table.
“Why am I here? Who are you?” he demanded.
“My name is Nura Nal, and I’m here to help you.”
“Help me?" He scoffed, "Why would you do that? You know nothing about me!”
“Don’t I?” Nura asked. “Querl Dox – aka Brainiac 5,” She began. “Descendant of the Genocidal collector, Brainiac 1; Great grandson of the Machiavellian leader, Brainiac 2 aka Vril Dox - a man so desperate to wrest power away from his conqueror of a son, Lyrl, that he sold his future grand-daughter’s soul to a demon named Neuron.”
Nura neatly folded her hands on the table as she continued, “Brainiac 3 never named his daughter when she was born, but she eventually became known as Brainiac 4 – the most formidable mass murderer the United Planets has ever seen. And also…” Nura leaned in a little bit closer, her voice growing a touch softer. “Your Mother.”
Brainiac 5 was taken aback, his earlier fury slowly tapering off, “How do you know so much about my lineage?”
“I had a dream about you, Querl Dox,” the woman smiled serenely. “And I’m here to make you an offer that I know you won’t refuse.”
FAST-FORWARD>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
21st Century – Earth(s)
The red skies were fading to blue as balance had been restored to the multi-verse once more.
The Crisis was over.
Brainiac 5 felt a small pang in his chest as he watched Dreamer help a Dryad named Franklin climb out of the rubble that had once been the CatCo building.
Once the reporter was free and clear, the masked hero threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
Querl Dox had terminated his relationship with Nia Nal six months previous, shortly after Winn’s visit. Three months later, she had begun a relationship with her CatCo co-worker.
If the Legion ship’s databases were correct: In three years time, Franklin marries Nia. In six years, they return to Naltor and start a family.
The first child born from their shared DNA is blessed with The Gift. That child begets another child also blessed with The Gift, and so on and so forth -- until Nura Nal is finally birthed into existence.
All was right with the time stream once again.
Well, as right as it can be under the current circumstances... Querl thought as he took in the destruction around him.
“Hey, Brainy?”
Brainiac 5 turned to see Alex Danvers speaking to him, “Kara’s unconscious, but she’s going to be okay. Do you want to see her?”
Querl nodded, and headed back to the DEO medical tent where Kara lay on a gurney surrounded by sunlamps.
He sat beside her and gently took her hand.
That’s when it happened…
“You need to go back there,” Nura says as she takes Querl’s hand. “It’s important!”
He seems uncomfortable at the contact, but does not pull away, “That is the plan, yes. We are going to the 21st Century to stop the Blight from ever existing.”
Despite Imra swearing him to secrecy, there is no point in keeping this mission a secret from Nura.
She already knows.
Brainiac 5 gently extricates his hand from the Naltorian and continues preparing her pod.
“Of course,” Nura nods, “But there is something else you need to do there. Someone you have to meet. Someone you’re destined to be with.” She offers him a small smile, “Don’t let loyalty to a friend stop you from fulfilling your destiny, Querl. HE is destined to be with someone else. I promise…”
Nura's words made no logical sense at the time, but the longer Brainiac 5 sat holding Kara’s hand, the more everything aligned – in a good way, this time - and the greatest realization of Querl Dox’s life hit him.
“It was YOU…” he gasps at the blatant truth that had been staring him in the face all this time, “It was always meant to be you! How could I have missed that?”
He knows how he could have missed it, of course. Querl Dox is no fool.
Supergirl was a hero. The greatest hero the Universe had ever known.
Why would he ever think the two of them could be together? He was a creature of logic, after all. And emotions weren't logical.
But perhaps it was never Supergirl, but Kara. Zor-el, Danvers. Whichever identity she chose.
Kara: Hero, CatCo reporter, and Citizen of Earth.
Kara. All this time, it was YOU I--
A quiet groan startled Querl out of his thoughts.
"Brainy?" Kara began as she weakly lifted her head from the gurney and blinked at the light.
"Yes. I'm here."
"Good." She tightened her fingers around his, "I'ma go sleep 'gain. Stay....?" she asked.
"I will stay," he replied.
She was out once again, a soft snoring sound emerging from her person.
The ache in Brainiac 5's heart quickly faded, replaced by something else entirely. Something that felt better than anything he had felt before.
Finally, everything made sense…
31st CENTURY – LEGION HQ
“WINN!”
It was the excited scream that woke him.
Winn bolted up on his lab chair, only to see an enthusiastic white-haired woman rolling back and forth on the balls of her feet beside him.
She could barely contain her energy.
“I don’t know what you did, but it worked!”
“Nura!” he cried out as he jumped to his feet, his arms immediately wrapping around her, “I thought I lost you… I thought---”
“Shhhh, it’s okay. It’s okay, love. I’m fine. Everything is fine.” She took his head in her hands and wiped his tears away with gentle fingers. “I’m never going to leave you again. I promise.”
He hugged her once again, not wanting to let go. “Brainy must be heartbroken--”
She laughed, and Winn raised his head.
“What’s so funny?”
Nura simply smiled, “Trust me, love. Brainy’s heart will be just fine. Better, in fact, for the experience.”
Winn didn’t know what she was talking about, nor did he care. All that mattered was that she was here again in his arms.
Everything was just as it should be.