Chapter Text
It took a good 15 minutes for the screaming to stop. Simon had dealt with it before, especially in his nightmares. But this time it was louder, angrier. Ava, David, his mother, the Father. Everyone he’d ever hurt.
But it’s over now. He’s safe, everyone he loves is safe and will hopefully be okay. Oh, but Simon couldn’t bank on hope alone.
Kara was pacing again, nails pressing into her palms. If she kept doing that she’d reopen the cuts she’d made before. Simon breathed, he’d had blood earlier but it still brought anxiety, sometimes even the thought made him have a panic attack. When he had to eat it or got the urge to rip some throats out, usually he pretended it was just a drink or something tasty.
It worked sometimes, in the recent days or just sitting and half starving himself, he was able to get it down with barely any issues.
Ryland had left the room to talk to Rocky, Adrian, and the other Eridians who helped with the surgery. “Sit down, you’re gonna hurt yourself if you don’t calm down a little.” He gestured to the empty space next to him.
Kara huffed back, scoffing slightly as she did, “I just had teeth ripped out of my lungs. I think I’ll be fine if I walk around for a minute.” She snapped, he raised a brow.
“Your hands are gonna start bleeding like last time.” She grunted again, “that was days ago! Almost a week! I’ll be fine.”
The door opened and Grace walked in, drawing Simon’s attention quickly. He smiled a little, lips quirking up at the sight of his…partner? Situationship as Kara had said… do they have to talk about this? Probably.
Ryland tried to smile back but he honestly looked exhausted. Kara’s head snapped over in his direction, moving her hands out as if to ask what had happened.
Grace held out a hand as if to say ‘all good’. “The Eridians think you’ll be okay and that we should keep an eye on you for a while, for now, you can’t go home until they’re sure you’re stable.”
She huffed some more, more annoyed than before. She raised a hand to point at him, “you-“ then quickly aborted the movement, “ugh, where’s Krypto? Can I at least stay here with Krypto?” She asked.
Ryland gave him a look, guessing that’s a no. He sighed, “uh, Krypto is back at the house. We didn’t bring him because we were afraid his fur might contaminate your wound or he might hurt you while you recovered.” He could feel the spike in anger and annoyance from Kara.
Both men glanced at each other again. Kara continued to huff and grumble about how stupid this was and how she just wanted to go back to the house and sleep. “You can sleep here, it’s just for two nights, three at best.” Ryland tried, apparently that wasn’t good enough for her.
“What? Rye, you know I’m on good terms with the Eridians but I don’t know how much of this shit I can take-“
“It’s okay! We’ll come by! We’ll probably stay with you most of the day and try to have fun while making sure you don’t have another seizure on us.”
“That’s not the point. I- it’s hard to explain…gods, can I just… have a minute? Please? Or see my dog? I just want to see Krypto…” the tone made it obvious Kara was begging. She didn’t beg. Simon’s chest tightened, a burning pain filling him.
Ryland shook his head, “I’m sorry, we just can’t do that.”
At that, Kara lost it.
“Why? Why can’t I see my dog? He won’t hurt me! He’s a dog! He’s not allowed in here but the two that have been drugging us for weeks are? Why? That’s fucked up! You know what? Don’t even bother coming around. I’ll see you in three days.”
She stormed off to the corner she’d backed herself into much earlier. Ryland had tried talking to her but her mind was made up. Something about the whole situation annoyed the fuck out of Simon. He wasn’t sure if it was how childish the argument was, or how petty it had gotten, or how crude Kara had been towards Grace. It all just pissed him off.
He couldn’t help but want to follow her exact rules even if she begged for them to go visit her at some other point during the three days. What can he say? He’s petty.
So Simon walked out without much resistance. Ryland needed some coaxing, probably the teacher training in him or whatever.
They left her easily. Maybe too easily.
Maybe they shouldn’t have.
Kara hated this, hated the feeling of the bandages against her skin, the anger bubbling up as she replayed the argument over and over. She just wanted to see Krypto, why was that so bad? He’s probably terrified right now, alone in the biodome, too far away to even smell her, hear her. Well, maybe not, she didn’t exactly know how far away from the biodome she was.
And it’s not like she has her powers right now, so she can’t exactly test it.
It’s fine, it’s all fine.
She’ll be fine.
The aftermath of the argument lingered too heavy in the air. The feeling made her feel sick, she hated being alone, it reminded her of the trip to earth. How long it had been, how confining. It brought back a weird amount of anxiety, something she knew she partially deserved.
Her throat still hurt, her lungs themselves hurt, the place she assumed they cut open hurt. Everything hurt, or felt itchy and it sucked ass. She half wanted to curl up and die but curling up and sleeping was unfortunately more appealing.
So that’s what she did, Kara slept for a large portion of the day. Long enough for one of the Eridians to go in with food and wake her up. By food, she means the gross sludge, apparently no vodka Rocky and Adrian still haven’t synthesized. Which also sucked but slightly less now that she knew what caused the seizure. She half wondered if the hallucinations on the ceiling was the blood or post seizure brain.
She assumed it was the blood, she’s never heard of a seizure making you hallucinate your friends entire life stories on the ceiling before.
The eridian was kind, a beautiful rose color, gentle claws checked her injuries. Though Kara didn’t exactly want to, she calmed down a little at just the fact that there was someone else in the room.
They talked for a minute, mostly using the translator the Eridian had brought in. Kara still wasn’t fluent in the language, same for Simon, but she was picking up on it oddly fast. She’d always been a quick learner.
Apparently their name was something like the sound a harp makes when you strike that one cord near the middle. Kara thought it was really ironic and oddly a perfect name. So she gave them as fitting a name she could actually pronounce.
“Would you mind if I called you Venus?” The eridian in question, quickly bounced around in all fives, chirping out in excitement. “Of course not! Human given names are an honour among most Eridians!” Venus spoke, a small smile gracing Kara’s lips as she watched the small Eridian move so happily.
Venus left soon after their lovely conversation, leaving Kara to deal with her inner turmoil alone. She wasn’t really sure what to do, she was alone, in a clean room, being fed, probably casually monitored too. Her hand tingled.
Apparently, the blood decided that was its cue.
Something is happening.
Yeah, it’s you being an annoying piece of shit.
No, not me. Something else.
What could possibly be worse than you?
You don’t understand, foolish. How could I have expected you to use your brain?
Rude…
There is something more going on. Something neither of us will enjoy. Focus.
Ok, weird, but not unexpected. She thought she’d have hallucinations while here but she didn’t think it’d be like that.
Around two or three hours passed, she’d mostly been thinking, staring at the ceiling, or picking at her nails. At some point she’d gone to the tray still sitting next to her bed and used the reflective surface to see her bandages better.
It hurt to stretch herself out much but it was necessary if she wanted to see herself. The door opened somewhere behind her and she didn’t bother to turn around, still trying to get a good angle to see what was going on with herself.
At first, she’d thought it was Venus coming back to maybe chat some more or check her bandages. Then she finally turned and stopped dead in her tracks. Horror filled her, a terrible fear overcoming her very body, eyes wide, jaw dropped open in shock. The tray fell to the floor with a clatter.
In front of her sat a large piece of Kryptonite. Shining a bright green as it always did, a horrible sense of déjà vu slapping her in the face. Memories of certain incidents back on earth when she’d occasionally help Clark fight Luthor.
Her heart jumped, beating so fast for a second she thought it’d burst out of her chest. A ringing in her ears started up, soft, concerned trills escaping from somewhere she could see. Then she realized it was from the kryptonite in front of her.
It was an Eridian. Oh, thank the gods.
She could barely get a word out, “I- I’m sorry what?” The Eridian tilted themselves to the side slightly, “is human Kara okay? Heart beating very fast, lungs overworking, might need more medical attention?” Oh, oh they were worried about her.
“O- oh, I’m fine. You just startled me…you looked like…never mind, it’s uh, it’s stupid. I’m fine.” She muttered out. Fiddling with her hands, the eridian shuffled, unsure of themself, “human Kara sure? Can get another Eridian if want.” She shook her head, still uneasy but comfortable enough.
“It’s fine, really, just- what’s wrong?”
“Am here to do check up on human Kara’s injuries.”
Oh, she can handle that…right?
She breathed shakily for a minute, “yeah, yeah that’s fine…uh, guess I should call you something…what’s your name?” She asked, still seriously out of breath. Wow, why was she out of breath?
The Eridian tapped hesitantly on the ground as they fiddled with two hands. They made a soft humming sound, “name is 🎶🎵🎶🎶🎵” it sounded almost harsh, she knew it wasn’t on purpose, that’s just how their name was pronounced.
For a moment, only a small, tiny moment, Kara wondered if she’d be able to kill an Eridian if she had her powers. It was a completely unprovoked thought, there was no reason to fear one Eridian simply because it looked like a rock that killed the last of her race.
So she distracted herself by coming up with a name. She continued wringing her hands, “so…what about, Constance?” Since everything that even remotely relates to home seems to be a constant in her sad, sorry life.
The Eridian did the little jazz hands she enjoyed seeing, it only calmed her a little. Reminding her it was friendly, here to help.
Speaking of help, Constance moved to touch her injuries but Kara jumped back before they could make contact. She felt bad, clearly making Constance feel a little bad.
She held her hands out, “I’m sorry Constance, I swear it’s not you. I just…have issues… and you just happen to remind me of those…” she apologized, trying to stop the building panic from rising in her chest.
Constance waved her off, “human Kara no need to worry. Constance understands well what human Kara mean. Understand loss.” What? How did they…?
Constance seemed to realize she had no idea what it meant, “Constance knows look of loss, has lost hatchmate. Went in mission with savior Rocky, savior Rocky return, hatchmate…” suddenly she felt like crying over that. It didn’t help that Eridians made such cute sounds that just the thought of hearing one make sad sounds for sad reasons made her want to break into sobs.
She moved without thinking, wrapping her arms around the xenonite suit that covered the green Eridian. Constance shuffled a little where they stood, unsure of what to do and not incredibly knowledgeable on human (or Kryptonian!) customs.
Constance awkwardly pat her back, unsure claws moving over her as she held back a few tears. She was not gonna cry, she’s not gonna cry, she’s not gonna cry-
Kara quickly pulled back when she realized how awkward it had been for the Eridian. She hugged herself, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, that was uncalled for…” she muttered.
Constance watched her for another minute, “human Kara sure does not want Constance to get savior Grace and human Simon?” She shook her head quickly, she could not handle that right now. It’s barely been a few hours! She can’t face them after that!
“You don’t need to do that, really.”
Constance kept watching, then decided to continue with what they were originally here for. Instructing Kara to sit down and pull the weird gown open for easier access to the now covered injuries.
She hesitantly did so, finding a certain kind of vulnerability mixed with severe anxiety. She could hardly remember the last time she’d been this seen by anyone, much less by something she feared deeply in the past.
She tried to calm her breathing as Constance gently pulled the bandages off her, checking the very slow process to heal the stitching. She tried not to look down but couldn’t help it, eyes lowering to see a stitched cut that ran from her sternum down to just below where her bra used to connect.
She’d never been more uncomfortable, she knew the Eridians could see through clothes and all. So realistically it shouldn’t bother her that much that this Eridian could ‘see’ her the way they could, it shouldn’t bother her that they were listening for any issues with her stitching, it shouldn’t bother her that they’re green.
But all of it bothered her, the earlier nerves from the fight didn’t help. Only fueling her anxiousness and mild fear of the Eridian who reminded her so much of the mass death on her home.
She didn’t realize she was shaking until Constance quickly covered the stitching again. Helping fix Kara’s gown and backing up, “human Kara sounds good for circumstances, may be ready to go back to biodome in two days instead of three.” They offered, two claws once again fiddling with one another.
Kara nodded, “yeah, that’d be nice…” her voice was barely a whisper but she knew Constance had heard it anyway.
She felt bad, none of this was their fault, they just happened to look like something that brought horrible memories to her mind. She wanted to apologize as much as possible but something in her made her freeze. She physically couldn’t do anything other than stand tense as ever.
At some point Constance left, scuttling out as quickly as possible. Once again leaving Kara alone. She was lucky she still had the pen, the anxiety got to her so she started doodling, drawing, writing. All of it on her arms and hands.
It helped the time pass by, at some point an Eridian had left clothes by the door when she was distracted. She put on something comfortable, a t shirt, one of Grace’s, her favorite actually, and some sweats she kept on her ship that was somewhere with the Mary.
As she drew, that sense of dread overcame her again. Why was she so freaked out?
The lights went out.
At first, Kara thought it was just the Eridians trying to make it easier for her to sleep. Then, when the door opened, she realized maybe something else was going on.
There was a scuttling sound, then emergency lights came on. They flooded the room in red, she half wondered if this was an Eridian built room or a Ryland GraceTM design.
She jolted, seeing a particularly large Eridian standing in front of her, color washed out thanks to the lights. Still, she could tell they were various shades of red and yellow.
Something told her this wasn’t right, that something fucked up was about to happen.
She was right.
The eridian walked closer, “hello, Kara. I’d like to discuss something with you.” Woah, full sentences that didn’t sound like the translator's usual way of spitting words out. Yep, something was definitely wrong, the eridian came closer and closer, she really didn’t like how they moved.
“Uh, I- can you back up?” She tried, voice firm. But they didn’t stop, instead pushing her further into a corner. Almost caging her in.
“Kara, I am with an organization that believes we can do so much more with you humans and your biodome. So I was sent here to offer you a proposition.” They continued, anxiety growing the longer she was stuck in the corner.
“My organization believes we truly can change all of Erid if you allow us the opportunity to study you odd humans. We understand you are capable of things we Eridians are not, sight for example, bipedalism, completely different body systems and functions, mating habits, family dynamics, the list goes on.” She stared at the Eridian for a long minute, waiting for the inevitable request.
“We would like to test what you are capable of surviving, what you can do in a naturally controlled environment. It’s incredible what Savior Grace was able to accomplish in space with Savior Rocky. We’d also love to learn as much as possible about human social structures, Erid knows how different they are. As well as this religion we’ve heard of? What exactly is religion?”
Now she was just confused, this kinda felt like one of Ryland’s infodumps when he got really interested in something new. Only worse because she was backed into a corner by a stranger.
The Eridian corrected themself, reverting back to the original topic, “anyways, we want to understand you humans and your physiology better! We truly think we can help many other Eridians with your help.” What threw Kara was the way the Eridian reached out casually and started touching her hair and patting her shoulder. She felt disrespected, like she was a dog, or someone’s pet rather than a person. On top of that, it still sounded incredibly sketchy, like there was some hidden thing they hadn’t told her yet.
She pushed herself further into the corner, trying to get away from the Eridian’s claws. They only moved closer in response.
Lucky for her, she was calm enough to ask her own question, “what exactly do you want from me specifically?” The Eridian paused, seemingly having hoped she’d just agree. “You would have to allow us to conduct our experiments.” Kara scoffed, feeling both claws in her stop their movements again. “What kind of experiments?”
The Eridian was silent for another moment, “we would like to study you internally and externally. We understand humans are incredibly complex just as Eridian’s are, which is why we are asking you and not savior Grace. These experiments can be dangerous, savior Rocky would never agree to it…” they kept talking, but all Kara heard was you’re expendable which really ticked her off. If she still had her powers she’d shove the eridian back and out of the room all together.
She shoved at their claws, attempting to get them away from her. But the eridian was so much stronger, keeping their claws in place. Kara kept pushing, trying to get them to pull away, “I’m not fucking doing anything for you. Gets your hands off me, it’s fucking dehumanizing. And saying you’re only asking me because Rocky would be pissed if you asked Rye is even worse, you 1000lb jackass!” She exclaimed, still pissed at the earlier comment and now much more anxious.
Suddenly, the Eridian’s grip became painful, pulling her hair and shoulder until her face came close to their carapace. She held her breath for a minute, then two. The red backup lights shining off the xenonite suit that felt almost nonexistent.
“Human Kara, I was trying to be polite in asking, but we do not have to. We just wanted to be polite in asking for permission.” That couldn’t be true, otherwise they wouldn’t have come here when the lights went out, she would’ve been told about some kind of meeting.
She almost called their bluff, only stopping herself when the grip on her hair tightened. The Eridian kept her close, seemingly studying her somehow. Maybe it was her heart rate, maybe the status of her injury, who knows, Kara just wanted this to stop. “You will agree publicly, we need public approval by at least one human. Lucky for us, we have three. So as long as one of you agrees, we will not bother you unless it is with the experiments.”
Oh. Lovely. Just what she wanted.
Kara wanted to kill someone.
Finally, the colorful Eridian let go of her hair and shoulder, taking two steps back. She pushed herself back as far as she could into her corner, “we hope to hear from you soon Human Kara. Have a relaxing three days alone.” They walked out, leaving her to think.
How did they know she’d be alone for the next three days here? She had to let Simon and Grace know what’s going on, she can’t let stupid, petty arguments come between them for this.
The power came back soon after the red and yellow Eridian left. Kara took the time to collect herself, Venus came back in soon after, quickly explaining there had been some kind of malfunction with software, something had disrupted a circuit.
“Venus is so so so sorry for leaving human Kara alone during ‘blackout’, forget humans need to see.” They apologized quickly, waving two claws around frantically in fear of reprimand. Kara had to stop herself from flinching or cringing at the hands, quick hesitation and anxiety flashing through her before she pushed it down and pretended it didn’t exist.
“It’s fine Venus, really, don’t worry about me.” She reassured, watching the Eridian sway in their nervous state. Kara breathed a sigh, trying to figure out how to word her question. “I- can I talk to Grace and Simon? It’s really important.” Venus paused, seemingly tensing up as if they were nervous.
“Uhm, human Kara, human Simon told not to allow communication… said, get what you want.”
Oh.