Chapter 259: What We Protect
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The mountain sat like a slice of silence above the world, wind combing thin grass, a rim of stone sharp against the sky, and nothing but the slow breath of clouds rolling under their feet. Far below them, a city felt irrelevant up here. It was a place made for private things confessions, promises, the kind of conversation that needed room to breathe.
Kara had replaced her uniform for plain jeans and a soft sweater; her hair was loose, catching the late sun. She perched on a jagged outcrop, one knee drawn up, looking impossibly small and impossibly fierce in the wide quiet. Arthur sat beside her, cloak folded around his legs. The violet in his eyes was a slow-burning ember.
"Now that we’re away from people." Kara said, folding her hands in her lap and turning toward him, "what did you want to talk about?"
Arthur’s gaze flicked to the horizon, then back to her. He spoke with the same calm that had been a presence in every crisis, steady and calm. "Remember that weapon used on you in Gotham?"
"How could I forget?" she replied, half a smile, half an edge.
He leaned forward, the violet light in his irises sharpening as he chose his words. "I followed a trail. Traced the signatures. I think I’ve found the source."
Kara’s smile dropped. Her brows pulled together as the mountain wind took her hair and stitched it across her cheek. "And?"
"It’s Kryptonian," Arthur said. "There’s a strong possibility it originates from those who were banished to the Phantom Zone long ago."
Kara’s body moved before she gave voice. She stood so quickly the rock scraped beneath her. "General Zod," she said, the name like an exhalation charged with history and hatred.
Arthur rose too, the space between them closing. "Yes."
She turned to face him fully, fists unclenching and then balling again. "If that’s true, this isn’t a small threat. Zod is the kind of man who believes in purging weakness. He is very extreme, and his methods were the reason why he was sent to the Phantom Zone. He’ll take whatever means necessary to remake worlds into what he thinks they should be, that was the case with Krypton..."
"I know who he is," Arthur said quietly. "And I know what he is, and I know how far he’ll go. That’s why..." He let the sentence hang, then finished it simply. "You and Clark are targets."
Kara’s jaw tightened, a flare of white at the set of her knuckles. "Let him come," she said, breath short but fierce. "There will be no Phantom Zone to send him to this time. I’ll end him."
Arthur watched her for a long moment. Whatever fury she wore looked good on her noble, righteous, and it made him ache with something like respect and alarm braided together. He stepped forward and, before either of them could think too much, gathered her into a grip that was firm and immediate. His hands weren’t rough, but the hold carried the authority of a commander and the tenderness of someone who did not intend to let her go.
"I’ve already sent my shadows into space," he said, low. "They’re searching. But they’re unpredictable. They might have tricks, or vessels that mask themselves. My Lanterns will probably find them, Zod is smart so he can get the best of Clark and you... Earth itself could be at risk. I’m here to prevent that, I can’t let you be harmed."
Kara’s eyes softened for a fraction of a breath, the blaze in them bending toward something warmer. "I don’t need you to protect me, Arthur," she said fiercely, but the edge in her voice had thinned. "I’m strong enough. I can..." She broke off, the claim faltering into an honest laugh. "I can wipe their fleet from the sky if I want to."
Arthur didn’t smile to contradict her strength. He let his features relax into a kinder expression. "I don’t doubt that. You could. But arrogance is a weapon as dangerous as their tech. Overconfidence gets you separated, exposed. That’s what I worry about."
Kara cocked her head, that small, infuriatingly amused curve at the corner of her mouth returning. She stepped closer until their knees nearly touched and looked into his violet eyes like she was trying to memorize them. "I’m just taking after you," she said, quieter now. "Someone who doesn’t back down."
"Fair enough." He let the ghost of a smile cross his mouth, that rare thing that made his whole face less like a sovereign and more like a man who had learned to let a small warmth in.
She got even closer and kissed him, brief and not at all tentative, then pulled back and hugged him, her face pressed into the crook of his neck. "I appreciate you worrying about me," she said against his shoulder. "It’s... nice, having someone who worries about you even when you can shake mountains."
Arthur said nothing at first. He absorbed the statement as if cataloging a precious thing. His hands tightened once around her, not possessive, but protective.
She laughed softly and tipped her head up to look at him, eyes bright and almost mischievous. "And don’t you dare try to stick one of your shadows into me as a parasite."
The corner of Arthur’s mouth tweaked into a half-smile, the sound of a small surrender. He inhaled, and when he exhaled it carried the faintest of amusement. "You know me too well."
Kara walked to the edge of the cliff, her boots perched on the rough stone. Her eyes traced the sky, though her mind was clearly elsewhere. "Does Kal know about this?" she asked finally, her voice steady, but her brow creased in that subtle way it always did when worry tried to creep through her composure.
Arthur’s gaze remained fixed somewhere in the horizon. "I’m not sure," he said after a pause. "But since that little incident with Black Mask happened in Gotham..." His tone dropped a shade lower, as if the name alone brought irritation. "Batman knows."
Kara sighed, almost on reflex, like she could already see the chain of events unraveling. "Right," she muttered, running a hand through her hair. "If Bruce knows, then Kal definitely knows by now. He probably already investigated everything the moment we left that place."
A faint smirk tugged at Arthur’s lips. "Wouldn’t surprise me," he said. "Though I’d argue his methods are far less efficient than mine."
Kara shot him a look that was half amusement, half admonishment. "You two really are alike sometimes," she said, shaking her head. "Except you use shadows, and he uses paranoia."
That earned her an actual smile, faint, but real. "Doesn’t matter the method, what matters is results."
"Uh-huh," she said with mocking smile, crossing her arms. "Sure."
For a moment, they just stood there. Then Kara exhaled softly, her voice gentler. "I should head back now, Arthur."
Arthur nodded once, slowly. "Alright. I’ll trust you to keep yourself away from trouble."
That earned him a sideways grin. She floated a few inches off the ground. "Fear not," she said teasingly. "If anything goes wrong, I still have you."
Arthur looked up at her, that same quiet power behind his eyes. "Of course."
Kara hovered for a heartbeat longer, long enough for something unspoken to pass between them. Then she turned her gaze toward the open sky. With a sharp intake of breath, she shot upward. The air cracked like a thunderclap as she broke the sound barrier, a trail of white mist behind her.
From where Arthur stood, she looked like a comet, bright and beautiful.
Yet even as she ascended, the smile she’d worn began to fade. Her brows furrowed slightly, her thoughts turned heavy. ’Zod...’ she thought, the name burning in her chest like an old scar reopening.
Arthur stayed where he was at the mountain’s peak, arms crossed, dark cloak billowing faintly in the wind. He watched her vanish into the air until she became no more than a shimmer in the distance.
The faint violet glow returned to his eyes. "Why did I agree to her request..." he muttered under his breath, voice low, almost to himself. His expression hardened as the wind whispered around him. "I have a bad feeling," he murmured.
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If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.
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If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at
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You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want