Call of the Sapphires

"Good speech," Mon-El said under his breath as the girl turned around to speak to the Zamaronian warriors, switching towards a language made up of exotic short chirps.

"Thanks, I try." Kara murmured absent-mindedly. It wasn't often that she lost control like that and the experience had left her feeling shaken. She looked to Mon-El. "What do we do now?"

He frowned. "I think I have a set of Legionnaires who still need to be freed from some crystals."

Kara nodded. "I'll help," she murmured, feeling a bit sheepish. Bracing herself, she focused her heat vision on the first row of crystals, carefully cutting open a gap for its prisoner. Just as she was about to turn her attention to the next one, a mighty trident burrowed in the ground next to her.

"Cease, Kryptonian!"

The queen descended, flanked by her warriors. Her eyes were a blank cold blue and there was a harsh twist to her mouth.

"Mother!"

"Ghia'ta, this is no matter for young girls. You have proven that you are not ready." The queen seized Kara up. "Why did you release the Daxamite?"

Kara put her hands on her hips. "You had no right to keep him."

The queen's nostrils flared in anger. "It was his place." Her guards started to close in.

"Step back, queen Aga'po," Kara roared. "Release the prisoners you have taken at once!"

Aga'po took flight and snarled, her eyes burning with indignation. "My cause is righteous. And my methods are the only way to achieve victory. You have no right to judge me."

Kara paused. She collected her thoughts. Maybe the queen could still be reached. "I know what it's like to lose everything, but I tell you, there is always another way. I won't let you wage war on the backs of your victims."

Aga'po swept her hand through the air. "They feel no pain. They are happy. They are safe."

"They weren't given the choice to make this sacrifice."

The queen scoffed. "They are men. They need to be gentled by love's fearsome light. I'm sure you know this, Supergirl. Their hearts are imperfect. They cannot be trusted to wield love's true power."

Mon-El descended to join them. "Queen Aga'po, please, let them help. Give them this choice. Weare all imperfect, yet we all wish to help."

"Men are selfish. They don't know how to see past their own needs."

Kara scoffed at her. "I will free your prisoners."

The queen shook her head. "I can't let that happen." She turned to her guards. "Seize them!"

Kara nodded at Mon-El. They both took flight in synch, back to back, shielding each other.

"Target their staffs. If you hit the ring below the crown, you can disable them," Mon-El called out to her.

"Understood!" Kara felt him dive away, towards the warrior with the most complex ornaments on her pauldrons. Readying her heat vision, she swept around, cursing that losing the Star Sapphire outfit had left her in her CatCo garb and hence without a cape to balance her flight. Still, she managed to roll below the purple energy beams headed for her, taking out several staffs in the process.

"Unleash the cephalon!" the queen screamed. The alien warriors fanned out immediately, withdrawing from direct engagement, to leave room in their midst instead. Their intention soon became apparent.

A transparent beast, as large as a football field and seemingly consisting mostly of a gaping maw and a variety of grasping feelers, rose from the ground. Kara gulped and readied herself. She didn't know the powers of the other Legionnaires, but usually, there was a good chance that her heat vision would be their only way to fight the creature at range.

Mon-El rose up in the air beside her.

"Got any telepaths with you?"

Mon-El shook his head. "Jericho stayed behind at the outpost."

Kara grabbed Mon-El's arm to steady herself and let the heat vision spark from her eyes. The blue beams cut neatly through the creature, completely unimpeded. The creatures unfurled, striking at them with its tentacles. Kara gasped in shock. They had narrowly evaded the attack, but it had come close enough for her to realize the cephalon's limbs burned her skin like fire.

Before she could react, the girl Ghia'ta dashed through the air and threw herself in front of the creature. She raised her arms towards it. Concentric rings of glowing purple energy emanated from her hands, calming the beast. Spontaneously sated, it gurgled happily and whipped its tail.

Enraged, the queen soared towards them, flanked by her honor guard.

Ghia'ta turned around to face them.

"Mother, please! You can't do this. Listen to me, we've been working from an imperfect understanding of love."

The queen whirled around, glaring at her daughter. "What are you talking about?" The young purple alien shrunk back, cowering instinctively, but ultimately refusing to budge. "We need to listen to them. We have isolated ourselves for too long. We have forgotten what love is truly about. We have to look beyond ourselves." She nodded in the direction of Kara. "Supergirl and Mon-El taught me this." Before queen Aga'po could react, her daughter snatched her arm and brought their hands together. Their Sapphire rings lit up, pulsing in quiet communication. Something unspoken passed between them before Aga'po yanked her hand from her daughter's grasp.

"You are too easily swayed," the queen chided.

"I promise, I'm not," Ghia'ta replied, bowing respectfully.

The queen's eyes narrowed. She turned towards Kara. "I will yield to my daughter. For now. It was wrong of us to take you. We will return you to your time and planet." Her eyes glowed. "I had hoped to add your strength to ours and that you could have been our savior yet."

Kara exchanged a quick look with Mon-El. "The Legion has my full confidence. They are my allies."

"We shall see," the queen replied.

"Um," Mon-El interrupted. "I'm going to need my companions back." The queen stared at him. Mon-El pointed at a pixie sized green alien with bat-like ears and a towering Nidaran, both clad in the uniforms of the Star Sapphires. Aga'po raised her hands and the rings the two Legionnaires were carrying dimmed, the clothes retracting from their bodies and revealing their Legion outfits underneath. The pixie girl struggled, arms helplessly grasping the air, losing flight. The Nidaran instinctively caught her in her palm.

"It's a pity that you shall leave," the queen said. "We will need all the help we can get in our war against the Manhunters."

Mon-El bowed. "We thank you for your trust, queen Aga'po. Should our mission be successful, the Manhunters will never reach your planet."

The queen frowned. "Either way, we will be prepared."

Mon-El nodded. "We'll be in touch."

The queen tensed up and they took flight before Aga'po could change her mind.