Chapter Text
The thunder of cannons and crunching of wood shocked Kara Zor El out of her sleep in the dead of night. Splinters of wood drug across her face and neck, piercing her flesh as she stumbled out of her bed. Just before her hand grasped the door handle, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end as a low whistle screeched through the air; her knees hit the floor just in time to miss the force of the cannonball whizzing overhead, crumpling into her bed and dragging the thin mattress and blankets out into the water just on the other side of where the ship’s wall once stood.
They were under attack. But why? They were nothing but a cargo ship. They had no cannon or weapons on board. What was to gain from sinking them rather than raiding?
Hands now shaking, Kara pushed open her door to see a hallway rapidly filling with brown foamy water. Clutching her nightgown in her hand, Kara sloshed through the water in her scramble to make it to the upper deck. Red liquid pooled around her feet as she ran among the splinters of wood and broken glass, salt stinging her wounds, but she gritted her teeth through the pain. Crashing of cannons and shouts of sailors echoed around her as she pushed against other frantic men attempting to find the upper deck. She knew the ship was sinking; it was already taking on too much water to be salvaged. At the cannon's current rate, Kara knew her only chance was to make it to the lifeboats and pray that her family was already there waiting for her.
But her father was the captain. And the captain always went down with the ship.
Her lungs gasped in the cool night air as she finally emerged on the upper deck, but the smoke and gunpowder burned her throat and eyes as she whipped her head around in desperate search. Men, both complete and parts, laid along the deck as others ran around them. The cannons sounded louder up here, so much so that on the first round, Kara winced and covered her ears, but she still heard the creak and splintering of the mast just before it fell into the sea with a crash that splashed water on her cheeks. As she turned her head though, she finally spotted a familiar face.
“Father!” Kara cried out as she stumbled towards him, tripping on debris and slipping on the blood from her feet.
“Kara!” her father gasped, quick to grip on to her arms. “What are you doing up here?”
His normally dapper attire and suave hair now hung in tatters and disarray. Red and brown splotches and streaks stained his blue coat and pants, and water and blood smeared through dark hair stood it on tall and unruly. The kind smile and eyes Kara had grown up with now held fear and desperation that chilled Kara to her core and increased her fear tenfold.
“I heard the canons and thought I could help.” They both flinched as another projectile screeched by and sunk into the ocean behind them. “Who is attacking us? Are they pirates?”
“No, not pirates,” her father shook his head before locking his gaze with her. “It’s Lionell Luthor.”
“What? But he’s a nobleman! He would never--”
“It’s because of that noble status that he can!” Her father’s fingers dug into her bicep so hard that she feared a bruise. “You need to hide, Kara. Find a lifeboat. It’s your only chance.”
“But mother and Clark--”
“They’re already gone. There’s no hope for them now. You have to go. Now!”
“Father, I--”
Just then, the ship swung to the side as the filling water in the hull brought on a capsize. Loose objects and debris now rushed to the side and overboard to the swallowing sea below. With a desperate push, her father flung Kara into reach of a rope that she quickly grasped. It burned her palm and fingers as she wrapped her hands in it, but her shout and tears came from watching her father disappear into the water below.
~~~
The attacking ship left not long after the boat capsized, leaving the only evidence of the attack to sink to the ocean floor. Kara was grateful that the thunder of the canons had finally ceased, but her heart stuttered when the screams did as well. A knot in her chest twisted as she clung to the overturned hull of the lifeboat. She needed someone’s help to turn it over, but she knew she was the only survivor. Her feet and legs had gone numb in the cold sea water and she wondered how long it would take for sharks to find the feast among the wreckage. Perhaps she’d be lucky and they’d end her life swiftly before she succumbed to the long death of exposure to the element and dehydration.
“It’s not often Lionell Luthor leaves any survivors, but I suppose even noblemen slip up now and again.”
Blinking against the salt and tears, Kara gasped as she saw a man in a trench coat and pipe now perched on the underside of the lifeboat that she now clung to.
“Who are you?” Kara gasped.
“Davy Jones, the ferryman of souls who died at sea to the world beyond and maker of deals with the desperate.” he took a deep drag from his pipe before he cocked his head at Kara. “Now, Kara Zor El, do you fear death?”
“No,” Kara answered immediately.
Arching his eyebrow, Davy Jones turned his body more towards the blonde. “Then what do you fear?”
“That my family won’t find justice.”
A slow smile spread across Davy Jones' face. “Then I may have a deal for you.”
~~~
“Are you still asleep? Lena, I expected you to be dressed and already back from your morning stroll by now.”
A deep groan bellowed out of Lena as her mother threw open the curtains in her room, allowing the bright sunlight along with her shrill voice to rouse her from her already rough night of sleep. Holding up hand to shield her face, Lena turned her head to hide her face in her long raven hair and silk pillows.
“Really, mother, is that necessary?” she grumbled.
“Oh, none of that,” Lillian swatted at Lena’s feet covered by blankets. “You’ve already slept too much of today away.”
“I can’t help it if I didn’t sleep well last night,” Lena rubbed her eyes as she sat up. “I was having those dreams again. The one on the sinking ship.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that those dreams are nonsense. And if you didn’t stay up so late reading those books, you would have slept just fine. Now,” Lillian clapped her hands. “Today is your date with Commodore Maxwell Lord. If all goes according to plan, you should be engaged by the end of the month.”
“Please don’t remind me of your plans to objectify me,” Lena groaned as she stood up out of bed.
“I do not need to remind you that with your father dead, it would be in our best interest for you to marry and continue on his legacy especially with your brother busy trying to rid the sea of the pirate scum. Now, the ship from Europe arrived yesterday with the clothing I ordered for you. Your maids will help you dress in it.”
At Lillian's commanding nod, several servants entered with boxes in hand, one laying a box open on the bed in front of Lena to see. Her eyes widened as she quickly picked up the beige article of clothing with an ample bodice, shockingly narrow waist and string to be laced up the back as if to tighten and lock it’s wearer down to choke out its breath.
“It’s called a corset,” Lillian explained. “I’m told it’s the latest fashion in London.”
“Well, I suppose women in London must have learned not to breathe,” Lena grimaced.
“Stop that,” Lillian smacked Lena’s leg. “I’ve been told it’s very comfortable. Besides, you need all the help with your already lackluster figure. Just be dressed and downstairs within the hour. We don’t need to keep the Commodore waiting.”
And with that, Lillian exited the room, slamming the door behind her with her normal dramatic flair. Lena, as well as the servants, no longer flinched at the noise.
“Good morning to you too then,” Lena grumbled.
~~~
The sun scorched Kara’s face as she squinted against it and steered her small make-shift vessel towards the land just underneath it. Her muscles burned from a night of near constant rowing and goosebumps still broke out across her skin when she heard the clattering of bones from the corpses of pirates past strung up along the rocks outside of the city as a warning to those like her. When dawn broke and National City Port appeared on the horizon, she had found the motivation to fight through the burn in her muscles and row even faster.
Especially when the morning light showed just how much water the small vessel had already taken on. Serves her right from stealing a boat from a drunkard. She should have stuck with her normal rule of only stealing from loyalists or government officials.
The closer to the harbor, the lower her dingy surrendered to the ocean. Waves creased and threw more water in faster than Kara could throw out. By the time the boat made it to the dock, all of it but one of the handles of the oars were underwater. Given that most of her boat was now underneath the dock, Kara forwent the docking fee and held her head high as she sloshed down the harbor and into town with water filled boots.
Surprisingly, National City Port was abuzz with activity. With the large military presence in the city, many of the citizens lived blissful carefree lives believing no pirate or criminal would dare set foot on the island. Today just so happened to be the day in which the military was to be celebrated in a day of ceremony, presentation, and promotions with a ball that evening. Also known as the perfect time for someone to take advantage of the distracted military and commandeer a ship to track down a certain English nobleman.
With a city this size, Kara had more than plenty of ships to choose from. Some large, some small, some old, some new. Since her odds of finding a crew here were minimal, Kara’s options were limited to those small enough to be manned by one person. Still, that shouldn't prove to be much of an issue since most of the guard posts had been abandoned in favor of attending the ceremony. With any luck, Kara and her new ship would be halfway back to Gotham Port before anyone in National City Port noticed.
Much to her misfortune, the dock with the ship that caught Kara’s eye just so happened to be the one posted with two guards. Apparently not all the soldiers had been invited to today’s celebration. Still, Kara’s curiosity only peaked more as she began to wonder what was so special about this ship that still proved the need of two guards on a day like today.
Forgoing the warning signs that the dock was strictly for military personnel only, Kara sauntered down the stone steps and then wooden dock holding her head high as if enough confidence would let her slip past. Surprisingly, that was all it took half the time, but these guards appeared to be a little more attentive than some as they hurried in front of her to block her path.
“This dock is off limits to civilians,” the soldier to her right in front of her said, his head held high and eyes unfocused.
“Oh, I’m so sorry I didn’t know,” Kara gave a stiff smile. “But tell you what, if I see any, I’ll let you know.”
She went to step around the two men, but they only shuffled to stand in front of her, their expressions still hard and neutral.
“Miss, we cannot let you further on to this dock.”
Kara pursed her lips. Perhaps it was her wet clothes or tangled blonde hair, but her normal play of confidence and looks were falling flat. A different strategy was needed then.These two were still men after all.
“I understand.” Kara said slowly as she reached out to brush the nonexistent dirt off the shoulder of the soldier to her left, pleased when a blush colored his cheeks. “I just hope you can forgive a silly young woman like myself. Sometimes I just see something so wondrous that all my rational thought goes out the window.”
Both soldiers immediately puffed out their chest, exchanging brief looks to gauge just who stood the tallest and broadest between them. Kara couldn’t help but smirk. Men, especially soldiers, were all too easy to manipulate in a woman’s hand.
“Something like what?” one asked in a deeper voice than he used earlier.
“That ship there,” Kara nodded past them to the ship floating in the water. “She’s marvelous.”
“That’s the Manhunter,” the soldier to her left said, his shoulders sagging. “It’s the fastest ship in Her Majesty’s Fleet.”
“Rather small, don’t you think?” Kara frowned with an exaggerated tilt of her head.
“Silly girl,” the other soldier laughed. “That’s what gives it its speed.”
“Interesting,” Kara pondered as she drummed her fingers along her chin. “You don’t think you could take me on it, could you?”
“Oh, yeah--” the soldier on the left grinned before he grunted in pain as his companion hit him with the butt of his gun.
“Are you mad?” the other demanded. “Lord Luthor would have our heads for any sanctioned use of the Manhunter.”
Kara’s clueless sweet demeanor vanished and her blue eyes widened. “Lord Luthor… he’s here? I thought he was tending to the wars far north.”
The right soldier rolled his eyes. “Of course, he’s here. He owns half the city after all and no soldier gets promoted here without his approval.”
Well, this certainly changes everything.
“Personally, I can’t wait for him to leave,” the other soldier grumbled. “He’s been so serious and demanding since his father passed. Almost even unhinged if you ask me.”
His companion narrowed his eyes and glared at him. “Unhinged? How exactly would you take it if your father was hunted down, robbed, and then killed by a crew of pirates captained by a woman so evil that hell itself spat her back out?”
“The Girl of Steel?” The other soldier threw his head back and scoffed. “Come on, you can’t tell me you actually believe in that drunkard tale. She’s nothing but a myth.”
“Are you saying a myth killed Lord Lionell Luthor?”
“I’m saying something legendary had to kill him. I don’t think anything from this earth could have killed him or any other Luthor for that matter.”
“Oh, come on,” he shook his head before nodding towards Kara who watched them intently with pursed lips. “Miss, do you believe in the legend of the Girl of Steel? Yes or no?”
Kara gave a tight smile. “Sometimes legends are based on more truth than you think.”
“Typical,” the soldier on the right rolled his eyes. “You can’t trust a woman to ever think logically. They’re passive creatures not meant for such complex thought.”
“That’s why we leave the mentally taxing job of guard duty up to the men,” Kara’s tone dripped with enough salt to be seawater as she spun on her heel. “Well, thank you gentlemen, you’ve been most helpful.”
“Wait! Did you possibly want to talk some more?” the soldier to the left of her asked as he put his hand on her shoulder.
“Sorry, but I have some other pressing matters to attend to,” she replied, twisting out of his grip as gently as possible. The last thing she needed was to cause a scene in a place as miltiterant as National City Port.
“But--”
A loud splash into the water next to them cut him off, snapping all heads to attention. Frowning, Kara rushed to the side of the dock, craning her neck to try to make out just what it was. A beige figure with a dark black tuff pillowing out now bobbed below the waves as it fell deeper into it. It couldn’t have been a person, Kara thought. No one in their right mind would risk a jump into a harbor with this many rocks. It was suicide.
When she looked up to the top of the cliff to see where it came from, she saw sets of human heads in military caps peering down at her and her heart skipped a beat when she realized this may not have been quite as intentional afterall, at least not on the woman’s part anyways.
“It’s a damsel,” one solider gasped. “Can you swim?”
“No,” the other shook his head. “Can you?”
Kara never heard his answer as her head was already underwater as she dived down after the young lady who now floated lifelessly down to the dark sea floor.