"You're constantly giving me hope. I can see hope for myself through you, and I've never felt this was before. That's why I'm here."
aaaaah this ask is so old, I'm sorry
but anyway!
~
Kara still has so many questions about him.
Or rather, for him- though since he’s been unusually elusive since after she came back from Fort Rozz, she may have to settle for asking his Legion compatriots instead.
Nonetheless, she remains curious about Brainiac 5, even several months after their first meeting.
To begin with, she hadn’t been sure at the time that he was real- as she was growing up on Krypton, she most often saw Coluans projected from the computers they inhabited, in the form of holograms. She’d expected, when she reached for his arm to pull him inside of her mind-prison, that her hand would pass right through him, but it hadn’t. And once she realized that, she questioned it as well but thought it would be rude to ask, given that such a question would harken back to a difficult time for both their planets.
There were many moments like that, many times when she wanted to ask him something but he was just out of sight, busy with something that required him to be away from the DEO or away with Imra for some purpose he couldn’t explain. And when he was there, both of them were busy, leaving little time for any personal conversations, if any at all. And then, once Brainy had fulfilled his purpose in her century, he’d left, taking all of Kara’s missed chances with him.
So it was no wonder that when time finally caught up with them, allowed for an opportunity for Kara to ask any question she wished, it was a month after Reign’s defeat.
And, accordingly, a month after Brainy returned to the twenty-first century- this time not of his own volition.
“You’re not wearing your image inducer.”
Querl turned from the balcony, away from the city- which, for a moment, he had almost imagined as the city he’d called home for the past seven years- and towards Kara, who he really should have heard landing.
“I hadn’t noticed.” He said. “I was not planning on going anywhere, so there was no reason to hide my face.”
Kara nodded, looking out at the city herself.
“I’m sorry you have to do that.” She said. “I… should have done something. Gone with you, to that store, or asked Alex or someone to do the same thing. This century is supposed to be a safe place for you, away from your ancestor. You shouldn’t feel unsafe because of its people.”
“It is alright, Kara.” He tried to reassure her, though his mind was too full of memories of other riots he’d caused to put much effort into it. “You had faith that your city’s residents would treat me better. I’m only sorry that they did not live up to such trust.”
“So am I.” she answered. “The next time you’re ready for a grocery store shopping trip, though, let me know. I’ll be there- or, if you’re not comfortable with that, I can always bring your groceries here. Alex has a fridge I’m sure she’d let you use.”
“I appreciate that.” Querl said. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” Kara answered. “Can I… ask you a question? After the one I just said, I mean.”
“Of course.”
Kara paused, figuring out how to phrase it.
“Why did you call yourself Brainiac 5?” she finally said. “Why did you choose that as your superhero name?”
Querl stared at her, and as though he was expecting the answer, said “Why did you choose Supergirl?”
“I didn’t.” Kara answered, almost automatically. “Not when Cat Grant was ready to give me a name, after she realized National City finally had its own superhero.”
“When you saved your sister.” Querl recalled. “And the rest of the people on the plane.”
“Yeah.” Kara told him. “I… I didn’t know if I could, at first. I’d used my powers a lot when I first came to Earth. I was… a little careless. I wanted Alex to see what I could do, to show her that I was just like my cousin.”
“And you wanted to help people.” He answered. “You always had the heart of a hero.”
Kara smiled.
“I did.” She said. “But it got me in trouble. Jeremiah and Eliza always told me there were people who didn’t trust people like Kal and I- and that was why Kal called himself Clark Kent, to protect himself. It was why Jeremiah gave me my glasses, to keep my identity a secret too. And it was why…”
She paused again.
“Why Jeremiah was taken away to the DEO, to protect me. After that, I was a lot more cautious. I still wanted to be super, but that could wait- and it did, until I saw the plane, and I knew. It was my moment, and I haven’t looked back since.”
“Even though you have faced so much adversity?” Querl asked. “Your own aunt and uncle, my relative, the rulers of Daxam, Reign and the Worldkillers and so many others…”
“Yes.” Kara said. “And somewhere in that time, I realized that I did choose Supergirl. It’s a name I’m proud of now, when at the beginning I was embarrassed about it, cringed whenever I heard it on the news or saw it on magazines.”
“And you also chose to embrace your family’s legacy.” Querl finished. “Making a name for yourself, both tied to Kal-El and to accomplishments outside of simply being his cousin.”
“Exactly.” She said. “I’m guessing that it wasn’t the same way for you, though.”
Querl nodded, looking slightly embarrassed.
“My apologies, for not answering your question.” He said. “However, you are correct- but like you, I have also lived under my family’s legacy for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately… when I was young, I did choose it.”
Kara stayed quiet, nearly reaching for his hand.
“All I once wanted was to be like my mother.” He continued. “I strove to claim my own Brainiac title, to have a roomful of planets and their knowledge at my disposal, a library of worlds all for myself. She was so distant, so cold, even in my earliest memories. And I thought… if I could make her proud, become who she wanted me to be, she would love me.”
Querl twisted his ring around, looking down at the ground below before looking at Kara once again.
“It did not work.” He said. “And that is a great understatement. I tried, I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong, but eventually- in more ways than one, it took longer than I’d like to admit- I saw the error of my ways- and of hers. She didn’t take that well, as you can imagine.”
“I can.” She said, but he didn’t elaborate. Instead, he said, “It was because of you.”
“What?”
“That I chose my superhero name.” he continued. “When I joined the Legion, at first I thought they were not serious. That they would never truly want to take me on, have me among their ranks. I was, after all, a Brainiac. But one day changed all that.”
“What happened?”
“I visited a museum, that featured figures of the past.” He said. “And one of them was you- was Supergirl. I read about your history, how you stood for hope, help, and compassion for all. The same words that Mon-El mentioned he and the Legion stood for, when he first approached me. I realized that, if you were genuine in those ideals, he must be too. And if he could have those things for me… I could believe them for myself.”
“And you do.”
“And I do.” He echoed, turning to her, smiling. “You're constantly giving me hope. I can see hope for myself through you, and I've never felt this way before. That's why I'm here. Before every Legion member puts on his vestments, he must have a call sign. Or she, or they, as the case may be. I had not yet chosen mine, but right then, I realized that I had- I would still be Brainiac 5, but what that name stood for would be different. Unlike my family, I would be a hero. A Legionnaire, someone worth looking up to in the face of adversity. And I’ve never regretted such a choice.”
Kara smiled.
“I’m glad you haven’t.” she said. “You know, you and Winn have a lot in common. I bet he’s in the future reinventing his own family’s legacy right now, helping your team fight your relative.”
“I hope so as well.” Querl answered. “And I trust he’ll return to show us that.”
“So do I.”