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Small Problems Of The Mind.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own Supergirl or any of the characters and themes, this story has been written in the purpose of fanfiction only and is not a claim on the content from the show or comic in any way.Synopsis: Kara’s been feeling off since Psi’s Physic attacks, with more fears than she admitted being used against her. After an accident can she stop those fears from resurfacing? Can her loved ones help her overcome her fear’s and bring National City’s hero back?Relevant information: This story is set after season 3 episode 2 Triggers, but has changed from cannon before it and will change from cannon after it. Kara and Mon-el did not date in this story, there were friends only, Mon-el left with his parents to rebuild Daxam. Lena and Kara are established as dating in this story, Lena also already knows about Kara being Supergirl, as for when and how that happened you will find out through out.Pairings: Main pairing is established SuperCorp Relationship, but will be more of a Karlena like friendship in this story, reason as to why you will find out. There will be strong Danvers Sisters moments and a close Kara/Maggie friendship in later chapters as well as plenty of Sanvers! Possible further pairings to come.Warnings: The themes in the story will at times be dark and may be triggers for some readers, full warnings will be given at the beginning of chapters where relevant. The rating of this story is M for Mature, though the content to explain this won’t be obvious until later chapters.
Chapter One Warnings: Violence, Abuse.AN: Please note when this chapter was written I did not have a beta for this story, so all mistakes are my own.

Chapter One.

“Urgh.”“Ow…”“My head…” Lena mumbled, her hand coming to her head, she winced and quickly pulled her hand back as pain shot across her forehead and she felt something wet on her hand.Blood.She was bleeding.What the hell happened? Lena through to herself.She remembered that she and her girlfriend Kara Danvers were having lunch together. Kara had been telling her of the emergency she had attended as Supergirl last night, it was the first big emergency that National City had since Psi’s attacks on the banks last week. Kara had been noticeably clingier since Psi’s attacks on her mind, and Kara was already a cuddly girlfriend to say the least. When Lena has questioned her on this matter she had told her how she had been feeling a bit off, not a solar flare off, more she was distracted and unsure of herself.“Goddamn it!” Lena heard a male voice shout from just inside her office at L-Corp, shortly after this followed the sound of what Lena thought was a slap, then a small whimper.
Who is in my office right now? Why am I out here and not in my office?
Carefully Lena rose from the floor, using her assistants desk to support herself as she did so.Jess must have gone to lunch, Lena thought to herself as she slowly made her way toward the office.“You broke it! Stupid girl! It wasn’t meant for you! Millions of dollars down the drain because you got in the way! Well I hope you are happy with yourself! I should teach you a lesson about minding your own goddamn business!” The male voice hollered getting louder and angrier by the second.The sound of what Lena thought was a slap was heard again, it sounded harder this time, followed by a whimpered cry.Lena recognised the voice, it was that jerk, Morgan Edge.Now she remembered.Edge had come barging in while Lena and Kara were talking, he started ranting and raving pointing what looked like a gun at Lena. He had been screaming about how he would make sure she was unfit to run the company, that there was no way she was going to get the upper hand over him by buying CatCo out from under him. Kara had pushed Lena out of the firing line at the last second, the force of the blast from the gun sending all three of them flying in different directions.That must be how she ended up outside the office.But what happened to Kara?Was that who Edge was screaming at right now. Was it Kara? Why would she be whimpering though, he couldn’t hurt her could he? Lena thought her mind racing.Quickly Lena made her way into the office, almost freezing at what she saw.Almost.In front of her stood Morgan Edge, a cut above his eyebrow bleeding badly, his suit torn from the blast. Currently he was towering over a small blonde haired and blue eye child who looked as though she could not be older than five. Edge was holding roughly on to the child’s arm with one hand, while his other hand was raised as though he was about to strike her.Was that the sound Lena heard?Had he been striking a child? Lena thought to herself angrily.As Lena stared at the scene almost frozen to the spot she could see the one side of the child’s face was red as though she had been hit, tears were running down her face as she struggled to free herself from Edge’s grip. Looking into her eyes Lena could see the small girl was terrified and confused, that wasn’t all that she saw though.Those eyes. Lena thought looking at the girl, I know those eyes.“Let her go!” Lena yelled causing Edge to falter, his grip on the girl loosening some as he turned to face her in surprise. “Now!” She demanded further, not liking that Edge had still not lowered his hand completely, nor that he still had a rather tight grip on the girl.Suddenly security burst through the door, rushing in behind Lena and causing her to sigh in relief as Edge raised his hands once he noticed that he was about to be surrounded, letting the girl go. That’s where Jess must have gone, Lena thought. She could now remember that she had asked Jess to go and get security after the assistant had rushed in following Morgan Edge, trying to stop him from entering the office in the first place.Lena watched as the small blonde girl shrunk back into the wall cowering as security surrounded Morgan Edge leading him out of the office as instructed by Jess who had entered after them.“Make sure the weapon is taken from him and bring it to the labs before you hand him over to the police, and find me detective Maggie Sawyer.” Lena ordered her eyes still on the child with blue eyes she knew all too well, watching as the girl tried to make herself look as small as possible by hiding against the wall. “Jess, I need you to call Agent Danvers, ask her to come immediately.” She continued, dismissing her assistant with the task.Lena waited until Jess had left the room to carry out her order before slowly approaching the cowering blonde, who was hiding her face against the wall now. As she got closer Lena could see that all the girl had on was a red and black stripped sweater that looked far too big for her, it was so large on her it looked almost like a nightgown. It didn’t escape her mind that this was the same sweater her girlfriend had been wearing earlier. As well as this the girl also had the same blue eyes that looked identical to her girlfriends.“Kara?” Lena asked quietly as she slowly crouched down in front of the girl, now being within arm’s reach. She watched as the girl peeked out from her hiding spot against the wall and scanned the room quickly before her eyes settled on Lena’s.It was then Lena noticed this girl had the same small scar above her one eyebrow that her girlfriend had.This must be Kara, Lena thought to herself, the similarities were too much for it not to be, but how had this happened?Her question was answered when the girl in front of her nodded, leaving her safe place by the wall to stand as close to Lena as possible.
This is insane. I must have bumped my head really hard and passed out, I must be dreaming this whole thing up, right?
There was no way that her girlfriend, Kara Danvers, who was also Supergirl, could possibly be standing in front of her as a child right now.“You’re hurt.” The girl, Kara, said quietly, her one hand reaching out gently to Lena’s forehead bringing Lena out of her thoughts as she watched the smaller version of Kara’s crinkle appear. The one and only Kara Danvers crinkle.“It’s alright, I’m okay.” Lena assured, before lifting her own hand to catch Kara’s smaller one when she saw the girl looked as though she was about to cry, not liking the small tremor she could feel while holding her hand.“Lena…” Little Kara whimpered as she all but jumped at Lena wrapping her small arms around Lena’s neck and clinging on tightly, her head hiding in the crook of her girlfriend’s neck.Well at least she knows who I am, Lena thought to herself still utterly confused by the situation as her arms automatically wrapped around Kara, catching her.
That’s something good right?
“What happened? I don’t understand one minute I was pushing you out the way of a bullet, the next I’m like this!… and… he hurt me Lena! He hit me… and it hurt… why did it hurt? How did it hurt? Why am I so small now? Why do I feel so different? Lena! I don’t understand… I’m… I’m… I’m really scared….” Kara began to ramble into her girlfriend’s neck trailing off at the end with a small sob.Lena reacted on instinct, using her one hand to check the girl would be covered by the sweater before lifting her up into her arms and standing slowly from the crouched position she was in. After being sure that Kara was secure in her hold Lena began to rub one hand up and down the girls trembling back, while clutching her tightly to her with her other hand as she began to pace around the office.“I’ve got you darling, you’re okay. We will figure this out, I promise. Everything will be okay.” Lena soothed, resting her chin on top of the blonde’s head that was nestled into her neck while continuing to rub up and down Kara’s back slowly.She was just as confused and just as scared as Kara, she had no idea what happened and how to fix it, but her freaking out right now was not going to help matters.Right now, Kara was her propriety and Kara was scared, that much was obvious. Lena could feel her shaking, she could feel the tears that fell against her neck, she could feel how tense the girl was in her arms, she could feel the small puffs of breath against her neck as Kara struggled to control her breathing. Lena knew of the panic attacks Kara had last week, she also had witnessed one a few days ago after Kara had awoken from a nightmare about the day her home exploded. She knew the signs of an oncoming panic attack from having them herself when she was younger and from witnessing the one Kara had the other night.She could tell Kara was close to slipping into panic, and she needed to make sure that didn’t happen.“You’re okay Kara, I’ve got you. I need you to take some nice deep breaths for me.” Lena said as she stopped pacing the office and gently swayed the girl in her arms. Lena could feel the tension slowly begin to leave Kara’s small body as she swayed the girl in her arms from side to side still gently stroking up and down her back.“Deep breaths darling, come on, copy me,” Lena instructed, still not happy with the girls breathing, “in,” She instructed, taking a large breath in herself and waiting for Kara to do so as well, “and out.” She instructed further, releasing her own breath then waiting for Kara to do so as well.“There you go, keep going for me.” Lena said, starting to rub small circles on the girls back rather than just stroking up and down while still taking large breaths in and out for Kara to follow.The room was quiet for some time, the only sounds being those of Kara’s crying easing and Lena’s soft reassuring mummers, while her breathing slowly calmed. “That’s it, deep breaths. Good girl, just keep taking nice deep breaths for me, alright? Alex will be here soon, Maggie too. Then we will go to the DEO and figure out what happened, okay?” Lena said, sighing in relief as she felt Kara nod her head into her neck.Lena continued to sway Kara gently, still rubbing her back in small circles as she felt the girl begin to relax into her arms, her head dropping to Lena’s shoulder as she began to feel secure enough to stop hiding against her girlfriend’s neck.“So… this isn’t exactly the lunch date I had in mind today.” Lena joked with a smile, her hand leaving Kara’s back to wipe away the drying tear tracks running down her face.Kara giggled quietly, her one hand starting to play with Lena’s long brown hair while her other arm was still wrapped around Lena’s neck, “You probably shouldn’t talk about us dating in public at the moment. People might get the wrong idea considering my… erm… size.” Kara said, her voice sounding raspy from the earlier crying, as well as higher pitched than normal.Lena laughed lightly in response leaning forward to gently kiss Kara’s forehead before pulling back again, watching as a small blush coloured Kara’s one cheek the other already being an angry red thanks to Morgan Edge, “That’s probably true. Good thing it’s just you and me for now.”

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Warnings: Mentions of Child assault, and some minor language warnings in this chapter.

Chapter Two

When Maggie Sawyer woke up today she expected many things. She expected to be busy at work, crime had been up recently even with Supergirl’s help. She expected to have a long and tiring shift, lets be honest they always were. She expected a relaxing and entertaining evening afterwards with her girlfriend. Being with Alex was always relaxing, but she also expected to find her girlfriend's younger sister Kara and the youngest Luthor Lena at her and Alex's apartment for movie night later that night, which was the entertainment.What she hadn’t expected was to be called into L-Corp, nothing ever good game from being summoned to a police scene, especially when it had to do with someone who she knew. She hadn’t expected to be escorted past a screaming and angry Morgan Edge up to her future sister in law’s girlfriend’s office upon arrival. She hadn’t expected to find said office with what looked as though to be scorch marks on the door in complete chaos, almost as though a bomb had gone off in it.And she most certainly had not expected to walk into the office to see Lena Luthor sat at her desk with a tiny, blue eyed, blonde haired child sat on her lap.Nor did she expect the child to smile happily upon seeing her arrival in the room.“Maggie! Is Alex here too?” The child asked with excitement, turning from Maggie to Lena expectantly.“Um, hi?…” Maggie replied unsure, looking to Lena for answers.How does she know my name? Maggie thought to herself in confusion.“What happened here?” She continued when no answers were given, gesturing to the room that was a complete mess around her.“That jerk-face, Morgan Edge, turned up waving a gun around the office yelling at Lee –“ The child started.“-Maybe let me explain, hmm?” Lena interrupted as she gently stroked her hand down the little blonde’s back, noticing Maggie’s eyes get wider while looking at the girl that had began to animatedly explain from her lap.Maggie watched as the child nodded looking up at Lena before resting her head on Lena’s shoulder, her small hand coming up to play with the CEO’s dark hair.“Myself and Kara were having lunch, when Morgan Edge showed up.” Lena said her attention turning from the child in her lap to Maggie.Kara? Where is she?
Maggie thought suddenly, having not seen the bubbly superhero in the room so far.“Edge had what we thought was a gun, now I’m not sure what it was. He aimed for me, but Kara pushed me out the way just before he pulled the trigger.” Lena continued, before pausing to let Maggie take in the information, “Instead of a bullet being fired it caused a blast, which you can see the result of. The blast knocked me out, when I came to…when I came to, I found Kara. Like this.” Lena finished, now gesturing to the child on her lap as said, ‘like this’.No way, Maggie thought as she stood frozen on the spot.She was trained to deal with many different circumstances with her job. She prided herself on being able to cope in the most bizarre of situations, something which had come in handy when she had started dating Alex Danvers and had been introduced into the realm of so called ‘Super-friends’.This though, this was way past her comfort zone.
This is some elaborate joke, right? Lena has borrowed an employee’s child, she has staged the whole thing and little Danvers is hiding somewhere filming my reaction right now. There is no possible way that this blonde girl is my girlfriend’s little sister. Even if she does have the same striking blue eyes.
“Hi Maggie.” The child, supposedly Kara, said waving in her direction from her place on Lena’s lap, a very Kara Danvers like, sheepish smile on her face.
Holy shit.
Maggie was speechless.She was staring at the child, her mouth agape in wonder, not blinking.“Please tell me you are joking.” Maggie said quietly, her eyes snapping up to Lena’s for a moment, before snapping back down to look at the girl in her lap after Lena shook her head.Still staring at the girl, Maggie slowly moved forward towards Lena’s desk, noticing in the back of her mind how the child seemed to tense, inching closer to Lena the closer that she got to her.
I’m making her nervous, if this is really Kara why would I be making her so nervous? She clearly knows who I am.
Schooling her features into what she hoped was a smile to try and put the child at ease, Maggie crouched down to be at eye height with the blonde-haired girl. As she looked at the little blonde intensely, Lena watched her in amusement, running a hand down the blonde’s back again when Kara turned to hide her face against the CEO’s shoulder.“Maggie? Are you okay?” Lena asked as the silence dragged on, feeling the tension in the room as well as the nervousness coming from Kara rising, her hand now rubbing little circles on her back in an attempt to soothe her.“Hmm?” Maggie replied still staring, as the small girl peeked back at her from the safety of Lena’s shoulder, “Sorry.” She continued, shaking her head before standing. “Yeah I'm good, this is just really…weird.” She finished looking back to Lena who nodded, as Kara returned to playing with her hair facing away from Maggie now slightly.Why was she so nervous just then? Maggie thought to herself with a frown.
She was excited to see me when I first got here, did I do something to frighten her? I know I was staring at her, but she’s used to people doing that from being Supergirl right? Kara can sometimes be a little awkward around me, but she’s never acted like that before.
Maggie watched silently as Lena pulled the smaller Kara around in her arms, settling her back against her stomach, her one hand wrapped around the girl’s stomach, thumb stroking lightly up and down.
How is little Luthor so calm about this, her girlfriend has just been turned into a tiny child?

God, look at her, she really is tiny.

“I guess I should start calling you tiny Danvers now with how small you are.” Maggie said with a chuckle after her mind finally caught up with what she was seeing and how small the superhero was right now.“Oi!” Kara squeaked indigently, crossing her arms in front of her chest, her nervousness from before seemingly gone. “I am not tiny.” She grumbled with a pout, causing Maggie to laugh out loud at the familiar pout, finding the whole situation hilarious.“Whatever you say, kiddo.” Maggie replied with another laugh as she ruffled the girl’s blonde hair before walking away to take a closer look at the mess of the office, trying to evaluate the scene in her.“What happened with the weapon that was used? Do the officers downstairs have it?” Maggie addressed to Lena as she continued to look around the room.“I asked my security to take it to my labs, the officers might need some persuasion to allow it to stay with us though.” Lena replied, Maggie nodding in response deciding she would talk to Alex about that when she arrived, she was assuming she had been called in like herself due to Kara’s initial response at seeing her when she entered the room.“Do you think Edge knew what the weapon would do?” Maggie asked turning back to look at Lena and Kara, frowning when she noticed how red Kara’s left cheek looked. “Wait. What happened to your face little Danvers?” she asked suddenly, cutting off Lena just as she was about to reply to the earlier question.Frowning Maggie walked closer, coming to stop in front of where they were sat and bent down to inspect the smaller blonde’s cheek carefully.“He got mad at me for getting in the way.” Kara replied quietly, leaning back in to Lena as Maggie closely inspected her cheek.“Edge? He hit you? How many times?” Maggie questioned while gently turning Kara’s face to the side, so she could take a better look. From this angle Maggie could see the beginning of a nasty bruise forming on the side of the child’s face, there were angry red splotches along the rest of her cheek.It looks painful, but Kara has super strength, so how is it that Morgan Edge could have left such a mark? Maybe this has affected her powers too?
Maggie thought.
Even if it has, he wouldn’t have known about her powers in the first place and he still hit her, Maggie’s mind raced as she suddenly felt herself getting angry.
I can’t believe that scumbag hit her when she’s a child!
“I heard him strike her at least twice, after I came woke from the blast.” Lena responded in Kara’s place, after Kara turned away from Maggie’s hands, hiding her face against the CEO’s neck.Something isn’t right, Maggie thought to herself
This girl is Kara in every detail, but at the same time she isn’t. She lacks the confidence that Kara usually holds. She seems to have a nervousness about her. It reminds me of the way she was when I brought her back to the DEO after that panic attack last week.
As Maggie looked up to lock eyes with Lena again she could see Lena was thinking the same thing, she could see Lena frowning at the way in which the youngest Danvers was acting.It was not like her to be this nervous, especially around people that she knew.“Kara?” Maggie asked, trying to draw the girls attention to herself.Sensing that Kara was not going to willingly move from what was quickly turning into her favourite place to hide since this happened, Lena gently pried the girl away from her hiding place against her neck and turned her slowly to face Maggie, while keeping her arms around her girlfriend. Maggie smiled what she hoped was a reassuring smile to the nervous looking Danvers child in front of her as Lena placed her in the same position she had been in beforehand, leaning against the CEO’s stomach with a hand holding her in place.“What’s the last thing you remember before this happened?” Maggie questioned quietly, wondering how much her girlfriend’s sister remembered, wondering how confusing this must be for her.“Me and Lena having lunch. She brought me pot stickers.” Kara replied with a smile, her legs swinging as her whole face seemed to light up while talking about her favourite food.Maggie nodded.
Oh yeah, she’s Kara alright, she thought to herself knowing of Kara’s love of pot-stickers and food in general too well.“I’m hungry, do you have anything to eat?” Kara asked suddenly, seemingly less nervous of the detective than she was before.“I don’t, but when Alex gets here we can get you some food on the way to the DEO.” Maggie replied with a smile as Kara nodded happy with the suggestion, relaxing back into Lena’s arms. “We should probably get you some clothes when we leave too.” She continued, just now noticing that the girl was only wearing a jumper. Even though it was long enough to cover her like a nightgown, she would need to wear some proper clothes.Kara giggled in response as she looked down at herself, seeming to find it funny that she was stuck in just her now very oversized black and red jumper.“So how old are you?” Maggie questioned, wondering if whatever had happened to make Kara look like a child psychically also changed her psychologically.If it had, knowing what age she is right now would be beneficial when addressing her and questioning her as to not overwhelm her.“Twenty-six.” Kara replied in confusion, not knowing why Maggie was asking her age when the detective already knew.“No, I mean how old are you right now. Like this?” Maggie elaborated gesturing to Kara.“I don’t know.” Kara replied with a shrug.“From her size I would say she’s around five or six, she’s too small to be older than that.” Lena said joining into the conversation, vocalising her earlier thoughtsMaggie nodded, that made sense to her too, the girl was small.“Do you remember anything from when you were younger that could help us determine your age?” Maggie prompted, receiving only a head shake in response. “Well, how old were you when you got the scar above your eyebrow?” she questioned further, pointing towards the small scar.“My Mom always said I was five, but I don’t really remember how it happened. I don’t really remember much before I was ten.” Kara replied after a few moments of hard thinking, causing Maggie to look to Lena in concern.
“What’s the big emer-“Alex Danvers had begun to say, but cut off as she walked through the door into the office causing the three of them to turn and look towards her.
“…Did I miss the part where you have a daughter?” Alex asked in confusion, her eyes flitting from Lena to the girl in her lap.“Alex!” Kara all but squealed in response at seeing her older sister.Is it just me or is she acting a lot more puppy Danvers like than usual, Maggie thought to herself as she watched the scene unfold in front of her.Kara suddenly jumped down from Lena’s lap, escaping quickly from her arms, before running up to Alex and quickly wrapping her arms around her older sister’s legs hugging her tightly. Alex’s eyes bulged in surprise as she looked down at the small blonde that was cuddled up to her, to surprised to return the embrace leaving her arms hanging loosely at her side.“Does someone want to explain?” Alex asked in confusion causing Maggie to burst out laughing, not being able to conceal her laughter anymore, while Lena watched with amusement.“It would appear your sister has missed you.” Lena replied with slight amusement in her voice, a smile tugging at her lips at how adorable her girlfriend just looked running up to her older sister as though she had not seen her in days.“My sister?” Alex asked, her head snapping up to look to Lena and Maggie before looking back down at the blonde girl wrapped around her legs again just as quickly. “Kara?” she asked after gently removing the arms from around her legs and kneeling in front of the small girl before her.Kara stood still letting Alex look over her for a few moments before launching at her and cuddling into her older sister as Alex’s arms wrapped around her on auto pilot, her face still showing complete and utter shock.“How is this possible?”

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Chapter Three

Alex sighed while running a hand through her hair as she walked back out of yet another empty room. She couldn’t help but blame herself for this situation. If she had just stayed calm and not yelled Kara would not have taken off in such a panic.Everything had been going relatively well up until that point.After Maggie, Lena and Kara had filled her in on what had happened at L-Corp, Alex had gone to secure the weapon from the officer’s downstairs. She had told them that this was official FBI business now, while Maggie had gone to a store nearby to find Kara some more suitable clothes, leaving her little sister in Lena’s care. After both tasks had been completed, with Kara now dressed in light blue jeans and a unicorn t-shirt, all four left L-Corp with Maggie driving them to the DEO, stopping off at McDonalds first to get Kara the food she had been promised earlier.Once arriving at the DEO, Kara had reluctantly allowed her girlfriend to leave as she went to find Winn, so the two of them could start taking a closer look at the weapon to determine its origin and how it had de-aged Kara in the first place.Alex had held a nervous Kara’s hand as they walked towards the medical bay, growing worried when Kara had asked to be carried as they past other agents of the DEO, seeing a nervousness in her sister that she had not witnessed before then. While Alex carried her sister to the medical bay Maggie had gone to find J’onn to fill him in on the situation having not been able to contact him prior.Upon entering the medical bay Alex and Kara had been greeted by Doctor Hamilton, who Alex had already managed to inform about the situation. They had spoken for a few minutes as Kara had sat calmly in Alex’s arms, content to sit on her sister’s lap as the doctor looked her over, until it came to drawing her blood. This resulted in a loud anguished cry from the smaller girl, which did not stop until Alex picked her up and walked her around the room in her arms, the pain from the needle having caused a fear to awaken in the childlike superhero.After this the medical examination became more difficult, but still manageable.Kara allowed the doctor to check her height against the wall while she held Alex’s hand. She allowed the doctor to x-ray her, as long as Alex was in her line of sight. She followed the doctor’s instructions in attempting to use her powers, while sitting on Alex’s lap. She allowed the doctor to preform an MRI scan on her bones, with Alex stood at the foot of the machine gently stroking her hair to keep her calm.However, when it came to the doctor trying to do a CAT scan to check her brain activity all hell broke loose.For this test to be done, Alex would not have been allowed in the area with her and she was going to have to lay still in the small machine. At first Kara had been calm and tried to follow the orders, but as soon as Alex left her line of sight and the table she was laying on began to move her into the machine she completely freaked out. She had squeezed her way out of the machine and wedged herself into a corner of the room hiding against the wall, before beginning to cry loudly in fear. Her cries only getting louder when Alex tried to pick her up to calm her.The loud crying intensifying the headache that had been getting worse for Alex since she had gotten to the DEO. As Kara continued to cry and yelp as Alex tried to calm her, Alex found herself slowly losing her cool until she snapped, yelling loudly at Kara while trying to drag her back towards the machine to finish the test.That was when J’onn and Maggie showed up and walked through the door.The timing could not have been worse.They had walked in while Alex was still yelling at a hysterical Kara, Alex not noticing the door that was open behind her. Kara had noticed though, and bolted at the first chance she could, somehow managing to miss the four different pairs of arms that tried to intercept her on her escape from the room.Which is why Alex, like everyone else in the DEO building, now found herself searching the halls of the large government building looking for the now childlike superhero.Alex’s headache was only getting worse with every room that she found empty, the stress of the day so far and the situation catching up to her. She was angry with herself and how she lost control. She knew that she had made the situation worse by yelling and acting the way she did.I should have seen it coming, she had at least two panic attacks that I know of last week due to that psychic playing with her head, she was already wound up of course she was going to freak out, Alex thought to herself.
She’s been acting strange since we got here, I’ve not know her to be that nervous in years. I should have known it was getting to much for her and given her a break. We have no idea what effect this has had on her, how child-like she really is right now.
God! I am a terrible sister, Alex thought beginning to feel angry with herself.The panic Alex was feeling was slowly getting more intense with every minute and every empty room that went by, it had been twenty minutes now since Kara had ran from the medical bay. Everyone was searching for her, but so far there was no sign of her.
What if she managed to escape the building?

Anything could happen to her. Anyone could have taken her and done god knows what to her now that she seems to not have her powers.
Maggie had told her about what Morgan Edge had done, and how it had hurt her. Maggie had barely managed to stop her hunting down Morgan Edge and beating him to a pulp for hurting little Kara.If Alex was honest with herself the desire to do so was still strongly present. The only thing that was stopping her from doing so was the fact they needed to figure what had happened to Kara, and right now, more pressingly they needed to find out where Kara had run off to.“Alex, I’ve got her. We’re in the old database room on the second floor.” Maggie’s voice rang through Alex’s ear piece.“On my way.” Alex responded with a sigh of relief.“Is she…is she okay?” she asked worry in her voice, already making her way towards the room Maggie said they were in, which wasn’t to far from where she had been.It wasn’t till they had started to look for her that Alex had time to really think about the situation. She had been so caught up in her own thoughts and worries about what had happened to Kara that she hadn’t really stopped to think about how all this must be affecting Kara.How scared she must be. How different everything had probably been for her being so small.
“Can you let Lena know, she’s asking for her.” Maggie responded after a pause, making Alex frown.It didn’t go unnoticed to her how Maggie had avoided the question, which made Alex worry more.“I’ll contact her on my way.” Alex replied, speeding up as she walked down the corridor.

Minutes later, Alex walked into the old database room with Lena in tow, she had thought it would be better to bring the CEO with her in a hope to make Kara happier and make herself feel less guilty. Lena was now wearing a white lab coat over her clothes, her hair was up in a bun on the top of her head.“Maggie?” Alex called, having yet to see her girlfriend or little sister in the room.“Over here.” Maggie responded from the other side of room, the sound coming from behind a large filling cabinet around a corner that jutted out into the room.Walking around the corner, Alex could see Maggie was sitting on the floor in front of a computer desk, the chair nowhere in sight.Kara was huddled under the desk, her knees drawn up to her chest hiding her head under her arms, she wasn’t crying anymore, but the occasional hiccup and sniffle could still be heard.Alex could hear Maggie talking quietly to her little sister, trying to coax her out from under the desk, her one hand on the small girl’s leg, stroking gently trying to keep her calm.Oh Kara, Alex thought to herself, the sight heart breaking.“Hey.” Alex said softly coming to bend down next to her girlfriend as Lena came to stand behind them, the sudden extra voice in the room causing Kara to flinch further back against the desk making Alex feel even worse than she already was.
She’s scared of me, I don’t think I have ever seen her scared of me like this before.
“Kara it’s okay. I promise I’m not angry with you.” Alex said softly, getting no response or movement from the small alien girl.“I brought Lena with me, like you asked.” Alex tried, hoping it would entice her sister out from under the desk, as the CEO knelt behind her.“Maybe let me talk to her for a bit.” Lena said gently, her hand resting on Alex’s shoulder, the sound of her voice prompting Kara to lift her head in search of her girlfriend, only to hide away again when she met Alex’s gaze.
I’m a terrible sister, how could I yell at her like that when she was only crying because she was scared. Now she’s probably never going to talk to me again, I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t.
“Al? Come on, let’s give them some time alone.” Maggie murmured as she stood up, taking Alex’s hand in her own and pulling her up after her, while Lena crawled forwards a little to take their place before sitting on the floor.Alex sighed running her one hand through her hair again while Maggie pulled her away to the other end of the room by her other hand. She leaned her back against the wall and watched from afar as Lena interacted with her sister. She watched as slowly Kara lifted her head and started to inch closer towards Lena while the CEO spoke softly to her, she watched how Kara calmed in her girlfriend’s presence and found herself missing the time when she used to be the most important and calming person in Kara’s life.They hadn’t been the same after what happened with Jeremiah, after Alex had effectively told Kara she wasn’t really a part of the family.She missed the times when she was the one that Kara would run to when things got to much. She missed being the one that Kara would solely depend on.She missed Kara.“Hey.” Maggie said, pulling her attention away from her little sister, running a hand down her arm and stepping closer towards her. “She’ll be fine, don’t worry. She’s just scared, its all a lot to take in right now. For everybody.” She continued trying to comfort Alex, seeing how guilty the agent looked.
She is scared because of me! Because I haven’t been a good sister for a while now and she’s still thinks that I am angry with her over everything that happened with dad.
“I scared her.” Alex replied shamefully.“The situation scared her, everything that happened with Edge scared her. Not you.” Maggie replied.“You don’t know that for sure.” Alex responded stubbornly, looking over the detective’s shoulder to see that Lena had managed to coax her little sister out from under the desk now.Lena was still sitting on the floor with Kara now standing in front of her. She
was rubbing her one hand along the small of the girls back, her other hand resting on the blonde’s cheek, thumb gently stroking the still red and angry skin while they spoke quietly to each other.“Neither do you.” Maggie said, as turned to watch the young couple too.They could see Lena had now pulled Kara in closer to her, holding the girl in her arms. The now childlike superhero had her head resting on her girlfriend’s shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around Lena’s neck. Lena was running one hand up and down the blonde's back in long strokes while her other hand was petting the girl’s hair gently.“How about we go find out? She seems a lot calmer now.” Maggie suggested lightly, taking Alex’s hand again before leading them back to the other side of the room where Kara and Lena were.Alex felt her heart tug when Kara’s head lifted to look at her nervously as they walked over, hating the nervousness she could see in girl’s eyes. She watched as Lena gave the girl a gentle squeeze before turning her in her arms, so she could face them as they approached.“I’m sorry Alex.” Kara said softly once Alex and Maggie had reached them and taken a seat on the floor, the three adults sitting in a circle on the floor with Kara standing in the middle of them.“No Kara, you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the one that should be sorry, and I am.” Alex said, as she reached out to her little sister, relief flooding her when her sister took a step closer to her and allowed herself to be pulled into a hug. “I’m so sorry I didn’t see how scared you were in there and for yelling at you, and for making it all worse. I’m really sorry Kara.” she said tearfully as she held her little sister tightly in her arms, resting her chin on top of the girl’s head as she spoke to her.“It’s not your fault, I should have told you.” Kara replied looking up at her sister after they had pulled away from the hug, gently wiping away a lone tear that had fallen down Alex’s cheek, the stress and worry from the situation making her emotional. “I shouldn’t have run off like that, I just got scared…It was too small…and I just panicked…I started to see things and hear things that weren’t there.” She continued, tensing her shoulders as she looked down to the floor.“Hey.” Alex said softly, placing a hand under her sister’s chin and lifting her head up so they could look at each other as they spoke. “How about we make a deal? I wont yell at you again like that, but you don’t run off again if things get scary either.” Alex suggested with a smile, her hand leaving Kara’s chin to run down her arm gently knowing how her sister likes tactile comfort.“Yeah, no more running off, not when you really are little Danvers right now. You scared us all when we couldn’t find you.” Maggie added, smiling as Kara turned to look at her.“Talk to one of us when you feel overwhelmed like that, let us help you through it.” Lena finished from behind Kara, all of them watching as she nodded in response.“Can we take you back to the medical bay now?” Alex asked, not missing the way her sister tensed again at the question, backing away in to Lena with a whimper.“I don’t like it there Alex…” Kara said as Lena wrapped her arms around Kara’s waist once again placing a kiss to the side of the blonde’s head.“We will only go to speak with Doctor Hamilton, just to see what she had found out so far.” Alex compromised, not wanting Kara to get scared again.“No more tests?” Kara asked in a small voice, sounding unsure.“We will have to do more tests at some point, but not today.” Alex assured her.“Promise?” Kara replied.“Promise, I even pinky Promise!” Alex replied holding her little finger out towards Kara, smiling when Kara linked her own little finger with hers giggling, glad to have been able to reassure her little sister before she could get too worked up again.“Can’t believe we are dating a pair of goofs.” Maggie said to Lena, an amused look on her face causing Lena to laugh, Kara to pout and Alex to smack her on the arm making Maggie hold her hands up in a fake surrender position.“Take’s one to know one.” Alex muttered afterwards with a smile as she got up from the floor, Maggie following suit shortly afterwards, Lena being unable to do so as she still had a small superhero leaning back into her chest tiredly.Looking at her sister Alex could see the signs of tiredness, probably a result of everything that had happened catching up with her.
“Come on you.” Alex murmured while bending down to scoop the small girl up into her arms, placing her little sister on her hip with an arm holding under her legs and a hand on the girls back, still being unable to believe how light and small the girl was. As Alex walked out the room with a tired Kara attached to her hip she smiled, feeling her little sister’s head came to rest softly on her shoulder as Maggie offered Lena a hand to help pull her up from the floor, the pair of them following their girlfriends out of the room.

The ten-minute trip back down to the medical bay was all it took for Kara to fall into a light asleep in her sister’s arms, feeling comfortable and safe enough to let her warn out smaller body relax. The feel of her sister’s still light but now dead weight in her arms and the small puffs of breath against her neck made Alex’s heart warm.“Hey, I think we are going to take her home soon if that’s okay? I just came to let you know and see if you have found anything out from the tests yet?” Alex asked quietly upon entering the room noticing that J’onn was with Doctor Hamilton, the two of them looking at the computer screen where the test results were.“I know what you’re going to say Sir, but I don’t think its right for her to stay here. I know we don’t know for sure whether or not the change has her affected her psychologically but from how she’s been acting so far I think it has, and the DEO is no place for a five-year-old to stay.” Alex continued after seeing the look J’onn had sent her, knowing that he was going to suggest keeping her at the DEO to supervise her and do more tests.“Actually, it appears she’s at least eight, from her bone structure I would reason that she is closer to age nine.” Doctor Hamilton commented.“What?” Lena exclaimed as she and Maggie entered the room. “Wait, that can’t be right?” Maggie asked just as confused.“Both the MRI’s and X-rays tell me the same thing, her bones are developed to the equivalent stage to those of an eight to nine-year-old human child.” The doctor explained again.“But she’s so small.” Maggie said perplexed as she looked at the youngest Danvers.This is weird, Alex thought to herself as she looked down to the sleeping child in her arms.
Kara was small when she first got to earth but never small to the degree where she seemed under developed. Or maybe she was, and I just don’t remember it. I should call Mom and ask her, I should probably tell her about what has happened anyway. Oh boy, that is going to be a fun conversation.
“She’s very underdeveloped for an eight-year-old, could this be why she doesn’t have her powers right now?” Lena asked, as she walked closer to the computers, taking a look at the test results herself, also finding it hard to believe how small the girl was for a supposed eight-year-old.“Her bloods and DNA markers are still the same, so she should have her powers, but she appears to have a higher sun radiation signature. Higher than what we have ever been able to get the sun beds to produce. I think the device used on her may have something to do with this.” J’onn said, pulling up more results for them to look at.“Interesting,” Lena commented, her scientific mind finding the results fascinating, “it almost looks like the device supercharged her cells,” she continued.“Wait, lets slow down for a second.” Maggie said, seeing that Alex was still staring at Kara as the girl dozed in her arms, not really taking in any of the information, she herself was having trouble with following. “Can we go back to how this tiny blondie here, is apparently eight years old right now?” She continued, the room falling silent for a few moments, all eyes falling to the child superhero.“We won’t know for sure until we get a brain scan, but I’m fairly confident with the findings so far.” Doctor Hamilton confirmed once again.“We should do the scan before you take her home, we need to know for certain how old she is.” J’onn instructed, standing from his chair, the noise of the chair scuffing along the floor waking Kara, who had been coming to slowly as they spoke.“You said no more tests.” Kara whined sleepily from Alex’s arms, having heard the conversation as she came to.“It’s just one more set of tests, then you can go home.” J’onn reasoned, as he typed on a control pad, making a machine further in the room start up.“You promised.” Kara said as she looked at Alex with wide eyes.Alex frowned, she knew they needed to do the tests. She agreed with them, but at the same time she had made a promise to her sister. Her sister who was starting to become tense in her arms as J’onn and the doctor began talking through which tests to do after getting Kara in the machine. Her sister who was looking at her with scared eyes.“Please, Alex. You promised.” Kara said her lip trembling, before hiding her face against her sister’s neck, as Maggie came to stand next to Alex, placing a hand on the small blonde’s back causing her to whimper at first.“You’ll be in there for five minutes that’s all. It won’t take any longer than that.” Doctor Hamilton said, trying to assure the girl while coaxing her to undergo the tests at the same time.“We promised Kara there would be no more tests today, the tests frighten her.” Lena told them, trying to take some of the tension out of the room that was slowly building.“We have all noticed that Kara is not acting her usual self, am I right? We need to confirm what age she is. We need to see how the device has changed her, see if it has changed her brain patterns like the red kryptonite did.” J’onn argued, coming closer to where Alex was standing with Kara.“Please I don’t want to. Don’t make me Alex! You promised!” Kara said, beginning to cry into her sister’s neck, holding onto her tightly the thought of the machine and the tests making her panic.“Hey, hey, don’t cry. It’s alright." Alex Soothed, taking a step back from J'onn to help Kara feel more secure, as she ran her one hand gently along Kara's back. "No one’s going to make you do anything you don’t want to, okay?” Alex assured her scared little sister, while giving J’onn a look that read back off, the girls outburst worrying her as it was very un-like Kara.Currently Kara seemed very much like a child. A child that was scared and ready to bolt.“Alex this is exactly why we need to do those tests. Until we do so, we will have no idea how much this could have affected her psychologically.” J’onn argued again, pointing at the sobbing alien.“I know J’onn, but not like this. Not when she’s this scared, I already made that mistake once. I will not force her to do something she is not comfortable with.” Alex argued back as she bounced the girl up and down in her arms and rubbed her back trying to soothe her, Maggie folding her arms over her chest while staring at J’onn.“Agent Danvers I am-“ J’onn started to say, raising his voice over Kara’s cries.“-Okay this is getting us nowhere. Why don’t I take Kara for a bit, so you can all talk?” Lena suggested stepping around J’onn to be in front of Alex with her back to him.Kara having heard twisted herself in Alex’s arms, reaching out for her girlfriend with tears running down her cheeks as Alex nodded, gently passing her little sister over to the CEO, who kissed the girl’s cheek before settling her against her hip.Lena walked around Alex to put some distance between herself and J’onn as she secured the tiny superhero in her arms while Kara cuddled into her as closely and tightly as she could, hiding against her girlfriend’s neck just like she had done with her sister.J’onn sighed as he watched, before stepping back accepting that no tests were going to get done right now. He could see like everyone else in the room that Kara wasn’t trying to be difficult or stubborn, she was scared. Something about the tests were making her afraid and until they figured out how to help her with that fear they were going to get nowhere.“It’s alright darling, you’re okay. Shall we go see how Winn is doing in the labs, hmmm?” Lena suggested while trying to soothe Kara by talking to her softly and rubbing small circles on her back, throwing a glance over her shoulder to make sure Alex and Maggie heard her before leaving the room.“Alex, I understand you sister is scared and you don’t want to push her right now, but we need to do those tests as soon as possible. Something is not right with her, that girl we just saw was not our Supergirl.” J’onn said worry evident in his voice.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Warnings: Mentions of violence and in-human experimentation.

Chapter Four.

“Any luck?” Maggie asked from the couch as Alex walked back into the room from the kitchen placing her phone down on the coffee table.Currently they were at Lena’s house, Lena had suggested they all stay there as her place was the biggest and could accommodate everyone’s needs. J’onn had only agreed to let Kara go home after Alex promised to bring her back in tomorrow morning for the tests to be completed and insisted that Kara stayed with Alex for the time being till they had a better idea of what had happened. Alex and Maggie were currently sharing a one bedroom flat, Kara’s flat only had one bedroom as well, whereas Lena’s house had four spare bedrooms as well as the master bedroom.It became the obvious choice, especially as Kara seemed reluctant to be away from her girlfriend.It had taken Lena the best part of half an hour to calm Kara after leaving the medical bay to find Winn, and see how he was doing in finding out anything about the device. Winn had carried on working silently only asking questions occasionally as Lena rocked the distressed superhero, speaking softly in her ear and running her hands over the girls back and hair to soothe her. After Kara had calmed, and Alex had convinced J’onn to let them take Kara somewhere she felt more comfortable, they had left for Lena’s house together with Kara still clutching to Lena as though her life depended on it.Upon arriving at the house Lena gave Alex and Maggie a tour, Kara feeling more confident away from the DEO helping to explain where things and certain rooms were as well, having spent a lot of time at the house with Lena recently. Alex had then slipped out for a while to get Kara some more clothes as they were not sure how long she was going to be like this for, and to try and call her Mother, Eliza Danvers. While Maggie and Lena both made calls to their work. To see how things had gone in their absence today, while keeping an eye on the smaller Kara who had been content to sit on the couch watching a movie curled into Lena’s side.“Not yet, I sent her a text asking her to call me back when she can.” Alex explained, she had not been able to get hold of her Mother yet. “Where’s Kara?” She continued, looking around the room not seeing her sister.Lena had to leave an hour ago to sign some documents at L-Corp that need sorting immediately, ones that Sam her new acting CEO could not take care of. Kara had not wanted Lena to leave and had been very quiet since she left.“She said she wanted to get something, she’s been a little while, but I thought she could do with some space. There was the crinkle on her face and she went even quieter.” Maggie explained with a sad smile, she too found it worrying how the girl had been acting now she was younger.“Hmmm, I might go check on her, I need to talk to her about tomorrow anyway.” Alex said, already making her way down the corridor towards the bedrooms.She wasn’t sure which room Kara might have gone into as Lena’s home had a total of five bedrooms, but something made her think that if Kara went anywhere it would be the master bedroom, Lena’s bedroom. Reaching the room, she could see the door was open slightly and a light was on inside. Gently, she pushed open the door and smiled at what she saw when entering the room.Kara was cuddled up on the big bed in the middle of the room, she was leaning her back against the headboard, legs underneath the purple covers, a pillow hugged tightly to her chest with her eyes closed, crinkle still present on her forehead.Alex could see how tired the girl was, the stress of the day probably making her feel exhausted. Looking closely, she could see the dark purple and yellow shading of a painful bruise on her cheek, a semi-permanent reminder of how vulnerable the small girl was currently.“Kara?” Alex called softly, wondering if her little sister was still awake or not with how quiet and still she was being, she looked peaceful compared to earlier at the DEO.Hearing her name, Kara’s eyes snapped open and looked straight to the door where Alex was stood watching her with a bemused smile on her face.“What are you doing?” Alex asked as she walked further into the room taking a seat on the edge of the large bed.“I miss her.” Kara replied with a shrug, cuddling the pillow tighter.“Lena?” Alex asked for clarification getting a nod in response, “She’ll be back soon Kara.” Alex assured her little sister who cuddled the pillow tighter again in response. “Why are you sitting here on your own though? Surely the time will pass quicker if you come hang out with me and Maggie.” She suggested, laying down on the bed on her back turning her head to look at her sister.“Probably. I just wanted to be close to her for a bit.” Kara explained, leaning down to snuggle her face into the pillow for a moment before looking back to Alex. “Thanks for before with J’onn, I’m sorry I freaked out again.” She continued softly as Alex watched her closely.“You don’t need to thank me for fighting your corner Kara. We’re sisters, I will always fight to protect you from anything that hurts or scares you. Just like you would for me, right?” Alex said while leaning up on her one elbow, raising her other hand to cup Kara’s cheek tenderly.“Yeah.” Kara responded with a small smile knowing Alex was right.“But,” Alex continued, removing her hand to move herself around on the bed so she was laying on her side facing Kara, “I can’t help you if you don’t let me in. I need you to try and help me understand why you were so scared of the tests, I’ve never seen you like that Kara. What happened in there?” she asked after getting comfortable in her new position on the bed, searching her younger sister’s eyes as she spoke.The room was silent for a few moments as the sisters looked at each other, trying to read one another, until Kara moved her pillow placing it beside Alex and descending to lay on it on her stomach next her sister. Alex followed her little sisters lead and wriggled around on the bed again to get into the same position, so that they were laying next to each other, both on their stomachs with their arms out in front of them to support their weight.“Ever since what happened last week when I had those panic attacks I’ve been having these really vivid strange dreams. I can still remember them when I wake up, not everything, just flashes, but enough to remember the gist of it.” Kara started after taking a large breath.“What happens in the dreams?” Alex prompted, moving a little so she could look her sister in the eyes and watch her expressions carefully.“I’m in this room that’s dark and grey, there is all this medical equipment everywhere, and these strange tanks against the wall that look as though they have people in… I cant see for sure because of the colour of the water in the tanks… sometimes it feels like I’m in one of the tanks, and all I can see are these yellow bubbles floating up showing me the room from outside the tank… other times I’m strapped to a table with someone standing over me who is wearing a mask over their face... I can hear talking but cant make out the words or tell whether they are male or female… I try to talk back but can’t, I try to scream at them when I see them come close to me with knives but no sounds come out… then there’s all these flashes and strange sounds… different machines lighting up around me… I feel trapped and hopeless and I keep trying to scream and beg for help but nothing comes out…” Kara explains, her voice growing in fear with the more she says, her small body shuddering with each part she remembers causing Alex to wrap an arm over her shoulders, pulling her in close trying to offer some comfort.“You know that will never happen to you right? I would never let anybody ever experiment on you, or do anything like that to you.” Alex said after a silence had fallen over the room again.“It could happen. It did to a degree when CADMUS captured me and Mon-el… not to the degree in the dreams, but it did. You can’t always protect me.” Kara replied while looking down.“I know, but I will always do what I can to make sure that never happens to you. I’m sure Lena would too, and Maggie, Winn, James, J’onn… we all love you and will make sure that does not happen.” Alex tried to assure her little sister who remained silent. “Is that why you got so scared before at the DEO?” She asked after, needing to know for sure.“I guess…” Kara replied unsure looking back up to meet Alex’s eyes, “-it was familiar… doing the tests one after the other seemed so familiar that it made me remember the dreams… then when I started being moved into the machine and it was lighting up I started seeing things… the doctors, or whoever they were, in my dreams were all around me… one minute I could see and hear you talking to me… then in the next second you were one of them coming at me with a knife… then you were yelling at me and all I could hear was orders being yelled by them…” she continued trying to explain how she had felt earlier, what she had saw.“I’m so sorry I scared you Kar, I hated myself for the way I yelled at you today. I hated that you looked at me with fear after Maggie found you.” Alex said guiltily, needing Kara to know how sorry she was for what had happened and how she felt she had made it worse with her reaction.“I couldn’t control myself Alex… part of me just wanted to run to you and hide in your arms… but another part of me was terrified that you would hurt me… I feel really vulnerable right now and it scares me… and I know you wouldn’t hurt me, but it was like I wasn’t there, this scared child was in my place.” Kara explained further, relaxing under sister’s arm that was still over her back and shoulders while breathing in Lena’s scent from the pillow beneath her.“I saw that. I could see how scared you were when even the mention of more tests was brought up. I have never seen you so scared before in the whole time I have known you, not even when you first got to earth.” Alex responded remembering back to when they were teenagers. “You looked so young and innocent, not just because of how you look like a little girl right now, it was in your eyes. Looking at you now, I can tell you are my little sister, the twenty-six-year-old who is a big goof.” Alex joked with a smile as she nudged Kara’s smaller shoulder gently with her own. “But, when you started to get scared, it was like a switch went off. I could see it in your eyes, you just looked different somehow.” Alex finished as Kara nodded.“It’s… everything is so weird and strange, and confusing… I know how I should be acting. I’m twenty-six, I’m an adult... but at the same time I have all these strange urges to do things that an adult wouldn’t usually do… It’s like whatever has happened has left me half adult and half child and the two are battling it out in my mind and in my actions for who should take lead… it’s exhausting, and really starting to freak me out… it was why I came in here. I just, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but Lena makes me feel safe. I needed to feel safe for a bit, because since this whole thing happened I really don’t feel that safe anywhere else but with her.” Kara said guiltily, her shoulders tensing slightly under Alex’s arm as she looked away.“Hey,” Alex said, nudging her softly again, waiting for her sister to look back at her, “it’s okay.” She assured softly. “I understand that Lena has been the one who has been there for you a lot more than what I have this year. It’s only natural she is your safe place right now. Do I wish you felt the same with me? Of course I do, but for now I’m just happy that you have a safe place to go to. I know I’ve let things slide this year between us, and I know we need to work on that together, but I understand and I’m not mad about it okay?” Alex explained, relieved to be able to talk through how she felt about the gap that had been growing in their relationship for some time now.“Maybe in time I can be another safe place for you again too, like I was before.” Alex said after she had her sister’s full attention, smiling as she felt the tension leave the girls back when Kara nodded agreeing with her as a phone could be heard ringing in the other room.“I’ve really missed spending time with you, just us, you know?” Kara said quietly.“Me too.” Alex agreed.“Alex? It’s Eliza.” Maggie said, with a phone in her hand and stopping in the doorway, she didn’t want to interrupt them but knew how Alex had been trying to get hold of her Mother for some time.“Wish me luck!” Alex joked, using her arm to pull Kara closer, kissing her on the head before getting up from the bed to take her phone from Maggie as she left the room answering with a ‘Hi Mom’.“So…” Maggie started as she pushed off from the doorway she was leaning on, walking further into the room, while Kara sat up turning around on the bed to face her, crossing her legs in front of her. “Did you guys talk about tomorrow?” Maggie asked as she sat down on the bed next to Kara, angling her body so she could face the tiny Superhero.“No, but I’m guessing J’onn expects me back tomorrow for those tests?” Kara replied, knowing that J’onn would still be wanting the tests to be done but had probably been convinced by Alex to let it go for at least the rest of the day.“Yeah. Sorry kid, we tried but he was not going to budge on the head scans.” Maggie replied patting Kara’s knee as she watched her closely.“I can understand why. Still don’t like it though.” Kara responded biting her lip as she thought about how tomorrow was likely to go.Badly was the only thing she could imagine. Even thinking about it now made her feel that familiar panic start to rise.“Can we talk about something else, please?” Kara said, the thoughts of the tests and the memories of her dreams after talking with Alex before making her feel nervous again.“Sure. Wanna go spy on your sister as Eliza winds her up?” Maggie suggested mischievously, wiggling her eyebrows causing Kara to laugh. “Where are you going?” She continued after Kara suddenly jumped up from the bed, running towards the door.“To spy, Duh!” Kara replied before taking running out of the room, as Maggie followed her shaking her head.These Danvers ladies were going to get her into trouble one of these days she was sure of it.

Twenty minutes later Alex was still on the phone to Eliza Danvers explaining the situation while having to answer a barrage of questions getting more and more exasperated with each question.Kara and Maggie were leaning against the door of the room she was in, listening to the conversation while giggling quietly when Alex would exclaim loudly after certain questions made her begin to get mad with her Mother and say things such as; ‘No Mom, I’m not just going to feed her pot-stickers all the time!’.“But I like pot-stickers.” Kara grumbled after a moments thought, “Lena lets me have them at least twice a week.” She continued with a pout, causing Maggie to laugh quietly and ruffle her hair fondly.“What are you two doing?” Lena said from behind them suddenly, causing both the child and detective to jump having not heard her come in, Kara instinctively trying to hide behind Maggie before realising it was Lena.“Lena! You’re back!” Kara yelled after the initial shock wore off, running to where Lena was stood with her arms crossed watching them in amusement. “I missed you.” Kara continued after wrapping her arms around her girlfriend’s legs tightly, resting her head just below Lena’s hip on her side.“Come here you.” Lena murmured as she bent down to scoop the girl up in her arms. Kara quickly wrapped her arms and legs around the CEO attaching herself to her girlfriend firmly and breathing deeply as she nuzzled into her neck.“I missed you too darling.” Lena whispered into the girl’s hairline before kissing her head as her hand that wasn’t being used to hold Kara up came to rest on her back. She smiled as she felt the blonde melted into her hold. “Now, what exactly were you two doing when I came in, hmmm?” she asked after a few moments, causing Kara to stop nuzzling into her neck and look up at her.“Maggie said we should spy on Alex.” Kara responded while looking up at Lena innocently.“Did she now?” Lena asked raising an eyebrow at Kara who nodded in response.“Jokingly, might I add.” Maggie supplied, walking up to them from the doorway she had been leaning against to listen in on the conversation, as Kara rested head on Lena’s shoulder.“I take it that’s Eliza on the phone?” Lena questioned while stroking Kara’s hair, the girl’s eyes blinking closed tiredly before opening again.“Yeah, they have been talking for close to half an hour now. It seems to be going okay, most of the time.” Maggie responded looking back to the door.“Maybe we should watch a movie while they finish talking?” Lena suggested as she felt Kara start to get little heavier in her arms, sleep would be soon approaching her.Lena and Kara had been together almost every night in the past week, the CEO being present for most of her girlfriend’s dreams- nightmares would be a better description for them. She knew that Kara had not been sleeping very well, most of the time trying to resist sleep until she couldn’t any longer. She knew Kara must be exhausted after the day they had, especially now she was in a younger body without her powers.Maggie nodded in response after seeing that Kara was practically falling asleep in Lena's arms when she turned back to face them. “What do you say little Danvers? Wanna watch a movie with us?” She asked getting nothing but a nod in response.As Lena carried her down the hallway and into the living room, Kara’s eyes opened briefly to check Maggie was following them before promptly closing again. As they entered the room Lena took a seat on a two-seater couch, stretching out her legs as she kicked off her heals, leaning against the arm of the couch with the large TV to the right of her. She gently shifted Kara to rest against her chest facing the TV, keeping one arm around her while grabbing a blanket from the back of the couch with her other hand.“There’s some Bluerays in the cabinet, or we have Netflix too, controllers just on the side there.” Lena instructed as she wrapped the blanket around herself and Kara, who snuggled into her chest as her small hand came up to clutch a fistful of the CEO’s shirt.“Lena… don’t go…” Kara mumbled sleepily, while Maggie was searching through Netflix for a movie to watch. "I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, I promise.” Lena quickly and quietly assured the child in her arms as Maggie selected a movie and sat down on one of the other two couches in the room.Kara had been fearful of sleep as the week of nightmares had gone on, she would cling to Lena before falling asleep, much like she was doing now. “Go to sleep darling, I’ve got you.” Lena continued while running her hand up and down Kara’s back over the blanket, clutching the girl tighter to her chest with her other hand knowing that Kara found it reassuring when she did this.She knew the girl was trying to resist sleeping but wouldn’t be able to much longer. “I love you…” Kara mumbled before succumbing to sleep, feeling safe for now in her girlfriend’s arms, the movie Maggie picked playing quietly in the background.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

AN: Just to let you know in this chapter where there are “bold italics like this” in speech, that is to show the speech is coming through the phone.Warnings: Mentions of in-human experimentation.

Chapter Five

“What would you like in your pancakes?” Lena asked gently.Currently Lena was in her kitchen making pancakes for breakfast with Kara hoisted up on her hip, being held up with one arm tucked under the girl’s legs. The little blonde had both her arms wrapped around her girlfriend’s neck and her legs around her waist.The night had been long for them both. The most Kara had slept was when she fell asleep on top of Lena’s chest during the first of two movies Lena, Maggie, and Alex after finishing her phone call, had watched. After the two movies they all retired to the bedrooms to sleep.This was when Kara had awoken for the first time, Lena had placed her down in the bed under the covers and left her alone while she went to get ready for bed herself. She had only left the now young superhero for ten minutes but that was all the time it took for her dreams to turn into her reoccurring nightmare, and by the time Lena had returned the poor girl had awoken turning her into a shaking and silently crying mess.After some time, and after changing her into a warm fuzzy pair of pink pyjamas, Lena had managed to calm her by rocking her and humming softly until eventually she had fallen asleep again due to exhausting herself with her crying.Not more than an hour later Kara had stirred again, whimpering loudly before calming again after Lena pulled her closer cooing in her ear, Lena’s presence being enough to ease her fear.Two hours later Lena was woken by Kara’s whimpers again, for the third nightmare that night. Lena was tired herself having gotten very little sleep so far and had tried to calm her girlfriend as quickly as possible by lifting the girl up to lay on her chest again, tucking the blondes head under her chin and running a hand up and down her back in long slow strokes battling to stay awake until Kara had quietened again.An hour and a half after that Lena woke up again and looked to her bedside clock to find that it was 4.30am. Kara was thrashing in her sleep which was what had caused her to wake, her face contorted in fear as she mumbled words incoherently. She didn’t calm this time when Lena tried to soothe her, nor did she wake at first. She was stuck in her nightmare becoming more fearful with every second that past.Lena knew better than to wake her forcefully, having made the mistake one-night last week, it had not ended well. Having learnt that it was best to let Kara wake on her own, Lena had cuddled the girl to her chest while sitting upright in bed holding her until she managed to bring herself out of the dream.She knew that when the thrashing stopped, and Kara clung to her tightly that she had awoken. She knew that when the mumbles had been replaced with sobs that Kara had awoken. She knew when the child in her arms began to shake and shudder that Kara had awoken. She also knew that this nightmare had been much worse than the ones Kara had already had tonight, she knew those nightmares earlier were just a build-up.Lena had tried everything she could think of to calm her. She tried rocking her again while they sat cuddled together on the bed, but Kara kept crying. She tried walking around the room with Kara resting in her arms, but Kara’s shaking didn’t stop. She read to her, she even tried to sing to her, but nothing worked.Kara was too wound up and now too afraid to go back to sleep.Which was how Lena found herself an hour later in the morning making pancakes in her kitchen, having decided it would be better to get up and make breakfast as it seemed neither of them would be getting anymore sleep. She had attempted to leave Kara in the living room watching a movie with a blanket wrapped around her, but as soon as Lena went to leave the room Kara had ran after her and clung to her shaking in fear again. Her fear seemingly being rooted in the thought of being left by herself, Lena’s close presence being the only thing that helped her feel safe.So instead Lena found her self holding a very clingy and frightened child-like superhero in her arms as she made breakfast, she felt tired after barely getting any sleep, but she didn’t blame Kara. She knew Kara was scared, she could feel the fear radiating off her. Kara really wasn’t trying to be difficult or attention seeking, she just wanted to feel safe and right now that meant staying as close as possible to her girlfriend at all times.“Blueberries please.” Kara replied quietly to Lena’s question, speaking softly into her girlfriend’s neck as her head rested on the CEO’s shoulder.“Sounds good to me.” Lena responded, bouncing the girl up higher on her hip as she walked to the fridge to retrieve a packet of blueberries.“Hey.” Maggie said suddenly from behind them causing Kara to jump and whimper into Lena’s neck fearfully, her grip tightening.“Shhh, you’re okay. It’s just Maggie.” Lena soothed placing the blueberries down on the counter before rubbing the blondes back as she turned to face Maggie who was watching them with an eyebrow raised in question. “She hasn’t had a good night.” she explained quietly, bouncing Kara up in her arms again while continuing to rub soothing circles onto her back until the girl’s whimpers lessened.“Looks as though you haven’t either. How long have you been up with her?” Maggie asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table.“About an hour, we tried going back to sleep first but found it difficult. So we decided pancakes were a better idea, right Kara?” Lena replied dropping a kiss to the girl’s head after addressing her, causing Maggie to smile as she watched.It still amazed her how calmly and naturally Lena had taken to the situation, she was very good with little Kara, much better with her than even Alex had been at first. Lena was the last person that Maggie thought would be good with children, well bar herself. Although as she thought on it more she realised she hadn’t really got to know the youngest Luthor that well, they hadn’t really spent that much time together. Maybe now was a good time to change that, make something good come from this situation they had been thrust into.“Blueberry pancakes.” Kara added quietly lifting her head from its hiding spot against Lena’s neck, causing Lena to smile at her before kissing her forehead.“That’s right, how about you help me by adding the blueberries?” Lena asked the girl in her arms, the small blonde nodding her head eagerly as Lena picked up the discarded packet of blueberries passing them to Kara, who held on to them with one hand while keeping her other arm wrapped around Lena’s neck.“Do you want some help?” Maggie offered from the table, wondering how Lena was managing to even attempt to cook breakfast with Kara on her hip cuddled up to her.“Don’t worry, we’re okay. I can make some vegan pancake batter if you fancy some?” Lena replied, addressing Maggie over her shoulder as she poured some batter into the hot pan making the first pancake.Lena was used to having Kara all over her, watching her as she cooked them food. Though usually Kara would just be hugging her from behind watching over her shoulder, not cuddled up in her arms attached to her hip.“Nah I’m good, thanks though. I’ll probably just have some of those blueberries.” Maggie replied, at the same time as Kara chucked a large handful of blueberries into the mixture in the pan. “If little Danvers leaves me any that is.” She continued in a teasing tone as Lena flipped the pancake over with a spatula while Kara looked to her sheepishly over Lena’s shoulder.“There’s more in the fridge, we usually get through a good ten packets a week.” Lena assured, winking and smiling to Kara who looked up at her guiltily at the mention of how much food she tends to consume while staying with her girlfriend.

Thirty minutes later Alex Danvers walked into the kitchen rubbing sleep out of her eyes, catching Lena’s attention and causing her to smile. The last couple of days she had started to notice how alike Alex and Kara were at times in their mannerisms even though they were not blood related sisters. Lena knew that Kara idolised her sister, and theorised that in turn made her subconsciously act similar trying to please her sister, it was rather endearing to watch in her opinion.“Morning.” Alex muttered tiredly as she took a seat at the kitchen table next to Maggie and across from where Lena was sat with Kara on her lap.On the table were four plates, three empty, two with forks on and one with pancakes on in the middle of the table while in front of Maggie sat a partially eaten packet of blueberries.“We saved you some pancakes.” Lena mentioned, while looking through her emails on her phone in one hand, as her other hand was wrapped around Kara’s stomach holding her in place, thumb rubbing little circles over the girl’s pyjama top.“I’m impressed. When we were younger I was lucky if Kara left me a single pancake, let alone three.” Alex quipped while loading the pancakes onto the plate in front of her, causing Maggie to laugh as after seeing the way the youngest Danvers devoured her breakfast earlier she could imagine that was true.“I made sure there was plenty.” Lena commented with a smile looking to Alex over the top of Kara’s head as the girl leaned back into her tiredly, the sheer amount of food she had eaten making her feel content and sleepy.“Little Danvers is about to slip into a food coma, as you can see. I’ve seen you eat Kara, but that was impressive, even by your standards.” Maggie said in awe as Kara smiled seemingly proud.“These are really filling, I’m glad there’s only three left, I think my usual five would put me in a food coma of my own.” Alex said after swallowing a mouthful of pancake.“Times that by four and you will be where Kara is now.” Lena added with a smirk, placing her phone back down onto the table.“Twenty?!” Alex asked in disbelief, Maggie chuckling at the expression on her face. “You ate twenty pancakes?” She continued her voice rising causing Kara’s eyes to open and look to her sister in confusion not understanding why she was so shocked by this.“I was hungry.” Kara replied with a shrug, not seeing what the problem was, most days she ate around the same amount for breakfast, to her it was normal.“Your Kryptonian appetite is still in tact it would seem, even if your powers aren’t.” Lena said kissing her girlfriends head as she patted her stomach causing Kara to giggle.“It’s a good thing you are dating a Billionaire, I don’t think anyone else would be able to fund your eating habits.” Alex joked while cutting into her second pancake shaking her head.“Bite me.” Kara grumbled glaring at her sister across the table causing Maggie to laugh at how ridiculous that sounded coming from an eight-year-old that looked no older than five right now.“Great response kid.” Maggie said after laughing as Kara crossed her arms shifting her glare from her sister to Maggie.“Stop calling me kid, I’m twenty-six.” Kara insisted sounding grumpy.“Right now, you look like an adorable little five-year-old.” Alex teased before eating another mouthful of pancake.“A slightly grumpy five-year-old, do you need a nap?” Maggie added with a teasing smirk as Kara’s eyes narrowed further, if she had her heat vision they would have both been fried by now.“You both suck,” Kara responded causing them both to chuckle, “seriously, I hate you both.” She continued pouting.“No you don’t.” Alex replied with a smile starting on her third and finale pancake while Lena stood from the table, lifting Kara up with her before placing her back down the seat she was sat in before.“I’m going to get showered and changed.” Lena announced, meeting Kara’s questioning eyes before wrapping an arm around her girlfriend’s shoulders pulling her in for a quick hug. “I’ll be back soon, okay?” She whispered softly into Kara’s hair before kissing the top of her head after feeling Kara’s small arms cling to her for a moment before nodding and releasing her grip reluctantly.“Play nicely.” Lena directed to Maggie and Alex before walking out the room towards her bedroom as Kara watched her leave, pulling her legs up to her chest.Her comment made both Maggie and Alex laugh as she left, before they both turned to look at Kara sharing a look at how quickly the young superhero appeared to tense up as Lena left the room.“There’s some blueberries left if you want them little Danvers?” Maggie asked, offering the packet to Kara. remembering how food usually made her seem happier.“No thank you.” Kara replied quietly, her eyes still trained on the door Lena had left through, causing Maggie’s eyes to widen in disbelief, Kara never turned down food.The three were silent for a moment while Alex ate, and Maggie looked to her phone checking the time, she would have to be off soon.“I’ll be heading to the station shortly. We kept Edge in a holding cell last night, let him sweat a bit before interviewing him today. I won’t be able to go with you to the DEO today, but I can come meet you afterwards if you’re still there?” Maggie explained and suggested as the shower could be heard running from the bedrooms.“Let me know how it goes with Edge and if he knows anything about the device?” Alex asked as she finished her pancakes, placing her cutlery down on to the plate and looking to her little sister who was still staring after where Lena had just left from. “Maybe text me when you finish? Just in case we have already left, I think we’ll just get the tests done then leave. I’ll see how it goes when we go in later this morning.” Alex continued as she looked from Kara to Maggie thoughtfully before standing from the table and walking over to her little sister, who was still staring at the doorway Lena had left through.Alex bent down gently picking her little sister up from the chair, causing Kara to cuddle into her instantly burying her face in the crook of Alex’s neck.Not liking how tense her sister felt in her arms Alex swayed her from side to side for a few moments before sitting back down on the chair with Kara cuddled up in her lap.“Little Luthor said she didn’t have a great night’s sleep.” Maggie mentioned to Alex as she rubbed her little sister’s shoulder and patted the small of her back.“Did you have those dreams you were telling me about?” Alex asked softly causing Kara to nod in response as she tucked her head under her sister’s chin, her one hand coming up to clutch the material of her sister’s top near her chest.Alex’s frowned with worry, the last thing they needed was for Kara to be frightened before they even took her to the DEO to finish off the tests. The dreams Kara had told her about had unsettled her, and she wasn’t even the one having them. It was no wonder that her little sister had been nervous and clingy since being de-aged.She was more vulnerable now she didn’t have her abilities. She was basically a human child now. A child who could not defend herself, as Edge had demonstrated to her yesterday first hand.“You’re safe here with us, you know that, right?” Alex asked again, her hands continuing to rub the girls shoulder and pat her back softly as Kara nodded again in response.

“I see you managed to get yourself arrested Mr Edge, that wasn’t very smart of you was it?”

“Well if your device had worked how it was meant to, there wouldn’t have been a problem.”

“My device? Oh no, it’s not mine. You paid for its development, it’s yours.”

“You designed the damn thing! And you gave me a faulty one, it doesn’t work right.”

“I didn’t design it, I merely sourced the materials needed but I assure you it does work. In fact, it worked even better than we anticipated.”

“I didn’t get to hit my mark as that bloody nosey reporter got in the way!”

“Exactly as I had hoped she would, and what a good distraction she will create now. He wanted the girl distracted, now she will become the distraction herself. None of us could have hoped for a better outcome.”

“I could have! It was meant to be that bitch Lena Luthor! You tricked me, you planned this all along, didn’t you? You knew the girl would get in the way, its why you told me to go when she was there.”

“And you preformed like the perfect little dancing monkey.”

“It was meant to be Luthor! I need her out of the way of my business, now she will be even more determined to ruin me!”

“Well that’s a pity for you then, isn’t it?

Personally, for me the outcome was what I had hoped. Her little pet reporter is out of the way and indisposed just like he wanted.”

“You mean you wanted, you’re the one that just said you wanted her to be a distracted.”

“No. I wanted her dead and if I had my way she would be. There were higher orders to keep her alive, but out of play.”

“By who?”

“That’s not your concern, your part is played, you are finished. It would have been much smarter to use your phone call to contact a lawyer, but as we established, being smart is not your strong suit is it?”

“What?”

“You have done your job; your services are no longer required. Goodbye Mr Edge.”

“Wait, but you need to help me! I need a –“A dial tone sounded.“-Lawyer... Damn it!”

“It’s alright, it’s going to be over before you know it.” Lena said as she gently placed Kara down on the table, giving her a tight squeeze before letting go and straightening back up into a standing position.“Please don’t leave me!” Kara cried grabbing on to Lena’s blouse tightly before the CEO had a chance to move away from the table.“Hey, its okay. I’m not leaving you I promise. I’ll be in that room watching over you from the window.” Lena said pointing towards the glass window behind her with one hand while rubbing the other over Kara’s back. “I’ll be able to talk to you from that room the whole time, you won’t be alone.” She continued turning back to face Kara once again, who looked at her with uncertainty in her eyes.“The machines all cued up.” Alex’s voice rang through the intercom device, both Kara and Lena turned to look at the window again to see Alex stood watching them.“See, you’ll be able to hear me, just like we heard Alex.” Lena said running a hand over the blonde’s hair. “Can you lay down for me?” Lena asked, smiling as Kara did as instructed before leaning down to brush a stray blonde strand of hair back from the superhero’s face. “Good girl, I’m going to go to the window now. I’ll let you know when I’m there, we won’t move you into the machine before telling you, alright?” She finished, bending down to place a kiss to Kara’s forehead.Lena smiled softly as she straightened up again before turning and walking from the room, passing by Alex, J’onn and Doctor Hamilton in the control room as she made her way to the window that held the intercom device. “Kara can you hear me.” Lena asked.“Yeah.” Kara replied softly, her bottom lip trembling as she clutched her hands together over her stomach tightly.“It’s alright darling. You’re completely safe, nothing in the room can or will hurt you. Me and Alex promised you that, remember?” Lena asked, trying to remind Kara of their earlier conversation with Alex on their way over to the DEO.“I remember…where’s Alex?” Kara asked quietly, her hands beginning to shake as the fear still built up in her even with the promise of safety.Alex, hearing her name sound over the intercom, walked through to join Lena at the window leaving J’onn and Doctor Hamilton in the control room. “I’m right here. Would you like me to stay with Lena and talk to you?” Alex asked, secretly that the answer would be yes, she missed the times when she felt needed by Kara.She hated seeing her sister frightened the way she had been the last couple of days, but at the same time it was nice to feel needed again like she used to be when they were younger.“Yes, please?” Kara replied quietly with a small whimper.“It’s alright, I’ll be here the whole time. Are you okay for us to start moving you into the machine now Kara?” Alex asked, she could tell her little sister was getting nervous and pent up already, she knew that they needed to get the scans done as quickly as possible before that nervousness turned to panic.All that was heard was a whimper in response to her question.“It’s okay darling, close your eyes for me. Me and Alex will be right here, nothing is going to happen to you, no one is going to hurt you.” Lena assured as Alex nodded to J’onn who pressed the button to make the table Kara was laying on move into the machine slowly.Slowly the lights in the machine turned on one by one as the table Kara was on began to roll backwards, causing the girl to whimper again as she felt herself moving.“You’re okay Kara, its just the machine moving you into position.” Alex assured her little sister as the monitor in front of them turned on showing images of Kara in the machine, they could see her looking around frantically as she was moving further into the machine.“Lena…I can’t see you.” Kara whimpered in fear, she could no longer see the window as she was too far in the machine now, she felt surrounded and trapped.Her breathing started to become erratic as she realised she was now too far into the machine to get out like she had done yesterday. She was stuck in there until they brought her out on the table. She was now completely at their mercy, and the mercy of Doctor Hamilton. Just like she was at the mercy of the doctors in her dreams and that fact made her feel very unsettled.“Kara we’re right here. It’s okay, once you are in position Doctor Hamilton will do the scans then we will get you out as soon as possible.” Lena assured her as Alex mouthed to Doctor Hamilton to make it fast.“Okay sweetheart, the first scan is going to start in a moment. You’ll hear a beep from the machine then the lights will turn on and off one by one. I need you to try to keep your head as still as possible until you hear the second beep.” Alex explained, hoping that if Kara knew exactly what to expect it would help her to feel slightly more at ease.“Close your eyes and take some deep breaths, you’re okay.” Lena instructed as the machine beeped causing Kara to jump. “Remember a few months ago, when you came to my office and whisked me away for the day; saying that I work too hard and that I needed to get in touch with my inner child?” Lena asked trying to distract her girlfriend from what was going on around her.“Yeah… I took you to the Zoo.” Kara replied shakily after a pause, her eyes screwed shut as her hands shook.“Well, I didn’t tell you at the time, but that was the first time I had ever been to a Zoo, or any type of theme park at all. I really enjoyed that day, we should do more stuff like that together.” Lena said softly as Alex mouthed ‘keep going’ to her after seeing that Kara was relatively calm and still. “I was thinking maybe we could try an aquarium next? I used to be fascinated by fish when I was younger, but never got the chance to go. What do you think Kara?” Lena continued, trying to keep Kara distracted from all the buzzing and noises going on around her in the machine.“Sometimes they have penguins too… me and Alex went to one on a school trip once.” Kara replied after a small delay squeezing her hands tightly together with every noise she heard in the machine.
“You know, when I was growing up with the Luthor’s, I had a maid that had a bad leg. She was a lovely woman, but she walked like a penguin sometimes. I wasn’t trying to me mean, but I couldn’t help that it always used to make me laugh.” Lena replied causing Kara to smile imaging it to be true knowing how silly her girlfriend's sense of humour was in secret. It was one of the many things they had in common, the most ridiculous of things would make them both burst out into laughter, while others would look on in confusion.Suddenly the machine sounded a second beep causing Kara’s eyes to blink open then shut again quickly with a whimper.“It’s okay, you’re doing really well darling. J’onn just wants to do one more scan then we’ll get you out, I promise.” Lena soothed as Alex motioned to Doctor Hamilton to get the second scan set up and ready to go.“That’s right, just one more. It will be just like the last one, you’ll hear a beep to signal the scan beginning, then the lights will start to go off and on one by one, then another beep to signal the scan is over. This one might go on a little longer than the last one, just try to stay as still as possible for us.” Alex explained once again before nodding to J’onn telling him to start the scan.The first beep caused Kara to jump again her eyes opening instinctively.As she looked up she could see a red light beaming down over her. “Alex!” Kara cried in panic, the light seeming far too familiar.“You’re okay Kara, try and keep still.” Alex responded immediately, noticing the sound of fear in her sister’s voice straight away.“What’s the red light doing?... It’s going to burn me! Alex!” Kara cried desperately, panic beginning to set in, she remembered red beams like this one from her dreams.Beams that were like lasers that burned her skin.“Kara, it won’t hurt you, that’s the imaging sensor. It’s what preforms the scan, that’s all, I promise.” Alex explained as Kara whimpered trying to move her head away from the red light. “I need you to stay still for me, I promise it will not hurt you.” She continued noticing Kara’s movement on the monitor, knowing if she didn’t stop soon they would have to do a third scan as this one would fail.“No! It’ll burn me, I wanna get out, let me out!” Kara cried, trying to sit up but being unable to due to the small amount of space in the machine, her breathing increasing and becoming raspy as panic set in.In her mind she saw flashes of her dreams. People were coming at her with knifes. Lasers were burning her. She was trapped in small spaces. She was being yelled at. She was being tested on in machines like the one she was in now. She was being cut and burned over and over again. She was trapped with no way of escaping.“Nothing in there can hurt you, I promise. I need you to stay still and close your eyes like last time Kara, just like Lena told you to.” Alex tried, as she looked to Lena in worry.Neither of them were sure how much longer Kara was going to be able to manage in the machine with her beginning to panic the way she was.“Kara nothing is going to hurt you, you’re okay, I promise I wouldn’t let you stay in there if anything was going to hurt you.” Lena promised trying to assure the girl as she continued to try and move away from the red beam in the machine.J’onn and Doctor Hamilton could be heard from the control room muttering about how they would need to do the scan again to get a clearer image as this one would surely blur.“No! let me out, I wanna get out! Lena! Lena their going to hurt me! Please I wanna get out, please don’t hurt me! Lena help!” Kara started screaming as she thrashed from side to side in full panic trying to force her way out of the machine. “Nooooo! Please don’t… Stop…Make it stop.” Kara cried curling up into a small ball, her arms over her head as though she was trying to protect herself while sobbing hysterically.“Alex it’s too much for her.” Lena said urgently her own eyes filling up with tears, she hated seeing her girlfriend so afraid while not being able to do anything to comfort her.“Pull her out.” Alex called to Doctor Hamilton, as Lena walked past her towards the control room. “We only got one full scan, we need to continue.” J’onn argued as Alex followed Lena down to the control area.“I don’t give a damn how many scans you got, pull her out now!” Lena yelled as she charged passed them yanking open the door to enter the room the machine was in as Alex quickly pushed the power button on the machines control panel making the lights inside go off and the table start to slowly trail out of the machine.Lena dashed up to the machine with the intent of swooping Kara up into her arms only to stop suddenly when the girl yelped upon feeling her touch and whimpered curling into herself further in fear of being hurt. “Hey, hey, hey, you’re okay. It’s just me, look just me, see? Just Lena.” She soothed bending down in front of the table and speaking softly over the girls sobs and whimpers her heart breaking at the sight of her child-like girlfriend visibly trembling in fear, her whole body a shaking mess.“Kara look at me, come on it’s alright. You’re safe I promise. I won’t let anything hurt you. Look at me darling, you can open your eyes now. That’s it, open your eyes for me.” Lena coaxed as Kara peaked at her from under her arms a sob mumbled ‘Lena’ falling from her lips.“It’s okay I’m right here. I’m going to pick you up now, is that okay?” Lena asked waiting for confirmation before touching the girl again not wanting to scare her further.She could hear arguing in the room behind her before a door slammed loudly. The noise causing Kara to flinch in fear scurrying towards her, practically falling into her girlfriend’s arms as she trembled in fear. “You’re okay I’ve got you, Lena’s got you.” Lena cooed while standing up securing Kara in her arms with an arm under her bottom, her other arm around her back clutching the girl to her tightly as Alex came to stand in the doorway.Lena could see Doctor Hamilton at the computer in the control room, but she couldn’t see J’onn anywhere. “You’re safe, no one’s going to hurt you darling. It’s all over now I promise, no more tests. Its all over now, you’re okay.” She soothed while bouncing the blonde gently in her arms, walking up to Alex as Kara clung to her tightly, arms and legs completely wrapped around her girlfriend as she sobbed into her neck.“It’s all over, no more tests.” Lena said, directing the last part to Alex as she came to stand next to her, Kara continuing to sob into her neck and tremble in her arms, her fear and panic still present.“No more tests.” Alex agreed softly, slowly extending her hand to stoke Kara’s hair, hating the way Kara flinched at her touch initially. “It’s alright, no more tests now. I’m so proud of you Kara, I know you were scared, but you did really well.” She continued, stroking Kara’s hair again, feeling relieved when Kara didn’t flinch this time.The room was silent for a few minutes bar Kara’s sobs, and Lena’s and Alex’s soft reassurances. Both women concentrating on attempting to soothe the small superhero as her sobs began to slowly calm to little whimpers and sniffles, her trembling beginning to lessen as her fear and panic lessened.After some time, Doctor Hamilton poked her head into the room after knocking on the door, the sound of the knock starling Kara again who whimpered loudly her whole body flinching harshly at the sound.“It’s okay, I’ve got you.” Lena soothed, running her hand through Kara’s hair before starting to rub little circles onto her back to calm her as Doctor Hamilton look at them apologetically.“Did the tests get you the results you needed?” Alex asked keeping her voice quiet.“Yes. The scans confirmed that Kara is between eight and nine years old like I thought, though there are a few things I need to discus with you.” Doctor Hamilton replied seeming uneasy. “It would be best if I show you, both of you.” She continued before walking back through to the control room.Alex looked to Lena before following her to the control room, Lena dropping a kiss to the side of Kara’s head before following suit as she felt the girl grip her tighter while still shying away against her neck. Once they were in the control room Doctor Hamilton brought up two different scans on to the computer screen allowing each scan to fill half the screen as Lena sat on the spare chair settling Kara on her lap so the girl could still hide against her neck, while Alex stood at her side.“The scan to the left is the one we took last week, see how there is a small dot there?” Doctor Hamilton began, making the computer mouse cursor hover over the dot to highlight it as both Lena and Alex nodded. “Okay, well I thought at first this was just an anomaly, until I looked at the scan we just did. The scan on the right is from today, see here in the same area where the dot is on last week’s scan.” Doctor Hamilton instructed, as both Alex and Lena leaned in a little closer to the screen for a better look.“What the hell is that?” Alex asked loudly looking confused at what she was seeing.“Can you go in any closer?” Lena asked after dropping a kiss to Kara’s head, running a hand over her hair as the girl whimpered nervously at her sister’s outburst.Doctor Hamilton nodded clicking the computers mouse to enlarge the scan on the area needed, causing Alex to gasp at what they saw on the computer screen.Lena looked shocked, she thought she had been seeing things at first, but now the scan and been enlarged there was no way she was wrong. What she thought she had imagined was truthfully what she had seen.“Why is there a microchip in my girlfriend’s brain?”

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Reader Information:
Speech written in
bold italics like this, is coming through a telephone due to a phone call.Warnings: Mentions of In-human experimentation.

Chapter Six

"You have some nerve keeping me here over night like that!" Edge yelled at detective Maggie Sawyer as she walked into the police interview room, taking a seat and placing a folder down on the table in front of her."My commanding officer thought you could use some time to calm down," Maggie replied, not even looking to Morgan Edge as she flipped open the folder to look through its contents, "you seemed very angry yesterday when we arrested you.""I was angry at being arrested for nothing," Edge yelled back, banging his cuffed hands onto the table."I would hardly call assaulting a child nothing," Maggie replied sharply, looking up to him, "nor would I call being in possession of, and using, an unlicensed alien firearm nothing. Speaking of, are you ready to tell us how you got your hands on such a weapon yet?" She leaned forward, crossing her arms over her chest on top of the table."I don't know what you're talking about," Edge responded, looking away to the wall."Hmmm." Maggie muttered while pulling out a transcript from the folder, her eyes scanning quickly over the page. "The conversation you had earlier this morning would suggest otherwise. I have to agree with the person you were talking to, it wasn't the best use of your one phone call.""That was private," Edge replied squaring his jaw, still staring at a spot on the wall."Not when you have been arrested for using a dangerous firearm," Maggie replied coldly. "Care to tell us who it was you were talking to?"They had tried to trace the call already, but all they found was a dead burner phone with no way of tracing its owner. The voice on the other line, although understandable, was not recognisable to any voice recognition software. It was as though it had been completely scrambled.Edge stayed silent, still refusing to look at Maggie."Seeing as you wasted your one phone call on someone who seems to have no interest in helping you, I would suggest you start cooperating. Unless you want us to add conspiracy to the list of crimes we can charge you with?" Maggie goaded, her eyebrows raised in questioning."Good luck making it stick," Edge said, finally turning his head back to look at Maggie as he spoke."Not ready to talk yet I see," Maggie commented, beginning to collect the papers from the folder back up and placing them back inside the folder. "Officers, take Mr Edge back to his cell," she called loudly as she closed the folder."You can't do that. I have rights," Edge said as the door to the interview room opened and two officers walked in."Actually, I can. You were found in the possession of an alien weapon, in this state that is classed as a terrorist weapon. Under the Terrorism Act we can hold you for up to fourteen days before charging you, and believe me, we have enough to charge you already," Maggie said as the officers unlocked the cuffs securing Edge to the table before re-cuffing him with his hands behind him."As for your rights, you do have the right to a lawyer. Seeing as you wasted your phone call we will appoint a state lawyer for you. Take him down," she finished, directing the last part to the officers who walked Edge out of the room."I'll have your job for this! You hear me? You're finished!" Edge shouted over his shoulder."Good luck making that stick," Maggie quipped following them out the room herself.

Back at the DEO, Alex was taking some time to herself in her own personal lab, trying to sort her thoughts out after everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.Doctor Hamilton had wanted to do further tests and had begun to question Kara on the chip found in her brain, only to be stopped by Alex, who ushered Lena out the room, asking her to take Kara for some food.Lena had understood why; Kara was frightened, her panic from the tests still present, the last thing they needed was to cause her more fear with insistent questioning. She had picked the girl up in her arms again, carrying her away from the medical bay with the blonde cuddled up close to her much like she had done yesterday.Alex had understood why Doctor Hamilton wanted to do more tests, why she wanted to find out more about the chip and its purpose. She did too- but not at the expense of her little sister's emotional state. The tests had already been hard enough for her, now that they knew her age for sure it was even more important to keep her as calm as possible so that the psychological damage from all that was happening to her right now was kept to a minimum.Figuring out how the chip was in her brain or why it was there in the first place could come later, when the young superhero had calmed and was feeling safe again.After leaving the medical bay herself Alex had texted Maggie, asking her to come back to the DEO as soon as she could. She had also texted her Mother the latest details and was waiting to hear back, knowing that after the latest tests results Eliza would almost definitely end up coming to National City.

"Hey! Thank god you two are here, I've been going nuts in here by myself," Winn said, swinging around in his chair to face them. While Lena stood watching in amusement as Kara ran into the room and climbed up onto the chair next to Winn to inspect what he had been doing."We brought you some chocolate!" Kara said happily, passing the bag of chocolate buttons to her friend, who smiled in thanks.After leaving the medical bay, Lena had taken Kara to the canteen to get the young superhero some food, knowing the girl would be hungry and hoping that the more relaxed atmosphere would help to calm her down. It had taken a while but after a good twenty minutes Kara had relaxed her grip around her girlfriend's neck, where she had been hiding against while sitting on her lap, and had slowly started to eat the sandwiches that Lena had brought them. She didn't once pull away from the safety of the CEO's arms, but Lena would still take it as a small victory.After they had finished their lunches Kara had asked if they could take Winn some food too, and spend some more time with him.One look at Kara's even brighter than normal blue eyes that were staring up at her with such innocence had Lena agreeing right away. She had found it hard to say no to Kara beforehand, now it seemed almost impossible, especially when it came to anything that brought a smile to the young girl's face."Can I help with your research?" Kara asked seeming very intrigued as she looked down at all the charts and pictures on the desk in front of Winn."Maybe, I mean you still have all your memories as big Kara, right?" Winn asked, opening the bag of chocolate buttons and offering the bag to Kara, who quickly took one and started munching on it."Yes Winn, I'm still me. I just look like a kid right now," Kara replied after swallowing the chocolate, the crinkle appearing on her forehead."Sorry, it's just that yesterday you seemed very, well, not yourself," Winn responded before eating a chocolate himself as he stood from his chair collecting two pairs of gloves and goggles."I…a lot had happened yesterday...it freaked me out." Kara replied sheepishly as Winn passed her a pair of gloves and goggles. The gloves were far too big for her, and Lena almost snorted at the comical sight."Yeah, I'll bet," Winn replied, before eating another chocolate, "hmm, we may need to get you some smaller gloves for another time. Just be careful, alright? Don't want you getting any younger on us than you already are." He continued, getting up and moving to a glass case which held the device as Kara climbed down from the chair and followed behind him, Lena coming further into the room.Lena had always found Winn and Kara's friendship very sweet, it was clear to see they both cared a great deal about each other. They had grown an almost sibling-like closeness, when the two of them got talking about science or started working together on a project they would become completely engrossed in it.At times, it reminded her of her relationship with Lex, before he changed and became a completely different person."Is that the thing Edge tried to shoot Lena with?" Kara asked as Winn carefully lifted the device from the glass case before passing it to Kara, who held it in both hands and looked at it closely."Yeah, that is what we think caused this. We have no idea what it is though, or how it did this." Winn said, watching Kara handle the device."These symbols look familiar, like Kryptonian, but I can't read them," Kara said quietly after looking at the device for a while, the crinkle on her forehead becoming more prominent."I thought they looked similar too," Winn agreed, glancing to Lena who was stood behind them watching closely."What is it made from? It's like metal but – not," Kara asked, running a gloved finger over the device."I don't know. It's something we have never seen before on earth or in the DEO databases. It's alien, but we have no idea what it is," Winn explained as Kara's frown deepened.As she looked at the device she couldn't shift this strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.It was almost like a dread.It was as though she recognised the device in some way, but she couldn't pin point from where or when."How does it work?" Kara asked quietly, almost in a trance as she stared at the device while Lena came to stand closer to her."We think it let it out a very high amount of solar radiation when it went off, and when that hit you it caused a reaction in your cells," Lena explained, knowing that Kara would not have remembered the information they had found out yesterday. "Solar radiation repairs your body when you are hurt, we think it supercharged your cells which caused you to de-age. In effect, repairing you by making you younger. It would explain why Doctor Hamilton found high levels of solar radiation in your blood work, and why you have the symptoms of a solar flare, the levels are much higher than what you are used to."The room went silent as Kara continued to look over the device, taking in all the information, while Lena and Winn watched her closely. "Is it dangerous? The solar radiation," Kara asked after some time."No, it shouldn't be dangerous," Lena assured. "Your body is used to soaking up solar radiation. Hopefully, when the radiation disperses your powers will start to kick back in. We think it's the sheer amount of solar radiation that has caused you to solar flare," She explained further, reiterating her earlier explanations while Kara looked up at her, a frown still present on her face."What about you? You were near when went it off, could the radiation have affected you?" Kara questioned further. "I'm okay darling, it hasn't affected me. I was checked out yesterday and everything was normal. You don't need to worry about me," Lena assured quickly."I promise," Lena continued, stoking the blonde's hair as Kara nodded turning her attention back to the device in her hands once again, looking at it with intense concentration."Kara?" Winn said, drawing the girl's attention away from the device in her hands and back up towards him, "do you recognise it at all?" he continued carefully, noticing the blonde seemed to tense a little at the question. But Kara merely eyed the device again before shaking her head and passing it back to him."Are you sure?" Lena asked, kneeling to the ground as Kara came closer towards her while Winn placed the device back into the glass case."I don't know." Kara said quietly, she looked nervous and confused, looking back to the device in the glass case again. "I don't think so…but it looks familiar...I don't know… I'm sorry, I'll – I'll try harder," she continued looking up to Lena fearfully causing Lena frown in worry, wrapping her one arm loosely around Kara's back."Hey, it's okay. You don't need to be sorry, you haven't done anything wrong, alright?" Lena assured, cupping the small blonde's cheek with her spare hand after removing the large goggles. Kara nodded, wrapping her arms around Lena's neck to cuddle into her."It's okay." Lena assured her gently, stroking her hair."Kara, do you think it would be okay if I showed the device to the AI of your mother? To see if she knows anything about it?" Winn asked after a few moments causing Kara to pull back from Lena and turn to him, deep in thought.J'onn had wanted Winn to take the device to the AI straight away but so far Winn had delayed. He knew the AI meant a lot to Kara, it was one of her only links left to Krypton and her parents, and he didn't want to use the AI's knowledge without Kara's consent like other agents of the DEO had done before."She might know more about it," Kara affirmed as Lena stood back up behind her. "But, I wanna come with you. I have some things I need to ask her," she continued leaning her back against Lena's legs. Winn nodded in agreement as Lena placed her hands on top of Kara's shoulders."Alex and J'onn should be there too, can you ask them to meet us there?" Kara asked sounding more confident, more like her usual self, even though she didn't feel it.

"Hey, I got here as soon as I could." Maggie said, walking through the door to Alex's lab."Here, take a seat." J'onn said standing to offer his seat to the detective."What's going on?" Maggie asked after noticing the stressed look on her girlfriend's face as she took the offered seat, J'onn leaning against the edge of the table. "Did Kara get through the scans okay?" she continued, concern in her voice."We managed to complete one full scan." J'onn replied, glancing to Alex.Alex had now filled him in on the dreams her little sister had been having, trying to make him understand why she had been reacting the way she had been to the tests. He had been angry at first that he had not been told, which had resulted in him storming out from the medical bay earlier in the day.If he had known, he would not have pushed Kara the way he had done.He had gotten close to both the Danvers girls, they reminded him of his own daughters. The last thing he wanted to do was cause the youngest to become more afraid than she already was, even if it had been unknowingly."Okay?" Maggie prompted, confusion evident in her voice."It confirmed what Doctor Hamilton told us yesterday. Kara right now is between eight and nine years old. She's showing signs of malnutrition for her age which could explain why she is a lot smaller than she should be. Why, we are not sure," Alex said, explaining what they had found out and managed to theorise so far, "her brain function is advanced for her age, but that could be down to her Kryptonian cells. Really, she should not be able to remember us or anything about her time on earth, but her memories seem to be perfect. This could be partly why she has been acting the way she has. She has the brain function and emotional state of a child but remembers far past what she should be able to, with everything that happened to her, leaving Krypton, all her struggles here on earth, everything with Astra last year all running around in her mind while she is emotionally a child right now, it must be utterly confusing and terrifying for her.""So, she is a child right now, in more than just looks?" Maggie asked after a pause taking in everything she was just told."Yes and no." J'onn replied, "Kara has the emotional stability of a child, but her adult memories are conflicting her. Which is why she has been so confused and varying in the way she reacts to things,""No wonder she is so scared, that must feel so confusing," Maggie commented, just thinking about it all made her head hurt."When we spoke last night, she said it felt like there were two of her fighting in her head, she said she knows how she is meant to act but she keeps getting urges to do things that she wouldn't normally," Alex replied, remembering the conversation that she had with her sister."So, would it not be easier for her to just let the child side out, for now at least?" Maggie asked, voicing what they had all been thinking."Probably, but at the same time it could also make things worse." J'onn answered. "We can't afford to lose the Kara we know, not until we know for sure we can get her back. This city needs Supergirl." He concluded."What about Kara, what about her needs?" Maggie countered, the girl would be her sister in law in the months to come, and though they had not always seen eye to eye she cared for the younger woman. She knew how much Kara meant to Alex, she felt a strong need to protect the alien, even more so after everything that had happened in the last week.Maggie had been the one to find Kara when she had her first panic attack due to Psi's physic attacks. Seeing the younger woman so frightened and vulnerable had awoken a protectiveness in the detective, and now that the blonde had been turned into a child that protectiveness had only grown stronger."I think for now it's best Kara tries to keep holding onto her adult self." Alex said, partially agreeing with J'onn. "Not just because she is Supergirl, but because if she doesn't, I think it will confuse and frighten her more. She won't remember us, no one from her childhood would be here, she would be alone in a place that she knows nothing about. Also, there is something else to consider." she continued, rolling her chair over to the computer and bringing up the scans from before. She had asked Doctor Hamilton to send them to her to study in more detail."This is the scan we took today," Alex mentioned, pulling back from the computer so that Maggie could see the scan, watching as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion."Why am I getting Buffy The Vampire Slayer flashbacks here?" Maggie joked, not knowing what else to say.What else could she say? The situation was strange enough already. Now on top of that it seemed Kara had some sort of chip in her brain."This scan is one from last week." Alex continued, showing Maggie the other scan and enlarging the area the dot had been seen on, to make it easier to see."The device didn't cause it?" Maggie asked, just to make sure she was understanding things right."It couldn't have done. She had this, chip, beforehand it seems." J'onn answered."What does it do?" Maggie asked, after processing the information."We have no idea." J'onn said honestly. It was a mystery to them, they didn't even know it was there in the first place till today."Well it must have a purpose, right? Otherwise what is it there for in the first place? Did Kara know about it?" Maggie questioned, a quick fire of questions, the detective in her wanting to know more."No, Kara had no idea. It freaked her out when we found out. She doesn't even know how it could have got there, she doesn't remember ever having any operations or procedures done as a child and she definitely didn't get it on earth." Alex answered causing Maggie to frown deep in thought."What if that's its purpose?" Maggie asked voicing her inner thoughts out loud."What?" Alex asked confused."What if its purpose is to make her forget." Maggie elaborated."Kara has perfect memory." J'onn supplied, with a frown not seeing Maggie's point."Of earth, yes. What about her childhood memories, specifically on Krypton?" Maggie continued looking from both J'onn to Alex."We spoke a lot about Krypton when Kara first came to earth. It helped her remembering her home. She would tell me about the stars, the landmarks, history, everything," Alex replied in confusion."What about personal memories? Family events? Things she experienced and felt rather than just saw and learnt about?" Maggie asked. "I only ask because the other day Kara said something that confused me. She said she couldn't remember much before the age of ten. She could only remember the story her mother told her about how she got that scar above her eyebrow, she couldn't remember it psychically happening herself," Maggie continued, causing a silence to fall over the room."So, you think the chip could be somehow blocking Kara's early memories?" J'onn asked after processing what the detective had said. "I suppose that is possible, but to what end?" he continued as Maggie shrugged."You two are the brains here, I'm just the detective. I might be wrong, but I thought you should know," Maggie responded at the same time as Alex's phone went off, alerting of her of a text message."It's possible. I never really noticed it before, but Kara's stories were always- vague, I guess? Like she was just re-telling them, rather than re-living them, if that makes sense. How can we know for sure though?" Alex said, trying to wrap her head around the possibility."Perhaps the DEO's therapists can help, we can try to construct a series of questions, prompts as such, a way to test the theory in a more relaxed environment for her," J'onn suggested, knowing that doing more physical tests in the medical bay right now would be completely out of the question."You should tread carefully. If it is blocking her memories, they have been blocked for a reason…unlocking them could be traumatic," Maggie advised, she had seen the effects remembering a repressed memory can have on people first hand in her job."I think right now, we should concentrate on trying to get Kara back to her right age. As far as we can tell the chip is not harming her, if that changes we will look into it more seriously," Alex said after reading the message on her phone, "as for the questions, I think it would be better for Kara to be tested by those she trusts most, just in case." She concluded.After J'onn had returned, he had told Alex she would have final say on all aspects involving her sisters care for the time being. Any decisions were now up to her."Kara's asking for us," Alex informed them, getting up from her chair. "Winn said they are going to see what information the AI has on the device. Kara wants us there," she continued heading towards the door."Let me know if you find anything else out," J'onn asked, staying put while Maggie made her way to the door as well."I said us, J'onn. She's asked for you to be there too," Alex replied with a smile as J'onn looked shocked.The last thing he had expected was for Kara to ask for him to be anywhere near her, it was unexpected but made him happy to know that she still trusted him even after he had been the cause of some of her earlier fear.

"So, any advice for me? I am meeting your mother for the first time after all," Lena asked, holding Kara's hand as they neared the door to the room that the AI was in.Lena had never been in the room, this would be the first time for her."She's not my Mom, not really. I wish you could have met her, she would have loved you," Kara replied, looking to the ground for a moment before lifting her head and smiling up at her girlfriend as they reached the door."You think so, huh?" Lena said, smiling back as Kara pouted looking up at the control pad that was now too high for her to reach. "Need a lift?" she asked with a chuckle after seeing the cute expression on her girlfriend's face as she realised she couldn't reach her hand up onto the pad."Please," Kara replied quietly, holding her arms out to Lena.Lena smiled before bending down to pick up the little blonde, settling her against her hip and stepping closer to the wall so that Kara could reach the control pad. Kara pressed her hand to the control pad making it light up green before pulling her hand back to wrap her arm around Lena's neck. She rested her head against Lena's shoulder, making herself comfortable in her girlfriends hold as the doors opened. Lena bounced Kara up higher on to her hip before carrying her in to the room, the doors closing behind them as a holographic image of Kara's Mother flashed into the middle of the room."Hello Kara," The hologram greeted with a smile as Kara gazed back at the image of her mother. "How can I help you, my daughter?" The hologram continued while Lena looked at it in awe.It was amazing how life-like it looked, even though Lena knew it wasn't."Mom, I want you to meet someone. This is Lena Luthor, my girlfriend," Kara said proudly, she knew the hologram wasn't really her Mother, but she still wanted to introduce her to the woman she loved properly."It is nice to meet you, Lena Luthor of earth." The hologram replied."Mom, I need to ask you something." Kara said quietly as the hologram of her mother continued to smile."I am here to help in whatever you need." The hologram replied."Something happened to me last week, a physic got into my mind…she made me remember things that frightened me…but it also made me have dreams…dreams that seem really familiar. Dreams of being held down and experimented on…they scare me, but I don't know why I keep having them." Kara said, confusion in her voice as she tried to remember how and why the dreams seemed so familiar.The hologram did not reply, it just continued to smile. A smile that had seemed reassuring at first but was now starting to freak Lena out a bit, it was too robotic."I have, trouble, remembering my early childhood sometimes… I need your help remembering, I need to know if anything happened to me when I was a child to cause this?" Kara asked, tensing as she spoke, she was afraid to know what could have possibly happened to cause the amount of fear that she had been feeling."I cannot help with this." The hologram replied, causing both Kara and Lena to frown."Why not?" Kara asked in confusion as Lena stroked a hand down her back slowly."I do not have enough information on this subject." The hologram replied."I don't understand. How can you not have enough information about my childhood?" Kara asked confused, voice thick with emotion."I am not permitted to talk of this, continuing this conversation will cause self-destruction." The hologram replied flickering red before turning off, causing Lena to take a step back from the hologram tightening her hold on Kara while doing so.

"Did everything go to plan?""Better than we could have hoped, our informant has told us that she is de-aged to the age needed. She appears to be showing signs of a psychological impact as well, already.""Good, that should keep them all distracted long enough for the work on the chip to be done. We should be able to disable it remotely as long as the psychic did her job properly.""It appears all is on target. Our informant has told us that they are having trouble with keeping her calm throughout medical examinations, that is a good sign.""That could just be due to the confusion of the situation, we need to know for sure. She should already be getting her memories back subconsciously, I can't disable it till I know for sure. If we do this too soon it won't work.""I'll talk with our agent, she should be able to find out for sure.""And what of your monkey man?""Got himself arrested. He won't talk if he knows what's good for him, even if he does he doesn't know enough.""And my device?""The DEO have it, our agent is working on getting it back.""Let them keep it for now, I want her to see it. She has seen it before, this will help bring forward phase two when she remembers where it's from.""What if they manage to figure out how to reverse the effects with it?""Then it will be a good test to check our psychic did her job right. If she is still showing signs of a psychological impact after they manage to correct her age, we will know she's ready to undergo treatment.""And if she isn't ready?""Then we use plan B. The facility is in place?""Yes, just as you specified.""Good. Keep me informed on the psychological status, we will move to phase two when confirmation is given."

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AN:
Thank you again to
Jango27, who is my beta for this story, and has done some amazing work helping me.Reader Info:
writing in
bold italics like this
is speech from a phone.WARNINGS:
This chapter will contain violence, with scenes of assault of a child.

Chapter Seven

"What happened?" Alex asked as she and Maggie entered the room, J'onn and Winn following behind them, Winn carrying the device wrapped up in a cloth. Upon entering the room, they had heard Kara crying, her sobs muffled into Lena's shoulder as the CEO tried to calm her."She just needs a moment," Lena replied in Kara's place. "Do you know how to activate the AI?" she asked walking up to Alex while bouncing the child in her arms gently.Turning to the panel on the side of the wall, Alex began to press a sequence of buttons. "It usually turns on automatically for Kara when she opens the seal on the door," she stated in confusion as the panel flashed green, the holographic image of Kara's Mother reappearing in the middle of the room shortly afterwards."Hello Kara," The hologram greeted. "How can I help you, my Daughter?" the hologram continued, the same question it had asked earlier, with the same robotic smile as before.Kara sniffled after hearing her mother's voice, her sobs quietening as she turned her head from Lena's shoulder to look at the holographic image once again, seeming to calm at its presence."See, it's okay," Lena soothed, dropping a kiss the side of the little blonde's head, "it wasn't broken," she finished as Kara's breathing calmed, having gotten worked up by her crying.After the had AI flashed red and turned off suddenly Kara had become fearful that she had broken it and wouldn't be able to see her mother again. While Lena had tried to soothe her, she didn't know enough about the AI to be able to offer her the assurances that she needed. The only comfort she was able to offer was the comfort of her arms."Kara was worried the hologram had broken, it turned off very suddenly," Lena explained, seeing the confused looks she was receiving from the other occupants of the room.Alex nodded before walking closer to Lena. "Do you know what caused it to turn off?" She asked, watching as Kara stared at the hologram frowning."I wanted help remembering my childhood better," Kara replied quietly. "but, it made her angry.""She's not your Mom Kar, not really. She wasn't angry with you," Alex assured, rubbing her little sister's shoulder, "do you have trouble remembering your early childhood?" She asked, thinking back to what Maggie had told her earlier.Kara nodded in response but didn't say anything, she just kept staring at the hologram of her mother, the crinkle appearing on her forehead as she frowned."You've never told me that before," Alex said quietly, almost as an afterthought. But Kara's face looked so young and lost that she decided to drop the issue for now; there'd be plenty of time to talk to her sister later. "Winn said you wanted us here while he asks about the device?"Kara nodded again, thankful that Alex knew not to push her right now. She was scared beforehand just wondering what could have possibly happened to cause the dreams. Now, she didn't know what to think. Her Mother's reaction to her need for knowledge of her childhood confused and frightened her, but she didn't want to talk about that right now, not in front of everybody that was in the room.She didn't want to risk them wanting to perform more tests on her, and question her further.Tiredly, Kara rested her forehead against her girlfriend's shoulder, "You might know what questions to ask better than me," she replied to Alex, her body relaxing as she felt Lena's hand run up and down her back, massaging her tired muscles with her soft touch.Kara sighed sleepily, letting her eyes droop closed for a moment before blinking them open again quickly and turning her head to look to the hologram of her mother.Alex cupped her little sister's cheek- ever the more gently when she saw the bruise from Edge still colouring the skin there- with a small smile before walking towards the middle of the room to stand next to Winn in front of the hologram. "We need your help in identifying a device that was used on Kara," she addressed the AI, looking to Winn, who uncovered the device from the cloth, "we need to know if there is a way we can use this to reverse the effects and turn Kara back to her correct age." She paused, waiting to see if the hologram can help."The device in your hands is a
Krin-Drive, it was named after the young Kryptonian who invented it. You should destroy it immediately, the affects from the Drive can be dangerous. The use of this item is not permitted in any circumstance," the hologram answered.The response made Alex frown, as J'onn came to stand next to her on her left-hand side, "What effects can it cause?" he asked."The
Krin-Drive
was invented to test psychological implications of different ways of training Kryptonian children, to better the education system used at the time. However, it was found that the use of the Drive would interfere with the child's emotional state and, furthermore, their development upon reversal. For some it completely stopped any further developmental stages, while in others it accelerated them far higher than they should be. The longer it takes to reverse the 'ageing processor' that the
Krin-Drive
uses, the worst the implications will likely be. If this Drive has been used on my daughter, you need to restore her to her correct age immediately," The hologram explained, causing the occupants of the room to look back at Kara in worry."Okay, wait, what does she mean 'if'?" Maggie asked, confused, "can she not see that Kara is currently a lot younger than she should be?""I am the collected memories of all of Krypton. Kara Zor-El is my daughter, I know this by the biological matrix used to activate me, I do not recognise age and appearance," the hologram responded.Maggie crossed her arms, leaning her back against the wall near the door where she stood. "No wonder little Danvers was a sobbing mess, Mommy dearest isn't the most comforting," she muttered under her breath, glancing to where Lena stood with the exhausted alien in her arms."You said we should reverse the effects immediately, can it be done with this device?" Winn asked, looking from the hologram to the
Krin-Drive."The process is reversible using the
Krin-Drive, but use of the Drive is prohibited on Krypton and punishable by death," the hologram replied."Death?" J'onn asked suddenly. "I thought Kryptonian's were against death penalties, that was the whole reason
Fort Rozz
was created. To spare the waste of life," he continued, not understanding why there would be a completely different set of rules for the use of one device."Imprisonment was not enough to deter the use of the
Krin-Drive
in certain groups, therefore the punishment for its use was increased to fit the crime accordingly," the hologram explained.Crossing her arms, Alex stepped forward to address the hologram, "well, this is Earth not Krypton, and we need to reverse what's happened to my sister. The world needs your daughter, the world needs Supergirl, and we all need Kara back as we know her. Tell us how to reverse the process," she demanded."I cannot do as you ask."

"Mags, where did you leave the keys?" Alex called from the kitchen, where she had been looking for her girlfriend's car keys. Maggie had brought a new car, separate to her standard police-issued one, after moving in together with Alex."Jacket pocket," Maggie called back from the living room where she was watching a movie with Kara.After leaving the hologram room without the answers they needed, Lena had stayed at the DEO with Winn and J'onn to do some more research into the
Krin-Drive.
Even though the hologram had refused to tell them how to reverse the effects of the device, they had understood enough from the information given to know there was a way to use the device for a reversal, they just had to figure out how to do it.Alex had decided to leave the task in their capable hands for now, knowing that Lena and Winn tended to work very well together, whereas she usually made the younger technical-minded agent nervous. She had instead decided that herself and Maggie should take Kara back to Lena's home, so the young girl could rest. The lack of sleep the night before and the stress from the tests and getting upset had made the girl exhausted, noticeably so.Kara had been reluctant to leave without Lena at first, however after lots of reassurance that Lena would not stay at the DEO all night and would be home with them by dinner time, the little blonde had left with her big sister and Maggie. Even though she was exhausted, the young superhero had been fighting sleep since they got back to Lena's home. Instead opting to stick closely to her big sister's side in the absence of her girlfriend, the unsafe feeling creeping back into her spine now she was away from Lena once again.An hour and a half ago, while on their second movie, Alex had heard back from Eliza, who was now already on her way to National City, her flight due to be landing shortly. She was about to take the car to pick her Mother up from the airport, but had yet to let her little sister know that she wouldn't be joining her for the trip. Alex wanted some time alone with her Mother to talk with her about the situation face to face while Kara was not with them. They had only spoken briefly on the phone, and Alex hadn't been able to let Eliza know all the information they had found out yet, due to the small Kryptonian that had been nestled into her side at the time.Taking a deep breath to prepare herself, Alex slowly walked over to the kitchen table where her girlfriend's jacket was hanging on one of the chairs, before beginning to search the pockets. "Got them!" she commented in victory as she grabbed a hold of the keys and made her way into the living room where Maggie and Kara were.Walking into the room Alex took a seat next to Kara before grabbing her shoes that were on the floor in front of the couch where she had kicked them off earlier. "Where are we going?" Kara asked, noticing that her sister was putting her shoes on and had car keys in her hand.Alex shared a look with Maggie quickly. The detective already knew of the situation as Alex had texted her after Eliza had called to prepare her, and ask if it was okay to leave Kara with her, without alerting Kara to what was going on before she needed to go. With how Kara had been practically clinging to her big sister's side since leaving the DEO and Lena, she had a feeling her little sister was not going to take well to her leaving."I'm going to go pick up Mom from the airport, I need you to stay here with Maggie for a bit, okay?" Alex asked gently, turning to face her little sister."I can't come with you?" Kara said with a frown, sitting up straight, her back tensing slightly as she stared down at her lap.The thought of Alex leaving frightened her.Being away from Lena made her nervous enough already, but Alex leaving too? That only made the unsafe feeling in the pit of her stomach and the dread she had been feeling all day get stronger.It wasn't that she didn't trust Maggie, she liked the detective and they'd come a long way from where they'd started. But Maggie wasn't Lena, and she wasn't Alex. Kara didn't feel the level of safety with Maggie that Lena and Alex were able to give to her."Not this time." Alex responded, trying to meet her sisters gaze. "I won't be long, two hours max, and Maggie will stay with you the whole time. You won't be alone," Alex continued, worried when her sister wouldn't look at her.Kara was still staring at her lap, too many thoughts running through her head right now to be able to even hear what Alex was saying to her.She was wondering what she had done wrong, why everybody was leaving her. Had she done something to make Lena and Alex angry with her?"Hey little Danvers, wanna come help me do some food shopping? I bet you know where everything is in that store down the road, especially where all the good snacks are!" Maggie added, trying to help the situation as she could feel tension rising in the room with Kara's unresponsiveness and Alex's worry."See?" Alex prompted, "that sounds fun, you love snacks. When I get back, Mom will be with me, and Lena promised she would be back for dinner so there will be a big group of us tonight. Maybe we can invite Winn 'round to introduce Lena to game night? We haven't had one in a while," Alex continued, trying to get a response from Kara.The response she got was not the one she was hoping for though.She was hoping for a smile, for excitement, or at the very least for Kara to nod, agreeing reluctantly.She wasn't expecting for Kara to burst into tears and to begin sobbing loudly. She wasn't expecting for Kara to curl in on herself, recoiling away from her touch.She honestly wasn't expecting Kara to react that badly.Though thinking on it she should have, Kara had been clingier than usual since they got back from the DEO without Lena."Kara, it's okay, don't cry, hey, it's okay. I won't be long, I promise," Alex tried to assure her, not having a clue what to do when the only response she got was louder sobbing.When they were teenagers Kara would calm at the sound of Alex's voice, finding it soothing. It seemed that right now Alex didn't have that effect on her sister."It's okay, I've got her," Maggie said, picking the little blonde up and sitting her on her lap, "you should go, or you'll be late. She'll be okay," she continued, wondering how much Kara was really taking in right now.Frowning, Alex leant in to kiss her little sister's head, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I'll be back soon, I love you," she said. When Kara only cried more, she hesitated, looking to her girlfriend desperately. Maggie smiled at her reassuringly, mouthing 'go', before turning her attention back to the distraught child in her arms.Maggie was shocked at how easily Kara had let herself be handled. She was surprised that Kara had not tried to pull away, though the girl hadn't latched onto her with a tight grip the way she had seen her do with Lena and Alex before either. Kara had merely allowed herself to be moved, she had not returned the hold, just continued to cry as the detective held her, seemingly unable to hear Alex's retreating footsteps."Shhhh, you're okay little Danvers, it's alright," she soothed, patting the young girls leg softly as she heard the door slam closed downstairs, "we'll finish watching the movie first, then we can go get some shopping and you can help me cook dinner," Maggie continued, speaking softly and calmly, hoping that would help calm the sobbing alien on her lap.She released a breath as she heard the engine of her car start, signalling that Alex was about to leave, glad that her girlfriend trusted her enough to leave her little sister in her care. "Then we can get some practice in on
Mario Karts
while we wait for dinner to be ready and for everyone to get back," Maggie planned, continuing to speak calmly over Kara's cries, running her one hand down the girls back before starting to rub her thumb gently along her side.She was relieved when she felt Kara begin to slowly curl into her, her hand coming up to grip the detective's shirt as she hiccuped in-between cries, beginning to calm down and seek some comfort with shuddering breaths."Deep breaths, that's good. You've got it… You okay kiddo?" Maggie asked after Kara had quietened, getting a small nod in response as the girl leaned into her hold more. "What's this? No chewing me out for calling you kiddo again?" she joked in shock, trying to get a smile from the child superhero.Kara only shook her head before staring up at her with wide innocent blue eyes. "Maggie?" she asked quietly, after a silence, "you won't leave me, will you?" she stared at the detective's face with fear noticeable in her eyes, obviously looking for reassurance."Nope." Maggie replied instantly making a 'pop' sound as she over pronounced the 'p', wondering if Kara's reaction to Alex leaving was part of the side effects from the device being used on her or whether it was just the stress of the day catching up."I'm not going anywhere little Danvers." Maggie assured as the little girl studied her for a moment longer before cuddling into her tightly. It was obvious she didn't give Kara the same sense of safety she felt with Lena or Alex, but right now she was all Kara had till they returned.If this was what the girl needed in this instant, then she'd stay here for as long as Kara needed.

"I've been asked to help recover her memories, the Director wants me to write prompting questions about her childhood, they believe the chip is blocking her memories." Agent Corz, the DEO's therapist said from behind a large glass door. The phone she was holding pressed painfully against her ear as she watched Lena, J'onn and Winn working in the labs."They're smarter than we gave them credit for. We'll send questions through, but you will have to delay. He wants her back to her proper age before the memories are unlocked fully, she needs to start remembering some parts beforehand though. just not all."This job was starting to get risky, but she had a lot riding on this.She couldn't back out now, even if she wanted to."The prompts need to be subtle, so they don't suspect me when this all comes out," Agent Corz replied anxiously.She knew Director J'onzz would not be able to suspect her by reading her mind due to the technology she had been given, he would begin to suspect her if the questions were too leading though. He was smart. Smart and protective, which made a dangerous combination when you were one of the people working against him.If she was rumbled before completing the task she would lose everything."They will be, just enough for her to make the links needed. He will do the rest, he seemed rather adamant that he gets to be the one who breaks the block."
"I do this then I'm out, you'll send payment, then I can leave?" The therapist asked, wanting confirmation that her part in this would be over after that.Part of her regretted agreeing to this in the first place.She liked Supergirl.She liked Kara Danvers.The last thing she wanted to do, was to bring pain of any sort to her.For now, she would have to find comfort in the fact that she would not be physically hurting the alien herself, she would only be a small part in a much bigger plan.She hoped that when her part was done, the clues she had left behind secretly would help the DEO fix the damage that was about to be caused."Yes, as we agreed, once you have done you're job you'll be free to do and go as you please.""And my brother?" She asked, wanted him to be free from their control.She wanted her only living family back."Your brother will be free to return home with you, we will have no need of his services after this is done."

Kara held onto Maggie's hand tightly as they walked into the superstore, keeping close to the detective as they brushed passed customers leaving the shop, Maggie grabbed a shopping basket in her spare hand when they passed a stand.Once Kara had calmed and the movie had ended, Maggie got them both ready to leave for the short walk to the superstore that was only ten minutes' walk away from Lena's home. Maggie had decided it would be better to bring up Kara's apparent abandonment issues with both Lena and Alex later, rather than question the girl herself right now, especially as she still seemed nervous around her at times.Moving the shopping basket to balance in the curve of her arm, Maggie pulled a small piece of paper, that had a shopping list written on it, from her pocket. "Okay little Danvers, where am I going to find the vegan alternatives in this place?" she asked looking down to address her girlfriend's little sister."Same isle as gluten free stuff Lena likes," Kara replied after a moment's thought, looking up to find Maggie watching her expectantly, "I think it's this way," she continued before leading Maggie further into the store, leading her to the isle they needed.Turning left they walked down an isle full of cheeses and creams before turning right and walking down another isle near the back of the store, passing by gluten free breads and other products before coming to a stop."Ahah! I knew your strange love of food stores would come in handy one day," Maggie joked, her eyes scanning over the items on the shelves as Kara stood close to her, still holding her hand while rocking on the back of her heels.Finding the item needed Maggie let go of Kara's hand so she could pick it up from the shelf before placing it in the shopping basket. "Lasagne sheets, check," she commented to herself."Why are they purple?" Kara questioned in confusion."It's vegan, they're made from Aubergines," Maggie replied looking down to Kara to see her making a face of disgust, "it tastes great! Trust me kid," she continued as Kara made a 'yuk' sound.Shaking her head with a smile, Maggie took Kara's hand in her own once again. "Come on, we need sauces next," she instructed, following as Kara led her around the store towards the sauces isle.

"I'll get the questions to you later for your agent, I want to see how far along she is. I'm going to make contact, see if she recognises me.""What if she remembers and alerts them of what could happen?""She won't remember me fully. Not yet. Not until the chip is disabled, but it may help with her psychological state if she remembers that she should fear me. If this works I will know that phase two will be ready soon, I will know what questions to suggest.""How do you even expect to be able to get close enough? The sister is very protective, even more so right now, not to mention the others closest to her. They won't let you get near her.""I've been watching them all day, they left her with the detective. She's taken her shopping, I should be able to get close enough without gaining unwanted attention.""Be careful.""You work for me, not the other way around.""I know that, I didn't not mean to offend you.""If you want your son to return I suggest you stop questioning me."Snapping the phone shut which disconnected the call, the stranger's eyes narrowed as he looked towards the entrance of the store. Turning his baseball cap around to hide his face, he stepped back from the tree he had been leaning against and began to walk towards the store.

Her shoes screeched on the floor as she turned and ran down the isle looking for the vegan cheese Maggie had asked her to find, having forgotten to get it when they passed the cheese isle earlier. She was looking for some cheese made from nuts called 'Nutcrafter', how that was meant to be cheese Kara didn't know, but Maggie had promised it would taste good. Anything would be better than the kale Lena kept trying to get her to eat all the time.She wanted to find the cheese as quickly as possible, not wanting to spend too much time away from where Maggie was.Alex leaving her behind earlier had thrown her and she was still feeling anxious without either Lena or her big sister around, Maggie's presence this afternoon had become somewhat comforting.Part of her had wanted to refuse going to get the cheese alone, but Maggie had been very understanding with her so far and she didn't want to push her luck and make the detective angry with her, she was worried that if she did Maggie would leave as well.It made the feeling of dread and the fear in the pit of her stomach bubble up again, it made her anxious and nervous.Kara frowned as she stopped running and began to walk down the isle scanning the shelves, the isle was empty bar for her. She hoped the vegan cheese wasn't too high up, if it was she would have to try and climb up the chiller unit to reach it as there was no one around to ask for help.Still concentrating on scanning the shelves for the cheese she needed, Kara failed to notice a presence behind her in the isle.The stranger from outside with the baseball was stood behind her watching her. "Well if it isn't little K. Z," The stranger said, smirking when the little blonde jumped at the sound of his voice, whipping around quickly to face him while pressing her back into the chiller unit behind her.The stranger took a large step closer as Kara tried to back away. "What's the matter?" he asked staring down at her with hard serious eyes, his face still partially hidden by the baseball cap. "Are you scared of me, little warrior?"Fear began to lace itself throughout Kara's being. "Who are you?" She asked, her voice quivering as the stranger came closer again, she wanted to run but found herself frozen."You know who I am, don't you remember? I know you very well," the stranger said, kneeling to the ground in front of Kara, still towering over her with his height even then, "subject K. Z." he finished with a smile, a smile that was not friendly or reassuring in any way."I don't know you…Sir, I think you are looking for someone else," Kara began to say shakily while backing away, "I… should find my, Mom, she's waiting for me," she finished with a lie, thinking that would deter the stranger from speaking to her further. She turned to run away only to find herself being held in place by a firm grip on her small arm."Don't lie to me girl! You have no Mother here or anywhere on this planet, now look at me," the stranger demanded, his voice was quiet but there was a clear edge to it, what he was saying was a demand not a suggestion.Kara could tell this not just by the way he was speaking to her, but also by the fact she could feel his hand tightening on her arm, the grip strong and painful. Something about him seemed familiar, his hard eyes and his commanding voice, the scar she could see on his face, she had seen and heard them before, but she couldn't remember from where."You do recognise me, don't you?" he asked with a smirk, "I can tell by the way you're behaving. This is perfect, just as I had hoped. Turn around and look at me, look at my face, my eyes. It will help you remember," he continued, tugging on Kara's arm, digging his nails into her skin so hard that it drew blood.Kara whimpered in pain, as she tried to pull out of his grip, finding it impossible as the grip seemed to only tighten further.The stranger gave a hard tug on Kara's arm pulling her around to face him, "I said look at me!" He demanded."No, let me go! Hel-" Kara began trying to yell, only to be stopped when a hand covered her mouth muffling what she was trying to say."Shut it you little –" the stranger started to demand, stopping when Kara bit into the hand that was over her mouth, "- was that meant to hurt?" he mocked smirking at her. "You might want to try a little harder," he finished before pulling back his hand to deliver a hard slap to her already bruised cheek causing her to cry out in pain loudly."MAGGIE!"

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

In the moments before she heard Kara scream, Maggie was checking through her shopping list while standing in the vegetable isle. The ingredients listed on the paper in her hand were what she needed to make her Mother's vegan lasagne recipe; the recipe that she'd been making ever since leaving home all those years ago. Cooking had become a comfort to her after she had come out to her family as a teenager, which was subsequently how she'd ended up being kicked out of her home. She tended to cook when feeling as though she needed to do more to help in tense situations.She'd cooked for months when she first got to her aunt's house in the hope that it would win her favour, her aunt was always appreciative and didn't expect it, but she still felt the need to do so.She felt the need to do so again with Eliza's impending arrival.Though the eldest Danvers had always acted warm towards her, she could never shake the feeling of not being good enough when it came to family. The feeling was even worse when it came to a girlfriend's family, and with Alex now being her fiancé, her un-comfortably levels were off the charts. She knew that what she was feeling was irrational and that she was being too hard on herself. She knew this feeling was probably the result of years of being made to feel as though she was not good enough for her own family after everything that happened when she was younger and how they had reacted to her coming out. That didn't help her feel any easier though.
"MAGGIE!"
She jumped, whirling around instinctively. "Oh shit," Maggie whispered, the yell of her name having startled her, "that's not good," she dropped the pack of courgettes that were in her hands to the floor along with her shopping basket, running towards where she thought the yell had come from.She had asked Kara if she would mind going to find her some vegan cheese by the name of 'Nutcrafter', knowing that the young superhero knew the store well and it wouldn't take her long to do so. But now she was faced with the same problem- except so, so, so much worse- in that she couldn't find
Kara
in the same damn shop.
"MAGGIE!"
"Kara? KARA?!" She called back desperately.
This is definitely not good. Where is the damn cheese isle?
Maggie thought to herself as she hurried towards the sound of Kara's voice, looking up at the overhead signs to try and direct herself towards the right place.Kara hadn't been gone long, but the cry she heard just then was loud, and panicked. It was the kind of cry that made the hairs on your arms stick up on edge, the kind that gave you goose-bumps, the kind that made you fill with a feeling of dread.
"MAGGIE!"
She could feel her heart-rate picking up as panic took over, her fiancé's little sister was still screaming for her, her voice sounding more and more afraid. It made her wonder what was going on, what had caused such a reaction?Skidding around the corner Maggie found herself nearly bowled over as she collided with another body that was rock solid, nearly throwing her to the ground in the process."Watch where you are going!" was growled in her direction by an unfriendly menacing male voice, the owner of which was very tall and wearing a baseball cap that covered part of his face.It was the stranger that had confronted Kara, not that Maggie knew this currently. Even so, she would remember him, as just by looking at him she could feel her detective instincts kicking in, the feeling in her gut telling her something was wrong going into overdrive even more than it currently was. Something was not right about this man.
"MAGGIE!"
The stranger pushed passed her, hurrying off in the other direction while Maggie froze for just a moment.He had unsettled her, his voice, his attitude, even his look seemed off.Just like Kara's screams had been giving her goose-bumps, looking at the man's retreating back did the same thing. The detective in her was screaming to follow him, to stop him and see what he was up to as she doubted it was anything good. It didn't go unnoticed to her that he had come from the same direction in which she was heading to find Kara, nor did she miss his rush to get away from the direction.
"MAGGIE!"
Another sob-filled cry snapped Maggie out of her frozen state, as she remembered why she was here in the first place. Right now, she wasn't detective Maggie Sawyer, she was effectively child-minder Maggie Sawyer, and the child she was meant to be minding could still heard sobbing and yelling out for her.Maggie turned into the next isle in search of Kara. The sight she saw upon turning the corner made her blood run cold; it was eerily similar to the scene she had walked into last week at the bank in National City where Supergirl had first confronted the psychic Psi.The little blonde was cowering on the floor, her arms up above her head as though to shield herself. But what made this scene different was the fact that Kara was a child, not Supergirl, and that made it all the more horrifying. Maggie could see what she thought was blood on the store's tilled floor. She could see Kara shaking before even reaching her, and the closer she got the louder and harsher the girl's hysterical sobbing seemed.Dropping into a crouched position upon reaching Kara, she attempted to lift the girl up from the floor, only to be fought against by flailing limps and high-pitched screams. "Kara! It's me, it's Maggie! I've got you little Danvers, you're okay. I've got you," Maggie soothed, almost tumbling backwards when Kara lunged at her upon hearing her voice, obviously recognising who was trying to lift her up, realising it was not the stranger who had hurt her.Kara was still whimpering Maggie's name between her sobs as she clung tightly to the safety she found in the older woman. One arm was wrapped tightly around the back of Maggie's neck, while the other was up against her chest, her small fist gripping tightly to the material of the detective's shirt."I'm right here kid. I'm not going anywhere," Maggie promised, her hands automatically wrapping around Kara's back to rub slow, continuous circles in the hopes of calming her the way she had seen both Alex and Lena do so only a short time earlier.The detective in her wanted to fire questions and find out what had happened to cause a reaction like this from the small superhero, but she knew that wouldn't get them anywhere right now. The girl in her arms was petrified, and she doubted that Kara would be able to even get the words out to explain what happened between her sobs and whimpers. Still, she found herself wondering about the man who had nearly knocked her to the floor. She couldn't shift the feeling of unease she had felt before when seeing him. It didn't sit right with her to ignore that feeling, nor had it felt right in the way he rushed away from the scene she had found.Currently though, she had no proof that he had done anything wrong, even though every one of her instincts were yelling at her, telling her that he had something to do with the way Kara was acting right now. As she continued to soothe the sobbing child in her arms, making 'shhh' like sounds, Maggie knew that Kara had to be her top priority. When the little blonde was calm enough to talk, she could then try to piece together what happened, and whether the man she had met before was somehow involved.Bending her head slightly, Maggie tried to get a better look at the girl in her arms. Though she couldn't see her face, due to Kara hiding against her chest, she could see what looked like blood seeping through the arm of the pale pink hooded jumper that the girl was wearing. Keeping one arm wrapped tightly around Kara's back, Maggie gently pulled at the sleeve of the jumper with the intent to get a better look at Kara's arm, only for her to whimper loudly again and tuck her arm in closer between her own and Maggie's chest, hugging it tightly to her."Please don't…no more…hurts…" Kara whimpered between sobs, causing Maggie to frown as she pulled the little blonde in closer towards herself."Shhhh, no one's going to hurt you, I promise," she assured, resting her chin on top of Kara's head while speaking to her.Kara might as well have been sitting on Maggie's knees rather than standing between them with how close she was to the detective now, and she only pulled all the more closer when other customers began to make their way down the isle.Maggie ignored the pointed look she received from an elderly lady walking by with her shopping cart, focusing on trying to calm the little blonde down as her breathing was becoming more erratic with her hysterical sobs. "Deep breaths little Danvers, come on, you can do it."What the hell happened? She was alright when I asked her to get the cheese earlier, nervous maybe but nothing like this. I need to see her arm, and all that blood, that can't just be from her arm. I swear to god if someone has hurt this kid, if that man I saw has hurt her he will not see anything past a jail cell for days,
Maggie thought to herself, as she continued to rub circles on Kara's back, telling her repeatedly that she was here and to take deep breaths. All the while trying to ignore the 'tutting' sound she could hear from the old lady behind her.
Be my guest to try and calm her lady! I'm trying here, all you're doing is making her more scared than she already is!Her legs were starting to cramp from being in the crouched position for so long, and Kara's loud sobbing so close to her ears was beginning to give her a headache. The worry she felt was growing with every passing second as she still had no idea what had caused this outburst to begin with. It was becoming harder to block out the growing number of people entering the isle pretending to do their shopping. The detective could tell that really, they had just come to see what all the noise was about, so they could join in with 'old McTutty' as Maggie had now labelled her.The increasing number of people with the growing noise in the isle was not helping Kara calm, it was only making her worse. Her cries made her body shudder with the breaths she was attempting to take and her trembling was only growing all the more violent as the area around them crowded."I need you to keep concentrating on your breathing little Danvers, you're safe with me, you know that, right?" Maggie asked, sighing with relief when Kara nodded into her chest. "Okay, good girl. Keep up those deep breaths for me." She said, one hand patting the blonde's back, while the other gently pushed on the girl's shoulder to make some distance between them, before standing up and stretching out her legs in an attempt to relieve the cramp."Maggie!" Kara cried, quickly gripping around the detective's waist, hiding against the- now standing- woman's stomach."Hey, hey, I'm here. It's okay kiddo, I was just standing so I can pick you up," Maggie soothed, running a hand over blonde hair before bending down again to scoop Kara up in her arms and settling her against her hip. "I'm still right here," she murmured as Kara burrowed into her, gripping on tightly around her neck, legs locking around the detective's waist, "Kara I promise you I'm not going anywhere without you. I need you to calm down for me, or you're gunna make yourself sick," Maggie instructed, running her hand over her back in slow strokes, trying to soothe her as her continuous cries began to make her cough and splutter.Maggie could feel her shudder against her as she took deep breaths trying to calm down as she had been asked, "good girl, that's it. Deep breaths."Looking around the isle, she could still feel eyes on her, she could still see the disapproving head shakes, hear the tuts and whispers as the other customers in the store judged her on her apparent lack of parenting skills.Yeah, I get it I'm terrible, can't stop the kid from crying. If I wanted your judgements I would have asked,
Maggie thought to herself while bouncing Kara up higher on her hip.
I'm not even a parent, and she's not really a child! Although right now this is the most childlike I have seen her. Who knows what damage that 'Krin-Drive' has done to the poor kid, all this crying and getting scared the last couple days will do nothing for her nerves.
She's meant to be the girl of steel, by the time we get her back to normal she will be the girl of fear at this rate!
Maggie could feel that Kara was still trembling in her arms, making the saying 'shaking like a leaf' look like nothing right now. Looking down towards her she could see Kara had brought her one arm up to her chest again and was clinging tightly to the material of the shirt Maggie was wearing as though securing her in place. She could tell the tight grip and tears soaking the material had most probably ruined her shirt. She could feel the quick breaths against the skin of her neck, and see how Kara's small body shuddered with each hitched and heaving breath she took between her sobs.Come on kid, you must have run out of tears by now, please try and calm down for me. I don't even know what set her off in the first place yet! Why am I so bad at this comforting thing, Alex is never going to trust me with her sister again after this. That's if Luthor leaves me alive - oh god. What is Eliza going to think when she gets here! I am so dead.
I need to get her somewhere quiet where she feels safe. I need to calm her down before they get back – and find some aspirin,
Maggie thought, lifting her hand up to rub her forehead, as her headache worsened.Securing her hold on Kara, she turned quickly walking passed all the nosey customers, while rubbing her hand up and down the little blonde's still-trembling back again. "Okay little Danvers, this is what we're gunna do," Maggie began, speaking softly over Kara's whimpered sobs and hitching breaths, "I'm going to take you back to Lena's while you work on calming down, then you are going to tell me what happened that frightened you like this."

The atmosphere was somewhat tense between Mother and daughter who were sitting opposite each other in a quiet corner of the small coffee shop they had decided to go to after Alex had collected Eliza Danvers from the airport earlier. Alex had been talking with her Mother about the effects the device used on Kara had on her so far. She'd told her Eliza of the guilt she felt leaving her little sister sobbing in her girlfriend's care earlier today, and about the dreams Kara had told her about. They had been talking through everything for some time now, both their phones on silent, and turned upside down on the table in front of them.Eliza let out a long breath before placing her coffee cup back down onto the saucer on the table. "So," she began, "Maggie thinks the chip you found is somehow blocking her memories? And you agree?" she finished to summarise the topic they had just finished discussing – the chip found in Kara's brain."I think there's a possibility," Alex began, "The more I think on it, the more it makes sense. I don't remember Kara talking much about her childhood when we were younger. She spoke of where she lived, school, things that were different to the way they are here, but not actual specific events. Not to me anyway." Alex finished, deep in thought.Thinking back, Eliza found herself agreeing with her daughter, "she didn't really talk to me much at all in the first year she was with us, nor your dad. She would answer our questions, but not seek us out to talk to us like she did with you."Alex nodded; she could remember that. Kara had been very quiet when she'd first arrived on earth, only speaking when spoken to and even then, she sounded more like a thesaurus than a child. At the time Alex hadn't really paid much attention to it, or her for that fact. She'd practically ignored the younger girl for the first few weeks she was with them.They'd become somewhat closer after the first family holiday they'd had together. Alex had shown her new little sister what a telescope was, and Kara had returned the sharing of knowledge by telling her about the different star patterns they had on Krypton. It had been the most the two girls had spoken other than pleasantries, and Alex had found herself intrigued, wanting to know more about her new little sister.They started speaking more after that, about science, about how things were more advanced on Krypton, about the new abilities Kara had here on earth. The talks then turned into experiments, Alex wanting to see what her new sister could do while Kara just did what she was asked hoping to please the older girl."It wasn't till after your dad – left," Eliza settled on, not wanting anyone in the coffee shop to over hear how her husband was really captured by an anti-alien organisation, "that she started to get closer to me." The comment pulled Alex from her thoughts as she began to pay more attention to what her mother was saying, "But even then, I have to agree with you. She didn't talk about anything that happened to her before coming to us. The only thing we did speak of in detail was her parent's death and when she left her home." Eliza finished, being careful with how she worded the topic while they were in public.Alex sighed, running her hands through her short hair, "So it wasn't just with me then, this is going to make her feel so lost again, all she wants is to be normal deep down.""Kara isn't a normal girl," Eliza replied with a sad smile, "she's always been different, even without everything that happened to her to bring her to us."

Dropping her keys on the table as she entered the house, Lena took a deep breath before jogging up the stairs towards where she could hear Kara's cries. She had received a voicemail of Maggie some time ago that sounded…
chaotic, for a lack of a better word to describe. She could hear very little over her girlfriend's loud sobbing in the background, and when she could hear what Maggie was saying the detective sounded very stressed out.After listening to the message, she had sent the detective a text message telling her she was on her way before ordering J'onn to get an agent to take her home right away, figuring that would be quicker than calling her driver. J'onn had looked shocked at the request and the manner in which it was spoken, but quickly did as asked when Lena played the message a second time, insisting she let him know what had happened when she knew more information."What happened?" she asked while quickly making her way into the kitchen, "I could only make out parts of what you were saying in the message, something happened when she was on her own in the store?" Lena asked, quickly taking her coat off and draping it over one of the kitchen table chairs, while making her way over to where Maggie stood bouncing a still sobbing Kara."I don't know. She was only gone for a few minutes to get some cheese, when I found her she was like this, and now I can't get her to stop crying long enough to tell me anything else!" Maggie started, sounding and looking completely out of her depth, "I'm surprised she hasn't made herself sick yet, she just won't stop. Nothing is working! I'm pretty sure her arm is bleeding, but she won't let me look at it! She just - will - not - stop!" Maggie said desperately.Kara's continuous crying was making the detective feel useless. She knew the girl was scared but for Kara to have been crying for as long as she had been now was making her feel even worse than she had been in the first place. She had barely been looking after Kara for three hours now and at least half of that time the little blonde had been crying, this latest bout being almost an hour.Alex should have been back ages ago, having promised Kara she would only be gone two hours. So far, Maggie has had no luck in getting in contact with her fiancé, who had been her first thought after getting Kara back from the store and realising the crying was not going to stop anytime soon. When she had no luck with Alex she had then tried Lena, and left a message when she too had failed to answer her phone.After receiving the short text messaging from Lena of 'I'm on my way.', Maggie's panic had only grown more as she awaited to see how angry the CEO would be when she found out what had happened."She's scared and probably stuck in her small mind set right now. You getting all worked up won't help, you'll just scare her even more." Lena commented with an edge to her voice, as she walked up to the pair holding her arms out towards them, signalling for Maggie to pass the young girl over to her.Can't she see that Kara is picking up on her stress right now,
Lena thought to herself angrily.
She's sensitive, the worst thing you can do is stress about her getting upset, it makes her worse. No wonder she's hysterical. What the hell was Maggie thinking leaving her alone in the first place? She is extremely vulnerable right now, anything could have happened to her. I can't believe for a detective she could be so irresponsible!Lena sighed while watching as Maggie attempted to pry Kara off herself, only to have the girl hold on tighter her crying getting louder once again, "Shhh, come on kid, it's alright. She gets like this every time I try to move her," Maggie explained to Lena whose expression softened some, seeing how concerned the detective was.While it's clear she is trying, she just doesn't know the best way to handle little Kara – she hadn't been doing that well with big Kara either up until recently, Lena thought to herself."Let go darling, it's okay," Lena coaxed while running a hand over Kara's hair, "It's Lena, come on, let go, it's alright."Kara, having now recognised her girlfriends voice, relinquished her hold on the detective, turning around and almost jumping in to Lena's awaiting arms.Lena caught the girl effortlessly, "It's okay, you're alright now....shhhh, you're okay... I've got you, you're safe darling... Take some nice deep breaths for me," she instructed, wrapping Kara up in her arms, one arm holding under the young superhero's bottom, patting gently as she kept her held up against her side, while her other hand ran over blonde locks. She swayed the girl gently, and whispered assurances repeatedly that she was safe.Maggie watched with equal parts of jealously and astonishment as Lena managed to calm the young superhero in minutes, her sobs beginning to reduce to hitched breaths, hiccups and sniffles. She knew that Kara felt a lot safer with Lena, so she really shouldn't have been surprised by this, but she still couldn't help but feel a little bit hurt by it. It made her feel like even more of a failure than she already did knowing that for the last hour her efforts to calm the girl and make her feel safe again had got her nowhere. Whereas Lena had managed to quieten Kara's cries within the space of ten minutes."There we go, that's better. See, you're okay," Lena soothed, still swaying the little blonde, gently patting her bottom and stroking her hair and back as Kara clutched her tightly, "That's my girl, can I see those beautiful eyes of yours now?"Using one hand to pull out a chair from the kitchen table, Lena took a seat settling Kara on her lap. The hand that was patting the girls bottom now softly stroking the small of her back underneath her clothes, knowing that skin on skin contact always helped to calm Kara when she was particularly worked up. Lena continued caressing her skin waiting patiently for Kara to feel safe enough to lift her head from its hiding place in the crook of her neck, while Maggie watched from a distance, her head beginning to hurt less now that the room had become quieter.After a few more minutes, Kara nervously began to lift her head. She quickly scanned the room with red rimmed eyes, before settling her gaze on the calming emerald orbs that belonged to her girlfriend. Lena smiled softly after locking eyes with Kara. "There's my beautiful girl," she said, using her thumb to carefully dry under bright blue eyes as Kara stared at her with such innocence it almost took the CEO's breath away."Can you tell me what happened?" Lena asked, her thumb now lightly stroking the girl's cheek that had been struck. Kara's face was red from all her crying, but her bruised cheek was an angry red and swollen with a cut on it that had been bleeding. She also had a split lip that had bleed from the corner closest to her bruised cheek.It was clear she had been hit, and that whoever had hit her had struck her with force.Lena hated seeing Kara in this way, so small and defenceless. It scared her knowing that her girlfriend could be hurt in this way, knowing that she was more vulnerable than usual while she still had the same number of enemies out there who would happily see her dead. What she hated more was the fact that this had happened to Kara when she was a child. She was innocent, she had done nothing to warrant anybody treating her in this manner to cause her the pain they had done.Seeing Kara hurt like this made her anger with Maggie grow.Her girlfriend got hurt, badly from the looks of it, on the detective's watch. Though Maggie may not have been the one to physically hurt her, in Lena's mind right now she was responsible for it. It made her blood boil with anger, but she couldn't let that show. Not with Kara still being scared the way she was. Yelling at the detective would not help the situation, nor would it make any of them feel any better.She could tell that Maggie had picked up on her anger when she had arrived, and was probably still picking up on it now with the way the detective was tensing her shoulders while leaning against the kitchen side. Her eyes flitting to Kara's face, then away again in shame.Sighing, Lena pressed a gentle kiss to the swollen cheek before pulling back to kiss Kara's forehead, her finger tips still lightly scratching up and down her girlfriends bare back, giving her time to collect her thoughts and relish in the safety she needed right now. Pushing her to answer before she was ready would not get them anywhere. Kara needed to feel comfortable and safe, which unfortunately was something that Maggie was not able to give her in the same level that Lena herself could.Maggie's nature was to inspect and question due to her work as a detective, whereas Kara needed a more patient approach, even more so lately with everything that had been happening. In her younger mind set she needed time to open up."He – he hit me," Kara said quietly after some time, beginning to answer Lena's question, her voice raspy and quiet from her earlier sobbing, "there was this - man…he just appeared from nowhere…he knew who I was, but I couldn't remember him… that made him really angry." She continued, pausing to take heaving breaths as she was still calming her breathing. "He, he was hurting me – my arm…he wouldn't let go…I tried to run but I couldn't...he said he was going to make me remember…said I had to look at him, but I didn't want to! He got angrier and hit me…" She trailed off, voice growing in fear before burrowing back into the safety of her girlfriend's chest.Lena exchanged a worried glance with Maggie, "You're safe here darling, I promise. He can't hurt you here," she soothed, cradling the blondes head to her chest. She allowed Kara a few moments of comfort before addressing her again, "can we ask you some more questions about what happened?"Lena smiled softly as Kara lifted her head up again, nodding lightly in response. She
was terrified still, that much was obvious in the way she was clutching at Lena, but she was a lot calmer than she had been when CEO had first arrived home."Kara, what did the man look like?" Maggie asked, causing the blonde to look towards her timidly while cuddling into Lena, who continued to caress her back with the hand that was underneath the her clothes."He was tall," Kara replied, "I couldn't," 'Hiccup' "see his face that well, he had a hat on," she continued as Maggie took a seat next to Lena , so she could hear what Kara was saying as she was speaking very quietly, almost as though she was afraid to speak.Maggie's attention became peaked at the mention of a hat, it made her think back to the man she saw earlier at the store. "Like a baseball cap?" she asked receiving a nod from Kara in response.No wonder the kid is scared to death, if it's the guy I saw that hurt her. He freaked me out,
Maggie thought to herself.
Maybe the store has CCTV, I should go check that, why didn't I think of that before? I knew I should have followed that guy! my gut was telling me something was off about him."Can you think of anything else he was wearing that stood out?" Maggie asked, trying to get as much information on this looks of the mystery man as possible. While she would be able to describe the clothes the man was wearing and his height and mannerisms from their brief encounter, she was hoping Kara would have been able to get a better look at him close up.Kara looked unsure, almost nervous as she answered, "I think he had a ring on…it cut me when he hit me, the first time."Lena's eyes hardened in anger at the thought of this man hitting Kara, "How many times did he hit you?" She asked, trying to soften her gaze when Kara looked at her fearfully after hearing the anger in her voice."Three," Kara answered, looking down, "he – didn't like me yelling for Maggie," she explained before turning to look at the detective again, "he kept hitting me when I tried to call for you…I thought he was going to hit me again when you picked me up."That explains why she was on the floor when I found her, and why she was so scared of me touching her at first, Maggie thought to herself.Meanwhile at the same time Lena's anger towards Maggie was rising again;
He shouldn't have been able to get close enough to hit her in the first place, Maggie should never have sent her off on her own."Can I take a look at your cheek?" Maggie asked, looking into Kara's eyes as she mentioned towards the swollen cheek, receiving a timid nod in response.Leaning forward in her seat, Maggie tenderly cupped the little superhero's face in her hands, turning her head slightly to get a better look. She could see an indent in the skin, an indent that looked like a symbol. "I'm going to take a picture, alright?" She asked, taking her mobile phone out from her pocket and opening the camera app.Kara obediently stayed in the position Maggie had moved her to prior, while the detective used her phone to zoom in on the swollen flesh, so the indent was clear before quickly taking the photograph. "It's okay," Maggie soothed after noticing Kara flinch at the camera's flash, "have you ever seen this symbol before?" She asked showing Kara the picture she had just taken.Kara shook her head vigorously after looking at the photograph, "Are you sure?" Maggie asked, noticing the way the little blonde's eyes had widened at first after looking at the symbol."I, I, don't remember…I don't know," Kara said honestly, looking confused, as Maggie watched her intently. "Have another look, it might help you remember," Maggie prompted holding the phone out closer to Kara once again, who shook her head whimpering."Don't," Lena said quickly and firmly, noticing that Maggie was about to ask again, "whatever that is, it's frightening her," she explained, feeling Kara tense, the muscles in her back becoming taunt under her hand again.Maggie paused before nodding in agreement, deciding to drop the issue for now. "It's okay, you don't have to look at it if you don't want to little Danvers," she could see Kara's trembling had intensified again.Kara's head was down, her eyes closed tightly. Pulling the small girl closer to her once again, Lena kissed the top of her head and ran both her hands up and down Kara's back until she felt the tension slowly leave. Lena waited until Kara's eyes had opened again before speaking, "Can we have a look at your arm?"Kara nodded in response holding her arm out to Lena, "I'm going to take this off, so I can see better," Lena commented while helping Kara out of her hooded jumper, she was wearing a short sleeved plain purple T-shirt underneath. Passing the jumper to Maggie, Lena gently took Kara's arm in her one hand, stroking her thumb lightly over the tender skin that was already beginning to bruise. She could see what looked like finger-nail indentations that had punctured the skin and had been bleeding.Look up from inspecting her girlfriends arm Lena could see Kara watching her anxiously. "Let's get you cleaned up," she said, moving to kiss the girl's forehead, before standing and settling Kara against her hip once again.I should find holding her like this strange, but for some reason I don't, it feels almost natural,
Lena thought to herself noticing how Kara fit perfectly in her arms. With her being a lot smaller than a normal nine-year-old she was light, and would quickly latch on helping Lena hold her up, while cuddling into her at the same time. It was obvious that Kara found it very comforting to be held this way, she seemed to seek out comfort in any form as much as possible, especially when in her younger mind set."Can you call J'onn and fill him in?" Lena asked Maggie, beginning to sway the little blonde in her arms as Kara rested her head on her girlfriend's shoulder.Maggie nodded in response to the request. "He might know more about this," she added, motioning to her mobile phone with her hand, signalling that she meant the symbol.Lena responded with a nod, stoking a hand down Kara's hair as the little blonde let out a sleepy sigh.

The stranger smiled in victory as he entered the ice fortress.Superman's fortress of solitude was meant to be secure with no way for outsiders to get in, when all it took was a drop of blood from a living member of the house of El for anyone to get in, not that he was just anyone.That was not all the blood was for though.No, the blood would allow him to access the software he needed, he just needed to find it first.Walking over to the main consoles control pad, the stranger began to press a series of buttons, causing a hologram image of Jor-El appear in the centre of the fortress.Looking to the hologram the stranger took off his baseball cap, revealing his face, which had a long-healed, large scar across the left cheek.His bright blue eyes sparkled in delight while looking at the hologram, knowing that he was getting closer to what he wanted."Hello, Uncle Jor-El."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chapter Nine

"Did you get it?""Yes, I have everything needed now. You can get your agent to leave the clues for how to change her back to her original age at their earliest convenience, the soon the better in fact.""I thought you wanted to wait until you were sure she recognised you.""She does. And I left her a little gift to help those memories come along. A painful reminder, you will be happy to know.""How painful?""Well I had to draw blood from her in one way or another. I didn't have a needle, so I thought why not make it hurt?""Good. That – alien, needs to pay for what her cousin did to my boy. The more she suffers the better in my eyes.""Are you forgetting what I am?""No, no. I'm not… You are different though. You don't hold that same self-righteous attitude.""Or is it more the fact that I am willing to give you something you want?...To answer your prayers though, yes, I will make sure she suffers. That girl cost me everything…. Though while I have been observing her, I have noticed she seems particularly close to your youngest. She may become an issue.""You can do with her as you wish, she's not even
my
daughter anyway. I have no use for an alien loving Luthor, even if I did help raise the ungrateful brat."So, you would have no- objection, if she had to removed.""None at all, my only concern is my son."

Alex sighed while standing in the doorway to the bedroom that herself and Maggie were sharing. Since Maggie got back from the store with J'onn, having managed to secure the CCTV footage, the detective had been quiet. She had been keeping to herself and not really engaging in any conversations unless asked a question directly.She had also been avoiding being alone with Lena, and had yet to look Alex properly in the eyes.Alex and Eliza had met them on the way back to the house and Maggie had told them, with quick, apologetic words, what had happened.Alex's phone had been on silent when she had entered the airport to pick her mother up and the agent had forgotten to turn the sound back on. She and her mother had been so caught up in what they were discussing that the time had completely slipped their minds, and it wasn't until it started to get dark outside that the two Danvers ladies realised how late it must have gotten. Alex had felt terrible when she learnt that Maggie had been trying to reach her, only feeling all the more worse when she had been filled in on what had happened in her absence. She could tell that her fiancé felt terrible for what happened, and she knew it must have caused Maggie a great deal of stress when she could not get hold of her.It seemed they had all been so engrossed in finding a way to turn Kara back, and finding out what was going on in her mind in the first place, that they'd all forgotten about the fact Kara was more vulnerable right now. While Maggie was more than capable of looking after the youngest Danvers, it was a lot of responsibility for one person alone, especially when said person hadn't had the most comfortable relationship with the superhero up until recently.When they had entered the house, Winn was already over, and was currently joining in with Lena and Kara who had music on loudly, and had been dancing around in the living room. They looked ridiculous, but that didn't matter; Kara was smiling again, she was having fun, and she was relaxed. The earlier trauma now in the back of her mind as her girlfriend and best friend took her mind off of everything that had been happening to her in the last few days. She had become somewhat nervous again upon seeing both J'onn and Eliza enter the house, coming closer to Lena once again and keeping a hand attached to her girlfriend's pant leg when either of them were near her.Though her mother hadn't said anything about it, Alex knew that seeing Kara act that way towards her upset her, Kara was acting much like she had done when she first got to earth. They all knew in time Kara would be fine, it was most probably the days events making her shy with Eliza, and she was still somewhat nervous around J'onn due to their interactions at the DEO so far.As Maggie had left the ingredients needed for her lasagna in the store earlier, having not been able to finish the shopping or have the time to cook anything else with everything that had happened, they had decided to order pizza for dinner. After eating their food, Kara unusually eating much less than anybody else which was strange for her, they had separated off into different groups.Lena had gone to the kitchen to make some phone calls regarding both L-Corp and Catco, having decided she wanted to take some time off to help take care of Kara until everything had calmed down. Whereas Alex, Eliza and J'onn had decided to look over the security footage and do some research into the symbol Maggie noticed on Kara's cheek. Kara and Winn had set up camp in the living room deciding to have a
Mario Karts
racing match as Maggie disappeared into the bedroom she shared with Alex, alone.When Alex had seen her walk off towards the bedroom she had decided enough was enough, they needed to talk. "Hey," she said softly, gaining the detectives attention, "what are you doing in here by yourself?""Thought you would want some time with your family," Maggie replied with a shrug.Alex walked further into the room, coming to sit next to her on the bed, before responding with, "last time I checked, as much as I care for them all, Winn, J'onn and Lena aren't technically my family. You- however- are. Maybe not officially yet, but you will be soon."Maggie didn't know how to respond to that, it was true, all she could do was smile softly.Of course, Alex would say something like that, of course she would see through Maggie's attempt at diverting attention away from herself and make her get right to the point; Kara was probably the blame for that. The girl was a fan of the diversion tactic, always trying to shift the focus to something else or pretend everything was fine when really it wasn't. Growing up together and becoming so close, it was no wonder that Alex had learnt how to deflect the attention right back and get to the source of the problem. It was part of what made her such an amazing big sister; the way in which she knew how to handle Kara."I, every time I look at Kara's face I feel – terrible." Maggie began, looking down to her hands that were in her lap. "I was meant to be looking after her and instead I let her get beat on by some guy that to be honest didn't seem all that human. I mean, you've seen the poor kid. That's got to hurt!"Leaning across the bed, Alex took her girlfriend's hand in her own, squeezing it gently. "You're not that one that hurt Kara," Alex began."No, I'm just the one who was responsible for her safety and let it happen." Maggie injected, cutting in."You didn't
let
it happen," Alex emphasised, "you had no way of knowing what was going to happen and no one blames
you," she assured.Scoffing while shaking her head Maggie responded, "I'm pretty sure Lena does."The CEO had barely spoken a word to Maggie after calming Kara earlier, and when she had there was a definite edge to her voice that Maggie remembered only being directed to her a few times before. All of those times being when herself or Alex had done something to Kara that had upset her.Alex squeezed her girlfriend's hand to gain her attention once again. "She'll calm down, I'll talk to her.""No," Maggie responded quickly, shaking her head. "It's fine, you don't need to get involved, I can handle little Luthor being mad with me.""You don't have to handle things like this on your own anymore – we, are a team now," Alex argued.Sighing, Maggie ran a hand through her hair, "she has every right to be angry with me right now, you all do, I don't understand why
you
aren't.""Do you want me to angry with you?" Alex asked. "To yell at you about how you shouldn't have sent Kara off on her own?" she asked further, raising an eyebrow. "Because sure, I can do if that's what you want, but it won't help. You made a
mistake
Maggie, you're not perfect- hell, none of us are. I yelled at Kara yesterday to the point she ran away in tears, terrified of me." Alex chuckled slightly, causing Maggie to smile and shake her head.Maggie turned on the bed to face Alex. Like this, looking deep into her girlfriend's eyes, it was easy to see Alex was being honest with her; she didn't blame her."In Kara's defence, you can be scary sometimes," Maggie quipped."Yeah, yeah!" Alex responded, rolling her eyes playfully. "But, what I am trying to say is, we
all
make mistakes. We all make wrong judgements at times, and any one of us could have been in your place today and the exact same thing could have happened. We can't change it. Yelling about it, shutting yourself away and feeling bad about it won't change what happened."Maggie was silent for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders, "I guess," she replied."Come on," Alex said using the hand she was holding to pull Maggie up from the bed with her when she stood, "Kara has been asking after you. She wants you play to
Mario Karts, so she can beat you. Come and join in with the others, please?" she asked, before turning to fully face her girlfriend, leaning in to deliver a short, sweet kiss to her lips.It wasn't a kiss of passion, it was a loving kiss filled with assurance.After pulling back from the kiss, Maggie loosely looped her arms around Alex's waist, "well," she began, pulling Alex flush against her own body, "after that I think we should stay here and play some games of our own."Alex gasped, smacking her girlfriend's shoulder, "Stop it! My mother is out there!"The response made Maggie laugh. "Just finishing what you started, Danvers.""I changed my mind, I think another time I will just yell at you," Alex said, crossing her arms and leaning to the one side as Maggie only laughed again.Taking her fiancé's hand, Maggie pulled gently, beginning to lead them from the room, "Sure you will," Maggie replied with a smirk, knowing that really, she wouldn't.Alex may frighten people sometimes but underneath it all she was a great big softie, and everyone knew it. She was fierce and protective of the people that she loved, but was also one of the most compassionate and caring person that Maggie had ever met.

Agent Corz was relieved when she got the text with the coded message of
'Pancakes for breakfast?'.The text didn't mean that at all, it was her cue to do the next part of her own mission, but she was glad to get it. It meant that the time was nearing now, the time when she and her brother could leave National City and start again.As she walked into the labs where she knew Winn had been working earlier, she carried a package in her hand addressed to the younger agent. The package had arrived this morning and was her ruse to get in and out without looking suspicious. She was going to pretend it had been sent to herself by mistake and she was returning it.That's what she would say if anyone saw her, and that's what it would look like was happening if anyone looked back on the surveillance cameras.She dropped the package down onto the desk where Winn had left his research and findings from examining the
Krin-Drive
so far, the piece of paper she had been instructed to leave them hidden under the package. Scanning her eyes over the desk she leant over to pick up one of the junior agent's collectable toys that were littered around his work space examining it closely.Checking over her shoulder quickly, and finding herself alone, she swapped the collectable out for a replica that was in her jean pocket, the angle she was stood at obscuring this action from the surveillance camera, before placing the collectable back where it was to begin with and walking back out of the lab.

"Maggie!" Kara yelled while running up to the detective, "come and help me, Winn is cheating!" she said, grabbing Maggie's spare hand and dragging her along, causing Alex to burst out laughing at the expression on Maggie's face. As much she would have liked to join in on the games she decided instead to go back to her research, Kara and Maggie needed this time together after what had happened this afternoon.Winn gasped, holding his Nintendo Wii Steering wheel up to his chest. "I, do not cheat. It's not my fault you have no coordination right now," he said in mock hurt as they reached him in the middle of the living room, Kara still clutching Maggie's hand in her own."Actually, if you're making her use the same wheel as normal when she doesn't have her powers right now that could be considered as cheating. As it does give you an unfair advantage," Maggie responded with a raised eyebrow, placing her hand on Kara's shoulder as the little blonde crossed her arms over her chest with a smug look on her face.Winn frowned, feeling outnumbered as both Maggie and Kara watched him expectantly. "Fine," he said, handing Kara his own wheel, and begrudgingly picking up the heavier, reinforced wheel that Lena had made specially for Kara to counteract her powers, "I hate this wheel, its too heavy!"Leaning back into Maggie, Kara giggled at the pout on Winn's face before tilting her head up to look at the detective, "Do you want to play too? There's more controllers in the side unit,""What!" Winn exclaimed, "There's more? Why are you making me use this one then?"Kara shrugged in response, looking back towards her friend. "Just 'cos," she said, shifting Maggie's hand from her shoulder to around her stomach so she could cuddle backwards into her.Even though Maggie had not been able to calm Kara down from her earlier panic, the little blonde did now feel a lot safer and much more comfortable with the detective than she done beforehand. She was beginning to be more tactile towards her than she had been previously, which if Maggie was being honest with herself, she found rather endearing.As much as they needed to change Kara back to her proper age, she would admit that she was going to miss this version of her fiancé's little sister."I think what she is trying to say is, we all find it hilarious when you get upset about losing, Junior," Maggie said in Kara's place, using her free hand to smooth the girl's hair down."I do not!" Winn replied, his voice becoming high pitched with indignation at the comment, causing Maggie and Kara to both laugh in response as he had effectively just confirmed their point.Grumbling still under his breath, Winn walked up to the unit that Kara had mentioned and grabbed a new wheel and controller for himself before walking up to Maggie and handing her the weighted controller."Damn, this thing is heavy," Maggie muttered, "no wonder Kara was struggling, are there no other controllers in there?"Letting go of Maggie's hand Kara took her wheel in both hands to cue up a restart on the set of races they were playing so that Maggie could join them, and they could link up the new controller."All the others have broken wrist straps, and are a bit, cracked," Winn mentioned, answering Maggie's question as Kara looked to unit sheepishly before turning her attention back the TV.Maggie leaned over Kara, who was still standing with her back leaning against her legs, and took the controller Winn was holding from him. "Pick the least broken one for yourself then," she began before he could protest, "unless you would like this one back?" she finished waving the heavy controller at him.

Twenty minutes later into the races, Kara and Winn were drawing in points, having both won an equal number of races each.Currently, Maggie was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed in front of her, while Kara stood next to her bouncing around on the spot and Winn stood on the far side, over-exaggerating turning his wheel when his kart moved around the corners. This was another reason they all found it hilarious to play with him, or just watch him play, he got totally engrossed in the game forgetting everything else around him.So far Maggie had lost spectacularly at every single race- until now, apparently."Hah! I win!" Maggie yelled, arms up in victory. "What happened to you guys, why did you both just stop?" she asked, turning to face Winn and Kara.Her eyes widened at the sight in front of her.Winn looked alarmed, his hand over his mouth, while Kara had her hands over her face, her body turned slightly away from him. Winn's controller was on the floor near Kara, while Kara's was dangling from her wrist by the safety strap."Did that hit her?" Maggie asked, dropping her own wheel the floor, before moving to kneel in front of Kara."Maybe, I, I think so," Winn began sheepishly, "I don't know! It just flew out my hands when I took a sharp bend," he continued, watching as Maggie wrapped an arm around the little blonde's back pulling her in for a hug, "Is she okay?"Maggie stroked Kara's back softly, letting the girl cuddle into her while using her spare hand to undo the safety strap around Kara's wrist to free her hand from the controller, "Shhhh, you're okay. Don't cry, it's alright," she soothed as Kara sniffled into her chest, taking double breaths as she tried to stop herself from crying. "She'll be okay, she just needs a minute." Maggie said to Winn as she brought her other hand up to stroke the little blonde's hair.Maggie found trying to comfort Kara a lot less awkward now, what happened at the store before was traumatic for them both, but it had helped them both feel less nervous around each other. Her efforts earlier may not have calmed the little blonde in the same way that Lena or Alex are able to, but she was confident that she could offer the girl some comfort. Holding Kara close, she began to rub calming circles across her back, waiting until she could feel the double breaths slow and for the girl's sniffles to ease, before pulling back to look at the small superhero's face. "Aw kiddo, you're just not having a good day today, are you?" she said softly, while cupping the blonde's cheek tenderly. The cut from earlier had now reopened and the skin around it had reddened more again, the controller had hit into Kara's already bruised cheekThough she hadn't been hit hard, it had obviously been enough to hurt the already bruised and swollen flesh."Oh god! It hit your bad cheek. Kara, I'm so sorry!" Winn said desperately, he looked like he was about to cry himself at this point, obviously feeling terrible for accidentally hurting the her more than she already was."It's 'kay," Kara mumbled, her breath catching slightly, as Maggie stood slowly from her position on the floor, before bending back down again to hoist the girl up onto her hip."See, all good. Maybe we shouldn't use that controller anymore though, just to be on the safe side," Maggie said to Winn who nodded in response watching as Kara rested her head against the detective's shoulder, wrapping her arms around Maggie's neck and leaning into her hold.Looking at Kara's face Maggie frowned slightly at the blood she could see, "In fact, why don't you cue up a movie, while I clean up this one's face?" she said, before making her way into the hallway after Winn had nodded.Maggie paused as she reached the master bedroom. "Do you think Lena will mind me coming in here?" she asked, looking to Kara again. Kara shook her head, looking confused at the question, "No, why would she mind?" Kara asked, the crinkle appearing on her forehead."Well I'm not exactly her favourite person right now," Maggie responded before pushing the door open and carrying Kara inside the room. Noticing the confused look she was receiving from Kara still, Maggie decided to elaborate as they walked into the en-suit bathroom. "I don't think she is very happy with me for sending you off alone at the store and allowing you to get hurt.""She doesn't like seeing me hurt is all, but she doesn't blame you if that's what you mean," Kara said, releasing her hold on Maggie's neck as the detective gently lowered her onto the counter top next to the sink, keeping one arm on Kara's side to stop her from falling off the edge."You sure about that?" Maggie queried, opening the cabinet above the sink to look for a first aid kit with her other hand."You're not the one who hit me. Everyone knows what happened isn't your fault. Sounds more like you blame yourself, so you think everybody else does, and that's just silly!" Kara said, swinging her legs against the side of the counter she was sat on, her comment causing Maggie to look down at her in surprise.It was easy to forget underneath all the fear and the cuteness that Kara was still the girl they knew, who in turn was very much like her elder sister in her beliefs and mannerisms at times. "Sometimes I forget how alike you and Alex are," Maggie commented before returning her attention to the cabinet in search of first aid supplies."Well, she is my sister," Kara replied with a shrug, as Maggie found what she was looking for in the cabinet, placing the items onto Kara's lap before closing the door. "Luckily for me, not biologically." Maggie quipped, "I know for a fact you aliens have some stamina, more than I can han– actually, I probably shouldn't talk to you about this stuff when you are little,""Or ever," Kara said bluntly causing Maggie to chuckle before taking an antiseptic cleansing wipe out of a small packet that was in the first aid kit she had retrieved. "Look up for me," she instructed gently, waiting until Kara lifted her head a little bit so that she could see her injured cheek better. "It's going to sting a little," Maggie told the little blonde before starting to gently wipe away the blood from her face and carefully wipe over the cut to cleanse it, the sting from the wipe causing Kara to flinch.Maggie could feel Kara trying to push away from her, trying to pull away from the sting of the wipe. Not wanting the her to fall off the counter and injure herself further, she tightened her hold on the girl's side, rubbing gently with her thumb to try and offer some comfort."All done!" She announced, placing the wipe down in the sink before patting Kara's knee, smiling down at her. "Now, we just need a band-aid," Maggie commented, looking through the first aid kit."Lena didn't put one on in-case it irritated the skin around the cut," Kara told her, swinging her legs again as she spoke.Maggie paused. "Hmmm, fair point," she said closing the first aid kit and moving to open the cabinet door again."You're only agreeing 'cos you think Lena will get mad again, aren't you?" Kara said with a smirk, as Maggie paused in place for a moment again before shrugging and putting the first aid kit away closing the cabinet door."Maybe, maybe not," Maggie answered, turning her attention back to Kara and placing her free hand next to where she was sitting on the counter top."Chicken!" Kara accused, chuckling.Raising an eyebrow, Maggie responded, "Alien,""Shorty!" Kara shot back quickly."Look who's talking," Maggie shot right back with a smirk as Kara glared at her, crossing her arms over her chest."Do I need to separate you two?" Alex asked from where she was leaning against the doorway, where she had been listening to the conversation unbeknown to both Maggie and Kara.Watching the two interact had brought a smile to her face. It hadn't gone unnoticed to her how Kara had been more tactile with Maggie this evening, or how Maggie herself had been more comfortable around little Kara. They both seemed a lot more at ease with each other. Alex hoped this would continue being the case when they finally managed to change Kara back. She really wanted Maggie and Kara to have a good relationship, but at the same time she didn't want to force it upon either of them.If they could keep on naturally getting closer like they had been today, then she would be happy."How's the cheek?" Alex asked snapping out of her thoughts, "Winn told me what happened," She explained, seeing the confused looks on her two favourite girl's faces.She was concerned that if Kara took any more hits the poor girl would end up with a permanently bruised cheek even after they managed to turn her back and get her powers back. She knew the thought was ridiculous, but it still concerned her how much Kara had been hurt."You weren't mean to him, were you?" Kara asked suspiciously, while Maggie raised an eyebrow in question, as they both looked at her accusingly."Of course not!" Alex insisted, when Kara and Maggie continued to look at her she continued, "I didn't do anything to scare him, I swear. It's not my fault he assumes I'm always angry with him."Maggie just laughed in response, knowing Alex all too well. She loved to scare him, and they all knew it."Anyway," Alex began, walking further into the bathroom, "I need to borrow you for a bit," she continued, directing the request to her little sister. "Me and Mom need your help with what we are researching," Alex said, smiling as Kara nodded her consent, then rolling her eyes as Kara held her arms out towards her signalling for Alex to pick her up.Granting Kara's silent request, Alex scooped her little sister up off the counter exaggerating a 'huffing' sound as she did, making Kara giggle into her shoulder as she cuddled into her sister.Alex dropped a kiss to Kara's head before addressing her her. "You know," She began, causing Kara to look up at her, "when we change you back, no one will be carrying you around like this, so you shouldn't get too used to it,""That's why I'm making the most of it now, duh!" Kara replied cheekily, her head dropping to her sister's shoulder tiredly with a small yawn.

An hour later Kara slowly made her way into the kitchen in search of her girlfriend who was still pacing around the room on her mobile phone. Lena had been on the phone with her new acting CEO of L-Corp for the last hour and a half sorting out the next two weeks full of work so that she herself didn't have to go in. She had also been on the phone with James Olsen beforehand, delegating him to overseeing CatCo. He knew of the situation and was happy to take the reins again so that Lena could spend more time home with Kara. He'd asked if Lena could bring Kara into Catco with her for a short while tomorrow though, he missed Kara and wanted to see her, having heard what she was like while little from Winn he wanted to see for himself.Kara watched from the doorway as Lena continued to be engrossed in her conversation. She currently had her back to the little girl so couldn't see that she was in the room. After watching silently for a moment, Kara made her way up to where Lena was standing and wrapped her arms around one of her girlfriend's legs, resting her head against the side of the CEO's thigh.Lena startled slightly, before looking downwards to see Kara cuddled up against her side. Continuing her conversation on the phone, Lena used her free hand to gently comb through Kara's hair while the the small superhero stayed cuddled up next to her, content to just be close to her girlfriend.Alex, Eliza and J'onn had been so focused on trying to find out what the symbol that was smacked into her cheek was and what it meant, that they hadn't noticed how tired the small superhero had been getting. They had been asking her questions about it again, making her feel nervous, and without Lena there to stop them they didn't seem to see that it was scaring her like it had been beforehand.With the evening getting late and everyone beginning to get tired, Alex had started getting a bit snappy when Kara had kept trying to sneak off back into the living room where Maggie and Winn were watching a movie. Every attempt she had made to escape was thwarted by Alex, who kept picking Kara up and bringing her back into the room sitting her down. She asked her to look over more research with her, asking her about the man from the store and getting her to look at the symbol more to see if she recognised it as Eliza seemed to think she had seen it before somewhere.Growing tired of Kara's attempted escapes, Alex had pulled her little sister onto her lap and told her to sit still, trapping her in place. Kara had squirmed the whole time and kept asking to be let down, as a last resort she had told Alex she need the toilet, causing her older sister to huff in annoyance before letting the smaller girl go with the instruction to come back right after.Kara hadn't though, nor had she gone to the toilet, she had crept into the living room, passing by Maggie and Winn, to go straight into the kitchen to find Lena."Kara? Where did you go?" Alex's voice rang out loudly from the other room, causing her to jump slightly and tighten her grip around Lena's leg. She didn't want to go back in the dinning room if it meant having to be asked more questions about that symbol, she was tired and just wanted Lena right now.Feeling Kara jump and cuddle closer into her leg, Lena paused mid-sentence in her conversation, the hand that was combing through Kara's hair now rubbing the young girls shoulder, "…Sam, can I put you on hold for a moment?...Thanks."After pressing the hold button on her phone, Lena placed it down on the counter before kneeling on the floor to be closer to Kara's height, sitting back against the soles of her feet. "Hey," she started, noticing how Kara tried to get closer to her after hearing Alex call for her a second time, "what's going on?" Lena asked, resting her one hand on her leg while her other was on Kara's uninjured cheek, stroking softly. Lena waited patiently, moving the hand from her own leg to hold Kara's smaller one, to stop her from picking at the bandage around her arm that had been hurt earlier."Alex and everyone want to know about…this," Kara started, using her spare hand to point towards her swollen cheek where the symbol indentation was, "…but I don't want to…I don't like it, looking at it, or talking about it…it's…looking at it makes me feel really strange," she finished, her body shivering with the thought of it.Lena noticing the shiver, tugged gently on the hand she was holding to pull Kara closer, wrapping an arm around the girl's back and speaking softly into her hair. "Have you told Alex or Eliza how it makes you feel?" Kara mumbled a quiet no against her girlfriend's chest in response. "Well I think you should," Lena reasoned. "They need to know how this is making you feel. Would you like me to come with you?" Lena asked pulling back slightly to meet her girlfriend's eyes, smiling when Kara nodded her head in response before looking down to her feet."Kara?" Lena prompted, trying to gain the girls full attention. She waited until Kara looked up to her before continuing, "I need you to tell me why it's scaring you so much, I can't help if I don't know."She could tell there was something bigger at play here, something Kara wasn't saying that was the reason behind her fear. That was the reason why she didn't like being questioned and shown the symbol.Until they knew what that reason was, this would keep happening."I feel like… I think, I've seen it before," Kara whispered in answer to Lena's question, staring down at her feet once again, "…I have, but it, it doesn't make sense," she continued quietly, another shiver passing though her body before she looked up to meet Lena's gaze. "It's in the dreams I keep having.""There you are," Alex said in relief, stopping Lena from being able to reply, as she walked into the kitchen, her voice and sudden appearance causing Kara to startle."Why'd you just disappear? We need you to help us with this, come on," Alex continued, motioning for Kara to come with her, not noticing how Lena was frowning at her currently.Alex watched in confusion as Kara tried to hide herself behind her girlfriend, only to be stopped when Lena wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling the little blonde into her side. "Kara?" Alex asked walking closer, not liking the way her little sister was looking to the ground refusing to meet her eyes. "…is everything okay?" Alex asked further, concerned.She knew she had gotten a bit short with her little sister, but she hadn't meant to frighten the girl."I think Kara needs a break from helping with the research for tonight," Lena suggested, as Kara looked up briefly to meet Alex's eyes before looking down again nervously.Lena wasn't ignoring what Kara had told her, she knew it needed addressing, but right now the girl was tired and nervous, the last thing they needed was for her to get scared again like she had been before. They had all had a long day, Lena herself was exhausted and knew that Kara must be too. The conversation could wait until tomorrow morning after they had hopefully all had a full night's rest.Seeing how tense her little sister was Alex nodded, agreeing, she hadn't meant to scare the girl with all her questioning, she had just wanted to feel as though they were getting somewhere. She wanted to try and put a name to this faceless man. She wanted to know who to hunt down for hurting her little sister in the first place.Running a hand through her hair, Alex crouched down in front the younger couple, "You're right." She agreed out-loud. "It's getting late, research can wait until tomorrow. Why don't we watch a movie while Lena finishes off her phone call?" Alex asked, smiling as Kara looked up at her again to assure her that she wasn't mad.Her smile slipped from her face when Kara shook her head, before turning to cuddle into Lena's shoulder. "We'll join you shortly," Lena told Alex, the hand that had been around the little blonde's waist moving to pat her back, "just let me wrap this call up. It's okay, she can stay with me."Alex smiled sadly before standing and walking back out the room.Lena watched her leave before dropping a kiss to the blonde's hair line, using her hand on Kara's back to tug her around into a proper hug. "We need to talk about this more, but I won't push you to talk tonight. We can talk about this tomorrow, alright?" She assured, speaking softly into Kara's ear before pulling back so she could look into the blonde's eyes.Kara nodded with a small thankful smile, watching Lena curiously as she stood back up from the floor taking a step closer towards her as more space was made between them.Noticing how Kara kept shuffling closer towards her Lena chuckled before bending down to scoop the girl up in her arms, settling her against her side. "Better?" she asked, receiving a small nod in response as Kara wrapped an arm around her girlfriend's neck, the other arm coming up to rest against Lena's chest, her hand gripping onto her girlfriend's blouse.Lena smiled softly when Kara rested her head against her shoulder, eyes blinking shut tiredly. A sleepy Kara was always adorable, but it seemed she was even more so when so much younger.Lena swayed her gently running a hand through Kara's hair for a moment before placing a kiss on her forehead, "I just need to finish this call," she reminded, bouncing Kara up higher onto her hip before picking up her phone with the hand she wasn't using to hold the little blonde up.Pressing the hold button on the phone, Lena held the phone to her ear on the other side to where she had Kara against her hip, before continuing her conversation quietly, still swaying on the spot. She could feel her girlfriend beginning to go limp, feeling heavier than she did before. As she paused from talking to wait for Sam's reply she softly kissed Kara's head once again as the little blonde's eyes began to slowly droop shut.She was hoping that the gentle swaying and sound of her voice would be enough to lull Kara to sleep as she could tell the poor girl was exhausted.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chapter Ten

She could feel something tickling her cheek as she slowly came to, she could feel the sunlight beaming in from the windows and feel the warmth on her skin before she could even see it. Even with the tickling sensation if felt peaceful and warm. She felt completely content to just lay and bask in the sunlight for long as possible- if that tickling sensation would just stop. Tiredly blinking open her eyes, it took a moment for Kara to see what it was that was tickling her, but she couldn't stop a smile from forming when she realised what caused the feeling. Slowly and carefully moving her head to the side, Kara could see she was laying directly on top of her girlfriend's chest while Lena- still fast asleep- lay on her back. Some of Lena's hair had become loose from the bun she had swept it up in for bed, and that strand of hair had been what was tickling her, moving gently along her cheek as Kara's own body lifted up and down with the even breaths that Lena made while sleeping.As Kara began to come to her senses more, she could feel Lena's arms wrapped around her, gently applying pressure so she would not fall off the bed. One hand was underneath her pyjama top making the skin on her back feel warm and tingly, while the other was wrapped around Kara's one leg that she had thrown over Lena's stomach, the hand there squeezing her thigh.Leaning up slightly, with her hand pushing into the mattress for support so she was not pushing onto Lena herself, Kara slowly pushed the stray stand of hair behind her girlfriend's ear, taking a moment to admire her. Lena was beautiful, always, but when sleeping she looked so much younger. All the stress from the day was gone and she was just at peace. On the rare occasion that Kara was the first to wake she adored these moments where she could just watch her girlfriend be completely at peace, and she aimed to be able to offer her girl that same peace while awake. Lately, though, it seemed she had been failing even this.Kara knew that a lot of the stress that Lena had been feeling recently was down to herself, down to her reliving the fears she had when younger and trying to go through it all alone by not asking for help like she had promised her girlfriend she would do. Though Lena hadn't been angry with her for it, Kara could tell the CEO was extremely worried and that made her feel incredibly guilty, even more so now she had been turned into a child. The feelings that she had of fear, pain, guilt and unease had only multiplied since the device was used on her, it made her wonder at times if she was beginning to lose the part of herself that allowed her to fight through those emotions. It made her wonder if she would lose herself to the child she could feel battling to take control of her body.Unconsciously, Kara found herself slowly tracing the edges of Lena's face with her fingertips as she wondered how she was so lucky to have the CEO in her life, to be honoured to have her as her best friend, her girlfriend and, in more ways than one, her protector. Lena had saved her from the darkness her mind at times got stuck in more than once, most of the time doing so without even realising. As she continued to gaze at her girlfriend's beauty, fingertips lightly tracing over her lips, she knew that Lena would make sure she didn't lose herself again, not completely.Having felt Kara's fingertips grazing softly over her face, Lena stirred slightly- not much, but just enough to make Kara lose her balance and fall on top of her which in turn startled Lena awake."Hmmm, shhhh, you're okay…back to sleep now," she mumbled tiredly, having assumed the movement she felt was Kara stirring from one of her bad dreams, which had happened a few times throughout the night. The little blonde had managed to sleep through the whole night without nightmares waking her, and the few times she'd stirred, almost waking, Lena had been able to soothe her back to sleep by pulling her close and talking to her softly.Kara giggled at her mumbling girlfriend, lifting her head up again to look at her face and watch as her brow creased in confusion for a moment as she slowly began to wake up. "You're awake, aren't you?" Lena asked, one eye popping open to peak a glance at Kara who was mere inches away from her face, watching her intently with bright blue eyes.Lena took a moment to look at her childlike girlfriend, taking in the slight paleness to her skin, as well as the angry red skin of her one cheek that was badly bruised. She frowned, imagining the pain it must still be causing the girlGiggling at how she could see Lena inspecting her so thoughtfully, Kara leaned closer to kiss her cheek. "Morning Lee!" she said as she grinned cheekily, causing Lena to chuckle softly, pulling her head up from the pillow slightly to place a gentle kiss on Kara's nose."Morning darling," Lena murmured huskily, her voice still thick with sleep, as she ran her hand up Kara's back where it rested under the girl's pyjama top.Kara sighed in response, relaxing into the touch as she dropped her head back down into Lena's chest, tucking her head into the space below her girlfriend chin. "That feels nice," she replied, eyes closing in contentment.She loved mornings like this, waking up surrounded by the peacefulness that Lena's arms brought her, feeling relaxed and calm. She just wished she was her normal age and size right now, she wanted to be able to kiss her girlfriend properly, to hold her back and run her hands over her body, but she couldn't right now. Not when she was this size. It would feel far too strange, and she knew that it would almost definitely freak her girlfriend out. Lena was good with the weird, but even she would have issues at being touched up by her girlfriend who currently looked like a five-year-old.The room was silent as Lena slowly came to while lightly ghosting her fingers tips up and down Kara's back, the little blonde content to just lay on top of her. They were both happily lost in their own thoughts and the fogginess that mornings could bring, when a sudden loud growling noise caused Lena to burst out laughing and Kara to blush profusely.Calming her laughter, Lena patted the young superhero's back. "We should probably feed the bear in your stomach," she joked, moving her hand from Kara's back to tickle her side causing her to squeal and laugh out loud, wriggling as she tried to evade being tickled."Leeennaaa! Stop! Stop! You're gonna make me pee myself!" Kara said between laughs, Lena laughed along with her continuing to tickle her for a few more moments before relenting. Sitting up in the bed, she pulled Kara into her lap, the little blonde's arms automatically wrapping around her waist as she rested her head against her girlfriend's chest, breathing deeply as her laughing calmed. Lena kept an arm around Kara's waist as her other hand held the back of her head, stroking her hair softly."Lena?" Kara asked quietly after another silence."Hmmm?" Lena responded, mumbling the noise into Kara's hair as she rested her head on top of her girlfriend's, swaying them both from side to side.The little blonde slowly pulled one hand from around Lena's waist, bringing it up to grip a handful of her girlfriend's pyjama top, prompting Lena to squeeze her gently and kiss her head. She recognised this action as being one that Kara had been doing a lot the last few days, she did it more so when she was upset, tired or nervous. It was an action that obviously brought her comfort. It made Lena wonder if she realised she was even doing it or whether it was a subconscious action to try and make sure the person she was holding onto could not leave her.Feeling Kara pull back from her slightly, Lena snapped out of her thoughts, looking back down to see Kara looking at her, the crinkle apparent on her face. "What is it darling?" she asked softly, using the hand that was on the back of Kara's head to take the hand that was griping her pyjama top gently, threading their fingers together and squeezing reassuringly.Lena watched as Kara stared down at their joined hands deep in thought. She was silent for some time before looking up to meet her girlfriends worried eyes. "I love you," she said quietly.Bending down a small amount, Lena kissed her forehead softly. "I love you too," she replied. Lena had a feeling that wasn't really what Kara was going to say, but that didn't stop her from replying and reassuring the little blonde of her own feelings. She would let it slide for now, but a part of her knew it would have to do with what Kara had begun to tell her last night, and if it was she would prefer that the conversation was had while Alex was with them too so that Kara would only have to go through it all once. She could tell from the way Kara had been acting that it was something that scared her.Lena sighed as she let her girl cuddle into her again, her hand leaving Kara's waist to gently rub her shoulder as she snuggled into her chest.The moment was peaceful and quiet, until Kara's stomach rumbled again, even louder than before. "Right, your stomach has spoken. It's time for food," Lena commented, standing from the bed with Kara in her arms. As they made their way from the bedroom through to the kitchen Lena could feel Kara's arms and legs lock around her in a bear hug as the little blonde buried her head against her shoulder. Smiling softly, Lena ran the fingers of her hand that was holding Kara up under her legs along the back of her thigh gently. "You're very cuddly at the moment aren't you," she commented with a chuckle.Who was she kidding? Kara was always cuddly, but since being turned into a child she did seem even more so than usual, every possible chance she got she wanted to be in Lena's arms.Kara nodded in response to the non-question, relaxing into her girlfriend's arms as they entered the kitchen. She could hear Lena start preparing coffee and could hear her girlfriend looking through her cupboards and fridge to see what food was in the house. "How about waffles today?" Lena asked."I'm not that hungry," Kara mumbled in response, her arms tightening around Lena's neck after feeling the CEO bounce her higher up on her side.Lena frowned at the response. "Darling, you- more than anybody- need to eat," she reminded the girl softly, she had noticed last night how little Kara had eaten. She hadn't mentioned it at the time, knowing that sometimes when Kara was particularly stressed or upset over something she would shut down and refuse food. It wasn't uncommon but usually the next day Kara would eat ten times more to make up for it, unless something was majorly wrong.Bouncing the girl up higher against her side again, Lena made her way back over to the fridge and opened the door again, "Well, I'm going to have some Greek yogurt and berries this morning, would you like some too?" she offered, receiving a head shake in response. "No thank you," Kara mumbled again, her voice muffled from her girlfriend's shoulder once again, "not hungry," she continued just before her stomach rumbled again, loudly.Lena decided to leave the issue for now, instead opting to kiss the little blonde on the head before taking the items she would need from the fridge and placing them on the counter. While mixing her breakfast yogurt and berries together, Lena made sure there was more than what she could eat herself in the hopes that she would be able to coax her girlfriend to eat some of the food with her. If not, she would have to talk with J'onn about it, she couldn't, and wouldn't, let Kara do to herself what she'd done last year.Kara needed to eat. If she didn't get her normal intake of daily calories it could make her very sick and weak, and with her being so small and vulnerable already they couldn't risk her putting herself in more danger by not eating. Lena had a fair idea as to why Kara was refusing food, she knew it was probably a reaction to the fear that she felt yesterday and the fear over the symbol she had begun to tell her about last night causing her to want to shut down from it all.Finishing preparing her breakfast, Lena put all the items she didn't need back in the fridge, before taking two spoons out of a drawer and placing them into the bowl of yogurt and fruit. Picking up the bowl in one hand, with a clingy Kara still attached to her hip being held up by her other hand, Lena made her way over to the breakfast table placing the bowl on the table and taking a seat with Kara on her lap."Kara," Lena prompted, gaining the girl's attention as she slowly lifted her head from its place against the CEO's shoulder, "can you try to eat a little bit for me?" she asked, dipping one of the spoons into the yogurt. She couldn't suppress the disappointed sigh that left her lips as Kara refused the offered spoonful, hiding away in the crook of her neck to avoid having to eat.Dropping her spoon back into the bowl, Lena wrapped her arms around the young superhero, holding her tightly for a few moments before pulling the girl away from her hiding spot so that she could see her face while talking to her. "Baby," she began, causing Kara's eyes to meet her own right away, "why won't you eat? I know you're hungry, you barely ate a thing last night. You need to eat, please Kara, please. Just a little bit for me."Hearing Lena call her baby made Kara feel bad. Lena only called her that when she was scared or extremely worried for her, and Kara hated to be the reason for her girlfriend being any more worried or stressed than she was usually due to her job.Staring into Lena's eyes, Kara nodded gently.She still didn't want to eat anything right now, it was just far too overwhelming, and she wanted to shut down and hide away from it all. For Lena though, she would try, as the last thing she wanted to do was cause her girlfriend any more worry than she had already done. Turning around slightly in Lena's arms Kara faced her back towards her girlfriend's chest and picked up one of the spoons from the bowl. Slowly bringing it to her lips with a small amount of food on it Kara took the spoonful and swallowed with a gulp as Lena wrapped an arm around her stomach and kissed the back of her head.

Yawing and stretching her arms above her head, Maggie made her way into the kitchen smiling at the sight that greeted her as she stopped in the doorway for a moment to watch silently.Lena was currently standing in front of the coffee machine making herself a cup of coffee while slowly swaying a half-asleep Kara in her arms, the little girl had her arms wrapped around Lena's neck, head resting on top of her girlfriend's shoulder. Lifting her head just slightly, Kara smiled tiredly, "'orning Magi'," she mumbled, slurring her words before dropping her head back to Lena's shoulder."Morning little Danvers," Maggie responded, making her way further into the kitchen, Lena turning around to face her, "morning Lena," the detective continued, watching as Lena dropped a kiss to an almost-asleep Kara's hair and patted her back."Morning, Alex still asleep?" Lena asked, bouncing Kara gently as the little blonde mumbled something incoherent into her neck.Maggie chuckled at the sight. "Nah, she's chatting with Eliza. Looks like little Danvers could do with some more sleep though," Maggie commented.The coffee machine behind Lena beeped, making Lena turn around to try and take the coffee in one hand while still holding up a half-asleep Kryptonian child with her other arm. Maggie watched her struggle for a moment finding the sight comical before walking forward, "Here, let me take her," she offered, opening her arms as she got closer to where Lena and Kara where.Smiling in thanks, Lena moved to meet Maggie to try and help gently shuffle the half-asleep superhero over to the detective, which resulted in Kara grumbling and gripping on tighter to her girlfriend. "Or, maybe, you can finish making the coffee?" Lena suggested with a laugh, settling Kara back onto her hip, softly shushing her as she continued to whine and mumble.Kara had only become clingier as the morning progressed, not wanting to be away from Lena or leave her arms after eating a few mouthfuls of breakfast. The reaction made Lena sure that her reluctance to eat was due to fear as she had thought earlier. Fear she could deal with, she just needed to help the girl feel safe and hopefully she would eat more.Maggie nodded in response to the suggestion, moving to the machine to finish the coffee Lena had been making and starting another cup for herself.Lena walked back over to the kitchen counter, taking a seat and settling Kara into her lap. "Maggie," she began, turning her head slightly to address the detective from over her shoulder, "I owe you an apology. I treated you unfairly last night and blamed you for something that wasn't your fault.""To be honest, I think if I had been in your shoes I would have reacted the same way," Maggie replied as she turned to face Lena, "you don't really owe me an apology, I get it, you were just being protective of little blondie there."Lena chuckled as she heard Kara grumble into her neck hearing the girl say something along the lines of 'shut up'. "Either way, I am sorry if I was short with you last night," she continued, apologetically, patting Kara's back gently to stop her from mumbling, as Maggie nodded with a small smile."Did she have a bad night again?" Maggie asked after noticing how tired the little blonde seemed. It made her wonder how much sleep both of them had last night, even though Lena herself did look a lot more rested than yesterday. Lena continued to softly pat her girlfriends back, bringing her other hand up to stroke through blonde hair as Kara tiredly moved herself around to cuddle into her girlfriend's chest, pressing her ear closely to where she could hear Lena's heartbeat as she fell back to sleep, holding onto a fistful of the CEO's pyjama top."No, she slept through the night to my knowledge," Lena began quietly, answering the detectives question, "she stirred a few times but didn't wake. I think she's just exhausted from everything that's happened the last few days. Add that to the fact she's not eating enough, and you get this as the end result," she continued, frowning in worry.Kara had reluctantly eaten a few mouthfuls of breakfast but hardly enough to count as an actual meal, and definitely not enough to feed the number of calories she usually needed.Finishing making the second coffee, Maggie picked up both cups and brought them over to the table, taking a seat before answering. "Sounds like you're speaking from experience?" she half commented, half asked, "I remember Alex saying once, that when Kara was younger she would get these depression-like episodes and almost starve herself, but she hasn't mentioned a recent one," she continued, looking concerned."She went through a very bad patch last year, I managed to help her through it, but, I don't know if she fully worked through everything that caused it," Lena responded with a sigh as she wrapped her one arm around Kara's back holding her in place while using her other hand to pick up the cup of coffee and carefully take a sip.Maggie watched her intently, resting her head atop her hand, elbow leaning on the table. "What was the cause?" she asked, using her other hand to pick up her own coffee cup."Kara never actually said so, but I think the start was when Alex forgot her earth Birthday," Lena began thoughtfully, using the hand wrapped around a sleeping Kara's back to pull her closer. "the main cause though, was everything that happened with Jeremiah's return and then his betrayal." She continued, pausing to take a mouthful of coffee. "She was hurting and very lonely, we were still only friends at that point, it wasn't till after we began dating and started spending a lot more time together that I really started to notice it. I'm not one hundred percent sure if it was due to me being with her for more meal times, or whether it just got a lot more worse, but it became apparent about a month into our relationship that she was struggling badly."Maggie turned to look towards the kitchen doorway, not being able to look at Kara, or Lena in the eyes, as guilt tore at her heart. Part of her felt as though she may have played a part in what had happened, her and Kara hadn't always got on that well to begin with. She'd begun to wonder how much her remarks on Kara's work as Supergirl had hurt the girl without her knowing. It also made Lena's protectiveness now make a lot more sense.After a moment, Maggie turned back to face Lena, asking the question that had just been on her mind. "How bad did it get?""She almost died," Lena answered quietly, causing Maggie to gasp in shock, looking confused as well."But…I…there wasn't any fatal, well…
near
fatal fights that she had…Alex would have said?" Maggie asked in confusion, she couldn't understand how Kara could have almost died without her being told about it, without Alex telling her about it."That's because it wasn't Supergirl related, and Alex doesn't know. The only other person who knows is J'onn," Lena answered, hugging the little blonde sleeping in her arms even tighter to herself as she remembered what had happened.Sighing Lena took a deep breath before speaking, "It was pretty soon after Alex had almost drowned in that tank. The weather had been terrible, and Kara doesn't do well without sunlight. She had been really down and had been pulling away from everyone after what happened to Alex, so I took her away with me on a business trip where the weather was going to be better. It was our first time away as a proper couple, and that made her excited, it was the happiest I had seen her in a while, but she still wasn't herself," Lena began to explain.Maggie nodded, she could remember that Kara had been very distant after the events that caused Alex to almost drown in the tank."The day before we were due to come home I finished early and convinced Kara to come swimming with me," Lena continued, "she was exhausted but I thought being able to relax in the water would do her good, and it did for a while. We were playing around, racing and just having fun, when she suddenly just went under the water." Lena explained, pausing for a moment to collect her thoughts.Looking to Maggie she could see the worry on her face, the detective in her already knowing where this story was going, "I thought she was joking around and was just diving under water to pop up behind me and scare me. She didn't resurface, she was just laying at the bottom of the pool. I thought she was joking again until I noticed she was just staring and not breathing," Lena continued with a shudder as she remembered the stillness of Kara under the water."Somehow, I managed to drag her out of the pool on my own- how, I will never understand, I guess it was the adrenaline. I gave her CPR, I was smacking her chest so hard it would have broken her ribs if she wasn't Kara. It did bruise her pretty badly still, but, it worked," Lena said with relief, "I got her back and I hugged her so tight for such a long time. I think she felt so guilty that she started eating again just so I wouldn't worry about her," she chuckled at the irony of it all, Kara was the one who almost died, and she was the one that had ended up comforting her.Looking to Maggie's face again, Lena could see shock, and another emotion she couldn't quite pinpoint. "She begged me not to tell Alex," Lena explained, "and I agreed- but only if we told J'onn and only if she promised to never let it get that bad again," she paused, wondering if Maggie was angry with her for not telling herself or Alex about what happened. "I made her promise to always tell me when she was overwhelmed by something to the point she didn't want to eat and made sure she had some time away from her Supergirl duties when that happened, so she could recover from what she had been doing to herself. She needs to eat to keep her strength up, when she lets herself stave in the way she had been doing it affects her powers." Lena finished."She's been doing really well since then, she had a blip last week after the encounter with that physic, she tried to shut me out again at first but eventually came to me and let me help her. She seemed to be okay again – until yesterday."

"Lee, Lee?" Kara asked quietly, her one hand holding tightly to Lena's as they neared the elevator."Hmmm?" Lena responded distractedly as she checked a message on her phone from Winn, he was close to calculating how to reverse the effects of the 'Krin-Drive', and currently they were talking about how to test whether their theory was correct without using Kara as the test subject.Lena and Maggie had spoken in more detail about Kara's eating habits while Alex and Eliza were still talking. They had come to the agreement that for now they would monitor Kara, and if they felt it was getting out of hand they would have to let Alex and Eliza know, but until then they would try to deal with it themselves.Kara had awoken shortly after Alex and Eliza joined them at the breakfast table, and it was then that Lena decided to bring up the conversation she had with Kara last night about the symbol. Though Kara had been clearly nervous and uncomfortable talking about it, she did tell everyone about the dreams she had been having in more detail and about how, in these dreams, she had seen the symbol. This resulted in Eliza asking Alex to call J'onn, to see if he could fly herself and Alex back to her home in Midvale for the afternoon. She believed there was something there that could help them.Lunch time had come around and made both Maggie and Lena feel as though they made the right choice earlier as Kara did eat most of her food without a fuss, though she still refused to leave Lena's side. It was becoming very clear that Lena would be spending the day with a clingy Kryptonian attached to her side, so they would need to come up with a cover story for if anyone was to question why Lena suddenly had a little girl with her at all times.After lunch, Maggie had gone back into work, wanting to try and question Morgan Edge again to see if they could find out any more information on who he was working with, while Lena spoke with Kara about possibly going into CatCo for a short while so that she could sign some papers and they could see James who had been asking after her.Feeling Kara tug on the hand she was holding, Lena put her phone away in her pocket before looking down to meet nervous bright blue eyes. "I wanna go home," Kara said nervously, her eyes flitting around the busy building as she tried to move herself closer than she already was to her girlfriend.Bending down, Lena scooped the girl up into her arms and hugged her closely after feeling the tension in her muscles. "You're okay darling, we won't stay long I promise," she assured her girlfriend, speaking softly into her hair as she felt Kara's arms and legs wrap around her. "You'll be staying with me the whole time. I'll sign the papers and we'll say a quick hello to James then go straight home, okay?" she continued.Holding the girl close, Lena cursed herself silently as she walked them into the elevator, with all the conversations that had been going on earlier she had forgotten about the fact that to get Kara up to the office she would have to take her in an elevator, and the last time that Kara had stepped foot in one she had ended up having another panic attack. Granted, it wasn't as bad as the first one which caused her to make a giant Supergirl shaped hole in the roof, but, it still wasn't good, and Kara had been avoiding being in elevators since then. Lena couldn't help but wonder if this had anything to do with why she now wanted to go home again, if seeing the elevator as they came through the doors had scared her and made her worry about having another panic attack.She had thought that Kara would have been happy to get out the house and go somewhere she knew that wasn't the DEO, but it seemed to be having the opposite effect on her right now. She hadn't wanted to leave the house, and only agreed to go after Lena had promised she would be with her the entire time. Lena could tell the little blonde was still reluctant, and thought it probably had a lot to do with what happened yesterday at the store making her scared to leave the safety of her house. Kara had become even more clingier after talking about the symbol with everyone, and that clinginess had only increased when they left the house. Lena was impressed she'd even managed to convince the small superhero to walk from the car park to CatCo, rather than being carried, even if Kara did have a death grip on her hand the entire time.It worried her how Kara was acting, her reluctance to eat, her nervousness at being anywhere that Lena wasn't, her need to be in constant contact with if not herself then Alex or Maggie.Taking a deep breath Lena stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the floor she needed, bouncing the girl in her arms gently as the doors closed sealing them inside. "Do you remember the story we came up with?" Lena whispered quietly into Kara's ear, patting her bottom as she bounced the blonde in her arms again after feeling he go rigid.Kara nodded in response clinging to Lena tightly as her breathing began to pick up, she felt too closed in and she didn't like the feeling, it made her feel hot and cold all at the same time."It's alright Kara, just concentrate on me and remember to take deep breaths," Lena reminded her, stroking her hair softly while still patting her bottom gently as she bounced the young superhero in her arms hoping to prevent the girl from having another panic attack like the last time they were in the elevator.Her mind flashing back to the first time she had seen Kara have one of these attacks last week.
/
It was the end of her first busy day at CatCo and it have been…eventful.

She knew the transition would be hard for them both, with Kara having her Supergirl duties as well as working for her, but she had not expected it to be as hard as it was. She hadn't expected to find it so stressful trying to find a balance between being Kara's girlfriend and her boss, but it was. She knew Kara was trying, but she couldn't help the fact National City needed its hero.

She knew that Kara had been stressed and maybe she shouldn't have made that worse for her by calling her out for not doing the work she had assigned, but she had to. She was Kara's boss and she couldn't let the other employees think she was giving her special treatment for both of their sakes. It was a hard situation to juggle and she tried to do it the best she could, but Kara was being distant and not very forthcoming with what was going on. So, as Kara wouldn't let her help her as her girlfriend, she had to act as Kara's boss to make her see that she couldn't let her human side down as she tried to battle whatever alien threat she was facing.

She felt like the worst girlfriend in the world when at the end of the day Kara came to her in the office, looking as though she had been crying and apologising profusely telling her how she had been trying to stop this physic woman Psi from robbing banks all other the city. She told her how this woman had managed to get into her head and make her relive the worst moments of her life, bringing back all the fears and insecurities she had when she first arrived to earth.

She had felt her heart break at the fear in her Kara's eyes as she begged for Lena to forgive her for keeping her at arm's length all day because she didn't know how to deal with it all.

Lena hadn't known what to say, she didn't know how to make it better for Kara as the girl kept on apologising over every little thing that had happened that day, she apologised for not supporting Lena properly on her first day at CatCo, apologised for her behaviour, for the way Lena had to deal with her, for the Supergirl shaped hole she left in the building, for being weak, for not being able to stop the villain quick enough, for not concentrating on her work; the list of apologies just kept going on and on and on as Kara rambled on further saying how she would try better if Lena gave her another chance.

Lena had seen the girl ramble when nervous before, but this was impressive even by her standards, and as she stood there, mouth slightly open, watching the blonde continue to apologise and ramble, tears building in her eyes, she began to realise this ramble was so much worse because Kara was not nervous- she was afraid. And that was something that Lena had never once witnessed before in this magnitude from her girlfriend.

She couldn't bear to witness it any longer, seeing her girlfriend blame herself for things that she had no control over and getting so pent up to the point she was barely breathing as she rambled on further.

Quickly, hoping to stop her girlfriend, Lena had walked up to her, wrapped her arms around her snugly and effectively cut her off mid-word by kissing her fiercely on the lips.

Kara had stood completely still, probably too surprised to even return the embrace or the kiss, while Lena continued to kiss her, trying to pour as much emotion as possible into her lips as she could. She wanted Kara to see in this one action how much she loved her, how much she cared for her, how proud of her she was.

She wanted the woman to know that she did not blame her for anything that had happened.

Pulling back, Lena rested her forehead against Kara's, breathing deeply as Kara finally took a breath as well. "It's okay, there is nothing to forgive, and even if there was I forgive you," she assured, speaking barely above a whisper.
"But-""Shhhh, not buts, it's okay," Lena assured once more, cutting Kara off before she could argue, smiling softly as she pulled Kara closer to embrace her fully. She wrapped her arms around Kara's back, one hand rubbing up and down the length of her spine in an effort to ease out the tension she could still feel there, while her other hand was wrapped around the blonde's lower back, holding her closely.
Kara was completely still for a moment, before she slowly returned the embrace, wrapping her arms around Lena's back, both hands holding a fist full of the CEO's blazer as she held on to her tightly, her head over her girlfriend's shoulder, hiding against her hair that Lena had now let down as most of the employees had already left for the day.

They stayed huddled together for some time as Lena held the Girl of Steel in her arms, helping her put herself back together breath by breath, repeatedly telling her that everything was okay, knowing that right now Kara didn't need to talk anymore. What she needed most was the physical contact and affection that she had been staving herself of all day as she had tried to deal with all the emotions that had been hitting her at once on her own.

After some time, Lena felt Kara take a couple of much bigger deeper breaths before slowly pulling away from the embrace, her eyes slightly redder than they had been beforehand and moist underneath showing that she had been crying again as she let all the emotions out. Lena gave her girlfriend a few moments to collect herself as she gently lifted the glasses from her eyes and used her thumb to wipe away the tears before placing the glasses back in place and pressing another quick kiss to the girl's lips.
"Let's get you home," Lena said softly, wrapping an arm around Kara's waist and leading the reporter out of the office in line with her, both of them making their way over to the elevator. Kara kept her head down the whole way to avoid any looks from the few people who were left in the building.
She had been concentrating so hard on trying to seem composed that she had failed to notice they were in the elevator until she heard to doors close.

Lena frowned and inwardly cursed herself in her own mind as she saw Kara's head snap up quickly, her eyes widening as she took in her surroundings. Her only thoughts had been getting Kara home, in her hast she had forgotten the one key detail that Kara had mentioned during her rambling before.

The fact that she had panicked so badly in the elevator earlier today that she has created a massive hole in it while trying to escape.

She could feel as her girlfriend tensed underneath the arm Lena had around her waist, she could see Kara's hands balling into fists as her eyes frantically looked around the elevator, she could see sweat beginning to form on the blonde's brow and could hear the change in her breathing.

Using the arm that she had around Kara's waist to move the girl, Lena gently pulled Kara to stand in front of her and brought both her hands up to cup the blonde's cheeks, pulling her head up from where she was looking to the ground so that blue eyes could meet green.
"Kara, stay with me. Concentrate on me okay, can you hear my heartbeat?" she instructed, trying to calm her own racing heart and watching anxiously as Kara nodded her head in response to the question. "Okay, that's good. I want you to focus on my heartbeat and try to follow my breaths, alright?" she continued, taking purposely large breaths for her girlfriend to follow."Good, you're doing really well darling, almost there now," Lena said, letting her hands drop from Kara's face to her shoulder blades as her girlfriend rested her head on her chest, so her ear could be closer to the sound of Lena's heartbeat with her eyes closed.
Both girls released a massive sigh of relief as the elevator made a ping like sound and the doors burst open. Lena moved a hand in the range of the sensors to stop the doors from closing again as she clutched her girlfriend to her tighter for a few more moments. She gave Kara a few moments to come to her senses about where she was before moving her hand to reach down and take Kara's hand leading her out of the elevator
and towards where the driver was waiting for them in the parking lot so they could go home and relax.
/
As she came out of her memory, Lena smiled at the feeling of her now childlike girlfriend cuddling up to her chest, with her head pressed tightly against her rib-cage trying to find her heartbeat. It made her feel so incredibly happy that she had been able to offer her girlfriend the level of comfort and safety she needed to get through that first panic attack and the others that had come after. To know that she was able to offer the girl in her arms the same safety that she had always felt herself when with Kara was a humbling, yet great feeling.As the elevator pinged and the doors opened, Lena bent her head slightly to drop a kiss to the little blonde's hair before bouncing her up in arms and walking out of the elevator, making her way towards the office where she knew James would be waiting for them with the paper work that needed to be signed."Good morning Miss Luthor!" Eve said brightly, her eyes widening in surprise as she took in the sight of the little blonde cuddled up in her boss's arms. "I didn't know you had a daughter?" she asked, unsure for starters if she was right in the assumption, or if she should really even make such an assumption to begin with.Feeling Kara tense a little in her arms, Lena patted her back softly, letting her know she would deal with the question, as her stroked her fingers along the girl's thigh with her other hand that was holding her up onto her hip. "I don't, this is my niece. She's going to be staying with me for a short while, until her home situation is sorted out," Lena said smoothly, remembering the lie they had all made up before leaving the house.If people were to ask about Kara, they had decided that Lena would say the little blonde was her niece and that she was taking care of the young girl until social services could find a permanent home for her. That way they would easily be able to explain what happened when little Kara is suddenly no longer around. If anyone was to further ask why the girl had horrible bruising all over her face from the repeated hits she had been receiving in the last couple of days they would say that Kara had just been brought out of a very bad home situation, which would also help explain her quietness and clinginess to Lena."Oh! Your niece! Oh, I see, that's very good of you to take her in! How old is she? What's her name? Oh, she looks so adorable," Eve said, beginning to speak louder and faster, causing Kara to cling to Lena even tighter and for Lena to gently bounce her again both actions making Eve stop talking right away. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare her."Kara's reaction to Eve, who the little blonde knew well, was only making Lena all the more worried about her. It seemed that so far today, she had been stuck in her smaller mindset a lot more, she was becoming easily overwhelmed and frightened.Lena smiled reassuringly at her assistant, "That's okay, she just gets a bit nervous with strangers, she's been through a lot. We're not staying long, just signing some papers then I'll be taking her home," she answered, lying convincingly before turning to walk into the office where she could see James was waiting for them, leaving an apologetic looking Eve behind at her desk.

"Lillian," The stranger greeted as he entered the bottom floors of the hidden CADMUS base, holding a small gadget in his hands. He smirked as Lillian Luthor turned to him in shock, having not heard his approach, before turning back to the monitors she was sitting in front of.Tapping a few keys on the keyboard on the desk, she brought up a screen that had six different CCTV camera images on, "We have placed the camera's in all the locations that you asked for, Dan-El," she mentioned as she moved the computer mouse over the different images. The mouse highlighted over each location until Lillian clicked on one that showed the office of CatCo where Lena could be seen sat on the couch, Kara in her lap and James stood to the side, from the angle of the footage it was clear that the camera had been placed near the drinks station."Good, that way I can see how close we need to be when they turn her back for this to work," Dan-El replied indicating to the device in his hands. "This device will short-wire the memory blocker remotely, but with the different atmosphere here on earth I am not sure how close it needs to be. I will test it at different points throughout the day."Lillian nodded, her eyes stuck on the screen, staring hatefully at the child sat on Lena's lap, "Will it hurt her?" she asked hopefully, she hated the girl deeply, she hated everything that she and her cousin stood for, she wanted to cause her as much pain as what she had felt when her son had been taken from her."Not physically no, at least not until I completely disable the blocker," Dan-El began, "today I will be just probing her mind, giving her short flashes of the memories she has been forced to forget. They will disorientate her and frighten her greatly though." he continued to explain, taking a seat at the desk and beginning to turn on some of the dials on the small rectangle shaped black device he had brought in with him.The machine began to make a whirling sound as a small wheel inside began to turn, lighting up purple.Dan-El turned to Lillian as she watched the machine intently, "Make the image bigger and tell me how she reacts, you should see an instant reaction if this works right," he asked waiting until Lillian had done as he asked before pressing a series of small buttons on the machine, writing a series of Kryptonian symbols into the very small screen that was on the machine.After finishing the code, he briefly looked up, "Ready?" he asked."Give her a big one, let's see some fear in this so-called Girl of Steel," Lillian replied, her eyes narrowing as she glared at the child version of Supergirl on the screen, watching as she laughed at something James had said while leaning back into Lena's chest.Nodding, Dan-El pushed a larger button on the machine causing the whole machine to light up purple making a buzz sound as the Kryptonian code was entered and sent out into the atmosphere. The room was silent for a few moments, bar the machines buzzing sound, both Lillian and Dan-El now watching the screen intently waiting to see if there would be a reaction – there wasn't one."Damn it! We're not close enough," Dan-El yelled, slamming his hands into the table and causing the metal to bend where his hands had hit in frustration.Glaring at the screen Lillian turned to face Dan-El with a smirk in place, "Are you ready to go with my plan now?" she asked casually.Sighing Dan-El looked from the screen then back to Lilian, "You are sure your agent will be able to get close enough?" he asked unconvinced."Yes – they will let him right through the front door, just like they did last time," Lillian replied confidently, smirk still in place.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chapter Eleven

"Mom?" Alex asked from across the room which was now littered with boxes that had once been filled with drawings that Alex herself had made as a child and that Kara had made as a teenager when she'd come to live with them. Eliza, it seemed, was currently on a mission. They had been at this for the past hour since J'onn had brought them back to Midvale, but her mother was yet to say what she was actually was looking for. All that she would tell Alex and J'onn is that it was something that would help with the research into what the symbol was and why it was in Kara's dreams."Hmmm," Eliza responded, still rifling through the boxes and barely even turning her head to look at Alex.If she had, she would have seen that Alex was holding a drawing in her hand.The drawing looked dark; it had an edge to it that was different than the normal happy childlike pictures that had been scattered around the room so far. It seemed distant and cold; the drawing was filled with reds and blacks and scrawled upon with strange symbols, one of which looked eerily similar to the symbol that they had been researching all night prior."This is insane. Why don't I remember having ever seen this before? When Kara has literally scribbled it over tons of pictures in this box," Alex commented, more to herself than her mother, but her comment was enough to get Eliza's attention, causing her to stride over and look at the drawing over her daughter's shoulder. "I don't remember seeing her draw these," Alex continued, "but they are Kara's -I can tell- she always used to sign her name in Kryptonian on them after I showed her how we sign papers on earth," Alex explained, pointing to the cluster of symbols on the top right-hand side of the picture, the symbols that read Kara Zor-El in Kryptonian."I'm not surprised you don't remember, the two of you weren't overly close to begin with, by the time that changed she had stopped making these," Eliza said, remembering back to the first few weeks Kara had been staying with them. It was in these weeks that Kara's nightmares were the worst, most of the time she would wake up screaming for her parents, annoying Alex to no end in the process, who never liked being disturbed from her sleep.There were some occasions, though, that Eliza would sneak into the girl's bedroom on the nights that Kara didn't wake up screaming to check on them both. Occasionally when checking on the girls, she would find Kara in the middle of the room shaking, art supplies out all around her as she scribbled all over papers making drawings much like the ones that Alex was holding now. She wouldn't talk when Eliza had tried to check she was alright, she just continued to draw. It was both heart-breaking and concerning to witness, but eventually as time went on Eliza began to witness this behaviour in her adoptive daughter less and less, until it stopped altogether, not long after Kara and Alex begun getting closer and Kara's powers began to develop more.Eliza, at the time, had just put it down to Kara's own way of dealing with everything she had witnessed when she saw her home explode and became stuck in the phantom zone, and while it was concerning, it had stopped eventually, and Kara seemed to have gotten much better. It wasn't until Eliza has seen the symbol again yesterday that she remembered these drawings and the state in which her adoptive daughter had been in when creating them. The symbol that she recognised having been hit into Kara's cheek was the most prominent in all her drawings; it was drawn in the angriest of colours throughout all the pages and scrawled with the shakiest of lines.Whatever the symbol was, in Kara's subconscious it could not mean anything good, that much was obvious in the way that Kara had reacted to seeing it. Adding in the presence of the dreams that she had been having recently, which she had now admitted to seeing the symbol in, and it was even more obvious now that they had found these drawings, that- for whatever reason- this symbol was important. Which just made it all the more concerning, as these drawings were made when Kara first got to earth, meaning that somehow, she had already known about the symbol and had forgotten about it until now.Something had caused her to remember this now, just like something had caused her to forget it.It was clear that the symbol was somehow linked to Kara's past, and almost definitely linked to Krypton due the style and similarity it had to Kryptonian symbols. What that link was, though, and what it meant, they still had no idea.Looking at the drawing that was now in Eliza's hands, Alex began to wonder if it could possibly stand for a name, as near where the symbol was there seemed to be other smaller clusters of characters, almost as though they had been tagged on like a signature, like what Kara had been doing with her name in the drawings. It was as though she had been signing the symbol, writing the characters out that made it up like how a human would print their name before adding their signature to an important document. Alex couldn't help but think if they could decipher the cluster of symbols and find out what it stood for, that maybe that would lead them closer to finding out what the symbol on the ring that had hit her little sister stood for as well.One thing was clear, they were going to need Kara's help in deciphering it, as the writing was shaky at best, and from what Alex could see, it wasn't a form of Kryptonian she was used to seeing. If Kara had drawn this when younger she should be able to read the Kryptonian, as it seemed as though it was different from the database they had compiled at the DEO.They were silent for some time, both mother and daughter taking their time in looking over the other drawings in the box, all of which were very similar to the first drawing Alex had found. "This isn't good, is it?" Alex asked in worry.Eliza shook her head, taking a deep breath as she picked up yet another drawing. "No, this is not good at all. I think this symbol and these dreams she keeps having could be some sort of repressed memory. If we are going with Maggie's theory of what the chip found in her brain is, then it would make the most sense. The question is, why is she starting to remember it now? The fact she still had trouble with remembering her childhood shows that the chip is still active and working, if the theory is correct. So why is she only remembering through these dreams? And, why are the only memories that are resurfacing ones that seem to be linked to this symbol?" she started to pace as she spoke, more questions and worries coming into her mind and she continued to talk.Alex merely watched, knowing better than to interrupt her mother's thoughts."She said the dreams started last week, by why? What happened last week to cause all of this?" Eliza asked further, gesturing to the box on the table full of drawings."Psi," Alex responded instantly, "the psychic she fought last week. She got in Kara's head and caused her to have episodes of claustrophobia like she had when she first came to live with us."Eliza nodded, understanding where her daughter was going with her thought pattern, "you think she may have been able to do something in Kara's mind to unlock the memories?""It makes sense, these dreams started after their confrontation" Alex answered, "maybe the confrontation damaged the chip, and that damage has allowed parts of Kara's subconscious memories to seep back through?"Sighing Eliza ran a hand through her hair, "That's a lot to assume," she said."We don't have much else to go on at the moment," Alex responded, "not until we can find out more about what this is," she continued, gesturing to the symbol, "and get Kara to talk more about what she does remember."Her daughters comment caught Eliza's attention. "You don't think she's telling us everything," she said, commenting more so than asking."I think she's letting fear rule her more than anything else right now. Kara could have told us last night that she remembered the symbol from her dreams, but she didn't, she told Lena instead," Alex said, a frown on her face as she mentioned Kara going to Lena.Eliza noticed the frown right away, "And that upsets you, that she went to Lena?" she asked."No, it's fine I'm not upset with her, or Lena," Alex replied truthfully, "to be honest that's probably my fault, her going to Lena first. I haven't given her many reasons to come to me with her problems recently – but, what I am trying to say is, she went to Lena because she knew Lena wouldn't push her to find out more about it. She is afraid of knowing what it is, which makes me think that she might know more than what she is telling us. Kara's reaction to fear has always been to ignore it and pretend everything is okay when it isn't."Eliza nodded, placing the drawing in her hand back into the box and collecting the other similar drawings around the table to place them away as well. "Well, perhaps it would be an idea to talk with Lena about this, if she is who Kara's trusting the most to go to at the moment then maybe she can find out if Kara does know more than what she has told us." Eliza suggested.

The sunlight felt bright.Far too bright and harsh on the small amount of human skin that was left on his body for it be able to reach.It felt strange to be out in the open again after spending so long stuck underground in the chambers he had been in. This was the first time in months that he had seen any people other than the doctors and scientists that had been working on him, changing him for the apparent better as they had told him.He found it hard to believe them at first, but slowly he was coming around to the idea.He was better now.The pain had stopped, the emotions that had once hurt him so deeply had been removed, and he was stronger now. So much more stronger than he had ever been beforehand.He owed it all to them, and now he would repay them by doing what they had asked of him. He had a mission to uphold, a mission that he would not fail under any circumstance.Taking a deep breath, he took off the shirt he had been wearing and revealed his metal body to the people around him, hearing the screams from unsuspecting people seeing a metal man walking among them in the crowds as fear and panic began to spread, people running in different directions with one goal in common.They all wanted to get as far away from him as possible as he looked like a dangerous man, a killer, a nightmare.He was pretty sure he even heard someone yell about how he looked like the Terminator. That made him laugh out loud on the spot as he remembered watching the film many years ago with his daughters who had both absolutely loved the film.If only they could see him now. Would they love him like they had loved that film so many years ago? Or would they think of him as a monster?It didn't matter, not anymore. Once upon a time he would have cared deeply what they thought of him, it would have broken him seeing so many people look at him in the fear that they did now. However now he was better than that. He was above those feelings. They had all been removed, leaving only one thing for him to make his own and pour all his energy in.Hatred.The hatred he had for those who he believed had done this too him. The hatred he had for what he believed had ruined his family.That hatred, he was going to use to his advantage to get what he wanted, and to make his mark on the world writing his own story. He would use the hatred to make himself heard, to make his family see where they had gone wrong all those years ago.It would drive him to make sure his goals were met. No matter who got in his way.The people who were running in fear would help make him known, help him get to the place he needed to be, they would help him achieve his goals.

Lena sighed a massive sigh of relief as she heard the door unlock, allowing her to push her way back inside her house.On the way back from CatCo, Kara had fallen asleep in the car, which would have been fine if a truck on the other side of the road hadn't beeped the horn loudly causing the little blonde to wake suddenly and fearfully. Upon waking Kara had been confused and burst into tears, calling and reaching out for Lena from the back seat where she was strapped into a booster seat. Lena had tried to calm her while still driving by telling her that she was fine and there was nothing to be scared about, that they would be home soon, but the little superhero had been dreaming fitfully beforehand without Lena knowing.The sudden scare and abrupt waking had only made it worse and when it became clear Kara was not going to calm on her own Lena had found somewhere safe to pull over. After putting the car in park, Lena had climbed into the back seat where Kara was now a shaking and crying mess. Lena had quickly removed her girlfriend from the booster seat and pulled the little blonde onto her lap as Kara immediately cuddled into her chest. Once in Lena's arms Kara calmed considerably, her cries quietening to mumbled speech and whimpers, though the shaking continued for some time while Lena rubbed soothing hands along her back and over her hair. It was only when Kara had calmed her incoherent mumbling that Lena could hear her saying that she thought they had found her and that they were going to take her away. Hearing that, the CEO realised her girlfriend had been having a nightmare just before the truck's horn had beeped loudly. She knew then that getting Kara back into the booster seat would not be easy, if the last few days were anything to go by. Since being turned into a child, whenever Kara had become fearful for whatever reason she would only stay calm if she was in the arms of someone that she trusted to keep her safe, nine times out of ten that meant being in Lena's arms.After lots of coaxing and repeated reassurances, for nearly twenty minutes, Kara had reluctantly allowed Lena to strap her back into the booster seat with a small whimper. She hadn't cried, but Lena had been able to see that her hands were shaking as they clutched the straps tightly. Conscious of the fact that Kara was still fearful, Lena had tried to get them home as quickly as possible while still driving at a legal speed limit, all the while giving Kara repeated reassurances that she was safe and that they would be home soon, to try and stop the little blonde from panicking again like she had done when she had first awoken. Once they arrived, Lena had quickly parked the car up in the garage before retrieving Kara from her booster seat in the back of the car. As soon as she was within arm's reach Kara had grabbed onto the CEO's blouse tightly with both hands. This made it more difficult for Lena to undo the straps holding the little blonde in the seat, but after some jiggling Lena managed to undo the straps and lift the small superhero from the seat, holding a hand over her head to make sure she didn't hit it on the car before settling her against her side. Kara's arms and legs immediately locked around her in a bear hug as she hid her head against the crook of Lena's neck, taking large shuddering breaths to calm herself down from the panic she had been feeling. Lena had stood, swaying her next to the car for some time, holding Kara close while rubbing soothing circles onto her trembling back, while promising her that she was safe repeatedly.Lena could tell that Kara was stuck in her child mind-set right now, and was still very scared, she knew that it would take Kara some time to calm down and feel safe in her surroundings again. She waited until she could feel that some of the tension in Kara's muscles had lessened, before quickly retrieving the rest of her items from the car and carrying her girlfriend towards the house, bouncing her lightly against her side as she did.She could have cursed herself for choosing today as the best day to drive herself rather than getting her driver to take her in and out of CatCo, leaving her to have to carry a very clingy Kara and her bags and files from CatCo, as well as having to try and open the door all on her own. She had decided to drive herself and Kara rather than get her driver to take them in and out as she wanted to try and draw as little attention to Kara as possible. Though she was sure that by the end of the day the papers would be full of stories about the little blonde girl she had been carrying around all day.She was pretty sure she had seen Eve take a photograph of Kara cuddled up on her lap while she was in the office with James. She knew the assistant was harmless and wouldn't do anything with the photograph- unlike others, but it still unsettled her how much of a target it made Kara, being in her company in public. Usually it wouldn't bother her, but right now Kara wasn't Supergirl, right now Kara was as vulnerable as any other child the age she looked. She was going to have to find a way to keep Kara out of the limelight as best she could. The cover story they had made up would only work so well, but if her brother caught wind of it who knows what could happen, would he demand to meet the girl, thinking he now had a daughter?Would he try and stake a claim to a child that he didn't own? A child that in all truthfulness was not a child at all, but rather the cousin of his worst enemy. Lena would not risk that happening, as much as she loved who Lex once was, she knew the boy that she first met as a child was long gone. She would not let him even attempt to take the one pure and honest thing that was in her life.If she had to choose between him and Kara then it would always be Kara that she chose, as Kara was her family now.She loved all of Kara; the good, the extraordinary, the parts of her that she tried to hide from the world, even those parts that made Lena beyond angry with her at times. She loved them all because they were all the things that made Kara who she was.She was Lena's, just as Lena was hers, they may have not been together long, they may not be anywhere close to making it official yet in the same way that Alex and Maggie were, but they both felt it and knew it in their hearts.They fit together like the perfect puzzle.Each complimenting the other with their own special traits, making a fool proof team together.Kara knew what Lena needed and when, just as Lena knew the same for Kara. It was how Lena knew, as she walked through her front door closing it behind her, throwing her bag and files onto the table in the hallway entrance, that Kara would need some quiet time to come to and bounce back from the earlier panic. Quiet time and a constant closeness was always the best way to calm her when overwhelmed, it worked with Kara for whatever situation they were in, which was how Lena knew that was what they needed to do now.She knew that she didn't need to speak, Kara would start a conversation when she was ready for one, right now all she needed to do was to be there for Kara to hold onto so that she could ground herself again, which is exactly what she would do.Slowly, she walked through the house towards her bedroom, humming softly into blonde hair while bouncing and gently patting her girlfriend on the bottom as she did so, to remind Kara that she was here with her as the little blonde clung to her tightly searching for the reassurance that she needed right now.As they passed the living room window, they both failed to notice that they were being watched from afar in the garden by Dan-El, who was stood at the far side next to a large tree, the device he had tried to use earlier in his hands. He had gone unnoticed just like the red van, which had been following a few cars behind Lena on the drive back from CatCo, that was now parked across the street from her house.

"What?" Maggie demanded, "What is it, we were finally getting somewhere in there, why did you pull me out?" she asked in frustration, she had just left the interview room that she had been talking to Morgan Edge in.The interview with Edge had been going well, she had questioned him to the point he had become tongue-tied and had begun to give her some of the information she needed- not all of it, but enough to give her some solid leads she could talk through with Alex later on.She had found out the scrambled voice on the phone call had been a woman's, and she had a fair idea of who the voice could belong to as well.She felt as though she had been getting close to getting him to reveal who his phone call partner had been the other day, she felt as though she had been getting closer to fitting the pieces together as to why and how he had come into the possession of the 'Krin-Drive'.But then she had been pulled out the room.At least the officer did look apologetic about it before explaining his reasoning. "There is something going on downtown the chief thought you should know about, as you're usually the one who deals with the off-worlders as such," the younger male officer began to explain, before hurrying away after seeing Maggie's unimpressed look."This better be good," Maggie muttered to herself as she made her way back through the precinct to find her chief and see where it was he was wanting to send her, and what it is she would be dealing with.

Her breaths came out in short gasps, as though she could not get enough air into her lungs.She clawed at the restraints, trying to break free but nothing was working. She was stuck and completely trapped.Noises were whirling all around her, flashes of different coloured lights kept filling the room making her eyes blink shut and open in rapid succession.She screamed- or she tried to at least, but nothing came out.She was yelling for it to stop, yelling for Alex, for Lena, for Maggie, for anyone to help her but no one was there, and no one could hear her.No one but the man with the mask that stood over her.All she could see was his eyes as the mask covered the rest of his face.He had bright blue eyes, eyes she had seen before somewhere but couldn't remember where.His eyes looked hard, he looked angry, the kind of look that scared her, though it was a look that she had seen before, but where?As she twisted her head around from side to side trying to find a way out of the situation that she was in, she could see it there again on the walls.The symbol.In big red characters, everywhere.It looked as though it was drawn in blood, and as she looked back down to her one wrist that was strapped down tightly, she imagined that it could well be – maybe it was even her blood.Hearing a laugh, she looked up and came face to face with the stranger she had met in the store with Maggie the other day. She came face to face with the blues eyes she was sure that she could remember from somewhere before.Was this how she remembered those eyes? Was it from the store? Why did they look so familiar?The stranger, this man, was terrifying to her.But somehow his eyes were not.They seemed familiar, but not just because she had seen him before.They made her feel as though she should be safe, even though she knew for a fact there was nothing about this stranger that would bring her safety. She had learnt that the other day in the store.Then there was that scar. Long, across of his face. It looked almost as angry and hard as he himself did.
"Hello, my little warrior, the time is coming K.Z, we will be together again soon, you just need to remember that no matter who comes for you – I – will always find you," the stranger said as he stood over her.Hearing his voice shocked her, she could never understand what the doctors were saying in her dreams, she could never see who they were – until now.She tried to scream again and began to trash against her restraints."Kara, I need you to wake up.""I will find you in your dreams again and we will finish what we started – together," he said as he brought his hand up into her line of sight."No! I want to get out of here…help!""Kara, open your eyes, you're safe here."She could still see the stranger.He was standing over her with a needle in his hand, a needle filled with a black coloured substance that made her eyes widen in fear."Nooo!""Kara, wake up.""Time for your next lesson," He said with a large smile, before stabbing the needle into her neck causing her to scream out loudly and thrash harder against the restraints as her vision began to blur and her eyes closed tightly."KARA!"She knew that voice.
"You're okay darling, I promise."
It was soft and warm, nothing like the harshness of the stranger."Baby, look at me – It's Lena."Lena.Lena was safety.But was it really her? Was Lena really with her or was it a trick of some kind?She wanted to open her eyes, but she was too scared. Scared that she would see that she was still in that room, she was still being strapped down while the stranger injected her with something she knew was going to hurt her."Open your eyes baby, it's alright now."She flinched as soft hands ran over her hair and caressed her cheeks. She found herself slowly blinking her eyes open after feeling a delicate, gentle, kiss being placed upon her forehead. She was wishing to see Lena, she hoped it was, but was so afraid it wasn't going to be."It's alright darling, I promise. You're safe, I've got you, I won't let anyone hurt you," Lena assured softly as bright blue, teary eyes blinked open in uncertainty and began darting around the room. Lena could see fear in the little blonde's eyes, she stayed quiet allowing her girlfriend the time she needed to check her surroundings, to see for herself that she was safe. She waited patiently, kneeling on the floor next to the bed. This was the position she had got in when she had begun trying to wake her Kara from her fifth dream of the day.The poor girl has had five dreams in the past three hours, each time she would wake terrified and disorientated, only to fall asleep once again as exhaustion claimed her small frame.It was a horrible and heart-breaking cycle to watch happen, and Lena had been completely powerless while watching as the small superhero would scream and cry out for her, begging for Lena to help her, knowing that until she could wake Kara there was nothing she could do.Lena continued to watch from her place beside the bed, still softly stroking over her girlfriend's hair and face as she continued to scan the room and take heaving breaths as she slowly took in her surroundings.As Kara found herself waking more fully she could see there were no blood red symbols on the walls, there were no restraints on the bed, there were no black filled needles, and the man – he was gone.She was safe, she was with Lena."Lena…" Kara half said half sobbed as she burst into tears, her body felt exhausted and her mind felt paralysed by fear still. She couldn't understand what was happening, what the dreams meant. All she knew is that she felt terrified.She felt as though something – someone – was coming for her.Lena sighed out in relief as Kara's eyes locked onto hers before the girl burst into tears, as horrible as it was to see her girlfriend so distraught from her dream she knew that this was a good sign. It was good as it meant that Kara had realised what just happened was a dream and that she was safe now. With a sad smile Lena stood before leaning over the bed to pick Kara up in her arms as the little blonde made grabbing like motions with her arms out towards her, signalling she wanted to be held."I've got you baby, Lena's got you. It's okay, you're alright," she soothed clutching the girl close to her chest, her hand making its way underneath Kara's t-shirt to gently rub the small of her back as she walked them though towards the living room. Pressing a kiss to the top of Kara's head, Lena rested her chin on top of blonde hair and began to gently hum, only pausing to remind Kara that she was safe and she was with her, as the small superhero continued to tremble and shake with the force of her sobs while clinging to her desperately.She had been able to see even before Kara had awoken that this one, was much worse than any other nightmare she had gone through so far.The nightmares were worrying all on their own, but right now what was more worrying for Lena was the increasing panic they left Kara in, that and the fact that they were beginning to happen in such a rapid succession.

Dan-El smiled in victory after hearing the cries from within the house. Watching from afar he could see through the window as Lena Luthor held a younger Kara Zor-El in her arms, trying to comfort her as she awoke from yet another nightmare. The sight made him smile as it showed that the device worked, the fact her nightmares had increased was a very good sign that her memories were starting to come back with the aid of the device.The device wasn't working how he had first thought that it may do, but it was doing what he wanted it to. It was opening up her memories, and soon the DEO agents would be so busy with trying to figure what was causing their precious Supergirl to become a fearful child version of herself as well as having to deal with the newest threat that Lillian had now unleashed on National City, that he would remain completely unnoticeable to them. He would be able to get close enough to the small superhero with the help of Lillian's agent, close enough to completely disable the memory blocker and render the Girl of Steel completely useless to the fears that were locked away in her mind due to his own father's creations.It was his father who had created the memory blocker chip, it was his father that had placed the chip into the young girl's mind and made his years of hard work completely useless, by wiping not only all the work he had done from her memories, but all memories she had of him as well.It was through rumours that he had found out about the device to reverse the effects that his uncle had made, and it was by chance that he managed to pinpoint its location.Luck was working in his favour, making his plan fall into place quicker than he had ever thought possible, but now that it was happening he wanted it to happen as soon as possible. He had been waiting years for the chance to make his move. He had been unable to do anything with General Astra In-Ze still around, but after her defeat he had been able to start his search and start to make preparations.Though it had annoyed him that he hadn't been able to make her consciously aware of the memories remotely, he wasn't completely surprised about it. He should have known there would be a catch, a way for a conscious decision to be made for if the memories were to be remembered or not. The blood he had used to link Kara to the machine would only allow her to subconsciously live through the memories, if he wanted to completely render the memory blocker useless he would have to get the girl to make physical contact with the device.It was very much like his uncle to add in such a failsafe, which is why it did not surprise him- though it did make him angry that at every turn his family were still trying to stop him.Even when dead.He had done everything in the name of science, trying to find a way for Kryptonian's to live on even when Krypton could not, trying to find a way to keep Krypton alive.Dan-El, like many of the other members of higher ranked families, knew of the impending doom to his planet. Even though he knew it couldn't be stopped, it didn't mean he wouldn't try to find a way to make sure Krypton would live on even when the planet itself was gone. He had wanted to make the Kryptonian race gods, powerful beings that could become superior, but all the work he had done was wiped away from existence when his father had shut down his lab.And for what?For love.Love that should have been extended to him as well, but after his apparent bad actions in his father's eyes, he had been banished. His efforts to try to save Krypton had earned him lifetime imprisonment in
Fort Rozz, he had been stripped of his house name, his birth right, his research, his life had been taken from him.All down to the fact his father was too weak to see the bigger picture.His father was too weak to see that he was trying to help, and though his methods had terrified some, especially his subjects, they would have worked.He would have turned his subjects into powerful warriors, warriors who would be able to make settlements on whatever planet they chose to move to, Krypton would have been reborn on any planet they decided to inhabit, regardless of the race that was already living there.Now he was going to prove that he had been right. He was going to finish what he started with his most promising subject.He was going to turn her into the warrior- the
god- he always knew she could be.First, he would break her. Then, he would rebuild her just as he had tried to do on Krypton when she was a child, and this time no one would stop him.His father wasn't here to stop him, neither was Alura, and neither was Astra.Together they would rule and make a new home, a new Krypton that was better and far more superior than what they grew up on.The house of El would once again rise and be the strongest and the best it could be.

Bursting through the doors of the DEO, Alex picked up her pace from briskly walking to a fast run, screeching to a stop just outside the medical bay, "How? How is this possible?" she asked out of breath. "We have been searching for months and found nothing, then suddenly he turns up in the middle of the city, I don't understand?" she asked in amazement, gazing through the glass window in the medical bay. "Is he?...is he going to okay?" she asked turning to face J'onn, who had followed her to the medical bay, Eliza not far behind.They had come back to National City as soon as Alex had hung up the phone call from Maggie, needing to see this with their own eyes as it was too good to be true. J'onn had got down to business as soon as he had returned, going to find out who the mystery man was, as well as his condition, both physically and psychologically.While Alex and Eliza had spoken with Maggie, who had filled them in on what she found once she had reported to where her chief had sent her. She had told them how she found the man in a warehouse attempting to remove the metal wear from his body. She had told them of the reported sightings of him around town. She had told them how she was sure the man was dead when she first found him, how shocked she was that he was still alive with the amount of blood loss he had sustained from trying to remove the metal parts that now covered his body.After speaking with Maggie, Alex had asked her to find out where her little sister and Lena were, she wanted Kara here with her for this.This was something they needed to do as a family.J'onn took a deep breath, looking from Alex to stare into the medical bay himself before answering her earlier question. "Physically he will make a full recovery. But Alex, we have got to be careful this time," he started, pausing to emphasis his point, "we don't have any idea what they have done to him. We have no idea what state his mind might be in and for some reason I am unable to get any readings off him-""You read his mind?!" Alex cut in, anger in her voice, the sound echoed down the hallway making other passing agents pause to look at the scene that was being made.J'onn took no notice of the other agents, instead focusing his attention on Alex only. "We need to know that his intentions can be trusted when he wakes up. We cannot let what happened last time happen again.""What happened last time was he saved my life!" Alex argued, her voice rising in anger."Yes, he did," J'onn agreed, "but only after creating the danger in the first place for hundreds of aliens and yourself. He betrayed us. He betrayed Kara. He betrayed
you.""I know that J'onn but he's my father! I can't – no, I will not, just abandon and condemn him because he made a mistake," Alex argued back.J'onn sighed. "I'm not asking you too," he responded softly, "I am only asking that you don't let your guard down completely. At least not until we are sure that he is not here because CADMUS wants him here."Alex only nodded in response, crossing her arms over her chest before turning to look into the medical bay again, watching Doctor Hamilton as she checked over the cyborg version of her father's vitals again. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, he had more cyborg hardware on him now than what the real Hank Henshaw did.She could understand J'onn wanting her to keep her guard up, looking at her father she too had to wonder how much of the man she once knew was going to be left when he did finally wake up. She wondered how robotic he would seem now he looked almost more machine than man. She wondered if seeing him here now was too good to be true.Was she dreaming right now? Or was it all part of a plan by CADMUS?She didn't know. She should care about it and try to find out, but right now she found it hard to, as the only thought that was on her mind was the fact that her father was back. He was alive, and he was home with her where he should be, and she was going to do everything in her power to keep him with them this time.Without taking her eyes off the man she had spent so long looking for, she could see from the glass reflection that her mother was now stood behind her, sighing she turned back to J'onn. "Let us know when Kara gets here?" she asked, receiving a nod in response.Turning to her mother she held out her hand, asking silently for Eliza to come with her into the room, she wanted so badly to see her father but right now she didn't know if she could face going in alone. She watched as Eliza took her offered hand with a small smile, the kind of smile only a Mother uses when reassuring their child that everything was going to be okay.A smile that she hoped to God - to Rao even, was going to become truth.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chapter Twelve

Taking a deep breath, Maggie chucked the keys she had just used to let herself into Lena's home with down on the table in the hallway, where they joined Lena's bag and a stack of files. She was not looking forward to this conversation, especially after the revelations that were made to her earlier this morning about how Kara had been dealing with everything to do with Jeremiah's return the previous time. From the way Lena had described things to her it seemed that this was only going to add more triggers to Kara's already worrying behaviour than she was already showing, it would only make her feel more disconnected from herself and only make her withdraw from Alex more than she had already been doing.Preparing herself mentally, Maggie started to make her way up the stairs. "Lena? Kara? Are you here?" she called out as she climbed the flight of stairs trying to find out the whereabouts of the younger couple. As she reached the top of the stairs she could hear whimpers and quiet cries coming from the kitchen, and instantly began to feel bad.From the sounds of it Kara was already in a bad place, and she doubted the girl would share the shame joy that Alex did when she found out their father was back. Even though she knew that Kara would be happy that Jeremiah was alive and would feel ecstatic that their family was going to be back together once again, Maggie knew it was going to be difficult for her. It would open up emotions that the girl had probably not dealt with properly and would bring back fears from last year that her and Alex were still trying to work through and that she knew Alex hadn't even began to try and deal with yet. Maggie had a feeling that in these next few weeks, days even, she was going to learn the challenges of becoming a sister in law before she had even got married. She could already tell that Alex was becoming as head strong about the situation as she had done last year, and she knew without a doubt that Kara would question Jeremiah's return again, just as Maggie herself had been doing for the past hour.She had a feeling it would end up being down to herself and Lena, to play mediator between the sisters if- or when- the questions of Jeremiah's loyalties began to arise again. She hoped she was wrong, but from the talk she had heard upon leaving the DEO, she knew that Alex had already yelled at J'onn once over the situation."In here, Maggie," Lena's voice sounded from the kitchen, confirming her earlier thoughts of their whereabouts.Rounding the corner hallway into the kitchen, Maggie stopped in the doorway for a moment and winced at the sight she was met with. Even from the position she was in she could see Kara was shaking badly and clutching to Lena like she was a lifeline. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the kid was already spooked and was already in a very vulnerable place. Maggie watched as Lena swayed the little blonde in her arms, humming a tune that she didn't recognise, one hand cradling Kara's head to her chest while the other patted Kara's thigh in time with her humming.Pushing off from the doorway, Maggie slowly made her way into the room. "Hey," she whispered not wanting to startle the small superhero, though she was sure Kara did whimper upon hearing her voice from the way she saw Lena pull the girl in a little tighter towards her chest. "is everything okay?" she continued, looking concerned as Lena turned her body so they were facing her, still swaying Kara in her arms."Nightmares are back," Lena supplied, murmuring quietly, "with a vengeance," she added, dropping a kiss to Kara's head after hearing another small whimper. "She's had six just this afternoon, she's exhausted and keeps falling asleep only to wake up screaming minutes later," Lena explained quietly, running a hand over blonde hair, moving hair away from Kara's face so Maggie could see her better. The sight made Maggie wince again; Kara looked exhausted, her eyes were bloodshot from crying, her face was red with tear streaks running down her cheeks. Both served only to make her bruises look even more angry.Feeling the detective's eyes on her, Kara looked up nervously to meet Maggie's gaze, she relaxed slightly at the friendly smile she could see on Maggie's face before dropping her head back down onto Lena's chest, her eyes briefly closing for a moment before snapping open again quickly with a whimper. "She's terrified of going back to sleep," Lena explained, bouncing the superhero in her arms, her hand moving from the blonde's hair to rub small circles on her back as Maggie nodded in understanding.They were quiet for a moment as Lena soothed Kara's whimpers and Maggie tried to think of the best way to tell them about why she was here. She was just about to begin talking when Lena looked at her suddenly in confusion. "Don't think I'm not glad you're here, but shouldn't you be at work?" she asked."Yeah, about that," Maggie began, walking over to the kitchen table and taking a seat, "work is partly why I am here- that, and Alex asked me to come pick up Kara."Lena raised an eyebrow in response, even Kara perked up slightly lifting her head from her girlfriend's chest to look over at Maggie, who was fumbling with her hands on the table."I take it this is a sit-down conversation," Lena commented after a silence, and after receiving a nod in response from Maggie, she made her way to sit at the table with Kara in her lap opposite to Maggie. "So," she began, turning Kara in her arms so the little blonde was leaning back against her chest and facing Maggie, "I'll bite. What's going on?" she continued, looking intrigued while Kara looked scared."Is Alex okay?" Kara asked timidly, fear in her voice that was already raspy from the amount of crying she had been doing.It was still shocking for Maggie to hear her speak this way. Kara didn't sound like her usual confident, if not slightly awkward, self at the moment. Her voice was childlike, as you would expect with her current age due to the effects of the 'Krin-Drive', but it was also small and nervous. She spoke as though as she was unsure if she was allowed to."Alex is fine, I promise." Maggie quickly assured, leaning across the table to take one of Kara's hands in her own with a small smile, beating herself up in her mind for not handling this better, she hadn't meant to scare her future sister in law into thinking that Alex was hurt.Kara nodded in response, her posture relaxing slightly as Lena kissed the side of her head and wrapped an arm around her stomach to offer some comfort. Maggie watched for a moment as both Lena and Kara gazed at her expectantly, trying to figure out the best way to tell them.Should she be slow about it, tell them the whole story and ease them into what was happening? Or, should she just get it over with, short and sweet, straight to point?"It's about Jeremiah," Maggie begin, causing Kara's eyes to widen, and Lena's to narrow, "he's back," she continued, having decided to go for option two, "he's at the DEO. There were reported sightings of a man who was half machine wondering the city. When I got to the scene I found him, he had been trying to remove his metal wear and was completely out of it, so I called J'onn who organised a transport team. He passed out in the back of the van on the way to the DEO and to my knowledge he hasn't woken yet. Alex is there with him now waiting for him to wake up, she wanted me to come and get you, she wants you there when he wakes."The room was silent.All that could be heard was the ticking of the expensive looking clock on the kitchen wall.Maggie was waiting for a reaction from both Lena and Kara, she was watching them both, trying to gauge how they were feeling. Lena was thinking up ways to help Kara get through this knowing how it was going to affect her girlfriend. As Maggie's eyes flitted up to look at the CEO she could see how deep in thought she was. Kara was still trying to piece together all the information she had just been given. As the detective looked back down to the little blonde she could see that Kara was almost frozen in place.Maggie continued to watch them both, eyes flitting up and down, until eventually Lena seemed to stir from her thoughts, slowly she pulled Kara closer to her chest tightening her grip around the small Superhero's stomach."He's back?" Kara whispered, crinkle present on her forehead, she was staring just past Maggie at the wall, as though she was speaking more to herself, "they didn't kill him? How did he get away? Is he angry that we didn't come for him sooner? Is he still working with CADMUS?... How- how is Alex?" she continued, asking quick fire questions as her mind tried to catch up with what she'd just been told.Maggie glanced up briefly to catch Lena's worried gaze, she could tell Lena was worried about the effect this was going to have on Kara, and rightfully so with what the young superhero had done to herself after everything that had happened last time.Lena rested her chin on top of Kara's head, and began to sway the girl on her lap, "Shhhhh, darling. Calm down, one question at a time alright?" Lena soothed, stopping Kara from going into another round of questions while also trying to stop her from panicking more than she already was doing. Kara nodded once, moving around on Lena's lap so that she could rest the side of her face against her girlfriend's chest, searching for her heartbeat. She turned so that she could also still see Maggie at the same time, letting go of Maggie's hand to catch one of Lena's, clutching it tightly.Lena could feel the nervousness rolling off her girlfriend and began to find herself wondering how much more Kara could take.This last fortnight had been hell for her girlfriend. She was worried that the longer it took to get Kara back to her right age and find out what the dreams were all about, the less of Kara there would be left to get back in the first place. Between the dreams, the abuse that the young girl had received from adults who should know better, and all the confusion her mind had been in due to the effects of Psi's attacks the other week, Lena was sure that this was going to end up having a long last lasting effect on her girlfriend.Right now, she was doing everything in her power to make sure that Kara felt loved and protected, to make sure that Kara knew she could always come to her with anything and everything, but she was worried that being there alone wouldn't be enough, Kara needed Alex as well."Is Alex alright? Last time- last time was really hard for her," Kara asked again after a moment, her question making Maggie smile.Of course, the first thing Kara would want to know about was Alex, just like getting Kara to the DEO was Alex's first thought earlier. Even though they had not been as close in the last year, it was clear to anybody that knew them, that the Danvers sisters cared for each other deeply, together they were a force to be reckoned with.Maggie could see that Kara was watching her, awaiting her answer anxiously as she played with Lena's hand subconsciously. "Alex is dealing as best she can," Maggie assured, "she has a lot of questions, like you do. Like we all do I'm sure, but she seems to be doing okay. I think having Eliza there helps, having you there will help her even more though," Maggie said, she didn't want to seem pushy, but she knew that Alex would be disappointed if Kara was not with her when she came back to the DEO. She knew that although Alex played it off by saying that Kara would want to be there, the truth of the matter was that Alex
needed
her there; she wouldn't be able to- let alone want to- go through this again without having her sister by her side."She wants me there?" Kara asked in a whisper, looking down. "Are you sure? Maybe it would be better if you were there instead," she continued.Maggie shook her head even though Kara couldn't see her do so. "No, Kara, she wants
you
there. She asked me to come and get
you. You are her family and she wants you there.""I- I just, last time I- I only made things worse," Kara argued quietly, still looking down at her girlfriend's hand that she was playing with. She could feel Lena's other hand stroking circles on the small of her back and she could tell that both Lena and Maggie were watching her carefully."Last time you asked the hard questions that Alex couldn't face asking herself, you didn't do anything wrong." Maggie begin, "I should have done the same, but instead I told Alex what she wanted to hear and not what she needed to. You didn't make things worse, the situation was hard, and emotions were high. I know she has probably never said this, but, Alex has always regretted the way she acted, especially the things she said to you," Maggie assured.She felt bad, she knew this wasn't really her place to have this conversation; this was something Alex needed to talk about with her little sister, but when the girl looked so young and so scared that her big sister was going to end up being angry with her like she had been last time, Maggie couldn't sit there and say nothing.Not when she knew everything she had just said was the complete truth.Standing from the table, Maggie walked around to the side where Kara was facing and knelt on the floor in front of her so that Kara was now looking down at her. Taking a breath, she gently took Kara's one hand that had been playing with Lena's causing the little blonde to meet her eyes. "I know Alex really needs you right now, and I think you need her too. Will you let me take you to the DEO?"

The room was quiet as Eliza and Alex Danvers each sat on one side of the bed, each in bedside chairs, each holding a hand, Alex holding a metal hand, while Eliza was holding a hand that was still flesh and bone.Jeremiah Danvers had yet to wake, the painkillers that Doctor Hamilton had him on were keeping him asleep. She had offered to lower the dose to see if he would wake up but Alex had asked her to wait. She wanted Kara to be here with them when he woke up, she wanted them to deal with this together.As a Family.Alex and Eliza had been trading family stories of their time with Jeremiah while in the room, but slowly the stories had stopped coming and they both fell into a comfortable silence while waiting for news of Kara's arrival, a silence that was finally interrupted by a knock at the window, causing both Alex and Eliza to turn and look.Alex frowned upon seeing Maggie there.Not because Maggie was there, but because Kara wasn't there with her from what she could see.Standing from the chair, Alex walked across the room to meet Maggie outside, closing the door behind her quietly. "Did you manage to find Kara?" she asked, confused, she had expected to see her little sister with the detective, and maybe even Lena."Yes, she's here, don't worry," Maggie assured her girlfriend, running a hand down her arm to take her hand, "But, I think that you should talk before she sees Jeremiah, she is a bit – nervous."Alex nodded, running a hand through her hair, she had a feeling this may happen. She had hoped it wouldn't and that Kara would be fine, but deep down she knew that this would bring up all the things that happened last year, all the things that Alex herself had been trying to bury and forget about.She had been trying so hard to convince herself she could never say something so hurtful to her sister that sometimes she forgot that she had said it, and that she has yet to properly apologise and make things right with Kara. The fact that Kara had admitted that she missed the time they used to spend together, just the two of them, made Alex happy but so incredibly sad at the same time. It made her sad, as she knew a lot of the blame lay with her, Kara had tried to clear the air last year, she had tried to organise sister nights, but every time Alex had blown her off.She had been too ashamed and too angry with herself to actually take the time to deal with what she did and somewhere through all that Kara had begun to believe the hurtful things that she had said and had completely pulled away from her.The fact they are still talking at all is a miracle, a miracle known as Lena Luthor.It was Lena who had stormed into her flat one night, seeping with anger even though she spoke calmly. Lena who said that if Alex didn't get her act together and make more of an effort to actually be a sister to Kara that she would lose her. Lena who had said if she had to witness her girlfriend cry herself to sleep one more night because she thought her earth family didn't love her any more that she would make Alex suffer in ways she couldn't even imagine.That night had been full of revelations.Alex had found out her sister was hurt deeply, even more so than she could have ever thought, by the things that she had said in anger and that she had never really meant. She found out that her sister was in a relationship with Lena Luthor, which- although wasn't all together that surprising- was still a shock when she learnt that they had been together for a month by that point and that Lena knew she was Supergirl.It was also the night that Alex found out how scary Lena Luthor could be when she wanted to be, and it was also the night she realised that Lena may be a Luthor by name, but she wasn't by heart.It was that night Alex knew that Lena would never do anything to hurt her little sister."I can stay with Eliza, if you want?" Maggie offered after a silence, pulling Alex from her thoughts.Alex nodded again. "Yeah, yeah okay, that sounds like a good idea, Mom shouldn't be on her own right now," she said stepping closer to Maggie and pressing a short sweet kiss to her lips as thanks."None of you should, you need to be together right now," Maggie responded in a whisperer, "Lena took Kara to your office," she continued softly, pulling Alex back in for another kiss.As they pulled back from each other Maggie kept her arms wrapped loosely around her girlfriend's waist, she took a moment to look into hazel eyes, "I know in the past I have told you not to baby her, but, you should know she wasn't in a good way when I went to pick her up. Lena said the dreams are back." Maggie revealed.Alex nodded in response, taking the information in, and the warning lying in girlfriend's words- 'don't push her, she's already afraid and needs her big sister back'.She smiled at this.She knew the situation didn't call for a smile, but she couldn't help it. Maggie and Kara had come a long way in the last few weeks, even just the last few days. It made Alex feel happy to know that they were getting on so much better, it made her happy to know that they would be there for one other should there ever be a time when Alex was unable to be there for either of them herself.Her family was coming back together slowly, as well as expanding and that was something that Alex had always wished for.Now she just needed to make sure her little sister knew of her importance to the family. She needed to make sure that Kara knew she belonged in this family, she always had done and always will do.

Five minutes later Alex found herself standing anxiously outside her office, watching from the small window in the door as Lena swung around in her office chair with Kara on her lap making the little blonde giggle. Watching them like this was heart-warming, not just because Kara was little, but because she was happy. Lena managed to make her little sister happy in so many ways that Alex had never seen before, and sometimes that made her a little bit jealous.It used to be her that Kara went to when something frightened her, or when she needed help with something, when was feeling lonely, or when she just wanted someone to have some fun with. Now it was Lena, and though Alex was happy that her sister had someone like Lena in her life to protect her, to love her, to help her when she sometimes forgot to help herself, she couldn't help but wish that she was still able to do that as well. She knew it was partly her own fault, and now as she stood watching them interact from the other side of the door, she knew that she would do everything in her power to build the trust back that she and Kara had once shared.She knew she wouldn't stop until they were as close as they once were, maybe even closer, she was going to be the best sister that she could be. She knew Kara missed her, she had said so herself, and with knowing that she knew there was a chance still to make things right.As long as Kara was still willing to hear her out and still willing to try then they would be fine.Smiling to herself, Alex took a deep breath before opening the door and walking into her office as Kara continued to giggle while being spun around on her office chair sitting on Lena's lap. Shaking her head, Alex laughed at the sight before addressing the younger couple, "oh come on, you can go faster than that!" she said, causing the CEO to stop spinning and look towards Alex, blushing slightly at being caught doing something rather childish- though if Alex was being truthful, she often did that herself; that chair was a brilliant spinning chair."Hey, been there long?" Lena asked as Kara's giggles quietened while she cuddled into her girlfriend's chest, her nerves starting up again now that Lena had stopped distracting her from them.Alex just laughed in response. "You should join us when we have our chair races, I think you would do fairly well," she added, the comment causing Kara to giggle again, knowing how competitive they all got over races. The last time they had competed in a chair race was months ago, it was before Kara's earth birthday last year.Kara, Winn and Alex had been racing around the DEO late one night after getting nowhere with research, they had all become so engrossed in the race they failed to notice J'onn approaching them. Until Winn had bowled straight into him, causing J'onn to end up sitting on his lap.The reactions had been instant.Kara and Alex had both doubled over in laughter, Kara falling off her chair in the process. Winn had gone bright red in the face and failed in his attempt at stuttering out an apology, while J'onn had given the three of them a stern look before walking away shaking his head, unbeknown to them laughing as he did so."Sounds like fun," Lena replied, winking at Kara who was smiling up at her, "Okay, I should get to the lab and see how Winn is doing," she continued, looking to Alex briefly before turning her attention back to Kara who looked nervous again. "I won't be far if you need me, alright?"Kara didn't respond at first, instead she turned to look at Alex who offered her a small smile before turning back to Lena with a nod before climbing off her girlfriend and walking to stand next to Alex.Lena smiled at them both warmly before standing herself and walking up to the two sisters, she then proceeded to kneel on the ground pulling Kara towards herself in a reassuring hug, pressing a kiss to the girl's hair. "Everything is going to be okay, I love you." she whispered softly into blonde hair, giving her girlfriend a squeeze after hearing a quiet 'I love you too' from Kara, before straightening up and giving Alex a look that she knew meant 'you better not upset her'."I'll get in touch if things get too – heavy," Alex said, glancing down to her little sister who was holding onto Lena's hand while standing next to her. Lena nodded in response, softly stroking a hand over Kara's hair before gently prying her hand from the small superhero and quietly leaving the office, Kara watching her as she left.The sisters were quiet for a moment, Alex watching Kara as Kara looked to the door that Lena had just left through.Taking a deep breath, Alex slowly lowered herself to the floor taking a seat with her legs crossed in front of her, the sounds of her shuffling around causing Kara to turn and watch her. Smiling softly Alex met her sisters gaze. "Hey," she started, "did Maggie tell you what's going on?" she asked, receiving a nod in response.Alex watched as Kara began to play with the sleeves of her long sleeve top and leaned forwards taking one of the little blonde's hands in her own. Fiddling with clothing, or her glasses, was something that Kara did when she felt anxious, sometimes unconsciously- thought sometimes consciously as well and Alex knew this."Okay, that's good," Alex said with a nod, taking a moment to look her little sister over, she looked tired, and she looked as though she had been crying. "Are you okay?" she asked, getting only a nod in response as Kara now looked down to the sleeves she had been playing with. "It's a lot to take in isn't it?" Alex asked further, getting another nod in response, "I'm still feeling pretty confused about it all," she said honestly, "how are you feeling about it all?" she asked, only receiving a shrug in this time.Her little sister had been laughing just minutes earlier, now she would only respond with gestures and seemed shy. Alex had only seen her little sister act this way, towards herself at least, a handful of times and most of those were when they were younger, when Kara had first got to earth, and Alex was still too mad at her parents for changing their lives so drastically to care."Hey, you can tell me anything, I won't be angry I promise." Alex assured her softly. She wasn't that girl anymore, she did care, and she hoped that by now Kara knew that.Slowly, Kara looked up again staring into her sister's eyes, "I'm scared," she admitted softly, "I'm scared that this could all be a plan by CADMUS and that you're going to get hurt again, and you're going to hate me more than last time for thinking that way. I'm scared about what these dreams mean, I'm scared that I'm losing myself, I'm scared of losing Lena, and you. I'm scared that I'm the reason your family has had to deal with so much pain and that I am only going to cause you more pain." Kara continued, her voice quivering with emotion.Alex reacted instantly, pulling her little sister in close and holding her tightly, "It's okay Kara, it's okay to be scared. I'm scared too," she admitted while stroking a hand down blonde hair. "Last time things got so messed up, and I got so angry with everybody, most of all you. I said things that were stupid, things that I never meant and that I never should have said," she paused to get her thoughts in order, squeezing Kara tighter in her arms.The blonde was shuddering slightly in her arms; whether from tears or some other horrible emotion, Alex couldn't tell."Some days it scares me that the things I said to you we will not be able to come back from... But, right now, I'm so scared that this is far too good to be true. I'm terrified that this
is
CADMUS playing with our heartstrings again, trying to break us all apart. I'm scared that Mom is going to have to go through that heartbreak again, I'm scared that we are going to lose our father again. I'm scared that when Dad wakes up, he won't be the Dad we knew anymore. He was barely the man we knew last time. There were glimpses, at the end when he helped us save that ship, but now I am worried he is going to be far too gone to return," Alex said truthfully as she tried to hold back tears.She could feel Kara wrapping her arms around her back, rubbing up and down trying to comfort her, when she was the one who should be comforting Kara for making her scared in the first place.After some time, Kara pulled back from the embrace, and as she looked up into her big sister's eyes to find that Alex was crying, she lifted her hand to gently wipe the tears away with the pads of her thumbs. "You don't need to be scared on your own, we're the Danvers sisters, we come as a package remember? What you feel I feel too." Kara said softly causing Alex to chuckle as she placed one hand over her own heart and her other over Alex's.Alex did remember, she remembered saying that to Kara so many times when they were both young, and she remembered Kara saying it back to her in times like this when she herself was upset or hurting. It was how they comforted each other, by letting each other know that what they were feeling they didn't have to feel alone, it was Alex and Kara's own version of
El Mayarah, their sister bond, stronger together."Oh, I remember alright, how could I forget? We are the Danvers sisters, we should come with a warning," Alex joked, taking a deep breath to calm herself, "You really are one of a kind, how did I ever get so lucky to have you in my life?" she continued, lifting a hand to softly stroke Kara's bruised cheek. "I'm sorry for ever making you doubt that, for even a second. You are a massive part of this family, you are
my
family. Whatever happens next, I need you to know that nothing will ever change that. You are my sister and I love you so much. I really hope you believe me when I tell you that."Kara stared into her sister's eyes for a few seconds, before launching herself back into her arms again, hugging her tightly. "I love you too!" she exclaimed.It was a good thing Kara didn't have her super-strength right now, or Alex would have been crunched by the force. Even though Kara was little now and with no powers, Alex could still feel the strength her sister had in this action and was sure that Lena must be feeling like a child's favourite teddy bear with how much Kara had been cuddling up to her the last few days."Yeah? Well, I love you more," Alex replied clutching her little sister close, one hand rubbing up and down her back while her other hand stroked blonde hair, feeling as though a weight had been lifted off her chest.Kara hugged her tighter in response, "Not possible," she argued."Is to," Alex responded immediately, causing Kara to argue back a again with a, "no way,""Is so!" Alex shot back with a chuckle, "I'm the older and wiser sister, so what I say goes."She knew this one conversation wasn't going to fix the hurt that had been caused- but it was a start.She would make more of an effort to make things right, she would work at being more honest and open again with Kara in the hopes that Kara would be with her too.Slowly they would bring their family back together and be ready to face Kara's dreams and anything else that happened to come their way.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chapter Thirteen

It was now hours later since Doctor Hamilton had reduced the sedatives and painkillers administered to Jeremiah Danvers in the attempts of waking him up, and still he was unconscious. Maggie had to leave some time ago, she still had a few hours of her shift to finish and reports to write following everything that had happened downtown and at the warehouse where she had found Jeremiah. Lena and Winn were still working in the labs, the theory they had on changing Kara back was now in full test mode and they were using alien plants as test subjects to try and get the right codex to change her back with. Currently Alex had her little sister sitting on her lap, her back pressed into her chest with an arm wrapped around the small girl's stomach.The talk they had earlier may not have fixed everything, but it had definitely helped matters, and since the two sisters had returned from Alex's office they had been stuck together like glue. Part of Alex knew this could also be down to the fact that Kara was still a little nervous around Eliza, and the fact that they were back in the medical bay again, but she'd take comfort in her sister's familiar presence regardless.It was getting late and all three Danvers' in the room were tired, Eliza was probably the most awake and alert of the three of them at the moment, as she still sat upright in her chair watching over her husband for any signs of a change. Kara was struggling to stay awake from her position of sitting in her big sister's lap, she was still exhausted from the distress the nightmares had been bringing her earlier on in the day. Though the nightmares for the meantime had seemed to have stopped, she was still reluctant to go to sleep and was fighting her drooping eyes with everything that she had in her. Alex too was struggling to stay awake, she would find herself drifting in and out of sleep, but Kara's proximity meant that her small flinches as she woke herself up again would in turn jerk Alex awake.Alex was very worried for her little sister's state of mind with the questions she had been asking while they had been waiting for Jeremiah to wake up; she had kept asking in many different ways as to whether Jeremiah was angry with them, with her, for not finding him sooner, and even though Alex and Eliza had both been trying to do their best to reassure her that she was not to blame, they were both worried about how much the little blonde was really taking in. Furthermore, they couldn't be sure that her worries were not correct without having yet spoken to Jeremiah.Until he woke they would have no idea what his own mind set was like, they had no idea what had been done to him by CADMUS, other than the obvious extra metal-ware that was now all over his body, and they had know idea how much that may or may not have changed him.Alex herself was just as worried as Kara about the thought of their dad holding resentment for not being found sooner, she too was worried that he would be angry with her- with them. So, trying to assure Kara that wouldn't be the case was hard when she wasn't completely sure herself."Alex," Eliza called softly, "Alex," she said louder this time, startling both Alex and Kara into wakefulness, making Kara whine quietly, moving around on Alex's lap to cuddle into her sister's chest so that Alex's arm was now wrapped around her back.Alex rubbed her eyes with the back of her spare hand, pulling Kara in a bit closer to herself before looking over to her Eliza. "Hmmm, sorry. Is he waking up?" she asked, eyes flitting from her mother to her father expectantly."Not yet no -you should take Kara home," Eliza responded with a smile, she had noticed her girls struggling to stay awake the last half an hour, and even before then Kara had been drifting.Alex shook her head in response. "Not till dad is awake," she said with determination, her thumb rubbing Kara's shoulder blade absentmindedly as the girl mumbled into her chest."Alex- you have been falling asleep for the last half an hour, Kara for the past hour." Eliza said, looking at both girls pointedly, "you are both exhausted. You both need to sleep, please take her home and get some rest. I will call you if anything changes, you know that," she continued as Alex looked conflicted, Eliza could see she was looking from her little sister to her father unsure of what to do, until eventually Alex sighed, looking up to meet her eyes.Using her spare hand, Alex pulled her mobile phone out from her pocket, having to tug it as it was slightly wedged under Kara's one leg.Turning the screen on she saw that the time was now 10:30pm.Her mother was right, she was exhausted, and Kara was practically asleep, but she still wanted to be here when their dad woke, and she knew that Kara did too.Sighing again, Alex placed her phone on the bedside table before running a hand through her hair, "If there is still no change by eleven we'll go home, that okay with you, Kar?" Alex asked, smiling to her mother as all she received in response was more tired mumbles spoken into her chest.

"I'll have the device ready soon, arrange a meeting with your Agent on the inside so we can drop it off, she will need to get it to your new pet.""I'll arrange the meeting, but you will need to give me the device, she won't meet anyone else other than me, she's starting to get a bit on edge.""Hmm, then I guess I will have to let you handle the exchange. As for your Agent, once her part has been played have her removed, we can't risk her having a change of heart and screwing this up.""By removed, you mean-?""Killed.""I assumed so, very well I'll see to it that it is done as soon as she has past her usefulness…have you had any luck with the other device you showed me?""Yes, it was as I thought. I needed to be in closer range to see a reaction… It's rather fun to play with her this way, I can have fun making her feel like she is losing her mind slowly… I think with repeated exposure, in time, it would reverse the effects of the memory blocker and give her the memories back fully.""Then why do you need this new device you are making, why not just use the one you already have?""It's hardly new, this device is part of the one I showed you, I'm just taking it apart and making it better…as to why we need it, well that should be obvious by now. I can only un-block these memories when she is a child, she has to be the same age she was when the blocker was put in for this to work so I need to do this quickly before they change her back, using the original device will take too long.""You said this device will be better, how?""You picked up on that then? You do ask a lot of questions.""I find the science behind what you are doing here fascinating.""I think you will like what I have planned for her with this device…When the device is used on her it will not only un-block the memories when linked to the device I am going to keep, but it will also change the way in which the chip affects her.""Change it how? It's just a memory blocker.""For now, yes…the part of the brain the chip is in can also be used as a command centre as such, I'm going to turn the memory blocker into a way to make her do as I want, a neural inhibitor as such, it will be like a switch I can turn on and off….the chip will give her a bit of a shock shall we say? If, and when she does not do something I command her to do, all I will have to do is press a button on my device and she will be in lots of pain…Kryptonian's are much like human's in that respect, hurt them enough and they will do as you say so to not be hurt again.""….So, you're turning it into a failsafe? If you can't get her to conform through the memories, and training you have planned, you will make her conform by force?""Effectively, yes.""Perfect- just one question. How debilitating will the shocks be?""They won't be able to kill her, she would heal to quickly when her powers return- but, they will cause her immense pain.""Perfect."

It was gone 1:00am in the morning when Maggie Sawyer made her way back into the DEO after finishing her shift at the police station. She hadn't spoken to Alex about this yet, but she had requested the next week off and found out this evening that she had been granted that request, pending any cases that needed her expertise. She wanted to be available to help in any way possible with everything that was going on and thought if she was around more to help take care of Kara and to help out at the DEO it might help her fiancée relax more.Last night Alex had been restless in bed, and Maggie had a feeling tonight would be worse, and that was
if
she even slept at all. She wanted to be there for Alex in whatever way she was needed.On her way back to the DEO she had gone to the local 24hour fast food joint and got a round of burgers and fries for everybody, herself a vegan burger, knowing that it was unlikely that anybody had bothered to go and get any food since she left.It really did amaze her sometimes how she was surrounded by some the most intelligent and impressive people, and yet they at times lacked the skills to take basic care of themselves when it came to eating and sleeping. Their minds would get carried away with projects they were working on or with the latest case. J'onn was usually good at reminding the team to take care of themselves, but even he had been stretched thin recently; the DEO was working on overtime trying to keep the city safe in Supergirl's absence, and J'onn himself had been shape-shifting into the Superhero trying to help out where possible as well as trying to not let the citizens of National City cotton on to the fact Supergirl was currently not around.Walking through the halls of the DEO, Maggie decided to first make her way up to the labs, to drop off food for Lena and Winn who she was sure would still be working away, before moving on to see Eliza, Alex and Kara. As she walked up to the labs she could see flashing lights before a manly- yet high-pitched squeal- was heard making her pick up her pace to get to the door quicker and find out what was going on to cause such a commotion.Reaching the door, Maggie was met with the sight of a goo covered Winn with his arms up in front of his face, while Lena stood to the side trying to stifle her laughter by covering her mouth with her one hand that was not holding onto the 'Krin-Drive'."What happened?" Maggie asked as she pushed open the glass door and made her way inside the lab, causing both Winn and Lena to look over to her in surprise having not realised that she was outside."Winn wouldn't listen when I told him the calculation he wanted to try was wrong, he insisted we tried it," Lena explained as Winn looked sheepishly, yet also slightly disgustedly down to the green goo covering his lab whites.Maggie shook her head trying not to laugh. "You do know she is a genius, right Junior?" she asked, walking further into the room and coming to lean against a desk filled with small action figures and lots of paper work."So am I!" Winn cried indigently as Maggie placed two takeout bags down on the desk.Looking back towards Winn, Maggie raised an eyebrow, "Yes- with computers. Maybe leave the alien tech to little Luthor here?" she suggested lightly with a shrug, smirking as Lena glared at her for the nickname while placing the 'Krin-Drive'
back in the glass containment box."Anyway- I got you both some food, figured you probably haven't eaten yet," Maggie said, gesturing to the takeout bags on the desk, causing Winn to gasp and rush over to the desk snatching a bag up straight away at an impressive speed for any human. He quickly ripped the burger out the bag, peeling back the wrapper, and took a large bite chewing at a fast pace and swallowing before taking another bite. It was impressive, almost as impressive as the way Kara could eat at times.Maggie watched him the whole time in amusement while Lena busied herself with making sure the 'Krin-Drive'
was secure before making her way over. Lena picked up her bag from the floor, pulling her purse out and turning to face Maggie. "How much do I owe you for dinner?" she asked, looking up from her purse to the detective, who rolled her eyes."Don't worry about it. We'll call it even if you can help me drag Alex and Kara home," Maggie said as a compromise, causing Lena to frown.She placed her purse back in her bag before turning to Maggie. "It's not that late is it? It can't even be eleven yet?" she asked picking up phone up from the desk and turning the screen on, when she saw that it was now 1:15am she gasped, she had no idea it had gotten so late.They had been so engrossed in the work they had been doing that time had been flying by without either herself or Winn realising. As she realised how late it was she couldn't help but begin to wonder how things had been going between Alex and Kara and whether Jeremiah had awoken or not yet.Surely Alex would have let her know if anything drastic had changed though?If Kara was concerned, yes, she would have.Lena was, however, unsure about whether Alex would have been as quick to tell her any news concerning her father, as knowing Alex, she would probably become engrossed in checking him over and ordering tests much like she herself had been doing here in the labs.Looking to the bag of food she suddenly realised how hungry she was, then began to instantly feel bad as she had no idea as to whether Kara had eaten yet, the little blonde was already eating a lot less than usual and really couldn't afford to be skipping meals right now."Don't worry, I'm going to take some food to Kara, Alex and Eliza next, I doubt they have remembered to eat either," Maggie said, almost as though reading Lena's thoughts and causing her to nod and smile gratefully.Pulling out a seat Lena sat at the desk opening the bag in front of her to see what was inside as a choking sound was heard from behind her, causing both herself and Maggie to turn finding Winn red faced and coughing. His burger was now demolished and a was fry in his hand, the bag in the other.He continued to cough for a moment before taking a deep breath, noticing the two pairs of eyes that were on him he smiled in embarrassment. "Went down the wrong way," he said in explanation.That explanation got a scoff from Maggie and a raised eyebrow from Lena."Let me finish up here and I'll join you in twenty minutes?" Lena asked her attention shifting back to Maggie, who nodded, pushing up from the table, smacking a hand on Winn's back as he stuffed another fry into his mouth causing him to cough again as she left the room.

Five minutes later, Maggie located Alex and Kara in the medical bay, they were stood in the control room for the CAT scan machine. It took Maggie longer than she had hoped to find them, as she had first gone to the room Jeremiah had been in only to find the room empty. She'd rung Alex and got no answer, so she had then begun searching for them.Looking through the glass window she could see Jeremiah was awake, not only was he awake but he was sat upright on the movable table as both Eliza and J'onn stood in front of him, the three of them deep in conversation it seemed. Alex was standing in front of the computer looking over a series of different test results; one hand hovering over the computer mouse while her other hand was cupping the back of Kara's head as she stood in front of her, cuddling into her sister with her arms locked around Alex's stomach and waist.Maggie was impressed that both Danvers' were still standing with how late it was, however as she took a moment to observe them quietly she could tell that they were both tired; Alex was yawning, her hand moving from the mouse to cover her mouth, while Kara was swaying on her feet slightly, looking as though she was about to drop at any given moment."Isn't it time you both went home for some rest?" Maggie asked quietly while still leaning against the door, her voice seeming loud in the quiet room, making Alex jump, not expecting the intrusion, though Kara didn't react. As Alex turned, a hand to her chest in shook, she could see Maggie smirking at her from the doorway. "You could have given me heart attack, you know that, right?" she asked, rolling her eyes."Nah, you're way too young for that…and too sexy…" Maggie responded, wiggling her eyebrows and causing Alex to chuckle as Kara mumbled a sleepy 'gross!'. "I got you some dinner, well more like breakfast now considering its technically morning…" she continued, lifting the bags into view slightly before walking into the room and coming to stand next to Alex, placing the bags down on the computer desk.Alex kissed her softly in thanks before returning to looking at the test results as Maggie took a seat on the empty swivel chair, Kara's eyes blinking open to look at her for moment before drooping closed again. "Come here kiddo," Maggie said softly, holding a hand out. She waited patiently as Kara registered the gently spoken request, looking up briefly to her sister before tiredly shuffling towards where Maggie was seated.Maggie leaned over on the chair slightly to pick Kara up and quickly settled the little blonde on her lap, keeping and arm wrapped around her back to stop her from falling off. "We should get her home soon, Ally, she's exhausted, so are you," Maggie pushed gently. She watched as Kara's eyes drooped shut again tiredly, her small body falling forwards until the detective pulled her to rest against her chest."I'm fine," Alex said instantaneously as Kara mumbled 'not tired', causing Maggie to laugh, her laugh causing her chest to shake and for Kara to be jostled by the movements making her whine sleepily. "You're both as stubborn as each other," Maggie commented as both Alex's and Kara's stomachs growled loudly. "Look, if you won't rest, will you at least eat?" she asked, grabbing one of the bags and resting it on Kara's lap causing the little blonde to perk up slightly at the mention of food.Maggie smiled as Kara quickly took the burger out and began eating it, she wasn't eating at her usual speed and her eyes were still closing due to her tiredness, but it was a relief to see her eat at all after what Lena had told her earlier about how Kara reacts to stressful situations. She hoped that the food would give the girl enough energy to stay awake, or at least stay mobile, until they could get her home and into bed.Looking up, Maggie she could see that Alex was watching Kara cuddle into her as she ate with a small smile on her face. Raising her eyebrow, Maggie gave Alex a pointed glance before looking to one of the bags left on the desk. Getting the hint, Alex rolled her eyes before pulling another chair over and sitting down, taking a break from looking over the test results so she could eat.

Lillian smiled into the coffee cup she was drinking from as she the all-night diners overhead doorbell chimed, if there was one thing you could always count on, it was the fact that therapists run to schedules and time-frames like clockwork.She waited, placing her coffee cup back on the table, until the sound of clicking heels on the floor drew closer and stopped right by the booth she was sitting in. "Evening Tamara," she greeted as Agent Tamara Corz took a seat opposite her, throwing her bag down on the table."Lillian," Tamara returned, folding her arms in front of her on the table.Lillian looked her up and down smirking. "Can I interest you in a coffee?" she asked. Polite as ever, even if she was speaking in an almost menacing tone of voice."No. But you can tell me what I am here for?" Tamara replied, this was the first time they had met in public, and doing so was making her nervous, anyone could recognise either of them and her cover would be blown.Lillian chuckled. "Right down to business," she said, "just how I like to do things, you have a good work ethic," she commented, a hand reaching into the expensive coat that she was wearing and after a few moments pulling out a small black square box that looked as though it had a fingerprint scanner on it in the centre screen with two buttons set on either side."What's this?" Tamara asked as the box was handed over to her.Lillian lifted an eyebrow in response, "It's not your concern as to what is it, you're only concern is getting it in the hands of the right person," Lillian said waiting until Tamara looked back to her before continuing, "you need to give it to Jeremiah Danvers."Dropping a few bills on the table, Lillian stood, looking down at Tamara, "discreetly," she added before buttoning up her coat, "oh, and before I forget," she began as an afterthought, "make sure you don't touch the fingerprint scanner, don't want the machine getting your print confused with the real target's now do we?" she asked patronisingly before turning and walking away, the bell chiming over the door again as she left the small diner.Tamara looked down at the device in her hands with mixed feelings, just by looking at it she could tell the device was alien, she could tell it was meant for Supergirl and would bring nothing good.Holding the device in her hands right now she knew what she should do, she should hand it in to the DEO, she should tell them what has happened so far, and the little of the plan that she did know- but she couldn't.She had her brother to think about.Sighing, she too stood, tucking the device away carefully in her jacket pocket.The meeting with Lillian had only confirmed her thoughts that Jeremiah Danvers was not going to be an ally to Supergirl and DEO in what was to come.He too was working against them. Whether he was helping CADMUS willingly or unwillingly like herself she did not know, but what she did know is that she would be expected to help him keep his cover.She would be expected to sign him off as stable and fit to be released from DEO custody so that he could act out his plan.

Walking through the doorway, Lena carried an almost asleep Kara in her arms while Maggie carried their bags and closed the door behind them. They both knew it wouldn't take long to get Kara to fall asleep, she was already making the small whimpering sounds a child makes when they are tired but still fighting sleep. The question was, how long would she stay asleep before the nightmares woke her up again?"I'm going to get her ready for bed," Lena said, as Maggie nodded in response, "I'll be back out in a bit once she's settled," she finished before making her way up the stairs, Maggie following her after locking the door. Maggie made her way into the kitchen with the bags, having picked up some shopping earlier that day that had been left in the car, luckily there was nothing in the bags that needed to be refrigerated, with the hour that they left it would have been well past spoilt by now.While Maggie was unpacking the shopping that she had brought, Lena made her way through to the bedroom with Kara.Upon entering the room, she retrieved a pair of purple pyjamas that Alex had brought for her little sister from a draw in one of the cabinets and brought them over to the bed before gently lowering Kara to stand on the floor. The movement causing her to make a noise halfway between a whine and whimper at being forced, firstly to stand, and secondly to let go of Lena."Let's get you changed then to bed, hmm?" Lena said quietly, kneeling to be at the same height as Kara, keeping one arm around the girls back as she could see that the little blonde was swaying on her feet with exhaustion.Kara shook her head slightly before leaning into her girlfriend's chest, "Not tired," she mumbled softly, shivering slightly when she felt Lena lift her top up exposing her back and feeling cold."Yes, you are darling. Come on, arms up for me," Lena instructed, waiting for Kara to lean back again and lift her arms a small amount so that she could pull the long sleeve top over her head. Turning towards the bed Lena quickly discarded the top her girlfriend had been wearing, picking up the pyjama shirt instead, as she turned back towards Kara she could see the little blonde was shivering slightly and had her arms wrapped around herself.Lena smiled softly at the girl, holding the shirt open behind her so that Kara could place her arms through the holes, she knew that Kara could dress herself perfectly fine, but the poor girl was stood shivering while being half asleep, Lena thought it would be quicker to help her. Truth be told she had done things like this before for Kara, often after her Supergirl battles, when they had drained her Lena would help her girlfriend change and take care of her.She liked taking care of Kara, just as she knew Kara liked to take care of her as well.Slipping the pyjama shirt on, Lena began to do the buttons up one by one, afterwards she lifted her hand to cup Kara's cheek inspecting the bruising for a moment as Kara gazed back at her tiredly, it looked as though the first set of bruises were slowly beginning to fade, she knew that even though Kara hadn't been complaining about it she must be hurting.She hated it when Kara would come back from her Supergirl duties battered and bruised, but usually those bruises would fade in a few hours, sometimes only a few minutes. To see Kara now sporting bruises that were days old, bruises that looked angry and painful, was a horrible sight to see. One that Lena hoped she would never have to see again when they finally figured out how to turn Kara back and hopefully get her powers back.Catching Kara, as the small superhero almost fell into her, Lena knew now wasn't the time to be inspecting her so thoroughly when she was clearly exhausted. "Almost done now," she promised, before gently tugging down the elasticated jean leggings that Kara was wearing, she quickly helped the little blonde step out of them and into her pyjama bottoms before tugging the bottoms up so she was fully dressed for bed, managing to do so almost single handily as Kara continued to lean on her for support.Lena shook her head, smiling softly; somehow Kara had managed to creep impossibly closer during all this and was now snuggled up to Lena's chest, a hand holding a fistful of the CEO's blouse with her head tucked under Lena's chin. "Come on you, in the bed," Lena said with a small chuckle, patting her girlfriend's back with one hand, while using her other hand closest to the bed to pull the covers back. She could hear Kara grumbling slightly as she pulled away, eyes barely open as she stumbled the few steps to the bed pulling herself up to sit on the bed."Get comfy, I'll be right back," Lena instructed, pulling the covers up slightly to cover the little blonde's legs and running a hand through her messy hair before standing from the floor.Quickly she collected Kara's clothes up and took them into the bathroom, throwing them into the washing basket there, turning to face the bathroom mirror she took a moment to run a hand through her own hair and quickly tied it up with a hair tie that was left on the side of the sink before making her back out into the bedroom where Kara was still sat upright on the bed waiting for her.Lena made her way over to the bed, coming around the other side and sitting down by Kara's side, she frowned slightly when Kara still didn't move and just continued to stare ahead blinking slowly."Kara?" Lena prompted, "Lay down now darling," she prompted reaching a hand out to stroke the small superhero's back drawing her attention.After a moment Kara snapped out of her tired daze and laid down in the bed, shuffling around until she was laying on her stomach with her head resting against Lena's thigh, her arms wrapping around her girlfriend's leg. Gently, Lena pulled the covers up, leaving her hand resting on Kara's back when she had finished, "Close your eyes, time for sleep now," she said softly, stroking the little blonde's hair away from her face, watching as Kara's eyes drooped closed slowly and this time stayed closed.Lena knew it wouldn't be long till Kara was snoring softly, fully asleep, but she had decided she wanted to wait until the girl was definitely asleep before leaving, in the hopes that it would help her sleep through the night.If today was anything to go by though, the likelihood of this being the case was rather small, but she could always hope.

Jeremiah smiled as he relaxed into the hospital bed.Everything had gone perfectly to plan so far. The detective dating his daughter had found him just like he had hoped she would and took him exactly where he needed to be. The doctors had done all their tests on him just as he knew they would, just as he had been prepared for, meaning that he could pass them all as needed.All the findings would only make his family feel for him more than what they already did after knowing the horrors that he had supposedly gone through.Little did they know that he had gone through them willingly to better himself.The final test was the one he had been trained for the most.The mind reading test.Though he knew that J'onn would have trouble reading all his thoughts due the patches placed in his metal-ware creating a psychic block. He had been trained to make sure only good and pure thoughts were at the front of his mind so that any thoughts that were picked up were not suspicious.It worked like a charm. He completed the first step in his mission. He was in the DEO and cleared of any suspicions they had so far. They didn't trust him yet, he would have to work on that, but they didn't suspect him as a double Agent either.He could tell both his daughter and wife had been pleased with his test results, and he played the part of caring father and caring husband well.Kara had been taken home before the tests had been completed but both Alex and Eliza had stayed, he had convinced them easily to go home and get some rest after all the tests had been completed, making his daughter roll her eyes saying it felt like she was a teenager again.That was just what he needed her to feel like, he needed Alex to feel like the girl he had left behind, the girl that would do what he asked of her without question and without challenging him.Alex was always a good girl, good at following orders, but she was also clever. He needed her to trust him so that she wouldn't overthink his actions.He had been able to talk briefly to his wife, daughter and the Kryptonian before the tests had begun.The old Jeremiah would have called her his daughter as well, and still sometimes he thought of her that way even now. Part of him had and always would care for Kara Danvers, the girl he'd taken in, the girl he called his own.Another part of him couldn't stand her, she'd changed everything.It was because of her that he had to leave him family.It was because of her that CADMUS got to him in the first place.It was because of her that his beautiful daughter had to go through some of the hardest years of her life without a father.It was when he remembered this that he could push any feelings of love he still had for the girl away and focus on his mission, focus on his hate.Meeting her tonight had been interesting, she was a child right now in every sense of the word. Clinging to his daughter as though she belonged to her, when she didn't. Alex was her better in every way, especially now when she was powerless and defenceless.He was going to make sure he had some fun with this mission, he wanted the girl to pay for what she has done to his family, and as long as the mission permitted him to do so he was going to make sure she would never forget that this was his family, not hers.Now he just had to await further instructions, he was told he would be contacted when he had to begin working on the next stage of his mission.

Alex breathed a sigh of relief as they pulled up to Lena's house. She was tired and she hadn't wanted to leave the hospital, but her dad was right; she needed to rest, and she wanted nothing more than to fall asleep with Maggie's strong arms wrapped around her knowing that her father was back and that her and Kara were on the mend now.Looking over to the passenger seat, she turned to face Eliza. "What a crazy few days," she commented.She still couldn't really believe all this had happened.One minute she was arranging the date she had planned for Maggie in her head and the next minute she had walked into Lena's office at L-Corp to be greeted by her now very little, little sister. That had been hard enough to believe without everything else that had followed. This roller-coaster seemed to be never ending, it was one thing after the other and she was looking forward to the time when everything could go back to normal and they could all take a moment to breathe.Take a moment to appreciate the good things that happened throughout all of this as well.Her mother had yet to respond or even look in her direction, she was staring at the side of the house. "Mom?" Alex called softly.Maybe her mother was just exhausted like she was? Maybe she was still just trying to process everything?"There's someone standing over there," Eliza responded quietly after a moment, not looking to Alex as she kept her eyes trained on the figure in the shadows near a large tree.Looking in the direction her mother was, Alex clenched her jaw when she saw the figure as well, she couldn't tell for sure due to being so far away, but the figure looked to be male, the figure also appeared to not be facing them. The figure was facing the side of the house where the room that Lena and Kara usually slept in was.Quickly, Alex retrieved her gun, cocking it quietly and pressing a button on the inside of the roof of the car, disabling the lights that turned on when you opened the car door. "Stay in the car," she instructed, before carefully opening the door and slowly getting out, being careful to make as little noise as possible. Quietly, Alex drew her weapon in close to her chest and ducked down near the boot of the car, peering around to get a better look at the figure, as a small breeze moved the tree branches slightly to let some light through she caught a better glimpse of the figure.This made her even more sure that the figure was male as he had very short hair, he was definitely facing towards the house like she had first thought as well, he appeared to be holding something in his one hand. Quickly she moved closer, taking careful steps to avoid alerting the figure of her presence, as she neared the tree she changed her direction slightly making sure that she was standing behind the figure as she approached him.She was only a few feet away when her foot accidently crunched a twig into the ground, snapping it loudly making her pause her movement."That won't work on me," The figure said, still not turning to face Alex.Alex could see the man place a small box in his coat pocket. "Stay where you are and put your hands on your head where I can see them," she ordered.He didn't comply, instead he turned and took a step closer towards her, making Alex raise her gun, finger on the trigger ready to shoot. "I said stay where you are!" she ordered.He continued to advance on her. He was too close-
far
too close-
for comfort.Stepping back to gain some distance between them, Alex pulled the trigger, firing at the man twice in quick succession, aiming towards his knees.She expected him to drop.She expected him to stop moving.She didn't expect the bullets to bounce off him like they usually do her sister, she didn't expect him to laugh."That tickles," he said just as a light turned on in the house, gaining his attention, "looks like you woke little Kara up," he commented as crying could be heard from inside the house.Alex didn't dare take her eyes off him, she kept backing away slowly, her gun still raised; she knew it couldn't hurt him, but it would make enough noise to alert her girlfriend of a problem if need be. "Who are you?" she asked."You'll find out soon enough- but not tonight," he replied before jumping from the ground and flying into the nights sky at the same time as Eliza came running up to Alex pulling her backwards away from the figure and fussing over her like only a mother would.When her mother got out the car she didn't even know, her focus had been on the figure.The figure who was definitely
not
human.Who had eyes as blue as Kara's.Who appeared to be impervious to bullets and seemed to be able to fly.The roller-coaster had started up again, it seemed, and now on top of everything else going on they had a new Kryptonian to deal with.A Kryptonian who had been able to get far too close to her little sister and seemed to have far too much of an interest in her.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chapter Fourteen

Things were far from calm and peaceful in the house in the moments leading up to two gun shots being set off in quick succession. Kara was in the midst of one of her nightmares, tossing and turning in the bed, whimpering and shouting in her sleep, unable to hear or respond to Lena as she tried to calm the small superhero down.Lena and Maggie had been about to go to bed themselves, neither of them able to stay up much longer as they both felt the day's events catching up with them when they had heard Kara's yelling starting up. It was the first they had heard from her since Lena had left her peacefully sleeping.Maggie was stood in the bedroom doorway. She had turned the light on in the room while Lena had made her way over to Kara straight away, and was now watching as Lena tried to coax the young girl from her dreams, listening to her gently try to pry the girl from living through this nightmare in the depths of her mind.Kara's cries in her sleep were loud and panic-filled but not half as loud as the sound of the gun shot that suddenly rippled through the house.It was as though the sound itself changed everything.Time seemed to slow as Maggie's head quickly whipped to the window. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach- that gun shot was close.Too close.It sounded like it was right outside.From the corner of her eyes, Maggie could see that Lena was now picking Kara up, the gun shot had pulled her from her dreams and terrified her just as much as it had done the detective. Maggie could hear Lena shushing her, trying to get her to make less noise by making sure the little blonde's head was hidden against her neck. She could see Lena moving from side to side in the corner of her eye, knowing that the CEO must be rocking Kara to try and calm her."What the hell?" Maggie said loudly over Kara's cries as a second gun shot was heard, turning to the wall she quickly pressed a switch turning the lights down to a dimmer and made her way cautiously up to the window.
Upon reaching the window, she turned to glance at Lena to find her holding Kara's head to her chest now while rocking her and shushing her, the small superhero's cries muffled behind her hand while she still tried to calm her, Maggie motioned for her to move back making sure she was clear of the window just in case any more shots were to be fired.Maggie waited until Lena had moved to the corner of the room closest to the window and nodded once before pulling the curtains back to peer outside.What she saw shocked her – she could see Alex stood with a gun out in front of her and a figure suddenly shooting off into the sky, a lot like how Supergirl would fly away from a scene after the police had arrived to take care of the criminals."Stay here!" she ordered to Lena, before running from the room.Quickly she made her way down the stairs and out of the front door, making sure to grab a set of keys from the table and to close the door behind her so that no one could get into the house while she was out, before making her way across the lawn to where Eliza and Alex still stood looking up in the sky in confusion in the direction to which the figure had just disappeared."Are you okay? What the hell happened?" Maggie shouted out as she reached them, causing both Mother and Daughter to snap out of the trance they were in and turn to face the detective. "Alex? Are you okay?" Maggie continued after she received nothing but a blank stare in response.Slowly Alex lowered her gun, not yet putting it away and turned to look from her Mother to her fiancée. "His eyes," she said, "they were almost identical to Kara's," she continued after a pause, seeming lost in thought until her eyes suddenly widened, "Kara!" she yelled before sprinting towards the house. She had been so engrossed in finding out about the man and what he had been doing, that she had forgotten about the danger he could have caused to her little sister.He had been standing looking into the room that Kara was in, he had mentioned her name as well. She had heard Kara's cries before which had seemed to have quietened now, but whether that was a good thing or not she wasn't sure."Alex- hey, wait up," Maggie yelled, jogging after her, "Alex!" she called again when she noticed Alex had reached the door and was pounding on it to be let in. Kara was already scared to death and she was pretty sure that Lena was freaked; Alex acting like this was only going to scare them both more and Kara had been scared enough in the last few days to last her a lifetime.As she reached the door, Maggie took the keys she had grabbed earlier out of her pocket to open the door and let Alex through, she was about to follow herself when she remembered that Eliza was also still outside. Pausing, she turned to see Eliza making her way over, she waited until her soon-to-be mother-in-law had entered the house before following her inside, then closing and locking the door.As she looked at Eliza she could see the eldest Danvers looked just as shocked by what had just happened as she felt herself.Maggie tried to calm her own nerves before smiling to Eliza in what she hoped was a reassuring way. Quickly, she took her phone out of her pocket to call J'onn, she had a feeling even though they were all exhausted none of them were going to be able to sleep until they had figured out what had just happened, and who the mystery flying figure was.

Meanwhile, Alex ran up the stairs turning quickly in the direction of the room that Kara and Lena slept in, the closer she got the more she could hear the quiet cries from the room, her little sister was still crying but the sound seemed muffled.As she entered the room she could see Lena in the one corner of the room, her back to the wall, holding Kara in her arms as the little blonde shook and cried into her shoulder while Lena was whispering assurances to her constantly, pressing the words into her hair with small kisses in between.
Lena seemed to be so engrossed in keeping the small superhero calm that she hadn't noticed that Alex had entered the room until the agent was right in front of her reaching out to take Kara from her arms.As Alex quickly took Kara from the CEO, her little sister let out a louder sob that almost sounded like a squeal and began to reach for her girlfriend protesting loudly, startled by being suddenly removed from her arms, "Alex- stop, you're scaring her!" Lena called out causing Alex to freeze in place.As she looked down to her little sister who was squirming in her arms looking scared and confused she instantly felt bad and quickly let the girl go, placing her carefully on the floor. She could feel her heart constrict when Kara backed away from her towards Lena once again, gripping onto her girlfriend's legs tightly and hiding her head against the CEO's side.Silently, Alex knelt on the floor and reached her hand out, brushing her little sister's hair back from her face so that she could see her better, hating the fact she could see fear in her eyes, fear directed at her once again. She hadn't intended to scare Kara, it was just with everything that had just happened with the man outside she had wanted to make sure that Kara was safe, and that Kara was unharmed. Her instincts took over, and before she knew what had happened she had ended up making the situation a lot worse than it already was.Kara had been calming somewhat slowly before, and now was terrified once again, Alex's actions had only confused and scared her more than she already was."I'm sorry Kara, I didn't mean to scare you," Alex said, her voice wavering as the stress and the emotions of what just happened caught up to her. She stroked her hand softly through Kara's hair once more before moving her hand away to cover her mouth trying to suppress a sob. She was exhausted and emotionally drained from the day, not to mention beyond freaked out by what had just happened outside only minutes ago.Kara and Lena both looked shocked at the sound of Alex's sob, even move so when more sobs started to be harshly released.It wasn't that they had never seen Alex cry before- they had, Kara many times- but they had never seen her react to a situation like this in this way.
Alex was usually the one to stay calm and composed in high stress situations, seeing her react in this way was unnerving, and very worrying.Slowly Kara uncurled her hands from around Lena's leg, and walked over to her sister who looked up with teary eyes towards her. Carefully Kara wrapped her arms around Alex, hugging her tightly and cuddling into her with as much force as possible, for once being able to use her full strength and not having to hold back.Alex may have scared her a moment ago and she may still be frightened now but that wasn't going to stop her from comforting her sister when she clearly needed it."I'm so sorry Kara… I thought he might have hurt you… it's just he knew your name and he was looking through the window…. everything just happened so quickly…. I needed to see that you are okay… you are right? Both of you are okay? Right?" Alex rambled through her tears as her sobs began to die down, holding Kara to herself closely and breathing into her hair, she found it comforting to have the little blonde in her arms after everything that had just happened.As she held Kara to her she could feel that her little sister was finding some comfort in the embrace as well, she seemed to be slowly shaking less than she had been beforehand, her own sobs had now quietened, and she was rocking on her feet slightly in her own effort to try and comfort her sister- which Alex found incredibly sweet.Deciding to humour the younger girl Alex began to sway from side to side lightly with her, enabling them to both find comfort in each other's presence.Lena watched the sisters for a moment, how they melded together and comforted each other so easily, before letting her mind catch up with everything Alex had just said. "We're fine- scared to death, but unharmed. What the hell happened out there? Was that gun shots we heard?" she asked as she slowly walked over to the bed and took a seat on the edge of it, turning to the bedside table to flick on a small lamp to light the room up better."When we got back someone was watching your window from the garden behind that big oak tree, so I confronted him, I wanted to know what he was doing," Alex began, seemingly calmer now as she turned on her knees slightly before sitting on the floor, pulling Kara down to sit on her lap and keeping her close to her chest, "he advanced on me, and wouldn't cooperate… he just kept coming closer and closer, I had no choice but to fire."She paused for moment, pulling Kara in closer to her chest after feeling the little blonde shudder and grip at her shirt tightly cuddling into the space in the crook of her neck.Alex kissed the top of Kara's head softly, running a hand along her back before continuing, "…he wasn't human… the bullets bounced right off him and when he did finally leave he flew away," she finished looking up to meet Lena's eyes and seeing shock and worry in them."That- that's impossible!" Lena said, quickly leaning across the bed to get her phone.Alex raised an eyebrow in question. "Well considering you're dating an alien, it's not that impossible to think another one would be outside your house…" she said trailing off at the end."No, it is! Well- I mean yes, of course it's not impossible, but I would have known about it. The alarm would have picked up another alien presence," Lena explained, looking over her phone to check the security records.Alex looked confused by her comment, "Alarm?" she asked, "What alarm?""Alien detection software, it lets us know if we have visitors that could be dangerous," Kara explained, speaking quietly into her sister neck, her sister's close presence and heartbeat calming her nerves.Lena nodded, looking up from her mobile, "Kara and J'onn are recognised by the system, so for them it doesn't go off, but any other alien near the property should create an alert," Lena explained further. Upon noticing the look she was receiving from Alex she then added, "Kara helped me develop and install it after I found out she was Supergirl and we began to spend more time here. It was her suggestion," the CEO said in defence of herself and her security system.Alex held her hands up in surrender, "I didn't say anything," she said, dropping her hands again, one hand resting on Kara's back while the other rested on her own knee, "did your systems detect anything?" she asked."No, they didn't," Lena replied, she looked worried, as far as she could see the system was up and running just how it should be, so why didn't it detect the alien that Alex had encountered?

Agent Tamara Corz took a deep breath as she walked through the doors into the DEO. She had just received instructions to take the device she had been given to Jeremiah Danvers now, as apparently Director J'onzz would be out, giving her more time to do as she was needed.
She had been given another device just yesterday, that when activated would give her a ten-minute window to get in and get out without being seen on the CCTV, it was a device that would shield her from the cameras.Tamara had a plan in mind already, she would go to her own office before setting off the device which was in her jacket pocket, at the same time as she would pretend to look at a message on her mobile phone when really setting herself a countdown timer before making her way to the medical bay. The timer would allow her to keep on eye on the time she had left before she had to get back to her own office so that it did not appear as though she had somehow disappeared and reappeared again on the CCTV footage.She smiled in greeting at the few agents she passed while making her way to her office, trying to seem her normal friendly self.She was known for being one of the kindest and friendliest agents here at the DEO, that and her background in psychology was how she become the DEO's therapist, she had a passion to help people and to protect those who could not always protect themselves from the horrors they saw here at the DEO in this line of work.That was one of the things she found hardest about what she was doing here.
She was breaking every single rule she had ever set for herself. She was hurting the people she worked for, some of whom she cared for deeply and considered friends.
She was doing something that made her feel like she was ripping her own heart out, it went against everything she stood for – but she had no choice, she was backed into a corner, she had to do this for him.If she didn't, her brother was as good as dead, and that was
if
they decided to be merciful, if not they would use him for one of their experiments and change him in ways that were worse than what she was having to change herself in order to save him.She knew that there would be no going back after this was all over, she had accepted that the moment she had agreed to the terms that had been laid out in front of her, but it didn't stop her from wishing that things could be different somehow.It was with a heavy heart that she let herself into her office and walked over to take a seat at her desk to the side of the room. Sighing again, she took her phone out of her pocket, making sure she angled her body so that CCTV camera behind her couldn't see the screen as she set up the timer.
She paused for a moment, she needed to be sure, to be ready, there was still a chance, she could still hand the device over and confess everything. She could save them all from this, but as she looked to the side of the desk to see the questions that she had been asked to write for Supergirl to answer about her past she knew that it was too late.She was already far too deep into this now and the plan was already set in motion.Even if she was to back out she doubted it would make a difference, the wheels were already in motion, Supergirl's fall had already begun and would keeping rolling even without her help.
All she could do now was to try and get something out of it for herself as well, that, and she can also try to leave as many breadcrumbs as possible to give the DEO a fighting chance at finding a way to bring Kara Danvers back when she did fall.Steeling her gaze down at the phone she activated the timer, only seconds later activating the device in her pocket.
Tamara waited for twenty seconds to count down on the timer to make sure the device had time to kick in, before standing from her chair and quickly exiting the office.Her destination was the medical bay.Her purpose was to give Jeremiah Danvers the device that had been given to her.That was her mission, after this she would only have two more parts to play.Firstly, she would be the one to sign Jeremiah off, to allow J'onn and the rest of the DEO to believe he is on their side, and that he is stable. Secondly, she would use the questions that been provided to her to probe a very young Supergirl's mind, opening her up to the memories that had been buried deep in her mind.After that she would be free, her brother too.It would all be over for them, but only just beginning for everybody else.

When late morning came around, Agent Tamara Corz smiled as she saw Alex and Kara Danvers walk through the office door, she had been expecting them and she was ready for them. The room had been prepared and the method of therapy she was going to use was all set up as it needed to be.
The only thing left to do was to convince Alex Danvers to leave her little sister in her care for the most important part of the session so that she could push Kara to remember what she needed to, without the big sister's interference.She knew this would be hard and probably rather scary for the young girl, and if Alex was in the room she would insist that the session be stopped.
Tamara could not afford for that to happen, she knew that time was running out and she needed to complete her mission and play her part perfectly or all of this would have been for nothing.She was almost there, it was almost over.She had done everything they had asked of her, she has even, against her own better judgement, assured Director J'onzz that Jeremiah Danvers is mentally stable after what has happened to him at the hands of CADMUS.When in reality, she could tell he was far from it.
She could see how badly his mind has been twisted, and she could tell he was most likely going to be very dangerous for not just Kara to be around, but Alex and Eliza as well.For now, though, she had to forget about that. She couldn't let her feelings of friendship for the Danvers sisters cloud her judgement and jeopardise her brother's safe return."Kara, Alex it's good to see you both," Tamara said, standing from her computer desk and walking to the middle of the room to meet the sisters.Taking a closer look at them, she could see Kara was holding onto her big sister's hand tightly, but the girl did still offer her a shy smile as she leant into Alex's side. "Why don't you both go on through and make yourselves comfortable, I'll join you in a moment," she continued motioning to the room behind her with her hand.The room was separate to her office and was without CCTV cameras. It was a private place for workers of the DEO to be able to speak about their thoughts and feelings on different situations in a confidential manner while allowing Tamara to obtain as to whether they were still fit to be in the field or not. In this case, the session with Kara would be to help her dig deeper into her childhood memories and it would not be confidential at all, as neither Alex or Kara knew that Tamara will be recording the entire conversation.Not for the DEO, but for CADMUS.The small recording device was planted in a pen that she was going to take into the room with her, in the guise of making notes throughout the session.Tamara watched as Alex gave her a friendly smile while leading her little sister into the private room, before making her way over to the desk to retrieve the recording pen she would need and her file on Kara that included her medical history that they had on file here at the DEO, information about the tests done recently, a report from Director J'onzz about her behaviour throughout the tests, the questions she had been given to ask, as well as blank paper for her fake notes to be written on.Taking a deep breath, she made her way through into the other room, closing the door behind her and making her way over to couches, taking a seat opposite where Alex and Kara were sat.Kara, noticing her entrance, moved herself around on the couch until she was on her sister's lap with her back resting against the older girl's chest."She's a little nervous today," Alex said in explanation, "we all had a pretty eventful night," she continued, wrapping an arm around her sister's stomach to hold her in place as Tamara shuffled through a few papers in her file.If Alex was being truthful, she didn't want to be away from Kara at all, she knew a lot of Kara's nervousness was due to the way she herself had been behaving. She couldn't shake the feeling of unease she had felt since last night and keeping her sister close to her made some of that unease slip away, not completely but at least partly.Tamara could tell from Alex's statement, and the way the two sisters seemed to be hanging onto each other that separating them was going to be harder than she thought and that she was going to have to use a lot of time this session to build on gaining Kara's trust if she was going to get any information out of her, she was going to have to try and use Alex to her advantage without her realising what she was doing.It wasn't ideal, Alex being in the room, it would limit how much she would get done in this session but as Tamara watched them interact she could tell Kara was unlikely to be responsive at all if Alex wasn't in the room. It was clear to see the small superhero was not in a good way and that CADMUS was already playing with her mind.It felt cruel to add more games in the mix, but she had no choice.For now, she would let Alex stay, and see how much she could get out of Kara subtly with her sister in the room. Then, if the opportunity presented itself, and Kara became less nervous of her, she would ask Alex to leave the room for a short while and get to work with the plan she had in mind to get Kara to talk more freely.Tamara smiled softly to the two sisters, placing the folder down on her lap and crossing her legs as she turned to face them both. "Yes, I heard about what happened last night, how are you both doing?" she enquired, thinking that it may be good for Kara to see her sister talk freely, she had noticed how Kara at times will copy Alex in her mannerisms and follow her lead in social situations."No one was hurt, thankfully, but we still have no idea who he was and what he was," Alex replied shifting herself around on the couch to find a more comfortable position, pulling Kara further back into her chest as she did.Tamara hummed in response eyes flitting to Kara for a moment before looking back to Alex, "You have your own theories on this mystery being though?" she asked, having picked up on how deep in thought Alex seemed.She knew Alex well, they had started at the DEO at the same time and spent a lot of time together in the early years while going through training. She knew the agents tells and could read her rather well. She knew Kara well too, and she could see the girl was playing with her hands in her lap, she knew that when Kara was nervous or overwhelmed she would fiddle with her hands, her glasses when in disguise, or with any random object that she could find."From what I saw, I would say he is Kryptonian," Alex offered, "He appeared to have super-strength, the bullets bounced right off him, and he flew away."Tamara nodded in response but did not speak, she watched as Alex ran a hand through her hair, before shifting her attention to her sister for a moment and reaching a hand down to take one of Kara's in her own to stop the younger girl from nervously fiddling.Trying to look the part, Tamara made a note on her paper in the file before continuing. "There is more than that though isn't there? There's something else about him that makes you think he could be Kryptonian," she said."His eyes," Alex says after a moment, "When I saw his eyes I knew he had to be. They were the same- are the same- as Kara's. The same shape, the same deep and bright blue, completely the same. If I didn't know any better, I would think he was her brother or something!"Tamara paused for a moment. That was interesting.She knew that Lillian was working with an alien, but she didn't know what type and she certainly didn't think there was a connection between the alien and Kara. Though, if there was, it would make a lot more sense, the questions she had been given to ask were rather – personal – to say the least.Only someone who knew Kara when she was child would know to ask them, someone who knew her on Krypton, someone who could potentially be family."What do you think about it all Kara?" Tamara asked after a moment, the question catching the little blonde off guard and causing her eyes to snap up, looking at her quickly before shrugging her shoulders in response. "Is it possible you have any more family here on earth?" she continued lightly, her own curiosity being peeked.Kara shook her head in response, "Only me and Kal are left now," she responded quietly."We thought that before though, and then we found out Astra had been here on earth the whole time," Alex said, her input making Kara turn to look at her, deep in thought.Kara was quiet for some time, the crinkle appearing on her forehead as Alex's words from before kept repeating in her mind, about how the man's eyes looked like hers.It made her think of the stranger she met in the store, the same stranger that now kept on showing up in her dreams. His eyes were bright blue like hers, his eyes seemed familiar to her in a strange way, one she couldn't figure out- then there was the scar.The scar she had seen on his face that reminded her of a faceless man from her childhood who she could not place.Just like she couldn't place the symbol from her dreams that had been smacked into her skin, how she couldn't remember why she felt like she knew it and why it scared her so much.Hearing her name being called by her sister Kara frowned as she was pulled from her thoughts. "Did he have a scar?" she asked suddenly, causing Alex to gaze at her in confusion."I'm not sure, it was dark and it all happened quickly, why?" Alex asked, tilting her head in confusion.Kara hadn't said much last night after what had happened, this was the most she had willingly talked or asked about what had happened. Last night she all but shut down, they all put it down to her being tired and scared due to what had happened but now Alex was beginning to wonder if she had just needed more time to process what was going on in her mind and around her."It's just the man at the store, he had blue eyes too," Kara said "I know a lot of people do, but they were bright blue like mine, and Kal's, they seemed familiar…and now- now I keep seeing the same man in my dreams…the doctors, they aren't faceless anymore, they are him…and he has a scar that reminds me of a story my father told me."Tamara glanced to Alex and noticed that she seemed confused by what her little sister had just said, this wasn't the line of questioning she was going to go down, but as the topic had some relevance to the dreams she decided to go with it for now. "Can you tell us the story?" she asked.Kara turned to look at Tamara before looking back up at her sister, seeming unsure. "I don't remember it that well…I only remember parts," Kara said, twisting her hands in her lap again, "It was something I heard uncle Non mention once that I asked my father about when I was young… he told me the story but my mother was mad at him for doing so as it scared me.""Tell us what you can remember," Alex prompted gently taking her sister's hand again and squeezing softly to offer some comfort, as Tamara picked up her pen, preparing to make notes for any other questions she may want to ask about the story.Kara leaned back into her sister's chest again, taking a deep breath before speaking. "It was a story about a group of Kryptonian scientists called the Malron…from what I can remember it was said they would come for children in the night, looking for children who were strong in both body and mind to do their next experiments on…they would only take children of the best of their abilities, children that were too smart and questioned the order that Krypton had…their leader was thought to have lost his mind with the hours spent in his lab trying to make what he believed to be a super-race of Kryptonian's…I don't remember a lot else other than being told to look out for the scar faced man with eyes as blue as water because if he caught you, you'd never be seen again."The room was silent after Kara had finished speaking, Tamara had finished making her notes and was watching Kara closely. She noticed that the little blonde had become increasingly more distressed as she told the story and had began to cling to her big sister's arm that was around her stomach while Alex's eyes were wide in shock at what she had just heard."Your father told you that!" Alex said incredulously, "That is not something you say to a child! My god, Kara! How old were you when you were told that story?" she continued, she couldn't believe anyone would tell a child a horror story like that, let alone a father, something wasn't adding up.Kara shrugged in response, the crinkle appearing on her forehead again as she tried to remember, "I don't really know…I just remember I had nightmares about it and my parents arguing about it," she replied.

Eliza couldn't help but think she was stuck in some crazy dreamland as she entered the medical bay, these last few days had been hard on her. Seeing Kara so young in both appearance and mind had reminded her of when the girl first got to earth. Seeing her so fearful broke Eliza's heart, especially when that fear was directed at her.
Kara still seemed very nervous around her at the moment, just like she had been when she first came to live with them. While it had been nice to get to know Lena and Maggie some more she wished the circumstances were better, and she was looking forward to when they would be able to change Kara back to normal and for things to begin to settle down once again.Jeremiah being back was another thing entirely.Another thing that was just as confusing, just as mind blowing and just as heart-breaking.It hurt her deeply to see what had happened to her husband. The once kind man that she had married; the man that would do anything to protect his family, the man that would risk himself for a little girl from another planet, had been turned into something that he should have never been.CADMUS had changed his appearance so much that if you didn't know the real man underneath all the metal you would mistake him for a monster.She was happy that he was alive, and that he was back with them, but she was still unsure about his intentions and why he was back, why now?Last year when Jeremiah returned and then betrayed the girls, the DEO and Eliza as well, it had been hard. His actions had almost torn their family and friends apart and they were still trying to recover from that.
Eliza wanted so badly to believe that it would be different this time, she wanted to believe that this time her husband was back for good and he was back with them not just physically, but mentally and loyally too. She wanted to believe that Alex was right when she said that she saw a change in him last year when he helped her save the ship that was going to take all the aliens away from earth. She wanted to believe that they would get their chance to start again and get to know one another again, just like they had spoken about last time he was back- but, she couldn't stop that niggling feeling that was playing in the back of her mind.She couldn't stop thinking that something was not adding up.Jeremiah had been missing for months again.He had been changed and experimented on by CADMUS. The changes that he had gone through were the kind that she knew must change a person mentally as well, but as far as the DEO therapist was concerned he was showing no signs of mental distress and no signs of hostile behaviour.Somehow, she found that hard to believe. Surely even the strongest person would show at the very least a small sign of PTSD after being through what Jeremiah must have injured.That wasn't the only thing that seemed strange to Eliza, some of Jeremiah's behaviour since his return wasn't adding up. Yesterday when he awoke Eliza felt like she could sense something off about him. He was saying all the right things, acting just like the Jeremiah she knew from years ago, but his eyes were saying a different story.When he had first awoken the look in his eyes when he saw Kara sent a shiver down Eliza's spine.It was the look an animal gets when they are staring down their pray, it was dark and calculating- it was everything that she knew Jeremiah was not.Or at least what he was not before.Did she really know him now though?The longest they have spent together in years was the dinner they had when he had last returned, and then he was playing games and working for the enemy, how could they be sure that still wasn't the case now?Gathering her thoughts, Eliza opened the door to the room Jeremiah was set up in. She had been out to buy him some fresh clothes for his stay at the DEO until he was fit to be released. Even though the therapist had given him the all clear- the Doctor had not. Jeremiah still had some bad tissue damage from the metal-wear, Doctor Hamilton wanted to keep him in so that she could keep an eye on the progress how he heals."Hey Lizzie, it's good to see you again," Jeremiah said, placing the book down that he had been reading as he saw his wife enter the room.Eliza smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, the sight making Jeremiah sad for a moment.He hated that she was on edge around him.He understood why, she was having a hard time trusting him again after what happened last time he was back. He was going to work on this, he knew Eliza well and knew what he would need to say and do to get her to trust him again, he would win back her trust.Ideally, he needed both Eliza and Alex's trust to be able to get close enough to Kara without causing any suspicion, so he could complete his mission.He didn't want to have to hurt anybody in his attempts to get to her.He didn't want to- but, if he had to - he would.He loved his wife dearly, Alex too, but he wasn't going to let his love for them get in the way of his mission and his goalHe wanted to free his family and save them from the curse he had inflicted on them by agreeing to take in the Kryptonian girl when she had first arrived to earth.

Dan-El smiled as he heard the approaching footsteps, though his attention never wavered from the screen in front of him.The screen was attached to a large tube-like container filled with yellow fluid, a figure could be seen through the windows as well as small air bubble's inside the container."Is this what you needed my underground basement lab for?" Lillian Luthor asked as she came to stand behind Dan-El, looking around the space they were in.She had not been down here to see what he had done with the space yet, this was a first time for her, the technology she could see around her looked advanced, much more advanced compared to anything she was used to. However, other things in the room looked dated and old, as though they had been unused for many years.Dan-El continued looking over the screen, pressing buttons to look through different vitals. "Partly yes, I will also be using this as a base for the experiments we conduct in phase three," he explained as he pressed a series of buttons on the screen causing the container in front of it to light up, revealing the figure inside."Who is that?" Lillian asked, as she looked at the figure – a male, he seemed familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him from.Dan-El didn't respond straight away, he pressed another series of buttons first, causing a rush of black liquid to pass through a clear plastic pipe into the container, "This was Commander Gor. He was, other than her husband Non, the most loyal solider to General Astra In-Ze and has been the hardest subject to conform.""He was a part of the Kryptonian army that unleashed Myriad on National City," Lillian stated, remembering now where she had seen the Kryptonian. She had seen him on the security footage of the attack on Lord Industries, "The authorities believed that the army had been thrown into space when Supergirl removed
Fort Rozz
from earth," she stated further.Dan-El scoffed. "The authorities made it easy for me to take him and the rest of the Kryptonian army," he began, turning to face Lillian as he spoke, "they left a bunker empty underneath
Fort Rozz. All I had to do was wait for Non and Indigo to leave and move them all down there. With all the soldiers in their sleep pods there was no one left to make sure I couldn't escape, they all played right into my hands," he continued, moving around Lillian to walk to a control console to the left of the container.Dan-El pressed in a command which in turn caused the control console to flash once with a beep before the yellow liquid in the container began to slowly drain away."The other soldiers are now eager subjects of mine, awaiting instructions," Dan-El said, almost proudly, "Subject Gor is the last one left to conform. He needed a lot more persuasion than the others, but I believe with the help of the technology I aim to use on Supergirl and with the serum that I perfected on Krypton, he will conform."As the last of the yellow fluid drained away steam expelled from the container before it opened at the side, the front glass panel lifting into the air. "Now all we need to do is make sure he is ready," Dan-El said as he turned back to look towards the container that was now open.Lillian gasped taking a step backwards as Gor's eyes suddenly blinked open. Gor stayed completely still staring out in front, he wasn't even blinking.Dan-El walked closer to the container and looked over Gor. "Stand," he commanded after a moment. Only seconds after he had spoken Gor stood, stepping out of the container before standing still, rooted to the spot."Bow," Dan-El ordered, smirking as the ex-commander bowed to him, kneeling on the floor on one leg to do so. "What is your name?" Dan-El asked."Subject 0057, Gor of Malron," Gor replied, emotion devoid from his voice while still bowing down on the floor.Dan-El clapped his hands, grinning like a mad man. "Excellent, he is ready to begin, as are we," he said happily."To begin what?" Lillian asked, walking around the ex-commander inspecting him as she did so."Phase two- the part you have been waiting for if I am not mistaken?" Dan-El replied.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chapter Fifteen

Dan-El smiled as he watched the CCTV footage carefully; he knew that it wouldn't be long now until they were ready to change Kara back, and things could not be progressing better.Lillian's inside agent was in the middle of a session with the little Kryptonian this morning. The probing that she had been instructed to do, combined with the dreams that Dan-El's device had been forcing the girl to endure more frequently should be more than enough to help bring the memories buried to the forefront of the girl's mind, and doing so would help his new device work quicker when activated. Now all that they needed was for Lillian's new pet to play his part and make sure her print was scanned into the small device that had been passed along to him. By taking her finger print and registering it in the device he had it would link Kara to the main control console, and would allow Dan-El to disable the device while sitting in his chair and watching the effects from the CCTV camera."Subject Gor," Dan-El said, calling his latest subject over.Gor was proof that his plan was going to work, he had been the hardest to conform but, in the end, he had conformed like the rest.Now he was going to be the perfect subject to lead the distraction he had in mind.Dan-El removed his headphones, placing them on the computer desk as Gor walked over from the corner of the room he had been standing in and dropped to one knee in front of Dan-El in a bow."Ready your team to engage on the target, make yourselves known but you will await the command before striking," Dan-El ordered, not looking away from the screen, "go."Gor stood. "For Malron," he said, voice devoid of emotion, before leaving the room as Dan-El smirked at the response.Turning back to the screen he picked up the pair of headphones on the computer desk and placed them back over his ears to listen in on how the therapy session was going."For Malron indeed."

"Alex," Tamara called, her head poking out of the private room.She had managed to convince Alex to leave the room after some time and was able to question Kara by herself using the method of therapy that she had been hoping to use all along.She used a method of cognitive therapy that put the subject in a trance like state, this enabled Tamara to prompt Kara through her dreams with better accuracy, while also allowing her to prompt the girl with the questions she had been given to help open her mind up to what was buried in her subconscious. She had decided this was the best course of action as it would enable Kara to remember the memories that the questions brought forth but would not allow the girl to remember the questions she was asked. Kara would have no memory of anything that Tamara had said to her in the session, she would only be left with the feelings she had while the memories came forth, as well as some reclamation of the memory itself.From a therapy point of view, the session had been a success.With the questions provided Tamara had managed to probe the girls mind and get her to relive her nightmares in much more detail as well as some partial memories she had from her childhood; of being subjected to intense combat training resulting in her being badly beaten, of the arguments she had witnessed her parents having, and of a scar-faced man being sent to
Fort Rozz
by her mother.However, the problem she had now was that Kara was terrified as her mind was being bombarded by flashes of her dreams and of the memories Tamara had forced her to unlock while being in the trance-like state. Tamara had spent the last ten minutes trying to calm the young superhero down but was only making things worse as every time she got too close, Kara became even more fearful and would try to shield herself as though she was being attacked.Tamara was reluctant to let Alex near her sister when the girl was like this, but she knew she had no choice. She knew that Alex wouldn't wait patiently outside much longer, she would be wondering what was taking so long soon and would end up walking in to find Kara in a bad way. It would look better for Tamara herself, and her cover, if she was able to pretend that the session had pushed Kara too far and that she was being the caring person they all thought she was by ending it sooner so that Alex could calm her sister down.Tamara watched as Alex placed down the magazine she had been flicking through and stood from the chair she had been sitting in, making her way over."I've decided that's enough for today, I think she has found it a bit too confronting. I'm going to step out to write up my notes, take as long as you need in the room," she said, waiting until Alex passed her into the room.She didn't look back as she made her way out of the room, but she could practically feel the glare that was being sent in her direction when Alex caught sight of her little sister backed up into the corner of the couch, shaking with silent tears running down her face. She could hear the door click shut as she sat at her desk and began to write up the rest of her fake notes.She knew that as the session had been a success, that no more sessions would be needed for the plan.She had now completed her mission.She would finish out the day as normal before disappearing from National City.All she had to do was keep her head down and keep her cover till the end of the day.

As J'onn walked quietly into the labs he could see that Lena and Winn were both still hard at work in their theories and tests with using the 'Krin-Drive'. As he stood in the doorway he watched the pair work together for a moment in silence. They worked very well together, it was clear to see, they were both focused and driven and they were both very technologically minded. Lena's expertise in engineering rivalled Winn's expertise in computer technology and together they made an unbeatable pair.He knew that it wouldn't be long now until they managed to complete the right codex and change Kara back, he just hoped that when they managed to change her back she would be back as the girl they knew beforehand. He hoped her powers would be back so that the city could have the Supergirl they needed. He hoped that there would be no long-lasting effects from the use of the 'Krin-Drive'
on the youngest Danvers. He hoped everything would go back to the way it was beforehand – but really, he knew that was very unlikely to happen.It would be a miracle if they managed to get Kara back from this unchanged.They had all seen in the last few days how different Kara had been, it was natural for children to be frightened, but not to the degree that they had been seeing from Kara. The fear she had been showing at times was almost primal. It was as though her personality had been completely re-written, gone was the confidence she usually held as Supergirl, instead it had been replaced with an almost conditioned fear response.Then there was the chip.The chip in her brain that was confusing them all, throwing all who knew about it through a loop of constant questions and what if's and the like.The more they witnessed Kara's strange behaviour- as they saw how the dreams affected the girl, and the way she reacted to certain situations- the more it looked as though Maggie's theory may be correct. J'onn was hoping that the session Kara had with Agent Corz today would help them confirm whether Maggie's theory of the chip somehow blocking her memories was right or not.If it was, though, it would only make even more questions and even more confusion.J'onn was over three hundred years old; he had heard and witnessed many great things, but for him this was a first. He had never heard of a chip implant in the brain that was able to block memories to the extent they believed Kara's may have been blocked. The area of the brain it would have to implanted in was delicate, getting it there in the first place was a risky procedure, but being able to wire it to the brains tissue and effectively stop or possibly re-route memories?That seemed almost impossible, at least to J'onn's own knowledge.J'onn continued to watch as Lena and Winn tested the 'Krin-Drive'
again on an alien plant, this time managing to make the plant much smaller and youthful successfully before changing it back to its original state only moments after. It seemed they were getting closer and closer to finding the right codex to change Kara back, now they knew how to do it they just needed to make the calculation right to make sure she came back at the right age like they had managed to do to the plant.Deciding it was best to let them continue working without interruptions, J'onn quickly turned on his heel and left the lab once again, offering Lena a small smile and nod from the glass door after glancing back to find her watching him. They were doing just fine without him there and he did have some pressing matters that he needed to attend to this morning.The visitor that Alex had confronted last night still needed to be identified as they were still none the wiser as to who and what it was- though if he was being honest, he would put money on Alex being right with her assumption of him being Kryptonian. He also had the symbol to research, now that Eliza had found Kara's drawings that she had made as a child with the symbol on it became even more apparent that whatever it stood for was something important.Then, there was Jeremiah.His return had thrown the whole DEO, Alex included.It was- if he was being honest, a complication they could do without right now. Though he was happy that his friend was alive and back with them once again, he couldn't trust him, not yet. Last time they let him walk right back in with full access to everything and he had betrayed them. He may have made it right in the end and helped Alex free the alien prisoners on the ship but at the end of the day he still betrayed them in the first place. The timing of his return seemed off, he had been gone for months yet the time he manages to escape and is found by the police happens to be when Supergirl is a vulnerable child that CADMUS would desperately want to get their hands on.It may be that it was all a coincidence, that the timing was literally just that unfortunate- but, until he knew for sure, he was not happy to let Jeremiah leave the DEO. At least here they would be able to keep on eye on him, here they could contain him if he did turn out to be a threat that was working for the enemy again.J'onn stopped walked upon realising his phone was ringing. Taking the mobile from his pocket, he looked at the screen in confusion as he noticed who was calling him."General Lane," he greeted after answering the call, "and to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"You're okay, Kara, you're alright. Nothing's going to happen to you, I promise," Alex soothed, speaking her words into blonde hair as she carried her little sister down the hallway. After Agent Corz had called Alex into the room she had given them some space so that Alex could try and calm the small superhero down – she was still trying.Alex had been angry to see her little sister in such a state, Kara had been nervous when she left the room but nothing like how she had found her, it was clear to see she had been pushed far too far and that Agent Corz should have stopped the session much sooner than what she had done.Alex had wanted to confront the therapist about this right away, but she knew that the last thing that Kara needed right now was to be in the middle of an argument; Alex had a temper that she could not always control when it came to the safety and well-being of those that she loved. Sometimes she would react without thinking first, much like last night, and would end up making a bad situation much worse. Learning from her previous mistakes she had decided that her best course of action was to concentrate on making her sister feel safer and that she would bring this incident up with J'onn.When Alex had entered the room, she found Kara shaking frantically and silently crying while mumbling 'no more, please don't let them hurt me' repeatedly. It was clear to see the girl was completely petrified and that the session she had gone through with Agent Corz had caused her to become stuck in a state of fear. Seeing that her little sister was not going to calm easily, Alex had quickly picked the girl up and began to sway Kara in her arms while the little blonde clung to her desperately hiding in the crook of her neck and crying harder when she realised she was in her sister's arms.Alex had continued to soothe her in the privacy of the small room for some time until the girls mumbling stopped, and her tears began to ease, though the trembling had not stopped- even now.Ideally Alex would have preferred to spend longer in the room, at least until her sister had calmed more, but she had received a phone call from J'onn asking her to come to the DEO hub as soon as possible which was how she now found herself walking through the halls of the DEO, ignoring the looks she received from other agents as she carried her still terrified, shaking, and whimpering little sister with her.As they entered the main hub of the DEO, Alex felt Kara's shaking worsen again as she yelped when a large group of agents passed them, her grip tightening as she tried to cuddle closer into her big sister. "I've got you, it's okay," Alex soothed, her hand now rubbing small circles on Kara's back as she made her way over to the centre console in the hub, where J'onn was stood talking with other agents.As she approached, J'onn sent the other agents away, telling them to be ready to leave in five minutes, before turning his attention to Alex and Kara. "Is she okay?" he asked concerned, he could see that the girl was shaking badly in her sister's arms as Alex continued to rub gentle circles on her back shushing her softly when she whimpered and flinched at the different noises that could be heard around them."No." Alex said tensely, "Agent Corz pushed her too far, I'm not sending her back there J'onn. We tried the therapy to see if it would help her, not so Tamara could traumatise her," she continued adamantly, leaving no room for argument, swaying her sister again as she jumped when another agent walked past them.J'onn nodded, accepting Alex's thoughts right away, Kara's care was in her hands and he wasn't going to push either of them with something they were not comfortable with.However, this did worry him, Alex wasn't the first person today to be unhappy with Agent Corz and her methods."We can talk about your concerns more when I return," J'onn promised, as he swiped the computer system bringing an image up on the screen, "right now, we have a situation."On the screen was an image that General Lane had sent through to him. After the phone call earlier, he had learnt that the General and his army were currently in watch of what they believed to be a potentially dangerous alien threat. The image that had been sent showed thirty figures air-born above National Cities most notorious prison, the prison that the worst criminals in the city were sent to. The same prison where the turned meta-human Livewire had been kept and consequently the same prison that had, just this morning, received a transfer that had been kept out of public knowledge.Only General Lane and his army had known about the transfer that had been in preparation for months, at least that was what they thought. It was not a coincidence that on the same morning the transfer took place there was suddenly what appeared to be a gang of aliens lying in wait.Alex stared at the screen looking at the image closely, "They look familiar," she commented bouncing Kara up higher on her side, frowning as she did so."General Lane thought so too," J'onn responded zooming in on the image, "and, you are both right, we have seen them before. They are members of the Kryptonian army that both myself and Supergirl had believed were in
Fort Rozz
when it was removed from earth."Alex sighed, "Astra's army?" she asked, as her hand automatically moved from Kara's back to cradle her head protectively, "Just brilliant," she commented, "the man I saw last night, he could be one of them," she said as an afterthought, "but- what do they want with Kara?""It's a possibility." J'onn affirmed, having thought the same thing himself. "Whatever they want, they won't be getting close enough to her to get it. I am going with the team to make sure this is handled properly," he assured, resting his hand on Alex's shoulder, "I will need you to run command, in my absence the DEO is in your hands."Alex nodded, shifting Kara to her other side as her arm began to go dead from holding her for so long, "I'll take Kara to the labs, she'll be calmer with Lena. She needs the quiet right now, it's too busy here for her," she said knowing that being around lots of people right now when she was stuck in a state of fear was not going to help her little sister feel safe."Perhaps there is someone else who could look after her for a while," J'onn suggested lightly, "It's just- they are so close to finding the right equation to turn her back- and with the Kryptonian army being here we may need Supergirl sooner than we thought."Alex sighed again, the stress from the last few days and the situation they were now in giving her a headache.She did understand what J'onn was saying, she knew that Lena and Winn would work quicker without interruptions, but at the same time she didn't want to leave her little sister with just anybody.The problem was that other than Lena, Alex was the only person that Kara felt safe enough with in the DEO right now as Maggie currently wasn't in the building. If she had been Alex would have happily left her little sister with the detective, especially now they were getting on much better.

Hearing a knock on the glass window Eliza's attention was drawn from her husband to see her daughters standing on the other side of the room, Alex stood with Kara in her arms, the little blonde still hiding away in the crook of her big sister's neck.Excusing herself quickly Eliza made her way to the door, stepping outside and closing it for privacy before turning to face her children."Is everything okay?" she asked concerned, Alex's expression was unreadable, and she could see that Kara was trembling in her sister's arms, she had yet to move from her hiding place against her sister's neck.Alex sighed, running a hand through her hair, before placing her hand on Kara's back softly patting her. "I need you to look after Kara for me for a while, something is going on and J'onn needs me in the hub, the noise there is scaring her, and I can't afford to be distracted right now," Alex explained quietly, bouncing her sister when she heard another whimper from the girl."Of course, we haven't been able to spend much time together yet, have we, sweetie?" Eliza responded, running a hand down blonde hair as she spoke, however getting no response from Kara.Alex smiled to her mother in response, the concern not leaving her eyes, "The session with the therapist didn't go great, so she will be a bit quiet… and nervous… and she will probably just want to be held," Alex explained softly, almost apologetically, before taking a step closer to her mother and trying to pry Kara's arms from around her neck."Poor thing, it's alright I can take her, we'll be fine," Eliza responded, moving to help Alex de-tangle herself from the small superhero's arms, wincing when Kara let out a loud cry at being removed from her sister's arms. Acting quickly, Eliza pulled the girl in close, holding her to her chest while gently bouncing her as she made shushing noises in time with her bouncing, causing Kara to latch onto her quickly.It was clear to see that Kara was still nervous around Eliza, but right now she was frightened, and just wanted to be held; Eliza's gentle bouncing and shushing sounds were soothing, and she found herself being drawn into her adoptive mother's warmth remembering how the eldest Danvers used to make her feel safer when she got to know the woman after living with the Danvers for some time.Eliza didn't offer her the same level of safety that she felt with Alex, but she knew that Eliza wouldn't let anything happen to her.Alex watched with a small smile as Kara calmed slightly, she was still whimpering and shaking but she had wrapped her arms around Eliza's neck seeming content enough to be held by her. Alex knew that her mother had been feeling overwhelmed with her dad being back, and had been hurt by Kara's nervousness around her. She was hoping that it would do them both some good to spend sometime together, and this way Lena and Winn could also continue their work and hopefully get Supergirl back as quickly as possible.With all the activity that had been picked up today by the scanners and the phone call they had received from General Lane asking for the DEO's backup, she had a feeling they were going to need National City's Hero sooner rather than later.Seeing movement in the corner of her eye, Alex's attention was drawn to the room her father was in.She watched as he walked out of the small bathroom to the side of his room, moving back to his bed and sitting on it gingerly. Meeting her eyes, Jeremiah smiled softly at her, causing Alex to smile back before returning her attention to her mother and little sister.Eliza had now stopped bouncing Kara and was gently stroking her back while humming softly."How is everything going with Dad?" Alex asked, feeling bad for not being with her father today and leaving her mother to deal with everything on her own.Eliza sighed, pressing a kiss to Kara's hair as the little blonde shifted around in her arms slightly, "Well, according to the therapist he is completely fine," she began, "he's still in a lot of pain from the metal-wear but Doctor Hamilton has been helping with that and says he should be okay to leave in a few days. J'onn thinks it's best that he stays here for the meantime though.""Yeah, he already filled me in on that," Alex said, looking back into the room where her father was now reading a book, laying down on the bed. "I'm not sure if I agree with him or not," she continued, "I know we need to be careful- I get that. Last time we were blind sighted, and CADMUS used that against us- but if we don't give him a chance to prove himself we will never learn to properly trust him again."Eliza felt torn, she knew how badly Alex wanted her father to be back, but she still couldn't shake the unease she had felt last night when she noticed the look in Jeremiah's eyes when he saw Kara. She hadn't told her daughter about what she saw, she had however spoken to J'onn about it. If she was honest, she had felt relieved when he suggested that for the meantime, until they could be one hundred percent sure of Jeremiah's intentions, Jeremiah was to stay at the DEO.She was about to reply to Alex when suddenly a mummer of a voice came from the ear piece her daughter was wearing.Alex's face scrunched up in confusion at what she had just been told, "I'm sorry- I have to go, I'm needed," Alex said hurriedly, already starting to make her way down the corridor."Alex," Kara whimpered squirming in her adoptive mother's arms, "Alex," she called again louder, almost desperately as she reached out for her sister, causing Alex to double back quickly.Walking up to where Eliza stood with Kara in her arms she quickly closed the distance between them and took Kara's hand in her own softly using her other hand to caress Kara's cheek gently. "Mom's going to take good care of you Kara, you're safe with her, you know that," Alex assured her little sister, "I'll be back as soon as I can," she continued, leaning down to kiss Kara's forehead and offering her mother a smile before rushing off back towards the DEO hub.Kara whimpered after her sister left around the corner, turning to cuddle into her adoptive mother and closing her eyes tightly to stop more tears from leaking out as Eliza began to sway the little blonde in her arms."I've got you, sweet girl, you're okay," Eliza soothed, squeezing the little blonde's leg softly where she was holding Kara up with one hand, while her other hand trailed gently up and down her back.The session with Agent Corz had terrified her, she couldn't remember exactly what she was asked but ever since the therapist had left the room she had been left with a feeling of dread.A feeling that only got stronger when her mind wandered, and she remembered the dreams that she had been having.The dreams that were now leaking into her conscious mind more and more.Parts of the dreams popping up in her head like flashes, paralysing her mind and body with fear.She couldn't shake the feeling of unease she was feeling, she felt unsafe, she felt like something was coming for her.

"Send the signal to your pet, they have cracked it and I need him to get her imprinted on the device now, I don't care how he does it, but it has to be done now."
Dan-El's voice spoke from the phone that Lillian was holding to her ear. Currently she was sat in a van with two CADMUS agents, they had been in waiting since this morning knowing that today was going to be the day that phase two officially took place.Today was going to be the day that she would get her reward.Lillian had wanted to oversee the operation herself, so had gone with a small team of CADMUS agents, deciding to lie in wait until the time came to strike. Whereas Dan-El was keeping surveillance on the DEO's progress, so that he could control the situation without being involved personally in the distraction operation they had set up."One moment," Lillian responded, using her shoulder to keep the phone pressed to her ear she pulled a tablet from her bag and began to type quickly using both hands, a small beep was heard after she hit the enter button, "it's done.""Good,"
Dan-El responded from the phone,
"make sure your men are ready, I am using this as a distraction. You will have one shot- get caught and you are on your own."Lillian nodded, motioning to one of her agents to leave the van they were sat in as she turned to watch the CCTV footage they had hacked into, on the screen she could see the prison, and above it she could see the Kryptonian soldiers still waiting for their signal, "We're ready.""I'll send Subject Gor the signal as soon as we have her imprint."

Jeremiah looked up from his reading to see Eliza walking through the door with the Kryptonian girl in her arms and smiled. By entering the room right now, Eliza had just made things a lot easier for him. Only minutes ago, he received the signal to his metal-wear, telling him that time was running out and that he needed to complete his mission now, if force was needed he was to use it.If he was being honest he really hoped that he would be using force, he wanted to teach the girl a lesson, and it seemed like now would be his chance.After receiving the signal, he had stopped reading the book and had been pretending to read when really thinking of how to get to Kara, but now he didn't need to; she was already here in the room with him.Now he just needed to separate her from Eliza.He could hear Eliza talking to the girl, muttering about how she was just going to get her purse then they could go and get some food from the snack machine while the Kryptonian continued to cling to his wife the whole time. Seeing Eliza care for the girl so affectionately mad his blood boil, the Kryptonian had his family wrapped around her finger, the sooner he separated her from Eliza, from Alex too, the better.While Eliza's back was turned he quietly stood from the bed and made his way over to the door, closing it gently and placing his metal hand over the seal causing it to click into place and lock.CADMUS had not only turned more of his body to metal with the procedures but had also added new software to different parts of the metal-wear he had. This was how Lillian was able to send a signal to him, it was also how he had just been able to access the electrical locking system in the door.The sound of the lock startled Eliza, causing her to turn in the direction of the door quickly."Jeremiah?" she asked in worry, "What are you doing?" she continued, tightening her hold on Kara and taking a step back as Jeremiah began to walk up to her."Everything is going to be fine Lizzie, I need you to trust me," Jeremiah responded, holding his hands out in front of him to look less threatening, "I need you to trust that I am doing what is best for our family."Moving his flesh hand to press a button on his metal arm, Jeremiah opened a small part of the metal-wear on his arm, revealing the device that had been given to Agent Corz and a pre-filled syringe. "I know I won't have to use this, because you are going to trust me, and do as I ask," he continued, placing the device in his trouser pocket and holding the syringe in his flesh hand.Eliza backed up as far as she could until her back was against the wall. "What is that?" she asked.Her body was tense, and she was now holding Kara a lot tighter than she had been before. In the back of her mind she knew she was frightening her daughter, she could feel the girl squirming in her arms. Placing her hand on Kara's back Eliza kissed the side of her head while rubbing her thump up and down gently in an attempt to ease the girls fear."It's something I won't have to use, because you are going to give me the girl," Jeremiah responded stepping closer again, "I'm not going to hurt her, as long as she does as I ask. All I need is for her to imprint on the device in my pocket. No one has to get hurt as long as you both do as I say."Eliza watched as Jeremiah's metal hand balled into a fist, tapping against his own leg at his side."Give me the girl, Eliza," Jeremiah repeated, after noticing that she had yet to move or comply with his request. "Give her to me!" he yelled suddenly, causing Kara to whimper in fear and for Eliza to flinch.Calming herself, Eliza pressed another kiss to Kara's hair, using her hand that was on the girls back to cover the little blonde's ear, "What the hell have they done to you? The man I loved would never speak to me like that, he would never do anything that could hurt his family," Eliza said looking at her husband in disgust."She is not family! That thing is the reason our family was torn apart!" Jeremiah yelled in response coming closer again.Quickly Eliza lowered Kara to the floor, pushing the little blonde behind her own body to shield her, hating the cry of fear her action brought from the girl. Her instinct to protect her child was becoming stronger than her instinct to comfort her.Jeremiah began to thump his own leg with his balled-up metal fist, the sound echoing around the room, causing Kara to whimper and push closer into Eliza in fear, "I need you to move out of my way," Jeremiah said calmly, even though his eyes and his actions were anything but calm."I am not letting you anywhere near Kara," Eliza responded, using her hand to carefully slip her mobile phone out of her back pocket, passing it to Kara who she knew would know the pass-code to unlock the mobile and be able to call for help. "You told me that you wanted us to get to know one another again, so we could get back to who we once were. The man you were- the man you are, would never do anything to harm this girl."As Kara cuddled into the back of her leg Eliza could feel the little blonde shaking behind her, twisting her arm around in an awkward and almost painful angle Eliza gently cupped the back of the girl's head, running her thumb over blonde hair hopping to offer her some comfort.Jeremiah sighed in disappointment, "I was really hoping I wouldn't have to use this," he began before lunging at his wife and grabbing her arm in a vice grip, "but, you have given me no choice."

AN: So…. This is a nasty cliffhanger…. Don't forget to review and let me know what you all think!

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Warnings:
This chapter has scenes and references of Abuse, Assault, Torture, In-human Experimentation, Violence, and Threatening Behaviour.

Trigger Warning:
Please note this chapter shows scenes of and references of
extreme physical child abuse- please do not read if this is likely to offend you.

Chapter Sixteen.
As Maggie walked through the doors into the DEO, she could feel that something was going on. For starters it seemed less packed in the hub compared to normal, and the people that were in the building seemed to be running around trying to do far too many jobs all at once. Then there was the fact that she could hear her fiancée giving orders from the command desk- Alex was capable, she knew that, but Alex was not the director and she was not usually the person in charge. The only time she had to step into that role was when something big was happening; when J'onn was either incapacitated, or he was unable to be in two places at once.Unease built in the pit of her stomach as she made her way up to where Alex stood. What she had found out today was troubling, it was something they had known was a possibility but were hoping they were wrong about before certain circumstances changed and certain situations had arisen."What's going?" Maggie asked as she met Alex at the central control point, from the screen she could see that J'onn and a team of over two thirds of the DEO's combat trained agents were out in the field, she could see what looked like five different teams surrounding the most notorious prison in National City.Alex sighed, running a hand through her hair in stress. "Apparently the prison had a transfer today that was kept top secret," she began, pressing a few buttons on the control pad to enlarge J'onn's camera and coms section, showing that his team were still outside the prison monitoring the Kryptonians that were still air-born above the prison. "Though shortly after,
they
appeared.""Who was the transfer?" Maggie asked, wondering out loud."We don't know, J'onn didn't say before he left- I don't know if even he knows yet. Apparently, it was kept all top secret for months. Only General Lane knew about it and the President, from what I could gather." Alex explained.Maggie frowned, looking at the image. "They're aliens," she asked, "what type?""Kryptonians- they were members of General Astra's army," Alex answered."Kara's aunt?" Maggie asked, remembering having been told about Astra before. "Wait, where is Kara? Didn't she have the therapy this morning?" she asked.Alex nodded, before motioning another agent over, "can you keep an eye on coms for me?" she asked, waiting until the agent agreed before placing a hand onto Maggie's arm, steering her away so they had some privacy to talk. "Kara is with my Mom," she began, "The therapy didn't go well, and she was terrified. J'onn wanted Lena and Winn left uninterrupted, and it was scaring her being in here with everything going on. I didn't know what else to do."Maggie nodded, knowing that Alex had done her best to make sure Kara was comfortable and feeling secure in a bad situation- until a thought crossed her mind. "Where are they, do you know? Are they with Jeremiah?" she asked, concerned.Alex's brows furrowed in confusion at the look on her fiancée's face, "I guess so, Mom was with him when I left Kara with her, why?""Alex, the reason they called me to the station today was because Edge finally spilled," Maggie began, "he told us Lillian was the one who gave him the 'Krin-Drive'
in the first place." She continued, pausing for a moment as she tried to think of the best way to say what she was thinking. "I know you want to believe what Jeremiah told you- but, you can't deny the timing of when he came back is really suspicious. Especially now that we know CADMUS is behind what is going on with Kara." Maggie said, trying to explain her thoughts, "It may not be safe to leave Kara, or Eliza, with him at the moment."Alex sighed, she wanted to believe the best in her father so badly, but everyone seemed to be having doubts about him- and if she was being honest, even she was starting to as well.With this latest information she couldn't be mad at Maggie for her thoughts, the detective in her had come to the conclusion that he could be part of a plan at play by CADMUS, and in all honesty, it was a theory that did make sense. She wished that it didn't, and she hoped that everybody was wrong, but she couldn't shift the feeling that the timing was just too convenient either.She was about to reply when her phone ringing interrupted her, pulling her phone out of her back pocket she checked the caller ID before answering. "Mom is everything-" she began, though stopped talking suddenly, eyes widened in shock at what she could hear happening through the phone.There were sounds of a scuffle, Kara was crying, her father was yelling, and something or someone was hitting the floor loudly before the line went completely dead.

"Any movement yet?" General Sam Lane asked, as he walked up to where J'onn and his team were stood on surveillance, watching the Kryptonian army for any sign of movement or any changes.J'onn sighed deeply, "Nothing yet- are you sure you don't want me to go up there?" he asked, the General had command on this mission, that had been the President's orders, especially when it was revealed who the prisoner was that had been moved to National City."No. Not yet, something feels off about this, but we should wait and see what happens for now," the General replied. "We can't risk this turning into an all-out battle, for both the city's sake and my own."J'onn looked to the General before quietly asking, "still no news?""Nothing. She should have been here hours ago, she should have arrived with the rest of the team." the General responded, seeming uneasy."She is strong, I am sure Lucy is fine, there must be an explanation for why she isn't here right now," J'onn replied, though in the back of his mind he couldn't help but wonder if there was something bigger at play going on here as to why Lucy Lane had not arrived with the rest of her team and no one knew of her whereabouts.

It took them less than five minutes to run through the halls of the DEO to the medical bay. Less than five minutes for Maggie to reach the room that Jeremiah Danvers had been resting in- supposedly getting better from what CADMUS had done to him.Though from what they saw him doing on CCTV footage he appeared to be completely fine- more than fine.Maggie was the first to reach the room, she had heard Kara's wailing cries as she got closer, she could hear smack after smack followed by cried out scream after scream as they got closer.Upon reaching the room she froze, it looked bad on the CCTV- but in person, this close, with also being able to hear what was happening- it looked so much worse.It looked terrifying, and painful and so much worse than anything Maggie had witnessed before.As a detective she had seen some horrible things, but she had only seen the aftermath of things like this, she had never seen them happening right in front of her. She had never seen them happening to someone that she cared for right in front of her very eyes.Jeremiah had Kara's one arm in a tight grip holding her in place with his own flesh hand. In fact, as Maggie's mind tried to process what she was seeing, she was pretty sure the only reason that Kara hadn't fallen to the floor with the force of the smacks was due to the fact that he was holding her up. In his other hand he was holding a belt, a belt that he was whipping down against Kara's backside repeatedly.It was no wonder that Kara was wailing and screaming with every hit- that must hurt like hell. Kara was small and didn't have her powers right now, and Maggie was sure that the thin pair of jeggings she was wearing today were not offering much protection from the beating she was receiving- if any, due to the force that was being used to deliver the blows.A particularly hard smack of the belt followed by an ear-piercing scream made Maggie jump back into action, moving to the door she quickly began to push against it to with her shoulder trying to open it with force, but it would not budge.It was locked tight.As she kept trying to push the door open with force she could see and hear Jeremiah hitting Kara again, she could see a phone was crunched on the floor in the room near where Eliza was slumped on the floor not moving. She could see that something else was crunched underneath Jeremiah's boot. On the CCTV footage they had seen Kara holding onto a small device in her one hand, a device that she was no longer holding from what Maggie could see now."Mags, move!" Alex yelled from behind her, gun out and ready to blast at the door.As soon as Maggie had moved out of the way Alex fired twice with her gun, aiming for where she knew the locks were, blasting the door open and charging into the room with seven other agents following her and Maggie not far behind.Alex stormed into the room her eyes hard and angry moving quickly with the intent to get to her little sister and remove her from harm's way- remove her from her own father. A thought that sent a chill down her spine, this man she could see before her right now was not her father. Her father would never do anything like this to a child, let alone a child who was his own daughter, even if not by blood.Currently the man stood before her was a monster.Her attempt to get to Kara was thwarted by Jeremiah, who quickly shoved Kara face first into the wall causing her to cry out once again and effectively moving her out of Alex's reach. Kara was squirming against the wall trying to move away, but with Jeremiah still having a harsh grip on her arm, which was red and bruised already, she couldn't move.She was pinned in place.Alex lifted her gun, pointing it to Jeremiah's chest. "Let my sister go. Right now!" she yelled, as the agents who had entered the room also raised their guns pointing at Jeremiah, standing in a V formation with Alex as the centre point, the way they were standing blocking Maggie from being able to get closer.Jeremiah only smirked in response, his grip on the belt in his hand tightening as he still held it in mid-air, while his other hand squeezed Kara's arm tighter at the same time as the girl continued to cry loudly, using her free arm to try and push herself away from the wall."Put the belt down," Alex ordered, noticing her father's arm moving, his hand tightening around the belt, "drop it!" she insisted.Jeremiah shrugged in response before bringing the belt down across Kara's bottom again quickly and harshly, causing her to squeal loudly between her sobs, "As you asked," he said cockily before lifting the belt into the air again, "would you like me to drop it again?"Alex responded by firing her gun at his metal hand that was holding the belt.Though it did Jeremiah's metal arm no harm, it did however blast the belt away, "I guess that's a no?" Jeremiah said, looking to his hand where the belt was in disappointment."Let- her- go," Alex growled out, stepping closer so the gun was pressed to Jeremiah's chest.Jeremiah smiled, twisting the arm he was still holding in his flesh hand. "You won't hurt me," he said confidently as Kara began to squeal again. "You won't shoot me. You won't stop me either because you know I am right," he said while he continued to twist Kara's arm at an angle it shouldn't be. "You know deep down she deserves to be hurt, this alien ruined our family, she ruined your childhood, she is the reason you grew up without a father! And now, she needs to pay!"Alex's finger tightened against the trigger, her eyes hardening with every word Jeremiah spoke."You wouldn't shoot your old dad would you, Alex? For this alien? She is not family- I'm family," Jeremiah said, watching as Alex's eye twitched, her finger shaking on the trigger as Kara continued to squeal and cry, trying to pull away from his grip.There was a cracking sound, and a scream that caused something in Alex to snap.Reacting quickly Alex moved her aim to Jeremiah's flesh shoulder and fired once, causing him to reel back in pain while crying out loudly. As he reeled back he released his grip on Kara who crumbled to the floor like a fallen sandcastle, still wailing in pain, tears streaming down her face."What the hell have you done to Kara? To Mom? What is wrong with you?!" Alex raged, pushing her father up against the wall, making sure to shield Kara with her own body, standing in front of her little sister who was still on the floor. Kara had yet to move from where she had fallen, frozen in fear as her sobbed and cried out loudly in pain. Her bottom was throbbing and burning, and she could feel a shooting pain in her arm, all of it was too much, she was scared, and she was hurting.She didn't know what to do other than cry.Not being able to stand hearing Kara's cries of pain and fear anymore Maggie pushed her way through the agents in the room, they were focused on Jeremiah and making sure he was being contained by Alex, they hadn't even considered trying to get the small superhero out of the way of everything that was happening right now.Alex was busy restraining Jeremiah, but Maggie herself was doing nothing, and she couldn't ignore how scared and hurt the little blonde was.Upon reaching Kara, Maggie crouched down running a hand gently over her back first not wanting to startle her and scare her any more than she already was. "Come-'ere little Danvers," she said softly, placing a hand under either side of Kara's arm pits to lift her up from the floor, all the while ignoring the yelling going on in front of her between Alex and Jeremiah.As soon as Kara was on her feet she launched herself into Maggie's chest. "I've got you Kara, I've got you. He can't hurt you anymore, I promise. I won't let anyone hurt you," She soothed wrapping an arm around the small of Kara's back, pulling her in closer to her own chest, while rubbing her other hand up and down the length of her back in long, slow strokes.The position they were in reminded Maggie of what happened at the store. Kara was shaking badly, she was wailing still as tears fell down her cheeks and were now soaking into the material of Maggie's shirt where she was nuzzling into the detective's chest. Kara had yet to wrap her arms around Maggie's neck like she usually would. Maggie could feel her one arm shaking badly as she clutched it against her own chest, while the hand of her other arm gripped onto the detective's shirt tightly."Wrap your arms around my neck, I'm gunna pick you up, alright?" Maggie instructed softly, waiting for Kara to do as she had asked. Slowly Kara wrapped one arm around Maggie's neck, keeping the other clutched to her chest with a loud whimper. "Does your other arm hurt?" Maggie asked, wondering if that crack they had heard before was the bone in her arm breaking.Kara nodded into her chest, whimpering again while mumbling between her cries what Maggie could only assume was 'it hurts'."Okay, you're alright, that's okay. Don't try to move it if it hurts, just hold on tightly with your other arm and I'll lift you up." Maggie instructed, moving her one arm against the backs of Kara's thighs while holding under Kara's arm that was wrapped around her neck with the other hand.Carefully she lifted the little blonde up from the ground, standing herself while doing so, and pushed her way back through the agents to move Kara away from the noise and chaos in the room. "I'm sorry, Kara, I'm sorry. I know, you're hurting," Maggie said, wincing as she quickly readjusted her hold on the small superhero after hearing the girl squeal in pain again after settling her against her side.While picking Kara up she had placed her arm underneath her bottom that she knew must be extremely sore in her hast to move her away from Jeremiah. The pressure had been hurting her and causing her to cry hard again, flinching away from Maggie's arm as though it was burning her. "There we go, you're okay. I know, it hurts, I'm sorry kiddo. I didn't mean to make it worse," she soothed, rubbing circles on Kara's back and swaying her gently as she continued to cry loudly.Maggie could feel Kara tensing in her arms, she could feel that the muscles in Kara's leg were taunt and shaking badly under her hand. The sound of Alex and Jeremiah yelling at each other echoed furiously behind her, the yells only causing Kara to become more fearful, her small body flinching every time Jeremiah's voice was heard yelling that she was an 'it' and a 'bad alien that didn't deserve their family'.It was out of control, the whole situation.It needed to stop, and Maggie was beginning to get annoyed with the agents that were just standing there, they should be trying to restrain him, they should be removing him from the room to lock him in a cell where he can't hurt anybody else.They should at least be doing something.Maggie couldn't help the sigh of relief she let out when she heard a loud thud, following by the sound of metal hitting the ground as the yelling stopped.It made the room seem quieter even as Kara continued to sob hysterically into her shoulder.Looking over her shoulder, where Maggie had her back to what had been going on trying to shield Kara from it all as much as possible, she wasn't surprised to see that it was Alex who was stood over Jeremiah as he lay unconscious on the floor.There was a red mark on his forehead, she must have hit him hard with her gun, knocking him unconscious in the process. She had hit him with the same gun that was shaking in her hand as it still pointed towards him.Maggie could see very clearly that Alex was angry.She was livid, and she was about to explode."Get him out of here," Alex growled lowly to the other agents behind her, who had yet to move. "Get him in a cell and make sure he cannot get out."Still no one moved."Get him out NOW!" she hollered loudly, the venom and loudness of her voice causing Kara to jump and cry louder in fear as Maggie tried to soothe her. "Get him out of my sight," Alex said again through gritted teeth.She was quieter this time, conscious of the fact she was scaring an already petrified Kara as she backed away from Jeremiah and turned to look to her mother who was also unconscious on the floor, she had been since they got to the room. Near her laid an empty needle. "Someone find Doctor Hamilton, and bring a stretcher. My Mom will need medical attention- Kara too," Alex assessed, moving to her mother and crouching down next to her checking her pulse.She sighed in relief as she found her pulse was strong, she could see her mother was breathing, it appeared she was asleep. Other than the bruising finger marks on her one arm she appeared unharmed, and at a guess Alex would assume she had been sedated. As she looked up from her mother, she could see three agents were now hauling her father out of the room, dragging him away and passing Maggie who stood to the side of the room. She watched as Maggie held her little sister tightly, rubbing her back while talking softly into her ear as the little blonde continued to cry and shake.She wanted so badly to be the one who was holding Kara right now and comforting her- but she knew that wasn't a good idea. She felt so angry right now, and Kara was already terrified. She knew if Kara picked up on her anger it would only scare her more. Kara never coped well with people being angry with her or having angry people near her, even before this had happened.Her attention turned to another agent who was bringing in the stretcher she asked for. "Please take her to the examination room, I'll be along shortly," she instructed after helping the agent gently shift Eliza onto the stretcher as another agent also came over to help lift and carry her mother out of the room, "Collins," Alex called, making them stop moving as she picked up the syringe and took it over to them, "this was near her, she may have been injected with it. Make sure Doctor Hamilton gets it so she can find out what was used. Then I need you to go and get Lena Luthor, take her to Kara and tell her what happened."Screw leaving Lena uninterrupted- Kara need her right now and Alex wasn't going to ignore that.Not this time.

Thirty minutes later and an already bad situation had gone to hell even more than it already was.Thirty minutes later and Alex had heard no news from the medical bay on how her Mother and little sister were doing as she had been unable to leave the hub. She had, however, managed to overlook through security footage as her father- who was still unconscious, was locked away in one of the alien containment cells while being cuffed down with reinforced hand cuffs to the seat.He wasn't going anywhere, though right now he was the least of Alex's worries.As Alex looked around the DEO she knew they were outnumbered.She only had a third, if that, of the DEO's agents left in the building, and half of the agents here had no combat field training.They were currently sitting ducks and she knew it.Coms were down with J'onn and his team, and they had no time to call in reinforcements, this army that was literally sitting above them could choose to move at any second.Camera's on the outside of the building had picked up movement. Sending a drone into the sky they had found themselves in the same situation as National Cities Prison. They were surrounded by what Alex could only guess was the rest of Astra's Kryptonian army."Lockdown," she whispered to herself, "Vasquez, put the base into lockdown- nobody gets in and nobody gets out," she ordered, it was the only option.It wouldn't stop them from attacking if they chose to, but it would give them some time to prepare, to make a plan of action and to arm themselves."Mam'? Are you sure?" Vasquez asked, her hand over the final button that would need to be pressed to put the whole base into lockdown.Alex nodded. "Do it," she said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath as she heard the alarms sound as the building went in to lockdown, all windows and doors being sealed with metal barricades. "Harrison, round everyone up who is left in the building- those who have not had field combat and armed weapons training you will be giving a quick crash course to now. Get everybody armed with whatever we have left and get them ready."She directed her attention back to Vasquez. "I need you to keep trying to send a signal through to J'onn, we are going to need backup," Alex said, "I also need you to try and contact this number," she continued passing her phone over to the agent with contact details on the screen for a person named 'SuperCousin', "we will need someone to help level the playing field."Vasquez nodded to the request beginning to try and send the signals through right away while Alex walked away from the control console, making her way to the weapons room.She walked briskly passing by other agents who were running through the hallways, usually she would tell them to calm down but right now she didn't have the heart to. They had a right to panic, as many of them may very well end up dead before the end of the day.Entering the weapons room Alex took four firearms off the stands, gulping as she noticed how few firearms were left and how little Kryptonite ammunition they had.She quickly loaded all four guns with ammunition, not bothering to take any spares, they needed to make sure everyone was armed, and they didn't have enough for anyone to take extra. Putting the safety lock on each firearm she placed one in the spare holder she had at her back next to her normal firearm and took the other three in her one hand.Scanning the selves, she could see a few Kryptonite swords left and quickly took one off the wall, placing the strap over her shoulder so the sword rested in its shield by her side before leaving the room quickly.

Maggie looked towards the glass windows of the examination room they were currently in to see Alex stood outside after having just knocked onto the window.Lena had come to the medical bay in a flash after an agent had let her know what had happened to Kara. If Maggie didn't know better, she would think the CEO had meta-human powers like Kara's friend from another earth, Barry Allen. She didn't though, it was clear to see that Lena's speed was down to adrenaline and worry for her girlfriend.Maggie couldn't blame her, what they had witnessed before was horrible and she could imagine that hearing about it and knowing that you had not been there to stop it from happening must have been even worse for Lena.Kara had still been sobbing into her shoulder as Maggie swayed her gently in her arms when Lena arrived, the poor girl was terrified and still in a lot of pain. Though Doctor Hamilton had by that stage administered some pain relief for her, it had yet to kick in and take any real effect. Lena had quickly charged her way over to where Maggie was holding a hysterically crying Kara and lifted the girl out of her arms cuddling the little blonde into her chest and rubbing a hand gently along her bottom in what Maggie could only assume was an attempt to rub away some her soreness while demanding to know what had happened and why she hadn't been called sooner.To say Lena was angry after finding out J'onn had asked for her to not be disturbed in favour of finishing the testing to bring Kara back to full size was an understatement- she had been livid. Noticeably so, but instead of exploding she composed herself and concentrated her attention on soothing her girlfriend.Eventually the pain killers had kicked in and although Kara was still crying earnestly, her cries were not pain-filled agonising wails anymore, they were cries of fear.As Kara had calmed some, Lena sat on the bed in the room, having Kara kneel in front of her, straddling her lap while still cuddling into her chest so that her bottom was not made even more sore by having to sit on the bed or Lena's lap.Lena and doctor Hamilton had gently eased the small superhero's jeggings and underwear down, Lena cupping her bottom with one hand while doing so to stop the material from rubbing against her sore flesh. Afterwards Doctor Hamilton assessed her injuries and began to treat any abbreviations to the skin that the belt had caused.Though Jeremiah hadn't had much time alone with Kara, it was clear he had been hitting her as hard and as fast as possible with the time he was alone with her, as she was already beginning to show signs of bad bruising on her dark red bottom where some welts were blistering. Doctor Hamilton tried to treat the wounds as slowly and gently as she could, taking her time to allow Kara moments to calm in-between as her cries became louder again, while Lena rubbed continuous circles on her back and stroked the backs of her thighs tenderly trying to offer her as much comfort as possible.Doctor Hamilton had just finished when Alex had arrived just now, she was setting up the X-Ray machine, so they could examine Kara's arm.After hearing the knock Maggie made her way to the door as Lena rocked a still crying Kara in her arms from side to side gently. She had one hand pressed against the little blonde's back gently, as her thumb rubbed up and down, while the other was cupping her bottom softly as she pressed kisses into the small superhero's hair in between whispered assurances."How is she doing?" Alex asked after Maggie had left the room, closing the door too behind her quietly. "Where's my Mom?" she asked further, after seeing that Eliza wasn't in the room."Pain meds are starting to kick in, she is calmer now Lena's with her. Eliza is stable, they've moved her to a room down the hallway, so she is comfortable for when the sedation wears off." Maggie responded, watching as Alex nodded in response before turning her attention to the guns in her fiancée's hand. "What's going on?" she asked, seeing how stressed Alex looked, she could tell it was more than what had just happened with Jeremiah that was causing Alex to look so worried and to be loaded up on weapons.Passing the guns over to Maggie, Alex ran a hand through her hair before responding, "I need you to take these- one for you, one for Lena and one for Winn.""You're giving Winn a gun? This must be bad," Maggie joked trying to lighten the tension she could feel."You don't know the half of it," Alex shot back. "The DEO is on lockdown, there is an army of what I am pretty sure are Kryptonians above us as we speak," she explained, watching as Maggie's eyes widened in shock. "As soon as you are done here I need you and Lena to take Kara to the labs and change her back- I'm hoping that she will have her powers when she changes- we need her help. If she doesn't- well, at least she will be less of a target as an adult." She watched through the glass window as Lena carried Kara, who was wrapped up in a soft blanket now, over to the bed that the X-Ray machine was set up by, so they could scan her arm.Maggie turned to watch as well, quiet for a moment while she took in what she had just been told, "What are you asking me to do here Alex?" She asked after a moment, "It sounds like you are asking me to hide away while you fight a battle that you know you won't be able to win.""I'm asking you to keep the people I care about safe," Alex responded, before walking through the doors into the room where Doctor Hamilton had just finished taking an X-Ray of Kara's arm. She could see Doctor Hamilton was now looking over the X-Ray images on the computer- there was a definite break in Kara's arm. Alex hoped when they turned her back to her right age her powers would be back, not just so that she could help them with the Kryptonian army, but so she could also heal from the injuries their father had caused her.Walking up to her little sister and Lena she knelt in front of them. "Hey you," Alex said softly, prompting Kara to turn her head, from where she was hiding in the crook of Lena's neck, to look at her. "How are you feeling?" she asked, stroking Kara's cheek softly, wiping away tear streaks with her thumb as she did so."Hurts," Kara mumbled, sniffling as more tears fell down her face. Lena was still rocking her gently from side to side, a hand on her back rubbing gentle circles and another hand softly stroking her bottom through the blanket.Alex smiled sadly, glancing upwards for a moment to share a look with Lena, "I know, but you're strong, you'll be okay I promise. I'm going to need you to be strong for me for a bit longer though- I'm going to need your help." Kara frowned in response, not understanding what her sister meant, crinkle appearing on her face. "I need you to be big Kara again, we need you back to normal and I'm hoping your powers will return when that happens.""You want us to change her back? Now?" Lena asked worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. "I was hoping to have some more time for one more test run."Alex stood from her crouched position. "Time is a luxury we don't have right now- there is a situation. I've placed the DEO under lockdown to try and buy us sometime but that will only hold for so long. I trust you, and I trust Winn- I know you can bring my little sister back safely," she told Lena."I need to go- but, Kara," Alex continued, cupping her sister's head gently to make sure her sister met her eyes while she spoke to her, "I need you to know that the things that da- that
he
said to you are not true. You are family, you are my family- and I love you so much," she finished, leaning down to press a kiss to Kara's forehead. "I'll see you soon, be safe."It hurt her to refer to her father in that manner, but it was how she felt right now.The man she saw so brutally hurting her little sister was not her father. He would have never done anything like that. The man that was locked in a cell right now was nothing but a CADMUS pawn, and currently she didn't have the time or the energy to even attempt to try and see if her father was still in there under that metal casing right now. For now, he would stay in that cell, stay where he couldn't hurt anyone, and stay there until they figured out how, and if, there was a way to bring back the man who once was a loving and caring father to his daughters and his wife.As Alex walked out the door of the room Kara and Lena were in she couldn't look at Maggie, she knew that Maggie didn't like being pushed to the side lines, she knew Maggie wanted to help her, but she couldn't- she wouldn't- allow it."Alex? Alex wait- Damn it, Alex, we need to talk about this!" Maggie said in exasperation as she followed her girlfriend down the hallway. "You don't get to just tell me to run and hide when you are going to be out there fighting for your life with a bunch of agents that barely have any combat training," she continued as Alex stopped walking, though didn't turn to face her. "I told you I'm ride or die- and I meant it, you pushing me away like this isn't fair."Taking a deep breath Alex turned to look at her fiancée. "You're right, it's not fair- but, I can't concentrate on doing what I need to do to survive if I know you are out there. If I know that Kara and Mom, and Lena and Winn are not safe… I need to know my family are safe so that you will
all
be there when we fight our way through this," Alex said, walking closer to Maggie and looping her arms loosely around her waist, "I need to know that if Kara's powers don't come back right away she is safe, and that you are safe, and that Mom is safe. I need you to go with Lena to the labs and change Kara back, I need you to go back to the room Mom is in afterwards and barricade yourselves in. I need
you
safe.""What about you?" Maggie asked, "Who is going to keep you safe?"Leaning in, Alex pressed a short but loving kiss to her fiancée's lips. "My sister isn't the only badass in this family, you now?" she said causing Maggie to chuckle."How could I forget!" Maggie responded, laughing, though slightly tearfully.Alex cupped Maggie's face between her hands, "I'll be fine, I'll see you soon," she said, pressing one last kiss to Maggie's lips before walking away down the hallway."Hey, Danvers," Maggie called, waiting till Alex turned around to face her once again, "you better come back to me safely- we still have that biggest, gayest, wedding to finish planning."

Fifteen minutes later, Lena hurried through the doors to the lab with Kara wrapped in a blanket and bundled up in her arms, her one arm in a sling while her other was wrapped tightly around Lena's neck. She was still crying softly but nowhere near as badly as she had been before now that the pain medication had kicked in. Her tears were now more through fear and left-over panic from everything that had happened rather than actual pain."Get the device ready!" Lena ordered, as Maggie followed her through the doors into the lab, "We are changing her back now." She continued walking into the middle of the room with Kara, as Winn rushed to get the
'Krin-Drive'
from its glass containment unit.Taking the Drive out of the unit Winn activated it by pressing a sequence of buttons on the one side, "I thought we were doing one more round of tests first?...and, hey! What happened to her arm?" he asked, pointing to Kara."No time to explain, Junior, just get that device ready to go, we need big Kara back in action… hopefully changing her back will bring her powers back in play so she can heal," Maggie walking over to Winn as she spoke, as she reached him she placed two of the guns that Alex had made her take earlier into the back of her jeans belt while still keeping one in her hand.Winn eye her sceptically, noticing the guns, "What are those for?" he asked glancing to the centre of the room where Lena was carefully lowering Kara to the ground, making sure she was still covered by the blanket."Don't worry about that, you concentrate on making little Danvers big again," Maggie instructed, squeezing his shoulder gently as she passed him to meet Lena and Kara in the centre of the room. "Are there any other entry points in here?" she asked to Lena, who was kneeling on the ground in front of Kara, stroking her girlfriend's hair softly trying to keep her calm.Lena shook her head in response, "No, just the doors we came through," she said as Maggie nodded in response, "Can you find me a sheet, or a robe, or something? For when she makes the change?" Lena asked, dropping a kiss to the side of Kara's head while rubbing a hand over her bottom gently as the little blonde whimpered again cuddling closer into her chest.As Maggie went off in search of what Lena had asked for, Lena turned her attention back to a very scared Kara. She pushed softly at Kara's one shoulder creating some space between them so that she could see Kara's face. Looking into her girlfriend's eyes she could tell that Kara was terrified right now, terrified and confused as to what was going on around her. Lena was worried that everything that had happened today, added to the effects of the use of the
'Krin-Drive'
could have caused was going to create a long-lasting effect on Kara when they changed her back to her full size and age in a few moments time.She had no idea what the change was going to do to her girlfriend and whether Kara would still be
her
Kara after they did this.Part of her was worried that this was going to change Kara forever.Her mind had been played with non-stop these last few days, she had been witnessing and had suffered some of the worst humanity had to offer- but she had still been Kara through it all. Although not the confident Kara they knew.There had been glimpses of Kara's usual self shining through, but she was worried that this final blast on her already fragile mind would be the last that Kara would take.She was worried of losing her girlfriend to the depths of her mind in all this chaos that had surrounded them, and she was not going to let that happen without Kara knowing for sure how she felt about her."I need you to listen to me- and
really
listen alright?" Lena said softly looking Kara in the eyes as she spoke, she waited until Kara nodded before continuing. "I know you are scared right now, I am too- but, I also know that
you
are the bravest person I have ever met. Not because you are Supergirl, but because you are Kara. You are my Kara and you always will be- no matter what happens. I need you to remember that and believe in that. Believe in us and believe in my love for you, because while my heart still beats strong you will always have me to come home to"Leaning forward Lena pressed a lingering kiss to Kara's forehead, holding her close in her arms for a moment and closing her eyes as she heard Winn finishing the codex needed in the
'Krin-Drive'
and Maggie returning with the robe she had asked for."It's ready," Winn announced.Taking a deep breath Lena opened her eyes and released Kara, gently cupping her girlfriend's cheek that was free of bruises, "I love you Kara Zor-El.""I love you too," Kara replied softly, her voice raspy and low from the amount of crying she had been doing today.Standing, Lena began to slowly walk backwards, making sure she was facing Kara the whole time as she made her way over to where Maggie stood with the robe she had asked for, ready for when they had changed Kara back. "Everything is going to be fine, you won't feel a thing," Lena promised as Winn pressed one last button on the
'Krin-Drive'
causing it to buzz loudly as a bright light started to emit from the tip
of
the gun.

Dan-El was watching the screen intensely, his focus unwavering from the action before him. He had the computer cued up to show the CCTV footage of the labs, from a camera that had been planted in the replica of one of the young male agent's figurines and switched out by Lillian's inside agent.As he watched he had his finger hovering over the button on the device he would need to press to bring his subject's memories back, he had to wait until they started the process.The timing had to be perfect or everything would be lost.He had to be on the top of his game, reflexes quick and accrete like they almost always were.He could see that the young male agent was pointing the 'Krin-Drive'
at his subject. The drive was charged and was emitting solar radiation light. He just had to wait until the boy pressed the trigger and that light turned into a ray that would hit his subject.His eyes were hard as he stared at the screen, watching as the
'Krin-Drive'
began to produce a ray of light, a ray that grew in intensity before quickly shooting out.Quickly he pressed the button on his own device, sending his own codex through the atmosphere at the same that the Kryptonian child was hit by the ray of solar energy that caused a white flash to erupt on the screen filling the whole image.Smiling he looked down at his device, watching as the purple flash turned to green, "I'll see you soon Subject K. Z, I am coming for you."He said in victory before dashing from the room, the speed in which he moved causing the chair he was sat on to spin and for papers to spill all over the floor.

As the light dispersed and the dust settled three sets of hopeful eyes searched the centre of the room, where a now adult sized, completely naked Kara Danvers was laying on ground, holding herself up with one hand while another clutched her head, her eyes shut tightly.The change had caused her clothes to tear and fall off her body and for her sling to rip off as well, the only cover she had was a partial cover on her back by the blanket that had been wrapped around her."It worked!" Winn squeaked with excitement, waving the
'Krin-Drive'
around in the air, causing Maggie to walk over to him quickly taking the device from his hands."Yeah, while I am as happy as you are- maybe we shouldn't wave this thing around," she said, moving to place it back into the glass containment unit.Kara had yet to move from her position on the floor which was making Lena worried.Deciding at the very least she should help her girlfriend cover her modesty, knowing she would be embarrassed about Winn and Maggie seeing her naked, she took the robe from Maggie and made her way forward."Kara?" she asked softly while approaching."Stay back!" Kara called out loudly, causing Lena to freeze and for Maggie and Winn to stop bickering over by the containment unit that the
'Krin-Drive'
was in.Lena frowned, taking another step closer, "Kara, it's me- it's Lena," she said, taking another step after, her heart racing with the thoughts going through her mind right now.Had Kara forgotten who she was? Was she scared of her right now? Had they got the calculations wrong?"Lena please! Stay back… something is wrong…" Kara said, trailing off before screaming out in agony as she clutched her head.Flashes kept invading her mind.Flashes of places she had never remembered seeing before.Of the scar faced man she met. Of containment rooms. Of needles being injected into her and devices and machines used on her.She saw flashes of being trained in combat as a child. Of fights happening all around her while her Aunt Asta was talking to her telling her she was safe now.Flashes of her parents sending the scar-faced man to Fort Rozz.Flashes of conversations with the scar faced man. Conversations while being strapped down to a bed. While being shut in a tiny room on her own. While sitting on his lap with her parents in the room as well while there was no scar on his face.The flashes wouldn't stop, they kept coming making tears fall from her eyes as her head hurt and her eyes began to burn.She could feel a pressure building.She could hear Lena, Maggie, and Winn all calling out to her, but she couldn't respond.Her mind was in overdrive as more flashes kept coming through making her head feel like it was going to explode with the amount of pressure that was building.Her senses were in overdrive, she could smell something burning, she could feel heat behind her eyes, she could hear the sounds of something crumbling above them and feel the building shake.The pressure kept building and building until she couldn't take it anymore. She opened her eyes crying out in pain as the burning reached breaking point."Lena get down!" Maggie yelled, running across the room to dive on top of the CEO pushing them both to the ground as Kara screamed releasing her heat vision upon the room, while Winn ducked down against the desk covering his head."Kara!" Lena screamed out in panic from where herself and Maggie were sprawled out across the floor as Kara continued to blast the room, her heat vision completely out of control, screaming in agony the whole time.Trying to gain some control over herself Kara looked to the floor again concentrating on blasting her heat vision through the ground as it kept coming and coming.She could feel exhaustion setting in, it wouldn't be long until she blew her powers out with the power she was using up right now.The whole time the flashes kept coming of more memories invading her mind- until she heard a voice calling out to her at the exact same time that her powers depleted from her body causing her to slump towards the ground, barely being able to catch herself on her arms.Panting she looked up, her eyes back to their normal deep and bright blue as she looked around the room to see the carnage she had just made. Noticing that by some mercy she had managed to not hit her friends and girlfriend with the blast of heat vision.She swallowed nervously before meeting Lena's eyes, "You need to get out of here," she said breathlessly as Lena crawled along the floor towards her, robe still in hand.The last of Kara's energy left her body, causing her to slump to the ground completely passing out, but not before uttering one last thing that brought chills to all in the room – "They're coming."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chapter Seventeen

Beeping was the first thing she heard when she began to slowly come to.Constant beeping.Beeping all around her from more than one source, it would seem.As she listened closer she could hear heavy almost mechanical breathing to her left-hand side, it didn't sound like it was directly next to her, but it sounded close enough.As her mind began to claw its way back to consciousness she could feel a pressure on her arm, something solid was laying partly on her, and she could feel a hand holding her own.The next thing she could feel was pain.A shooting pain in her head. A pain that made her feel as though she wanted to throw up, then go back to sleep for maybe a year or two till this had all passed over. She couldn't do that though- something was happening. Something big, something important- but
what?The pain in her head and the fogginess in her mind was making it difficult to remember.Somewhere in the back of her mind she had these visions- memories as such- of gunfire, explosions, screams and then pain.Always back to the pain, lots and lots of pain.A pain that made her groan and shuffle slightly, or was that just in her imagination?As the pain waves came and went, she noticed a darkness.For a moment that darkness made her panic, thinking she had gone blind- until she realised her eyes were still shut tight due to the pain she had felt. Slowly, she blinked her eyes open, letting them adjust while they wandered around the room, before groaning again as the brightness in the room made her head feel worse.Something to her left-hand side caught her attention, a voice.It sounded like it was close to the almost mechanical breathing she could hear, but as she was unable to turn her head to see she was unsure. There was something stopping her from turning, something that was wrapped around her neck making it impossible for her to move that way for now.She could hear the voice again, she could tell it was female, but she was having trouble making it out with the fogginess of her mind.Taking a deep breath, she focused- focused her hearing on the voice and tried to block out the pain."Maggie? Can you hear me? Maggie, it's Eliza," the voice said-
Eliza
said.Eliza? She knew an Eliza; Alex's mom was called Eliza.Alex- who she remembered asking her to look after her family before disappearing to do something important. She couldn't remember what Alex had to leave for, but a feeling in the pit of her stomach made her think whatever it was, it wasn't good.Where was Alex?"A-lex?" she tried to ask, though it came out as more of a croak.Her throat hurt badly.It felt raw, like someone had taken something sharp and scraped up and down it repeatedly on the inside. Like someone had carved the inside out just like they would do to a pumpkin.As her eyes blinked open again she could see movement on her left-hand side. "Your throat is going to be very tender, try not to talk too much," Eliza told her, looking down to her before looking over her vitals showing on the machines that Maggie could hear beeping beside her. "Alex is right beside you, she's holding your hand. She refused to stay in bed to rest herself wanting to be closer to you."Slowly Maggie lifted her other hand and used it to feel around next to her arm carefully, sighing with relief with she felt the silky soft short hair of her fiancée beside her- that was the weight she could feel on her arm, that was who was holding her hand."Try and rest for now, it will help your throat," Eliza instructed, squeezing Maggie's shoulder gently as the detective closed her eyes again.Maggie could have sworn Eliza said something else to her, but she couldn't make it out. Her mind was already falling back into darkness. Falling into a dreamless sleep as memories of what lead to her being in this hospital bed started to play out in her head.

(Flashback)

"They're coming," Kara said just before passing out and falling face first to the ground, the last of her energy leaving her body. Maggie could see Lena still crawling her way towards Kara, robe in hand, she could hear Lena calling out to her girlfriend frantically. She could hear Winn's panicked rambles behind her.
What drew her attention the most though was the shaking of the building and the crumbling sound she could hear from above.

Kara was wrong; they weren't coming- they were here.

From the sounds of it they had literally just blasted their way into the building.

Quickly scrambling to her feet, Maggie grabbed her gun from the floor, where it had fallen after she had pushed Lena out of the way of Kara's heat vision. "We need to go, now!" she said, looking back to the middle of the room quickly. She could see that Lena was gently and quickly dressing Kara in the robe.
"Winn," Maggie called, gaining the junior agents attention, "help Lena with little Danvers, we have to go."
Winn scurried over to the middle of the room while Maggie made her way to door, standing to one side and peering around the corner, checking for any movement in the corridors outside.

They were too in the open here, the labs were not secure, and they needed to get to somewhere that was less visible.

They needed to get to Eliza, like Alex had asked.

Maggie could hear the faint sounds of gun shots and shouting, she knew it had started and the DEO was under attack as they spoke.

Looking back over her shoulder she could see Winn and Lena struggling to pick Kara up. With Kara being her full size and age now she was a lot heavier and with her being unconscious her limbs were heavy, floppy, and unyielding to the positions they were trying to put her in. Every now and again her body would flinch harshly and shake- almost as though she was having a seizure- before calming again.
"Winn, you need to hold her up," Lena grumbled as she found Kara's full weight in her arms again as Winn almost dropped her."I'm trying!" Winn replied, panicked, "The robe keeps riding up and every time I touch her skin by accident she does that flinch-y thing!"
Lena lowered Kara's body back to the ground, being careful with her head, before looking over to Winn and sighing deeply. "Can I trust you not to bang her head on the walls?" she asked seriously. She knew that he wouldn't mean to, but when panicked, Winn could be a bit accident prone. Kara's mind had been through enough, the last thing that she needed was to receive constant knocks to it.
"I promise to make sure I smack the wall rather than Kara," Winn responded jokingly, rolling his eyes when he heard Lena mutter 'good'. He knew it was meant good-naturedly, but with the stress of the situation her overprotectiveness of Kara was wearing a bit thin, they were all cared about her and worried for her.
Switching positions, they managed to easily lift Kara; Winn lifting her upper body and head, making sure to support her head carefully, while Lena supported her waist and legs, being careful of the angry bruising that was still forming on her bottom and the back of her thighs that became noticeable when the robe came undone slightly at the back.

Lena had quickly recovered Kara and gently held her, noticing that this time she didn't flinch away like she had been doing with Winn. Whether it was just a coincidence, or that she was gentler than Winn had been, or whether Kara somehow realised it was Lena who was now touching her and not Winn, she wasn't sure- regardless, it made the process of carrying Kara much easier, and together they slowly managed to make it to the door where Maggie was waiting for them.

As they reached the door, Maggie opened it with her back, stepping out first into the sound of gun fire, yelling and panic, her gun raised as she scanned the corridors for any potential threats before motioning for them to follow with a still unconscious Kara. Winn was next out the door, walking backwards carefully before turning slightly so that Lena could follow, and they could angle Kara correctly to be able to take her down the corridor.

It was a slow task, they had to be careful when turning corners that, firstly, no one was waiting on the other side for them, and that secondly, they didn't hurt Kara with the turns- but eventually they made their way to the medical bay and into Eliza's room.

Eliza had rather conveniently been placed into one of the side rooms that was more private. The room had solid walls rather than open glass windows, and even a spare bed- which both Winn and Lena were grateful to see.

After entering the room, they gently eased Kara down onto bed, carrying her for the length of time needed had worn them both out. Maggie closed the door and pulled down the blind, leaving it open slightly at one end, so she could peak through into the hallway. While Lena rearranged Kara on the bed so she was comfortable, Winn attached monitoring wires to Kara, hooking her up to the spare machine in the room that was next to the one that Eliza, who was still unconscious as well, was also hooked up to.
"How is she?" Maggie asked from the doorway.
Lena sighed, running a hand through Kara's hair before stroking her cheeks softly, removing tears that had been falling from her closed eyes as she did so. "She's not waking up, but she seems stable enough," Lena replied, bending down to kiss Kara's forehead as the blonde shook slightly on the bed, her eyes twitching as a whimper sounded from her lips.

Lena could feel the hand she was holding squeeze her own tightly, with much more strength than a human should be able to possess. "Her powers were back, but now I can't tell if she still has them or not. The bruises- some of them- don't look as bad as what they were, but they are still there. When her hand just squeezed mine though, it was hard- like super-strength hard," she explained.
"So, she might still have her powers?" Maggie asked hopefully, from the sounds she could hear outside the room they were going to need Supergirl- and soon.
Winn began pacing up and down the width of the room next to Kara's bedside, both his hands on the back of his neck. "It is possible but- she used so much energy back in the labs, and the change would have drained her," he said, walking over to the other side of the room where a trolley of medical supplies was standing against one wall. "If she still has her powers- and that is a major if right now, they will be at the very best fluctuating… I- I don't know how long she would last before they completely give out on her."

Maggie turned around to look at Kara and gulped.

It didn't look good.

She still had some bruising on her face. She looked like she was sweating as she thrashed on the bed, only calming when Lena stroked her hair. Even though Kara was unconscious her eyes were moving constantly behind her eyelids.

Her brain was still very active in her unconscious condition- too active.

She was not at all peaceful like Eliza who still recovering from the sedation in the bed next to her.

As Lena looked up and locked her eyes with Maggie's, the detective could see they were both thinking the same thing- there was no way Kara could join the fight right now.

Kara mumbled something while still unconscious, it didn't make sense to anyone in the room, but it didn't stop Lena from softly murmuring to her before turning her attention to Maggie again. "If she wakes up we can't ask her to join the fight, but if she wants to we can't stop her either," Lena said with a sigh, knowing all too well that if Kara heard the sounds they were hearing right now she would want to fight, regardless of whether she had her powers or not.

Maggie nodded, agreeing reluctantly.

She knew Lena was right, she wasn't about to throw her future little sister in law to the wolves out there but that didn't stop her from worrying about Alex who was out there fighting right now. Fighting with a bunch of untrained DEO agents who were likely to end up dead in minutes with the sounds that could be heard coming from within the building right now.
"You should go," Lena said suddenly.
Her voice seemed loud in the quiet room even with all the noise going on around the DEO and it snapped Maggie out of her thoughts, causing her to frown in response, "No- Alex asked me to stay with you, protect her family and you guys." Maggie replied stubbornly.
"Maggie- you should go. Alex is going to need you," Lena repeated, taking a seat on the bed. She lifted Kara's head to rest in her lap before beginning to comb her fingers through long wavy knotted hair as Winn continued to look through the medical trolley."I can't, if anything happened to any of you she would never forgive me," Maggie insisted.
Winn walked back around from the medical trolley with an unopened syringe packet, tearing the package open as he came to Kara's bedside. "Lena's right, Alex can't do this alone. If Kara can't help, then she will need you," he said, taking Kara's other hand to lift her arm and turn it over, so he could try to take her blood.

Pushing the needle to her skin he nodded and looked up to both Maggie and Lena as the needle tip broke upon contact to Kara's skin. "She is still at least partially super," he stated with a small smile. "You should go, we'll be fine. We have Kara and until then we can protect each other," Winn continued, looking to Maggie with determination in his eyes.
"Alex needs you, she wouldn't admit it earlier because she was scared for her family and for you- but she does. You knew it then and you know it now. We will be fine," Lena added after a silence.
Maggie sighed. They were right, and she knew it. Alex was out there fighting a battle she had no chance of winning right now. One extra person being there won't win this battle- she knew that, but, it might just be the difference between whether her fiancée makes it back alive or comes back to her in a body bag.

Taking the two guns from the back of her belt and walking forwards, Maggie handed both Winn and Lena each a gun, "Barricade yourselves in and stay out of sight," she instructed moving back to the door, checking the hallway through the blinds before opening the door.

She turned to look over her shoulder one last time, "Stay safe."
"You too," Lena and Winn replied at the same time as Maggie stepped out of the room, closing the door shut behind her.

(Flashback end)

A groan caused Alex's eyes to snap open again quickly.Looking up quickly she could see her fiancée was stirring again. She had been mad before when her mom had told her Maggie had woken up earlier and she hadn't been woken up herself immediately. She had insisted on staying awake from then onwards, so she wouldn't miss seeing Maggie awake for herself the next time- even though Alex herself desperately needed to rest."Mags," Alex said softly, after hearing another groan, "open your eyes for me," she continued when she saw Maggie's arm move slightly.Slowly Maggie's eyes blinked open blearily, before settling on Alex. "Hey, you," Alex said, sighing with relief, squeezing the hand she was holding softly."Hey," Maggie croaked out in response, her voice was still rough, but her throat was not hurting as much as it had the first time she had woken up.Standing, Alex bent over the bed to kiss her fiancée's forehead, "How are you feeling? Do you need anything for the pain? Another pillow? Water?" Alex asked, firing off quick-fire questions, making Maggie smile. "What?" Alex asked after noticing the smile and raised eyebrow."You sound like your Mom," Maggie responded, her voice coming out closer to a whisper."Shut up," Alex replied rolling her eyes, "You almost died- I think you can let me fuss over you a little bit for that."Maggie didn't respond right away, she was unsure of what to say. "Some water would be nice," she settled on after a silence. She wasn't lying either; her throat did feel very dry.She watched from the corner of her eyes as Alex stood again slowly, turning to pour some water from a jug into a plastic cup with a straw in. Carefully Alex moved the cup up to Maggie's mouth, placing the straw to her lips delicately. Alex didn't say anything; she held the cup in silence waiting patiently as Maggie took her time in draining the entire cup with her head slightly raised from the pillow. When she was sure Maggie had finished she moved the cup back to the bedside table, while Maggie rested her head back against the pillow again."Better?" Alex asked, re-taking her seat, and moving to hold her fiancée's hand once again.Maggie nodded, casting her eyes downwards.Seeing how concerned Alex was made her feel bad. She had wanted to help, but it was clear that whatever happened after she left the medical bay did not help in the battle. From the way she felt right now and how she was laying in a hospital bed she was pretty sure she got ploughed down by someone with a lot of power and strength.She couldn't remember what happened after leaving the room Eliza, Kara, Lena and Winn were in.Everything else from then was hazy at best."I'm sorry," Maggie whispered, "For not doing what you asked me to, I couldn't leave you out there alone."Alex shook her head, "I'm not mad Mags," she assured, "you don't have anything to be sorry for... I
should
be mad- I asked you to stay safe- but, if you had done that I wouldn't be here to hold your hand right now. I wouldn't be here period.""What happened out there? I can't remember much," Maggie asked after a silence.Alex took a deep breath running her spare hand through her hair, "We were completely unprepared and outnumbered- we didn't stand a chance," she began honestly, her mind going back to what happened to have caused them both to be where they were now.

(Flashback)

The man Alex had met outside Lena's house stood right in front of her, holding her up in the air by her shirt collar. As she struggled to free herself she could see she was the last agent standing in the hub. All around them were crumbled agents, some unconscious- though most she feared were probably dead. They were spread around the hub as though they were litter, the way the Kryptonian army had treated them you would assume that's what they thought of them- of her too.

They had been hopelessly outnumbered and unprepared. When the Kryptonian army had blasted their way through the roof of the building they had opened fire and soon found out the Kryptonite bullets were not working. The army were wearing the same suits that they had the night of the attack on Lord Technologies.

Alex had quickly realised this and yelled at her agents to take out the blue Kryptonite in the suits first but trying to get just one hit on a Kryptonian solider was hard enough- not to mention a double hit.

A few had been taken down successfully, but the agents here were too few and the training they had in the short time they had been given to prepare themselves was not enough.

Alex had been forced to watch as her agents were knocked down one by one knowing that she had failed, and there was now little she could do to help them- or herself. As she had seen the man she had met the night before advance on her she wished for him to make it quick, she knew she was going to die.

Superman had not shown up- where he was, she had no idea.

Kara was still nowhere to be seen- leaving Alex to only assume that changing her sister back had not brought back her powers like she had hoped it would do.

As she looked down at the Kryptonian man holding her up she could see a large scar running down his face, and she knew this must be the man that Kara had spoken about. "Who are you?" She choked out.

He smiled. "Your end," he replied.

His eyes began to glow red just as a bullet bounced off his head- seemingly coming from nowhere and smacked right into the chest of another soldier whose suit had been disarmed already, knocking him to the ground instantly.

The room fell silent as the other Kryptonians all turned to the direction the bullet had come from. As Alex looked up she could see her fiancée had entered the hub, with her gun held out in front of her. Maggie had come for her when she needed her the most, stopping her from being burnt with heat vision in the nick of time, but as she looked to the door she noticed Maggie was alone- Where was Kara?

The scar faced man growled in frustration. "This one's mine!" he said, dropping Alex to the floor before turning and walking straight towards Maggie who continued to fire upon him causing bullets to bounce around the room in all directions.

Alex watched on in horror as the man continued straight for her fiancée, powerless and frozen in place.

The man reached Maggie just as she ran out of ammunition and he easily dodged the quick punch she sent his way, instead grabbing her by the neck and lifting her up into the air, squeezing her throat roughly.

Something green caught Alex's attention under a piece of rubble.

Lifting herself from the ground Alex pulled the green item she could see from the rubble, finding it to be her Kryptonite sword that had been dropped during the battle, and charged straight for the scar faced man. She couldn't- no, she wouldn't- just lay there was watch this man kill the woman she loved right in front of her own eyes.

It seemed like no effort at all to the Kryptonian man as he quickly grabbed Alex too by the throat and lifted her into the air next to a reddening and gasping Maggie who by now was badly struggling for breath. As he lifted Alex higher, she dropped her sword to the ground, instead lifting both hands up to pull at the hand enclosing around her neck.

As Alex struggled against his grip she could see he was about to say something when suddenly from nowhere a loud angry cry was heard.

A loud angry female cry.

A cry that was followed by a blur of blonde hair. By Alex and Maggie both falling to the ground. By the scar faced man being thrown halfway across the room.

Alex looked up from the floor where she had landed to see Kara in front of her wearing DEO issued sweatpants and a t-shirt, shielding herself and Maggie from the Kryptonians in the room- but something was wrong.

She was standing, but not confidently. Her hands were shaking. The veins were pulsing green.

The sight made Alex feel sick.

The very weapons they had been protecting themselves with were now making her sister feel sick and weak. Thinking quickly, she grabbed her Kryptonite sword that was still close to her and threw it to the other side of the room. She knew the room was littered in Kryptonite bullets and that moving one item away was not going to solve the problem, but she hoped it would help her sister. After throwing the sword away, she moved along the floor to lie next to Maggie and check for a pulse. Holding her fingers to her fiancée's red and bruising neck she sighed in relief when she felt a pulse that was strong still.

Maggie was unconscious- but she was alive.

Hearing a loud laugh from the other side of the room, Alex quickly looked over to see the scar faced man standing from the rubble he had fallen into.
"My lessons were always interrupted because of you, weren't they? Even back on Krypton." He taunted, walking closer as Kara took a step backwards, coming closer to Alex and an unconscious Maggie, trying to shield them.
Kara glanced around the room quickly, before looking back to the scar faced man. "Nobody needs your type of lessons, Dan-El, we didn't then, and we don't now," she replied.

Dan-El smirked before fake gasping and throwing his arms out the room. "The star pupil finally remembers her teacher!" he exclaimed, "For Malron."
"For Malron!" The Kryptonian army repeated, bowing to one knee on the floor as Dan-El looked around with a large smile on his face, before looking to a still standing Kara and frowning."Hmmm," he said, pulling a small device from his pocket with one single button on it, "seems you need a refresher," he said pressing the button with his thumb.
Less than a second after the button was pressed Kara fell to her knees, clutching her head and crying out in pain. Alex moved to reach for her, only to be pushed away by Kara. "Stay back," Kara insisted, one hand still holding her head as she took in some gasping breaths.
"Shocking isn't it?" Dan-El mocked with a smile, "Now," he began, "time for the star pupil's test!" he continued, clapping his hands together and causing Kara to be shocked again making her scream out in pain.
Alex winced at the scream. It reminded her too much of the screams younger Kara had made when her father had been whipping her bottom with his belt repeatedly. The image and sounds still far too raw in her mind. "Stop it! You're hurting her!" Alex cried out, as each clap caused Kara's body to flinch as she was shocked again.
"Well, that is the point, love- punishment and reward training is meant to hurt," Dan-El replied with a laugh, before looking back to Kara, "though you are right. I should let her answer her question first- Are you listening, Kara Zor-El?"
Kara nodded as she gasped for breath, shaking her head to try and relieve the pain she could still feeling pulsing through her throbbing head, shaking a concerned Alex off as she placed a hand upon her sister's shoulder.

Dan-El smiled. "Such a quick learner this one," he said. "Now, the question I want you to answer is; will you come willingly? Or, am I going to have to kill every last little human in this building then take you unwillingly?" he said, walking closer as he spoke before kneeling on the ground in front of Kara as he finished.

Kara didn't answer at first, she continued to take gasping breaths trying to control her breathing, as Alex watched her concerned, "Kara don't you dar-" she began, only to be cut off as Kara spoke over her.
"-If I go with you, you will harm no one else?" Kara asked ignoring Alex's hiss of her name, lifting her head to look Dan-El in the eyes.
Dan-El nodded, with a smile, "I give you my word, no one else will die."
"I'll do as you ask, just don't hurt anyone else." Kara responded.
Dan-El smiled, tracing a hand over the bruise that was still partially visible on her cheek, "I was so hoping you would say that," he said, slapping her cheek harshly causing her to grunt in pain and swallow. "Get me the serum," Dan-El instructed before standing and moving towards his army.
"Kara, are you crazy?" Alex said, grabbing her arm, "You cannot go with him!" she continued, whisper shouting with frantic eyes."If I don't he will kill everyone Alex. He will kill you all and he won't even think twice about it." Kara replied shakily. As Alex held onto her arm she could feel her sister shaking as she looked around the room before speaking again, "Take Maggie and get out of here- I, he never used to go back on his word- but he seems even more unhinged than he did on Krypton."
Alex was about to reply but before she could Kara was ripped roughly from her grip.

Looking up she could see Dan-El was standing behind Kara with a hand holding her head up by the chin as his other hand held a syringe with a black substance in it.
"Time for your first refresher course subject K. Z."
The click of a gun's safety lock being removed sounded behind them suddenly, followed by a voice, "Let my girlfriend go, now," Lena growled out, eyes hard and angry as she aimed the gun to the back of Dan-El's head.
"That won't work on me," Dan-El replied with a smirk while staring down at Alex, "not while I am wearing this suit," he continued as Lena walked around to face him, still holding the gun out in front of her and aimed towards him.
She fired once, quickly, her aim was spot on and she hit the blue Kryptonite on his suit front, that was allowing him to be immune to the effects of the green Kryptonite, shattering it to pieces. Though the bullet didn't hit Dan-El the effect of the green Kryptonite was instant, and he- much like Kara when she had first entered- had trouble standing.

The soldier to his left stepped forward eyes glowing bright as though he was about to use his heat vision until Dan-El held up a hand, "Wait," he commanded, causing the soldier to step back, his eyes returning to normal. "I want to meet my baby sister's girlfriend, I've heard so much about you, Lena Luthor."

Lena's eyes widened at the words just as Alex gasped in surprise.
"Baby sister?" Alex asked, "Kara is your sister?" she asked again incredulously.
Dan-El chuckled in response, "Well, if we are being all technical about it, half-sister," he said pulling Kara closer to himself by her neck. "I wouldn't be angry with little sis, she only just remembered herself," he continued squeezing her neck tighter causing Kara to try and cough against his hand.
"Daddy dearest decided to completely erase me from her mind, she's always been a fragile little one." Dan-El said further, disdain could be heard in his voice.
Lena's eye twitched as Dan-El squeezed Kara's throat tighter again before she pulled her trigger again aiming a bullet right at his forehead.

At the very last second Dan-El ducked, using super-speed, causing the bullet to fly over his head and hit one of his soldier's, whose suit had already been deactivated in the earlier battle, the Kryptonite bullet hitting him in the chest and making him fall to the ground instantly.
"I like your girlfriend, she has spirit," Dan-El said as he leaned in closer to Kara whispering in her ear, "Now, I did give you my word that I wouldn't kill anyone else if you came willingly- and I am a man of my word- but I didn't say I wouldn't hurt anyone…""NO!" Kara yelled eyes wide, "Lena, look out!" she screamed out at the same time as Dan-El's eyes turned red and his heat vision shot out shooting into the ceiling.
Kara thrashed against Dan-El's grip, crying out for Lena as the dust slowly settled showing a pile of rubble where Lena was stood only moments before, with no sign of Lena in the room.

Quickly as Kara's attention was elsewhere, Dan-El stabbed the syringe into her neck and injected the black substance into her blood steam, causing her still wild and fearful eyes to slowly close as she slumped in his arms.

Looking around herself Alex wished she hadn't thrown her Kryptonian sword away, her gun wasn't anywhere near her, Maggie's was out of ammunition.

She had no way of helping Kara. She had nothing to use against Dan-El.

She was powerless again.

Alex gulped as she looked down at her unconscious sister, "You're an evil son of a bitch."
"My Mother was an amazing woman- her mother is the bitch," He replied handing Kara off to one of his Kryptonian soldier's before standing. He looked down at Alex deep in thought for a moment before speaking again, "You do look a lot like your father," he said before pulling his arm back and punching her hard in the face, causing Alex to crumble to floor falling unconscious.

(Flashback end)

"The next thing I saw was Mom and J'onn standing over me while I was in a hospital bed," Alex said, finishing her story of what she could remember from the end of the battle.Maggie was quiet for some time, processing everything that she had just heard.The only sound that could be heard in the medical bay room was the beeping of medical machines and the mechanical breathing sounds coming from Maggie's left-hand side.Eventually Maggie's mind caught up enough to allow her to speak, "Kara saved me? Saved us?" she asked, getting a nod in response from Alex, who she noticed winced after, "your head, he hit you hard," Maggie stated, lifting her hand to gently trace the large Band-Aid she could see on her fiancée's forehead, "you have a concussion?" she asked further, concern in her eyes."Yeah. I got some scrapes and bruises and a concussion, no broken bones… I got off pretty lightly considering." Alex responded with a sigh, "we've lost a lot of agents, both here and at the prison."Maggie gulped, wincing afterwards as the action aggravated her throat again.Remembering what she had seen and just now been told- that was to be expected, but hearing it made everything so much more real.People were dead- she almost died.Alex almost died.Kara had been taken, she went willingly trying to prevent anyone else from being hurt. "You said they took Kara? Do we know where, can we track her?" Maggie asked still trying to make sense of everything in her mind."The systems were completely down, Winn managed to use the Guardian van to get into and re-route them- but, by then her tracker was already offline. We don't know where she is," Alex replied, covering her mouth as a soundless sob was released.Maggie took a deep breath, shakily lifting her spare hand to run it through her hair, while squeezing Alex's hand that was holding her own, "We'll find her. Little Danvers is made of tough stuff, and she is smart. She'll find a way to let us know where she is. We'll get her back," she promised. "How is Lena taking it?" she asked after a moment of quiet.Maggie's eyes widened as another soundless sob came from Alex at the question."She- she doesn't know yet," Alex replied shakily, "she hasn't woken up."Alex paused for a moment, turning to look at the bed which was to the left of Maggie, "When they got her out from under the rubble, Doctor Hamilton thought she was dead…They told me she was barely breathing, and her pulse was weak- practically non-existent at first. She was bleeding badly from the back of her head. They managed to stabilize her, but she had lost a lot of blood... "Maggie swallowed thickly taking a deep breath, "She's in the bed next to me, isn't she?" she asked not needing to hear the answer after seeing Alex's face. "Can you push the bed up a bit? I want to see her," she asked.Alex exhaled shakily again, tugging the bed remote from the metal bar and a pressing a button that slowly brought the top of the bed upwards just enough so that Maggie could see more of the room. As the bed slowly moved up Maggie couldn't stop the loud gasping noise she made when her eyes landed on Lena.Her face was covered in cuts and bruises. She was hooked up to so many different machines and wires it was hard to tell what they all were for. She looked incredible pale, yet her closed eyes had purple bags underneath them. Around her head was what was once a white bandage, though some red could be seen from the one side where she had still been bleeding when it was applied.She was completely still, the only sign of life coming from the machines beeping beside her."Please tell me that looks worse than what it is," Maggie said quietly after a silence."I wish I could," Alex replied. "By some miracle she hasn't broken any bones. She had some pretty bad bruising and some nasty gashes. It seems most of the rubble fell near her head… She- they said right now is still critical… the blood loss and the head injury are bad, they won't know how bad until she wakes up…"

The first thing that she noticed when she opened her eyes was that the room she was in was cold and dark. The floor was hard and damp, as was she. She could feel a dampness on her clothes and could feel something trickling down her face.The second thing she noticed was that this was not where she was meant to be.As her ears stopped ringing she slowly began to notice one more thing, cheering.Loud cheering that she could not understand coming from above her. Loud cheering and banging from above her making her realise that she must be in some kind of basement or something like that for it to be above her the way it was right now.Standing slowly, she stumbled a few steps shakily in the darkness before almost smacking face first into the wall.Bracing herself, she used the wall to feel her way around the pitch-black room and eventually managed to find what she hoped was the exit as she felt her way around a corner in the wall. Keeping her hand against the wall the whole time, she slowly made her way from the room and along what she thought was a corridor.As she kept walking she couldn't help but notice how the cheering got louder and how to her legs it almost felt like an uphill climb along the corridor.She felt as though she was being lead towards the sounds she had heard in the dark, and as she followed the wall turning at yet another corner she could see light up ahead.It reminded her of that old saying that there is always light at the end of the tunnel.As she got closer to the light she moved away from the wall, not needing the support to walk as much anymore now that she could see where she was going. She squinted as the light got brighter the closer she walked, lifting an arm up to shield her eyes.Stepping out into the light she froze at what she saw.She had stepped out into an arena.The arena was completely caged in and was surrounded by people that were cheering loudly- obviously the cheering she had heard before. Inside the arena itself however she couldn't see anybody, but she could hear the sounds of a fight.The sounds of punches hitting home, and kicks being blocked.Looking upwards she barely managed to dodge the red beam that shot out towards where she was stood by diving to the ground as the crowd cheered again even louder this time. It was almost as though they were happy she was almost blasted, some of them even sounded upset that she had dodged the beam.She could see a familiar red and blue suit to one side of the cage, almost like a blur flying above her. She was pretty sure the red beam had come from the person in the familiar suit.Directly above where she now lay on the ground, was someone with blonde hair, wearing grey DEO issued sweatpants and a T-Shirt. They seemed to be dodging and blocking attacks thrown by the person in the blue and red suit.She thought the person in the suit looked familiar, but she recognised this person even more.She knew instantly who was hovering above her in the cage wearing DEO issued clothes."Kara?" She called out.Her voice had caused Kara to lose her concentration just for a moment, but that was all it took for the other person in the cage to get the upper hand and slam her to the ground. Coughing, Kara rolled over quickly, dodging another red beam, and moving quickly to one side coming face to face with the last person she had expected to see being thrown into this cage with her."Lucy?" Kara asked, eyes wide as she came face to face with Lucy Lane. "What are you doing here?"Lucy was unable to reply.Before she even had the chance to speak a red beam of heat vision smacked into Kara's back knocking her face first into Lucy's arms.Looking up Lucy was shocked to the person who was wearing red and blue was right in front of them. Seeing the person up close she realised why the suit was so familiar, she knew who was in front of her- it was Superman.Though as she looked into his eyes she could see he did not recognise her, even though she had met him many times before.He was staring at her as though she was his enemy.Superman had no idea who she was.He had just attacked Kara who was his family, his cousin.Kara who was currently not moving as she lay practically on top of her, looking down Lucy could see they had been at this for some time. Kara had large gashes all over her on the skin that Lucy could see. She was bleeding badly, and her clothes were torn in places.As Lucy looked up to Superman again she could see his eyes were glowing bright red making her realise that he was seconds away from using his heat vision on not just Kara again- but her too.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Warnings: Scenes of torture. Mentions of torture of children. Violence.

Trigger Warnings: Mentions of child abuse and torture.

Chapter Eighteen.

Lucy closed her eyes and tensed, his eyes were shining red above them, she couldn't move, and it seemed Kara was knocked out.There was no way out of this.She was going to die here in this arena by Superman's heat vision. She knew it was coming, she was waiting for the pain and then the darkness. She heard the beam shooting out towards them, she felt a whoosh of air making her hair blow in her face, but she felt no pain.Had he missed? Superman wasn't one to miss, his aim was always on point.She heard heat vision shooting past again but still no pain, she heard a crash and more loud shouts from the crowd.Peaking her eyes open Lucy couldn't believe what she could see in front of her; Superman was sprawled out on the floor on the opposite end of the arena while Kara was stood protectively in front of her. Kara was standing, but barely- she was wobbling on her legs and Lucy could hear her breathing heavily.Had that been the whoosh that Lucy had felt? Kara moving them both to safety before knocking Superman out cold? It was possible; if what she was seeing currently was anything to go by, it was highly possible, in fact Lucy would bet money on it.How Kara had managed to wake up in the first place, and how she'd managed to move them both in the nick of time while still having the energy to knock Superman out cold, Lucy had no idea.But somehow, she had.Somehow Supergirl managed to save her yet again.It was almost as though she had never left National City and they were back to being good friends who would help each other in any way possible.Though as Lucy looked to the outside of the arena she could see they now had another problem; guards were opening the arena's locked doors and making their way inside with weapons that were glowing green.Lucy stood quickly, pulling herself up from the ground and coming to stand closer to Kara. She knew Kara was strong, but she also knew that Kara had been weakened by the fight she with Superman; they stood a better chance of defending themselves and trying to get out of this arena if they worked together.The closer the guards got the more unsteady on her feet Kara became, making Lucy know that what she feared when she first saw the green coloured weapons was true. The weapons were made of Kryptonite and the closer to Kara they came the weaker she got. Kara had already taken too many hits if the colour of her skin that could be seen from underneath her ripped clothes was anything to go by. She wouldn't be able to hold of guards using Kryptonite weapons for too long before the affects would knock her into unconsciousness like Superman.Knowing her friend was already hurt and in no condition for whatever battle was about to come their way, Lucy pushed
Kara
behind her and took a defensive stance much like Kara had before when protecting
her
from Superman."What are you doing," Kara hissed trying to pull her back, but Lucy wouldn't budge, she kept watching the guards as they approached.It was clear to see they were quickly being surrounded.Lucy scanned the crowds and the arena looking for any possible escape routes but found none.The guards had them fully surrounded with any, and all exits blocked. "They have Kryptonite," Lucy told Kara, "you're in no shape to take down guards with Kryptonite.""Neither are you," Kara shot back."Just humour me will you, if we stand any chance of getting out of whatever
this
is we are going to have to work together," Lucy hissed, her body tensing as the guards walked closer again.Kara came to stand by her one side, pushing Lucy's arm away when she tried to stop her from doing so. "Then we stand together as one," she said, agreeing with what Lucy had just said. "Stronger together."Lucy nodded, a small smile on her lips as she remembered when Kara had explained the meaning of the symbol that she wore across her chest as Supergirl.The situation they were in was bad and in no way called for anyone to be smiling right now, but Lucy had missed her friend. Being away for so long meant she had not been able to see Kara, Alex, Winn or the others for a long time. They may have found themselves in trouble again, as normal- but being together this way felt good. Lucy's new position had been important, and she had learnt a lot, but she missed being in the thick of things and working in a team like she had done when at the DEO. She missed working with her friends and she missed doing something that felt worthwhile. It was why she had jumped at the opportunity to join her father's army in protecting National City's prison transfer.She hadn't told her father yet, but she was planning on coming back to National City, planning on coming back to the DEO and re-taking her role as co-director- if J'onn would have her. If, she and Kara could find a way out of this mess, that, would be the first thing that she would do; re-take her position, and work alongside the DEO to stop whatever it was that was happening here.An arena with aliens fighting each other was something she had heard of before, but also something that didn't sit right with her. It was something that she had hoped had been wiped out entirely when Veronica Sinclair had disappeared.Though it appeared to still be something that was at large."They're not all human, some of the guards are Kryptonian," Kara said, snapping Lucy out of her thoughts and causing her to look at the approaching guards more closely.Kara was right. Some of the guards were wearing the suits that people in the stands were also wearing. Suits that allowed them to be immune to the effects of the green Kryptonite.Humans working alongside Kryptonians in events like this- that was something Lucy hadn't heard of.From her knowledge of Superman, and from knowing Kara, she knew that Kryptonian's were proud and honourable, they would never stoup to this level of violence for a show.Something bigger had to be at play here.Something about this situation didn't seem right to Lucy- the guards still had them surrounded, but they were yet to move. It was almost as though they were waiting for something. "What are they waiting for, they already have us surrounded," Lucy asked in confusion.Looking around the arena, she could see that the crowd outside had grown completely silent as though they too were waiting to see who would make the first move."They're waiting for him," Kara said, looking around the arena herself, as Lucy turned to her in confusion, "Dan-El," Kara supplied, "they are his soldiers, they won't move until he tells them to.""Who the hell is Dan-El?" Lucy asked, the stress of the situation causing her to become snappy at the vague response she had gotten from Kara. Her question was answered with a cry of pain, as Kara fell to her knees holding her head in her hands causing Lucy's eyes to widen in shock.The guards suddenly parted letting another Kryptonian though. "I am," he said as he came to a stop in front of Lucy, who had moved once again to stand in front of Kara. "Lucy Lane, it's good to meet you. We don't have time for proper introductions just yet, I need to teach my little sister here to follow orders properly."Lucy's eyes bulged.Kara had never mentioned anything about having a brother. Especially a brother from Krypton- from looking at the suit Dan-El was wearing she was assuming he was Kryptonian.She watched cautiously as Dan-El nodded to another Kryptonian on his right-hand side. Lucy could see the guard stepping forward with a pair of Kryptonite hand-cuffs while Dan-El pressed a button on a small device in his hand. Only moments after this Kara screamed in pain again, clutching her head tighter."What are you doing to her?" Lucy spat out at him, anger in her eyes.If this was Kara's brother, then why would he hurt her like this? They were family, what was the purpose of all this? She and Lois fought sometimes, it was natural for all siblings to do so, but they would never hurt one another, not like this.Dan-El only smirked in response before turning to his guard. "Cuff her, take her to the procedure room," he ordered.Lucy saw the guard move around her to get to Kara and turned towards him, throwing a kick to his groin area. The kick didn't hurt him, but it did cause him to stumble back slightly. "You are not putting those on her," Lucy said adamantly, grabbing Kara's arm and pushing her fully behind herself. She could feel Kara shaking behind her; whether that was from fear, from whatever this Dan-El was doing to her, or from the effects of the Kryptonite- she wasn't sure."Hmmm, interesting." Dan-El commented before laughing. "I had heard you two knew each other, but I didn't expect you to be so protective of a Kryptonian with the views your father has on us," he continued, stepping forward.Lucy stared him down, attempting to make herself seem more intimidating by standing taller. "She's my friend," she responded, "I won't let you hurt her more than you have already."Dan-El smiled, a look of pure joy spreading on his face before a mask of indifference replaced it, making Lucy wonder what thought had just popped into his head. She watched him as he turned to face the right-hand side of the arena. "Have your men take Miss Lane back to her cell, I'll deal with my sister," he ordered to someone who Lucy could not see.Lucy heard an order being commanded from outside the arena followed by men coming forward. Men without the blue Kryptonite suits- men that were human. As they came forward she could see through the arena more clearly and caught sight of the last person she would expect to see working alongside aliens- Lillian Luthor.She didn't have time to react to seeing Lillian as she was grabbed roughly on her side by one of the men who had been advancing on her. She struggled to free herself and almost fell to the floor when the man suddenly let her go, clutching his leg that was bleeding through a black scorch mark and crying out in pain."Cuff her now!" Dan-El yelled, having seen Kara use her heat vision on the human guard who had been trying to restrain Lucy.The Kryptonian guard from before stepped forward again at the same time that Lucy was grabbed by another human guard. Both Lucy and Kara struggled against their captors, but with Kryptonite cuffs being locked around Kara's wrists and Lucy finding herself being held in place by two guards, neither of them were able to move.Lucy felt powerless as she watched the little energy that Kara had left leave her body as she was hit on the back of the head with a Kryptonite baton, rendering her unconscious. She watched as Kara's body slumped to floor before being hauled up by the guard as he threw her over his shoulder and began to walk from the arenaContinuing to struggle against the guards who had her retained roughly by her arms Lucy tried to follow the guard that had Kara even with two human guards attempting to hold her in place, "Where are you taking her?!" she yelled out to Dan-El who had already began to walk away."You'll see her soon, don't worry about that," He called over his shoulder as Lucy felt a smack to the back of her head causing her to fall to the ground, sagging in the guard's hold. The last thing she saw before her world went blank was another Kryptonian guard throwing Superman over his shoulder and leaving the arena as well.

Kara groaned as she woke up, her mind was pulsing again from the pain the shocks had caused earlier, and her body was aching and hurt all over. She wasn't used to feeling the amount of pain she currently felt; she wasn't used to seeing and feeling the myriad of bruises that covered her body.Since this whole thing started with her being turned into a child all she had been feeling for days was pain and fear. Pain from people slapping her face, pain from her adoptive father taking a belt to her backside, pain in her head as horrible and terrifying memories invaded her mind. Pain from the memories completely bombarding her when they had changed her back. Pain as her whole body felt like it was on fire from the shocks that were somehow being delivered from her mind.Just pain, full stop. Followed by a fear too intense for her to understand.She wanted it to end.She wished for it to be over, but she knew that things were far from over.Now she remembered what once was, what had happened on Krypton with Dan-El and what he intended to do to her now she knew that the pain she had already felt was just the beginning.Things could and most probably would get much more worse.Dan-El would make sure of that, from her memories it was as though he almost enjoyed causing people pain, especially her. Even with her memories restored she couldn't understand why he hated her so much. She didn't know what she had done to him to cause him to want to hurt her the way he had when she was a child, the way she was sure he was going to now.She wasn't sure how much more she could take. Her body already felt weak as she lay on a cold and hard surface, and as she opened her eyes she could see why. She was underground, there was no sunlight to heal her injuries. Looking around the room she could see a familiar green glow on the walls, they had used Kryptonite to keep her weak so that even if she did have the energy to try- which she didn't- she couldn't escape."Ah, you're awake," a voice said to her left.Looking towards where the voice sounded from Kara squinted her eyes, adjusting to the light that suddenly flooded the room. She could see Dan-El sitting at a small desk, his head being held up in his hands while he smirked at her. "Now we can start to have some real fun!" he said, jumping up from his seat and coming closer to where Kara was laying.As he came closer Kara tried to move away but found she couldn't.Looking down as best she could, she could see her arms were retrained to the metal table she was laying on and as she tried to move her legs she could feel they were restrained too. The feeling of being restrained like this, in the company she was with and the way the room looked made her heart rate pick up as panic flooded her body.This was like the dreams she had been having.This was far too similar to the memories she now had of her childhood on Krypton.She knew what this meant, he was going to try and change her again, like he had done when she was a child. He was going to force her to do things she didn't want to do and hurt her when she didn't do them the way he wanted.As she looked up to him and saw the manic look in his eyes and the almost evil smile on his face, she knew he was going to torture her, and he was going to enjoy it.He always did.Dan-El laughed as Kara thrashed against her restraints trying to free herself. "That won't work," he said, coming to stand by her side and pressing a hand down on her chest to make her lie still. "Neither will your powers, your body is too weak for them to work now," he continued, noticing how Kara had been glaring at him, her eyes turning red for a second before fading back to normal as her heat vision failed her. "What do you think of the décor, just like home isn't it?" he said excitedly, moving one arm around as though he was showing off the room they were in.As Kara looked around the room her heart sunk even further; it did look like Krypton. It was completely the same, just like the 'procedure room' they'd had on Krypton. A room Kara knew far too well, a room she hated and dreaded as child. A room she had nightmares about recently. A room that filled her with fear as she remembered the things that happened to those who entered.Looking at the symbols on the wall Kara gulped. "What do you want with me?" she asked, trying to sound braver than she felt currently.She couldn't let him see her fear, he thrived off fear."You know what I want," Dan-El replied, stroking her cheek with his spare hand while his other still pressed down upon her chest, "for now though, we are going to see how much you remember… before I punish you severely for not following my orders."The feeling of his hands on her was making Kara uncomfortable and causing her to squirm as she tried to move further away from him. "From memory, all your punishments were severe," Kara replied, grunting as she tried to shake his hands off her chest and face.Dan-El chuckled. "Well, you were never very good at following orders, you needed a strict hand," he mocked, stroking his hand along her chest, "you have grown into such a beauty with age, little sister. It is a crime that you have allowed yourself to stoup as low as to let a
human
touch you in this way," he continued angrily."My body is mine to give to who I please, not yours," Kara snapped glaring up at him.Dan-El laughed at the response, patting Kara condescendingly on the cheek before walking away, "That is where you are wrong, dear sister. You are mine to do with as I please, and soon you will learn to obey me, or suffer the consequences," he said as he walked over to a table at the side of the room and picked up a box full of different coloured syringes. "Now for your test, depending on how well you do will depend on which one of these we use first," he said with a smirk."You're sick," Kara spat, eyeing the syringes and gulping.Dan-El smiled, jumping up to sit on the table beside where Kara was laying, causing her to flinch attempting to move away again, "I see you remember these well then," he said."I remember everything- everything but why you hate me so much," Kara said."I don't." Dan-El responded. At the incredulous look Kara gave him he continued, "I don't hate you. I am trying to make you better, I've always been trying to make you better. It's why I am so much harder on you than I was on the others. We are royalty Kara, we have to be better."Kara scoffed, turning her head away, "Yeah sure, you kidnapped me and tortured me for four years to make me better because you care about me. You broke me- or you almost did. You would have done if it wasn't for aunt Astra.""That bitch is almost as bad as your mother was," Dan-El spat in disgust. "Your mother, now her I do hate. She changed father, she made him care for environment and preservation rather than enhancement. She made him change his views and tried to change mine!... but I couldn't- no, I wouldn't. Not for
her." His voice grew louder and faster, before he stopped to take a breath and to look at the symbol on the wall."The views I have are the last thing I had left from my mother," he continued, "we shared a lot of the same views. She-
she
was great Kara; she was strong and beautiful. She was fierce and smart. She was a scientist, she wanted to better our children- she invented the device that turned you into a child. It was one of her best inventions and it has helped so many people, it would have continued to help more if Alura hadn't changed things. Changing laws and changing the way our culture worked, to improve our quality of life- that was the spiel she always gave. All she did was put a stop of proper scientific testing. It was your mother than banned the use of the 'Krin-Drive'. Your mother who made the penalty for its use death."Standing, Dan-El placed the box of syringes down on a table near Kara, walking around to the opposite side of the room. "Father always said she did it for me. That she was protecting me from my mother's science-crazed mind, but that was a lie. The device did me no harm, it made me better! It opened my mind to better ways of learning and ways to better myself. It made me who I am today."Walking back over to where Kara was still tied to the table he sat by Kara once again, a yellow filled syringe in his hand. "Father stood there as she was sentenced to death, he said nothing. Of course, the great Zor-El could not be without a wife at such a young age, so by our grandfather's ruling the law stopping Kryptonians from being repaired by the matrix was lifted and father was gifted a second wife. A political marriage to Alura's house was made and I lost my place as first-born heir to the house of El. You see the new marriage erased my mother's existence in our house, and therefore removed my claim. Then
you
came along two years later after another rule was lifted to allow Alura to have a child made with a man who
already
had a child."Dan-El tapped her arm searching for a vein before injecting the yellow substance from the syringe into Kara's blood stream."I wanted to hate you. I tried to, but I found I couldn't. You were different.
You, I could save from their idealisms and love is the cure to all way. You have father's need for knowledge, you are a scientist like me, you are better than them.
We
are better than them." Dan-El continued.Kara frowned, staying quiet for a moment, "I am nothing like you," she said finally."Maybe not right now, but you will be. I just need to expel all the rubbish your head has been filled with first, so I can re-make you." Dan-El replied, removing the device from his pocket to send a shock through Kara's body again, watching her closely.He watched as Kara screamed in pain but otherwise did not move, not a twitch from her legs or arms. "Good," he commented. "We are ready for your punishment and lesson in obeying orders now," he continued, moving to release the Kryptonite cuffs securing Kara to the table, and smiling as Kara frowned while finding herself unable to move."What are you going to do to me?" Kara asked, having remembered why she can't move- the yellow filled syringe. How the serum inside worked, she was unsure. All she knew was that the serum would cause her to be, in effect, paralysed for a period of time while still being able to feel everything. She could feel- but she couldn't move at all.Kara grunted as Dan-El pulled her to sit up on the bed supporting her dead weight as she was unable to hold on to anything, hold herself up, or push him away. "I told you. I am going to severely punish you," Dan-El said, lifting Kara over his shoulder and carrying her over to the side of the room where a chain was dangling from the ceiling.He dropped her to floor roughly, before loosening the chain causing it to drop on the floor near her. Waking back over to Kara he pulled her back up by her wrists and cuffed her securely to the chain before letting her body sag once again. Dan-El smiled down at her cockily before tightening the chain again causing Kara to be suspended in the air handing by her wrists.Trailing a hand along her back Dan-El pushed her causing her to swing from the chain, the cuffs digging into the skin on her wrists as he walked away to a storage shelving unit at the side of the room. "I think your adoptive father had the right idea you know? You need a good whipping to learn to be obedient… and I have the perfect thing to use on you." Dan-El said, walking back to Kara and showing her the item that he had just picked up.A wooden handled whip that was glowing green. A Kryptonite enforced whip, that just the look of made Kara shudder even though her body as unable to right now.She knew this was going to hurt a lot, she closed her eyes as Dan-El disappeared behind her.She clenched her teeth together gulping when she felt him rip what was left of her clothes away from her body.

It had felt like hours had passed when Lucy finally heard movement coming from the corridor leading to the cell she was locked in, and as she looked up to the window she knew it must have been due to how it was now dark outside. When Lucy had first awoken it had been light, she had looked out the small window in the cell that was barred like the door, to see that the room she was in was surrounded by trees. She could see they were in the middle of nowhere in a forest, but other than that she had no idea where she was.As she turned back towards the cell entrance she could hear footsteps, and something being dragged along the floor. Lucy stood as guards approached her cell bar door and unlocked the cell. She gasped as she saw Kara being thrown into the cell and crumbling to the floor.She rushed forward to her friend crouching on the floor in front of her. Lucy found it hard to keep her anger in check as she looked her over; Kara was covered in only a thin blue hospital robe. A robe that was covered in blood and dirt and that only just managed to cover her thighs that were bleeding badly from welts that covered both her front and backs of her legs down to her knees. She was sweating badly and shivering with silent tears rolling down her face as her eyes screwed shut tightly, her jaw clenched. Lucy could see blood soaking through on the back of the robe, in the shape of what looked like more welts as well as the part of the robe that covered her bottom.It was clear to see that Kara had been beaten and whipped badly. The sight was horrible, and what was even more worrying was that the blood was still coming from the welts that were visible.Kara was not healing.Without sunlight to help Lucy knew it would be a long time until Kara would be able to heal.Looking down at her friend Lucy found herself thinking of how she was going to move Kara. Leaving her here on the floor was not an option. She was so busy trying to figure out how to move Kara that she jumped when a bucket and cloth was dropped on the floor next to her.Looking up she was met by the man she had seen in the arena- Dan-El.Dan-El smirked down at her as he stood in front of the entrance to the cell with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Looking around the cell Lucy could the other guards had already left leaving only the three of them. "What have you done to her?" Lucy growled out, disgusted by what she had seen so far."Just been making sure she knows her place, she responds better to pain. Jeremiah Danvers gave me the idea of giving her a good whipping. I think it has been rather effective," Dan-El replied with a shrug, using his foot to push the bucket of water closer to Lucy and Kara, "you can clean her up, don't want her getting infected, do we?"Dan-El was still smirking while walking backwards to stand on the outside of the cell before slamming the cell door shut and locking it. "Oh- I decided to upgrade you from bait to keep the DEO in line, to my sister's carer. Her life is in your hands, figuratively speaking of course," he said in parting before walking back down the corridor, leaving Lucy alone with a bleeding and barely conscious Kara.Lucy took a few deep breaths in and out, looking around the room trying to figure out how to get Kara over to the bed. She didn't want to leave her here on the floor, it was cold in the cell and Kara was already shivering. Lucy knew that Kara didn't usually feel the cold but with her being unable to heal properly and the fact that Kara was already badly hurt the last thing she wanted was for things to be made worse by Kara having to sleep on the cold hard floor.Moving Kara was not going to be easy, she was barely holding onto consciousness and getting her up off the floor was going to be difficult without causing her lots of pain, let alone moving her over to the other side of the room when she was up. Looking over to the bed Lucy could see it was a flimsy metal frame with a very thin mattress on it.Moving the bed itself was a possibility, she knew that from looking at it before, it wasn't chained or nailed down. She could drag it closer to where Kara was, so she did not have to move her as much."Okay," Lucy muttered more to herself than Kara before brushing some hair back from her friend's sweaty forehead, "I'm going to bring the bed closer, then help you get up," she said.Kara only groaned in response, mumbling something Lucy couldn't understand, "I'll be right back," Lucy promised before standing and making her way over to the bed. she took a deep breath before beginning to tug on the bed, grunting as she managed to slowly pull it from the position it was in and move it across the room. The metal legs scraped across the floor as she did so making an awful noise much like nails on a chalkboard.After some time and a lot of effort and energy Lucy managed to move the bed next to where Kara was laying and pushed it up against the wall of the cell they were in.Taking a seat on the bed she placed her head in her hands and took a few deep breaths in and out before looking over to where Kara was still laying on the floor. Standing, she pulled the thin blanket back to the end of the bed before crouching down on the floor next to Kara again."Kara? I need you to try and put your arm around my neck," she instructed, receiving only a groan and mumble in response. "Okay you know what? We will try something else. I'm going to try and move you myself, and I'm sorry- but this is probably going to hurt- a lot."Kara didn't respond.Standing Lucy braced herself, moving her feet slightly apart after taking one step back from where Kara was laying, before bending over and lifting Kara by placing a hand under each armpit. Hauling her up, she leant the blonde against her own body so that Kara's back was pressed to her front. Kara didn't move, the only response Lucy got from her was a grunt and a whimper, both of which were quiet.Breathing deeply Lucy then shuffled them both around slightly, holding Kara close to her body by wrapping both arms around the blonde's stomach before almost throwing her at the bed. She sighed in relief when she realised her aim had been true and Kara fell face first onto the thin mattress, though she winced afterwards at the slightly louder groan Kara made.Stepping closer to the bed Lucy gently shifted Kara around so that both her legs were on the bed. Positioning her so that she lay completely on her stomach with her head laying to the one side facing Lucy, "There we go. That's better, right?" she said, knowing she was speaking more to herself. Sitting on the floor in front of the bed Lucy leant to the one side to grab the bucket of water and cloth that had been left behind.Kara only groaned in response to her question again, her eyes blinked open to look blankly in Lucy's direction before drooping shut again as Lucy turned back to her.Lucy looked at her sadly while brushing some hair that had fallen in her face away. "Try and sleep Kar, I'll clean you up while you rest," Lucy instructed, waiting until she could hear Kara's breaths even out before she even attempted to treat the wounds she knew would be littered across her friend's skin.Kara was in enough pain already, she wasn't going to add it more than necessary.

"That feels nice, please don't stop.""I won't, I know you need this, you feel really tense.""My back really hurts, everywhere hurts.""I know darling, when I get my hands on him he will be very sorry for hurting you like this, he will be sorry for everything he has done, the attack on the DEO included.""…I'm sorry I couldn't stop him, I didn't realise until it was too late.""It's not your fault, you weren't to know what he was going to do.""I should have though, he always picked his words carefully, even on Krypton. I should have known he would find a way to still hurt people and get what he wants. It's what he's good at.""Being an ass?""No! well yes… but I meant being deceiving. He makes you think you have a choice when you don't.""You always have a choice Kara, even when people try and take that choice away from you, ultimately it's you who decides if you want to let them.""I don't feel like I have much of a choice in anything at the moment, he's trying to break me, Lee. Like before, like on Krypton.""He didn't break you though, did he? And he won't now.""He was so close to breaking me when I was younger, if my aunt hadn't come when she did he would have succeeded. She isn't here, nor are my parents. They can't save me this time, no one can.""Remember what I said to you before we changed you back?""That you love me?""Yes, I do, but do you remember what else I said?""I can't- everything is just so jumbled, I can't remember!... I'm sorry,""You have nothing to be sorry for, none of this is your fault. What's happening here is not your fault, you know that, right?"It is though- my fault that is. It's because of me he is back. Because of me that you got hurt, that Alex had to lose her father all over again, that Eliza got hurt. All this bad stuff keeps happening because of me.""Bad things happen all the time Kara, but none of this is your fault. None of what is happening here is because of you, it is happening around you and to you, but not because of you. The people who have done these bad things have had choices to make just like you will do. They chose to do this, not you. You have done nothing wrong, I need for you to believe that, believe in me, believe in us and believe in my love for you.""…That's what you said- the last bit.""It is... I will keep telling you that until I know you do believe it. Just like I will keep telling that this- is- not- your- fault.""…Lena, I- me seeing you now, it's not a good thing is it?""What makes you say that?""I just- you're not really here, are you? You can't be, because if you are then it means he killed you, and he's killed me… I don't want you to die, I don't want to die either.""No one said either of us are dead Kara, we have just begun. We have so much more to still find out about each other. We have so much more to still do together. It will take more than a big pile of rubble to make me leave you.""Then how are you here right now?""I'm here because you need me, I will always be here when you need me.""You're in my mind?""Partly yes. I'll always be with you Kara, no matter what happens. Right now, I am with you because you need me to be. You need me to help you through everything that is happening to you.""Please don't leave me Lena, I don't think I can survive being here without you.""You can, you are stronger than you realise, but I'm not going anywhere. Promise me you will hold on and keep fighting until we come for you, and I will do everything in my power to make sure I am here with you through everything. I promise."

Kara groaned, moving around slightly on her stomach, "Lena.." she whimpered her eyes opening to scan the room before closing again.Everything hurt.Her back was stinging as was her bottom and her legs, her head was pounding, and her muscles felt like someone had been poking them with a sharp stick constantly."Lena…where are you?" she asked again, she wanted Lena back.It hurt less when Lena was with her.She jumped as she felt the bed dip near her head, turning her head slowly and carefully she could see someone was sitting next to her, she could feel a hand resting on her forehead. "Lena?" Kara asked again."No Kar, it's Lucy," Lucy said gently, stroking Kara's hair back from her face watching as blue eyes snapped up to her in confusion.Kara scanned the room as best she could without moving too much, turning her head to the other side and then back to Lucy, as she turned back to face Lucy her eyes were filled with tears. "Where is she? She promised she wouldn't leave me," Kara said, silent tears falling down her face."I think you were dreaming, you were talking in your sleep," Lucy said carefully, not wanting to upset Kara further by telling her this, it was clear to see Kara was not fully with it yet and was still processing things while in a lot of pain.She felt instantly bad when Kara only mumbled the name
'Lena'
again quietly, more tears falling. "How are you feeling? I'm going to check your back again, make sure the bleeding has stopped now, okay?" Lucy asked after a moment, peeling the blanket and robe back carefully to take a lot at the wounds she had cleaned up while Kara was unconscious. She had covered Kara back up after cleaning the wounds, trying to keep her as warm as possible in the cold cell after noticing that she was shivering in her sleep.Kara didn't respond at first, her eyes were still looking around the room searchingly. "Hurts," she mumbled after a moment of silence, flinching slightly as Lucy ran a hand over her back checking for any fresh blood against the patchwork of red scarred skin Kara now had across her back."I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I was hoping you would have healed a bit by now, but that still looks pretty raw," Lucy said apologetically, covering Kara's back again, and moving to stand from the bed, "you should sleep more. It will help you heal then when the sun comes up we can try and move you closer to the window."Lucy was about to walk to the window to look outside again to see how low the moon was when she was stopped by Kara's hand suddenly shooting out to grab her wrist holding her in place. "Don't leave," Kara said nervously, "Please. I don't want to be alone."Lucy nodded in response, "Can you lean up a little?" she asked waiting until Kara did as asked before picking up the single pillow and placing it against the wall. climbing on to the bed carefully Lucy leant her back against the pillow before helping Kara lower herself back to the bed with the blonde's head resting in her lap. She smiled down at her friend when she heard Kara sigh before relaxing into the thin mattress, obviously finding comfort in the closeness of someone she knew being near her and in contact with her."I'm sorry that they got to you… but in a selfish way I'm kinda glad you're here right now," Kara said tiredly, her eyes closing shut as Lucy ran a hand over her hair. "If you have the chance though, you need to get yourself out of here and to safety… with or without me," she continued, shivering.Lucy sighed, pulling the blanket higher up Kara's back to ensure she was covered fully after feeling her shiver again, "If I have the chance to get out of here you are coming with me. I'm not leaving you here," she promised adamantly, continuing to thread her fingers gently through blonde hair as Kara stared into the room blankly, her eyes drooping shut then blinking open again repeatedly."Me neither. I'm still here when you need me darling, I didn't leave you. It's just harder for you to see me when you are awake. Sleep now my love, I'll be watching over you.""I love you Lena," Kara mumbled tiredly smiling softly while Lucy looked down to her in concern."I love you too, hold on Kara, for me."Kara's eyes closed, this time staying closed as her breathing evened out and sleep claimed her.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Warning: Mentions and graphic scenes of violence and death, mentions and reference to torture. Mild swearing.

Trigger Warnings: Torture, graphic murder.

Chapter Nineteen

Less than five minutes had passed since Maggie left the room in search of Alex, the sounds of the battle had been dying down since then, no longer could gunfire be heard as rapidly as it was before. Whether that was a good thing or not Lena and Winn were not sure. It only meant one of two things- they were winning, or they weren't.

Kara was still unconscious, though her mind was still clearly very active. She was shaking on the bed, her whole-body trembling as her eyes moved quickly behind closed eyelids. Occasionally she would whimper loudly, her head turning into girlfriend's stomach as Lena combed her fingers through blonde hair and kissed her forehead trying to keep her calm.

Eliza was still unconscious having not yet woken from the sedation, and Winn was pacing around the room once again close to the door. Every so often he would peak back the blinds to check outside the room they were in.

Lena could understand his unease- they were sitting ducks here. Sitting ducks that had just sent one of their own off to a battle they were not sure they could win.
"Do you think we got the calculations wrong?" Winn asked while still pacing. "It wasn't meant to hurt her, we must have got it wrong," he continued in concern.
Lena shook her head, using her one arm to pull Kara in closer on her lap as more tears leaked from her closed eyes, "No it worked how it should- I'm almost certain. This is something else."
"What?" Winn asked, he looked as though he didn't fully believe what she had just said. "What else could it be?"
Lena shrugged in response, "I don't know," she replied honestly, "only she can tell us. At a guess I would say it is something to do with the chip- she was clutching her head before everything went crazy." She theorised, pausing for a moment to kiss Kara's forehead again as the blonde whimpered loudly muttering out 'the Malron'.
"The 'Krin-Drive' targeted her cells dispersing solar energy throughout her body- it effected the way she grows. It shouldn't have affected her mind at all." Lena continued, looking up to met Winn's eyes, "This, has to be something else." She finished.
Winn was about to reply when suddenly the door behind him opened knocking him forwards. He went to grab the gun he had placed down on the table but was grabbed from behind by a strong, hard, hand holding onto the back of his neck and lifting him from the ground.

He kept reaching for his gun but couldn't stretch far enough.

He heard a click in front of him and looked up to see Lena stood holding her gun out, she motioned with her eyes for him to try and move out the way. Thinking quickly, Winn jammed his elbow backwards hitting his captor square in the face.

It didn't hurt the Kryptonian- he assumed- holding him, but it did cause the Kryptonian to move him to the side and away from his own body for a split second.

That was all the time Lena needed- she fired once quickly.

The bullet hit against the Kryptonian's shoulder but bounced off- flying right into the wall just barely above Eliza's head causing Lena to gasp and for Winn's eyes to widen in shock.

The guns had Kryptonite bullets in, they should be able to harm a Kryptonian- this meant only one thing. They were wearing suits that nulled the effect of the green Kryptonite.

Winn felt himself falling and knew he had been thrown, he hit the floor before he even knew how to react and felt darkness settling in. As his eyes closed he could hear movement, he could hear a struggle- he could hear someone or something hitting the wall near where he had fallen hard.

Everything went blank- everything went dark.

"Has there been any improvement?""Brian activity is good, but other than that no."

She could feel herself floating in a mindless fog.

She could hear voices around her all the time, but she couldn't pinpoint who it was that was talking to her. The voices sounded worried and hush at times, while other times they were loud comforting, almost familiar.

Her mind was hazy, making her have trouble keeping up with what was happening around her, snippets of conversations would flood through then disappear moments later.

The conversations were random- they had no connection.

"Did you find it?""Yes, but we still can't figure out what is it. It's too smashed up.""You should get Winn to look, maybe he can figure out what parts go where and what it does… though he is no engineer, not like her."

The voices would fade in and out.

Sometimes she would hear whole conversations, sometimes only parts.

There was always a 'her' they were talking about though, sometimes even multiple 'hers'.

Sometimes it felt like they were talking to her, other times about her. Sometimes it felt like they were asking her questions, questions she couldn't answer due to the fog in her mind.

The fog that was all around her. The fog that only cleared in that one room. The medical bay room that Maggie left to help Alex fight at the DEO. The room where Kara was fitting on a bed next to Eliza as she slept off the effects of the sedation Jeremiah had administered.

The room that seemed all too familiar yet so wrong at the same time.

"Do you think she will wake up soon?""She will, I'm sure- she won't leave us. She won't leave her.""But what if she doesn't? What if she can't?""She has to."

Opening her eyes, she groaned moving her head to the side. She could feel someone stroking her cheek, brushing her hair away.

Looking up she was met with deep bright blue eyes.

Eye's that were so peaceful and calming even with all the shouting and chaos she could hear around them. A loud bang caused the eyes to turn away from her quickly to the door making her try to sit up only to pushed back down again by a gentle hand on her chest.
"Stay down, you hit your head. You need to lay still, you're not ready yet."
That's right, she did hit her head.

Not long after Maggie had left someone had barged into the room and grabbed Winn from behind, she had shot the person- a Kryptonian- and the bullet bounced right off him embedding itself in the wall. The Kryptonian had thrown Winn to the floor knocking him out and then he came for her.

He had grabbed her arm before being thrown in the other direction before everything went blank.

All she remembered seeing was blonde and blue speed in front of her.

Kara.

Kara had woken up and pushed him away, what happened after she couldn't remember.

It was Kara who was stroking her cheek right now, Kara's eyes she had been looking into. Kara who had spoken to her and was still speaking to her now.
"- you fell hard- I couldn't get to you in time… I had to take care of him," Kara said, motioning to the side where there was the Kryptonian that barged into the room cuffed against the wall, "He won't be waking up anytime soon, I disabled the suit- I think he was from my aunt's army- I knocked him out and cuffed him- there was some Kryptonite cuffs in the trolley- I used those, it should keep him down," she continued, rambling on nervously.
Lena frowned, something was wrong. There was still a fogginess, still a floating feeling all around her. Kara was too Kara, something wasn't right- was it the Kryptonite? Was that affecting her and making her seem different?

Moving her head to look back up at Kara, she studied her hard for a moment, "The Kryptonite-" Lena began, concerned.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me- it's you we need to worry about," Kara replied cutting her off.
Lena shook her head, "No. You're not fine. Something is wrong," she insisted, "You were fitting, your powers were out of control."
"It hurt when they came back," Kara explained vaguely, looking up to the door again.
Furrowing her eyebrows, Lena reached out to take Kara's hand in her own and squeezed softly, "When what came back?" She asked.
"You know- you know already, you need to remember that too. You need to remember what happens next," Kara replied not looking away from the door, "I have to go soon- they need me." She continued.
Lena frowned again, this didn't feel right.

Something was off, something was different.

Kara was different.

Almost disconnected, something which she and Kara never were.
"I need you, stay with me- please?" Lena begged, a feeling in her gut telling her that if Kara left the room nothing good would come of it.
Kara turned to look back down at her, leaning down to place a gentle kiss to her forehead, "I have to- and soon you will too." She said, her voice sounding far away even though she was right in front of Lena.

The room was becoming foggier again.

It was brighter somehow, even though there were no windows it looked as though sunlight was illuminating the room.

It made Kara have an almost sun-like glowing aura around her.
"We can't stay here Lee, people need us- they need you- I need you."

Jerking herself into consciousness Lucy took in her surroundings with a sense of disappointment. This was the same thing that happened whenever she woke up. She would awake thinking and hoping that their situation was nothing but a bad dream, until she opened her eyes to see the same dark and dank cell lit up only by what light was available from the window and the small lamp around the corner of the corridor. She would feel the familiar weight of Kara's head resting upon her lap or feel her curled up into her side depending on how bad a day she had the day before, and she would know that this was not a nightmare that they were living through- it was a terrible reality.Lucy had always been a light sleeper- so it was no surprise that she found herself awaking at 5am every morning when the first of the days sunrays shine through the small barred window like clockwork. It wasn't until what she believed was their third day here that she realised there was something else that was causing her to wake as well.A noise.A loud beeping.A beeping that Lucy had learnt was a sound that signalled the security camera's in the building turning off. It was when she first heard the sound on the third night that she decided to look more closely outside the cell and to her surprise all the camera's that were visible to her appeared to no longer be active. The red light was always off after the first beep sounded.It would stay off for what Lucy counted out to be roughly five minutes, before another beep would sound and the red light would be back on. The camera would be back on and monitoring them again.On what she believed was their second night here Lucy moved the bed once again much like she had done that first night. She had noticed the camera that was looking into their cell and didn't want to give the sick people that had been hurting Kara a show of her trying to clean her up. She moved the bed away from where the camera could see them. Trying to give them what privacy she could while also maximising on where she knew the sunlight would shine in the morning, so Kara could at least attempt to partially heal.It did help some- Kara would sleep until the sun had been in the sky for two, maybe even three hours before waking. When she woke she would seem more lucid, she could hold a conversation better even though she was still in pain. Lucy would ask her questions to try and keep her mind active and focused on the good things she had in her life.Anything other than the pain she was feeling.They spoke a lot about Lena. It started off small, Lucy's interest being peaked at hearing her friend speak of a Lena that first night while completely out of it.She was shocked to hear that the Lena that Kara was talking about was Lena Luthor of all people- she was even more shocked to hear they were dating and had been for the best part of a year now.Part of her was hurt to have not known this sooner, but that wasn't Kara's fault- it was hers.She had missed her friends at the DEO after leaving and to make things easier on herself she had not been returning their calls, only sending texts occasionally and playing it off by saying she was busy and they would catch up soon- they didn't. The truth was missing them hurt, and she had been trying to protect herself. She had assumed that by not speaking to them, by not hearing about their lives she would miss them less.It didn't work.She only missed them more and due to her trying to make it hurt less she pushed them away and slowly they stopped trying to contact her as much.All apart from Kara.It occurred to her then that Kara may have told her already- and
she
may have ignored it. Kara would send her messages and pictures all the time that Lucy would look at fleetingly and not respond to often.She was sure if she checked her phone when, and if, she got out of here- she would see pictures of Kara and this Lena together.Lena was one of Kara's favourite things to talk about.She seemed happier and lighter when talking about her girlfriend.The pain seemed just that little bit easier.Lucy like to hear about her just as much as Kara liked to talk about it, it was nice to feel connected to Kara again- to feel like she knew her friends again.Kara filled her in on Alex and her girlfriend- or fiancée she should say- Maggie, as well. The detective who detected that Kara was Supergirl before Alex could even think about talking to Kara about telling her. Lucy didn't have the heart to tell Kara that it wasn't that hard to figure out. She heard all about how they got together and how happy they were and felt happy for her friend.She looked forward to hopefully meeting Maggie, and Lena.She looked forward to being able to catch up properly with all her friends- and as hours went by and day light continued to turn to night over and over again it was that thought that kept her strong.That thought that made her watch her surroundings looking for a way out when the time was right.She couldn't be completely sure, but it seemed like five days had passed since Kara was first thrown into the cell with her. The sun had gone up and down five times, and four times Kara had been taken from the cell in Kryptonite handcuffs then returned hours later beaten and barely conscious.They seemed to find different ways of hurting her each day.The second day much like the first one she came back covered in bleeding welts from being whipped again, the first day's welts hadn't healed, and it only served to make her look even more fragile than she had seemed that first day.They brought some food in later that night on the second day.It was barely enough for Lucy alone- let alone the both of them.Lucy tried to get Kara to eat but she refused. She said she could go without food even though Lucy knew for a fact she couldn't. Without the sun's radiation she needed food to keep her strength up- she was already weak and would need the calories. Lucy told her this but still she refused- eyeing the food almost wearily.The third day Kara came back covered from head to toe in bruises and blood- after she had rested and was more with it, Lucy had asked her what had happened to find out they had thrown her back in the arena for hours. They had sent in Kryptonian after Kryptonian until she relented and began to fight back.Something for which she felt terrible about, Kara didn't want to hurt anyone- even if they were hurting her.She refused food again that night.She didn't offer a reason as to why, she just pushed it away and turned her back, rolling over to face the wall and cry herself to sleep.The fourth day when she came back the sight of what they had done to her made Lucy feel sick. From the wounds she could see littered across Kara's body it almost looked as though they had attempted to dissect her.When Kara had rested Lucy found out they had- what was worse is they did it while she was conscious. They cut her open to see how quickly she could stitch herself back together again, using just enough sunlight to help with that but not to heal the other wounds she had already from previous days.Kara didn't need to tell Lucy how it made her feel- she could see from the look on her friends face that it had terrified her.They didn't bring any food that night, not that either of them would have noticed if they did.Lucy spent the whole night being the 'big spoon', holding Kara from behind as she shook in her arms, trying to distract her from what she had seen and felt by asking her about Lena until eventually they both fell into the restless sleep.The fifth day- yesterday was the worst for Lucy.They didn't hurt Kara- at least not physically. They didn't even remove her from the cell.They came in with a needle, a needle filled with a golden glowing serum that they injected into Kara's bloodstream causing her to fall unconscious straight away. Then they left again.It was hours before Kara woke up- but when she did it broke Lucy's heart. She was terrified of everything- even her. Whatever they had injected her with caused a fear and panic so primal that she was sure Kara was going to end up hurting herself with how she was reacting.She had screamed and thrashed on the floor as though fighting off inviable attackers and did so for hours. Lucy couldn't get close enough to her to try and comfort her- every time she tried to get near her Kara would only become more afraid and try to flee in the opposite direction.She ran face first into walls, into the barred cell door, she had tripped and fallen to the ground more times than Lucy could even count and had even smacked her head against the wall at one stage repeatedly, almost as though trying to smack out the images she was seeing from her own mind.Kara was like this for hours until finally she just cried and shook- finally she stopped fighting and just sobbed sitting in the middle of the cell.Food came in, but Lucy ignored it, instead she focused on Kara who was finally letting her get close. She took her friend into her arms and rocked her as Kara continued to sob and shake. They didn't speak, they just sat together as slowly Kara calmed from her panic her sobs calming though the shaking didn't.She trembled all night long- much worse than what she had done the previous night.Eventually Lucy moved them to the bed and did manage to get Kara to eat a small amount of food. She felt bad as she doubted Kara even realised what was going on around her. She felt as though she was almost taking advantage of Kara's confused and frightened state of mind- but she knew Kara needed to eat. After getting Kara to unknowingly eat just over half the food and realising she wasn't going to get her to eat anymore than that Lucy ate the rest herself before pulling her friend into her side and covering her still trembling body with the blanket.Sleep didn't come easy at all, Kara was fighting sleep for most of the night. She passed out- still trembling in Lucy's arms in her sleep- long after the guards took the empty tray away. Lucy stayed awake herself for as long as possible, rubbing her friends still trembling back and listening to her mutter in her sleep as though talking to someone until sleep had claimed her too.Lucy sighed, running a hand through her hair before dropping it back to rest against Kara's back squinting as the first of the days sunlight began to shine through the barred window.She startled slightly causing Kara to whine when she heard footsteps approaching.That was unusual this time of day.Usually there was no movement for a few more hours.Carefully Lucy shifted Kara to lie on the bed next to her and leaned up slightly to be able to look around the corner and out of the cell.Her eye's widened as she saw Dan-El approaching, the kryptonite cuffs in his hand.They were early- Too early.Kara was still sleeping- still recovering from the effects of what they had done to her yesterday.Sitting up on the bed Lucy waiting for them to enter, shielding Kara with the way she was sitting. The guards stayed outside while Dan-El entered the cell, walking up to the bed he smirked down at Lucy, "Move," he said simply."I'm not one of your puppets- you can't order me around like that," Lucy replied, not moving an inch as she looked up to him defiantly.Dan-El nodded and hummed in response, looking thoughtful for moment before sending a punch to Lucy's jaw quicker than she could see it coming, "Move, or I'll make you move."Lucy's moved her head to the side and spat out some blood to the floor before looking back up at him, "No." she refused adamantly as she felt Kara beginning to stir behind her."Well done," Dan-El said clapping sarcastically, "you just earnt her another whipping today!" moving his head to look around Lucy he smirked again, "we've got lots of fun things planned for you today little sister- but first I'll have to punish you for your friend's rudeness."Lucy glared at him angrily, while Kara sat up gingerly behind her, "Leave her alo-" Lucy began."Ah, Ah!" Dan-El interrupted, "You don't want me to whip her and inject her with that golden serum again, do you?" he continued causing Lucy to quieten quickly.She hoped to never see that again- she hoped Kara never went through it again.Last night had been terrible.She had seen Kara cry before when hurt or scared for a loved one, but she had never seen her friend that scared before. She had never seen a fear so pure and primal on her face and she never wanted to see it again."Time to go K.Z," Dan-El said with a smirk.Kara hesitated for moment, not moving at first until she saw Dan-El move to pull out the button that would cause her to receive a shook and slowly began to rise from the bed as he chucked, "See! You are learning- slowly."Kara stood unsteadily on her feet only growing more unsteady when the Kryptonite cuffs were slapped around her wrists, the effects of them draining what little energy she did have almost immediately.Dan-El grabbed her arm and began to drag her from the room calling over his shoulder as he left the cell pushing Kara out in front of him, "Don't wait up- you won't be seeing her again until tomorrow now." He said, slamming the cell shut as he left. "She and your brother-in-law have some training to undergo tonight, after some lessons and the punishment she is taking for you."Lucy stood watching as they left rooted to the spot.Had she just heard him correctly? Did he just say her brother-in-law?

Kal-El winced as he rolled over covering his ears with his hands- they were at it again. He could hear his cousins screams and cries again. He could hear as they hurt her again and again as he lay there unable to do anything to help. It sounded as though they were whipping her again, he could hear the loud swoosh, following by a loud crack and finally an even louder scream. Then it repeated. Over and over again.He wanted to stop them, he wanted to take his cousin and fly her to safety- but he couldn't.The
Man of Steel
was rendered useless due to the Kryptonite they had used to make the bars of his cell. If he got too close to the bars it would cause him to drop to his knees the effects becoming too strong.He had tried to break out by hitting the wall and almost broke his hand yesterday after hearing horrendous endless screaming and crying from a different direction of the building they were in. He had been unable to escape as the walls had been lined with lead it would seem. He couldn't see through them, he could barely punch them. It was either that or the exposure of the Kryptonite was weakening him more than he had first thought.He was helpless right now.He was defenceless- worse he was useless.He was completely at their mercy- and what was worse is he knew that they could make him do as they wanted.They already had in the arena.He had no control over his body or mind during that fight. He could see it was Kara he was fighting- he even saw his younger sister-in-law Lucy too- but he couldn't stop himself.Once they had injected him with that strange glowing silver needle followed by a black needle after he was unable to do anything he wanted.He only did as they asked.He only saw what they told him was there.They told him Kara was his enemy and she had to be defeated. So, he tried to defeat her and anyone else that got in his way. He almost killed Lucy- he almost killed Kara, and he couldn't stop.If Kara hadn't have knocked him out when she did he would have killed them both.That frightened him more than anything else, the fact that they were able to control him so easily. That they could turn him against his own family, that they could make him use his powers to hurt the people he cared about.He hated himself for what he had done- for what he had almost done as well.Since he woke up in this cell after that fight they have left him alone so far- bar bringing in small amounts of food every other day. They haven't spoken to him, no one has come to see him. He has just been sat alone in his cell, listening to his cousin's screams throughout the day and nothing at night. When he did sleep- which wasn't often- he remembered how they captured him.How they got to him and brought him here in the first place.He had received a text from Alex Danvers asking for his help. The DEO was surrounded, and Kara was unable to help due to being indisposed as a child it would seem. He had been angry for not being kept in the loop and was going to be speaking with both Alex and J'onn about it after aiding them with the trouble they had found themselves in.He had been ambushed before he even arrived at the DEO.Five Kryptonian's had attacked him and overpowered him, managing to hold him down while a sixth injected him with something that made his world go blank.The next thing he knew he was strapped down with Kryptonite to a chair by a man with a scar on his face who told him they were going to play a game. Then came the injections- one silver which burned and made him feel light headed, and one black which made him stop fighting, made him sit limply completely compliant.The next time he woke he was in the arena, trying to kill his cousin and not being able to stop no matter how hard he tried until Kara made him stop.Then when he awoke again he was here.In this cell.He couldn't be certain but from his calculations he had been in this cell for at least five full days now, today was the sixth.He knew that by now Lois would know something is wrong and would be looking for him. He wondered if she would have contacted J'onn and if between the two of them they would have realised that this was all connected. The attack on the DEO, his disappearance, Kara's too- even Lucy's.He shut his eyes tight shaking his head as he heard Kara screams become louder again. The sounds of the whipping had stopped now but she was screaming harder than she had been before. He had no idea what they were doing to her, but he knew it must be bad. Kara was incredibly strong not just physically but mentally too- for her to be reacting like that they must be hurting her badly enough to cause her to begin to crack and break."Beautiful isn't it?" A voice asked, causing Kal to look towards the bars of his cell, "Finally she is getting what she has deserved for years."A man was by his cell, a man who looked familiar yet very different from what he remembered.Kal gasped in shock, "Jeremiah?" he asked."Hello Clark- or Kal should I say when you're dressed that?" Jeremiah responded, referring to the torn and bloodied Superman suit Kal was still wearing.Kal-El shook his head looking at the man in disgust, "I had heard you betrayed the DEO, but I didn't think your betrayal would run this deep to extend to your own family.""Betrayal is rather strong- I am merely doing what is best for my family," Jeremiah replied swiping a key-card against the wall to the cell which unlocked the door with a click.Kal-El stood eyeing Jeremiah wearily, "Kara is your family, and you just said she deserves what they are doing to her. Nobody deserves that- least of all her." He argued.Jeremiah smiled as he entered the cell."That's your opinion," Jeremiah said with a shrug, "mine is different." He continued, pulling out a tranquiliser gun and firing quickly, causing a glowing green dark to shoot out and embed itself into Kal's thigh.Grunting Kal-El dropped to his knees, weakened instantly by the dart."We took that girl in as a favour to you- that was our mistake… I should have never allowed it. I should have protected my family… She is your family, not mine." Jeremiah said as he placed the gun away in his pocket.As he stepped closer to Kal-El he took out a pair of Kryptonite cuffs from his back pocket. "With any luck you will kill each other down here and the world will be rid of you both- if not then at least you are both away from my family."

"I don't know if you can hear me, I'm not sure whether what they show in the movies is true on how coma patients can hear what is said to them and all- but if you can, if you can hear me now I need you to wake up. Things are- things are messed up right now. They can't find them anywhere, the Kryptonian's, this 'Dan-El' guy, Kara- they are all missing… it's like they have vanished into thin air! There is not a trace of them, not even a whisper of them anywhere… you cant hide that many Kryptonian's without there being some talk about it, some trace or some signal somewhere, but Winn can't find anything… J'onn cant find anything, hell even the General can't find anything either and he has been going crazy looking for his daughter that is missing too. Did you know Kara knows his daughter? This Lucy Lane chick? Alex too? They are good friends from what Eliza told me."Maggie sighed, taking a deep breath as she looked down to the hand she was holding.If anyone had told her a week ago she would be sitting by Lena Luthor's bedside holding her hand and talking to her, begging her to wake up from a coma she would have laughed in their faces.Firstly, for the idiotic idea that Kara would let Lena be hurt enough for her to end up in a coma. That was just plan dumb to think that would happen when Kara was Supergirl.Secondly for the fact that she,
Maggie Sawyer, would be seen being mushy and holding Little Luthor's hand like this. They had a friendship that was slowly growing sure, but it consisted more of banter and eye rolls, not closeness like this. Or at least not until
tiny Danvers
blasted into their lives.The events that have happened since Kara was turned into a child have caused them
all
to grow closer, and Maggie was thankful for that.She was- she just wished it hadn't come to this."Alex says you rocked up in there all bad ass, with your gun out, and telling everyone to get away from your girl- I would have loved to have seen that!" Maggie said with a chuckle, "I mean I thought
I
was bad ass for what I did when he had Alex- but you just had to go one better didn't you? Always a Luthor… it's how I know you're going to be okay. You're tough, you've had to be, and you don't back down without a fight. It's what makes you and Kara so perfect for each other- you have both had so much that has tried to drag you down, but you never let it beat you.""That and they are both stubborn as hell," Alex said from the doorway, causing Maggie to startle slightly as she turned around to look at her.Smiling, Alex made her way into the room and took the spare seat next to Maggie dropping her bag to the floor. "They say talking to coma patients helps- what you are doing is good," Alex said.Maggie shrugged, "I'm not sure if that's true, about them hearing everything you say? But I just feel like Kara wouldn't want her to be alone, you know?" Maggie said softly, eyeing her fiancée carefully at the mention of Kara's name.Alex had been acting brave, acting as though she was fine, but Maggie knew she wasn't. She knew Alex was angry that they hadn't found Kara, she was angry with Kara for leaving, she was angry with her dad and angry with J'onn.More than that though- she was scared. She was terrified about what was happening to her little sister, she was scared that Kara couldn't survive more apparent family members disappointing and hurting her like others had in the past. She was scared that Kara wouldn't fight to get out of this unless she knew there was something to fight for."Yeah, I know." Alex agreed to Maggie's earlier question. Knowing that Maggie was right, Kara would want them to look after Lena- no matter what happened. "Studies show they do hear some, just maybe not all of what we say- so I guess you could chuck any insults you have her way and blame it on the coma fog if she does remember them?" she continued cheekily as Maggie chuckled.Shaking her head Maggie smiled, reaching out to take Alex's hand in her own, lacing their fingers together, "You are evil sometimes," she commented."Maybe her Luthor genes are rubbing off on me," Alex quipped, with a small smile, Maggie's eye's widening as the heart rate monitor beeped out a sync for a moment, "oooh, look! I think she heard me- you should call her little Luthor, she'll wake up just to smack you for it."Maggie burst out laughing at that- she could imagine it.Lena was always rolling her eyes at her, and recently throwing things such as pillows and cushions at her for the nickname.Alex was laughing lightly too, letting some of her sadness and fear wash away if only for a moment while in the company of her fiancée."There you are! I have been looking everywhere for you!" Winn said breathlessly as he rushed into the room holding a tablet in his hands.Alex looked up quickly, a hopeful look in her eyes, "Have you found something?""Sort of- I have been going through and trying to debug what I can of the security footage for that day to see how the prisoners escaped from their cells and were possibly taken." Winn began to explain.After the fight was over and J'onn returned with what was left of his agents along with General Lane and his remaining army members the damages were assessed from the battle at both the DEO and the prison. While the assessment was made they had found that the prisoner chambers at the DEO had been damaged badly.The damage had killed most prisoners, while others it seemed had been taken.Alex's father, Jeremiah Danvers' was one of the presumed taken prisoners, so far, no body had been found, nor had any indication of his whereabouts.Alex waved a hand at him impatiently, signalling for him to get on with it, "I found something else while I was looking through the files- something we overlooked before," he continued nervously as Alex stood taking the tablet from him quickly having lost her patience with waiting for him to explain what was so important."What has this got to do with how the prisoners escaped and taken?" Alex asked in confusion as she looked down at the image on the tablet.Winn gulped backing up a step, "It doesn't show how they escaped but it shows what one of them did after escaping- you need to watch it as I don't think they were taken- I think the ones that were not killed went willingly."Alex looked to Winn for a moment before coming to stand next to Maggie who was still seated, she angled the tablet so that they could both see before she pressed play.As the video started up sounds of footsteps could be heard, followed by a gasp shortly before Agent Tamera Corz came into shot. She was walking backwards being pushed by Jeremiah Danvers who had his flesh hand around her throat as he backed her into a wall. He leant in close and muttered something in her ear that wasn't loud enough to make out from the video. He then pulled back and thrusting his metal hand through her rib-cage, making a painful cracking sound as Tamara cried out. He stayed still for a moment before wrenching his arm out and dropping her bleeding heart to the floor as blood soaked out from her chest onto her torn blouse. Letting her go Jeremiah watched as she slowly slumped down the wall collapsing to the floor in a heap and bleeding out, before turning and walking out of shot.As the video came to its end Winn stepped forward to lift the tablet out of Alex's hands and press pause, stepping it from continuing further while Alex began to pace around the room in silence, Maggie watching her closely.The room was silent bar from the machine monitoring Lena's vitals until Alex turned to them, "So he-they weren't taken forcefully from what you can see," she finally said, almost as though in a trance."It doesn't look that way, no," Winn agreed, "I'm still trying to find out what happened down in the prison chambers." he added.Alex nodded, before resuming her pacing while Maggie looked thoughtfully back to Winn.She glanced to Alex before addressing him, "Is there any footage from before that?" she asked."Nothing of Alex's da- nothing of Jeremiah no," he replied, correcting himself.Running a hand through her hair Maggie shook her head, "No I meant anymore footage in Tamera's office?" she asked. "It's just- don't you find it strange that he went after her?" she asked, the question causing Alex to look at her sharply, "What he did- it looked purposeful, he did it with intent. He didn't just stumble upon her randomly.""So, you're saying my dad is not just a murderer but a cold-blooded murderer?" Alex said darkly, squaring her jaw.Standing Maggie carefully walked over to her girlfriend, "Babe, I'm not accusing him of anything I swear," she assured, rubbing her hands up and down Alex's arms, "but- you have to admit it looks like he sought her out from that video. We need to know why she was so important.""I get what Maggie is saying," Winn confessed, causing both Alex and Maggie to turn towards him, "Agent Corz- she was nowhere near where the battle was taking place, you can understand a Kryptonian walking in on where myself and Lena were, we were fairly close to the hub- but she was on the other side of the building." He continued.Alex sighed, reluctantly nodding, she saw it too.Something was not adding up.Tamara's death had been a curve-ball from the start as she wasn't meant to still be in the building. Alex had thought she had left straight after her session with Kara as when she had taken her little sister out of the private room she had already been gone- so had her bag.So why did she come back?Why did Jeremiah kill her and why did he go out of his way to find her in the first place?Alex watched Winn work away on the tablet looking for earlier footage in the same room, "Anything strange?" she asked when he had yet to say anything."Not really no, it shows her come back to the desk and take a file from her bag before putting it into the cabinet by the bookcase then-" Winn began."-Hold up, where did she put the file?" Alex asked cutting him off.Winn furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "the filling cabinet by the bookcase?" he said slowly, almost as though he was asking a question by the end of his sentence."The filing cabinet is on the other side of her desk- let me see that?" Alex said, stepping forward to reach for the tablet. Taking it into her hands she looked at where the image was paused on Tamara placing the file in a draw with a number locked pad on the front of it. "That's a safe, I have one like it in my office too, the coded pad will only open if you have the key and the six-digit code." Alex explained, pointing to the screen as she spoke. "What happens after this?" Alex asked.Taking the tablet back Winn speeds through the footage, talking as he does so, "she goes back to her desk, sends a text or something from her phone then walks out of shot- then Jeremiah forces her backwards- and we know the rest" He described, looking up afterwards. "If the filing cabinet is by her desk why did she put that file in the safe, it looks just like a normal patient file- I can't get in close enough to see the name- but why is that file so important?" he asked."Good question, would you be able to hack the code for the safe?" Maggie asked, while Alex walked over to Lena's bedside, bending down to retrieve her bag and rifle through it.Winn scratched the back of his neck, "Maybe- I'd need to look at it, J'onn could help- he may already know the combination, does he know yours Alex?"Alex didn't reply, she was reading something on her phone."Alex?" Winn prompted.Still Alex did not reply and continued to look through her phone as Winn looked to Maggie in confusion, Maggie coughed loudly to try and gain her fiancée's attention. Finally, Alex looked up and saw both Maggie and Winn looking at her, "When did she send the text message- what's the time stamp?" she asked.Looking down at the tablet, Winn pressed a few buttons before answering, "Um, fifteen forty-two," he announced, "Why?" he asked after."I had a really weird text that I only noticed the other day- it came in while we were under attack from an unknown number," Alex explained, "I didn't think much of it- but looking at this now I can see I received it at the exact same time.""What does it say?" Maggie asked.Looking down at her phone Alex began to read aloud, "I'm sorry I don't know more. I'll never forget myself, her or you. The dates we started will be with me forever as will the shame of what I have done."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Warnings: Mentions and descriptions of torture. Mild Language. Violence.

Trigger Warnings: Torture references.

Chapter Twenty

Winn looked up sharply as the van doors opened, moving to grab the stun gun he now kept with him when out in the van for just in case they ever had any problems again like they had on that one Guardian mission, just before Kara found out about them. He let out a breath, his hand moving back to the keyboard after seeing it was just Supergirl who was stepping into the van and closing the doors.From the screen he was looking at he could see Supergirl’s reflection taking a seat behind him before shapeshifting back into the form of Hank Henshaw- J’onn’s borrowed human form and identity.“Did you find anything?” Winn asked, still looking at the computer. Currently, he was looking for any, and all, security footage he could dig up of Tamara Corz since the day Kara had been turned into a child. J’onn had asked him to as something didn’t seem right to him about the way she was killed and the fact she had been placing patient files at the level of security in the safe as she had been.Moving around in the chair J’onn made himself comfortable by resting an elbow on the back of it, “Nothing useful- I spent most of the evening helping people find lost pets,” he grumbled.“Kara used to love doing that- and it really helped the people of the city warm up to her after those first few incidents,” Winn replied with a small smile as he remembered ‘fluffy’ the snake.J’onn had been continuing to pose as Supergirl to try and keep the public on side. There had been a lot of speculation after the events at the prison attack, and the public were nervous after seeing men with abilities like Supergirl attack the prison- even more so when Supergirl herself didn’t show up to try and save the day like she normally would. He was not going to let the hard work Kara had put into gaining the city’s trust fade; he had no control over the situation where she was, but he did here. If he could help her keep the city on side, he would.“Do you really think Tamara was working as a double agent?” Winn asked after a silence.That was the running theory at the moment, of course they had no proof yet- but it was what made the most sense from the text that Alex had received. Winn had been able to track down the phone used to send the text- it had slid underneath the bookcase when Tamara had been grabbed- and he had managed to hack into it and found more seemingly coded and strange messages to other unnamed contacts.J’onn sighed. “We can’t say for sure, we’ll know more from what James manages to find out,” J’onn replied. One of the texts had led them to a café where James was now sniffing around using his CatCo ties to see if anyone had seen Tamara in the café and who she may have been with.“And when Alex and Maggie can crack that safe,” Winn responded. After showing them the footage earlier in the day the three of them had gone to find J’onn and he had reluctantly agreed to let Alex and Maggie investigate it. They had managed to find the key in Tamara’s possessions- but J’onn did not know the code, they would have to figure that out themselves.J’onn had been reluctant to allow them to do so, he had wanted to keep Alex away from what was happening as much as possible. He knew that when her loved ones were involved- especially Kara- Alex could at times be reckless. She would go against protocol and against orders to do what she felt was right to help her loved ones. Her questioning the rules was part of what made her a good second in command, but it also worried him. He was scared one day she would go too far and they would lose her. She and Kara had become like second daughters to him- Kara was already missing and he wasn’t going to let Alex follow in her footsteps on a suicide mission to help her sister.Noticing that J’onn had gone quiet and seemed to be staring off to the side of the van, Winn turned to face him, swivelling on his chair to do so. “I think you made the right call- letting Alex look into it,” he said. “She was going crazy doing nothing and I think if you hadn’t agreed she would have found a way to anyway.”“That’s what worries me- what if they find something and just act on it right away without coming to me first?” J’onn asked. It had been a worry. They had no idea what was in those files. If there was something that could lead them to Kara he knew Alex would not want to wait around to make a plan, she would want to act there and then.Winn shrugged. “Beats her sitting around blaming herself for all the agents we lost that day. At least this way she feels useful. And she’ll stop terrorising me for information,” he added jokingly. “Maggie won’t let her do anything reckless- I think.”“How reassuring,” J’onn responded with an eyeroll as the door to the van opened causing Winn to jump- though J’onn did not react at all. “How did it go?” J’onn asked after James had closed the doors.“You knew he was coming?!” Winn exclaimed causing both J’onn and James to look to him, “You could have told me,” he grumbled afterwards turning back to face the computer screen.Rolling his eyes James walked forwards a few steps to rest his hands on the back of Winn’s chair, “Stop whining and see if your little bug works,” he said, watching as Winn began typing away.“She was there then, as we thought?” J’onn asked as Winn continued to work.James nodded. “Yeah, the waitress recognised the picture, she’d conveniently sat in a booth that was in direct sight of the security camera, and she had company.” He explained what he had found out.“Did you get a description of who?” J’onn asked hopefully.James shook his head. “No, I didn’t want to push too much. But our tech friend here,” he said placing his hands on top of Winn’s shoulders, “should be able to hack the security footage now so we can see.”While in the café he had planted one of Winn’s little devices under the counter top he had been leaning against to talk to the waitress. The device would allow Winn to access the café’s wireless servers and then hack his way in through the back door of the security camera. It would be untraceable and would allow them to see what happened due to where Tamara had been sitting.“And I’m in!” Winn announced, “I know the date but what time stamp do I want?” he asked, looking through the files that he had been able to pop up onto the screen.“The text said eight thirty,” J’onn supplied, standing from his chair to look over Winn’s shoulder like James was already doing on the other side.Winn nodded and began to bring up the files, “I’ll start with eight- just in case she got in early,” he narrated while bringing the file up and loading the footage. He clicked play then fast-forward. “Okay- here we go. She sits down at- no, wait. That isn’t Tamara… no way… what is she doing there?” Winn said, shocked at what he could see.“You’ve got to be kidding me,” James muttered his jaw clenching as they continued to watch the footage seeing Tamara enter the scene later, Winn paused the footage freezing the image on screen.Winn swallowed nervously feeling a tension rise in the room, he didn’t need to look behind him to know J’onn was angry right now, “I guess that answers my question about her being a double agent,” he spoke, more to himself than to the room.“I would say so- considering she met with Lillian Luthor,” J’onn growled out in response.

“Can anyone hear me?” Lucy yelled from the bed in her cell, “guard!” she called again louder this time. She could hear grumbling and footsteps approaching, she waited until the guard was at the cell bars before continuing, “I need water, I don’t feel well. Please?” she asked, swaying slightly from where she sat up on the bed for effect.The guard looked at her suspiciously before nodding and walking away. Lucy watched him go with a small smile on her face- she almost felt bad for how easy it was to fool the guard.Almost.She was faking, she felt fine- but he didn’t have to know that.Kara’s screams had gone quiet some time ago, she knew that meant they had left. She had been paid a visit by Dan-El and Lillian Luthor earlier in the day. They had come in to take photographs of her locked up to send to her father, planning to offer him a trade- her in exchange for a weapon of some kind and a full pardon for both Lillian and Lex Luthor.It was idiotic of them to believe he would ever agree to that, she may be his daughter, but she knew his job always came first. Their belief that he would so easily give into their demands had made her laugh.Dan-El had punched her-for effect he had said. It hadn’t knocked her out, but she pretended that it had. She fell to the ground and stayed down with her eyes closed. She had overheard them talking after taking the photographs and she had learnt that Dan-El would be taking his army and leaving in the early morning before sunrise. They were going to Superman’s fortress for another device or weapon that was needed. He had told Lillian to do with Kara as she pleased- so long as she didn’t kill her.The sound his voice made when he said that sent a shiver down Lucy’s spine that was hard to cover.That was when Lucy had begun to form a plan in her mind. That was when she had realised that this gave her the opportunity to escape.The Kryptonian’s were going to be out, leaving only the CADMUS agents.They would be out in the early morning and gone for the day.They would be gone when the security cameras switched off at the same time every morning as the sun rose in the sky.She could hear the guard returning, as she looked up she could see he was holding a cup of water through the bars for her to come and reach for. “I can’t get up,” Lucy lied- she could, “my leg- he did something to it,” she continued. She needed the guard to come into the cell, she needed him in the cell for when the cameras went off.She watched as he took a key-card from his pocket and swiped it against a pad on the wall causing a click to sound as the cell door opened. “No funny business,” he ordered opening the door and closing it shut behind him as he came into the cell.“I can’t even if I wanted to,” she muttered weakly as he approached handing her the water just as the beep sounded signalling the cameras were shutting down. Taking the water Lucy threw it at the guard’s face, causing him to reel back as she quickly jumped up from the bed and slammed him into the wall by the cell door, taking the gun from him before he could even more to reach for it.She held the gun to his head, using her spare arm to restrain him against the wall.He was weak and clearly clueless.He was a poor excuse for a guard and if Lucy had the time she would probably feel sorry for him- but she didn’t. “Where are they? Supergirl and Superman- where are you holding them?” she asked, pushing the gun into his forehead and staring him down.“I- Superman is in his cell, the girl is still in the procedure room- I can take you there… I have a map- I can help you get out, just don’t kill me please.” The guard begged pathetically.Looking down Lucy caught sight of his name tag and thought she recognised the name from somewhere before, “What’s your name?” Lucy asked.“Thomas- Thomas Corz,” he squeaked in reply.Lucy nodded, the name was familiar, but she couldn’t place it.She sighed before responding, “I wish I could believe you Thomas- but I don’t have time to figure out if you’re trustworthy or not.”She stopped him before he could reply, pulling her arm back and hitting his head hard with the barrel of the gun, knocking him out and making him slump to the ground as she let him go.Lucy peered out her cell for a moment to make sure the noise hadn’t alerted any other guards, before turning back to Thomas and hauling him up onto the bed. She stripped him of his jacket putting it on herself, his cap too, before checking his pockets for anything useful.She found the map he had been talking about, it was pencil drawn in a small notebook and a photograph of someone she recognised from the DEO. She took them both along with the gun and key-card before covering him with the blanket, making sure it covered his head.

With a hand on the gun she had holstered to her side Lucy checked around the corridor before motioning for Kal to follow her. She knew he was her brother-in-law. She knew he was Clark, she knew she should refer to him that way, but she couldn’t right now. She was angry with him for lying to her for so long, Lois too. She could understand them being nervous to tell her when she had been so close with her father, but they hadn’t been that close in a long time, and if Kara who had barely known her was able to see she was trustworthy with her secret why couldn’t he?So, no, right now he was Kal- not Clark, not Superman.It made things simpler in her mind for the time being and allowed her to concentrate on what needed to be done to get them all out of here.She had made a detour before heading to Kal’s cell.She had followed the map to an area labelled ‘the control room’ in the hopes of disabling the security system for longer and giving them more time to escape. She had found another guard in the room- the guard was fast asleep and snoring away. She quickly gave knocked him out just like she had done with Thomas and used the guard’s shoe laces to tie him to the chair he was on for when he regained consciousness. She had looked over the control station and found a manual shutdown button for the camera feed, she hoped it was the right button to press and pressed it before quickly leaving again.She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but so far, the cameras still had no red light, and there had yet to be the second beep, so she assumed that it had been the right button.After getting to Kal’s cell she had woken him roughly by accidently throwing a knocked-out guard almost on top of him while quickly telling him to strip the guard and take his clothes. She had stood outside the cell on lookout while Kal quickly changed. She had to knock out another guard that came their way in the process, before taking that guards clothes too, asking Kal to carry them- they would need some clothes to dress Kara in. They placed the guards in the corner of the room, hiding them from view before locking them in the cell, and hoped that by the time the now four unconscious guards woke up or were found that they would be long gone.Kal had been shocked when Lucy had entered his cell, even more shocked when he saw her knock out the guards, but that shock had quickly gone and turned into determination as she asked him whether he wanted to get out or not. He could see they didn’t have time for questions.Now all they had to do was get to Kara and get out.They turned down the corridor and quickly made their way towards another corridor. They were keeping their heads down, so their faces were covered by the caps they had taken from the guards, for just in case the cameras were to come back on before they had managed to get to Kara. Looking down, Lucy used the book that the Thomas Corz had drawn a map of the base onto in pencil and followed the directions to the room labelled as ‘procedure room’ hoping it would lead her where she wanted, just as it had done in her search of Kal-El.Turning another corridor, they walked halfway before quickly taking a left into a large room that Lucy hoped was the ‘procedure room’- though after walking in she also wished it wasn’t.This was no ‘procedure room’. It was a torture chamber.On one side of the room the floor was covered in blood where a chain dangled from the ceiling, various whips could be seen in a shelving unit against the wall. In the middle there was a metal table with leg and arm restraints attached, covered in yet more blood. Vials with different coloured liquids were lined up on a shelfing unit along with other utensils, all that had the familiar green glow of Kryptonite. Looking to Kal, Lucy knew that for sure, he was grimacing as the effects weakened him. Lights were flickering in one corner of the room, and as Lucy looked closer she could see a television showing images of Superman, Alex Danvers, Hank Henshaw, James Olsen, Winn Schott, a person that looked similar to Kara’s description of Maggie Sawyer, Eliza Danvers and an imagine she recognised of Lena Luthor on a loop.The television was inside a cage. A cage with a green glow to its bars.Looking closer Lucy could see a figure on the floor, huddled in a corner. The figure was flinching every time the images on the screen changed and whimpering slightly on some of the images. Looking closer she could see the figure was female and had dirty blonde hair, and she knew instantly that it was Kara.Taking a deep breath, she slowly made her way towards the cage. Seeing a panel much like the cells on the side she pressed the key-card she had stolen from Thomas Corz and swiped it against the pad making the cage click open. She opened the door further before making her way inside and crouching down in front of Kara blocking her view of the television. As she did so she could see Kara was trembling badly and bleeding profusely from many different wounds and cuts that were soaking through her robe. She was a sickly pale grey colour and sweating badly. Even with Lucy blocking her view of the television, tears still leaked from her glazed over eyes as she flinched every few seconds.As Lucy looked at her closer she could see wires were taped onto her chest and head and wondered if they were causing her pain and were resulting in her flinches. Grasping them and noticing that they were coming from a power socket in the wall she quickly tugged them from Kara’s body, easily pulling them loose and wondering why Kara hadn’t done so already. As Kara moved, curling up as best she could on the floor, a sigh leaving her as her body relaxed more now the wires were gone Lucy could see why she hadn’t. Kara’s hands and feet were chained, she could hear the chains moving as Kara shifted around trying to get comfortable.“Do you think you can bring me those pliers over there without the Kryptonite taking you out?” Lucy called out to Kal, who still stood near the doorway looking around the room in shock and anger.He nodded in response, moving to the table that had different tools on as Kara shifted around again on the floor while Lucy moved to kneel on the ground sitting back on the bottoms of her shoes. Kara turned her head upwards and squinted in Lucy’s direction muttering her name quietly almost as though questioning her being there.Lucy smiled down at her as Kara shifted again, moving to rest her cheek against her legs.Taking a shaky breath, Kara moved her hand the best she could reaching out for Lucy’s hand. “You’re really here?” she asked once she had a hold of her friend’s hand. Her voice sound horse and broken. “They have r-recordings of our conversations, made me think you were here…but you weren’t I was alone- always alone … they wouldn’t let me sleep… they wouldn’t let me see her…” Kara continued her closing shut tiredly as she felt a hand softly stroking her hair.“I’m here, you’re not alone,” Lucy promised, “you can sleep soon, but I need you to stay awake a little while longer,” she continued looking up as Kal-El brought her the pliers, “We’re going to get you home- get you to your girl, get you to Lena.”Kal-El threw Lucy a confused glance at the name, “Lena?” he asked, his voice causing Kara to flinch, “Lena Luthor?” he asked further, louder this time causing Kara to grip onto Lucy’s hand tighter as Lucy rested a hand on her shoulder. “Why would Lena Luthor be Kara’s anything?”“Oh, I don’t know, why would you be Lois’s anything Clark?” Lucy shot back with a glare causing Kal to quieten quickly his eyes widening in surprise. “We don’t have time for this now- just, break the chains off her feet,” she continued with a deep breath, her hand on Kara’s shoulder squeezing gently as she felt her friend tense.Huffing Kal-El did as asked, bending down slightly to use the pliers to break the chains away from his cousin’s feet, the Kryptonite in the room was strong, which left him having to use more pressure than he would have liked to, but he had managed to do what was needed. Moving the broken chain away from Kara he moved forwards to take her arms and remove the chains around her hands but was unable to do so due to Kara moving away from him quickly.Though it did not hurt him physically, he couldn’t mask the look of hurt and confusion from his face as Kara lashed out at him. She began kicking him wildly with her now free legs and tried to move away from him with a shriek and loud ‘no!’.He watched confused as Lucy pulled his cousin closer, almost pulling her up onto her lap while shushing her, “I’ll do the rest, can you leave the clothes and stand guard?” Lucy asked, holding one hand out to receive the pliers while rubbing Kara’s back with the other as she quietened.She watched as Kal did as she asked, noticing Kara’s fearful eyes following him as he handed her the pliers and retrieved the clothes he had left on the metal table, dropping them quietly to the floor in the cage, before backing away and stepping outside the room. Lucy looked down worriedly when she noticed the tension leave Kara’s body as soon as her cousin was out of sight, wondering what mind tricks they had been playing on her to create such a strong reaction. As she remembered the television behind her she had some idea but couldn’t be sure without asking Kara.Focusing on the task at hand, Lucy gently took Kara’s wrists in her one hand and worked on quickly breaking the chains. After freeing Kara, she tossed the broken chains down to the floor and carefully helped her friend sit up before leaning forward to reach the clothes.“I’m going to help you dress then we are getting out of here, okay?” she said, more narrating what they were doing than asking but she wanted Kara to feel like she had a say in this too. She knew Kara had just spent the best part of an entire twenty-four hours being pushed around and tortured. She had seen the evidence of that on her friend and in the room. Reaching around Kara she carefully unclasped the robe at the back and pulled it down over her shoulders, removing her arms from the holes and letting it fall around her waist line.Lucy couldn’t hide her gasp as she took in how badly her friend was hurt. As she looked in Kara she had trouble finding an inch of skin left that wasn’t covered with either a bruise or an angry red and bleeding scar.It made her wonder how her friend was even still alive.Steeling her resolve Lucy began to slowly pull the polo shirt over Kara’s head, listening carefully as the blonde began to mutter, her eyes darting around the room after the shirt was over her head, “can’t trust him…” Kara said. “… he always leaves me… Superman always hurts me… he hits me and makes my head hurt… looking at his picture was hurting…”Lucy continued to dress her as she spoke, carefully guiding her arms through the armholes on the polo shirt and tugging it down to cover her stomach and back before replying, “He’s your cousin Kara, he’s family, you can trust him. I know he’s hurt you, but I am sure he didn’t want to. He won’t do that again. I won’t let him as long as you don’t let them get in here,” Lucy assured, tapping Kara’s forehead gently.She smiled confidently as Kara stared at her. Kara watching Lucy cautiously as she worked on slipping a hooded jacket around Kara’s back, helping her guide her arms through the holes again. “Don’t let them win,” Lucy said quietly, placing both her hands onto Kara’s shoulders and squeezing softly.Kara nodded lightly looking to the door with a flinch after hearing a loud smack. Lucy followed her gaze for a moment before turning back and beginning to tug up the black combat pants over Kara’s legs and up to the tops of her thighs. She then carefully eased Kara’s feet into the shoes that were somehow, miraculously, the right size and tied up the laces.Slowly Lucy helped Kara stand shakily to her feet. Hearing a sound from the door, she looked over her shoulder and could see Kal dragging in another CADMUS guard that was now unconscious. Turning her attention back to Kara, she tugged the pants up the rest of the way and buttoned and zipped them up, pulling the rest of the robe from her body and throwing it to the floor while doing so.Pulling Kara’s one arm over her shoulder Lucy helped her walk out of the cage, moving her as far away from the Kryptonite in the room as possible.“Put him in the cage,” Lucy told Kal-El, “can you cover his head with the blanket and take his shoes and socks off, so his feet are bare?” she instructed, making the request sound more like a question. “You need to make him look as though he is Kara- it could buy us more time,” she instructed further, keeping a hand on Kara’s side as she leaned woozily against the wall Lucy had placed her by.Kal nodded, grunting as he continued to drag the guard, making his way to the cell and finding himself becoming weaker again the closer he was to all the Kryptonite.Turning back to Kara, Lucy looked her over for a moment, “We need to get you in the sun and get some food in you,” she assessed, causing Kara to look towards her with wide eyes.“No! Don’t make me eat anymore,” Kara said in a panicked tone, her eyes looking past Lucy to a desk on the other side of the room.As Lucy followed her line of sight with a frown her own eyes widened at what she could see on the desk. Bottles of green coloured smoothies were on the desk as well as chunks of bread with small green pieces in them. She didn’t need to go closer to inspect them to see what they were. She knew it was Kryptonite. Kara’s reaction alone was testament to that. Kara’s reluctance to eat in their cell made a lot more sense now.They had been forcing her to ingest Kryptonite- it was no wonder she didn’t want to eat.Facing Kara again, Lucy lifted a hand to cup her cheek drawing her attention again, “No, Kar, proper food. Food that won’t hurt when you eat it.” Lucy assured her gently.“It won’t burn?” Kara asked quietly, cautiously.
“It won’t burn.” Lucy promised.Hearing the cage door shut and knowing that they needed to move on and get away from this room and the building as quickly as possible, Lucy zipped up the hoodie she had dressed Kara in and pulled the hood over her head as Kal joined them by the wall.“Keep your head down and keep your hands in the pockets,” Lucy instructed noticing the tremble in Kara’s hands, “you’re going to follow me, okay?” she asked, waiting until Kara nodded before tucking her hair in under the hood. “Stay close, if you feel like you’re going to fall, then fall into me- it will just look as though you tripped, and you can use me to right yourself. Let’s go.”

“Not gunna lie- it’s kinda creepy being in here,” Maggie said from where she was sat on a coffee table on the opposite side of the room to Alex who was over by the bookcase trying to access the safe. They were currently in agent Tamara Corz’s office having decided to get an early start on trying to get into the safe and see what files were inside. Alex had wanted to start last night right away but Maggie had convinced her to get some rest first seeing how agitated her fiancée was getting.Not looking away from the safe Alex muttered under her breath, “Well my father did murder someone in here- even if that someone was a back-stabbing bitch.”“Alex,” Maggie warned causing Alex to sigh.They had spoken a lot this morning already, J’onn had filled them in on what had been discovered at the café and Alex was beyond angry.Someone who she thought was her friend had been working with their enemy, from the looks of the security footage. She had taken the device, Maggie had seen Kara being forced to hold in the security footage the day Jeremiah had beaten her with his belt, and then brought it into the DEO. Which in Alex’s mind meant only one thing- Tamara knew that Jeremiah was unstable and lied about it. Not only did she lie about it, but she gave him the device he was so adamant Kara had to hold. The device he later crushed. The device that they were still trying to figure out how to put back together to find out what it did and why it was so important.Tamara Corz had betrayed them while acting as a friend.Not only had she betrayed them but she had made it possible for others to hurt Kara, and that was something Alex would never forgive no matter what they found in this file.She couldn’t believe Tamara had the audacity to apologise in that text as though that would make everything better- they were in this mess now partly because of her. She had allowed this happen, she had done nothing to stop it and she hadn’t alerted them when she could have- when she should have.Letting out a frustrated breath, Alex turned to look at Maggie. “I know, we don’t know her reasons.”“Or if what we theorise is what actually went down,” Maggie added. “Sometimes the evidence isn’t what it seems.”Alex shook her head, biting her tongue for now.It looked obvious to her, but she did get what Maggie was trying to say. They couldn’t know for sure until they had all the pieces, condemning Tamara before they knew everything could cause them to miss something important.Something that could help.Alex knew that- she did, but sometimes she just needed help remembering it. Especially when it was her family that was at risk, in particular, when it was Kara. Maggie always knew what to say or do to help Alex remember. Maggie’s ability to stay objective in situations like this was one of the things that Alex loved about her.Walking over to her fiancée Alex took a seat next to her on the coffee table, resting her elbows on her knees and placing her head in her hands. “I can’t figure out this damn code!” she cried out in frustration.Placing a hand on Alex’s back Maggie began to rub her palm up and down as Alex continued to rant, “Why would she send me this message in the first place? Why would she care for us to find whatever is in there? It just makes no sense! If she was sorry and wanted to help why not just tell us the truth rather than sending some stupid riddle that isn’t even right!”“CADMUS might have had a hack on the phone, maybe she had to be discreet?” Maggie offered.Alex let out a single snorted laugh at that. “She was hardly discreet in what she wrote,” Alex shot back angrily, “I don’t get why she would give us a riddle that was wrong- is that what the sorry was for? Sorry I am playing more games with you,” she continued sarcastically.“I don’t know, does she seem like the kind of person that would do that?” Maggie asked still rubbing her hand along her fiancée’s back. She knew Alex was frustrated and angry with the situation at hand- not at her. She knew not to take the sarcasm and snappiness to heart.“No,” Alex answered, “though she didn’t seem like the type to back-stab either, yet here we are!”Maggie was quiet for a moment, “have you maybe got the dates wrong?” she asked after a thought.“No, the dates are right, I double checked. Me and Tamara started on the same day, and Kara’s official start date is in her file,” Alex answered rubbing her temples, “I even tried her unofficial start date and still nothing.”Maggie nodded, “Okay- well this is a riddle, so let’s look at it from another angle,” she said pausing for a moment to collect her thoughts. “Instead of your individual start dates when was the first time the three of you worked together on the same case?”“I haven’t got a clue,” Alex said with a sigh, “I’d need to check the database- which I can’t as its broken- to see when the first case was that we all signed off on… unless,” she continued standing as a thought came into her mind. “The plane- Tamara was one of the agents on the plane to Geneva that Kara saved when she first came out as Supergirl- I mean she wasn’t working with the DEO at the time, she only saved the plane because I was on it, but-““-but that would be a pretty big day to remember. It would be in some people’s eyes a starting day,” Maggie finished for her as Alex nodded in agreement rushing over to the safe.Quickly Alex typed in the numbers, holding her breath as she pressed the enter button and watching the safe closely.She closed her eyes in relief after a green light turned on. “It worked,” she told Maggie.

Tightening the grip Lucy had around Kara’s waist, she rested her head back against the shed they were hiding by tiredly. They were all exhausted, they all needed to rest but someone had to stay guard as they were not safe yet.They had made it out of the building, practically crawling their way out, trying to keep as low as possible before using the pencil drawn map to head towards a food supply storage shed in the hopes of finding something edible for them all to eat. It didn’t go unnoticed to Lucy that there was a lack of cameras outside the building. Though it was useful to them now as there was less chance of them being spotted with less security around, it did mean trying to find the building again if they needed to send the DEO in to close it down after their escape would be difficult.From the outside it looked like a set of log cabins and sheds in the middle of a forest.It would be easy to send an attack squad to the wrong area and scare innocent holiday goers and lodge owners. Usually Kara had a good sense of memory, but she doubted Kara was able to pay much attention to anything so far.She was in no condition to be able to, and Kal-El wasn’t fairing much better even after they had all found some food that they could eat safely. In the shed was lots of packed foods but in the end, they had opted for fruit- Lucy assumed that would be safe, but she did make Kal eat it first, to check it was safe for Kara. In all fairness to him he didn’t grumble or complain about being used as the dummy tester, he was quick to do so after noticing his cousin eyeing the fruit nervously and with caution. He had been fine after eating the fruit and that gave Kara confidence enough to eat herself- even though it was slowly and cautiously still to begin with.After eating Kara had begun to doze off against Lucy’s shoulder- it was clear to see she was exhausted and needed the rest. Even though they were far from being safe, Lucy didn’t have the heart to wake her.They would all need some rest before continuing her escape plan and making their journey back to National City. They had no idea how far away they were, and the likelihood was that they would need to fly to get away safely. Kara was in no condition to fly and Lucy doubted Kal could carry them both if he could fly right now. They would need to rest, Kara and Kal needed sunlight to get their energy back. Lucy knew that, and she was fine with it, Kal on the other hand was not happy about having to stay still so close to the building they had been held in.He was huffing from where he sat across from Lucy, peering around the side of the shed just past Lucy’s shoulder every few seconds as he sat opposite them against a crate.Sighing Lucy turned to him, “You should rest like Kara. You both need your strength,” she told him pointedly as Kara leaned into her further, muttering into her shoulder incoherently. Lucy had pulled her hood down some time ago, hoping the direct sunlight hitting her skin would help her heal faster.“We should have gone further, it’s not safe here,” Kal replied uneasily.Lucy rolled her eyes. “I do know that,” she responded sarcastically, “but it’s the best we had. Kara couldn’t keep going, she needs to heal. We are not going until she is ready or-““-or they find us and haul us back,” Kal-El butted in sarcastically.Ignoring his comment Lucy continued with what she had planned to say, “Or, they get too close, and we have to move,” she finished her original point. “Look, they haven’t even realised we have gone yet- we have time. There are only the CADMUS agents in this morning and they are not that smart- or quiet. When they finally realise we have gone we will know about it.”“Where are the other Kryptonians?” Kal wondered out loud.“At your fortress from what I heard. The main psycho one was telling Lillian Luthor- who is in on this all somehow, by the way- that he was taking his army with him to search for something.” Lucy told him, remembering the conversation she had overheard when pretending to be passed out that got the ball rolling on this escape plan.Kal looked to her sharply, “But the Luthor’s- well Lillian and Lex anyway- hate aliens. Why would they be helping? What are they looking for?” he asked in worry.“Honestly, I don’t remember,” Lucy replied, at the look she received from Kal she continued, “seriously, I don’t. As soon as I heard they were going to be out my mind started going into overdrive thinking up how we could escape.”Huffing again, Kal threw his head back against the crate he was leaning against. “Great,” he muttered.“Hey!” Lucy said indignantly, “At least I was being productive and thinking up ways to actually get us out, not just sulking in my cell,” she continued cuttingly.Kal glared at her for a moment before they both cracked and burst out laughing quietly, causing Kara to groan and mutter again into Lucy’s shoulder. It wasn’t funny, none it was- but the situation was stressful and sometimes it caused things that were not funny to seem it.“This is so screwed up,” Kal said shaking his head as the laughter died down.Lucy shrugged, kicking her foot against his lightly. “We’ll look back on this in a few years and think of it as a brotherly-sisterly bonding exercise,” she said, pausing for a moment before adding, “a very screwed up one.”“You can say that again,” Kal muttered quietly, looking over to check the building again before turning back to Lucy. “Who told you?” he asked with a sigh, “About me I mean?” he continued. “Was it Kara?”Lucy shook her head, “No- even when delirious this one kept your secret,” she told him, looking down to Kara who was still muttering quietly in her sleep. “Her apparent half-brother filled in the blanks- though I should have seen it before, I should have known,” Lucy admitted, looking back to Kal. “I think the more important question is- why didn’t you tell me?”Taking a deep breath, Kal furrowed his eyebrows. “It’s- complicated,” he said carefully.“Well there’s time now for you to un-complicate it,” Lucy insisted, staring into his eyes, “because to me it just looks like you and Lois don’t trust me.”Sighing, Kal shifted uncomfortably next to the crate. “I didn’t at first- I didn’t know you. When we first met I hadn’t even told Lois, you were just her kid sister back then, you were-““-Trouble?” Lucy butted in, causing Kal to chuckle.“I was going to go with spirited,” he offered.Nodding, Lucy smiled. “I’ll take that- Lois just used to say I was a brat.”Kal smiled in response, there had been many times in their early friendship that he had been the one listening to conversations of how Lucy Lane was doing Lois’s head in and was a complete and utter brat- looking at her now he was proud of his sister-in-law, Lois would be too- she had come a long way.“Then you and your Dad got close again and by the time I had told Lois and we started dating your views on aliens seemed a lot like his,” Kal continued to explain again. “I couldn’t risk the chance that you would tell him- I couldn’t have his army coming after me and the people I love.”Lucy was about to reply when the sound of a door slamming shut caught her attention, turning her body slightly- being careful not to wake Kara- she looked over her shoulder towards the building they had escaped from as an alarm sounded suddenly with red flashing flights coming from the top of the building.Resting time was up.CADMUS knew their prisoners had escaped.Kal jolted up quickly moving to stand with his back to the shed next to where Lucy was still sat with a sleeping Kara against her shoulder.He caught Lucy’s eyes, both of them sharing the same look.They both knew they couldn’t stay here any longer.They had to move. Now.Shouting could be heard in the distance back towards the building they had been held in, and the roar of engines began to sound as well.Carefully Kal-El peered around the corner of the shed while Lucy turned to Kara gently- yet urgently- shaking her awake. “Kar- come on. We have to go,” Lucy said urgently as slowly and tiredly Kara’s eyes opened.Kara still looked pale and malnourished, but she wasn’t the sickly grey colour she had been before, and she wasn’t shaking as badly anymore. Lucy wasn’t sure how much energy Kara had been able to soak up from the sunrays, she had stopped bleeding, but her wounds were far from healed. From the grimace she could see on her friends face she could see Kara was still in a lot of pain.Lucy stood, being careful to shield herself by the shed so that the guards couldn’t see her and offered her hand to Kara for her to use to try and haul herself up. Kal turned to do the same thing and Lucy could see from the corner of her eye that he was wearing a hopeful expression on his face. They had both been worried by Kara’s reaction to him back in the ‘procedure room’, and even though no one had spoken about what had happened, it was clear to see Kara’s mind was beginning to crack with what they had been doing to her.Kara stared at his hand for a moment before looking up to his face, a flicker of fear and anger crossing her features before disappearing again. Slowly she stretched out her hands, taking Lucy’s offered arm eagerly and Kal’s less so. Together they pulled her up from the floor, her weakness making her almost fall into Kal’s arm who caught her effortlessly.Lucy watched in silence as Kara looked up to her cousin as though trying to suss him out, eyes searching his before a tiny smile erupted onto her face. “Thank you,” Kara whispered out quietly.Kal nodded in response wrapping an arm more securely around his cousin’s back as she relaxed into his hold while Lucy sighed in relief. The last thing they needed was Kara freaking out again and drawing attention to themselves- escaping was going to be hard enough as it was.Peering around the corner like Kal had been doing, Lucy could see that the guards were moving around on what looked like quadbikes, circling the building.“We should go, if we move around the back to the forest area I think we will be okay. They seem to be concentrating more on the building itself at the moment.” Lucy assessed quietly before turning back to face Kara and Kal. “Here, wear this,” she said to Kara, handing over the cap she had taken from Thomas Corz, “they are more likely to recognise you from a distance than me.”Nodding Kara slipped the cap on, pulling her hair up into the back of it so that it wasn’t running down her back while Lucy did the zipper of her own jacket up to her neck. “Keep your heads down and just keep going straight for the forest,” she instructed walking out cautiously from the back of the shed and checking her surroundings before signalling for Kara and Kal to follow.

“I don’t know who wins psycho family of the year award at the moment to be honest, I mean your mom is pretty high up there, but so is this Dan-El,” Maggie told Lena with a watery chuckle.The things they had found in the file had been shocking.Tamara had documented everything.From when she first agreed to help, till her session with Kara and how she probed the child superhero’s mind making her relive memories that left her traumatised.Alex had been angry before but that was nothing to the anger she felt had felt and displayed after reading the file. She was with J’onn currently- the both of them going over the file in more detail while Winn was still working on digging up every piece of footage he could find on Tamara to see what else she had done while aiding CADMUS.Maggie had come back to the medical bay to see Lena. There was still no change but that didn’t stop her from coming by. It had become a ritual of kind for her to come by at least once a day and talk to Lena.She would fill her in on everything that was going on, everything they knew, and she would share her own thoughts on it all as well.“Lillian turned Jeremiah into an evil puppet, it seems, and unleashed him on us using Tamara to make us think he was stable when he was anything but- then Kara’s half-brother goes and creates some random device to de-active her chip- which I was right about by the way! I guess we know what happened now when we changed her back and what went wrong… Those nightmares- they were him too from what that file says- he’s been playing with her for days... They turned her into a child on purpose to make it easier to play on her mind. They had been planning this for months, watching us... Watching how we interacted and waiting for the right time to hit... I mean I always thought there was something else at play here- something bigger, but I didn’t think it was this planned out, this sinister… we still don’t know what his overall goal is other than making Kara remember a past that from the looks of it someone went to a great deal of effort to keep hidden from her… the thing that confuses me though is why is Lillian- why are CADMUS- helping him? They hate aliens with a passion... So why help one?” Maggie continued, before pausing for a moment to shift in the chair she was sitting in.She looked at Lena’s still pale face and ran her hands through her hair before speaking again, “It’s not good, and I think you probably know that. I’m still not sure if you can hear me, but if you can, you need to know this… It’s been days now and the longer it takes for you to wake up the less chance there is for you to still be you... Whatever is going on in your head right now- you have got to fight it and find your way back… We can’t lose you to this, we need you… As selfish as this may seem we need you to help us bring Kara back as I don’t think we will be able to without you.”“We need you, little Luthor. We’re still missing something. Something big- something important. We need you to wake and help us connect the dots.”

Kal was the first to leap over the river onto the bank at the other side, using some of his speed to make it to the other side without touching the water. They were tired, and neither him or Kara were at full strength right now, Kara even less so. They had tripped a sensor by the woods, alerting the guards to where they were and now the CADMUS guards were hot on their trail, following them through the woods on their quadbikes. They were firing Kryptonite darts at them that so far luckily had missed their marks.The Kryptonite was weakening them both even more though- Kara was struggling to keep up.Turning around Kal could see Kara with Lucy’s help had made it to the bank of the river, with a look of nothing else but sheer determination on her face Kara wrapped an arm around Lucy’s waist and used the little of her abilities that had returned to make the leap, clearing the river easily with Lucy attached to her side pulling her across with her.It had been too much for her already worn out body and caused her to crumble to the floor upon landing, panting hard afterwards.Running back to them, Kal helped Lucy to pick her back up from the floor. “You should leave me, I’m slowing you down,” Kara muttered breathlessly as she felt her cousin and friend help drag her forwards further into the forest.“Not a chance in hell,” Lucy replied determinedly, tightening the arm she had around Kara’s waist as though to emphasize that point.Kal nodded on her other side, letting Kara go as he felt her push away from him, not wanting to cause her to be weary of him again. “We may be slower right now- but we are still stronger together.”“El mayarah,” Kara said looking him in the eyes searchingly, she was having trouble trusting him still. Seeing him caused her mind to flash back to what had happened to her in the ‘procedure room’ and what he had done to her in the arena.“El mayarah,” Kal agreed holding her gaze.There was a swoosh noise as a dart flew by them emending itself in the tree ahead of them, turning to look over her shoulder Lucy could see the guards were gaining on them. She knew they would have little trouble crossing the river with the speed they were going; the quadbikes would easily make the leap. What surprised her though is that when they got to the river they kept driving to the left going off further into the woods.Was there a bridge across they hadn’t known about?That didn’t matter right now, all that mattered is that they were still after them, they needed to get out of here and fast. They needed to keep moving, there was a clearing up ahead that they had been heading towards. That was the plan, get to the clearing and see if Kal and Kara were strong enough to fly when in the direct sunlight away from all the shadows of the forest.They just had to get there without being caught.Letting go of Kara’s waist Lucy opted to take Kara’s hand instead, picking up her pace and tugging to get the blonde to keep up with her. “Come on- we have to go,” she said breathlessly as they started to pick up speed again, Kal easily over taking them to take the lead once again. Kara was still stumbling on her feet, but she was staying upright and trying her best to keep up with them, Lucy’s constant presence to her left and the feel of her warm hand in her own helping her with that.She was exhausted, she was hurting both physically and mentally and she wanted so badly just to lay down and rest. She wanted to fall asleep and let Lena come to her in her dreams like she always did.
She didn’t though.Not while she could see the brighter and harsher sunlight coming from the gaps in the trees as they neared the clearing.Not while there was the possibility that tonight she could be with Lena truly. That she could fall asleep, safe and protected with her girlfriend holding her tightly.Not while there was hope.Hope was keeping her going. It was keeping them all going- hope was all they had, and right now they were clinging to it like a child does their mother.Crashing through the space between the trees and making it to the clearing, Kara dropped to her knees forcing Lucy to stop moving. Quickly she unzipped the hoodie she was still wearing, throwing it to the ground and exposing more of her skin to the sunlight. She closed her eyes as she could feel the sun’s power on her skin. She could feel her cells soaking it up greedily and though the effect wasn’t instant and didn’t make her feel as though she could take on any massive fights right away, it did begin to make her feel just that little bit better.It made that hope just that little bit stronger.The noise of engine roars in the background drew her attention, turning slightly Kara opened her eyes and looked to the forest that she knew the quadbikes would be crashing through any moment before turning back to her cousin and friend while she stood to her feet slowly.“I’m not strong enough yet to carry anyone,” Kara said guiltily throwing an apologetic smile in Lucy’s direction as Kal stepped closer to them holding a hand out to Lucy.Rolling her eyes Lucy stepped up to Kal, placing an arm over his shoulder and another around his waist, “I’ll hold on to you- you are not carrying me Super-Brother,” she said sternly winking at Kara as she spoke.Kal nodded and floated from the ground slightly to test his flying before looking down to his cousin, “Are you strong enough to fly at all yet?” he asked to Kara as the roars of the quadbikes became louder.“We’ll find out soon, go!” Kara responded, taking a deep breath before starting to run.Kal hovered off further, overtaking Kara’s running allowing Lucy to watch from over his shoulder as Kara jumped up hovering for a moment before joining them in the sky.She wasn’t flying at her normal strength Kara could feel that for sure- and she doubted she would be able to fly with her normal speed- but she was flying and right now that was a win all on its own, considering the amount her body and mind had been put through the last few days- even the last few hours alone.As both Kara and Kal picked up speed they began to fly past the clearing and over more trees- the forest area they had been kept in was vast and seemed never ending. It was no wonder that the DEO had been unable to come and help them so far- they wouldn’t have known where to even begin to look.As Kara looked back over her shoulder and saw they were still being chased by the guards on quadbikes she could see the building they had been held in far in the distance looking like nothing more than a tiny dot now.Seeing it looking so small and so far away now made her mind feel at ease. Up here in the sky she was safe. Up here they couldn’t hurt her anymore. She felt almost at peace.It was peaceful to be in the air again like this.Kara had always loved flying, it was her favourite of her abilities as it was so relaxing.She never felt more at peace as she did when flying.No- that was a lie.She did when with Lena.Lena made her feel at peace and made her feel so much more as well. Kara couldn’t wait to get home and hold her girlfriend again. Part of her wanted to speed off and do so right away but she couldn’t. For starters, she wasn’t sure if her body was strong her to handle that right now, and also that would be unfair to Kal and Lucy.They were in this together. No one was going to be left behind. Not today.Looking downwards Kara could see they were approaching a road, the first real sign of liveability in this forest other than the torturous building they had been held in. She could see more quadbikes coming up the road and vans as well. The guards were trying to stop them still, obviously terrified of what her step brother would do to them if they managed to escape. She could feel the effects of the Kryptonite darts weakening her body as they passed her without hitting, causing her to grimace.She could see Kal looking to her over his shoulder and indicating up to the sky.Understanding his meaning she nodded and together they both raised higher into the sky moving further away from the Kryptonite.She pushed higher until suddenly something happened.Something that caused her to drop.To plummet back towards the ground and clutch her head.It was agony.It was a searing pain in her head much worse than what she felt while watching the television before in the cage, much worse than the shocks she got when Dan-El pressed that button.It left her completely immobile as she began to fall from the sky unable to respond to Lucy’s and Kal’s yells of her name.The peacefulness was gone, she was falling and fast, she closed her eyes tightly and braced for impact as she saw the ground coming and quickly. As she hit the ground she could feel dust and dirt fly all around her rather than see it due to her closed eyes.She felt like someone had just smacked her with a wrecking ball over and over.It hurt. Badly.Coughing she rolled over onto her back and looked up to where she could see Kal flying towards her with Lucy still in her arms and shook her head.Feeling more pain shooting through her head again she curled into a ball and clutched her head screwing her eyes shut tightly. She could hear Kal calling out to her, she could hear Lucy screaming for her to get back up, she could hear the approaching roaring of the engines as the guards were undoubtedly following to where she had fallen.She couldn’t do anything though.As Kal-El reached the area above where his cousin was, he looked down at Kara laying on the floor clutching her head and was torn. He couldn’t carry them both he didn’t have the strength right now- he barely had the strength to hold Lucy.He could hear Kara yelling at him through gritted teeth to go- but he couldn’t just leave her.They had promised El mayarah- stronger together.With those words he had promised not to leave her.“Don’t you dare,” Lucy said looking at him with wide worried eyes, “Don’t you dare leave her here Clark Kent- I swear to god brother-in-law or not I will destroy you if you do.”Kal could feel his energy draining as Kryptonite darts were flying everywhere, if he stayed here one would soon hit him- he could see CADMUS agents on the quadbikes drawing closer to Kara who was still curled in a ball on the floor clutching her head in pain. He watched as slowly Kara rolled away, moving back towards where the guards were coming from. He watched as slowly she struggled to get to her feet and stood shakily backing away further. He saw her look up to him with the same look she had given him the day he found her after her pod had crashed to earthA trusting and hopeful look that changed to a mask of determination.‘Go!’ Kara mouthed to him as the guards surrounded her from behind closing in around her.Kal took a shaky breath ignoring the sounds of Lucy’s protests and the feel of her fists colliding with his chest as he held her tightly. “We’ll get help. We’re coming back for you,” he promised loud enough for Kara to hear but not the guards.Kara nodded, turning to face the guards who were advancing on her with Kryptonite cuffs. Using what she had left of her strength she punched and kicked at them. She wasn’t going to go down without a fight- not this time. Not when her fighting them would keep them distracted enough to focus on her and not on Kal and Lucy as they escaped.Feeling another jolt of pain shot through her body she looked down to see four Kryptonite darts sticking out of her leg, she wobbled on her feet before falling to the ground again with a grunt.Turning her head, she could see Kal and Lucy were gone.They had left her- she had told Kal to go- but still they had left her.They had escaped while she hadn’t.They were safe now while she wasn’t.They were together while she was alone.“You’re never alone darling,” Lena’s voice sounded in her head as darkness consumed her once again.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Thank you to my amazing beta
Jango27
for all your hard work on this long chapter again!
Warnings: Violence, references of child abuse and torture.
Reader info:
This chapter has flashbacks in, flashbacks are speech that is being heard from elsewhere are all written in
italics.

Chapter Twenty-One

"I don't know if you can hear me…""….if you can, then I need you to wake up…"
She was swimming again, floating.Floating and swimming in a sea of white fog that seemed to go on for miles.It was all she could see, she could hear the waves carrying her and the voices still trying to call out to her, but she couldn't respond- no matter how hard she tried.
"Alex said you rocked up in there all badass, with your gun out and telling everyone to get away from your girl-""You just had to do one better didn't you? Always a Luthor…"
She recognised that voice, and the person they spoke about.It was familiar, almost comforting in a way. She wanted to reach out towards it and grasp it tightly. She wanted to use it to bring herself back out of the fog.She couldn't.Her hands, her arms- her whole body, felt like a dead weight.Unyielding and unmoving.
"Maybe her Luthor genes are rubbing off on me,"
She felt her heart constrict at that.The name and the tag it brought with it.Luthor- she wondered if that would be the new way people said evil in decades to come.She had been trying to make people see that she was just Lena.Not a Luthor, but Lena.
"…you should call her little Luthor, she'll wake up just to smack you for it,"
She wanted to laugh at that, whoever said that knew her well. She would smack them for it.One thing confused her though, what did they mean by wake up?She had heard it before- couldn't they see she was already awake?Her eyes were open- granted all she could see was this fog everywhere- but she was awake.So why would she have to wake up?Something in the distance caught her attention, her eyes moved far to the side to look. Far off in the distance was a white glow, a white glow that was getting bigger by the second. It was taking over the sky, and it was coming towards where she was fast.It kept coming closer and closer until that was all she could see.The fog was gone and had been replaced with a bright blinding white glow, so bright it caused her to close her eyes and welcome the darkness that the action bought.She stayed like that for some time, floating in darkness now, until a noise caught her attention. As she strained her ears to listen more closely it sounded like birds.Birds singing and chirping.Slowly, as she peeked open her eyes, the brightness hitting her face caused her to lift her hand to shield herself. She paused for a moment and stared at her hand.Her hand that she had just moved when only moments before she couldn't.Moving it again, she brought it in front of her face and twirled it around. Yes- she was definitely moving her hand.Slowly she sat up, her body complying this time and allowing her to do so as she looked around the room she was in. She recognised it instantly. It was her bedroom- her bedroom with the purple comforter and purple pillows. Her bedroom with the large balcony doors that were letting lots of sunlight shine in through the room and lighting it up brightly. Her bedroom that had small neat, yet messy piles of clothes on a chair to the side.Looking at the clothes more closely, Lena frowned after noticing they were too small for her before her eyes widened in realisation as she remembered something important."Kara?!" she called out in panic, jumping up from the bed.They were Kara's clothes, Kara's now smaller clothes- as Kara herself was now smaller. Her girlfriend had been turned into a child and been stuck that way since that incident. Though as Lena made her way into the hallway she had a feeling in the back of her mind that was telling her that this didn't seem right.Something seemed off right now.Her home was too quiet, where were Alex, Maggie and Eliza who had been staying with her?Where was Kara?Picking up her pace Lena walked faster making her way into the living room quickly and pausing at the door as she took in the sight before her. Kara was sat on the floor, drawing on some paper, it seemed, on her coffee table. Kara hadn't seemed to notice her yet- which was strange. Kara always seemed to just know when she entered a room. She would look up and give her that shy smile or would come over to greet her with a kiss or a massive hug while she was her childlike version as she was right now.However currently she still seemed engrossed in her drawing.Frowning Lena walked closer, her instincts telling her something was wrong, making her want to be closer to her girlfriend to protect her while she was vulnerable.As she moved closer she noticed the room was getting brighter- almost whiter again.Reaching the coffee table, she knelt next to her childlike girlfriend, placing a hand gently on the girls back. "Hey, darling," Lena greeted, "what are you doing out here on your own? Where is everyone?" she asked.Kara shrugged, "I was waiting for you to be ready, you're the only one here Lena," Kara responded, still drawing.Lena's frown deepened.Kara seemed different. Looking at her closely it was almost as though she was slightly blurry, as was the whole room they were in. The feeling of something not being right was getting stronger as was the brightness around them."What are you drawing?" Lena asked, looking over Kara's shoulder to get a better view. As she looked at the image, something about it seemed familiar.Suddenly Kara's head snapped up and she looked towards Lena for the first time since she had entered the room. Striking blue eyes met emerald and appeared to be staring into the bottom of her soul with an intensity that was much stronger than usual from Kara.The room grew brighter still around them as they starred into each other's eyes until finally Kara answered. "I'm connecting the dots- can you help me?" Kara asked as bright white light flashed throughout the room at the same time as she spoke causing Lena to shut her eyes tightly and pull her girlfriend into her arms as though trying to shield her from the light itself.Opening her eyes again a moment later she could see instantly that something was different.For starters the bright white light was gone again- which she was very happy about. Though as Lena took in her surroundings she realised she wasn't in her home anymore, Kara wasn't with her either which worried her.She was standing now- not kneeling like she had been before. She was standing alone in a large bunker- a bunker filled with machines, bikes, cars and all sorts of equipment. The bunker seemed familiar she knew she had seen it before somewhere.A noise caught her attention.It was loud and sounded as though someone had just crashed through the roof, as she looked to where the sound had come from she could see Supergirl- she could see her Kara, her girlfriend."Kara!" she called out happily.Almost at the same time as a voice behind her said,
'Supergirl! I can't believe you're here,'.The voice caused her eyes to widen, they only widened more when she saw herself, her mother, Metallo and the real Hank Henshaw stand in front of her, having walked through her almost as though she was a ghost. It was then she realised where she was- this was one of Lex's war bunkers.The same bunker that she had been forced to open so her mother could access its contents.The same bunker that Supergirl saved her from.This was the day that Lena knew for certain that Kara Danvers and Supergirl were the same person. This was also the day she understood why her best friend couldn't tell her yet and the day she realised she was okay with that. She was okay with waiting until Kara was ready for her to know.
"Kara Danvers believes in you," Supergirl responded, as Lena, Lillian, Metallo and Hank Henshaw walked up to her.
Lillian smirked, "Supergirl, you're just in time," she responded, lifting her one arm, "I've been wondering if these worked," she continued, activating a small device in her hand which beeped before she threw it at Supergirl.

Supergirl caught the device effortlessly before turning back to face them, she was about to speak before she started to cry out in pain clutching her ears and dropping the now vibrating device to the floor as she fell to her knees, eyes shut tightly. Lillian's smirk only grew before she and Metallo advanced on Supergirl again.
"Well," Lillian said, "that was easy," she continued sounding impressed yet almost disappointed as Supergirl lifted her head slightly to look towards her. "Wanna try more of these toys?" Lillian asked further with a smile on her face as she turned around to face Lena, almost goadingly."Don't hurt her!" Lena yelled out quickly, moving to run towards Supergirl but being caught by Hank Henshaw and held tightly keeping her back.
Lillian turned back towards Supergirl. "Sorry- she's got to pay for what her cousin did to your brother," Lillian responded. Supergirl cried out in pain again as Metallo came closer and grabbed her while Lillian turned back to face Lena who was still struggling against Hank. Lillian nodded her head to the side, signalling for Hank to throw Lena to the floor and for Metallo to haul Supergirl up.

As Hank threw Lena to the ground she hit her head hard causing her to fall unconscious as Supergirl was dragged away. "Lock Supergirl in the vault," Lillian ordered.

The scene froze.It completely froze in place, with Supergirl still being in mid step.Lena looked around herself in confusion, she could see herself on the floor unmoving. She could see Lillian with that evil looking smile on her face unmoving. Supergirl was stuck in Metallo and Hank's grip also unmoving."It was an important day wasn't it?" Kara's voice asked, breaking the silence of the bunker.Lena looked around confused- the voice sounded close by, but she couldn't see Kara anywhere, as she looked back to the frozen scene before her she could see that Supergirl was unfrozen and had moved herself out of her captor's grip.Lena watched as Supergirl came to stand in front of her, "I don't understand," she said, speaking more to herself than to Supergirl.Supergirl smiled, before swirling in a circle in front of her, creating a gust of wind. As the wind died down she was not stood in front of her as Supergirl anymore- she was now Kara Danvers. "This may help make things easier for you," Kara said.Lena only looked even more confused, looking from Kara back to the frozen image behind her."That was your memory of that day," Kara explained, "It froze because that is all you saw, it's all you remember. You were told what happened after by Kara… first she lied to you…then she told the real truth of how she almost died trying to save you, and would do so again if she had too."Lena's eye snapped back to Kara's. "She?" Lena asked, "don't you mean you?""No, I mean she," Kara responds, "I'm not Kara, not really- I may look like her- but I am you," she continued. "I'm those inner thoughts you have every day, the little voice inside your head that you ask all those questions too," she explained, walking closer to Lena and tapping her forehead as she spoke. "The voice you ask; am I doing enough? Is there such a thing as a 'good Luthor'? Am I good enough for her?" Kara says pointing to herself. "Am I too much like her?" she asks further pointing to the froze image of Lillian Luthor. "Am I gunna go mad like Lex did?"Lena laughed in response, snorting at the ridiculousness of it all. "Well they say talking to yourself is a sign of madness, so I would say I have already," she quipped, answering the last question."We are nothing like them, you know that- sometimes you just need some help remembering," Kara responded stepping around Lena to look off into the distance. "We have to go, there's still a lot to see and not a lot of time."Lena looked back to the frozen image one last time before turning and following Kara. "Why isn't there much time? What do we need to see?" she asked confused.Nothing was making sense."You already know why, you've just forgotten," Kara said she turned back to look at Lena, "Your mind is jumbled and confused right now- it's taken a hard knock so really it's not surprising- but you need to reconnect the dots and remember what is important to you. Not everything you see is going to be real- you will need to figure out what is truth and what is fabricated. Only then will you be ready.""Why?" Lena asked, standing still. "Why am I seeing you? If you are really me why do you look like Kara?" she continued, crossing her arms.Kara smiled, taking a step back towards Lena. "Because we know that we trust Kara more than we trust ourselves at times," she replied, holding a hand out towards Lena, "let me guide you back. Trust me."Taking a deep breath Lena looked into Kara's eyes that looked the same impossible shade of blue they normally did. She knew this wasn't Kara- not really. She had known that the moment she saw her. There was something different, something disconnected. Kara seemed to have that blur to her like her younger self did earlier.Even though she knew it wasn't Kara, she felt a connection and trust still there.Taking a step forward Lena held her hand out and grasped Kara's tightly. As their hands connected another white flash filled the room causing her eyes to shut tightly once again.
"Lena- Lena wake up! Lena!" someone was yelling above her, shaking her gently. "Open your eyes Lee please," they begged, sounding close to tears.As her eyes slowly blinked open she could see Kara above her, a scared frantic look in her eyes that soon turned to relief as she saw that Lena had woken up. "Thank Rao," Kara breathed out causing Lena to frown.
"- you fell hard- I couldn't get to you in time… I had to take care of him," Kara said, motioning to the side where there was the Kryptonian that barged into the room cuffed against the wall, "he won't be waking up anytime soon, I disabled the suit- I think he was from my aunt's army- I knocked him out and cuffed him- there was some Kryptonite cuffs in the trolley- I used those, it should keep him down," she continued, rambling on nervously.
This seemed familiar, it was almost as though she had seen in before.

Taking in her surroundings she realised she had.

She was in the DEO's medical bay, Kara was kneeling on the floor next to her in a hospital robe. She still had small amounts of bruising left on her cheek that hadn't healed right when they changed her back in to an adult. Something had gone wrong, something had caused Kara a lot of pain making her powers become out of control and causing her to pass out.
"You're awake," Lena muttered out in confusion as Kara helped her carefully sit up before pulling her into a side hug. Lena melted into the embrace noticing that this time there wasn't a blur like quality to Kara or to her surroundings.
She felt Kara hug her tighter and breathe deeply for a moment, "Yeah- I, when I woke up he had his hand around your throat and I just reacted… are you okay?" Kara asked, pulling back to look her over more intensely.
"I think so… are you? Your powers, they were out of control. What happened?" Lena asked, the question coming out easily and yet seeming familiar.
Almost as though she had asked it before.

Kara didn't respond right away, she looked towards the door before turning back to Lena, "I'm not sure," she responded. "All these- memories? I guess? They just started flashing in my mind and it hurt- it hurt so badly. There was this pressure that kept building and I couldn't stop it, Lee! I didn't mean to do what I did! I didn't hurt you, did I? Oh, Rao please tell I didn't… or the others… Where are they? I can see Winn and Eliza, but where's Maggie? Where's Alex?" she continued, rambling as she became anxious, looking back and forth from the door to Lena.
"What's going on out there?" Kara asked after a moment.
Lena sighed, using one hand to hold under Kara's chin, guiding her head back to face her before answering. "There was an army of what Alex thought was Kryptonians above us- she put the DEO into lockdown, but it sounded like they broke their way through. Maggie went to help."
"I have to help them- they won't stand a chance," Kara said moving to stand from the floor causing Lena to grab her arm and pull her back down.
Lena shook her head, "Kara no, look- I can't stop you from going but please think this through- you won't stand a chance either if your powers are not fully back," she said desperately trying to make Kara see sense.

Kara looked back to the door again, "Alex is in trouble though- I can hear it," she said turning back to Lena again, "I have to help her, she needed me to be strong, but I need you to believe in me. My strength comes from you and my family here on earth."
"I always believe in you, darling," Lena replied instantly, lifting a hand to cup Kara's cheek softly, "I just can't stand the thought of you getting hurt again," she continued, thumb lightly stroking the fading bruising.
Kara smiled lightly, leaning forward to rest her forehead against Lena's before pressing a soft kiss to her lips, "I've missed being able to do that," she commented.

Lena smiled before giving her girlfriend another quick kiss. "When you come back to me safely we can do this as much as you want," Lena responded, quickly pressing one last kiss to Kara's lips before pulling back. "Go get them, Supergirl."

Kara nodded lightly, breathing deeply before standing and walking to one side of the room where there was a cabinet with DEO issued clothes inside. Twirling and making a small gust of wind, that wasn't as quick or as much as she would usually be able to produce, she changed quickly into a pair of DEO grey sweatpants and a t-shirt.
"Not quite Supergirl yet," Kara commented, looking down at her attire.
Lena smiled as she climbed to her feet, using the bed to support herself before sitting on it and picking the gun up she had dropped to the floor. "It does seem more Kara Danvers than Supergirl style- but that is good thing, Kara Danvers is just as much a hero as Supergirl is," Lena said, placing the gun down on the bed next to her. "She's my hero."
"Lena Luthor- you, are my hero," Kara replied with a small smile as she moved towards the door walking backwards, "I love you- please stay safe?" she asked with a hand on the door handle."I love you too- but if you are not back in two minutes I am coming after you and that is a promise." Lena replied sternly leaving no room for arguments.
Kara only nodded in response before slipping out of the room.

Only moments after Kara had left Lena could hear crying. As she looked around the room for the source of the crying she could see that the room had an almost blur like quality again, making her wonder if this is what that other Kara had meant when she said some of things she was going to see wouldn't be real. Some would be fabricated.What she had just seen seemed very real and had a real like quality to its look, but now the sounds she could hear came across almost distorted and the room itself had a glow to it.Stepping down from the bed Lena made her way over to the door, as she did she could hear the crying getting louder, it was sounding almost like wailing between squeals and shrieks. As she opened the door and stepped out into the hallway she could hear loud smacks and loud shouting as well as the cries and squeals. The sounds were making her blood run cold as they sounded a lot like the description of something that had happened to little Kara. Something that made her want to protect her previously smaller girlfriend.Following the sounds, she found herself outside another medical bay room. As she looked inside she could see Jeremiah holding her very childlike girlfriend's arm in a harsh grip as he brought a belt down on her backside repeatedly causing her to cry and shriek.This wasn't her memory though.She hadn't seen this- only the aftermath of it, so why was she seeing it now?Why was she reliving something that she didn't witness or have a part in? Was this part of the fabrication Kara had been talking of?As her mind tried to make sense of what she was seeing she winced. What was happening to Kara in her smaller body looked and sounded vicious- just like it had when Maggie had told her about it.Lena frowned, finding herself growing angry.She couldn't- no, she wouldn't- watch this and do nothing. Even though in the back of her mind she could sense this wasn't real and wasn't really happening right now she couldn't stop the instinct to protect her girlfriend from kicking in. Pushing her way through the open door she strode up to Jeremiah and Kara. She quickly took a hold of Kara's shoulder, pulling her back out of Jeremiah's reach and wrapping her arms around the little blonde, shielding her from being hit by the belt again with her own body.Lena closed her eyes tightly expecting to the feel the pain of the belt hitting her own body.Instead she felt nothing.Opening her eyes, she let go of Kara and turned to look behind herself only to find that Jeremiah was gone. He was not anywhere in sight- yet Kara was still sobbing loudly as she stood next to her.Turning back to Kara again Lena could see the little girls face was red and wet with tears as more continued to fall down her cheeks. Kara was trembling where she stood with her one arm hugging the other to her chest. While looking at Kara she knew this wasn't real, even though she could touch her and feel she knew that this must be a fabrication. Lena sighed, quickly pulling the still sobbing child back into her arms. The girl was still Kara, and Lena wasn't going to ignore the fact that she was terrified and hurting right now- even if what she was seeing wasn't real at this moment in time."I've got you darling, it's alright. No more now, no more pain, I promise," Lena soothed, wrapping her arms tightly around Kara she began to rub one hand up and down her back gently, while using her other hand to softly stroke the little blonde's jegging covered bottom and the backs of her thighs. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere. It's alright, you're safe now. Just let it all out," Lena assured after feeling Kara nuzzle closer into her chest desperately as though she was trying to hide away.They stayed like this for some time, Lena pressing small kisses into Kara's messy blonde hair with whispered assurances, while doing so she realised this was the same way she had comforted Kara in the medical bay shortly before they had turned her back to her right age and size.Noticing how after a while Kara's cries had quietened some, Lena pulled back releasing the little blonde from her hold. "Let's get you out of here," she said, using her thumb to wipe away the tear streaks from Kara's cheeks only for them to be remade as more tears continued to fall even if Kara wasn't crying as loudly anymore. Smiling softly, Lena moved to stand before bending down slightly again and lifting Kara up into her arms. "You're okay, I've got you," she soothed settling the little blonde against her side. She winced slightly when Kara whimpered as she pressed against her bottom a little too hard. Readjusting her hold on Kara she pressed a kiss to little blonde's head as they made their way out of the room.Stepping out the door Lena had expected to see the DEO's walls and hallways again but instead she was met with a different sight.The room they now stood in was much darker than the room they had been in before. It was dark with a green glow to it that helped light up the walls a small amount allowing Lena to see a symbol.A symbol that was repeated on every wall in the room she could see.A symbol that see had seen before.It was the symbol that had been on Kara's cheek after the events that happened at the superstore. The same symbol that she had drawn as a child when she had first arrived on earth and the same symbol that she had described from her nightmares. In fact, as Lena looked around the room more closely, her eyes now adjusting to the limited light, she realised that this room looked entirely like the room Kara had described from her nightmares. Machines filled the room, as did large containers filled with yellow liquid. The room had utensils lined up with green glows to them, vials were on one side of the room with different coloured liquids in.Lena could hear whimpering, and as she looked down she knew it wasn't little Kara.Even though Kara was still shaking, she had now stopped crying and whimpering as she hid away in the crook of Lena's neck clutching at her tightly with one arm. Pressing another kiss to little Kara's hair, Lena patted her back softly while following the whimpering sounds she could hear around to the one far corner of the room.As she got closer Lena could see a bed in the corner.Making her way towards the bed Lena froze when she could see who was on it, looking at the bed with wide unbelieving eyes. Looking down to the child in her arms she pulled the girl closer before looking back to the bed again to make sure what she was seeing was correct.It was- Kara was on the bed. She was back to her normal size and age from what Lena could see. She was strapped down to the bed with green glowing cuffs and she was bleeding and whimpering. She was hurt badly from the looks of it.But how was she here? How could both she and little Kara be here at the same time?Another whimper caused Lena to unfreeze and rush over to the bed with the intentions of setting Kara free, however when she tried to undo the strap on one of Kara's arms she found her hand went right through it and Kara."What the-""She's not here- not really," Kara's voice sounded from across the room, causing Lena to look up in surprise. As Lena looked up she could see the Kara from before who told her she was here to guide her sitting on a table with her back to the wall, her legs swinging in the air.Looking back down to Kara who was strapped down to the table she sighed looking sad. "We need to help her, I can't leave here like this." Lena said holding back tears."We can't," Kara replied softly, "she's not really here," she repeated. "Neither is little Kara- they're in your mind. You fabricated them both, but I think you already knew that."Lena scoffed tightening her hold on the child in her arms again. "If she is not real then why can I feel her? How can I be holding her right now?" she asked in disbelief."You wanted to protect her.
We
always want to protect her. When you feel that strongly about something- about someone- it can make them seem real when they are not." Kara answered. "Your need to keep her safe allows you to make the fabrication life like- but it won't last long," she finished just before little Kara and the Kara on the bed faded away, vanishing from the room. "Your mind weakens the longer you hold onto these fabrications, you need to let them go or you will never connect the dots."Looking around the room Lena shook her head and huffed in frustration. "You're making it sound as though I'm wishing to see these things. Why would I wish to see my girlfriend beaten as a child or hurt and strapped to a bed while weak and defenceless. I wouldn't wish that on anybody- let alone yo-her!" Lena yelled, becoming angry with the situation.It made no sense to her and that was something she was not happy about. She spent her life making things make sense through science and reason and to now be stuck in a constant string of confused memories and scenarios was making her feel like she was losing her mind."I never said you wished for this," Kara responded, moving her arms to motion around the room, "but
we
fear it. It's why we told Kara she had two minutes before we would come and find her. We were scared something bad would happen to her."Sighing, Lena made her way over to the table Kara was still sat on, "And did it? Did something bad happen?" Lena asked."I know just as much as you do." Kara said with a chuckle. "This is your mind, I'm just along for the ride and to point you in the right direction.""That just sounds like a clever way to avoid answering the question," Lena pointed out, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.Kara laughed, jumping down from the table to stand next to Lena. "Well, we are very clever," she admitted. "You know everything you need to already- you just need to remember it." Kara continued, holding a hand out, "I can help you with that."Looking down at the offered hand Lena nodded and took it as she heard a yell in the distance that sounded oddly familiar.
"NO!""Lena look out!"
All she could see was a blinding whiteness once again causing her to close her eyes as a loud bang sounded in the distance. As Lena opened her eyes again she looked around noticing they were now in her L-Corp office, she also noticed that Kara was still standing next to her holding her hand."This is one of our favourite memories, it shouldn't be because we were hurt- but it is because we also gained something that day. We also started to realise something that day," Kara said, looking to the scene in front of them with a smile.Lena turned to look at the scene as well, remembering it instantly and knew that Kara- that
she- was right. While this wasn't a happy memory and she had lost a part of herself that day- she'd found another, and it had opened new doors regarding her growing friendship with Kara at the time. The day Supergirl told her that Kara Danvers believes in her was the day that Lena knew for certain who her friend was. That was the day that she stopped feeling angry that her new friend was possibly lying to her and accepted that there was probably a good reason Kara hadn't come clean.This day though, was the day that the lies stopped, the day both she and Kara decided to truly trust each other with everything.

Lena was sat on the couch while Kara sat next to her. On the desk in front of them there was a vase of flowers that were beautiful, she had just been speaking about how her mother had reacted when Lex had been taken away and put in prison. "-That's how I feel. Cold, and calm… until I think about Beth dying in jail and then I feel warm for a minute."
"You're in shock, Lena," Kara responded, maintaining eye contact."No," Lena said shaking her head. "Loss does strange things to my family, and I've lost a lot of people," she continued, eyes watering.
Kara shook her head, looking Lena in the eyes again. "Well you're not gunna lose me," she assured.
"I think when I feel things again," Lena began before pausing to collect herself, "I'm going to be very, very afraid," she continued before pausing again, "about the person I might be."
Kara looked at her for a moment before shifting on the couch, moving closer to sit right by Lena's side. She wrapped an arm around the back of her best friend's neck in a loose embrace. "You don't have to be afraid," Kara said softly as Lena rested her head on the blonde's shoulder, lifting her own hand to hold onto Kara's. "I'm right here," Kara continued, using her spare hand to pat and rub at Lena shoulder that's closest to her, "and I'm not going anywhere," she finished, shaking her head again.

Lena lets out a watery single laugh in response, "Promise?" she asked.

Kara moved closer, resting the side of her cheek against Lena's forehead, "I will always be your friend…and I will always protect you. I promise."

They were quiet for a moment, as Lena tried to work through how she was feeling in her mind and Kara held her together, protecting her from her own thoughts- just like she had promised.
"The promise I just made- that will never change, I need you to know that," Kara spoke again after a silence, feeling Lena nod against her she continued, "and I need to tell you something- about me." she continued, breathing deeply before pulling away slightly to sit next to her best friend as Lena watched her with a questioning look on her face.

Kara looked at Lena for a moment before taking another deep breath as she slowly pulled her red and black stripped sweater up, pulling the item of clothing over her head and setting it down on the couch next to her. She didn't look to Lena yet, instead she took her glasses off, and let her hair down.

She gulped before looking up to Lena, hair down, bright blue eyes on full show and her Supergirl suit covering the top half of her body, "I'm her, Supergi-"
"-I already knew," Lena interrupted, placing a hand gently upon the symbol on Kara's chest causing a blush to appear on the blonde's cheeks.
Kara sighed, looking down, "I kind of half expected that you might," she admitted before looking up again. "I'm sorry," she continued, "for not telling you sooner- it's not because you're a Luthor, or I didn't trust you, or anything like that," Kara said quickly, beginning to ramble nervously. "It was just you saw me as Kara, and I liked that. When people know, all they see is this," she continued pointing to the symbol on her chest, blushing again as she realised Lena's hand was still gently tracing the symbol. "They don't see Kara- not the way you do, or you did. You said Kara Danvers was your hero and I loved you for that! I loved that you thought that about me and that you didn't need me to have powers or anything like that. I didn't want you to see me differently," Kara said, hanging her head in shame.
"Kara-" Lena began only to be cut off."-and then I was scared you would be angry with me, and I guess I still am 'cos you're not saying much and- oh Rao you are, aren't you?""Kara," Lena tried again, only to be cut off once again."You probably hate me right now and want me to leave but you can't say so, because you just said you are worried about when you feel again,""Kara I'm-""which I guess means you have kind of numbed yourself right now and-""KARA!" Lena said louder, this time managing to stop Kara mid word and mouth open, the sight making Lena chuckle softly, "It's okay. I'm not mad," she assured after realising she had the blonde's attention.
Kara closed her mouth not responding at first, she still looked worried. "It's okay?" she asked, sounding unsure.

Lena nodded in response, her hand dropping from Kara's chest now.
"You're not angry?" Kara asked further, still sounding unsure."I'm not angry," Lena repeated. "If anything, I'm relived there are no more secrets between us. I know, and you know that I know… I'm happy you told me, that you trust me. It means a lot to me- even if I can't show it right now."
Kara moved her hand as though to fiddle with her glasses, before pulling back to tug at her sleeve nervously instead once realising she wasn't wearing the glasses causing Lena to smile at the action. "As happy as I am though, you should probably redress- just in case anyone comes in," Lena said.
"Right, yes, good point," Kara said, using her super-speed to quickly redress. After finishing, she turned back to Lena to see her watching her in awe, a thoughtful expression on her face, "Sorry," she mumbled self-consciously.
Lena shook her head slightly, "Don't be," she said. "It's just- my gala makes a lot more sense now." Lena continued as Kara blushed bright red, fiddling with her glasses for real this time.

As they watched the memory play out Lena couldn't help the large smile that crept onto her face seeing Kara so flustered and nervous around her. It had taken Kara a long time to get used to Lena's teasing- still till this day Lena could render her girlfriend a blushing stuttering mess at times."It's cute, how nervous she was around us in the early days, isn't it?" Kara asked from beside her. "It's endearing but was also worrying back then- how quick she would think we were angry with her."Lena laughed. "The first time we kissed she thought I was going to sue her, she didn't even register that I was the one that kissed her- she was so scared."Kara smiled. "It's good you're remembering," she commented. "It means you are starting to connect the memories again. You need to keep remembering all the little details…. why was she scared? How did we make it better? What did she say? That's why this memory important, this is when we first knew that we could like Kara as more than a friend, and this is when she learnt she didn't have to be afraid of us."

"It's not good, and I think you probably know that. I'm still not sure if you can hear me, but if you can, you need to know this… It's been days now and the longer it takes for you to wake up the less chance there is for you to still be you..."

"That's Maggie," Kara says in response to Lena's look of confusion. "She talks to us most days, tells us things that have been going on and keeps us in the loop even though we aren't there right now."Lena looked around the room searching, trying to see where Maggie was but cannot see her anywhere in the room. "Where is she? Why can't I respond?" Lena asked in concern."You need to remember, you'll know in time," Kara assured. "Come on, we should keep moving," she continued, offering a hand to Lena once again.Lena eyed the offered hand wearily. "Will that flash happen again when I take your hand?" she asked."See, I told you we were clever!" Kara replied with a smile. "If it helps you can close your eyes first- that way you won't see it."Huffing in frustration, Lena closed her eyes and blindly took the offered hand, keeping her eyes closed the entire time and not opening them again until she heard a soft chuckle to the side of her.Peeking one eye open, she could see they were back in her home, in the living room. She could hear music playing from the kitchen. Looking to Kara, she could see her indicate to go and take a look and slowly, Lena made her way over to the kitchen doorway and looked inside.

Lena stood in the kitchen by the stove cooking bacon. Kara was behind her, holding her from behind and swaying them both softly as the song 'One Day Like This' by Elbow was playing quietly from the radio.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Kara was now stood next to her as they watched the scene play out in front of them, "This was the most relaxed she had been since Psi," Lena said not taking her eyes of the peacefulness of the scene. "It was the first night she hadn't woken up screaming in a week and the first time she willingly ate without having to be asked first… she wasn't okay, but she was getting there.""Until Morgan Edge came along," Kara continued for her, making a shot like sound and a gun shape with her hands.Lena was about to reply when she suddenly felt a small body collide with her legs and grip on tightly cuddling into her, "I thought you said she's not really here?" Lena asked in confusion."She isn't- but maybe just humour the kid and give her a hug, you know it's what she wants. We like looking after her, we're good at it," Kara responded before turning to look at the scene playing out in front of them again.

Kara had just stolen Lena's spatula and was now using it sing along while Lena laughed at her girlfriend's antics shaking her head.

Meanwhile Lena bent down to pick little Kara up into her arms, settling the little blonde against her side, she swayed her while rubbing her back softly. "I like this one the best- we were happy here," Lena commented after a moment, turning to watch the memory again."You should go closer and listen- really listen," Kara says pushing Lena forwards slightly with a hand on her back. As Lena stepped closer see tightened her hold on little Kara, dropping a kiss to her hairline before watching the memory play out in front of her.

Turning off the heat to the stove Lena pushed the pan with the bacon in to the back away from the hot hob to let it cool slightly now it had finished cooking. She placed the spatula she had wrestled back off Kara on the side and turned to face a pouting Kara.

Stepping closer to her girlfriend, she brought the reporter into her arms and swayed her in time to the music slowly, making the pout slip from her face and turn into a look of content as Kara relaxed into in Lena's hold.

Turning her head slightly Kara nuzzled her face into Lena's neck, breathing in deeply.
"You seem more yourself again today," Lena said softly after some time, still swaying Kara in her arms as she rested her chin on Kara's shoulder.
Kara hummed in response, melting further into the embrace. "They weren't as bad last night, I actually got some sleep… I always sleep better when I stay with you, you help my mind relax," Kara mumbled into Lena's neck.
"That's good- you needed to. Even the Girl of Steel needs to rest," Lena joked, slipping a hand underneath Kara's sleep shirt to lightly scratch her girlfriend's back with her nails.
Lena smiled as she felt Kara go limp in her arms letting out a happy sigh. "You still should have woken me though… I take it you did have at least one dream?" she asked, getting a nod in response. "I promise I'll try and be home in the evenings more often than I have been… things will settle down again after Sam starts...but you still need to wake me if you have the dreams again- I don't want you to have to get to the state you were in on Wednesday ever again just because you didn't want to wake me up," she finished.

As Lena watched the memory, she found her mind thinking back to that Wednesday. It had been a bad day, a really bad day. The dreams had been building throughout the week and Kara had been struggling with them. When Wednesday hit Kara's body and mind had been unable to take anymore and that was the day that Lena witnessed Kara having a full-blown panic attack and had to try and calm her down the best she could. It took hours, and neither of them managed to get back to sleep again afterwards. It was that night that Lena learnt her girlfriend's dreams were not just about her home exploding but about being stuck in a lab and experimented on. They had stayed up all night talking about the dreams Kara was having, Lena had been exhausted the next day and Kara had felt incredibly guilty.Feeling little Kara wriggle in her arms, Lena set her down the floor and watched concerned as she ran off back into the living room. "It's alright," Kara told her, "it's just time for her to go soon, keep listening- what she says here is important. It's what we came to see," Kara instructed as Lena turned back to watch the memory play out again.
"I didn't need to- honestly," Kara responded, "You must have felt me wake up because you wrapped your arms around me tighter and I fell straight back to sleep," she continued. "You made me feel safe enough that I didn't need to wake you, I knew you were with me… You make me feel more connected to earth- just by being near you…it makes all the noise in my head stop and makes me stop feeling the world constantly going around… nothing helps me feel more at peace then when I am with you… remembering everything again so vividly scares me, and then those dreams just confuse me as I don't know why I am having them… but when I am with you I can just forget about it all and just be Kara again."
Feeling a hand tug at her pants leg Lena turned away from the memory and looked down to see little Kara at her side again. She was holding a piece of paper in her hands. "For me?" Lena asked. Little Kara nodded in response, holding the paper up higher for Lena to take."Thank you for helping me connect the dots again," little Kara said, moving closer to hug Lena's legs before fading away and vanishing.Lena looked back up to Kara in confusion. "It was her time to leave, she doesn't need to be here anymore- it's almost our time as well," Kara told her."I remember this," Lena said looking down at the picture in her hands. The picture showed Lena sleeping on her back, face to the left-hand side, a gentle smile on her face. The picture had been coloured gently, giving Lena's face an almost angelic glow to it. One side of the picture had a bed of water that had the reflection of the moon and starry nights sky in it. "Kara did this on our first proper date, she thought I fell asleep as we were star gazing…I still haven't told her that I was awake the whole time as she sang that song."Taking a step closer, Kara took the picture from Lena's hand. "She's made us look almost angelic," Kara commented with a smile, "Who would have thought it, eh? An angelic Luthor," she quipped. "They say artists draw things how they interpret them- Kara sees a lot of light in us… she's been drawing a lot recently, since we started dating her… might be interesting to see how she interprets herself- before and after the dreams began," Kara said further, looking up to Lena and offering a small smile, "oh- you may want to close your eyes now."Lena didn't have time to react, before she could even register the suggestion a bright flash filled the room causing her to lift her arm up to shield her eyes. It wasn't until she heard the steady beeping of a heart monitor that she removed her arm and saw she was back in a room she had already seen before.She was back in the medical bay at the DEO, Winn was still unconscious on the floor and Eliza on one of the beds hooked up to the medical equipment. A Kryptonian soldier was still restrained with Kryptonite cuffs to the one side of the room near where Lena could see another version of herself clock watching closely, a gun clutched in her hand."Lena," she heard being called from outside, moving to the doorway Lena peaked through the closed blinds to see Kara outside leaning against the wall. Turning back to the scene in front of her she knew this was part of her memory from the way the image looked.It had become easier to see what was real and what was fabrication.Leaving the real memory, she stepped outside the room to talk with Kara- with herself- who she knew now was also part of the fabrications.
"Whatever is going on in your head right now- you have got to fight it and find your way back… We can't lose you to this, we need you… As selfish as this may seem we need you to help us bring Kara back as I don't think we will be able to without you."
As Lena listened to the voice echoing down the hallway, she came to a realisation- none of this was real right now. In part, even the memories were fabrications of themselves. "I'm not here am I, not really- I'm like you, and little Kara, the Kara we saw in that room… it's all a fabrication isn't it?" Lena asked.Kara nodded in response, pushing away from the wall to come closer, "Physically we are with Maggie right now- that's why we can hear her talking. Your mind was damaged, and you needed time to real, to re-map, to connect again... You have been on the same loop for days now trying to protect people who aren't here. You needed to let them go so you could see and hear what was real and what wasn't, so you could connect the dots again… Connecting the dots of what really happened that day is the only way to leave.""What if I don't want to leave? What if I want to stay here? Back in that memory where Kara is happy, where I was happy," Lena said as she looked down the hallway where a shout of
'for Malron'
was heard.Kara smiled sadly. "The flashes are getting longer and brighter, if you stay that will continue- until it's permanent and we will be lost here forever… I think you already know there is a good chance if we become lost, then Kara will too."Lena took in a deep breath and then shakily exhaled it. "Y-She- won't be there when I wake up, will she?" she asked."We already know this too, and we have for a while now," Kara replied with another sad smile, "The image you created in your mind may have been a fabrication, but it is an image we know could be truth somewhere. We know she is in danger, and she needs us- they need us."

"We need you, little Luthor. We're still missing something. Something big- something important."
"…I need you to believe in me. My strength comes from you and my family here on earth.""…You make me feel more connected to earth- just by being near you…"Lena Luthor- you, are my hero,"
"Remember Lena- the things she said are important, all of them. Everything regarding her love for you is important as is your love for her," Kara continued before turning to look at the door behind Lena, where Lena's memory is still playing out.

The two minutes were up, standing from the bed Lena clutched the gun tightly and moved to the door. She took a breath before peeking out from the blinds to find the hallway empty. Turning back, she glanced to Winn and Eliza one last time before opening the door and stepping out into the hallway, closing it shut softly behind her.

Lena watched as her memory-self walked past them, carefully down the hallway before turning back to Kara, "Do I follow her- me?" she asked."Yes and no, you need to become one with her- connect with her," Kara answered, "if you walk up to your body and touch her, you will become her… Then you just need to let the memory play out- live it and live," she explained turning to watch as Lena's memory-self continued to make her way down the corridor, checking behind herself every often. "You won't remember this- not all of it. The memories will be there, but you won't remember me and the journey we went on… it's probably better that way.""I'll say- it's less likely I'll go crazy that way," Lena sassed in response.Kara laughed shaking her head, "True," she agreed, "though I am always with you if you need me- I'll be there to answer all the questions you ask will yourself… guess I'll see you on the flipside," Kara said with a smile before she faded and vanished.Taking a deep breath Lena rolled her neck from side to side. "Hang on Kara, I'm going for you," she said to herself before making her way down the corridor in search of her memory-self. As she continued to walk she could hear the faint sounds of beeping up ahead and Maggie's voice talking to her once again.
"We need you to wake and help us connect the dots."
She chuckled to herself at that, of your that saying she had heard all throughout this had come from the detective, she should have realized to begin with.
Now she had two things to smack her for when she woke up.As Lena caught up to her memory-self she took another deep breath before holding a hand out to touch herself on the back. She always thought the saying give yourself a pat on the back was ludicrous, but now physically doing so, it had a whole new meaning to her.She felt a strange sensation, almost like a pull, and before she knew it she wasn't looking at herself anymore, she was looking through her memories eyes and could see Alex and Maggie laying on the ground. She could see agents wounded and some most probably dead all over the hub. She could see Kara being held down to her knees by a man with a scar on his face and she could see more of the soldiers wearing the same suit as the man cuffed in the medical bay room behind him.Lena looked down and clicked of the gun's safety lock, taking a step closer into the room. "Let my girlfriend go, now," Lena growled out, eyes hard and angry as she aimed the gun to the back of the scar faced man's head."That won't work on me," he replied with a smirk while staring down at Alex, "not while I am wearing this suit," he continued as Lena walked around to face him, still holding the gun out in front of her and aimed towards him. She fired once, quickly, her aim was spot on and she hit the blue Kryptonite on his suit front, that was allowing him to be immune to the effects of the green Kryptonite, shattering it to pieces. Though the bullet didn't hit the scar faced man the effect of the green Kryptonite was instant, and he began to have trouble staying standing.The soldier to his left stepped forward eyes glowing bright as though he was about to use his heat vision, until the scar faced man held up a hand, "Wait," he commanded, causing the soldier to step back, his eyes returning to normal. "I want to meet my baby sister's girlfriend, I've heard so much about you, Lena Luthor."Lena's eyes widened at the words just as Alex gasped in surprise."Baby sister?" Alex asked, "Kara is your sister?" she asked again incredulously.He chuckled in response. "Well, if we are being all technical about it, half-sister," he said pulling Kara closer to himself by her neck. "I wouldn't be angry with little sis, she only just remembered herself," he continued squeezing her neck tighter causing Kara to try and cough against his hand."Daddy dearest decided to completely erase me from her mind, she's always been a fragile little one," the scar faced man said further, disdain could be heard in his voice.Lena's eye twitched as she saw the person who was apparently Kara's half-brother squeeze her girlfriend's throat tighter again before she pulled her trigger again aiming a bullet right at his forehead. At the very last second, he ducked, using super-speed, causing the bullet to fly over his head and hit one of his soldier's, whose suit had already been deactivated in the earlier battle, the Kryptonite bullet hitting him in the chest and making him fall to the ground instantly."I like your girlfriend, she has spirit," he said as he leaned in closer to Kara whispering in her ear something that Lena couldn't make out.She didn't need to hear it to know it was bad, Kara's reaction altered her to that.She saw as her girlfriend's eyes widened in fear and panic while she tried to pull away from his grip and she knew what was coming, she knew this was it. She had heard it before and as much as she wanted to try and control her memory, so she could move out of the way she knew she couldn't. She had to follow the memory and let it play out to wake up."NO!" Kara yelled eyes wide, "Lena, look out!" she screamed out at the same time as the scar faced man's eyes turned red and his heat vision shot out shooting into the ceiling.Then there was darkness.No white flash, no brightness- not even any pain.Just black, darkness and a voice calling her name in the distance followed by the steady beeping of medical machines.

Alex sighed angrily as she looked at the board of information they had made so far. Currently she was in J'onn's office with J'onn, Winn, James and Eliza looking over the notes in agent Tamara Corz's hidden files in more detail. It didn't matter to her how many times they looked over these notes and how much anyone tried to even slightly attempt to justify Tamara's actions.She was still a traitor, and that made angry- no, livid.She had trusted Tamara and left her alone with Kara when she had been little and vulnerable.Though Tamara may not have hurt her little sister physically she did enable others to hurt her, and she did terrorise her little sister's mind when she was already in a fragile place.Alex knew she shouldn't let her anger get the better of her, but she couldn't help but think it was a good thing that Tamara was already dead- as she had no idea what she would do to her if she had happened to still be alive right now.She could hear Winn and James talking to her one side and could see J'onn writing more on the board at the front of the room, but she couldn't react to it.She was stuck in her own mind, going over everything she could think of to do with Tamara and how she interacted with Kara that day. She was beating herself up for not seeing it. For not seeing something was wrong when her friend had been so insistent that she have some time alone in the session with Kara.Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden loud crashing noise and shouts coming from in the DEO's barely repaired hub, turning quickly her eyes widened at the sight she could see through the window causing her to stand from her chair."Lucy?" James asked in surprise at seeing his ex-girlfriend stood in the DEO's hub.She looked terrible.She was covered in dirt, sweat and blood- even though from a first glance she didn't appear to be injured herself. She was wearing a uniform they couldn't recognise and was standing with her back to them as DEO agents were circling around her.Winn walked closer to the window in confusion as he saw Lucy holding a gun- that she had taken from a DEO agent- out in front of her. "Why is she aiming a gun at Superman?" he asked incredulously as Alex ran out of the room a hand on her own gun but not drawing it yet.She motioned to the other agents in the room to stand down after seeing that Lucy's hand was shaking. They didn't move until J'onn ordered the same thing from above just outside his office while he looked down at Lucy sadly.They hadn't seen each other in a long time but he could tell something was seriously wrong here, not just due to Lucy's appearance but the way in which she was acting.It wasn't like her to be this- unhinged."Lucy, I need you to lower the gun," Alex said calmly, standing next to her friend and glancing from her to Kal-El, who she noticed didn't look much better than Lucy. He was sweating and kneeling to the floor where he had crash landed upon arrival. He was panting hard as though exhausted.Lucy didn't respond or react to Alex's voice she just continued to stare at Kal-El with anger and disbelief in her eyes. "You left her there," she whispered."Who?" Alex ask softly placing a hand on Lucy's arm and beginning to slowly force her to lower the gun, "who did he leave?" she asked further, taking the gun from Lucy's hand and holding it on her other side away from her reach."Kara," Lucy replied breathing deeply, eyes burning with anger.Alex's eyes widened as she heard her little sister's name, "Kara? You were with Kara? Where is she?" she asked frantically, "where did you leave her?" she asked Kal-El, her voice becoming dangerously low."He left her at the mercy of the same monsters who had been torturing her and manipulating her mind for days!" Lucy yelled out, her voice cutting into the silence like a knife. "We were going to get out- all of us… but you…" she continued, pointing at Kal-El, "-you left her there alone!" she screamed out in anger. "She's right, you do always abandon her," Lucy whispered after a silence with a disbelieving laugh.She looked around the room and shook her head. "You may be Superman- but you are no hero. You disgust me," she said through gritted teeth before pushing her way past the DEO agents and leaving the room in a silent shock.Alex watched her leave before turning her attention back to Kal-El, looking at him she narrowed her eyes, breathing deeply as she slowly began to walk closer towards him."Alex," Kal-El said, "I can explain," he continued holding his hands up, "I didn't have a choice- they would have recaptured all of us if I hadn't left. I didn't want to-""-you didn't want to what? Leave my little sister alone with people who hurt her!" Alex cut in yelling loudly.The anger she had been feeling for the last hour sat in that room was bubbling to the surface with this new information being added on top of it.She felt like the anger was taking over.Looking down at the gun she had taken from Lucy she wanted to shoot Kal-El with it so badly right now. She knew it wouldn't kill him- but looking at how weak he seemed, it would definitely hurt him.He left Kara there to be hurt from the sounds of it, why shouldn't she hurt him back?She knew why, Kara would be so angry with her- she idolised her cousin. She wanted to be just like him, though in the back of her mind Alex wondered if that was still the case now he had abandoned her all over again.Still, Kara would not like her shooting Kal-El, and as she glanced around the room she realised the DEO and her friends may not be thankful for her doing so either.Taking a deep breath, she glared down at her little sister's cousin. "You better hope that we get her back safely," Alex growled before she lifted the gun up and smacked it down hard into Kal-El's forehead making him fall to the ground and groan in pain.She looked down at him in anger before walking away in the same direction that Lucy had done.Kara wouldn't like her shooting him- doesn't mean she can't hit him- hard.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Warnings: Scenes of violence and death. Scenes and references of torture. Signs of PTSD.Trigger Warnings: Murder. Torture. PTSD.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Pain was the first thing that she registered as she felt herself drifting back into consciousness. Pain everywhere and all over her body- but more prominently in her head. Darkness was the next thing she registered, she knew her eyes were open, she had forcefully blinked them open and shut a few times to check this and still there was only darkness. Voices were the last thing she registered around her, she could hear talking not too far away from her. She couldn't hear the words that were being spoken but she could tell that they were angry words and tones.A lower pitched sounding voice was yelling, while a higher pitched sounding voice was not- though the voice still held some anger.She found it hard to focus on the voices as she felt sick. There was a churning in her stomach that made her want to vomit, made her want to sleep.She was pretty sure she hadn't been asleep before just now, she had been unconscious.She had been knocked out and sedated.She had fallen hard and bruised herself before passing out, she remember that. She remembered being surrounded and she could tell that from the pain she could feel rippling throughout her body that they hadn't been gentle with her when carrying her back to a place she thought was hell.Why would they be? They hated her, that much was clear in the treatment she had been given."Ah, Sissy. You're awake," the male voice from earlier boomed into the room, making her jump. She knew the voice instantly.It was Dan-El.She was right- she was back in hell.She wanted to lift her hand to shield her eyes as a light was suddenly overpowering the room. It was too bright and too quick for her to keep up with- but she couldn't move, so instead she settled for closing her eyes to welcome back the darkness from before. She could feel that she was restrained- which was why she had been unable to move. Her hands and her feet had cuffs on, cuffs she could feel pinching the skin making her know right away that they were Kryptonite.She could feel a cold hard surface beneath her and she knew she was back on that table.She was back in the room that she dreaded.She didn't need to open her eyes again to know that he was stood over her. She could feel him, being this close to him always made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, always sent a shiver down her spine and always made that sickness in her stomach feel even worse.It was almost as though
he
was Kryptonite himself.She shuddered as she felt a hand touch the side of her face, almost gently- for him too gently. "I hear you had quite the little adventure while I was away… caused lots of trouble," Dan-El spoke from above her, "it's almost as though you want me to have to punish you," he continued running his hand along her face and down her neck before travelling back up again, "you are not the only one who needs punishing though.""Leave them alone- it's me you want," Kara responded quickly, adamantly.Dan-El chucked at the response. "Such a fierce protector you are, I doubt you even realise who I'm refereeing too," he mocked. "I don't mean your friend and that cousin of ours, not yet anyway. No, I can't punish them when they are not here- you can take their share instead."Dan-El paused for a moment, leaving Kara to walk over to the table filled with green smoothies and bread. He took a bottle of smoothie and a feeding pipet from the table bringing the items back over with him to where Kara was restrained. "How does it make you feel, little sister?" he asked. "How does it feel to know they left you here in my capable hands?" Dan-El asked with a smile on his face as he came to Kara's side again.He placed the items on the table beside her, his smile growing more as the smoothie glowed a bright green, causing Kara to groan, her eyes scrunching shut tighter. Leaning over her, Dan-El used his fingers to cup around her eyes and pry her eyes open before looking down at her in anger, "Answer the question, subject K.Z," he ordered.Kara looked at him defiantly clamping her jaw shut- she refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing how upset and scared she felt having been left here all on her own."It's okay… I get it. You're thirsty." Dan-El said with a mocking disappointed sigh, his eyes leaving Kara's as he turned to open the smoothie bottle and suck some of the liquid into the pipet. "I can help with that," he said innocently before prying Kara's jaw open and forcing the pipet into her mouth, squirting the Kryptonite liquid down her throat.It was sudden, and it burned.It made Kara gag and made her scream as she felt it burning down her throat.It brought tears to her eyes as she could feel her insides setting ablaze while Dan-El watched her, laughing. Ignoring Kara's gags, cries of pain and tears, Dan-El was about to refill the pipet to give her a second dose when they were interrupted by a knock on the door.Turning he could see Lillian Luthor stood in the doorway, five agents behind her who were being held in place by Kryptonian Soldiers.Smiling, he motioned for them to enter, before turning to look at Kara again. "We will continue with your punishment later- right now we have other punishments to attend to," Dan-El told her.He walked around the table to place the Kryptonite smoothie down on a unit filled with different coloured vials and syringes. He took a yellow vial from the unit, sucking the serum into an empty syringe before making his way back to the table Kara was restrained on. Moving to her side, he quickly jabbed the syringe into her neck and injected the serum into her blood stream."Subject Gor," Dan-El called out, waiting until Gor had entered from outside the room where he had been standing guard. "We are ready for you, help me move my sister so she can see what happens to those who will stand in
my
way and derail
my
plans," he continued, motioning Gor over to the table Kara was retrained on.As Dan-El uncuffed Kara's hands she tried to move but found she couldn't. He had used the serum that leaves her unable to move again.She was now effectively a doll for them to move how they wished.She could feel her feet being uncuffed but still could not move. She could feel Dan-El lifting her into a sitting position before she felt herself being lifted from behind and dragged across the floor to a chair. It was hard and cool against her skin, and by moving her eyes downwards as much as she could she could see it was metal, with wires attached to it.She could feel her hands and feet being strapped down again with more restraints.As Gor stood and walked away from she could see Dan-El was also walking away. She watched from the corner of her eyes as he walked behind her, moments later felt something being placed over her head. Suddenly Dan-El was back in front of her again and she could feel as he attached wires all over her body, pinching them onto her with small clips that stung on her skin. Dan-El knelt in front of her and looked at her with a smirk on his face while prying her mouth open with his hand. Before Kara could even react, he had forced a small wooden block into her mouth before pushing her jaw shut causing her teeth to clamp down onto it.Dan-El moved back around behind Kara placing his hands on her shoulders. "Have the machine on full power, you can make them last as long as you want," he said, speaking to Lillian, whose eyes widened in delightKara could see as Lillian made her way over to one side of the room where a group of different machines were lined up against the wall. She could hear as Lillian pressed a button with force and turned a dial around making the machine light up and for sparks to shoot out from the cables and wires on the chair as an electric charge ran through them."These five men- these guards, were responsible for your friend and our cousin's escape. They allowed themselves to be distracted and let their guard down." Dan-El began, moving to stand to Kara's side so he could see her reaction while also blocking her view of Lillian. "They have foiled my plans by doing so. Your friend was going to be a bargaining chip to get me something I need- I will now have to think up another way to get it- but regardless, these men
must
be punished.
You, Kara Zor-El, must be punished," he continued with an angry glare that made Kara shiver even though her body could not currently move. "These men allowed my prisoners to escape," Dan-El said, motioning to the five men who were being held in a line, each being restrained by a Kryptonian solider, "you helped them to escape," he said further, motioning to Kara this time."Nobody foils my plans, nobody disrespects
my
rule and gets away with it." Dan-El growled, nodding to Gor and turning to face Kara staring her in the eyes. "You
are the reason these men will die. This is your fault, Kara Zor-El,
you
did this."Kara wanted to scream and yell at them not to do this, but she couldn't due to the block of wood being in her mouth that was gagging her. She wanted to break free and stop this from happening but couldn't because of the serum and the restraints.She was powerless and helpless as she was forced to watch Gor's eyes turn red, knowing that any moment now he would use his heat vision to murder the men before her.These men were not innocent.They had hurt her. They had probably hurt others for CADMUS as well, but that did not mean they deserved to die. They deserved to be punished, to be locked up but they did not deserve a death sentence.Especially not the death sentence they were about to receive.She couldn't believe Lillian was allowing this to happen, that she was okay with it. This was the reason Lillian hated aliens, this was the reason she gave for the things she and CADMUS had done to aliens in the past. She always said she had done it to protect the human race, so aliens knew they were not gods amongst men. So, they could not try to rule over humankind and take this earth for their own.Dan-El was doing everything she had feared Kara and Kal would do.He was doing everything they would never. He was doing all the things she had proclaimed to stand against. He was making himself a god- making himself the person who decides who gets to live and who does not.Time almost slowed to a complete stop as Kara was forced to watch the people she had sworn to protect; the people of her city, being murdered in front of her.As Gor's eyes released his heat vision she could hear the men screaming as they burned, making her want to scream with them but being unable to do so. She could feel her body pulsating as she was shocked from the machine that was attached to her and it hurt, but she knew that unlike these men, she would still be alive after her punishment was over.In the back of her mind she wondered if that was a good thing. Right now, it didn't feel that way.She wanted to scream- not just because of her own pain but because of the lives that were being taken right in front of her eyes.She wanted to cry, for the families that these men may have just left behind.She wanted to go home and be anywhere but here, to be safe with her own family.She wanted the pain to stop, she wanted the deaths to stop.She just wanted it all to stop.

The room was quiet and tense as Eliza looked over Kal-El's vitals and test results. After the attack on the DEO- when Eliza had woken up and found out that not only had her adoptive daughter been badly hurt and traumatised by her husband while on her watch but then taken by an army of Kryptonian's after being turned back into her rightful size and age- she had wanted to do something more useful to help.She hated feeling powerless and unable to help.She wanted to do more but she knew Alex wouldn't like the idea of her helping any more than what she had been doing. So instead of helping search for Kara physically like other agents had been doing, Eliza had been helping in the medical bay, she was a doctor after all.She had been helping with the research and had been helping the victims of the attack so that Doctor Hamilton had been able to concentrate on the more severe casualties- such as Lena who seemed to be looking as though she was close to waking up for good.Maggie had told her and Alex earlier about how she'd felt Lena squeeze her hand, how the youngest Luthor had woken briefly to only mutter Kara's name before slipping into sleep once again.It wasn't uncommon with coma patients, and now they knew she was able to wake up they had reduced the medication she was on to help her with the process of waking up fully. It was just a waiting game now, to see how much more rest her body needed.Lena waking up was something good finally in this sea of despair they had fallen into. Something they could be happy about, now all they needed was for Kara to be found and safely returned.It wouldn't solve everything, Eliza knew that.There was still the threat of this army of Kryptonian's out there, and then there was the issue of trying to find out what they were up to and what they wanted- but at least if they had Kara back they would know she was safe.They would know that she couldn't be used in whatever plan they had for earth.Eliza had been tasked with checking over Kal-El after Alex had left him dazed and surprisingly bruised on the DEO's hub floor. Doctor Hamilton was busy attending to Lena, and Alex refused to even look at him, instead choosing to check on Lucy Lane.Though Eliza had no qualms with checking over the hero in front of her that she had once been close to and helped come into his powers, she did find it hard to talk to him currently.The silence that had been lingering in the room was thick with tension, thick with the feelings of words that had been unsaid and unspoken."I'm fine Eliza," Kal spoke softly, breaking the silence in the room, "I know you don't want to be here right now, you can go. I'll be fine once I spend some time under the sunlamps."Eliza sighed looking up from the latest test results in her hand before speaking, "I have no problem with being here, or treating you. I know you are not used to me being this quiet with you- but I honestly just do not know what to say to you," Eliza said truthfully.Kal-El sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly, "You agree with them, don't you? You agree with what Lucy said? You feel the same way Alex does- like the DEO does.""I do partially," Eliza said honestly, pausing for a moment to collect her thoughts, "I understand why you left her behind, I understand your reasons- but I don't like them. I don't like what has happened here- any of it… Kara is my daughter, she may not be by blood but the moment you left her with us she became family… as much as I understand your reasons I will never be okay with you leaving her in danger. I would feel the same way if Alex had done this, and if Kara herself had done the same to Alex… When you are family you do whatever it takes to stay together and to look out for one another… you find a way to make sure family is never left behind.""She is
my
family," Kal responded, almost possessively. "My
cousin,
my
blood…I hated leaving her there, I hated that I wasn't strong enough to get both her and Lucy away from that place. I hated that she knew that fact even before I did… the look she gave me beforehand was one I had seen before, the same look she gave me the day I found her in her pod… recognition- not just of me, but of what was happening around her. She knew- so she told me to go… even though she told me I still feel like I betrayed her… I left her alone, without her family there to protect her. Without me there to protect her… I am the only family she has- the only true family. This Dan-El may be her half-brother but he doesn't act the way family should… she is
my
family- not his."Eliza was quiet, she took a moment to collect her thoughts before placing the results down on a small table and leaning against it to look at Kal-El. "Kara is
our
family," Eliza said firmly, emphasising 'our'."Kara is my daughter, Alex's sister, your cousin- she has best friends out there in Winn and James that are like brothers to her, Maggie is almost like another sister to her now, J'onn like a father… and Lena- Lena is the one she loves more than anything, just like you love Lois," Eliza told him. "We
are her family and she is
ours."Eliza looked him hard in the eyes before continuing, "You are
not
the only family that she has, and if we stand any chance of getting her back you are going to need to accept that and fast. This isn't about you, it's about Kara and what she needs right now. She doesn't need Superman, she doesn't need a hero. She needs her family, all of us." Eliza finished, giving Kal-El a stern look in parting before leaving the room.

J'onn looked around the quiet room he had walked into and nodded. This was the room that felt right for him to do this in. This was where he felt closest to Kara- not just because it was the room with the hologram AI program of her mother, but because this was where they had spoken in private many times before now.Sharing and building a bond together.A bond that J'onn would now like to pray for.Praying in the way he intended to do so was a sacred ritual on Mars, and he knew from conversations in the past with Kara that it was on Krypton too. He wanted to feel connected to her and felt this was the best way to do so without upsetting anybody else in the process.The DEO had been in shock since Lucy and Kal-El had crashed landed in the barely repaired hub.Everyone had been devasted and even more shocked to learn that though Kara had been with them, she had been unable to escape like they had. She had been left behind so they could get away. Kara was loved by many at the DEO, she brought a light into a lot of people's lives, and it hurt them to know she was hurting and had been left in danger.To a lot of people, it appeared she had been abandoned by her cousin, and those that knew her well knew this was not for the first time.Just like the rest of the DEO, J'onn was torn with what he had learnt.While he understood why Kal-El had made the decision he had, he didn't like it.He understood that if Kal-El had stayed longer they would have all been recaptured again, not just Kara. He understood that if Kal-El and Lucy had not escaped they would still have no possible clue as to where Kara could be. They still didn't have much to go on now, but they did have more than yesterday.They had the slightest slither of hope in finding where Kara was being kept.They just had to do their research right to find where the CADMUS base was- where Kara was. They had to plan everything just right to get her back. They had to work together as a team to stop whatever plan this Dan-El had from being fulfilled.J'onn knew this.He did- but he still hated the fact that Kara was not here with her family. He hated that she was alone and suffering and he hated feeling unable to do anything about it.He knew that getting angry wouldn't help, he couldn't afford to have outbursts like Alex and Lucy had. He could understand why they happened, and if honest he felt the same as they did but he couldn't voice that. He had to be the one who understood, and he had to be the voice of reason even if his thoughts were jumbled and unclear.So instead of getting angry, he had decided he would pray.The decision did not come lightly.The last time he had prayed like this was back on Mars before the war took his family.The last time he had prayed he had been with his own father, his wife and his two daughters.This was going to bring back a lot of painful memories for him, but he felt as though he needed to do it. He needed to feel close to his people.Kara had been the one to open his mind up about getting in touch with his culture again.Kara and Alex together had pushed him to bond and create a friend ship with M'gann.He was grateful to them both for doing so, as it wasn't until then that he realised how much he missed his culture, how much he missed having a Martian bond with another.To pray was another step in reclaiming his lost culture and ensuring it was remembered.He hoped that Kara would be proud of him for taking this step.He wanted to pray for Kara and remember her as the shinning light and beacon of hope this city needed. He wanted to pray for her courage and strength for them all, including her, to see this through. He wanted to pray for those he had lost.Walking into the centre of the room he knelt to the floor where the hologram of Alura Zor-El would usually stand and closed his eyes, focusing his mind.He had lost one family already, long ago, he was not going to lose another.Though a prayer may not physically help matters- he hoped that it would somehow reach Kara's mind and give her strength, and that it would give him the focus clear mind that he needed.He hoped it would bring him closer to family, his daughters, all four of them.

"Darling you can't keep going like this- they're going to kill you.""I'm not doing what he asked, I can't.""You can, you have to.""No.""Kara you have to, he's killing you… you shouldn't be able to see me now- you shouldn't be able to see me at all, especially while you're still awake.""Then let me die. Just make it stop.""I can't baby, only you can make it stop. The world needs you, they need Supergirl. I need you Kara- you can't leave me, you promised you would always be there and you would always protect me. You need to stay strong- but you also need to protect yourself… right now the only way you can do that is by doing what he wants.""If I do what he wants then I would be as good as dead anyway. He wants me soulless, he wants me to kill, to be like him- to be cold… I won't do that- I can't. I would rather die than be like him.""You don't have to be like him Kara, you just need to let him think you are complying. He doesn't have to know that you aren't following him in your heart- he just needs to think he has done enough to make you follow his orders… you don't have to kill darling- no one needs to die, and neither do you.""People have already died- he killed those guards, he said it was my fault. He said I killed them.""You didn't kill anyone, and you know that. You have the heart of hero Kara, and heroes find a way to always stay strong like I know you can now… you are so strong already, but there is only so much you can put your mind and body through before you lose yourself- you need to protect yourself."How? He will know- I can't fool him… What if he asks me to kill? He will want to know what he has done has worked and I am fully in his control. He will know I am faking.""Not if you do what you have already done all your life. Become a character Kara, become who he wants you to be and protect yourself. You will find a way to make him believe you are under his control without having to lose who you are in the process… I have faith in you.""I think you have to much faith in me.""No- you don't have enough faith in yourself. You can do this.""What if I can't?""You can. You once told me Kara Danvers believes in me- you believe in me. Well I believe in you- I always have and I always will… and if you ever feel as though its too much I'll be here to remind you of that. I'll be here to remind you to believe in yourself… I'll be here when you need help to stay strong.""You promise?""I will always be with you- no matter what. I promise."

"Urgh," she mumbled, blinking her eyes open slowly.It was bright, and her head felt strange.The feeling and the brightness seemed familiar, but she couldn't pinpoint where from right now.She could hear someone saying her name to the side of her.Turning her head in that direction, she squinted, making out the silhouette of a person she recognised. Squinting more and blinking a times the silhouette came into focus forming the shaky outline of a female figure. As her vision cleared she recognised the figure's long, slightly wavy brown hair, she recognised the voice calling out to her."Maggie?" she asked quietly, her voice horse and her throat feeling as though it had nails in it.She was dry- too dry, and it took effort to talk.It was almost as though moving her tongue was exercising an unused muscle.The figure- who she was even more sure was Maggie- came closer, pressing something wet to her lips and causing a small piece of plastic to slip into her mouth. Squinting again in concentration, she realised it was a straw and began to suck greedily."Easy, Lena, you'll choke. Take it slowly," Maggie said from above her.Lena eyed her for a moment before slowing down, she continued drinking until the cup was drained and only then did Maggie take it away and place it on the small table beside the bed.Afterwards Maggie took a seat again next to Lena's bed as Lena cleared her throat by coughing lightly. "Least you recognise me this time- last time you woke up you thought I was little Danvers," Maggie commented with a smile as Lena looked to her in confusion.Lena continued to stare at her for moment. "I don't remember that," she said slowly.Maggie nodded, with a reassuring smile. It wasn't surprising at all. Lena had only woken for a few seconds earlier, just long enough to look at Maggie and mutter Kara's name.Maggie's eyes widened with shock as Lena pulled the blanket back and began to move as though she was attempting to stand. Quickly, Maggie stood herself and with a firm hand on Lena's shoulder pushed her back against the pillows. "You have
literally
just woken up from a coma. Where the hell do you think you are going?" she asked, in frustration.It was a well-known fact that Lena Luthor wasn't the best at taking care of herself. Kara was always having to remind her to stop working and eat, or sleep."Kara isn't here with me- which means for whatever reason she can't be," Lena said sharply, shrugging off Maggie's hand, her voice was coming out stronger now. "Things are hazy still, but I remember her being held down, I remember a Kryptonian standing over her, threatening her. I remember him saying he was her brother… I need to find her- I know something isn't right, I can just feel it." She continued adamantly. "She needs me.""She needs you alive," Maggie responded, rolling her eyes at Lena's stubborn look. "Little Luthor, you have just been in a coma for almost a week, you have got to take it easy."Lena narrowed her eyes in Maggie's direction, crossing her arms with a huff, "Firstly- stop calling me that," Lena said with a glare, causing Maggie to smirk in response. "Secondly- from what you have just said it sounds like I have had days to rest and take it easy while sleeping. I'm not going to sit around and do nothing when I know something has happened to Kara- and do not tell me it hasn't. I can tell from the look on your face that I'm right."Maggie was quiet for a moment as Lena stared her down expectantly. "I'm not letting you out of this bed until you have been cleared by Doctor Hamilton," Maggie said firmly. "I'll fill you in on everything that has been happening, and if you stop glaring at me, I may even bring you a laptop to do some research on," she compromised. "But, you are not leaving this bed until the doctor says you are safe to do so." Maggie finished sternly.If Lena wouldn't take care of herself and Kara wasn't here to remind her to do so, Maggie would do so herself- even if Lena sat and glared at her the whole time."You can't make me stay here," Lena said indignantly."I will cuff you to the damn bed if I have to," Maggie replied with a victorious smile at Lena's shocked look, "just let us take care of you okay? Kara will never forgive us if anything else happens to you before we can get her back."Lena continued to glare at Maggie, before softening her gaze just the smallest amount as she sighed in submission. "As soon as they clear me, I am out of here and you cannot stop me.""When you're cleared, that's fine. I'll even wheel you out in a chair myself," Maggie replied."Good- though the chair won't be necessary.""Lena-""-Fine you can wheel me out- now go and get the doctor so I can get out of here."

"Woah," James called out, barely missing being smacked in the face with a door as General Sam Lane all but stormed out of the room he was heading towards. Looking into the room James gave Lucy a confused look. "Forgive me if I am wrong; but aren't most Fathers happy when their daughters return after being missing?" he asked.Lucy sighed, pacing the room restlessly, "He was- I mean is- happy. He just doesn't like that I have rank over him here and all but commanded him to not leave until we have Supergirl back," Lucy replied sheepishly."Ah," James said, coming further into the room and closing the door behind him, "that would do it.""Can you not, please," Lucy asked motioning to the door that had just been closed, noticing James give her another confused look she continued, "I just spent days being locked in a cell, I just- I don't like feeling closed in." she explained.Nodding with a small smile, James reopened the door, leaving it ajar, enough for Lucy to see she was not closed in, before making his way to the side of the room taking a seat on the empty bed. He watched her in silence for a moment, watching her as she paced up and down the room looking deep in thought, "Lucy-" he began."I'm fine James," Lucy butted in quickly, while still pacing."No," James argued, "you're not- and that's to be expected, you have just been through something really traumatic."She began to pace faster, her jaw clenching. "No, I haven't.
I'm
fine," Lucy argued back again, adamantly. "I
wasn't the one they beat daily," she said angrily, "I
wasn't the one they have been playing mind games on," Lucy spat, "I
wasn't the one they force fed Kryptonite and
I'm
not the one who was abandoned by my own family after he promised not to do so."James only watched as his friend and ex-girlfriend tried to hold it together. He knew Lucy- he knew she wouldn't cry and she wouldn't break down, not until she was alone.She hated people to see her weak and she hated to feel like a burden.He knew that she wouldn't let him comfort her, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try and help her if he could. He needed her to know that it was okay to not be fine. It was okay if she had been affected by what had happened and what she may have seen.Standing from the bed James made his way over to Lucy and placed a hand on both of her shoulders, holding her in place and stopping her from pacing, "It's okay to not be fine. It's okay to affected by what has happened. It may not have happened to you personally, but you were there. You saw it and you lived it," he said, speaking calmly and slowly, keeping eye contact with Lucy during every word that he spoke. "If you want to- if you need to talk, you can talk to me. Always."They were quiet for a moment. As Lucy calmed her breathing and relaxed her posture, she looked him in the eyes and smiled. "Jimmy Olsen, the Guardian of the people, who would've thought," she commented with a slight chuckle."I- um- what?" James stuttered out with wide eyes."I know- Kara may have let it slip," Lucy told him gently, before narrowing her eyes, "you are not allowed to be angry with her over this- she was completely out of it after what they had done to her."James nodded, he wasn't mad.Lucy knowing made things easier, he had a feeling he was going to be needed before this was over and at least if Lucy already knew he wouldn't have to risk her exploding at him if she found out later down the line.She didn't seem angry- which was a good thing but also worrying.It showed how deflated and exhausted she must be feeling.He couldn't help but notice the protectiveness in her voice over the thought of him being angry with Kara. Though the thought of them all becoming closer friends again like he had hoped his first year here in National City made him smile, it also worried him how protective Lucy was right now. It worried him because he knew for Lucy to become this way she had seen a lot. Maybe even too much of what had been happening to Kara."Did you see Kara much, where you were?" he asked carefully.Lucy sighed as she nodded, "When they weren't torturing her she was with me. We shared a cell… they said I was to be her career, made me treat her wounds so they didn't become infected only to whisk her away the next day and bring her back with more… the things they did to her, the things they are probably doing now- no person or alien alike, nobody deserves that… its why I am so angry at him for leaving her there. His cell was close to the room they took her too- he must have heard what they had done to her, but still he left her there all alone… he said he left so we wouldn't all get captured again, but truthfully I would have rather he left me there too when he realised that all of her weren't going to get out… at least that way she wouldn't be alone.""She was barely hanging on when we broke her out of that room, I don't know how much fight she has left in her before they completely break her."

J'onn walked through the halls of the DEO briskly, he had just heard from Winn over the coms that the young technical agent had just managed to get the systems back online for the first time in days.He was doing a system update and then they were going to do a search for Kryptonian heat signatures to try and locate where the CADMUS base could be that was holding Kara- if she was still being kept there.While Winn was doing that, Lena was searching through files she'd asked Maggie to retrieve from L-Corp for her. Doctor Hamilton had cleared Lena to leave the medical bay after all tests had come back with positive results and a thorough check-up had been performed by both herself and Alex under Maggie's insistence.Lena was under strict orders to not overdo things and both Maggie and Alex were making her stick to those orders. They had found something Lena could do to help them while not overexerting herself.It turned out that Lena had been an understudy for her brother for years before taking over the company, while she didn't have access to funds or to projects like he did, she did have access to files. When she had noticed her brother's behaviour becoming erratic, she had begun to make copies of everything and anything she felt important to keep hidden away in case it was one day needed.They now had flash drives worth of files to check through to see if there were any Luthor-Corp purchases of buildings that matched the description given by Lucy and Kal-El, who had yet to speak since the incident in the DEO hub upon their arrival.Things were tense in the DEO currently and the closer J'onn got the hub the more he could feel the tension rising. A lot of the DEO agents were still angry at Kal-El, and that anger was noticeable- even more so to a physic with the ability to read minds. Though J'onn did try not to pry he couldn't help reading the thoughts of the people he worked with while they were so upset and angry.As J'onn entered the Hub he could see that even Winn- who worshiped Superman- was frowning as the Man of Steel stood over his shoulder watching him work. J'onn gave Kal-El a pointed look, making him back away, causing Winn to send him a thankful smile for doing so before getting back to his work.Looking around J'onn could see that Lena and Maggie were working on the desk next to Winn, with Alex looking at the files over Maggie's shoulder as the detective sat next to Lena.As J'onn looked up to the DEO's second floor he could see Lucy and James were in his office, James had offered to go through the file left behind by agent Tamara Corz with Lucy to see if she could shed any light on the information they had gathered so far from her time at the base. J'onn had yet to talk to Lucy himself about her time being held captive. He had read enough of her emotions upon arrival to know that she needed some time to come to terms with what happened before they spoke. He trusted that James would keep an eye on her for now to make sure she was coping."And we have lift off!" Winn said in victory as he pressed the last button, causing the screens to light up and for files to start showing up on the computer systems.Cheers could be heard from behind them, as agents went back to their stations being able to complete the work they needed to now. There was a collective feeling of relief from the everyone in the DEO now the systems were back up and running. They were no longer flying blind; the security was back up as was their ability to track and trace Kryptonian heat signatures- which was the first thing they were going to do.They wanted to try and see if they could narrow down the area that Kara was being kept in. As well as this, Kal-El had asked them to check for signatures in his Fortress of Solitude. As soon as he was able to, he wanted to make the trip to see what had been taken- to see if Lucy had heard things right. He didn't want to do so until he knew it was safe- he didn't want to walk into another ambush.Everyone watched as Winn opened the programme needed to search for Kryptonian heat signatures, waiting with baited breath to see if they could find anything.The agents in the hub weren't silent, they were talking quietly amongst themselves, but they were mindful to not make too much noise so that Winn could concentrate on what he was doing.Suddenly the screen and beep sounded as a map popped up showing red dots for all and any Kryptonian heat signatures. On the screen a map of the world could be seen that quickly zoomed in on America, before continuing to zoom in closer on one area.Stepping closer, J'onn looked over Winn's shoulder at the screen his eyes widening. "Please tell me there is a problem with the system and that is not what I am seeing right now," J'onn said.Winn shook his head, "The system is fixed and fully up and running. What you are seeing is correct- there are over twenty Kryptonian heat signatures in National City," Winn read out loud, pausing to gulp loudly, "all of which are directly above us."Everyone froze at Winn's words.The agents in the room turned to look at the screen before turning to look upwards.Worried eyes turned up to the ceiling above them just as it crumbled and fall apart causing the newly fixed hub to become littered in rumble and dust once again.As the dust cleared Dan-El and half of his Kryptonian army could be seen, having entered the building through the hole in the ceiling they had just created.A resounding shocked gasp could be heard by all, echoing around the hub.They were not shocked that this had happened, it wasn't the first time and in their line of work would not be the last time either.They weren't shocked to see Dan-El again with his army of Kryptonian soldiers.They weren't shocked by the half smirk like smile on his face.They were, however, shocked to see that next to Dan-El standing beside him- chained, bloody, dirty, withdrawn, and far too thin and malnourished- was Kara.Kara was here. She was within their reach- with just one problem.Stood between them and her was Dan-El.Dan-El who held the chains keeping her tethered to him like a trophy. He stood proud and tall- while Kara stood small and deflated, barely able to stay on her feet.The sight was sickening, and it made J'onn angry, his anger only being intensified by the anger he could feel all around him. He didn't need to tap into his physic abilities to know he wasn't the only one who was angered by what they were seeing. He could feel anger pulsating around the room in waves.Lena was frozen to the spot, staring with wide eyes at Kara.Winn was clenching his jaw while sat unmoving on his chair.Lucy was being held back by James up in the office.Kal-El was clenching his fists tightly glaring daggers at Dan-El.While Alex and Maggie were both reaching for their guns.It was a shocking to seeing Kara here, they had expected it to a lot harder to find her. They didn't expect that she would just fall into the building- though from the chains it looked as though she wasn't here willingly.Seeing her in the state she was in was distressing.They were ready to fight for her even if unprepared."Director J'onzz?" Dan-El asked, looking to Kara for conformation. She nodded in confirmation lightly after a rough tug to her chains from Dan-El.Smirking at the people around the hub he continued, "I have a proposition for you."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Warnings: Violence, references to torture, references and signs of PTSD.

Trigger Warnings: Mentions and references of torture, signs of PTSD

Chapter Twenty-Three.

“Director J’onzz?” Dan-El asked, looking to Kara for conformation. She nodded in confirmation lightly after a rough tug to her chains from Dan-El.

Smirking at the people around the hub he continued, “I have a proposition for you.”

Before J’onn could even attempt to reply Alex had reacted, beating him to any response he could have given. Quickly, Alex stepped in front of where Maggie and Lena were sitting, making her the person closest to both Dan-El and Kara. She drew her weapon out and aimed it at the blue Kryptonite on Dan-El’s suit, ready to fire.It wasn’t a kryptonite gun, it wouldn’t kill him, only stun him as it was her alien weapon- but he didn’t know that.“And I have one for you,” Alex growled out, “let my sister go, now! Or die a slow and painful death.”Dan-El laughed loudly, almost doubling over in laughter. “Oh, that’s a good one,” he said through his laughter before straightening up again and staring Alex in the eyes. “I mean it worked out so well for you all last time, didn’t it?” he mocked, smirking. “Though by all means,” Dan-El continued, spreading his arms out wide to make himself a bigger target, “take your best shot.”Gun shots rang out echoing through the DEO’s otherwise silent hub- however the shots did not come from Alex’s gun.They came from a standard issue police gun.From Maggie’s gun.Maggie wasn’t the one firing though, it was Lena.Enraged, she had stood quickly, taking the detective’s gun in the process before Maggie could realise what she had done, and stepped out from behind Alex firing the six shots loaded into the barrel in quick succession. The shots would not kill Dan-El, they couldn’t even hurt him- they did however destroy the blue Kryptonite on his suit.The room fell silent as heads whipped around to stare at Lena, while Kryptonian eyes began to burn white. Lena and Dan-El stared at each other not blinking, Dan-El with a smirk on his face, and Lena with a look of steel determination and anger. The whole time Kara only continued to stare at the ground in front of her, not blinking, nor moving.After a moment Dan-El looked around the room at the shocked faces of the humans, the static face of Director J’onzz, and the angry eyes of Kryptonian’s preparing to fire.Holding his hand up to signal for his soldiers to not fire, he began to laugh again, manically.“You are a little fire-cracker, aren’t you?” Dan-El asked, addressing Lena, who still stood with the gun held out in front of her, eyes burning holes into Dan-El as Maggie tried to pull her away.“I have to admit I was disappointed to hear my sister had settled with a human on this planet,” Dan-El continued to goad, circling around Kara, running his hand along her shoulders and back as he did so. “Sister is practically royalty,” he said, pulling Kara’s face up to the side and holding her jaw roughly, “and you are such a primitive species.”Lena practically growled in response. “Get your hands off my girlfriend,” she said, her voice was low, anger could be heard distinctly in the tone in which she spoke.Dan-El laughed again, wrapping an arm around Kara’s stomach, moving his arm upwards to rest under just under chest, while watching Lena’s reaction with a smirk. He watched, laughing silently as Maggie had to hold her back from lunging at him, while Kara only tensed against his arm, making a small noise of protest but otherwise not reacting.Growing tired of the games, J’onn cleared his throat pointedly.“Right!” Dan-El said brightly, “My proposition,” he continued releasing his hold on Kara, who let out a small sigh in relief, “I heard that sister,” Dan-El continued stepping closer to Kara once again. “Looks like I still have some attitude to beat out of you after all,” he threatened, lifting his hand as though to strike her.Clenching her jaw, Alex reactivated her alien gun and aimed it at Dan-El’s head, “Oh, I dare you to hit her in front of me, it will be the last thing you do.”Dan-El paused, his hand still mid-air, looking thoughtful. “You’re right,” he said lowering his hand. “I have much more convenient ways to teach her,” he continued taking the small device from his pocket and pressing the button on it, causing Kara to cry out in pain from the shock it caused.Looking up at Alex, Dan-El smirked holding his thumb down on the button for a longer time, as Kara dropped to her knees holding her head in pain.“Enough!” J’onn yelled. “You have our attention, now what do you want?”Dan-El released his hold on the button, looking down at a panting Kara before turning his attention back to J’onn. “Information,” Dan-El said.The room looked confused by his answer, causing him to elaborate further. “Little cousin’s fortress was not very forthcoming in that department,” Dan-El said with a shrug, “Oh!” he continued, turning to Kal-El, “you’re safe to return there now, no checks needed. We have taken what we needed- thank you for making it so easy.” Noticing the looks of confusion only deepening on the faces before him he continued further. “We heard you were going to check for an ambush before going back there. We have no need for you anymore, so you can do as you wish as long as you don’t get in my way.”J’onn gave Winn a side glance, then turned to look up at James and Lucy who were still in his office on the floor above the Hub.Something about what Dan-El said did not seem right with him.“What makes you think we will have the information you want- or that we will give it to you?” J’onn asked, turning his attention back to Dan-El as Winn swivelled around on his chair to face the other direction looking at something on his phone.“You don’t- not personally,” Dan-El replied. “It’s not you I need to speak with,” he continued, stepping around Kara to walk up to J’onn. “My proposition is simple- you let me take Kara to see the AI that landed with her, and I’ll let your doctors take a look at her afterwards,” Dan-El offered before following J’onn’s line of sight to Kara who was still on the floor. “I may have gone a bit too far with the amount of Kryptonite I have been using on her, it’s caused quite the problem and she could really do with some healing.”J’onn clenched his jaw, usually they would never allow a negation of any sorts with hostile aliens- but this was Kara. As he looked down at her he knew she was in bad shape.Sighing, J’onn turned to look at Alex, and knew he couldn’t say no. “We treat her first,” J’onn demanded. “We treat her first to fix what you have done to her- then you get your time with the AI.”“I don’t think you understand who has the power here, Martian,” Dan-El said stepping closer and dragging Kara along the floor by her chains as he did.J’onn took a step closer himself, standing only inches away from Dan-El. “I think I know exactly who has the power here,” J’onn responded, his eyes flashing red. “You will leave Kara with us, so we can treat her first, or you will get nothing.”Dan-El smiled, looking down to his sister for a second before meeting J’onn’s eyes again. “You’re lucky I need her alive, or I wouldn’t be so willing to compromise on my own proposition. You have one hour.”“Four,” J’onn replied.Crossing his arms Dan-El narrowed his eyes, “Two.”“Three hours at the very least,” J’onn said, mirroring Dan-El stance. “If you want us to treat her, we need time to figure out what you have done to her.”Dan-El nodded, “Fine- three hours,” he agreed. “Would it just be easier if I tell you what we have done to her?” he asked sarcastically, holding a hand out to count, “let’s see, we whipped her, we electrocuted her,” he began counting down on his fingers. “Oh! We did that- what do they call it? Waterboarding? Thing the other day- that was fun,” he said with a smirk. “We injected her with different forms of Kryptonite to see how she would respond… we force fed her Kryptonite too… cut her open for a look inside… come to think of it- there’s not a lot we haven’t done… yeah. You’re probably going to need the three hours.”A silence fell over the DEO as everyone tried to process what he had just told them.They had known that Kara had been hurt, that much was obvious from looking at her.They had heard from Lucy and Kal-El about some of the things that they saw and heard while with Kara- but to hear it listed in such a manner was sickening.“There is something fundamentally wrong with you,” Lena said angrily, she had tears in her eyes that she was struggling to keep at bay, “you’re an evil, sick, monster.”Dan-El shrugged. “Wasn’t all me, your Mom helped.”Crying out in anger, Lena threw the gun that was still in her hand at Dan-El. The gun smacked him on the back of the head before falling to floor with a dent on its barrel.Dan-El laughed, looking from the gun to Lena with an impressed look on his face. “You’ve got good aim- I’ll give you that,” he said, before turning his attention back to Kara. “Can your girlfriend catch?” he asked with a smirk before using super-speed to haul Kara up to her feet, snap the chains off her body and throw her towards Lena.Kara stumbled and fell into her girlfriend, practically barrelling the two of them to the floor as she hit, she would have too if Maggie wasn’t there to stabilise them.Quickly Lena wrapped her arms around Kara, clutching her tightly to her own body as she dropped a kiss to the side of girlfriend’s head. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you, Kara,” she whispered over and over as Kara trembled in her arms. Kara hadn’t wrapped her arms around Lena, they were still dangling by her sides limp and loose. She hadn’t nuzzled into Lena the way she used to, her head was resting against her girlfriend’s shoulder where it had fallen, her eyes were squeezed shut tightly as she took sharp gasping breaths.After making sure that Lena was steady and the pair of them were not going to fall to the floor, Maggie moved to their side, reaching a hand out carefully to rub Kara’s shoulder. “Little Danvers, we got you, open your eyes,” she whispered.In response Kara only shook her head, screwing her eyes shut tighter causing Maggie to turn and look at Alex in confusion. Disabling and pocketing her gun, Alex made her way over to them, coming around to stand on the opposite side to Maggie, standing to the side that was closest to where Kara’s head rested against her girlfriend’s shoulder.“Kara,” Alex called gently, brushing her little sister’s hair away from her face. Alex’s eye widened as she noticed how hot Kara’s forehead felt under her hand. Alex could see that she was shivering and trembling, it was as though she was running a fever. Turning back to Dan-El, Alex glared in his direction. “Why won’t she look at us? What have you done to her?” Alex spat at Dan-El.She knew her sister, she knew signs of fear from her and the way she was acting screamed fear to her. When Kara was a child and first coming into her powers of heat vision, she would act the same way. She would be terrified of her powers accidently hurting anybody and would shake when held, she would screw her eyes shut so tightly that Alex remembered being afraid that they would never open again.Dan-El chucked, rolling his eyes, “You mean other than what I just told you?” he asked sarcastically, glancing around the room he sighed at the unimpressed faces before him. “Wake up sissy,” he called out in an almost lyrical way, “I wouldn’t have let you out of the chains and near them if you weren’t allowed to look at them. You can open your eyes, Sister- I won’t be killing anyone at the moment.”Looking down to the watch on his wrist Dan-El turned his attention J’onn. “You have three hours, when I return for her we will be granted a private consultation with the AI- then you will let us leave without resistance,” he ordered to J’onn, who only raised an eyebrow in response.Walking away Dan-El motioned to his soldiers to leave, “Oh,” he said, turning back again, “and don’t even think about moving her from here. I’ll know. Besides, you’ll only cause her more pain if you do. The General’s daughter and my cousin learnt that the hard way,” he finished, before following his soldiers out through the hole they had created upon their entrance.Kara released a breath after hearing his exit. Slowly she blinked her eyes open, and as Alex looked back to her again meeting her gaze she felt sick at what she could see in her little sister’s eyes.The once-whites of her eyes were tinged green.Alex was shocked, and as she continued to look into her sister’s eyes, dread filled her bones. This was what she had assumed Kryptonite poisoning would look like. Alex watched as Kara’s eyes began to slowly move around the room, blinking tiredly as she took in her surroundings.Slowly Kara lifted her head from its resting place on Lena’s shoulder and turned to look at her girlfriend. Once their eyes met she stopped looking around the room and just stared at Lena almost as though in a trance. Kara lifted a hand up and began to ghost her finger tips over the cut and bruise that had been left on Lena’s forehead from when the rubble had fallen on her, as though she was afraid to touch her. Lena moved slightly, pushing her head forwards to meet Kara’s touch, allowing Kara to feel her and touch the skin where the bruise and cut were still present on her forehead.Kara gasped upon feeling Lena’s skin. “You’re okay?” she whispered out, the crinkle present. Her voice was rough, and quiet, it sounded hallow and different to usual. Kara spoke as though she didn’t believe what she was seeing. “You’re really here?” Kara asked further.“I’m here,” Lena assured, pressing a gentle kiss to Kara’s lips, then to her forehead afterwards, “I’ve got you,” she promised, pulling Kara in closer to her once again. This time as she pulled Kara in towards herself she could feel the blonde go limp in her arms, the tenseness left her body- though the trembling and shivering continued. She could feel Kara clutch at the back of her shirt loosely, and she could feel a wetness dripping onto her neck where Kara had nuzzled into her.“I didn’t know if you were alive, if he had killed you,” Kara whispered brokenly her body shuddering at the thought, “I thought you were gone. I thought I’d never get to see you again.”Lena wrapped an arm around Kara’s back, hating how cold Kara felt in her arms, “I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere. You can can’t get rid of me that easily,” Lena whispered back, while lifting her hand to stroke through dirty blonde hair gently, using her fingers to try and undo the knots in her girlfriend’s usually slick and silky hair. “I love you Kara, I love you so much,” Lena declared, dropping a kiss to Kara’s hairline and closing her eyes as she rested her chin on top of Kara’s head, humming softly and quietly.The DEO agents that had been watching quickly turned away leaving the couple to have some privacy, as an alert popped up onto some of their tablets.

DEO Group Chat Opened.

Techno Agent ~ Please use only this forum to chat, this forum is my own creation and 100% secure, if you have received this message it is because you are believed to also be secure and uncompromised.

Techno Agent sent an image attachment.

Techno Agent ~ See attached image, find and destroy. Quickly. Do not speak openly about this, please confirm here when an area is secure.

“Everyone has work to do, go!” J’onn ordered before making his way over to Winn, “Come with me.”

After getting Kara to the medical bay, it had taken well over an hour to treat her wounds. Partly due to the number of wounds that she had, and partly due the fact that Kara refused to let go of Lena. Eliza had met them in the medical bay, barely managing not to burst into tears at the sight of her adoptive daughter when she had been carried in by Alex, clutching tightly onto Lena’s hand.After settling Kara on the bed, Alex had stepped back allowing Lena to be the one closest to Kara, her need for Lena was obvious and the second the CEO was in reach Kara was holding onto her and burying her face against her girlfriend’s chest breathing deeply. With Alex’s help they had got Kara standing, and had pealed the blue and bloodied robe away from her body causing a gasp to sound around the room from seeing the full extent of Kara’s injuries on her back. Her front had still been pressed closely to Lena, but they were sure that even more scars were littered there as well.Maggie had quickly excused herself being unable to see her future sister-in-law hurt so badly, she felt as though she was intruding on something she shouldn’t be. She wasn’t family- not yet, she wasn’t a doctor, she wasn’t Lena. Kara had no need for her there, she felt as though she wasn’t going to useful just standing and watching, so instead, she tasked herself with finding Kara clothes from the locker she knew they had for when she had to be treated after Supergirl missions.Alex and Eliza had been careful and slow in the process of treating Kara’s open wounds, not wanting to hurt Kara more than she already was while trying to clean and dress the scars littered all over her body. While Kara only flinched and hid against Lena’s neck when the treatment caused her wounds to hurt, everyone else in the room cried. While Kara hid away in shame while feeling eyes looking over her body, they all found it impossible to look away.When Maggie had re-entered the room with clean and fresh clothes she had retrieved from Supergirl’s locker she had tried to look anywhere but Kara. She handed Alex the clothes and stood to side looking over different pieces of medical equipment as Alex and Lena helped Kara into a pair of underpants and a sports bra, opting to fully dress her after completing their treatment and some time on the sunbed. They had both exchanged a look of shock and worry at how loose the clothes were on Kara’s body. It was clear she had lost weight- too much weight.The whimpered sound Kara had produced at the mention of the sunbed they planned for Kara to be set up in after they had finished treating her wounds was heart-breaking to hear, it almost made them stop what they were doing and wrap her up tightly in blankets and hugs. As much as they all wanted to just draw Kara into their arms and hold her to keep her safe they knew they couldn’t.They were on a timeline and Kara needed help.Lena comforted Kara the best she could, she held her close as Alex and Eliza continued to work around her, she rubbed up and down Kara’s back carefully, trying to help warm her up while not aggravating her wounds. She continued to hum and speak to Kara softly, trying to keep her distracted from what Alex and Eliza were doing. Lena stroked her cheek with one hand while Kara would look at her and stare into her eyes. When Kara instead chose to hide away when becoming fearful or in pain, Lena stroked her hair softly instead.After cleaning then dressing the worst of the wounds Eliza had taken some blood samples from her adoptive daughter, worry filling her eyes as she was able to do so easily with a normal needle. A normal needle that would usually break apart on touching the girls skin that this time effortlessly slid into her veins to draw the blood. What worried her further was that Kara had not stopped trembling the whole time, and as they checked her over Eliza could tell she wasn’t just frightened like they first thought- she was cold.Her body was cold to the touch.Even more so than Lena had first thought when out in the DEO’s hub.Kara was never cold, she was always warm, her blood ran hotter. The fact she was cold now was not a good sign. It was a sign that her body was shutting down and trying to fight off whatever infection the abnormal amounts of Kryptonite in her system were causing. The only part of Kara’s body that was hot was her forehead, which made Eliza even more certain she was running a high fever and fighting infection. It made her feel certain that Alex’s thoughts of Kara having Kryptonite poisoning were right, the Kryptonite could well be what was causing the infection- weakening her as her body tried to fight its effects.After drawing the blood samples Eliza had disappeared to the labs in the hopes of being able to pinpoint what was causing the infection and then being able to manufacture something she could give to Kara to fight it, while Alex and Maggie set up the sunbed as Lena continued to hold Kara close.Alex felt bad as she had set up the sunbed, she knew Kara hated being caged into the sunbeds. She hated feeling trapped, and she was always restless on the hard bed beneath the panels. Alex had never fully understood why before, she had always assumed it was part of Kara’s claustrophobia caused by her time stuck in the phantom zone in her pod never leaving her, but now- now she knew it was probably more than that.She knew it probably had a lot more to do with the memories Kara had from Krypton.She hated having to force Kara to lay under the sunbed, she hated the scared look in her sister’s eyes as she climbed up shakily onto the hard surface and whimper she made as the panels were pulled down trapping her on the bed.She hated being the cause of Kara’s fear, but Kara was still shaking and cold. She was still too pale. Some of her wounds were still bleeding even after treatment.She needed sunlight.She needed the sunbed.Though Kara did not refuse to get on the bed it was clear she was unhappy and had been for the last forty minutes she was under the lamps. Alex had been getting her to switch positions from her back to her front every ten minutes, in order for her whole body to absorb the sunrays. Eliza had been observing them from the lab to the side of the room, coming in to take more bloods every time Kara switched positions, to see if the sunlight was helping at all.While on her back Kara would scan the room searching with her eyes until she found Lena’s. The look on her face telling them she was frightened but calming slightly at being able to see her girlfriend. While on her front she would whimper and cry quietly calling out for her Lena. Every time this happened Alex had to remind Lena that she couldn’t put her hands under the sunlamps- at least not unless she wanted skin cancer from doing so.They had just turned Kara back onto her front and just taken more bloods again. This time Alex had left the room with Eliza to check the latest results.As Alex left the room Kara had finally had enough and started to sob brokenly, and loudly.“Grab me a blanket from over there, please,” Lena asked, addressing Maggie as she bent down next to the sunbed, reaching out to take Kara’s hand that was reaching for her as she lay on her front shaking and calling her name quietly between her cries.Lena waited until Maggie left to do as she had asked with a raised eyebrow in response, before pressing the off switch on the machine and standing back up.Hearing a whimper from Kara at the loss of contact Lena quickly pulled the sunbed panel up, before gently helping to guide Kara up into a sitting position. “I’m here darling, I’ve got you,” Lena soothed, while drawing her girlfriend into her arms and rubbing up and down her back gently, trying to use her hands to warm her up. “I know baby, I know. You’re had enough now, you just want to be held, don’t you? I’m here, I’ve got you now,” she said softly, pressing a kiss down onto Kara’s hairline when she felt her girlfriend relax against her, her tears calming as she took deep shuddering breaths. Kara sat in nothing but her sports bra and new underpants on the sunbeds table. She was still trembling and cold, noticeably less so than she had been before, but she still cold all the same. She had both her arms wrapped around Lena’s middle, her head resting comfortably on Lena’s chest looking out into the room with tired watery eyes.As Maggie returned with the blanket, Kara closed her eyes, turning her face to nuzzle between Lena’s breasts. “No more, I don’t wanna go back in, please?” she begged quietly, her voice muffled against Lena.“You’re not darling,” Lena assured, taking the blanket from Maggie with one hand, “no more sunbed, no more I promise,” she said, giving Maggie a stern look, while Maggie just held her hands up in surrender, “just cuddles now, that sound good?” Lena asked lightly.Receiving a nod in response Lena smiled, quickly wrapping her girlfriend up in the blanket and rubbing her back over the top of it trying to keep her warm.She knew that was all Kara wanted.Kara had let them treat her, she had let them draw her blood and look her over. She had let Alex put her under the sunbed knowing that it would help her sister feel better at making sure she was getting the sun radiation her body needed.Kara did everything she had been asked- bar eating which had made her fearful- when all she wanted was to be held.Lena knew that in the way her eyes held her own while she was on her back in the sunbed.She knew that in the way she had whimpered her name and reached out for her when on her front.Kara was tired, she was cold, and she was hurting- all she wanted was to feel warm and safe for as long as she could do before being ripped away again.Pulling back slightly after feeling Kara’s body relax, Lena moved the blanket up over Kara’s shoulders before taking her girlfriend’s hands in her own and gently easing her up from the bed into a standing position. With hands clasped together they walked the short distance over to the proper bed in the room before Lena eased Kara back down onto the edge of the much softer bed with proper pillows.Lena knelt in front of the bed before Kara once again and smiled softly. She turned to Maggie who passed her a bottle of electrolyte infused water and a straw. It was important to keep Kara hydrated as much as possible, she needed water to try and flush out the harmful toxins of the Kryptonite.The problem was getting her to drink.So far only Lena had been able to do so with persistence and patience.The only way to get Kara to drink anything was to get Lena to drink it first and even then, there was no promise that she would do.Opening the bottle Lena inserted the straw and offered it too Kara who shook her head. “It burns,” she said quietly, eyeing the bottle cautiously.“It didn’t when you had it before, remember?” Lena asked, receiving only a blank look in response, “Did it hurt you when you took a drink after me earlier?” Lena asked again, lifting her spare hand to cup Kara’s cheek, assuring they kept eye contact after noticing Kara glance away and eye the room nervously.Kara shook her head in response, “No- but usually it does,” Kara replied quietly.“I wouldn’t give you anything that could hurt you Kara,” Lena assured stroking her girlfriend’s cheek with her thumb. Lena kept eye contact while lifting the straw to her own lips and taking a drink, before offering the bottle to Kara, “No one is going to force you, but you can have some if you want some, okay?”Kara nodded slowly, pausing before reaching a hand out to grasp the bottle. Seeing that her girlfriend’s hand was still shivering and shaking slightly Lena kept her own hand on the bottle as well, helping to move it up to Kara’s lips. Slowly Kara took the straw between her lips and began to suck on the straw, keeping eye contact with Lena the whole time. The process was slow, but Lena didn’t push her, she knew Kara needed to do this in her own time. She continued to softly caress Kara’s cheek with her thumb and didn’t move her other hand from the bottle until she knew Kara had finished.When Kara pulled back, releasing the straw from her lips, Lena pulled the bottle away and passed it back to Maggie along with the lid. Taking the bottle, Maggie exchanged it for the rest of the clothes she had retrieved for Kara earlier. Lena placed them on the bed, before beginning to carefully help guide Kara’s legs into a pair of sweatpants. After finishing with tugging the sweatpants up to Kara’s thighs and checking she was okay to do the rest, Lena took the hooded sweater off the bed and unfolded it raising an eyebrow when she realised what sweater it was.“I was wondering where this had gone to,” Lena commented looking up to Kara and smiling at the familiar blush that coloured her girlfriend’s cheeks. “I’d missed seeing you in my old collage sweater, should have known this was where it disappeared to,” she continued lightly, smiling as she helped to pull the sweater over Kara’s head and guide her arms through the armholes.Sometimes on nights where Lena was working late she would come home to find Kara waiting for her, having wanted to surprise her with dinner but due to how late it was Kara had fallen asleep while waiting. On those nights when she found her girlfriend curled up on the couch, Kara would always be wearing this sweater, the one sleeve up close to her nose that Lena knew still had the smell of the perfume she wears on it. The same perfume that her roommate at college had spilt all over the old tatty and worn sweater. It had soon become Kara’s favourite piece of clothing to borrow from Lena, so really it should be no surprise it had snuck its way into the DEO for when Supergirl needed treating after a bad fight.Standing, Lena moved around to the other side of the bed and climbed on to it, shuffling around with Kara and the blanket until they ended up laying on their sides facing each other. Lena had wrapped Kara up tightly in the blanket, and wrapped her one arm around her girlfriend’s back, holding her while rubbing her fingers up and down where her hand rested. With her other hand Lena began to stroke Kara’s cheek again softly as Kara continued to gaze into her eyes, her one hand resting on Lena’s side while her other was tucked into the blanket.Leaning in slightly, Lena pressed a kiss to Kara’s lips softly, drawing back to kiss her forehead again like she had done in the DEO’s hub, smiling fondly as Kara’s eyes fluttered closed for a moment.She looked up quickly upon hearing the door to lab open and frowned as Alex walked into the room. “I know what you’re going to say,” Lena began as Alex walked up to the bed with an eyebrow raised, “but being in the sunbed was distressing her. She just wants to be held Alex, and-”“-it’s okay,” Alex interrupted, stopping Lena from continuing.Sighing, Alex took a seat on the edge of the bed next to her sisters back, running a hand along her arm and smiling down at Kara, “Sorry for going all agent Danvers on you again.”Moving her head just a fraction to look up at her sister, Kara returned the smile with a small one of her own. “She’s not my favourite, definitely prefer my sister to her,” Kara replied lightly.Alex released a single laugh at that. “I was about to ask if you are feeling any better at all,” Alex said with a raised eyebrow, “considering that was an attempt at a joke I would say we are doing something right.”Kara nodded lightly, “It hurts less than before,” she said quietly.Alex sighed again, looking up to the clock- they barely had an hour left until he would return, “That’s good, not ideal- I’d rather you not be hurting at all, but we’ll take what we can get right now,” Alex said. She frowned, pulling at the neck hole of the sweater to see Kara’s shoulder, she pulled it back further to try and check her wounds without undressing Kara again. Her frown deepened upon noticing that only a few of the wounds had begun to heal properly.“I’m going to give you something to help fight the infection you have, hopefully you will be able to heal at the normal rate once it takes effect,” Alex explained lifting her hand to show Kara a vial that continued a blue liquid. Noticing Kara look at her and the vial warily Alex continued, “It won’t hurt you, I promise.” She assured. “Mom is certain this will help your body fight off the Kryptonite causing the infection without causing you any pain.”Kara turned to Lena who gave her a reassuring smile. Swallowing thickly, she nodded, raising her arm slightly towards her sister while moving to nuzzle her face under Lena’s chin. She could feel panic building at the thought of more syringes. She had never liked needles, she liked them even less now after her time spent with Dan-El.She tensed as she felt Alex position her arm, stroking up and down to try and get her to relax, “Try and relax for me, I’m going to hook you up to an IV, so we can get some fluids into you at the same time. No syringes, okay?” Alex reassured her sister softly. She had figured an IV would be the best way to keep Kara hydrated now, while also getting some nutrients into her body without having to get Lena to keep attempting to coax her into drinking the electrolyte water. The only reason they hadn’t done so already was because they had been moving her around so much.Alex smiled as Kara visibly relaxed at her words, glancing upwards she looked at Lena for a moment and watched as the CEO kissed the side of her little sister’s head tenderly.Knowing that Lena was helping to keep Kara calm Alex stood from the bed and began preparing the IV as Maggie joined her over to the one side of the room.“How were the latest results?” Maggie asked quietly, wrapping her arms around Alex from behind and resting her chin on her girlfriend’s shoulder. She needed the comfort of feeling Alex close just as much as she was sure Alex did currently.Alex sighed, leaning back into Maggie’s chest as she continued setting up what she would need for the IV. “Better- not great, but better,” Alex said. “It makes me think she should still be under the sunlamp.”“If Lena hadn’t pulled her out when she did I would’ve myself- it was stressing her out Ally,” Maggie said softly, squeezing Alex a little tighter from behind. “She started sobbing when you left with Eliza. She couldn’t take anymore, and it would have been unfair to make her… she’s been pushed around and hurt too much to understand you were trying to help her. She’s scared and just wants to feel safe- right now that’s all we can give her.”Alex closed her eyes, taking a shaky breath as she opened them again, turning she looked to the side watching her sister with Lena, “This is so screwed up,” she said with a tremble in her voice. “She should be staying here with us- there should be no thought of her having to return to him- none whatsoever. It’s just wrong, Mags.”“I know-” Maggie agreed, kissing Alex’s cheek.“-It’s like giving someone a glimpse of the thing they want most in the world- then ripping it away and denying them-” Alex continued, cutting Maggie off.“-I know-” Maggie agreed again.“-‘cos you’re right, all she wants right now is to feel safe and loved, but the moment he gets back he’s going to take her away.” Alex said further, cutting Maggie off once again. “We will have spent all this time healing her just for him to hurt her all over again-““-I know, you’re right, it’s not fair and it’s not right,” Maggie said.“…I keep hoping that J’onn has a plan, that he has a way to stop this from happening but with every minute that passes I know it’s more unlikely,” Alex confessed, her voice wavering.Finishing setting up what was needed for the IV, she dropped the items down onto the side. “He’s trying to destroy her,” Alex said, her jaw tensing, “when her eyes first opened out there I thought he had… I have never seen her eyes look so haunted, so empty, not even in those first few weeks… I want to do more, I want to protect her. I want to make this all go away and for her to be my happy little sister again, but I don’t know how.”Maggie sighed, moving her one hand to pick up the IV Alex had finished preparing and moving it back into her girlfriend’s hand, “You do know how, but I’ll remind you anyway.” Maggie told her girlfriend, squeezing her tightly for a moment. “Firstly, you give her a fighting chance against this infection,” Maggie said firmly, realising her hold on Alex and stepping back, allowing Alex to turn and face her. “Then you make sure she knows she has something to fight for herself. You make sure she knows how much she is loved, how much she matters, and how we will never stop trying to get her back even if he does take her away again today.”“First you protect her body,” Maggie continued, taking Alex’s hand with the IV in her own and lifting it with a small smile, “then you protect her mind, the way only a Danvers sister can.”Alex nodded, sniffing as she forced the tears that threatened to fall back. She nodded again, looking Maggie in the eyes before leaning in to kiss her softly in thanks.Making her way back over to the bed, Alex hooked the fluid bag up to the stand and attached the vial her Mom had given her, setting the drip up. As she took a seat next to Kara again on the bed, she gently picked up her little sister’s hand and rubbed her knuckles softly with her thumb while placing a small cardboard dish with a cannula in it on her lap that she had carried with her.As Kara looked up at her Alex smiled softly, “It’ll just be a small scratch,” Alex said calmly, waiting until Kara nodded and closed her eyes before inserting the cannula, tapping it down, and attaching the IV, “all done.”Opening her eyes Kara looked at her hand seeing the IV wires attached, she looked up watching as the drip began to disperse the medicine into the tube leading to her hand, before looking back to Alex again.“Thank you, for helping me,” Kara said quietly, her eyes drooping shut tiredly. “J’onn has probably broken so many rules by doing this… I know DEO protocols say you don’t negotiate with hostiles-““-screw protocols, you’re my sister,” Alex cut in firmly, softening slightly as Kara’s eyes flew open again at her outburst. Leaning down, Alex pressed a light kiss to her sister’s forehead, taking her hand once more afterwards. She began to run her thumb lightly over Kara’s knuckles again while being mindful of the cannula. “We should be doing more,” Alex said with a sigh, “You shouldn’t be some bargaining chip for that- monster- to use… I promise you we will find a way to get you back.”Kara hummed as her eyes drooped shut again. “You’re doing all you can,” she said tiredly, “he’s too strong to fight, too many allies.”“Alex is right,” Lena said, tightening her hold on Kara’s back, “We will find a way to get you back, he’s not the only one with allies- you just need to hold on for us, okay?”Kara hummed again, shuffling closer to Lena and tucking her head under her girlfriend’s chin again, “If I fall asleep will you still be here when I wake up?” Kara mumbled tiredly.“I’ll be here holding you when you wake up, I promise,” Lena assured, “I’m always with you. Even if you can’t feel me,” she added.Kara hummed again, wriggling closer. “You say that a lot,” she said, her words thick and slow with sleep, “I like it better when I can feel you though, when you’re not just a voice in my head.”Lena frowned, glancing up to Alex in worry, “I’ve got you darling, I’m right here I promise.”Kara only nuzzled closer in response, “Is Alex still here too?” she asked after a moment, her words mumbled and quiet.“Yeah Kar, I’m here,” Alex assured, holding her hand a little bit tighter to emphasis her point.“And Maggie?” Kara asked barely hanging on to consciousness.Alex smiled glancing behind her shoulder as Maggie came closer after hearing her name, “I’m here too little Danvers.”Kara hummed once more before sleep claimed her as her breath evened out and her body relaxed fully against her girlfriend.

Chat between Space Dad and Techno Agent.

Space Dad
~ Are we secure?

Techno Agent ~ Vasquez got the last one that we know of. I’m ready for the next part, is it time?

Space Dad ~ Unfortunately.

Space Dad ~ I thought I told you to change my name on this?

Space Dad ~ He’s here. They just left the Med-Bay.

Techno Agent ~ I’ll do it later- haven’t had time, there’s been a lot going on… Did you get it there on time?

Space Dad ~ Yes. Its sorted.

Space Dad ~ And you better.

Techno Agent ~ Did it work?

Space Dad ~ We didn’t have time to test it.

Space Dad ~ If it is like any of your other creations I am sure it will work fine though.

Techno Agent ~ Hope so. Still think you should have told them.

Space Dad ~ I’ll come find you after, you can talk to me then about the new project.

Techno Agent ~ Okay, shutting up now…

Dan-El smirked as the doors closed behind them to the room that held the hologram of Kara’s mother, his smirk only grew further at seeing the DEO agents waiting for him outside the room.“I believe part of our agreement was that we would be allowed to leave without resistance,” Dan-El said, his eyes glowing bright as he dragged Kara with him by her arm, the two soldiers he had with him following a step behind. “Though seeing as you are here, I do have one last proposition for you,” he continued, turning to look at Kara before pushing her roughly towards the DEO agents much like he had done before in the hub.Kara fell into Maggie this time, struggling to right herself even with the detectives help due the force she had been shoved with. Maggie had to wrap an arm tightly around Kara’s waist to keep her standing. As she looked at Kara she noticed her eyes were downcast again like she had been when she had first arrived at the DEO.Gone was the girl they talking to less than an hour ago.Maggie didn’t know what had happened in that room, none of them did. What was said or done was only known by Dan-El and Kara- but it was clear it had shaken Kara and caused her to retreat into the shell they had worked hard to pull her out of for three hours prior.“I will let you have one last night with her,” Dan-El said pausing to smirk at the confused faces of the people before him, “if you agree to let me have access to your weaponry,” he offered.Maggie frowned, pulling Kara tighter against her side and taking a step backwards.Something didn’t sit right with her.What he said and the way he said it seemed strange.It was goading and calculated. She could tell he was seeing how far he could push them- but he was also saying something truthful. Kara’s tense reaction to his comment told her that.“We do not allow hostile aliens to have access to weapons,” J’onn replied stepping forward, “If you want to even attempt to persuade me, you will need to do better than one night.”Dan-El laughed in response. “Worth a try,” he said through his laughter, “I wasn’t going let you keep her here for a night anyway,” he continued seriously. “I just wanted to see how much she meant to you,” Dan-El said with a shrug, “and from that response I can see she means as little to you as she did her friend and our cousin.”Looking around the hallway, Dan-El noticed that Kal-El was not here, “Although it does appear she means more to you than to Kal-El. At least you are here to say goodbye.” Dan-El said, before looking up the ceiling for a moment. “It’s almost time for us to go- any parting words?” Dan-El asked, looking back to the people in the hallway.Taking a step forwards, Dan-El smirked and chuckled again as J’onn stepped forward to meet him, effectively blocking his path. “I assure you that Kara means a great deal to all of us here- do not mistake my reluctance to adhere to your every whim for the opposite of that,” J’onn said firmly.
“How touching,” Dan-El commented, looking around J’onn’s shoulder towards Kara. “Say goodbye Sissy- we have places to be,” he told his sister, his eyes hardening when she did not react, “Do not make me tell you twice,” he threatened.When Kara still did not move or acknowledge what he had said, he grew angry. Swiftly he pulled out the device from his pocket and pressed the button causing Kara to be shocked.Gasping in pain she dropped to the floor clutching her head, Maggie following her into a crouching position as Lena pushed forwards to kneel at Kara’s other side. “Stop it, you’re hurting her!” Lena cried, pulling Kara towards her chest protectively. “We only just managed to treat the infection you caused, she needs time to heal.”Dan-El scoffed. “This is nothing compared to what I can do,” he replied. “Nothing compared to what I will do to you, and the rest of these vermin you care for so much, sister, if you do not comply like you said you would.” Dan-El spat taking a step forward again as his eyes glowed bright. “Now, stand!” Dan-El commanded, turning to nod at the two Kryptonian soldiers that were still stood behind him.They too stepped forward with eyes burning bright.Gritting her teeth Kara stood slowly on shaky feet. “Kara, don’t!” Lena hissed, tugging on her girlfriend’s arm to try and move her backwards.“Time to say goodbye,” Dan-El said, just as the building above them shook and rumbled. The sound of metal being torn and broken could be heard from above, “Oh, did I not mention we were going to take the weapon we wanted anyway?”Looking upwards, J’onn’s eyes widened.There was only one weapon he could think of that they would be talking about to cause this amount of damage to the DEO. Looking back to Dan-El he was about to question him when the Kryptonian’s eyes fired their heat vision into the ceiling above them.Chaos broke out as debris began to fall all around them, agents scurried away trying to miss rumble. Still the Kryptonian’s kept firing their heat vision creating a hole floors up in the building- creating an escape exit. A creak could be heard from above, as J’onn looked up to see what the noise was he was too slow to react.By the time he had looked upwards he could see a massive metal beam falling towards him.It was big enough to crush him and anyone near him. While he would be able to phase through it the people closest to him wouldn’t.Alex wouldn’t, nor would Maggie, or Lena.They would all be crushed.Quickly he transformed into his Martian form and prepared to catch the beam before it could hit anybody, but found he was beaten to it. As he turned to jump into the air and catch the beam he could see Kara in the air in front of him, she was barely able to stay floating, she didn’t have the strength to hold the beam that much was clear, but she was trying anyway.“I can’t hold it for long, get everyone back!” Kara yelled, before crying out in pain again as Dan-El shocked her once more while smirking and laughing at her attempts to keep the beam away from the people she cared about. “You have to go- he’s not going to stop until I go with him. You have to let me go. If you don’t he will kill everyone.”Agents were still scurrying away from the scene, trying to miss the falling rubble and debris. As J’onn looked behind him he could see Alex and Maggie holding Lena back, stopping her from trying to get to Kara. Looking back to Kara, he could see that she wasn’t going to be able to hold the beam for long, not on her own. Jumping up and floating slightly, he took a hold of the beam next to Kara, “I’ve got this Supergirl, do what you must, we have your back,” he told her.She may not be in her suit right now, but she was still Supergirl- she was still protecting the people and the city she loved.Nodding Kara released the hold she had on the beam, letting J’onn take the full weight as she dropped to the ground, landing sloppily due to exhaustion. She could hear Lena and Alex yelling behind her, she knew they wanted her to stay but she couldn’t.She couldn’t put her life, her happiness, above the lives of every person on the planet.She couldn’t become like him- she wouldn’t let innocent people get hurt just to get what she wanted.Looking over her shoulder she turned to face Lena, “I’m sorry,” Kara said tearfully, walking backwards slowly. “If I stay he will kill everybody, I can’t let him kill anyone else because of me.”As she continued to back away from the people she loved, from safety and security, she knew this may well be the last time she would see them. She knew that Dan-El was using her to get what he wanted, she was nothing more than a pawn in his chessboard and once her usefulness had expired she was expendable.She had known that when she agreed to comply.She knew it the moment the hologram of her mother told them how to make Project Malron come to pass, after the override code had been spoken unlocking the secrets the hologram before had not been willing to tell.She knew there was no going back now.She couldn’t stop him- she wasn’t powerful enough to face him, his army and CADMUS alone- and even with the DEO, with Kal-El, with her friends, her family, with Lena by her side she still doubted they would be powerful enough to stop him without time to prepare fully.He was a lunatic.He didn’t have any empathy, he didn’t care who he hurt.That was what made him dangerous.That was why Kara had to comply.She couldn’t and wouldn’t let anyone else die because of her. Those guards- they were the last straw. Though she didn’t kill them herself she did feel responsible for their deaths. She wasn’t going to let that happen to anyone else, and if that made her a martyr, if that meant that she would die in the process. Then so be it.As she continued to back away she could feel a coldness seeping over her shoulders and knew what it was.Freeze breath.Dan-El and his soldiers were making a wall of ice between her and her loved ones.Kara closed her eyes, dropping to her knees

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Reader Info: This chapter contains a flashback scene, please note this is labelled as to how long ago it was and is written entirely
in italics.

Warnings:- Violence, mentions and references to torture.

Chapter Twenty- Four.

Lillian looked up as she heard a loud bang from above, it appeared they were back. Standing she quickly made her way through the labs and up to the main hallway of the base. As she entered into the main control room she spotted Dan-El dragging the Kryptonian girl that National City had so easily thought of as a hero, a Supergirl, by her arm roughly.She didn't look so super now.She looked unwell, better than she had before she left- but she still looked sick.Not that Lillian cared, she could care less about what happened to the girl as long as she got what she wanted. While she didn't care what happened to the girl, she did still hope that it hurt. She had enjoyed hearing her screams of pain and seeing her tears the other day. Dan-El had been doing most of the experiments and training as he called it on her himself, but she did have to admit it was fun to have a turn yesterday.She had taken a great pleasure in it, and even more of a pleasure in setting up the next stage of experimentation Dan-El had in mind for the girl."Did you get what you needed?" Lillian asked, clearing her throat to make her presence known in the room. She knew of Dan-El's plan and the devices and artefacts he was going to need to bring that plan in motion. She had been the one to tell him about the weapon that he had taken from the DEO after realising he was going to need a great source of power to be able to move his army. They had been working together seamlessly to make it happen as quickly as possible, to ensure he got all the elements he needed to make his plan play out perfectly. One thing had never made sense to her with Dan-El's plan, it had never made sense as to why Kara Zor-El was so important to the plan. While it had helped Lillian feel as though the revenge she wanted for the wrong doings to her own family had been paid at least in part, it still confused her as to why Dan-El insisted he needed the girl alive.Even with that question Lillian had to admit they did make a good team, though if being truthful she was looking forward to this final stage being completed and for his plan to be set fully in motion. She was looking forward to when Dan-El and his army would leave, so that she and her men could get back to what they do best- keeping National City safe of alien threats.She knew there was an irony to that- working with an alien to get rid of aliens.She had found herself drawn into his plans with the promise of the one thing she wanted most in this world and the promise of revenge being brought upon the alien she hated most out of them all.She wasn't blind though, she knew that Dan-El was ruthless in getting what he wanted, and she had learnt quickly that in this instance the best way to preserve Humanity was to work with this particular alien. Lives had been lost by doing so, but if she had decided to back out she knew more lives would have been lost- lives that were important to her.Looking over his shoulder Dan-El smirked, "Surely you heard us land," he said pointedly. "Let him know he can play with her shortly- she still has some disobedience that I need to whip out of her first," he continued, pushing Kara to the ground forcefully.Lillian watched as the girl tried to push back up, only to be smacked down harder by a fist to the face. It seemed her time back at the DEO gave her some fight back. She had seen on the spy cameras they had installed how her daughter and the girl's family cared for her. How they treated her so softly and gently with a kindness she did not deserve in Lillian's eyes. She saw it all- that was until the cameras suddenly started to go blank."The cameras we had placed stopped recording a while ago," Lillian said, believing Dan-El should know the information. The cameras had been helping them keep ahead of the DEO's plans after the mole had been removed from play by Jeremiah Danvers.Dan-El chuckled, "I had a feeling they might, I may have hinted we were watching," he told her."Why?" Lillian asked in confusion.Surely having the camera's still working would be more in their favour than not?Was this another of his games?Dan-El shrugged, "I wanted to test them- see if they were as resourceful as what my sister seems to believe," Dan-El said, before turning to Kara, "you still believe they will come for you and save you don't you little sister?" He asked, bending down to stroke Kara's cheek. "It's possible that they could have, if they had more time but it appears time has run out," he mocked. "I'm surprised you didn't let them fight for you, did you not want to be with your girlfriend?" Dan-El said mocking her further.Kara glared up at him, her nostrils flaring in anger, "I couldn't have stayed no matter how much I wanted to, I know you would have destroyed the city if I had tried- just to make a point. You don't care about anyone but yourself. You don't care about earth or its people. As soon as you get the devices working you are going to bring hell on earth and you don't care at all. You will destroy this planet and every person hear who does not live up to your ideals just because you can."Lillian frowned in confusion.She knew of Dan-El's plan, but this sounded different to the version she had heard.The version she had been told had no hell coming to earth.Dan-El chucked turning to look from Kara to Lillian, "It's impressive- three hours with your daughter and she's back in fighting spirits again," he said with a raised eyebrow before looking back to Kara and sighing deeply, "It's a shame really," Dan-El told her, "I had hoped to have you standing by my side willingly sister-""-I will never stand by you willingly. I may have complied and done as you asked, but I will never do so willingly," Kara said adamantly, cutting Dan-El off."I know," Dan-EI acknowledged, "I knew from the moment I took you all those years ago back on Krypton. As sickening as it is to say- your Mother was right," Dan-El told her. "You do have the heart of a hero," he said with a sad smile, "I had hoped to change you and make you see that things don't have to be so black and white- but I know that I can't. So instead you will be beaten down and in chains- but if that is the way it has to be then that's the way its going to be."Dan-El stood, walking over to a cabinet at the side of the room, once reaching the cabinet he took out the Kryptonite whip before walking back to Kara. Bending slightly, he dragged her up roughly by her hair and lifted his other hand that was holding the whip.As Lillian watched him preparing to beat the battered superhero, something caught her attention causing her eyes to widen slightly."Perhaps it would be better to have him experiment on her first before beating her too severely," Lillian commented after watching the first blow hit tearing a hole into the sweatpants covering Kara's backside, drawing a gasp out of the super.She didn't know why she had stopped him.She didn't know why she had the sudden need to stop him from ripping the clothes that the girl she had so happily tortured just yesterday to shreds as she was beaten.Dan-El stopped mid swing, holding the whip up in the air and turning to look at Lillian with a raised eyebrow, "Thought you were all about the pain and making sure she is punished for what our cousin did?" he asked in surprise."I am," Lillian assured stepping forwards, "but you need her conscious and free of the influence of Kryptonite for the experiment to be conducted properly, yes?" Lillian asked.She cringed in her mind, knowing it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than she was him, though she didn't let it show on her face.She held a mask of indifference and boredom, just like usual.Dan-El eyed her suspiciously for a moment before shrugging and releasing his grip on Kara's hair, "Suppose it can't hurt to wait a few hours," he said, looking at Kara's back before cracking the whip against her backside again with a flick of his wrist.The force of the blow caused Kara to fall to the ground face first with a yelp, "Nor can it hurt to give her a taste of what is to come," Dan-El said afterwards with a manic laugh.Moving back to the cabinet Dan-El placed the whip down and grabbed a set of chains before walking back to Kara. Quickly he wrapped the chains around her middle locking them in place, pulling her around roughly as he did so, before holding the other end of the chains out towards Lillian."I trust you won't mind taking her there- after all, I have new toys to play with," Dan-El said a joyous smile on his face as Lillian took the chains with a nod.Crouching down Dan-El used his hand to make the hole created by the whip bigger allowing him to look at Kara's skin, "They did a good job treating you sister, shame I am going to have to blister and welt your skin again later," he said smirking as Kara tried to squirm away from his hand by rolling over onto back and scurrying away from him.Dan-El laughed in response before standing, "You won't be feeling so comfortable doing that later," he threatened before leaving the room.Leaving Kara and Lillian alone for the first time.Lillian watched the Super as she breathed in and out heavily, her own eyes looking over the clothes the girl was wearing and finding that one item of clothing seem familiar.It made the feeling she had felt in the pit of her stomach as Dan-El hit the super return."It's Lena's," Kara said quietly after noticing Lillian staring, "the sweater, it's Lena's," she elaborated. "I borrowed this from her a long time ago," Kara continued, rubbing her cheek against the sweater's material on her shoulder absentmindedly. "It smells like her still," she said inhaling deeply, "her roommate accidently spilt the perfume she wears on it."Looking up Kara could see that Lillian was still watching her, an unreadable expression on her face, "It comforts me," Kara finished in explanation.There was a silence as Lillian took in the information, continuing to stare at the girl in front of her.The girl who, if she was being completely truthful, had done no wrong to her personally other than being related to the alien she hated most of all.The girl that her own daughter was in love with. The girl that had made her daughter the happiest that Lillian had ever seen her as she watched them from a distance.The girl who right now- sat on the cold floor, beaten down both physically and emotionally- seemed more Human and more innocent in all of this than any other person in this base was.Sighing Lillian crossed her arms hardening her gaze and her heart, she had gone too far and was too close to let an old sweater and a tiny sense of remorse for the girl her daughter was in love with stop her now."Why would you tell me that?" Lillian asked, finding herself curious to know why the Super would trust her with knowledge so personal, so intimate, to her relationship with Lena.Kara shrugged, "You looked like you wanted to know," she replied shifting around on the floor slightly trying to ease the stinging she could feel from being hit.Lillian didn't respond, only continued to stare at the girl in front of her."She's alive you know?" Kara said quietly, "I- being here I didn't know if he had killed her that day. He took me before I could get her out from the rubble and check she was okay…I was so scared he had killed her, but she survived… seeing her again today- it-it was peaceful." Kara said looking down at her middle to pull the chains slightly, stopping the lock from digging into her side."Of course she survived, she's a Luthor- Luthor's are strong and resilient," Lillian said, sounding unimpressed and bored.Kara looked up sharply, "She didn't survive because she's a Luthor- she survived because she is Lena," Kara argued back adamantly. "If you had ever bothered to take the time to get to know your daughter you would know that she has so much light in her heart, she has so much love for the people she cares about, she is pure, and she is good," Kara said with confidence, "Good will always find a way to light the darkness and prevail.""Is that what you plan on doing from down there? Lighting up the darkness and taking down your big bad mean older brother?" Lillian asked, laughing as the Super hugged herself tightly inhaling the smell of Lena's sweater again. "You wear that thing like it's a safety blanket, like a child who fears the dark. Maybe its time to take it away and force you to grow up Supergirl." Lillian mocked, stepping closer, an anger crossing her face at the nerve the girl had to question her relationship with her own daughter.Kara gulped looking down, she knew Lillian could hurt her. She knew Lillian would probably enjoy hurting her. She wasn't trying to make the woman angry, but she wanted to see if there was even the smallest chance that she could be even partially trusted to help stop Dan-El. Seeing Lena today had given her peace, she hadn't been lying when she told Lillian that. It made her believe that she still had something to fight for, even more so after learning about what
Project Malron
would do if it was released on earth the way Dan-El intended for it to be.Kara would happily die to save those she loved, but she was going to need help to stop Dan-El and stop his plan. She would happily give her life if it meant saving the lives of those that she cared about- but without help it would be for nothing.She needed to find a way to separate Dan-El from CADMUS, if she could remove at least some of his resources then the DEO stood a chance. She stood a chance.Right now, Lillian seemed to be her best way of getting to CADMUS.Kara had heard the way her heartbeat increased earlier when she had mentioned how Dan-El planned to bring hell on earth. With the Kryptonite not weakening her so much, due to the medicine Eliza had made, some of Kara's abilities were slowly returning to her. They were not strong yet like they should be, she had found that out at the DEO- but they were returning. That was how she had been able to hear the increase in Lillian's heartbeat signalling she was worried.Taking a deep breath Kara inhaled the scent from the sweater one last time before easing the sweater out from under the chains around her middle and removing it from her body gingerly. She looked at it one more time, holding it close to her chest, before passing it to Lillian.Kara sat shivering as the coldness of the base hit against her bare skin now that she was sat in only her sports bra and ripped sweatpants. "Where I am going it will get ruined- if you care for your daughter, please keep it safe and return it to her," Kara asked quietly, her eyes down to the ground and her arm still out stretched as Lillian had yet to take the sweater.Taking another step forward Lillian took the sweater, folding it neatly in mid air against her arm, "Not that it concerns you- but I do care for my daughter," Lillian said after a silence.Kara took another deep breath before looking up at Lillian, "Then why did you tell Dan-El it was okay for her to be removed if she became a problem- he told me you said he could kill her if she got in his way," she asked bracing herself for the response.She expected anger.She expected to be hit or worse.She didn't expect silence.She didn't expect Lillian to sigh before taking a seat on the chair near where she was sat on the ground making the pull on her chains loosen."He promised me something too good to refuse," Lillian said after a silence, placing the sweater down on her lap.Kara hadn't expected honesty, or an answer at all really.Turning slightly, Kara looked up at the woman sat near her on the desk chair, "He doesn't always hold to his promises," Kara said carefully."I'm starting to realise that," Lillian commented, looking into the distance, "he promised after he had broken you down that I could take my revenge on your cousin. Though I saw him tell Superman that he was free to do as he wanted- he made no attempt to even try and re-capture him today. He promised me none of my own men would die, though he killed five of them in front of me. He promised he would secure myself and Lex full pardons before leaving- I'm starting to doubt he ever was going to do so in the first place."Kara frowned, "Then why are you still doing what he wants?" she asked.It didn't make sense to her, if Lillian knew he was not trustworthy and she disagreed with his actions why was she continuing to help him?"I'm trying to keep my children safe- both of them," Lillian said truthfully, turning to look at Kara."If that's true, you're on the wrong side of what is about to happen," Kara said sadly, "when he figures out how to work those devices and manages to find the last piece he needs earth will not be safe for anyone who is not Kryptonian. He will kill everyone, including Lena, including Lex, including you, and he won't even blink."Lillian laughed lightly, standing from the chair while shaking her head, "How do I know you're not just trying to get me to help you escape. Why should I trust anything you say?""Because you already doubt his true intentions- but more importantly because I'm telling the truth."

"Damn it!"A bang echoed around the room causing Maggie to sigh and stand from her chair walking the short distance over to where Lena was sat over a desk. Reaching Lena, she placed a hand on the younger woman's shoulder, "Time for a break, little Luthor," Maggie said softly."No," Lena replied stubbornly, rubbing her head before picking up her tweezers again.After the ice wall had finally been knocked down and they had found the room behind it empty Lena had been inconsolable. She had cried, she had screamed at J'onn and she had demanded they find a way to bring Kara back. It was only after J'onn had promised he would find a way and mentioned that they still needed to reconstruct the device Jeremiah used to work out what it did that Lena had calmed enough to leave the corridor.She had asked to be shown the device, and as soon as she had seen it she had started working.That was over two hours ago, and in that time, Lena had been becoming increasing angry with every failed attempt to get the device started.Reaching her other hand over Lena's shoulder Maggie tried to take the tweezers from her hand only to be fought against, "Lena come on!" Maggie cried out in exasperation, "Kara wouldn't want you working yourself this hard and you know it.""Well Kara isn't here is she!" Lena yelled out.Dropping the tweezers, she pushed Maggie's hand from her shoulder and stood from her chair, beginning to pace the room while taking deep breaths.Maggie stayed silent at first, watching her friend pace the room clearly in anguish with everything that had just happened hours before. Truthfully, they all were.Alex had been in pieces since Kara had left, as had Winn, Eliza, J'onn- everybody.Even Maggie herself felt like a piece of her had been ripped away when Kara had left with Dan-El earlier- she couldn't even begin to imagine how Lena must be feeling about it."Lena I get-""-Don't you dare tell me you know what I am going through." Lena cut Maggie off icily. "You have no idea. Your girlfriend is in another room, safe. Kara is god knows where probably being beaten half to death as we speak!"Maggie sighed, "I wasn't going to say that- I was going to say I understand your need to do something, anything, to find a way to help Kara. I felt the same when Alex had been taken last year."Lena paused her pacing for a moment to stare at Maggie, trying to gauge if she was being truthful and after finding that the older woman had been she began to pace again.She knew Maggie did understand how she felt on some level- but when Alex was taken it was different. When Alex was taken the man had no intentions to hurt her- not really- not in the way Dan-El had already done so and would probably do so again to Kara.Alex hadn't been tortured and broken down.Alex hadn't been traumatised in the way Kara had.Alex hadn't willingly let herself be taken again while still trying to be a hero, always putting herself last and everyone else above her own needs and wants."What happened with Alex is completely different Maggie- I get you are trying to help but it doesn't change anything," Lena said softly after a silence.Pausing, Lena made her way back over to the table, picking up the partly mended device in her hand, "It doesn't stop me from feeling useless because I can't get this device to work," she continued placing the device back down on the table, "and it doesn't stop me from thinking the worst."Turning to face Maggie again, Lena crossed her arms over her chest, as though hugging herself, "It doesn't stop the fear I feel at the thought of never seeing her again. Of never being able to tell her I love her again. Of never being able to hold her, and to kiss her. To see her smile and hear her laugh, to just be with her," Lena finished sadly.Making her way across the room Maggie placed a hand on Lena's arm, "We'll get her back, we promised her we would find a way and we will," she assured."What if she can't last that long?" Lena asked looking down to the floor, "She was practically a shell of herself when I first held her…he is so close to breaking her," she continued tugging the bobble from her hair to let it fall framing her shoulders, "she wouldn't stop trembling Maggie." Lena said quietly, looking back up to face the detective, "she was so cold and so scared the whole time. She was still trembling in her sleep, still making those little whimpering noises. It didn't matter how tight I held her or how many blankets we wrapped her in, she was still cold and scared. That's how she was when she went back to him, cold and afraid.""She was also stronger when she left," Maggie added after a silence, "she may have still been cold and afraid, but she was also stronger. Not just physically but emotionally too. So what if you couldn't completely erase her fears and make her feel warm again? You gave her something so much more valuable right now. You gave her something to keep fighting for. You gave her something to hold onto. We all did. That's how she will survive this, that's why he won't be able to break her."Lena was quiet for a moment while she considered Maggie's words, "It still doesn't change the fact that we have no idea where she is and what they are doing to her," she said after some time. "It doesn't change the fact she left with him even after I begged her not too.""It doesn't, you're right," Maggie agreed, "but it also doesn't change the fact that we will find her, because we always do, and it doesn't change the fact that she won't ever stop fighting, because she never does. Even when cold and afraid. She didn't give up on us when she left with him, she gave us time because she believes in us. So now, we need to believe in her, believe that she is strong enough to get through this until we can help her. Then
when
we get her back we can help her through all of this together as one big dysfunctional happy family!"Lena laughed tearfully at that, placing a hand on top of Maggie's that was still resting on her arm as she took a deep breath in and out smiling softly, "You're a good friend Maggie," she said sincerely."You're not so bad yourself little Luthor," Maggie replied, chuckling when Lena rolled her eyes in response, "it's about time we started getting on anyway. 'Cos you know, you're going to be my sister in a few months' time."Lena raised an eyebrow in response, "Kara will be your sister-in-law, not me. You do understand how marriage works right?" Lena quipped.Maggie rolled her eyes in response, "I was trying to be sentimental with you, miss 'I know everything because of my high IQ'," Maggie teased back in return."I feel sorry for Kara, having you as a sister-in-law is going to be very taxing for her," Lena replied, her eyebrow still raised.Maggie pressed a hand against her heart dramatically, "You wound me! You're breaking my heart little Luthor," she yelled out."More like breaking your ego," Lena whispered with a smirk.

Krypton 44 years ago.

Alure Zor-El, formerly five years ago In-Zee, climbed out of bed quickly and quietly made her way down the hallway towards her daughters sleeping chambers. Kara was four years old and would be starting her schooling soon which was exciting, however what was worrying was the night terrors her daughter seemed to still be having. It wasn't uncommon for children to have such problems when going through their developmental stages but usually the phase of night terrors would ease off within a few weeks- at most months.

Kara had been having night terrors for the best part of a year now.

It was almost a nightly occurrence that Alura would find herself being woken by her daughters crying and find herself having to calm her back to sleep.

As the months of night terrors had rolled on Kara had been waking more frequently rather than less like she should have been- this past week alone she had been waking more than once through the night.

Tonight, was no exception to that.

This was the third time Alura had been up to calm her daughter. Though, as she continued along the hallway something seemed different.

A light was already on in Kara's bed chamber, and a shadow could be seen spilling out into the hallway. Frowning Alura picked up her pace making her way towards the room where Kara's cries could be heard from faster.

As she entered the room she gasped in surprise.
"Dan-El?" she questioned, "What are you doing in here?"
Alura had met Dan-El only months before his mother's trail than had ended with her receiving one of the harshest sentences in many years throughout Krypton's history.

Their relationship since that day of the sentencing had been rocky at best.

Dan-El looked up sharply, quickly moving a hand behind his back and taking a step back from Kara who was sat up in her bed crying.

Upon hearing her mother's voice Kara also turned to face Alura, holding her arms out towards her mother while continuing to cry earnestly.

Stepping forward Alura leaned down over the bed, forcing Dan-El back further as she picked her daughter up and began to bounce the girl in her arms rocking her gently back and forth as she did so to try and calm her cries.

Usually this would calm Kara, but tonight it didn't.

Tonight, she only cried harder, burrowing her face into Alura's shoulder and hanging onto her tightly.

Alura continued to rock her daughter, holding her closely to her chest while turning to look at Zor-El's oldest child over her shoulder, "Dan-El, I asked you a question," she prompted.
"She was crying," Dan-El commented with shrug, his voice causing Kara to clutch her mother tighter, "I was trying to calm her down, so you and father could sleep."
Pressing a kiss to Kara's head, Alura began to sway the child in her arms, shushing her softly while holding the back of her head. "And yet she is even more distressed with you in the room than what she normally is," Alura stated, frowning as she felt her daughters shuddering breaths, "you have frightened her. Tell me what you have done to her."
"I told you, I was just trying to calm her," Dan-El repeated taking a step backwards while Alura watched him closely. "Not my fault she's stuck in her terror phase. Maybe if she didn't hear her mother sending people off to prison daily from our house she wouldn't be so scared all the time," he continued, muttering under his breath.
It was quiet, but still Alura heard his words clearly.

Alura sighed, running her hand over Kara's hair before patting her back softly as her daughter's cries began to quieten to little whimpers, "Dan-El, it's late and we have been over this before. I don't have the energy to go through this with you again- please just stop doing whatever it is you have done to frighten her," Alura asked catching a small glimpse of a red vial Dan-El was holding behind his back.

The sight of the vial made Alura frown again and momentarily stop her swaying causing Kara to whimper louder and tighten her hold.

Alura gently pried Kara away from her hiding place and looked her daughter over, her heart beating faster in worry. She tried to smile reassuringly as she noticed Kara's lip was trembling and her eyes filling with tears again obviously still frightened.

Looking over her daughter, Alura's jaw clenched as she noticed the small red dot on Kara's arm that had the beginnings of a bruise forming.

Reaching out Alura gently brushed her thumb against the red dot before pulling her hand away and inspecting it. She froze and stood staring at her hand as she realised what it was.

Blood.

The vial contained Kara's blood.

Dan-El had taken his sister's blood, her daughter's blood- but for what purpose?

A whine that sounded half like a sob and half like Kara saying 'mama' caused Alura to unfreeze and pull her daughter back in towards her chest. She rubbed Kara's back and bounced her gently as Kara's tears started again.
"Give me the vial and get out," Alura said, speaking calmly as she cradled Kara in her arms not wanting to frighten her daughter more than she already was.
Squaring his shoulders Dan-El stood his ground, standing straight and tall compared to his father's new wife, "I don't know what you are talking about," he lied.
"You have taken her blood. I can see the vial and I can see where you have drawn it from," Alura told him, still speaking calmly, "she's your little sister Dan-El, she's four years old! What possible use could you have for her blood?"
Dan-El didn't speak, he only stared at the back of his sister's head.
"Why do you have her blood?" Alura asked again.
Dan-El clenched his jaw, "I don't. You are imagining things. It wouldn't be the first time you have wrongly accused a member of my family of wrong doing with no evidence." He said cuttingly as his hand tightened around the vial.

He wasn't going to let her take the blood, he had worked too long and too hard to earn the trust of the Malron, he wasn't going to fail them and put all his hard work in jeopardy. Kara's blood was the key to the project his teacher had spoken about.
"The evidence is currently behind your back," Alura argued, "give it to me and get out. I don't want you near my daughter again."
Dan-El's eyes narrowed in anger as he stepped closer, "I have done nothing to her!" he yelled, his loudness and anger causing Kara's cries to turn hysterical, "How dare you- just wait till father hears about this!"

Knocking on the door to the truck, James stepped back as it swung open. Climbing into the truck he closed the door behind him quickly before looking around at the faces that occupied the small space."Lucy is at the camp with them, I told her I'd fill her in later," James said to J'onn who nodded turning to look at the people in the van with them.He had called together the people closest to Kara feeling it was time he revealed what had been going on and what Winn and himself had put into motion.He decided it would be best to just tell them everything from the beginning, "The DEO was and could very well still is bugged," J'onn began, "this is why I asked Winn to contact you all privately and asked that you meet us here," He explained."The forum I contacted you on is my own creation and is not hackable or traceable," Winn added taking over from J'onn, "Dan-El's visit and what he said confirmed something we had suspected from Agents Corz's files. He confirmed that the DEO had hidden camera's installed, using the hints left to us in the file we have destroyed all the camera's we had known locations to, "Winn explained further. "However, we cannot be completely sure that the DEO is secure until we do a full sweep of everywhere and everything- right now we don't have time to do that, so this is going to be our safe meeting place. All DEO equipment is to be left outside the vehicle at all times in case it is bugged," Winn instructed, "I have software in hear that will help keep our conversations private, but we still need to be careful. Everyone understand so far?"Seeing the faces in the van nod in confirmation J'onn decided to take over, "A plan was set in motion as soon as Kara was delivered to us to enable us to track where they take her, the screen you see behind me is tracking her now. I asked Kal-El to leave and retrieve the Kryptonite we surrendered to him. As soon as he returns we will be making weapons before making our move to the location Kara's tracker gives us. He should be returning any moment. We aim to set out by sunrise," J'onn confessed slowly, giving everyone time to take in the information.Turning to Alex J'onn continued, "The vial Eliza gave you to administer to Kara had something extra added to it by myself as I gave it to you. The medicine will and has still done its job, but it also disguised the tracker which by now should be safely in Kara's blood stream." J'onn told them.The van was silent for a moment, everyone turning to look at the beep of the tracking system behind them with hopeful expressions after seeing that it was firstly active and secondary stationary."How did you manage to fit a tracker into the vial, it must be tiny? How can you be sure they won't just cut it out of her like they did with the other tracker she had? " Lena asked.J'onn smiled, he had known she would question how, "We used the Nanobot technology to create the tracker, it had been a work in progress for some time. Winn managed to complete the technology sequence needed to make it active last week but with everything going on he hadn't told me, and we hadn't had time to administer the trackers, "J'onn explained, before smiling confidently, "I would like to see them attempt to find this tracker, it is tiny and almost impossible to detect.""Are you sure it wouldn't have effected the medicine, Kara won't survive if it has," Eliza asked worriedly she hadn't know of anything being added to the medicine she had created until now. "It's a miracle we were able to produce anything to fight the infection she had." She continued.J'onn shook his head, "No, it won't affect the medicine as long as you added the key element we spoke about. If anything, the medicine will help to hide it and protect it from any damage further use of green Kryptonite could cause it," he assured."What is the element you added to the medicine," Alex asked, adding to the conversation for the first time since she had been summoned. She had taken Kara's leaving hard, just like Lena. After a path had been cleared Alex had locked herself in the AI's room, not even letting Maggie in with her as she questioned the AI relentlessly trying to get answers from it but to no avail.J'onn looked away, knowing the answer he was about to give could cause a lot of anger, "After the attack on the DEO I asked Eliza to analyse the blue crystals in the suits the Kryptonian soldiers were wearing. We found that the crystals held similar chemical properties to green and red Kryptonite," J'onn explained, pausing for a moment in case anyone had any questions.Receiving only silence and expectant looks for more information he continued, "When comparing them we found this blue Kryptonite had the opposite properties to green Kryptonite and when tested on samples taken of Kara's blood we had it changed the properties of her cells and DNA markers." J'onn said further in explanation."Changed them how?" Lena asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion."We found that in close contact it made her blood stronger against the effects of green Kryptonite, it acted as a shield as such which would explain why they have used it in the suits. However, when liquidised, the blue Kryptonite made Kara's blood similar to that of a Human's," J'onn replied.A deathly, quiet, silence fell over the van.Anyone within a two-mile radius would have been able to hear a pin drop inside as it had grown so silent, if it wasn't for Winn's technology making them unable to hear what was being spoken about inside the van.Alex was the first to speak, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked form her mother to J'onn with an unreadable expression on her face. "Let me get this right, to fight the effects of Kryptonite poisoning, you gave Kara more Kryptonite?" she asked slowly, her voice quiet yet her tone hard."I checked it as many times as I could before we gave it to her," Eliza said quickly, "I'm almost certain there is no way the blue Kryptonite can harm Kara at all. She was given only trace amounts in the medicine to try and neutralise the effects of the green Kryptonite," she continued trying to reassure everyone inside the van. "The chance of the blue Kryptonite having a negative effect was less than zero-point-five percent, compared to the eighty-nine percent chance of the Kryptonite poisoning from the green Kryptonite causing her organs to fail. I know it is not ideal, but I had no choice, without that medicine there was a high chance that Kara would die," Eliza finished, trying to explain her reasoning for making the decision she did.J'onn looked around the van taking in the expressions on the faces before him, he could feel a lot of tension in the room and could tell that everybody was not on board with what they had done."You're sure that Kara wouldn't be hurt by it, that her powers would not be affected by it's use?" Lena asked carefully, her posture tense. "If her powers are affected it puts her in even more danger than we thought."J'onn shook his head, "As Eliza said- she only used trace amounts. Not enough to affect her powers only enough to fight the Kryptonite poising," J'onn assured quickly. "If it had affected her powers she would not have been able to hold that beam the way she did. She was already weak and still managed to use a great deal of strength- more than she appeared to have when she first was left with us."Lena nodded, sighing deeply as she dropped her line of questioning before turning to Eliza, "Thank you," she said softly, after a moments pause. At Eliza's confused expression she continued, "I understand that what you did would have been hard, I don't know if I would have been able to even stomach the thought of exposing Kara to more Kryptonite even if I knew it was for her own good. Thank you for doing what you have done and what I couldn't," she said sincerely.Eliza nodded gratefully, smiling a watery smile as Alex reached across Maggie's lap to take her mothers hand in her own, squeezing gently letting Eliza know she thought the same as Lena on this matter."I do have one other question though," Lena said turning her attention to J'onn, "why didn't you tell us your plan about the tracker?"J'onn paused for a moment before answering. "I needed your reactions to be real. I needed for him to believe we were still at a disadvantage," he answered. "If you knew, you all would have reacted differently to what happened back there, Kara included. For this to work we need the element of surprise on our side- he cannot suspect that we have a way to track Kara, he cannot suspect an attack," J'onn continued. "I am sorry for keeping you all in the dark about this, but it was what I felt was necessary."Alex was about to speak when suddenly the door to the van was pulled open roughly.All heads turned to the van's now opened doors to see a panting Kal-El standing outside, a metal container behind him and a look of extreme concern on his face."We have a problem," Kal-El said breathlessly.Standing J'onn climbed out the van, frowning as he looked over the container behind Kal-El, "Was the Kryptonite taken?" He asked in worry about the plan."No," Kal-El responded, "they haven't touched it at all," pausing to take another breath before continuing, "they have however taken other artefacts."J'onn's frown deepened, "They took a weapon from the DEO when Dan-El returned for Kara, it was what caused all the destruction," he admitted."A weapon caused that!" Winn exclaimed, "What sort of weapon do we have here that could cause that much destruction just by being taken?""A Positron Cannon- a very dangerous weapon that should only be used in dire circumstances. Only myself and the president knew of it and its location, or so I thought," J'onn replied with unease.Kal-El furrowed his brows in confusion, "I don't understand what they are going to do with the items they have taken," he confessed, "What does he plan to do with a Positron Cannon, a Trans-portal Window and The Crystal of El?"

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Thank you to Jango27, my beta who worked on this chapter for me at very short notice!Warnings: Mentions and references of child abuse, scenes of torture, near death situations.

Trigger Warnings: Parts of this chapter are heavy, and have scenes of torture and near death experiences.

Chapter Twenty- Five.

Krypton- 50 Years Ago.

Alura In-Ze exhaled deeply as she took to the stand that her father used to take.

This was her first time passing judgement as the judicator for Kryptonian law. For a first trial and judgment, this had been hard. She would have wished for it to be a simple case of stolen goods, or even drug smuggling such as the last case her father had overseen. Instead, she was granted with possibly one of the worst cases of cruelty and misuse that had been seen in years on Krypton.

A device, a weapon, that had once been created to help in scientific research but had been found to be dangerous and there for banned from use, had been used once again by no other than the original creator, Krin Zor-El.

As Alura looked around the room at the various faces who had come to witness the trial, she could see that to the side of the room Zor-El, Krin’s husband, and Dan-El, her son, were stood watching. The boy should be no older than nine but due to the constant misuse of the weapon he was now years older than he should be at Thirteen.

“Krin Zor-El, you have been found guilty by this court of the reproduction and use of a weapon that has been banned from ever being used on Krypton. The use of this weapon was prohibited due to your own findings years ago, and since then the use of such a weapon has carried the maximum penalty of life time imprisonment on Fort Rozz,” Alura began.

She paused turning to look at the room before her before turning back to Krin. “Your creation of this weapon had gone unpunished previously as it was thought you had built it to better science and the education system of our children. You agreed that it was not beneficial and was harmful to the psychological development of the children it was used on previously, including your own son- yet you have decided to re-create this same weapon and use it once again on your own son.”

Stepping down the from the podium, Alura walked closer the where Krin was cuffed to the teleportation beam. “It is therefore my view that the punishment that had been set for the use of this weapon is not the deterrent it should be. In light of this- and your actions-
the courts have given their blessing for a new maximum penalty to be set for the re-creation and use of this weapon.”

“Krin Zor-El, you have now been by the power of the high council been stripped of your marriage entitlements and name. Which means that Krin Mal-Ron, I now sentence you to death, by banishment
to the Phantom Zone- do you have any final words?”

Before Krin could even speak her son was running forward, barely stopped by his father who caught him by wrapping his arms around the boy’s middle. “No!” Dan-El screamed, “you cannot sentence her to death- she did nothing wrong!”

“Dan-El,” Zor-El exclaimed, pulling his son back.

“Be strong, my boy,” Krin said, lifting her cuffed hands to press against the talisman she wore around her neck that held a worn symbol on it, “remember your teachings,” she called as her son was dragged by Zor-El from the room, still screaming.

Lena could hardly contain her happiness when she noticed the device was flashing and working, she could barely stop herself from jumping up and down yelling ‘I did it!’ like some excited child.If it wasn’t for the dire situation they were in she probably would have done so.She couldn’t though, there was no time for celebrations, only time for action. They’d planned to be ready for attack in less than five hours. When the sun rose in the sky signalling a new day, they would be moving out and by the end of the day, if all went to plan, Kara would be home, and she would be safe.They all had work to do, and now that she had cracked the code and got the device that Jeremiah Danvers had forced Kara to interact with while she was a child, they had even more work to do. She needed to get the device to Winn as soon as possible if they hoped to unlock its secrets and try and use it to their advantage in the upcoming infiltration they had planned.After Superman had revealed what artefacts had been stolen from his fortress the team had gone their separate ways. Currently Superman, Eliza and most of the DEO including Alex and J’onn were at an army base owed by General Lane. They had taken the Kryptonite there where they planned on turning it into weapons to arm the General’s army, and the DEO ready for their planned strike. The base they were at was only one hour away from the location that Kara had been tracked too. It took three hours to get the army base from the DEO so many agents had been sent over early to prepare.General Sam Lane was not happy about aiding in this mission, nor was he happy about Lucy’s plan to also be involved but he had relented after a long and loud argument with his daughter. No one was sure what was said during- but they imagined it was not a happy talk from the anger on Lucy’s face and the redness of her fathers who looked close to tears by the end. Whatever Lucy had said had obviously cut hard and deep and was enough to turn the usual unyielding man around to offer his help.J’onn had made the decision that the General and his army were to be tasked with finding and removing- or, if needs be, destroying- the artefacts and weapon that had been taken. The DEO’s task, by comparison, was simple: to find and rescue Supergirl.The President herself had given strict orders that Supergirl was not to be harmed unless she became an obvious threat that could not reasoned with- if that happened she was to be taken down. Even though J’onn agreed it was clear to see from his face that Supergirl would not be taken down- under any circumstances.The weapons they are creating now were going to use up most, if not all, of the Kryptonite. They weren’t taking chances this time- they were going to make as much as possible with the intention to kill the Kryptonian soldiers and, if the chance presented itself, Dan-El as well.Lena would be lying if she said she had not hoped to do the honours herself in regard to Dan-El, she desperately wanted to get her hands on him, and she knew a lot of others did too- but she couldn’t stop that feeling in the back of her mind from telling her that death would be too kind to him.Shouldn’t he suffer the way he has made Kara suffer?Shouldn’t they capture him and lock him up and torment him like he has done to them and Kara?Death seemed like almost a mercy.Then she remembered Kara.Kara who was sweet and kind and wanting to always believe the best in people.She hoped that Kara would not be changed by everything that had happened to her, but she knew the chances of that being reality were near non-existent. Kara was going to carry scars, and she was going to need time to heal, she may even want revenge herself. On the other hand, she may want nothing to do with any of it, she may not be happy with the choices the DEO, her friends, her family and Lena herself made in their attempts to get her back and stop whatever plan Dan-El was trying to achieve.As Supergirl, Kara lived by one main rule- she did not kill.She hated to see others being killed, she hated to be a part of anyone’s death.Deep down, Lena knew that Kara may see her differently after knowing that she had helped in the killing of other Kryptonian’s but right now, if it meant that by doing so she could get her girlfriend back, that was a risk she was willing to take.She just had to hope that Kara would be able to look past that.As she briskly made her way through the corridors Lena took notice of how empty and quiet the DEO now seemed as most of the agents had already moved out in preparation of the battle.Before each agent left they building to move to the army base, they were sent to visit Winn to have a video segment recording taken.Winn had outdone himself with the technology he had created this time- even Lena was impressed. He had created a program to run over the DEO’s security feeds for just in case Dan-El still had access. With this program he would be able to superimpose the recordings he took of staff members to make to make it look as though they were still in the building in the hopes that it would take longer for Dan-El and CADMUS to realise they were coming their way.It was smart and would work for a while, but Lena knew it wouldn’t fool them forever, especially if her mother was watching the footage. She would figure it quicker than most, which meant that time was of the essence.The only people now left inside the DEO were James, Winn, Lena, Maggie and a few of the medical staff who had yet to move as they were preparing to move some of the bigger pieces of equipment that might be needed. They had no idea what condition Kara was going to be in when and if they were able to rescue her. They had no idea if she would be able to fly or travel well, so they had decided to move what was needed to care for her and the main medical team to the army base that was closer to the location they believed her to be in.After the medical team, Lena, Winn, James and Maggie would be the last to leave, taking the Guardian van- they had been told to leave within three hours but earlier if possible.They had been waiting on Lena, to see if she could fix the device before they go as it would be a great help to them if she could, and now that she had managed to do so they would be able to leave the same time as the medical team.As Lena entered the parking lot she started to move into a jog, quickly making her way over to the van and knocking on the door once before entering. “I finished it,” she said breathlessly in greeting to Winn who was lounging back on his chair.Her words caused him to sit up quickly with wide eyes, he had not expected her to be able to finish it that quickly. It wasn’t that he doubted her, it was more that he knew her mind was preoccupied by her worry for Kara and that he knew from experience that Lena didn’t work as fast under stress from when they had been working together on the Krin-Drive.Carefully, Winn took the device from Lena as she handed it to him before climbing up the small step into the van. Winn looked over the device in his hands as he gently pulled off the one plastic end, looking at the connection wires and ports available before attaching a wire of his own to the back of the computer then to the device as well.“I can use this to access their systems better, if it is linked to a transmitter like J’onn thinks I can use it to find it’s location and get into the network,” Winn explained as Lena gave him a disgruntled look while watching him pull apart what she had just spent hours fixing. “Can you use my phone to message Maggie and James on the secure network,” Winn asked focusing his attention back on the task at hand, “as soon as I’m in and the Med-Team are set to go we can leave.”Lena nodded, picking up the phone from the desk as Winn typed quickly on his keyboard, hacking his way into the system through a backdoor by using the device to mask his entrance.Lena glanced up as she typed out a message on the secure network on Winn’s phone to see that Winn had already got in and was looking through the files and servers now available to him. Finishing sending the message to Maggie and James, she placed his phone back down on the table, before resting her hands on the back of Winn’s chair to watch him work.Winn glanced back at her from the corner of his eye before continuing his search through the system, his eyes widening as he found something before quickly moving it away out of sight.Lena’s eyebrows furrowed at his action. “Wait- what was that?” she asked.“That?” Winn asked sheepishly, “nothing we want to see, it’s not what I’m looking for,” he continued quickly.“Winn,” Lena said lowly, the tone in her voice taking on an edge.Spinning around on his chair Winn looked up to Lena, “I really don’t think we should look at it,” he said seriously. He hadn’t seen much, just a glance, but it was enough to know it was something they did not want to see.“It looked like Kara,” Lena said. “It looked like Kara strapped to a table with Dan-El near her,” she continued. “Was it security footage?” she asked after a silence.Winn only nodded.Lena clenched her jaw, looking from Winn to the screen, “Show me.”“I don’t think its-““Show me the footage Winn. I want to see her, I want to know what they're doing to her,” Lena said, cutting Winn off.Winn frowned, looking from Lena to the screen he had the hacked files on. He knew this was a bad idea, whatever was happening in that footage he was almost certain wasn’t good. He didn’t want to see that, but Lena seem resolved in the fact that she did want to.Sighing, Winn pulled the file up before wheeling away from the screen. “I don’t want to see what’s happening- and I really don’t think you should either,” he said.Lena paused for a moment, considering his words before steeling her resolve and moving to make the window with the footage on bigger so she could see it more clearly.“I’ll keep the sound off,” Lena said softly, respecting the fact that Winn didn’t want to know about whatever was happening on the screen.As Lena watched the screen the colour drained from her face quickly as she realised what she was seeing. It made her angry, and completely sick to her stomach to see what Dan-El was doing to Kara but as she watched she found herself unable take her eyes away.She could see Kara was in pain and was screaming and thrashing while being held down until suddenly- she stilled.Everything stilled.Even the beeping of the tracking on Winn’s other screen stilled.Winn gasped, his eyes going large in shock. “The tracker would be linked to her heartbeat by now- if its stopped that means her heart has just stopped,” Winn said breathing heavily.Lena didn’t respond, she was still staring at the screen watching as people were rushing around Kara.She could see Dan-El punching the wall.She could see Lillian administrating an injection into Kara’s neck at the same time that other people were pulling what looked to be portable sunlamps into the room, pointing them over Kara and turning them on.Lena continued to watch with tears rolling down her face as her mother administered more injections into her girlfriend’s neck while the metal table she was on was wheeled out of the room, people following around the bed wheeling the portable sunlamps as well until they were all out of shot.There was a silence in the van for what could have been no longer than another ten seconds but to Lena and Winn felt like a life time- until a single beep was heard from the tracker.Followed by another and another.The time between the beeps was much longer than before- but the beeps were still there all the same, the tracker was active again- Kara’s heart was active again.Lena and Winn looked to each other, both with tears in their eyes and gasping breaths leaving them as they listened to the beeping of the tracker. They didn’t hear the knock that sounded on the van as they continued to listen to the beeping of the tracker, nor did they hear the van doors open.“I got your text and brought weapons…” Maggie started to say as she entered the van, however trailed off as she took in the appearance of both Winn and Lena before her.They both looked pale as ghosts, they were crying, and they were staring at the monitors before them. Lena staring at a screen that showed video footage of an empty room that had blood all over the floor while Winn was staring at the tracking device window on the second screen. “What is it?” Maggie asked further in worry, “what’s wrong?”It was Winn that snapped out of his daze first, his mouth opening and closing like a fish for a moment, “I think- I think Kara’s heart just stopped. I think she just died,” he said, still in shock.“-and I think my mother just saved her life,” Lena continued for him, still staring at the screen before her.

She groaned, rolling her head to the side as she came to. She could feel a throbbing pain in her chest and as she remembered what had happened before she knew why.They cut her open again, using that Kryptonite knife. They sliced her open and then they cut something out. They didn’t even bother to gag her this time, they just laughed as she screamed in pain while holding her down. They didn’t even bother to inject her with the serum that causes her body to become paralyzed- and still she couldn’t move. She could still feel the Kryptonite in her system, she could still feel the blade cutting into her skin, and she could still feel the saw cutting her open- all the feelings making her sick to her stomach that was clenching and churning painfully.She was hungry, but she didn’t dare say so. She didn’t want their food.She could hear voices around her, they sounded distorted and she found it hard to make out what they were saying. She could pick up a few phrases such as ‘Kryptonite poisoning’ and ‘too much’ but that was all. One of the voice sounded familiar, she remembered hearing it before over her screams. She remembered the voice saying they needed to stop because she was crashing before everything had gone dark.Groaning again, she shook her head to one side, tiredly blinking her eyes open to see that she was in a room she did not recognise. There room seemed lighter, though as she turned her head again she knew that was probably due to the sunlamps shinning on her. Squinting at the walls, she could see the symbols from before were gone, as was the blood, and Dan-El’s ‘toys’.This was definitely a different room- but it still didn’t feel safe. It wasn’t warm like at the DEO, it wasn’t filled with reassuring voices, or warm hugs.A sharp prick to her neck caused her to jump, and for her eyes to snap upwards seeing the face of someone she knew.“Now, now, Supergirl- don’t panic. This one won’t kill you- he still wants you alive,” Lillian taunted as she stepped back looking down at Kara. “We have managed to mimic the medicine your adoptive mother gave you to help your body fight of the Kryptonite. It wasn’t my idea, but he was rather insistent that he needs you alive.”Kara groaned again at the stinging the needle had left in her neck as the words registered in her confused mind. “Why are you still helping him?” she said with a whimper, the strength she had found the other day nearly non-existent now. The pain in her chest as bad it felt as though the skin was knitting back together, and she knew if she looked at her chest it probably was.“When you work with someone, Supergirl, you do tend to help them,” Lillian replied as she turned her back to the girl, placing the injection device she had used down on a small table behind her.Kara tried to move on the metal table she was on, but the pain from doing so caused her to stop, “What about keeping people safe?...and Lena’s sweater?...you- you were having doubts and didn’t want any more death…” Kara slurred out, the words and thoughts hard to form through the pain and fog in her mind, she tried to move her one arm but found she couldn’t. Moving her head slightly, she could see she was still restrained to the metal table.Lillian chuckled as she turned back to Kara, causing Kara to frown in confusion a shiver running down her spine as she began to think the conversation she thought she had with Lillian yesterday was all in her mind.“She’s clearly delirious,” Lillian remarked to a CADMUS agent in the room, looking down at Kara with disinterest, “we should probably administer some fluids as well, hook her up to a drip- the non-Kryptonite kind.”When the agent she had ordered had yet to move, she continued, “we can’t afford to waste any more of the serum on keeping her alive if the Kryptonite overwhelms her body again. Get the drip set up.”Kara groaned again, turned her head slightly to look up in Lillian’s direction in confusion, she couldn’t understand what was going on.Her mind was too hazy, and everything hurt.It was like last time when she had been left at the DEO; she was cold, she felt as though part of her was not here and it hurt- badly.She could hear Lillian talking and tried to focus on what the woman was saying.“Your brother asked us to make you all something in case of an attack, something to make sure the DEO cannot harm any of you with green Kryptonite- it took my boy a while to figure it out, but he did. The problem was making sure we got the right balance and making sure it was strong enough to not be overruled by other forms of Kryptonite. You, I’m afraid, were the test subject to the batch that didn’t work. We have it perfected now though- so thank you for your assistance, Supergirl, even if it was unwillingly,” Lillian said with a smirk, watching as her agent was preparing the drip she had ordered.Checking behind her and looking to the door first, Lillian leaned in close to Kara before whispering, “move you head to the left if you can hear me.”Kara groaned as she moved her head slightly to the left, the crinkle present, showing her confusion at the instruction.“Now to the right and down,” Lillian whispered again.Kara did as she was instructed with a confused look on her face.“Keep moving around and look distressed,” Lillian ordered, still whispering, waiting until Kara began to do as she asked before continuing, “I saw him send someone through earlier, without the use of the second artefact he has and the Cannon- it’s not needed to enter so I take it he plans to bring something back through with him?” Lillian asked in a whisper.Kara made a nod like movement making eye contact briefly. “That something is what you tried to warn me about?” Lillian asked further, glancing up as she saw movement. Glancing back down again she could see Kara nod in confirmation once again.Lillian straightened back up as the CADMUS agent came back over with an IV line and drip bag, quickly the agent set up the IV, administering it, though not as gently as Alex had done when Kara had been in the DEO. Once the agent had finished, she left the room.Kara’s eyes lazily looked around the room again, noticing it was empty apart from Lillian who was over in one far corner.She felt her eyes begin to droop as tiredness began to overwhelm her. She had felt like this before the other day when at the DEO. Then she thought it was the stress of the situation and everything she had been through but now she was beginning to wonder if it was the way in which the medicine she had been given worked.Kara flinched as felt herself being covered with something warm, something that had a familiar smell to it, as more words were whispered in her ear.She found herself relaxing as she realised whatever she had been covered with was soft, and almost comforting. She found she couldn’t concentrate fully on the words that were being spoken into her ear as the smell that was under her nose distracted her.It reminded her of safety and warmth. It reminded of Lena.It made her give in to the tiredness she could feel, making her eyes droop as she slowly fell asleep while her unconscious mind took her to her safe place and to Lena once again- just before she fell asleep she realised what the smell was and why it was so comforting. It was the same smell that comforted her when she wore Lena’s sweater- it was the smell of Lena’s perfume.

Jumping from the last few steps on the ladder, Lena’s boot splashed in the small puddle of water below her as she landed on the ground next to Maggie and James suited up as the Guardian. As she looked back up the ladder she could see Winn making his way down, tablet in one hand.Lena sighed as she thought about Alex and the other members of the DEO who were most probably preparing for battle right now. She hated being left on the side-lines, and as she looked to Maggie and James she could tell they did too from the way they stood.Stiff posture, impatient eyes, guarded expressions.They wanted to be out in the field with the others but had been denied just as she’d been.J’onn refused to let anyone who wasn’t DEO or army attend. He had sent them off on a side mission, with Winn as their agent in command being the only DEO member.This mission was important, they knew that- but still it wasn’t where they wanted to be.It wasn’t where Maggie wanted to be because she wanted to be fighting alongside Alex. Ride or die, she had said, and now she feared that if Alex did die out there she would be none the wiser stuck in these tunnels.It wasn’t where James wanted to be as he felt the Guardian would be more use up there, trying to stop whatever plan Dan-El had and fighting alongside Superman and his other friends.It wasn’t where Lena wanted to be because she wanted to be there when they got to Kara. She wanted to be there to hold Kara and tell her everything was going to be okay now. She wanted to see for herself that Kara was safe and alive after what she had witnessed before, not just hear it over the comms.Instead, even though no one- other than Winn it seemed- really wanted to be down in these tunnels working on this smaller mission, that was exactly where they were.It had been J’onn’s plan all along for them to sneak into the CADMUS underground base when they had managed to locate its entrance, while the DEO and General Lane’s army handled the Kryptonians.He had planned for the team of four to infiltrate into the base and find the control room where they believed Dan-El must have a transmitting device that was allowing him to control and manipulate the chip inside Kara’s mind. This, of course, had only been a theory until Lena had managed to fix the device she had been working on. With that device Winn had managed to hack into the CADMUS underground base security and networking system and had indeed found a transmitting signal confirming J’onn’s suspicions.Their mission was to get to the transmitter and disable it so that Dan-El had no hold over Kara.They all knew the rescue mission would be pointless if they couldn’t move her without it causing her immense pain by the shocking device in her mind. Disabling the transmitter would solve that problem. The fact that Lena had now managed to fix the device Jeremiah was using was a bonus, as hopefully it would make the process a lot quicker in disabling the main transmitter.As well as that, it allowed Winn to pinpoint its exact location, so they could get in and out quicker.Maggie and the Guardian had been sent to accompany them on the mission, a detail protection as such, that, and to help them feel useful. J’onn knew if he didn’t send them on this mission they would have found a way to sneak in with the rest of the DEO on the field.Not that Lena needed protection, she had proven more than once she was more than capable of wielding and using a gun- and she had impeccable aim.They knew for certain the Kryptonians were not inside, Winn’s heat signature scanner had picked up a mass of Kryptonian energy in a field two miles in the other direction of the base, they had been there for the last hour and appeared to be static. The thought was that they would not move anytime soon, as where they were was also where satellite images could see the Cannon, which was spotted only minutes after the heat signature was picked up.As Winn finished climbing down the ladder, he stood next to Lena who looked over his shoulder at the tablet watching as he brought up the security feeds he had hacked into.They could see some CADMUS agents in the building, but from the looks of the cameras they had seen so far, no sign of her mother. They agents they could see appeared to be rushing around aimlessly. Lena was unsure her mother not being present was a good or a bad thing, especially after she had witnessed what looked to be like her mother saving Kara’s life hours before- but for now she put all thoughts of that to the back of her mind.She had a mission to carry out.Kara’s life may very well depend on whether or not she succeeds.“It’s clear up ahead, the CADMUS agents seem to be in the main hub of the base, but I think I can get us there without alerting them as they seem distracted- lets go,” Winn instructed, stepping forwards in the tunnel.As he walked ahead of the group, the Guardian was at his side pointing a flash light, lighting their way while Winn typed away on the tablet in search for any cameras he may need to hack a footage loop into. It’s what he had done so they could enter the base undetected.To their knowledge so far, no alarms had been tripped- but this was only the start. They had just under a mile worth of tunnels to go through before they entered the main hub of the base, and security did seem to be more advanced the closer to the hub it got from what Winn had seen on his tablet so far.Taking a deep breath, Lena began to follow them, smiling in thanks to Maggie who squeezed her shoulder reassuringly as they began to walk.A silent promise of 'we are a team and we will see this through together'.

Touching down quickly in the woods, J’onn transformed out of his Martian form back into the form of Hank Henshaw before turning to face both Lucy and Sam Lane.This was it.Everybody was in position.Now they were all just awaiting the signal from Superman as to when to strike.As J’onn looked into the distance he could see the Positron Cannon standing tall not far from where they were, up ahead in the clearing in the woods. It had been even closer from where he stood with Alex’s team and the rest of the DEO before leaving them to join Lucy’s team.He had left Alex in charge of the main DEO team, knowing that he could trust her to stick to the plan.He trusted Lucy too as well, but he did not trust General Sam Lane.He knew that given the opportunity General Lane would even incapacitate his own daughter to get what he wanted given a choice, which is why he was going to work with this team. The DEO held rank over the General’s army, and with both directors on the same team he was ensuring that the team did as the DEO commanded.For this to work the plan had to be carried seamlessly, everyone had to play their part, and everyone had to stick to the mission at hand.

Kara winced as the blade dug into the flesh on her palm, slicing into her skin and drawing blood, the look on her face causing Dan-El to chuckle as she glared at him. “Thank you, sister,” he said mockingly.Roughly he took her hand in his own and squeezed it tightly over the Crystal of El.“Start the Cannon,” Dan-El ordered, pulling both himself and Kara away from the line of fire at the last second as the Cannon released a beam of light straight for them.As they moved back the light instead hit the Crystal of El and continued to beam into the Trans-Portal Window opening a portal showing a barren wasteland in the oval shaped, tall device.Dan-El smiled triumphantly, before turning to his sister. “You were asleep for most of your last visit weren’t you, Sissy?” he asked with a smile, “It’s time to see if you're right to fear what you cannot even remember.” He whispered.Turning to look at the portal he watched as a dark blur shot past the doorway he had just created.“Unless they come through with myself and Kara, kill anything else that attempts to escape,” Dan-El ordered Gor who was stood to his side, “should anyone attempt to stop the mission, take the shots we spoke of and destroy them all.”Grabbing Kara’s arm roughly he pulled her towards the portal, not noticing the limp from her one leg as she walked with him reluctantly.As they stepped up to the doorway Dan-El turned back to his soldiers one last time, “Above all else you keep this portal open- with your lives if needs be,” he instructed, “for Malron.”“For Malron!” The soldiers repeated in unison.Turning back to the portal, Dan-El gripped Kara’s arm tightly as he walked them both through doorway and into the one place Kara had hoped to never have to visit again- The Phantom Zone.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Massive shout out and thank you to my amazing beta
Jango27, who is awesome!Warnings:
Scenes of violence and death. References and implied torture and abuse of children and adults. Minor swearing.
Trigger Warnings:
Torture, child abuse, death.

Chapter Twenty- Six.

"Long ago, before Rao's light shone on Krypton, there was another way of way of life, another code of living and another race of what we now call Kryptonian's. They were beautiful, mysterious beings- deadly to anyone who dared step foot on our planet- while also being kind to those deemed worthy. There were no high houses and no high families; everyone was equal, and everyone held the same name. They gave as much back to Krypton as taken from it, punishments were swift and none merciful, and children were taught the way of life from a much younger age.

They race were called the Malronite's, and they were the first inhibitors of Krypton.

They are the ones who built what we have now, and they are the rightful owners of all that is good here on Krypton, all that we have taken and named our own under Rao's light.

The time of the Malronite's was a time where no sun god was worshiped, only power and the Malronites's who wielded such power.

Their time was a better one- it was a time that should have never been changed.

Though it was.

One day a new race came to Krypton and took the land from the Malronite's. They formed a religion under the light of the great star, naming it Rao after the first son born. They became the Kryptonian's that we are today. Instead of giving back to Krypton they took from it, just as they do now- greedily taking all that is good and pure from our planet.

We now give mercy to those who have wronged us, whereas before judgment would have been swift, we now compromise in laws and education where before the rule and conduct was final.

We now live by their rules and not the rules of our true ancestors.

Our ancestors knew this day may come, they knew there would once be a time where the memory of the true first race of Krypton would be forgotten. Where the true law and teachings would be abandoned, and they prepared for this day.

For generations our family has told the story I am about to tell you know. This is a prophecy of what is to come, this is the prophecy of the fall of Krypton as we now know it.

This Prophecy will tell us how to prepare to make a new Krypton.

A better Krypton.

A Krypton like it should have always been.

This, my son, is your destiny.

You may have been born into the house of El, but you will always be a Mal-Ron, and you my son- when the time is right- you will be the one to lead our great name back to victory.

You will be the one to give life again to the true founders of Krypton- The Malronite's."

Kara could feel the difference instantly as they stepped out on the other side of the portal. Straight away she felt so much stronger- yet, at the same time, weaker as well. As she looked up she knew why. The Phantom Zone had no sun; her powers would not work here, but then again neither would Dan-El's.The effect of the Kryptonite seemed weaker here too, no longer did it feel like her body was fighting itself in trying to fight off the infection that was still in her blood. No longer could she feel her leg pulsating against the blade she had tucked away in the suit she had been made to wear for the trip.She was surprised they even bothered to give her a suit but then the surprise wore off as she realised the suit she was in didn't have any blue Kryptonite to shield her. The only thing this suit did shield was her modesty now that she wasn't in a gown. It didn't protect her from anything, and if she was being honest it was far too uncomfortable as it was skin tight and made the scars littered across her body hurt with the pressure it was applying.Though knowing Dan-El that was probably the whole point.Luckily, she had been given boots to wear; tall boots that went far up her legs, hiding the end of the suit and hiding the dagger she had stashed away- a Kryptonite dagger given to her by no other than Lillian Luthor as she had helped her change into the suit.For protection, Lillian had told her.How Lillian expected her to have the strength to use it, Kara had no idea. How it was meant to protect her when all Dan-El had to do was overpower her and then kill her with it in return, she didn't know.All she knew is that the blade hidden on her now was her only way of even attempting to stop what Dan-El had planned.The blade itself had been giving her a great deal of discomfort; while it may not be touching the skin of her leg, it was close enough for her to have been able to feel its effects before entering the Phantom Zone- but still, as Lillian had said, she had protection all the same.It seemed strange that out of all the people in that base, Lillian Luthor had been the one to offer her a blade for protection and warned her it would be wise to stay away from the injections Dan-El's army would be issuing if their suits became compromised.Kara's mind was hazy, and though she could remember parts of a whispered conversation she had with Lillian the other day, she couldn't remember everything. She remembered Lillian saying how Dan-El wanted his army to be completely immune to the effects of green Kryptonite and how they had used Kara herself as the test subject to see if it worked, she remembered being covered in Lena's sweater and the comforting feel and smell of the sweater lulling her to sleep as Lillian whispered a plan in her ear- but she couldn't remember the plan itself.Though from the small conversation and what she had been given while dressing in her combat suit this morning she would guess that Lillian expected her to stop Dan-El from carrying out his plan, using the blade to slow him down and using his idea of Kryptonite immunity against him.Why else would Lillian have told her quietly not too use the blade unless in the Phantom Zone or until after Dan-El was forced to use his immunity shot?Kara theorised that the shot itself had a different purpose entirely, but that was not something she wanted to test on herself or hang around to see if her theory was correct, as Dan-El used it himself. Truthfully, though Lillian had been helpful the last couple of days, and almost caring, Kara had no way of knowing if she was genuine or not. She had no way of knowing if Lillian was going to double-cross her like Kara thought she was double-crossing Dan-El. She knew it could all be a part of one big game, but that didn't stop her from at least trying to think of a way to play with the hand she had been dealt as best as she could.Kara knew all she had to do now was find a way to use her weapon before Dan-El realised that she had it, and hope that he had also been weakened by the trip through the portal just like she had.Kara didn't like to kill, it was her main rule.After everything that had happened, that- at least, hadn't changed.She still refused to kill.That didn't mean that she refused to use a weapon to slow someone down enough to stop them from becoming a threat though. A dagger to the leg would give her time to escape from Dan-El and figure out a way to stop him- she didn't need to kill him, and she wouldn't.She refused to let him win and turn her into the killing machine he had been trying to force her to become with the 'training' she had endured both on Earth and on Krypton.Kara found herself almost wanting to laugh at how easy it had been to hide the weapon, how no one had even bothered to check her for a weapon. It was ironic, the infection she had caused her veins to pulsate green on and off and for her eyes to as well, in the same way that being close to Kryptonite would. So, when her veins and her eyes had been changing beforehand as they waited in the field for Dan-El to be ready, no one even thought to question why. They just assumed it was the after effects of the infection. No one suspected Kara of carrying a weapon, as none of them thought she would have the guts to. They probably all believed she was far too beaten down and broken to even bother trying to stop them now.That was where they were wrong.She had been so close to giving up, she practically had- but then they made a mistake.They'd taken her back to the DEO, and though it had broken her heart to have to leave again it had also ignited her fighting instinct once more. Seeing Lena, seeing Alex and Eliza and everyone else made Kara remember that she had something and someone to fight for.As much as she had been hurt and she had wanted to just give up and beg to be killed she couldn't and wouldn't as long as there was even the tiniest chance that she could be with her loved ones again. The dreams she had of being in Lena's arms and hearing Alex's laugh and Maggie's banter, of seeing J'onn roll his eyes in annoyance, of Winn getting excited about some new game, of Lucy being able to tell her more stories of her time away, of James' Snapper impressions that he acted out behind the grumpy reporter's back when he was going off on one, and Eliza's concerned mothering nature- those dreams are what helped to keep Kara going through it all.Through the pain, the fear and confusion- the thought of being with her true family once again, her earth family- that was what had kept her alive throughout everything and that was what she was fighting to get back for.Her family.

Maggie's hand tightened on her gun as she checked behind her for any threats, she had been on high alert since they had entered these tunnels. Something about this place seemed creepy and the closer they got to the main hub of the base the darker it seemed to get even with their torches- or maybe that was just in her mind as she knew that the closer they got to the hub, the closer they got to where Kara had been tortured.When she had entered the van earlier to find out from Winn and Lena that Kara's heart had stopped, her own had almost failed to keep beating.While she and Kara didn't always get on or see eye to eye, she had become closer to the youngest Danvers and did very much so now see her as a little sister. Someone she could confide in, joke with, protect- someone she loved. While it wasn't the same type of love she had for Alex, it was love all the same and hearing that Kara had been killed, if only for seconds, was something she wished she had never had to hear.Not just for herself but for Kara too.She had no idea how afraid Kara must have been in that moment, and she worried for the condition of her little sister-in-law's mind for when and if they were able to rescue her.She didn't want to say it out loud, but she knew rescuing was an 'if', rather than a 'when'.While they knew that Kara was alive, they did fear for where she was.Her signal on Winn's tracker had been static for some time now, since news of a portal being opened Kara's tracker had not moved. Though they could hear the clear sounds of a battle raging overhead and in the distance her tracker still stayed still. Not only did it stay still, but it blinked on and off as though the technology was having trouble locating her which made the possibility of Kara having gone through the portal seem even more possible.That, and the fact they could not see her anywhere on the field with the drone cameras James had asked Winn to send out remotely to watch over the battle.They had seen Superman arrive with a weapon, quickly firing into the field and causing the earth to rumble before J'onn led General Lane's army into battle as all hell broke loose.They had seen Alex's DEO team slowly make their way around the outskirts, moving forward towards the portal and cannon while trying to stay clear of the Kryptonian's. A sight in itself that made Maggie extremely happy- though she knew Alex could handle herself, she didn't want her fiancée to put her self in harms way, especially not when she wasn't there to help.Though she was glad to be able to see what was going on above them, Maggie wished that James had not told them of this plan to overview the battle remotely. Now that they knew the cameras were there, both she and Lena were asking for constant updates wanting to check on the girls they loved, and while Maggie was happy to see that Alex was doing well she could tell that Lena was becoming even more agitated and worried every time they looked at the footage and still could not see Kara."James?" Maggie asked, drawing the Guardian closer to herself as she eyed Lena and Winn, who were up ahead of them slightly. "Those cameras you have recording the battle, their purpose is more than what you said before isn't it?" she asked further.The detective in her had been screaming that James was not being completely truthful with the explanation he given before.James sighed. "No, but all they need to know is that it will help us with that mission.""But the real reason?" Maggie prompted."J'onn wants a way to explain Supergirl's disappearance for if we can't disable to chip and get her out in time," James whispered, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat as he spoke.Maggie closed her eyes briefly.It was what she had feared, but hearing the words was something entirely different. "Catco will be reporting her death if we fail, you mean." Maggie commented bluntly.James nodded, there wasn't much more he could say.It was the cold truth- the cameras were there to make the public believe the story he was going to have to write about this battle if they were alive to tell it while Kara was not."As good as a story this would be for Catco- we best make sure there isn't one to write," Maggie said with finality, walking briskly to catch up with Lena and Winn.

A gunshot rang out behind Lucy, causing her to jump and swirl around to see a Kryptonian solider staggering back, the blue Kryptonite in his suit now broken to pieces as in the distance Alex stood with her gun out in front of her. Lucy nodded at Alex with a smile of thanks, a relived breath leaving her lips before quickly swinging her Kryptonian sword around from behind her to slice the soldier that had just been about to hit her, as Alex ran further into the field making her way towards the cannon.With his suit now compromised, Lucy's sword drew blood easily and the solider staggered backwards further reaching his hand into his pocket to produce a needle device similar to an EpiPen but with a long needle tip. He stabbed the needle tip into his neck quickly injecting a blue substance into his bloodstream before throwing the needle to the ground with a smirk on his face.His face changed quickly.No longer did he have a blank expression devoid of emotion.As Lucy watched him warily, waiting to see what he was about to do she could see he looked confused, almost conflicted, and was glancing around the battle field looking at his fellow soldiers as they were in the middle of battles of their own. Suddenly his face changed again to a look of anger as he advanced on Lucy, causing her to draw her sword up in a defensive position.The soldier charged for Lucy quickly- but though he was quick, he did not seem as fast as other soldiers Lucy had already been battling against. His lunge missed her by mere millimetres as she side stepped at the last moment, before turning her body and plunging her sword into his chest.Time seemed to pause for just a moment.The Kryptonian's eyes widened in shock as the sword went through his chest and out of his back.He blinked, looking at Lucy before turning his gaze downwards to stare at the Kryptonite blade that was sticking through his middle as blood began to trickle down his stomach and back.Gagging on a cough, he looked up into Lucy's eyes with a questioning look on his face.Lucy pulled roughly on her sword, pulling it out from the Kryptonian and casing him to drop to his knees, gagging and gasping for breath with wide confused eyes that soon turned angry.His eyes flared, beginning to tense as though he was trying to use heat vision.A look of complete and utter surprise passed over his face as he realised he couldn't. He looked to his side where the needle lay and growled in anger. He had been told that the injection would grant him immunity to green Kryptonite if his suit had become compromised. He remembered having the conversation, he remembered everything- but what confused him most now, other than the fact he was not immune and was currently bleeding out from his chest and back, was that he
felt
something about that.He had been devoid of emotion for so long, and had following orders as though a robot, unable to question the orders even though he had wanted too- until he had used that injection.Somehow the injection had brought back his emotions and his freedom of thought, but it also had failed to do what he had been promised it would do, the Kryptonite was making him bleed. He could tell he was not immune to the effects of the green Kryptonite- but it wasn't causing his blood to boil and his skin to turn green either. It was as though the mere fact the blade had pierced him was causing his pain and not the Kryptonite itself.He was bleeding and not healing- almost as though he was human.It was then he realised the injection had affected his powers too, and as he looked down at his chest, lifting a hand to the wound before pulling it away to see it covered in blood, he felt almost relived.He truly didn't know whether to be angry or sad- but as he looked back to the portal behind him further back in the field, he knew one thing for sure. He was glad that he wouldn't be around to see the Malronite's rise again after having been told horror stories of the race when he was a child on Krypton.Turning back, he looked up to Lucy one last time, his expression softening. "Thank you," he breathed out quietly before plummeting to the floor and taking a last shaky breath- the last thing he saw being Lucy's confused and shocked expression."What the hell just happened?" Lucy muttered to herself, staring down at the dead soldier before her, finding herself frozen to the battle around her.

It felt like they had been walking for hours in the dark when they finally came to a stop in front of an old derelict building, the sight of which made Kara feel shocked.The only thing that they had to light their way was a torch Dan-El had brought with him.How it worked in this dead zone in time, Kara had no idea. She assumed it was another of her crazy brother's inventions. As mad as he was, he did appear to be smart and capable with his creations- most of which Kara had been the test subject for.There had been no light other than that from the torch until they reached this building.That fact alone made Kara feel a great deal of unease as well as surprise. Not because of the state of the building, but more the style of it and the fact it was there in the first place and that it seemed to have some sort of power.So far, as Dan-El had been dragging Kara along in the darkness somehow seeming to know where he was going and following small marks left in the wasteland they had been searching through, there had been no sign of life.Nothing to indicate any other beings were in the Phantom Zone with them, other than the creepy things Kara had sworn she had seen moving in the darkness, if that was even possible.Creepy moving shadows or not though, the fact there was a building here, a building that seemed as though it was abandoned yet appeared to have power, was a sign of life- and right now Kara wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not."What is this place?" Kara asked, staring up at the tall, crumbling building.Turning to face his sister, Dan-El smirked. "Don't you remember?" he asked pointedly. "You've been here before a long time ago."Kara shook her head, refusing to believe him.The only time she remembered being in the Phantom Zone was when she was stuck in her space-pod, floating through the timeless dead zone in space with no hope of escaping.She did not remember coming another time or spending any time in such a building."This was where I trained you to be the best you can be, you and the other children for project Malron. You lived in this building for over four years," Dan-El explained as he walked towards the building and pushed roughly on the large metal door to push it ajar, before turning back to Kara. "This is where it all began sister, it's only right we finish what we started, don't you think?" Dan-El asked, motioning for Kara to join him.Kara crossed her arms over her chest, purposely taking a step backwards. "I never wanted anything to do with what you had planned, and I still don't now," Kara replied with force.Dan-El laughed loudly. "You were four when we first came here, you didn't have a choice then and you still don't know. You had no idea what was going on, but you grew to be good in the training sessions, you learnt well from your teachings and would have made a fine Malronite," Dan-El said appraisingly, though his smile seemed calculating.Quickly he walked back to Kara, grasping her arm tightly and pulling her towards the building. "You still can," Dan-El said, "you just have to submit to it.""Krypton is gone Kara, we destroyed it by taking what was not ours all along- but earth is new. Earth has just begun, and with the right code of life we can make it the best it can be. We can make it what Krypton should have been all along before the ideocracy set in."

"Go! I'll hold them off, get Lena and Winn to that control room," James yelled, engaging his shield and sending Maggie a stern look before running from the behind the crate they had been using as a shield. Maggie watched as James in his Guardian suit charged for the CADMUS agents, his shield up to deflect their fire, feeling torn.She knew he was right, they had to leave and quick, they were so close to the control room now- so close to getting to where they needed to be to fulfil their mission, but it didn't seem right to her to leave James behind to fend for himself.She knew he was capable, she had seen him fight before, but that was street thugs, not trained agents and not this amount. Though at the same time she also knew that Winn and Lena would both be busy trying to disable the chip as soon as they entered the room, and someone would need to watch their backs, someone would need to make sure they were not jumped so they could concentrate on the mission.Breathing deeply, Maggie nodded to herself. "Come on, we need to go now while he is drawing their fire," Maggie yelled over the sound of bullets, looking out from the behind the crate carefully to see which way was best to go without being noticed."What about James?" Winn yelled, clutching his tablet close and ducking down with a wince as the sound of bullets firing made his ears ring.Maggie turned back to Winn. "He knows what he's doing, and I'm hoping you two do as well, so we can get out of here quickly.""Just get us to that room," Lena murmured, her face set with determination.Maggie nodded, looking out from the crate one last time, "Stay close," she warned, "stick to the left behind those grids, the corridor we need is just down there, right Winn?"Winn looked at his map before nodding quickly."Let's go, come on," Maggie yelled, moving quickly from the crates and dashing to the wall behind a metal grid, she waved her arm out signalling for Lena to follow, sighing in relief as the CEO made it with ease, followed closely by Winn. Quickly the three of them ran for the corridor, while trying to ignore the sounds of gun fire and metal clangs as Guardian used his shield and his other weapons that Winn had created for him.As they ran down the corridor, quickly turning left at Winn's instruction, it was Lena who was first to enter the room, stopping dead in her tracks with wide eyes and causing both Maggie and Winn to bump into her back.Maggie frowned, "Lena wha- you! What are you doing here?" Maggie asked angrily, moving around Lena and quickly drawing her gun.A silence fell over the room."Answer her question, mother, what do you want?" Lena spat in disgust, her gaze hard and angry.Lillian Luthor, who was sat in a swivel chair with her legs crossed over one another, a folded sweater on her lap, smirked at the anger in her daughter's voice and eyes. "Would you believe me if I told you I was here to help you?" Lillian asked.Lena scoffed, folding her arms across her chest as she took a step forwards, moving to stand in front of Maggie.Lillian smiled further, "I didn't think so," she answered her own question, "though I can't say I blame you," she continued, standing."She loves you very much- that became clear to me recently. She asked I ensure you get this back," Lillian commented, placing the folded sweater down the chair she had vacated. "I've logged you into the computer system- I take it you are here to try and disable the chip?" Lillian asked, turning to look at Lena once again.Lena took a step forward once more, causing Maggie to follow at her side. "Why are you helping us?" Lena questioned, tilting her head to the side."I realised I was wrong to ever think I could trust another alien, and though he did get me what I wanted it's not worth the price he wants in return. While I still cannot stand Supergirl and her wretched cousin, she is the only hope Earth has now," Lillian responded.Lena scoffed again, shaking her head, "So you're doing this to help yourself, again- but instead of fixing the mistake you make you're leaving it up to us. Up to her."Lillian shrugged. "We only survive through self-preservation, Lena, I thought I already taught you that?" she mocked."The only thing I learnt from you, mother, is how to be heartless and cruel," Lena shot back.Lillian smirked again, nodding with a chuckle as she moved over to the far wall of the room, pressing her back against it. Maggie followed her with her gun out in front of her, reaching around her back for the cuffs she always carried on her belt.Noticing what the detective was doing, Lillian smiled. "Maybe another time dear, I don't plan to stick around today- oh and Lena, should your girlfriend find herself in need of a cure for Kryptonite poisoning again there is something you will need in the pocket," Lillian continued pointedly before slamming her back into the wall and causing the brick work she was leaning against to flip around, allowing her to disappear from the room.Maggie charged at the wall, looking all around for some kind of switch as Lena walked over to the chair picking up the sweater carefully and taking out a small vial of blue liquid, pocketing it carefully while Winn made him way to the computer."How the hell did she just get away, damn it!" Maggie yelled in frustration hitting the wall with her fist.Lena held the sweater to her chest as she walked to the computer, looking over Winn's shoulder as he began typing away. "Let's worry about my mother later- right now we have a mission to complete."

Kara felt the unease seeping down her spine and making her shiver the more that she saw inside the building. The further they went, the more labs and rooms she saw that sparked different memories of her childhood that had before been hidden to her.She knew Dan-El was telling the truth, she had been here before.That fact was cemented in her mind the moment Dan-El took her to the room that had apparently used to be her own in her time here.She knew straight away that it was.One look in the small cement box with no windows made her sure of it by the fear and dread that filled her heart at seeing it. If that wasn't enough the fact she had seen her initials carved into the door on the inside of the room proved the fact even more.She had been here before; she had lived here for four years and had learnt the teachings of Malron at her brother's insistence, she had been trained for a battle that had nothing to do with her, she had been punished for things she had no control over and used repeatedly for other's gains.For what? So they could try and bring back a dead race that had been overpowered by those they deemed weaker.Kara knew with every second they stayed in this lab, Dan-El was closer to getting to his way, closer to bringing back the race he wanted to resurrect entirely. When she had first heard the story from the AI of her mother she thought Dan-El's plan was simply to bring his own mother back, but she soon realised there was more than that at stake. She knew he had much more planned.Finding his mother would just be an icing to the cake he had already eaten.He didn't want to just bring back Krin Mal-Ron, he wanted to bring back his entire family line using a machine his mother had stolen from Zor-El and hidden away in this secret lab years ago.The Lab that could only be found by entering the Phantom Zone, since the portal that was once used to transport beings to and from was destroyed the same day Dan-El himself was sent to
Fort Rozz.She had to get out of here and quickly, before Dan-El had a way to make his plan become a reality.He had taken great pride in dictating to her exactly how he was going to bring back the race of the Malronite's with the last 'training session' he had given her shortly before she had been killed and then revived as they used her as a test subject. In some ways, Kara now thought that it might have been easier if she had never been revived- as then she wouldn't be having this problem of having to figure out a way to get this dagger from her boot and then into Dan-El without him realising what she was doing and then having to try and escape and stop him from being able to carry out his plan.If she had died he would be missing the main thing he needed to make his plan work.Her.She was the key he needed to start the machine.Her DNA, which he now had thanks to the bone he had taken from her chest while he had her opened up like an operation game on that metal table that she dreaded.Kara almost felt like laughing at how screwed up this whole situation was.How screwed up her whole family was compared to the happy and perfect images she had in her mind for so long.The reason she had been through all this- all the pain, all the torment and fear- was because her father had made a machine to bring back an entire family line as an experiment but had no reason to use it. Zor-El had sealed it with an ancient ritual- almost like magic- so that only he, or a member from his own blood line could use it, years before even Dan-El himself had been born.Dan-El had told her earlier while showing her around the building how his own mother had tried to use him to power the machine but couldn't as his blood was tainted.He was not fully Kryptonian just like Krin herself wasn't.Dan-El was part Malronite, so the machine did not recognise him as being from the same family line as he was not Kryptonian, not fully.He was a hybrid, much like his mother before him and the rest of their family line.Apparently, Dan-El had known from a young age about his background, but it wasn't until he began to work in more depth, within the hidden labs that his mother had introduced him to before being banished, that he had realised how different that truly made him from his father and the rest of the people of Krypton. It was also when he realised that his mother's life long work was useless, that her legacy would be nothing more than being banished to the wasteland that the secret lab now lay in.Dan-El had spoken of how for two years he had tried to find his mother but could not, leaving him to only theorise one thing; that his mother had been killed in the Phantom Zone by what his family back on Krypton called the Phantoms, and without the machine there was no way to bring her back. The machine that would not work by using his blood.He had felt lost, and with no purpose until Kara herself had been born; with her birth came the return of hope.His mother's legacy and his destiny were back on track, but he had to be patient and that was something Dan-El was not. He had told Kara how the people he worked with had wanted her to be older to withstand the weakening the machine would cause. Apparently, it was theorised this would allow her to endure the effects of the machine for longer periods, but instead of waiting and testing her blood on a single subject- which had been the same plan Krin had for Dan-El when she used the Krin-Drive on him to make him older than he should have been- Dan-El had decided to take Kara when she was only four years old.She was too young when they had taken her to power the machine properly and bring back the entire line and race of Malronite's.When younger, Kara could only power the machine long enough to bring back one being per day, something she did have some memories of, and in her early years at the labs even that was a struggle.That was her use- a juice box basically.They sucked her dry using her blood and DNA to power the machine.They needed her DNA to keep the machine working, so had her strapped down on a table and hooked up to the machine, then they needed her blood mixed with Dan-El's first, and then other decedents of the Malronite's that were working at the labs, to bring back their fallen family members.They had no control over which fallen family member came first, they had no control over the process over than picking whose family would be resurrected each day.Kara had learned to hate the machine and the doctors in the room that connected her to it, she hated the burn of the machine draining her power, she hated the noises it made, the red beams it had emitted. She learnt to fear the machine, but from the few failed escape attempts, she learnt it was better to let them use her than to try and stop them, as the punishments she would receive were far worse than the machine itself.They tried to use the Krin-Drive on her, to make her older on some days to see if she lasted longer- she did but only by a small amount and the use of the Krin-Drive brought about other problems as it made her try to escape even more, and it made her attempts to escape nearly impossible to stop as she became a lot smarter after the use of the Krin-Drive.It was the use of the Drive one day that brought about the rescue mission led by Astra In-Zee, another memory Kara had clearly in her mind.Kara had managed to send a distress beacon through the portal with her location- how, no one knew and the eighteen-year-old version of herself that she had been aged into had refused to tell them even after they had tried to torture the answer out of her. In the end they had even resorted to aging her back to the eight-year-old she should have been all along before hurting her more to try and get the answers out of her as to what she had sent through the portal and how she had done it.They did get the answer then, but not from Kara- from Astra In-Zee and her army that had stormed the labs on a rescue mission.Upon hearing the army arriving Dan-El and his team had quickly tried to destroy as much of the lab as possible. Years of research and serums were quickly destroyed and thrown away, and the other children that they had been turning into young conformed Malronite soldiers were thrown out into the wilderness of the Phantom Zone never to be seen again.Only a few were saved, Kara being one of them, and most of them were unable to go back to Krypton as they had been too badly conditioned and hurt to be able to live a normal Kryptonian life.The few that did were troubled as would be expected, Kara more than most.Dan-El found that working with Kara now reminded him a lot of the times she had been aged by the Krin-Drive, she was smart, she was fierce, and she was stubborn.

Kal-El sped up as he tried to dodge the Kryptonian's that were following him.Every time he tried to land on the field below he was ambushed, and currently with the amount of Kryptonite flying around the field through bullets and other weapons he was struggling to fight off the blue Kryptonite suited soldiers on the ground.At least in the air he had more strength- but in the air he was mostly useless.His weapons were low on fire power and needed to be saved to destroy the cannon and portal when needed, he couldn't fire it anymore to move the Kryptonian soldiers out the way.Though he was now mostly useless in the battle, he could however see clearly the battlefield when he was not completely surrounded. He could see Alex strategically placing the DEO agents around the cannon and portal, keeping the Kryptonian's back as she made her way forwards.He could also see the portal and would see when it was safe to destroy it.After learning from Winn, who occasionally came in on comms when they had enough signal in the CADMUS base, about how Kara's tracker seemed to be static and fading in and out near the portal- J'onn had made it very clear it was not to be destroyed until they knew Kara was safe or they had no other option left.Kal-El was adamant he would only destroy it
when
his cousin was safe, he had failed once already, and he
wasn't
about to do it again.

Kara could feel her lungs burning with the effort her body was going through to breath fast and move even faster, she was running faster than she ever had as a child. She knew she didn't have much time, she could hear that she was being followed but she didn't dare look back behind her knowing she would only see the things that nightmares were made of.The things she had dreamt about for years when she had first arrived on earth.When her new family had asked her what the Phantom Zone was like she had said she was asleep, which was the truth. She did however miss out the fact that her pod would wake her every so often while preforming checks on her status condition, and when she was awake she saw them.The Phantoms.The beings she had sworn she had seen in the darkness earlier. The beings that invaded her nightmares for years. The beings she had heard stories about as a child that she still remembered to this day.Though now she wondered if she had been actually told those stories or programmed to remember them by the chip in her brain.Now she knew the things she once called Phantoms are actually something entirely different.They are Malronite's, the first beings to inhabit Krypton. The beings that all the history lessons and teachings left out, the beings that were angry and wanted their home back but had been banished due to the cruelty they brought in their wake.Dan-El was royalty here.He was the last son to their race, just like she was the last daughter to her own, she knew if they caught her she would not escape. They had evolved to have powers here in the dark barren waste land, while she could not without sunlight.They had changed themselves to be more savage, more violent and more powerful than what the stories she had heard of them had ever depicted.Now Dan-El wanted to bring that to earth to make a new Krypton- a new Krypton where he was ruler and his people would destroy everything and anything in their path- and Kara would not let that happen. The people of earth had saved her life, they had helped her grow into the person she is today. While she may be broken beyond repair from everything that had happened to her in these last few weeks, and that happened to her while she was a child, she was not going to let him destroy everything she held dear.She would not let him hurt her family, the family she had made for herself, and she would not let him take the home of a race that were only just beginning.The Malronite's had had their time and their chance; they'd blown it with cruelty and war.The Kryptonian's had theirs too, and they too blew it by being greedy and taking too much from the structure that gave them life.Humans still had their chance to make something of their planet, and Kara saw herself as one alongside them, though she may not be human herself she lived by their code and conduct and she would protect them and her loved ones till her dying breath if she had too.So now she ran, with no light and no real way of seeing where she was going.She could hardly believe she had managed to pull it off- one minute she had been on the floor in pain as her head was throbbing as though she had been shocked again- the next the pain had stopped.It had given the opportunity to use her weapon and escape- so she had.Quickly, she had taken the dagger from her boot and stabbed it hard into Dan-El's thigh, causing him to scream out in pain and drop to the floor. As he fell she stole the bone he had pulled from her own body which was hooked up to the machine, and ran without once looking back. She had been tripping on rocks in her path, smacking into walls and cutting and bruising herself even more than she already was following a tiny dot of light she could see in the distance.A tiny dot of sun light that showed her where her true home was.Where Lena was, and Alex, and all her family.There had been a little voice in her head for a long time now telling her she was too broken to keep going, but then she would hear Lena. Hear her telling her to
'hold on for her'. So she did- she held on and kept running.For Lena- she would always hold on- she would always find a way.

"J'onn, the program is still saying she's in the area- I think she is in the portal, I need to go through," Alex yelled into her comm as she dashed close to the cannon that was set up in the field.Alex ducked, missing an arm to the face by a hairs length, before swinging back around with her gun to shoot twice in quick succession, one bullet blasting the blue Kryptonite in the soldier's suit to pieces and the second bullet embedding in his leg causing him to drop to the ground in a wail of agony.Turning back around Alex continued to make her way to the cannon,
"Agent Danvers you are not to enter that portal-""But J'onn, Kara's-""Agent Danvers, that is an order!"
J'onn's voice sounded from the comm, sternly.
"Alex, we will get her back, but I am not losing you in that portal, it's dangerous enough for Kara. I cannot let you go through, if anything were to happen to you Kara would not forgive me- I wouldn't forgive myself,"
J'onn's voice sounded from the comm device.Alex sighed, knowing J'onn was right, but it didn't stop her from wanting to go through the portal in search of her sister.She was about to reply when suddenly she was grabbed from behind and shoved into a table near the back of the cannon. As she struggled to free herself she could feel a hand tightening around her neck, choking her as she was lifted in the air. The Kryptonian turned her around mid-air, lifting her higher as he squeezed her throat harder making it impossible for her to breathe.Alex felt her heart beating fast as her eyes glazed over and closed, her feet kicking at the solider wildly until there was a sudden thump, followed shortly by her being dropped to the ground in a heap gasping for breath.As she continued to take gasping breaths, Alex pried her eyes open to see the Kryptonian on the floor beside her, unconscious with a red mark on his forehead. Alex could hear panting and knew even though she was still gasping for breath herself the sounds were not from her.Looking up quickly, Alex smiled- she should have known.There standing before her, with giant boulder in her hands was Kara.She was bleeding and bruised and looked to be struggling, but she was here, and she had just saved Alex's life."Gimme," Alex said, holding her hands out for the boulder breathlessly, at her sister's confused look, she continued, "need to smash his suit's shield," Alex said, motioning to the blue Kryptonite.Kara nodded, kneeling to the ground before smacking the boulder down hard onto the Kryptonian's chest, noticing right away that it was Gor she was disabling as she did so, before dropping the boulder to her side as she continued to pant, squinting slightly in the sunlight.Alex ran a hand down Kara's arm trying to get her attention. "Move back, I'm going to cuff him with Kryptonite," Alex warned waiting until Kara had shuffled backwards towards the cannon before pulling out the Kryptonite cuffs and restraining him, to make sure he could not bother them easily if he was to wake up anytime soon. If Kara had not been here she would have probably shot him, but Kara hated killing, and she looked fragile enough in Alex's eyes.She wasn't willing to add anymore to what she was sure her little sister had already endured and witnessed.Taking a deep breath, Alex climbed to her feet and all but ran to where Kara was tiredly sitting on the ground, noticing the way her sister was flinching at every noise she heard and looking around herself frantically."Kara," Alex cried, pulling her sister into her body with the strength that would rival a Kryptonian's. "Oh god Kara, I was so scared we had lost you when I couldn't find you, but you're hear now, and everything is going to be okay. I got you, I got you sis," Alex promised, quickly wrapping her arms around her sister, holding her tightly as she rested her chin on top of Kara's head.Kara shuddered at the thought of how close she had come to losing her sister and never seeing her again. She gripped onto Alex with all the strength she had right now and buried her face against her older sister's neck, blocking out the sounds of the battle around them and trying to focus on the steady heartbeat to calm her. She found herself slumping against Alex as she relaxed in to the feeling of her sister's hand rubbing across the top of her back.Feeling her sister shudder in her arms, Alex pulled her closer for a moment, relishing in the fact she had Kara with her and that she was safe and still alive. "We need to get you out of here, there's too much Kryptonite on the field, Kar," Alex said, speaking softly into Kara's hair.Pulling back from the embrace Kara looked her sister in the eyes, staring for a moment.When she had been running to the portal and had seen Gor choking Alex through it she had been terrified she would be too late. The only thing that had been keeping her going was the thought of being back with her family and with Lena. To see one of the people she wanted with her more than anything else in the world being hurt like that had made her feel a rush of adrenaline like she had never felt before.It had given her the strength she had needed to push herself that little bit more and be that little bit faster to get through the portal as quickly as possible. It had given her the strength to be able to withstand the pain she could feel at being exposed to the amount of Kryptonite on the field and rip Gor away from her sister by hitting him as hard as she could with that boulder.Now that the adrenaline was wearing thin though, she could feel the Kryptonite weakening her, making her feel tired and drained. She could feel her veins pulsating and her heart beating faster in her chest as her body tried to fight of the effects of the Kryptonite surrounding her.She knew that Alex was right, and they needed to leave, she needed to leave- but she couldn't yet.Not until the portal was closed.Though she had taken the bone Dan-El was going to use to power the machine with her, she had no idea whether it would be enough to stop Dan-El from carrying out his plan. She had no idea how many of the Phantoms had been following her or if Dan-El himself had been following her as well.She had no idea if, and when, something or someone may follow her through that portal."-Kar, come on, I need to get you away from here, it's weakening you. We'll go as far as we can then I'll try to contact Winn to see if they have disabled whatever that monster did to that chip in your brain," Alex continued, her voice pulling Kara from her thoughts.Kara's eyes widened at the mention of disabling the chip.She knew she had felt something earlier when in the Phantom Zone. When she had fallen in the labs before making her escape due to a short and sharp pain in her head she thought Dan-El had pressed
that
button again, but maybe it had happened because the chip had been disabled? Dan-El had seemed just as shocked as she had when she had fallen clutching her head in pain, he had seemed even more shocked when she had plunged the dagger into his leg."-that's where Lena and Maggie are, Winn and James are with them too, they are in that underground base where you were being held and where Lucy and Kal escaped from. They are going to help you get out of here, okay? Then we can get you somewhere safe, I promise," Alex continued to explain, her voice sounding soft and soothing even as she spoke quickly and loudly over the noise on the field.Kara found it hard to focus on the words Alex was speaking, she could hear too much from the field behind her, she could hear explosions and gunfire, screaming and yelling. It was too loud and currently her hearing was not even at its full capacity due to the Kryptonite weakening her.Everything was too overwhelming, there was too much happening.Too much death and destruction happening all around her, too much pain from her injuries and the effects of the Kryptonite, too much fear and emotion making her want to hide away- but most of all too much responsibility.This was happening right now because of her.The DEO had come for her, they were fighting for her and dying for her and she was frozen in place when she should be destroying the cannon and the portal.Alex's voice broke through the panic in Kara's mind calling out to her with soothing tones and soft hands that were now cupping her cheeks. She was trying to get Kara to look at her as she wiped away tears from her sister's cheeks and from under her eyes.Tears that Kara didn't even realise were flowing."Kara? Kar, Hey, hey, you're okay. I've got you sis, I'm going to get you out of here alright? Come on, come with me," Alex said soothingly, wrapping her arms around Kara's waist before beginning to try and haul her up carefully.Kara wouldn't move though, as much as she wanted to be away from it all she couldn't leave yet. "No, I need to stop him," Kara cried out suddenly, her abrupt tone making Alex pause and cup her cheeks again."Kar, you're really weak right now. You need to be seen by a medic and then rest. Lots of rest. Let the DEO handle this, okay?" Alex recommended, trying to persuade her sister to leave.Kara shook her head, "No- I have to stop him. Can't let him bring them back," Kara argued, her words coming out tired and almost slurred showing how weak she was becoming from the exposure to the Kryptonite."Kara, please. I need to get you away from the Kryptonite- we have to go." Alex pleaded, trying to pull Kara away only to find herself stuck as Kara grabbed onto the cannon behind them, using its frame to pull herself up.Kara whimpered as she felt Alex pulling at her arm, causing the scars on her skin to hurt. "Please don't," she begged quietly, "I need to close the portal, Alex please. They can't be let out, they'll destroy everything, kill everything. It's not safe, they'll be too powerful here with powers and the technology they have. Earth will be destroyed, and I'll lose everyone. I need to stop them, he can't win. I need to close it, please help me close it. Alex please!" Kara begged, her speech coming out in quick distressed pants as tears began to fall more quickly from her eyes.She could hear Alex talking into her comms about how they needed to destroy the portal straight away, she could feel Alex holding her tightly from behind, her chest pressed up against Kara's own back trying to offer her comfort."Alex, help me," Kara begged with a sob, the emotion and stress becoming too much for her to handle with the added pain and effects of the Kryptonite.Alex wrapped an arm tightly around Kara's waist, pulling her into her side to help hold her little sister up. "I am Kar, I'm helping you. It's okay, I promise. Tell me what to do, they already know to destroy the portal but tell me how we can stop this cannon, do you know?" Alex soothed gently, holding Kara tighter as she felt the blonde tremble in her arms."Crystal, need to take the crystal out and destroy it. It's the only way to stop it- he did something to the cannon made it so the manual turn off won't work," Kara muttered, gripping to the edge of the cannon to pull herself along so she was level with the crystal.She could feel the power coming from the cannon, it was making the ground they were standing on shake. If it wasn't for Alex holding her up right now, and the death grip her hands had on the metal frame work, she would probably have already fallen to the floor. She could feel a heat coming from the crystal and the beam of light that was being pulsated through it, though it wasn't hurting her it was uncomfortable, and with Alex being so close behind her it worried her that it may hurt her sister."Stand back, it's hot I don't want you to get hurt," Kara instructed, straightening her spine as she prepared herself."If I stand back you will fall to the floor, you asked me to help- so let me help you," Alex argued back.Kara was going to protest but she knew that her sister was right.She was too weak to stand on her own with all the Kryptonite flying around the field.Instead, she nodded reluctantly. "Just- just make sure you don't get too close to this beam of light- and do
not
try to stop me," Kara relented.She waited for Alex's response and frowned when all she felt was her sister's grip around her middle tightening. "Alex, I need you to promise me." Kara said seriously.Alex sighed. "I won't stop you," she said, pausing for a moment, "unless I feel its too much for you. I just got you back and I am
not
losing you again- I made a promise to myself and your girlfriend that I intend to keep."Kara sighed, but nodded in agreement, she knew it was pointless arguing with Alex when she used
that
tone. She knew
that
tone was her 'don't mess with me' big sister tone.Taking a deep breath, Kara cried out loudly as she shoved her hand through the beam of light.She could feel the heat fire through her hand, causing her body to shake as she pushed her hand further through the beam. Stretching as far as she could, Kara pushed against Alex and pulled herself closer to the cannon with her spare hand as slowly she managed to make her fingers curl around the crystal.She screamed in exhaustion and pain as she managed to grasp the crystal, panicking as she could feel Alex beginning to try and pull her back. "No! I've almost got it, I can do this- let me do this," Kara cried out, keeping a hold on the crystal as she tried to dislodge it from the beam of bright white light.Kara felt Alex's grip tighten around her waist again, no longer pulling her now just holding her tightly, a silent support and help. "You got this, I believe in you," Alex yelled from behind her, yelling over her sister's screams as she continued to pull at the crystal.She knew it was stuck and she wasn't going to be able to move it, the only way to stop it was to destroy it where it was. Using as much strength as she could Kara squeezed the crystal tightly in her hand applying as much pressure as possible.Movement by the portal caught her eye, as soon as she noticed the movement from the corner of her eyes everything happened so quickly.First there was a shout.Then there was something flying towards them.Then a bang as the crystal exploded in Kara's hand that was still in the beam.The crystal exploding caused a surge of energy that threw both Kara and Alex backwards, but not before Kara used the little of her strength left to move her body around Alex to protect her sister before falling to the ground with a thud, Alex on top of her."What have you done!?" Dan-El roared, having jumped through the portal at the last second. His leg was bloody with the dagger now removed, it had been bleeding badly. Though as Dan-El moved quickly over to where Kara and Alex lay on the ground groaning, he moved without a limp- the yellow sun already working on healing the damage Kara had caused.Reaching them quickly, Dan-El yanked Alex out of the way throwing her away from Kara like a rag doll. Kara groaned, rolling onto her stomach with a small cry of pain, "Alex," she called out, looking for her sister as she felt Dan-El pull on her hair roughly."You stupid bitch! You've ruined it all! You better hope the computer can bring back that portal or everything I have put you through will seem like child's play compared to what I'll do to you!" Dan-El raged, smacking the back of her head with force, causing her eyes to close in a daze. Had the hit been any harder she would have been knocked unconscious.Kara groaned again as she felt Dan-El take her leg roughly and drag her across the ground towards the back of the cannon where a computer system was set up. Dan-El dropped her next to a fallen, still unconscious and cuffed Gor, quickly typing away on the computer system before him.He was engrossed in what he was doing and paid no attention to Kara as she wriggled around the floor beside him trying to move away, instead only stomping a booted foot down onto her back, causing her to cry out as she was slammed back to the ground. Kara whimpered while stretching her arm out, moving to tug at Gor's suit as leverage while she searched for what she wanted, she could feel pain in her side and blood dripping down her skin under the pressure she was exerting. From the corner of her eye she could see Alex moving on the ground and let out a sigh of relief at knowing her sister was at least alive after the fall and being thrown by Dan-El.She had come so close to losing Alex again just then, she didn't know if Alex even realised how close she was to being stabbed with the dagger that had been thrown at them and was now wedged in Kara's side.If Kara hadn't moved them at the last second, Alex would most probably be dead right now.Instead Kara took the hit from the dagger that was now adding more Kryptonite to her already weakened body, her whole body pulsating as the Kryptonite burned her skin and made her blood feel like it was being boiled. The fact she hadn't passed out from the pain yet was a small miracle, but she could feel it wouldn't be long now.She could feel herself growing tired and feel her energy leaving her.Grasping the EpiPen from Gor's suit in her hand, Kara quickly pulled it from Gor's suit and hid it under her own body, glancing up to see Alex creeping her way forward carefully, gun pulled out and ready. Lifting up as much as she could Kara mouthed the word 'suit' to her sister, who nodded silently."Like I told you outside the Luthor's house- that will not work on me," Dan-El muttered, his eyes not leaving the computer screen as he continued to type.Alex took aim, ignoring the jab, "Not yet anyway," she commented before firing.Her aim was true and the blue Kryptonite in his suit shattered as the bullet hit its target.Dan-El looked down with a smirk, reaching a hand into his pocket for the serum filled EpiPen he was carrying, though as he felt something jab into his leg he stopped and paused for a moment before looking down to see his sister had already injected another EpiPen into his leg.He looked at her with a frown, before shrugging off his concerns with a smirk, "Thanks sis," he commented turning back to the screen and typing again.His smirk slowly slipped from his face though as he began to feel weaker, it was almost as though the strength he felt under the yellow sun was leaving him, and though he was not in pain he could begin to feel a throb in his leg where Kara had stabbed him in the Phantom Zone before. He could feel Kara moving around on the floor below where his boot was still pushing her to the ground from her back and his frown deepened more as he found he was suddenly having to use more strength to keep her down. He could see Alex moving in on him with her gun still raised, and not wanting to test fully if this serum that had been made worked he leant down and pulled Kara up by her arm, earning a gasp from the blonde as the dagger in her side shifted while she was pulled around in front of him like a shield."I'll take that," Dan-El said, having felt the bone Kara had stolen from him in her pocket as he lifted her up. Taking the bone from Kara, he placed it in his own pocket with a smirk.Dan-El returned to typing with a small smile as he noticed there was still a way for his plan to work, not in the way he had intended but he could still salvage his mission in part. While being so focused on his task though Dan-El hadn't noticed that Kara had been moving slightly in his grip, not until he felt it.Pain.Sharp, sudden, agonising pain.He felt a coldness in his side, a coldness followed by a burning pain and then a wet, yet warm, trickle causing him to freeze in place.Looking away from the computer, he turned to face his sister who was staring him hard in the eyes with a defiant and angry look that he thought he had beaten out of her long ago. Dan-El cried out in agony as he felt a further pain in his side, prompting him to look down to see Kara holding the dagger he had thrown as he re-entered earth.The dagger was coated in blood, both Kara's and his, and as he looked at his side he could see blood seeping through his suit."You're welcome," Kara breathed out quietly, her nostrils flaring as she sent a punch to Dan-El's face, knocking him to the floor as he clutched his bleeding side.Dan-El growled, narrowing his eyes and expecting to send a ray of heat vision in Kara's direction.Instead nothing happened. "What have you done?" he yelled, causing Kara to flinch."I didn't do anything- you trusted Lillian Luthor to make you invincible when she hates aliens, did you really think she wouldn't screw you over? Especially after finding out what you have planned for Earth and for the human race," Kara responded, standing taller and sounding more confident as Alex reached them, standing by her sister's side with her gun still out in front of her and an arm around Kara's waist as she noticed Kara was having trouble standing by herself. "She made you what you wanted- you are immune to the green Kryptonite now, but only because you are human. No powers, no speed, no strength. You're just a mere human- you're no god."Dan-El growled in response, lunging to get up before falling backwards to the ground again in pain.Though he couldn't get to Kara the instinctive fear she felt at seeing him move towards her made her back away into Alex, who tightened the hold she had on Kara in support.Alex's eyes widened as she felt a sticky wetness to Kara's side, pulling her hand back slightly she gasped at the blood she could see covering her hand. Glancing at Dan-El to check he wasn't currently a threat Alex moved around Kara to inspect the wound, "Kara, I need to get you out of here now," Alex said urgently. "J'onn we have Dan-El here, and disabled, and the machine has been stopped, I need you to come take over so I can get Supergirl to a medic," Alex spoke quietly and quickly into her comm piece while helping her sister down to the ground and keeping a wary eye on Dan-El.Dan-El laughed, holding his side and panting hard after. "While this does hurt, yours looks fatal sister," he said mockingly. "You could have killed me, why didn't you?""I'm not a killer. You can beat me, and you can break me down to a shell of myself but one thing you will never do is turn me into a killer," Kara responded. "You will pay for what you have done and the lives you have taken, I'll make sure of it. You need to be alive for that though, and while I am no killer, I will enjoy watching you pay for what you have done," Kara finished breathlessly, looking upwards as she could see J'onn flying towards them in his Martian form.Feeling Alex wrap an arm under her knees and around her back Kara lifted her arms weakly to wrap them around her sister's neck. As Alex lifted her from the ground, with far too much ease, Kara let her head drop to her sister's shoulder the exhaustion and pain finally catching up in full force now.Kara could feel her eyes drooping as her body slumped into her sisters hold, the sound of her strong and steady, yet slightly faster than normal, heartbeat soothing her just like it had done before. She felt safe in her sister's arms and knew that soon this would be over.Soon she would be with Lena, safe, loved and protected.She could hear J'onn talking but couldn't make out what he was saying, she could hear Dan-El talking too and could feel movement as Alex began to walk. The movement made her whimper as it was making her aching and burning bones hurt more and caused the scars on her body to feel fresh and painful once again.She knew it was the Kryptonite causing this, she had felt it before the last time.It was strange how she couldn't hear what J'onn and Dan-El were saying when they were talking at a normal volume, but as soon as Dan-El chose to whisper she heard the words clearly."I'm a god to them Kara and I have all I need now- thank you for bringing my family back, little sister. I'll see you on the flip side, where it will be me that enjoys watching you pay."Kara jerked.Causing her whole body to move which caused Alex to stumble, barely being able to right herself and hold onto Kara."No! Stop him!" Kara cried, her eyes opening just in time to see Dan-El press one final button on the computer as he was marched past it in cuffs by a DEO agent.It was J'onn that dashed forward to the computer, trying to see what he had done as the whole screen lit up red, a beep sounding in warning. "What have you done?" J'onn shouted over the beeping, Dan-El only smiled in response.Just after he had spoken the portal began to spark and flicker, a dark light shinning from it as it began creating a wind field that started to suck in fallen Kryptonian's from the battle field including Gor, whose unconscious body was pulled straight through the portal.Dan-El smirked in victory, "I can't bring my family here, so I am sending myself and my army back," he explained with a manic laugh. "Don't worry, it won't take you humans as long don't get too close, it only takes those who have Phantom Zone residue on them," Dan-El yelled over the sounds of high winds, before turning to look at the agent holding onto him tightly. "You might want to let go though, unless you want to be sucked in too," he joked, laughing as the agent quickly let him go, "See you shortly, little sister- time to go home," Dan-El finished, his yells becoming quieter as he too was sucked into the portal.J'onn began frantically searching on the computer for a way to stop the portal but found that he had been locked out the system and that the program was not stoppable.The only way to stop it was to destroy the portal.While the portal sucking up the Kryptonian's on the battlefield was a good thing, as it would save them the trouble of containment and clean up- as J'onn looked over his shoulder, he could see Alex struggling to hold on to Kara as they gripped onto each other for dear life.If they didn't find a way to stop this and soon they would lose Kara too."Alex!" Kara screamed as she felt herself being pulled away, "Please, I don't want to go back there!" she cried, screwing her eyes shut tightly. She could feel herself moving even with Alex's arms wrapped around her tightly and knew even with her eyes shut tight that Alex was being pulled back towards the portal as well.In the distance she could hear J'onn yelling for backup, she could hear guns shooting and yells surrounding her as more Kryptonian's were sucked through the portal to the one place she never wanted to go back to ever again. With everything she had been through, all the pain and all the fear, none of it came to close the fear she felt right now as she clung to Alex.None of it came close to fear she felt at being sucked back into the Phantom Zone and truly never seeing her family, her friends, and her girlfriend ever again.Alex held her sister tightly with both arms, trying to strain her legs for leverage on the ground to stop herself from sliding forwards any more. She sighed in relief as she could finally see Kal-El flying overhead, having finally knocked off the Kryptonian's that had been surrounding him and causing them to be sucked through the portal as well."Kara hold on!" Alex yelled out, "Kal's coming, he'll get you out of here."Kara opened her eyes and looked up to see her cousin making his way for them quickly, though he too was having some trouble with not being pulled into the wind field surrounding the portal having been in the phantom Zone himself before, courtesy of Zod.She could see her cousin was shooting his heat vision at the portal, as well are firing another weapon she had never seen before but the wind that was portal was emitting as it sucked up anything that had been in the Phantom Zone was causing him to miss as he continued to try and get closer towards them.As Kara watched him struggle to find a safe path to them, her eyes widened as she could see something flying right for them. As she lowered her gaze to look behind Alex she noticed a Kryptonian being sucked towards the portal- heading straight towards them."Alex, look out!" Kara yelled, though her warning came too late.As the Kryptonian smacked into Alex's back at full force they both fell to floor, Alex's grip loosening on Kara as they fell for only a second.That second was all it took for Kara to be sucked into the wind field as Alex screamed out to her sister, watching with wide terrified eyes as Kara was pulled towards the portal."KARA!"

AN:
... the final is coming soon... please let me know what you thought... sorry for that nasty cliff hanger... comment and pot sticker ratings are my friends... sorry again...

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Warnings: Mentions & Reference to PTSD, Abuse, Death, Torture & Violence. Heavily Emotional Scenes.
Reader Information: Scenes written entirely in Italics are scenes that are flashbacks.

Chapter Twenty- Seven.

"Kara hold on!" Alex yelled out, "Kal's coming, he'll get you out of here."

Kara opened her eyes and looked up to see her cousin making his way for them quickly, though he too was having some trouble with not being pulled into the wind field surrounding the portal having been in the Phantom Zone himself before, courtesy of Zod.

She could see her cousin shooting his heat vision at the portal, as well are firing another weapon she had never seen before but the wind that the portal was emitting as it sucked up anything that had been in the Phantom Zone was causing him to miss as he continued to try and get closer towards them.

As Kara watched him struggle to find a safe path to them, her eyes widened as she could see something flying right for them. As she lowered her gaze to look behind Alex, she noticed a Kryptonian being sucked towards the portal- heading straight towards them.

"Alex, look out!" Kara yelled, though her warning came too late.

As the Kryptonian smacked into Alex's back at full force they both fell to floor, Alex's grip loosening on Kara as they fell for only a second.

That second was all it took for Kara to be sucked into the wind field as Alex screamed out to her sister, watching with wide terrified eyes as Kara was pulled towards the portal.

“KARA!”

Time froze for Alex from the second her sister’s name was screamed from her lips. Reality and time were still moving at a normal rate, but Alex felt like her mind and her body had slowed to a stop.She felt like a spectator watching as everything else moved around her.Watching as Kara sent out one last frantic wave of heat vision that just so happened to be timed at the exact time her cousin had done the exact same thing. Watching as her sister crumpled to the floor in an unmoving heap upon hitting the structure of the portal only mere milliseconds after it had been disabled. Watching frozen as J’onn, Lucy and Kal rushed to the fallen superhero’s aid in worry. Hearing the sounds of the emergency vehicle approaching in the distance, unable to move or process what she was seeing in front of her as Kara was carried passed her in the arms of her cousin while J’onn frantically tried to get a hold of Winn and Lena to see if the device used to keep Kara from leaving the area had been disabled or not.Alex could do nothing but stare at the angelic face of her little sister as she sat in ambulance holding her limp hand, hearing the monitors crash not once, not twice, but three times on the way in towards the military hospital. She didn’t know how her legs managed to carry her alongside the trolley as her sister was rushed into the operating room. It was all a blur and felt entirely like another lifetime, a horrible nightmare, the kind of story someone would talk about that you would gasp in between the breaks for breath due to how traumatic and frightening it sounded.It wasn’t until Alex heard doors suddenly crash in the room she was in that she managed to pull herself out of her frozen state and begin to fully take in her surroundings once again. It wasn’t until she met the frantic eyes of Lena Luthor that her mind and body caught up with everything that had just happened, and she realised this wasn’t a nightmare, it was a reality and it was happening right now.Her sister was fighting for her life in a room just meters away right now.“Where is she?” Lena Luthor called out frantically, stopping in the room to look around at the occupants in a panic that had never once been seen before from the billionaire or any other member of her family for that matter. “Someone tell me where she is- now!”Alex could feel her own already rapidly beating heart hurt for the woman she had only recently been starting to get to know and see as an ally.She understood why Lena was frantic- she was too.Seeing Kara almost get sucked back into that hell had nearly destroyed her. As it was, it could have very well destroyed her sister. Kara didn’t want to ever go back there, that much was obvious from the fact she had been willing to use the last of any strength she had remaining to force up enough heat vision to combine alongside her cousins in a bid to destroy the portal just in the nick of time.Without that moment of luck, it was entirely possible that neither Kara or Kal-El would be here. It may have been luck that kept them both on earth, but it came with a price.“Lena, this way,” Alex called out over the CEO’s panicked shouts for her girlfriend, beckoning her over with wild, panicked eyes.Panicked eyes that only grew as a loud beeping signalled from behind them. The noise was terrifying and brought shivers down both their backs- they knew what it was in an instant.It was the sound of Kara’s heart monitor spiking- again.The sound of Kara’s heart struggling under the pressure her body was under-again.“Please tell me that isn’t her?” Lena asked, her voice all but a monotoned whisper as dread filled her being entirely. Lena knew such a question was pointless when she already knew the answer, but if being with Kara for so long had taught her one thing, it was how to hope- and now she found a small part of herself furiously hoping that the sound that monitor was making was for some of other poor soul, and not her girlfriend.Alex gulped, looking from Lena back to the room behind her once again. “You made me promise not to lie to you when it came to my sister,” Alex reminded her, “please don’t make me start now,” she pleaded.Lena’s eyes closed as she exhaled a shaky breath.“The Kryptonite?” Lena asked, already knowing the answer in her gut.They had seen everything that had happened on James’ camera feed.The whole of National City had.It had steamed live, everyone had seen as their Girl of Steel came back beaten down and bruised from the portal. They had seen her fight to protect them once again even though she had no protection herself. They had seen her nearly get sucked back into a portal that had a fate worse than death for any one who entered it, and they had seen her use the last of her strength to make sure that never happened. To make sure that whatever was in that portal could never make its way to earth.Supergirl was a hero, they all knew it, but they all saw the price she’d paid to keep them safe and now her life hung in the balance and there was nothing anyone could do to help her.Nothing they could do to stop it- at least not while the Kryptonite was killing every organ in her body.Not while she was Super.Not while she was Kara Zor-El, but maybe if they could make it so she was human, so she was Kara Danvers only, maybe then they could stand a chance.Lena didn’t wait to hear the answer to her question, instead she charged passed Alex towards the room where the beeping was coming from. The same beeping that was making her heart want to break into a million pieces, that feeling only intensifying when she came to the door and saw what was going on inside the room.Kara looked so small in that room.Tiny on the bed, and not just because she was pale, bleeding, and thinner than when they had last seen her. She looked so small because she looked so helpless, and that was something that Lena was not used to seeing from her girlfriend.Lena felt her heart lurch in her chest as she watched Kara’s body convulse on the hospital bed, trying to fight off the Kryptonite poisoning that was trying so hard to take a hold of her body.As she looked close Lena could see that Kara’s eyes were open, just barely.As Kara’s head turned to face the door and she saw Lena, she lifted a shaking and spasming hand out in her girlfriends’ direction, silently calling for her.Wasting no time at all, Lena rushed to her side, pushing a nurse out of the way so she could take Kara’s hand in her own and held on tightly. “I’m here,” Lena promised, leaning over her girlfriend and stroking dirty, sweaty, hair away from her face. “I’m right here, darling,” Lena assured, pressing a kiss to Kara’s cheek where a tear had been trickling down slowly.“I-I lo-ve you,” Kara whispered out shakily, as best she could over the trembling and exertion her body was going through fighting the poison in her system.Lifting her spare hand Lena began caressing the side of Kara’s bruised and bloodied face. “Shush,” she soothed gently, “save your energy, baby, you’re going to need it to fight for me, because I love you too, so much, and I’m not ready to let go of you yet. You hear me?”Weakly Kara nodded her head as best she could, causing Lena to smile back down at her and strengthen the hold she had on the blonde’s hand while Kara coughed and spluttered, her airways becoming compromised as her strength began to leave her once more.The same process kept happening over and over again.Kara tried to fight the poison in her body, tried so hard to stay awake, only for the pain and the effects to become too great causing her heart rate to spike and for her to slip into unconsciousness as her body failed her until they managed to bring her back.It was exhausting and excruciating.She didn’t know how much strength she had left, how much longer she could keep fighting- but for Lena she would try to hold on, always.“Lena…” Kara whispered out, taking a gasping breath afterwards, her eyes closing as another wave of pain hit, causing the monitor beside her to start beeping quicker and louder again.Moving closer to Kara bedside, Lena pressed another kiss to the side of Kara’s cheek. “I’m here,” she assured, closing her eyes at feel of her girlfriends’ skin against her own.“Choco-late crum-pets…” Kara gasped out before her body stilled and a deep breath left her, the beeping intensifying before a long-lasting beep that sent shivers through all in the room was heard.The sound was unmistakeable and as Lena pulled back to look at her girlfriend with wide terrified eyes, she knew intently what it meant.Kara’s heart had just stopped. Again.“Someone get a trash trolley in here, we’re losing her!”

“It’s peaceful here,” Lena mumbled sleepily.

“Hey,” Kara responded, finding herself startled, just slightly, “I didn’t hear you wake up,” she admitted sheepishly.

Lena smiled as she rolled over onto her stomach, leaning up on her elbows to watch Kara intently, “You were very focused,” she supplied, “what are you sketching?”

“I’m not done yet,” Kara rushed out, “You can’t see it till I’m done, its been a while since I’ve sketched,” she admitted, moving away from Lena while still being able to see her.

Lena smirked, raising a calculating eyebrow as she continued to watch Kara. “You’re sketching me, aren’t you?” she asked with a chuckle at the blush that covered Kara’s cheeks quickly.

“N-no, its just a – a surprise,” Kara stammered, “yes- a surprise, a gift to say thank you for going on this date with me.”

Lena chuckled more before shaking her head, “Like I would ever say no to going on a date with you, Kara Zor-El,” Lena said truthfully, frowning as Kara looked down at her sketch seemingly lost. “Are you okay?”

Kara only nodded in response.

“Do you not like me calling you that?” Lena asked, shuffling closer in worry.

Kara frowned, the crinkle slowly appearing as she did so, “No, I really like it when you call me that- it’s just- it’s been a long time since anyone has said my real name like that.”

“Like what?” Lena prompted, reaching a hand out to still Kara’s hand that had began to play with her glasses.

Tonight was their first date, the first date which Kara had asked Lena on since Jack had died and they had admitted their feelings for one another. It had been a few weeks since Jack had passed, Kara didn’t want to seem insensitive to Lena by asking right away and she wanted Lena to have time to think over who Kara was after Lena had learnt the truth of her identity.

The truth about her being Supergirl.

She wanted to give Lena time to pull away if she was angry with her for keeping who she was a secret, and to her surprise Lena hadn’t. They had become even closer, spending more time together at lunches and dinners until two days ago at lunch, Kara had been staring at Lena’s lips as she explained something about the quantum particles of her latest project and Kara just blurted it out.

In fact, she practically yelled it at Lena’s face.

Before she could even begin to back paddle or apologise Lena had said yes, placing a delicately sweet kiss on Kara’s cheek that had her blushing a fierce red and spluttering about how she would text Lena with details.

That was how they ended up here tonight.

Kara had planned this night for ages, and now that they were finally here it couldn’t be more perfect, it had been everything she had wanted and more.

They had both been relaxed with each other, it was almost as though nothing had changed, and Kara found it hard to remember a time when she wouldn’t just lean in to softly kiss Lena, or take her hand and brush her cheek softly with the pad of her thumb.

It just felt easy and simple, and that was something that made Kara extremely happy.

She had been worried things would be awkward, but they weren’t. If anything, they seemed more normal than they had before, and tonight, if possible, Lena seemed to be the happiest Kara had seen her in a long time.

Feeling pressure on her cheek, Kara snapped out of her thoughts and turned to face Lena to see the CEO had moved impossibly closer and was gently rubbing her thumb across Kara’s cheek.

Kara smiled, leaning into the pressure before remembering that Lena was still awaiting an answer to her question from before. “It’s nice to hear my name the way you say it, like it means something again,” Kara started, “It’s just, Alex sees me as Kara Danvers- which I guess I am too… the DEO see me as Supergirl, even Winn and James do too… the only time I have heard my full name, my real name since being on earth is when I have fought against Fort Rozz escapees who despise my name. You don’t,” Kara finished softly, staring into Lena’s eyes, “you say it like it matters, like I matter,”.

Lena smiled, closing the little distance between them to offer a gentle, yet passionate kiss, which only lasted seconds before she pulled away, resting her forehead against Kara’s. “You do matter, Kara Zor-El, and for what it’s worth, I happen to find your name incredible sexy, and beautiful. Just like you,” Lena rasped.

Kara blushed, looking down to her sketch before grinning mischievously. “Sexy huh?” she asked, before using her strength to roll Lena onto her back, settling herself on top of Lena with her arms on either side of her girlfriend’s head to support herself so she wouldn’t hurt her. “Who knew all I had to do was tell you my name and we could have been doing this months ago,” Kara whispered, before moving down to capture Lena’s lips in another soft, passion filled kiss.

“Well, we have now to make up for it, and I plan to be making up for it for a long time to come,” Lena whispered, edging closer to Kara as she spoke, bringing their lips mere millimetres away from one another.

Kara sighed, closing her eyes as she too pushed forward to kiss Lena gently at first, before the kiss turned more heated and began to draw out, passion filling both their bodies as they began to meld into one another slowly.

It was Lena who pulled back first, the need for air becoming an issue, one that was not a problem for Kara thanks to her abilities but something she was always mindful about when with Lena. She didn’t want the kisses and the feelings she felt for Lena to became too overwhelming, they were still both new to this relationship, still finding their feet as such. Kara didn’t want to push too hard too fast and push Lena away from herself when she had only just got her.

As they both pulled away smiling softly, Kara lifted her one hand to carefully cup Lena’s cheek. “I like that we have the time, I like that I can have that with you. Time is important,” Kara said, rambling just slightly while staring into Lena’s eyes, the crinkle starting to slowly appear on her face.

“Time is important, darling, you’re right. But I don’t think it warrants the appearance of this,” Lena joked softly, lifted a hand of her own to brush over the skin on Kara’s forehead where the crinkle was slowly appearing, and deepening by the second. “Is something on your mind?” Lena continued in a whisper.

Kara shook her head, adamantly.

It was clear to see that she was lying, Lena’s raised eyebrow alerted Kara to the fact that even Lena herself could tell that Kara’s adamant dismissal was a lie.

There was something on her mind, the same something that had been on her mind for a long time. Now that she was finally getting her life in order; with a job that she liked, and friends and family that she loved, a girlfriend that she loved and couldn’t bear to think about being without, it had only made those thoughts even more prominent in her mind.

What if she had to be without them all one day?

The question was really more of a when, than an if.

One day she would be without them all, as the people she had grown so attached to are all human, and she was not.

As much as she tried to pretend to fit in and be like them, she wasn’t.

One day they would die, and she would live on due to her Kryptonian biology.

One day, sooner than what Kara was ready for, she would be alone once again, and that was something that terrified her.

“Kara, darling…” Lena prompted, trailing off as she saw a far away look in the blonde’s eyes.

Scooting closer on the blanket, Lena brought her other hand up to encircle Kara’s waist, holding her tightly while moving her hand from Kara’s forehead to cup her cheek as she rested their foreheads together and waited for Kara to come back from the deep corners of her thoughts. They stayed like this for some time, until slowly Kara began to breathe again, she began to focus again on the feeling of Lena’s hand rubbing little patterns against her side, and the feeling of Lena’s breath ghosting across her lips.

As Kara’s eyes refocused and she took in the worried green orbs in front of her, Kara felt tears threatening to come to her eyes. “Do you think there’s something out there that can make me like you?” Kara asked quietly.

The question brought a frown to Lena’s face, causing Kara to continue. “Human I mean. I just- I don’t ever want to be without you.”

Lena chuckled softly, confusion still present on her face. “You do realise there is less chance of you being without me just the way you are right? I like you for who you are, you don’t have to change any part of who you are- not for me, ever.”

“But Lee, the way I am, I’m indestructible,” Kara whispered sorrowfully, “not just my skin, but my body, my cells, my organs. They heal and repair themselves. I don’t age, not like you do, not like Alex or Eliza, Winn, or anyone else. When you all get older I will barely age and when you- when you…”

“-When I die, you will keep on living,” Lena finished for her, understanding creeping on to her face.

Kara swallowed looking down and taking a deep breath. “I just, sometimes I wish I was like you, and Alex, and everyone else. Sometimes I wish I was human, I don’t want to outlive everyone I care about, and I’m pretty sure that making you all immortal is impossible, so I guess the next best thing would be to make me human.” Kara tried to explain her thoughts as she rambled through her feelings, finding herself comforted by Lena’s understanding eyes and soft touches.

Lena always knew how to get Kara to talk, she didn’t even have to prompt her much before the words would come spilling out.

Kara just felt at ease with Lena.

She had done for a long time, even before she had told her that she was Supergirl, now that that secret was out of the way the rest just came out more and more easily.

Whatever the problem was it was always Lena that had the words to make it better.

It used to be Alex, but Alex had been busy lately and their relationship had been strained since Jeremiah’s return. Kara wasn’t avoiding her sister, not really, she just didn’t know how to talk to her anymore.

Conversations was strained and awkward with Alex.

Whereas with Lena they were flowing and free, and though Lena had a lot of her own hardships to deal with, such as what had happened to Jack and everything else going on her life, Lena was always there for her- without fail. When Kara had been comforting Lena but stuck in her own mind at the same time, Lena had just known and managed to drag the problems out of her. Alex would have been angry with Kara for making it all about herself again. Not that Kara meant to do so. Lena just listened, and made her laugh, made her see it wasn’t so bad, that it was manageable, and that she could and would get through it because she was strong.

Because Lena made her feel that way, because she loved Lena.

It was when she realised that feeling was of love- actual love and not the friendship kind- Kara knew she was falling for her best friend, and hard. The fact was only made more obvious when she practically screamed in Lena’s face about possibly taking her out somewhere.

Even then Lena had been understanding and patient with Kara, just like she always was.

Just like she was being now.

“I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it can be for you at times,” Lena started, using the hand she held on Kara’s cheek to lift her head back up, “and I can’t promise you that there is anything that can help you with this, but I promise I will try. If its something you truly want, I will help you with it when you are ready, but I think that time is not now. We are still so young Kara, both of us, and providing my crazy family stop trying to kill me every other day, I’m not going anywhere. How could I ever leave you when you look at me like that!” she joked, gesturing to the puppy eyes Kara was now directing towards her and earning a watery chuckle from her girlfriend.

Kara blushed at the attention. “Eliza used to tell me it was cute,” she replied sheepishly.

“It’s adorable, I can see myself never managing to stay angry with you,” Lena admitted with a soft smile. Leaning down, Lena closed the gap between herself and Kara slowly, bringing their lips together in a passionate kiss.

They may have not been together that long but the passion and feelings that they both held for each other had slowly been building over the last few months. It made being with each other this way, kissing each other and holding each other, so much easier than it would do any other new couple. No awkwardness, other than shyness on Kara’s part at times.

Of course, they knew this was what most couples probably called the honeymoon phase and it may not last for ever. Surely in time they too would be having their trials and tribulations just like any other normal couple- well, as normal as a couple could be when it was a Super dating a Luthor, but while they had this happiness surrounding them, they would do what they could to keep it and would enjoy it as much as possible.

Drawing back from the kiss, Kara’s eyes remained closed for a moment, a contented hum sounding from the very back of her throat before her mind caught up with her on what they were speaking about before. “We should have a code word,” she announced suddenly.

“A code word?” Lena asked, eyeing her girlfriend in confusion.

Kara nodded, her eyes now opening as she stared into Lena’s emerald green eyes, trying to show that she was being serious with this suggestion. “Well yeah, you know a word or a phrase I should tell you if there ever comes a time where we have the option for me to be a human and I really honestly want it. A code so you know I’m not just saying it, but I’m being serious.” Kara explained seriously.

Lena continued to gaze into cerulean blue orbs for some time, seeing nothing but pure trust and honesty shinning back at her. “Okay.”

Two months later
The crowd was silent.Not a sound could be heard in the area surrounding National City’s harbour as the city’s residents stood crowded around a stage that had a large sheet hanging up, covering something very important behind it. Men, women, children, families- both alien and human- stood in the crowd together in silence, waiting and watching as one.Heads turned to the stage as a single figure began to ascend the stairs, making their way towards the podium at the centre point of the stage in front of the sheet.“Good afternoon residents of National City, my name is Lena Luthor,” the figure began, after taking a deep breath, “Some of you- most you will already know me, but it’s not me we are here to talk about today. It’s her. Your hero. Supergirl.” Lena continued, before pausing for moment.As she looked down at the cards in her hand, Lena swallowed back the lump in her throat.Looking around at the crowd before her she decided these cards, this pre-written speech by the DEO she had been given was not needed.She knew what happened far to well.She had been there, through it all.Taking another deep shuddering breath Lena looked up at the crowd. “I had this big speech given to me to read to you all today- but you don’t need me to tell you what happened that day. You have all seen the footage that CatCo Worldwide Media has been circulating. Some of you may have even seen it live. You all saw the plight that earth faced and the sacrifice that was made for us all. So, it will come to no surprise to any of you that Supergirl, our hero, earth’s hero, has not been present in these last few weeks. That she has not able to help and has not been seen since that day. She sacrificed everything for us and that sacrifice came at a great cost,” Lena told the crowd solemnly.“I want you all to know that while she may not be able to physically be here right now, she is still with us,” Lena emphasized, “she is still watching over this city, and she is still protecting us. That will never stop. I don’t know when she will return, I don’t know if she can return. All I know is that she is still here, and that this city, all of us, will always be protected by the Girl- no, the Woman of Steel.”Turning around Lena signalled for the sheet behind her to be dropped.The crowd were silent as the sheet came tumbling down to reveal a silver statue of Supergirl in her mid flight pose. There was a moment of silence as the crowd looked up to their hero in awe, the statue looking just as powerful and just as strong as Supergirl herself did before loud cheers erupted from all around the podium.

“Looking good there, little Danvers,” Maggie commented, before letting out a loud chuckle after turning her head from the television to look towards the bed where Kara Danvers was currently snoozing away curled up next to Lucy Lane.The last two months had been a learning curve for everyone, including Kara.Her body, her mind, her entire being had been through a lot of change and the process of trying to heal and trying to figure out how to do things now was a slow and tiring one.Kara had needed to lean on and trust the people around more than she had ever had to do so beforehand in her life, even when she had first come to earth. They had all tried to help as much as they could and as much as Kara had let them, but unsurprisingly it had been Lena that Kara had allowed near her and to help her the most.More surprisingly however, for Maggie at least, was the fact that the person Kara had leaned upon most after Lena was Lucy Lane. Seeing the pair of them like this had became the norm since Lena and Alex had left for National City a few days back.Kara didn’t like being alone, she was fearful without Lena next to her and Lucy had become furiously protective since there time together being held captive at the CADMUS base. Every time a doctor, a nurse, or even Kal-El and Maggie herself had tried to get too close to Kara it didn’t always end well.It ended either with panic from Kara or hostility from Lucy, especially where Kal-El was concerned.Kara wasn’t ready to see him yet.She knew that he was partly the reason she was still here on earth, she knew the things they had filled her head with while at the CADMUS base were all a lie, but still she wasn’t ready. Lucy had been more than willing to place herself as guard dog so to speak, to stop Kal from getting too close to his cousin until the day that Kara was ready to address everything that Kal-El abandoning her again, even though she had told him to so, had brought back up.Kara and Lucy had formed a bond, it was clear to see, and while Maggie had at first been jealous of the Major for the way that Alex used to speak of her, she had found herself warming to the youngest Lane, ever so slightly upon witnessing her interactions with Kara.It was clear to see Lucy was loyal and cared for her friends a great deal.A quality which Maggie found admirable, even if it was a little overbearing at times.It was also clear to see Lucy had done all she could to keep Kara as safe and as sane as possible during their captivity, much more than Kal-El had done that was for sure.While Maggie couldn’t be certain, she couldn’t help but think that Lucy Lane may be a big part of the reason why Kara was still with them today.Breathing, alive, and human- utterly and completely human.Though in all fairness, Kara being human may be more down to Lena and Lillian Luthor.When Lena had suggested they use the serum Lillian had given her to save Kara from the poisoning in her system, everyone had looked at her like she was crazy, but it was Alex who had seen the conclusion Lena made and the reason why she had suggested it. The blue Kryptonite used to make the serum would strip Kara of Kryptonian D.N.A. It would make her human, and it would also completely remove any cells that the poison could attach too.It would and did work, but it would and did leave Kara weaker than ever.It would and did remove Kara Zor-El, the last daughter of Krypton from earth and leave in her place Kara Danvers- human, with no powers.That was what Kara had wanted for the longest of times according to Lena. She wanted to be an equal more than she ever wanted to be a hero.Being a human, being able to live alongside the people she loved and die alongside them too was all Kara ever wanted. She’d had that chance taken from her the moment her parents placed her in that pod and sent her to earth. Though they were protecting her they robbed her of the chance to live out her life with the people she loved not just on Krypton but on earth too.Now she was human she had that chance again.She’d finally fit in and find her place.She’d finally have a home, a true one.She’d finally feel as though she belonged among the people who had for so many years seemed so alien to her. That was what Kara had been clinging onto for the past two months, that was what they all had been clinging onto for the past two months- that this was something that Kara had wanted, and though it was hard and a learning curve for them all, they would all get through it together.

They watched from a distance as NCPD Detective Maggie Sawyer pushed a wheelchair out of the military hospital which seated Kara Danvers, knowing full well who the girl used to be only just a mere two months beforehand. They watched from the cover of the bushes as Major Lucy Lane helped aid Kara out of the wheelchair and into the backseat of a rental car, before taking a seat next to the blonde herself. They continued to watch as Maggie Sawyer returned the wheelchair into the hospital, before coming back to the car and climbing into the driver’s side, starting the engine.The fact that the car was needed at all and the slow and calculated steps that they had seen Kara take to get to the car have proven one very important fact.The plan had worked.While it hadn’t held quite the amount of revenge that they had first been promised, partly down to their own choices in the end, Kara Zor-El- Supergirl was no more.The girl before them, who they had been watching discreetly for the past two months, was nothing more than a mere human. From the looks of her now, a rather weak one at that.Turning to each other with questioning looks, they found themselves mulling over a certain question that was on both of their minds.Should they eliminate her all together, and remove any potential threat she could cause? Or should they let her be, and just continue to observe her from a far?It was Lillian Luthor who made the decision, shaking her head in a ‘no’ when Jeremiah Danvers’s hand moved down towards where his gun was situated.Currently they had no need to take out Kara Danvers.Lillian Luthor doubted very much that the girl’s abilities would ever return, and on the off chance they did they have the formula to take those abilities away again.Kara Zor-El was gone, she was no longer a threat to humanity in Lillian’s eyes.Lillian Luthor had no fight with Kara Danvers, not any more, and neither did what was left of CADMUS.

Kara whimpered as she pushed herself closer into Lena’s body, she was tired and knew she needed to sleep but had been forcing herself to stay awake. The car journey from the hospital had been long and tiring, and honestly rather painful for Kara. She was still healing, and a lot the wounds still caused her a great deal of pain.She couldn’t sleep though- not yet.She didn’t want to find that Lena and everyone else were suddenly gone again when she woke up.Even though she had known they were going to National City last week without her it still frightened her when she woke up to find them gone.To find Lena gone.It made her feel as though she was back there, in that base with Dan-El, and though she knew that couldn’t happen because he was gone now, sucked up into the Phantom Zone hopefully to never be seen again, it didn’t stop the fear and panic she felt at being without Lena.Lena had been her safe place since she had first woken up, she had been the one to hold Kara as she shook in fear or cried in confusion and pain. She had been the one to ease Kara back to sleep after a nightmare or flashback. Lena had been the one to reassure Kara it was safe to consume the food and drink she had been given those first few weeks. She had been the one to tell Kara she was beautiful when Kara looked at the many scars that littered her body and felt disgust.She’s been Kara’s rock.To suddenly have her not be there was the worst thing that could have happened to Kara in that moment, and though Lucy and Maggie tried to keep her calm and to make sure she felt safe- they couldn’t compare with the safety Kara felt in Lena’s arms. The safety she felt right now as she sat directly on top of her girlfriend’s lap while they watched a movie with her closest friends and family in their new home.Upon arriving back to National City, Kara had been both nervous and excited to find herself in the garden of new, large, manor house that she had never seen before. While it hadn’t been needed, Kara did appreciate the effort Lena was going to in order to make her feel safe and at ease in National City again. The effort she was going to in creating a safe space for them both that didn’t hold the memories Dan-El had left in his wake. It was comforting in a way to know that this would be a completely fresh start for the both of them, but even that sense of comfort wasn’t enough to stop Kara from being fearful. In time it would be, but not yet. Not while the memories were still so fresh and the scars still so painful.At first Kara and Lena had been sitting next to each other on a two-seater couch. At first Kara had been content with that, but as more and more people came into the room Kara had begun to feel nervous. Though the people were her family and friends, being surround by them, hearing the chatter in the background as well as the noise from the movie became too much.It became overwhelming- and to Lena it became clear within minutes that Kara had wanted more contact. Needed more contact.Maggie had offered them an easy excuse to move around so Kara could be closer, she had entered the room with bowls of popcorn and decided she ‘wanted’ the bowl of salted popcorn that Kara and Lena were going to share as everyone else wanted sweet popcorn. So Kara had moved to sit on Lena’s lap to allow Maggie to take the space left on the two seater couch enabling the three of them to share. Maggie didn’t want any popcorn at all really, but the others in the room brought it and didn’t react, everyone part from Alex who shot her fiancée a questioning look, opening her mouth to argue but promptly stopping herself after looking where Maggie was motioning discretely.Alex understood as soon as she could see her little sister wrapped up in the CEO’s arms. She understood as she noticed Kara hiding in the crook of Lena’s neck taking shuddering breaths that her little sister was becoming overwhelmed again with the amount of people in the room. So instead of calling her fiancé out Alex just smiled, mouthing a ‘thank you’ as Maggie shrugged settling into the chair before offering Lena the popcorn, only to end up holding it on her own lap when Lena shook her head declining, instead opting to run a hand carefully over Kara’s back and stroke her hair softly.Kara had a lot of wounds that were still healing, this was one of the problems with her powers now being gone now that she was human. She healed at the normal, very human rate. Her back, her legs, her front- everywhere, was littered with scars and bruises, marks and burns. The physical evidence of the torture she had suffered only too easily seen and too easily hurt and made worse by everyday normal movements. Her skin and body were still healing as was her mind, and everybody in the room knew that both would take a long time to heal. If they ever did fully heal.Kara was strong, she always had been, not just physically but emotionally too.However, the things that had happened to her, the memories that had been uncovered, and the hurt and fear that had been installed into her by her time at the base with Dan-El, both recently and when she was a child, was a lot for anybody to process and come back from.Even Supergirl.While Kara was a fighter, and while they all had no doubt she would continue to pull her way through everything that had happened, they also knew it was going to take time. She was going to have set backs, have days where being around anyone was too much, have days where the only person she would want is Lena.Today appeared to be one of those days.Since they had arrived at their new home all Kara had wanted was to be in Lena’s arms. Be surrounded by Lena’s warmth, her smell, her voice and touch, the safety that being with Lena brought both her body and mind.Kara was more relaxed with Lena holding her and being close to her in the way she was now. Sitting on Lena’s lap she could tuck her face into the crook of her girlfriend’s neck. She could slip her hand into the top of her girlfriend blouse to touch the skin on her collarbone. She could mould her body around Lena’s, and tuck her legs up close so her knees were resting softly against Lena’s stomach, making sure practically every part of her body was touching her girlfriends.Even though she could do all this, she still found herself whimpering.It didn’t feel like enough contact, and slowly Kara was becoming agitated as she wanted more. She wanted to feel more of Lena’s skin against her own. Not in way that was sexual, not at this moment in time, but more so in a way to soothe her.Skin on skin body contact had always been soothing to Kara.Feeling the warmth of Lena’s skin against her own was something Kara had wished for the whole time she had been without her girlfriend and was now something that she felt she desperately needed.So much so to the effect it was making her anxious and desperate as she sat on her girlfriend’s lap, to the point that she could tell Lena knew this. She could tell by the way Lena’s hand had discreetly crept up her t-shirt to lay on the bare of her back, not moving, just laying against her skin as a constant gentle pressure radiating the warmth Kara desperately wanted and needed right now. She could tell by how Lena was whispering in her ear that she was right here in between kisses to her hair, her voice murmured and quiet with the tone Kara loved most. She could tell by how Lena’s other hand was holding onto her leg that little bit tighter, her thumb rubbing soft little circles the whole time.The things Lena were doing were helping- but still it wasn’t enough.The longer the movie played on in the background, and the more noise Kara could hear from her friends and family in the room around her the more nervous it made her feel as felt herself slipping closer to sleep, and the more desperate it made her feel in her need to be as close as possible to Lena. She felt almost embarrassed as tears began to slip from her eyes and her body shuddered with all the pent-up emotion and the tiredness she could feel.“Is she okay?” Maggie asked from the side, concern in her voice even as she spoke quietly.Kara had forgotten Maggie was there, the sound of her voice causing her to flinch and whimper louder, trying to burry her face in the small amount of skin she could get to from the bit of Lena’s blouse she had undone and pushed away.Lena brought her hand up from Kara’s thigh, holding the back of her girlfriend’s head softly as she kissed her blonde hair once again. “I know, baby. I know, it’s okay,” Lena soothed, spreading the fingers of the hand she had under Kara’s shirt wider to try and comfort her as she felt warm tears hitting her skin. “She wants more contact; can you get me a blanket?” Lena asked Maggie, turning her head slightly to face the detective, before returning her attention back to Kara as Maggie nodded, reaching behind herself to grab a blue fuzzy blanket from the back of the couch.Giving Kara a reassuring squeeze, Lena gently pushed her backwards a small amount, shushing her with a soft hand to Kara’s still white cheek as she began to undo more buttons on her blouse one handed as fast as possible. She could tell Kara was slipping into a state of panic, she could feel her trembling and hear her breathing begin to increase in both volume and speed.As Maggie turned back around with the blanket her eyes widened with the sight she was met with.She’d seen Kara close to panic in the hospital, she’d witnessed enough attacks last week to last her a lifetime and she’d seen the way that Lucy had tried to calm Kara, even though she was rarely successful, but she had never seen what was in front of her right now.Her soon to be little sister-in-law was in tears with her head down and trembling on Lena’s lap, while Lena herself was now sitting with her blouse wide open for all to see. “Holy sh- Little Luthor, warn a girl if you’re gunna take your gear off, alright?” Maggie exclaimed loudly, drawing the attention of everyone else in the room.Lena rolled her eyes, “I told you she wanted to be closer- but thanks for shouting it out to the world that my blouse is undone,” Lena grumbled, wincing as she felt Kara tense on her lap, “It’s okay darling, come on, lets get this off and get you comfortable,” she continued, speaking softly to Kara while ducking down to try and meet her girlfriends gaze. “I’m going to change some of the bandages on your back so we don’t have to worry about it later, is that okay?” Lena asked once she was sure she had Kara’s attention.Kara’s shuddering and trembling only worsened as she could hear how silent the room was becoming, the only sound coming from the television behind her.Sitting up as straight as possible Kara tensed her back and closed her eyes tightly, nodding slowly.“Okay,” Lena said softly, letting Kara know she had seen the confirmation, “Maggie would you mind bringing in some bandages and the ointment from the kitchen please?”As Maggie left the room to collect the requested items Kara kept her eyes closed tightly while she allowed Lena to move her arms and pull the t-shirt from over her head. Kara held her breath after hearing multiple gasps from behind her, knowing a lot of her friends hadn’t seen the state her back was in, not that it was overly visible right now due to the multiple bandages covering some of the more severe wounds. She didn’t move a muscle, straining against her body’s shudders in her effort to stay as still as possible as Lena continued to whisper words of comfort in to her ear while she slowly began to unwrap the bandages that were covering the worst of Kara’s scars from view. The collective gasp that was heard from the room as the final bandages were removed earnt a flinch from Kara who instinctively stiffened, trying to burrow into Lena, hiding away in the crook of her neck once again.Kara didn’t like the scars being looked at, with Dan-El they were only looked at if he wanted to find a way to cause her more pain, and now that she was human the thought of more pain was even more terrifying than it was when she was there in his grasps to begin with.“It’s alright, no one is going to hurt you, darling,” Lena soothed, speaking louder than she had been before in her efforts to both soothe Kara and alert their friends and family to the fact their reactions were causing Kara distress. Lena ran a hand up and down the expanse of Kara’s back slowly, trying to rub the tension away with careful gently applied pressure, smiling sadly at the way Kara’s body would tense worse at the section of skin that her hand was covering. “I’ve got you darling, take some deep breaths for me and try to relax, it’ll just be a minute then you can cuddle me for as long as you want, alright?” Lena continued, hoping that by talking Kara through her nervousness they would avert another panic attack.The last time Lena had been present for Kara’s bandage change was in the hospital as the nurses had demonstrated to her what to do for when Kara was discharged.Kara had become so overwhelmed with everything that had been going on around her and with not being able to see Lena that she had panicked badly, and they had needed to stop not even half way through so that Lena could calm her enough to continue.Lena had quickly learnt that Kara did not like her scars being looked at, especially if she could not see who was looking at them due to them not facing her. It’s why Lena had decided to do this now, while Kara was sat in her lap and facing her, she thought it would be easier as Kara could hide away against her while she changed the bandages and that maybe she would be able to get Maggie to help. She was surprized however when as Maggie entered the room with the bandages she had asked for, that it was Eliza who stood up taking the items from her soon to be daughter-in-law.“Why don’t you let me help, that way Kara can stay where she feels comfortable?” Eliza asked, approaching slowly, concern evident on her face.Lena nodded with a grateful smile, stroking a hand through Kara’s hair to move blonde locks behind her one ear. “That okay with you, baby?” Lena asked softly, getting a small nod in response as she felt an arm move to wrap around her middle, holding on tightly while Kara shifted to burrow her head further into the crook of Lena’s neck. “I’ve got you darling, you’re safe now, can you repeat that for me?” Lena asked, stroking the top of Kara’s shoulder blades softly.“Safe,” Kara muttered quietly, “safe now,” she continued shakily, rubbing her face against Lena’s skin as she spoke, trying to savour the feel of the skin on skin contact.Lena dropped a kiss to Kara’s head, squeezing her a little bit tighter as Eliza knelt in front of them, “That’s right, baby, you’re safe,” Lena promised. This was something that had been happening a lot since Kara had woken. When she became fearful, she needed to be reminded that she was safe, and the best way to do so was to tell her of the fact and ask for her to repeat the statement in the hope that in time she may come to believe it.Lena nodded to Eliza, letting the older woman know that they were ready as she wrapped her one arm around the base of Kara’s spine. Her thumb stroking soft circles into the top of Kara’s thigh where her hand was resting before moving her other hand away from Kara’s back to stroke her knee, giving Eliza better access to Kara’s back.Kara jumped with a loud whimper as soon as Eliza touched her.Eliza stopped instantly and looked to Lena, who nodded telling her to continue as she kissed Kara’s hairline again softly and began to whisper calmly in her ear about all the plans, she had for decorating their new home together.Lena paused in-between to ask Kara for her opinion and only received some small answers in response. Still, as they continued, Lena could feel that slowly Kara’s body began to relax.Kara’s shoulders became less tense, and the muscles in her back became less taunt under Eliza’s hands while her adoptive mother gently applied an antibacterial ointment cream to some of the still open wounds before carefully reapplying fresh bandages. By the time Eliza had finished Kara was practically falling asleep under the soft touches Lena was applying to her legs, and the soothing sound of her voice whispering away in her ear, filling her head with images of what their new home was going to look like when they finished decorating.As Eliza stood, Maggie wrapped the blanket she had been asked to get earlier around Kara after Lena had shuffled back in her seat slightly, allowing Kara to rest against her chest.With the blanket wrapped around her, and Lena’s hand softly trailing up and down her back in long soothing strokes, Kara’s eyes finally began to shut, and her body relaxed slumping further into Lena’s arms, feeling more content, warm, and protected than she had done in a long time.“You’re safe now, baby, I promise. I love you Kara,” Lena whispered one last time into Kara’s ear before sleep claimed her, as she fell into unconsciousness believing with her whole heart that what Lena was telling her was the truth.She was loved, she was protected, and she was finally safe.The nightmare she had lived through these past few months was now nothing but a series of
small problems of the mind, that soon with time she would overcome as she recovered from all that had come to pass.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Thank you so much to my beta, and my good friend, Jango27, for all the your help with this story and in general :)

Thank you to all my amazing readers out there, those who have commented and reviewed you have made my day, thank you all for the support I have had in all forms, comments, likes, kudos etc, you are all amazing and have made this roller-coaster
of a story ride more than amazing :)

Warnings: References to some aspects of PTSD.

Epilogue

Kara cursed herself for picking today to do this. She cursed herself while she stood shivering in the cold with the coat Lena had brought her wrapped tightly around her middle.She wished Lena was here with her. She wished Lena wasn’t at work and that Alex wasn’t either, nor Lucy. She wished the three of them would be right beside as she walked into Noonan’s and took a seat at her favourite table that was already occupied by her guest. She wished to Rao she’d waited until they could be here too, but she hadn’t.She’d chosen to do this today, while her girlfriend, her sister and Lucy were at work for a reason, and a good one at that. She’d chosen today as she knew that although Lena would have supported her and gone with her, it would have been at her own discomfort and Kara refused to put her girlfriend through that. She’d chosen today as she knew that Alex would have tried to talk her out of this, and in all fairness with how Kara was feeling right now she probably would have succeeded. She’d chosen today as she knew Lucy would likely go into overprotective mode and gun down anyone who so much as looked at them in the wrong way- yes that was a slight over exaggeration but with Lucy, her fierce protectiveness could at times be more than a little over zealous.
That’s why she chose today of all days to be shivering in the cold outside Noonan’s trying to pluck up the courage within herself to walk through that door and get this over with.After all Kara had been the one to set this meeting up.Feeling a small gust of wind against her left cheek, Kara turned to her side to see Maggie standing beside her, smiling knowingly, after having just parked the car up and walked across the street to join Kara in front of the door.Yes, Kara had chosen today to do this, but she had chosen to not go alone.Kara knew she would need some support to go through with this and Maggie had seemed like the safest option. Maggie was calm, and she was supportive- she was who Kara needed with her today. A silent support who Kara didn’t have to worry about flipping off the handle, or attempting to smother her unknowingly, or being dragged into old battles that were not her fault.Maggie would just be there- and that was what Kara needed in this moment.“You ready?” Maggie asked softly. Though she was having to look up slightly to meet Kara’s eyes, she could still see the eight-year-old who clutched her hand so tightly in the superstore not that long ago in the woman who now stood before her.Kara nodded once, looking from Maggie to her waiting guest, then back to the detective once again, “I think so,” she replied, squaring her shoulders and taking a deep breath.Maggie smiled in response, dimples on show, reassuring and knowing at the same time, before reaching a hand out to grasp the door handle in front of them while extending a hand out to her right in an offer for Kara to take if she wished. Feeling Kara’s hand slip into her own, Maggie pushed the doors to Noonan’s open and led them both through into the coffee shop, her own hand tightening as she felt a tremor run through the hand she was holding onto.“We don’t have to do this you know? We can turn around and head back to my place, kick our boots off, eat some vegan ice-cream and watch movies,” Maggie offered, feeling the nerves rolling off Kara in waves, however not being to resist smirking at the look of disgust on Kara’s face at mention of vegan ice-cream.Kara’s love of food was thing that would never change it seemed, whether she was Kryptonian or Human.Maggie knew this was a big step for Kara, she felt honoured that they had reached a level a trust between them where Kara felt comfortable in asking Maggie for help with something on this level, but she also felt a need to protect the younger woman. Kara was still recovering from everything that had happened to her, everything that her mind and body had been put through, all the changes she had undergone. While Maggie had no doubt that Kara was strong both mentally and physically, she knew that some days, some stages in her recovery, were going to be harder and require more support than others.This was one of those stages, one of those days.There was a pause before Kara responded, a pause in everything including her movements. “No,” Kara decided upon after a moment, “I’m okay- I promise,” she assured.Maggie all but expected the answer she received but had to ask anyway, she had to let Kara know it was okay to not be ready and that she wouldn’t be judged if that was the case. Nodding, Maggie squeezed the hand in her own in silent support before continuing to lead them towards the table where their guest was waiting.“Kara, hey!” the man greeted, standing from his chair having caught the small conversation after seeing them come in. “How have you been? It feels like a lifetime since I saw you last,” he continued, talking rapidly, and a bit too loudly to be deemed as normal for a greeting.More nerves rolling off him to add to Kara’s, Maggie noted.Adjusting her glasses nervously, a habit Kara still was yet to break as it had become as much a part of her as wearing the glasses in the first place had become, Kara returned the greeting, “Hi Ka-Clark,” she corrected quickly, looking away from his eyes.Clark Kent- Kal-El- their guest, smiled sadly at the quickened heartbeat he could hear from his cousin, knowing he was the reason for her nervous demeaner, before turning his attention to the woman who was stood between himself and his cousin. “Maggie, it’s good to see you again too,” Kal greeted, having gotten to know Maggie somewhat at the hospital before he had to leave.Maggie kept a hold of Kara’s hand as she felt the younger woman move behind where she stood subtly, “Likewise,” she answered politely, trying to ease the air of tension that was soon filling the room. “Let’s sit,” she suggested, leading the way back to the table, letting Kara take a seat in the booth first before sliding in next to her.“Kara, it’s really good to see you, thank you for calling me, really,” Kal said softly, following his cousin’s and the detective’s lead as he too slid into the booth opposite Kara and Maggie.Swallowing, Kara looked up from where her eyes had been trained on the table. “It’s good to see you too,” she replied genuinely.As nervous as she felt seeing Kal again it was good to see him, and she knew deep down it may help her see that she didn’t need to be nervous of her cousin. At least not in the way that CADMUS had tried to make her feel when she had been their prisoner.As she took a moment to look at Kal-El, really look at him, she realised something that she had never seen before. Kal looked just like the splitting image of her uncle. She knew they looked similar from distant memories, but she’d never noticed it to this degree before. She’d never really had the time to just look at him. All pretences fallen away, nothing else being in the way to distract her, no life-threatening events occurring- just time.Kal had the same soft eyes as her uncle and her father. He had the same jawline, the same hairline, the same friendly, trustable face. Looking at his face now she could feel an understanding draw together in her mind. This was why she had always felt such a connection to Kal-El. Not only was he the baby that she had been sent to earth to raise and protect, but he was also the near splitting image of her father who she adored dearly. She looked up to Kal in the same way she had looked up to her father, which was why when Kal-El had all but abandoned her she had felt so deeply hurt and betrayed. It was why CADMUS were able to make her so afraid of him to the point she still felt that fear now.As Kara continued to study her cousin, she became aware of the fact that he had been talking to her the whole time, and slowly her mind began to focus on what she was being told.“-I was glad you called me, there’s something I have been wanting to talk to you about, research I have been doing at the Fortress of Solitude
after repairing it. Research that involves you Kara,” Kal finished, using a tone that Kara knew all to well.It was the same tone her father had used the day he placed her in the pod that sent her to Earth, and with that tone Kara knew Kal-El was as much like her father and uncle as she thought, and she also knew that what she was about to be told she may not like at all.

Sitting down at the small but elegant table, Kara picked up a fountain pen that had been gifted to her by Lena back when they were still friends. A Christmas present, ‘all good reporters need a quality pen, darling,’ Lena had told her.Thinking back on that day now, Kara couldn’t help but smile at how naïve she had been. Knowing Lena the way she knows her now, Kara couldn’t help but chuckle at how obvious Lena had been in her flirting, and how clueless Kara herself had been. It had taken her months to admit her own feelings and even consider the possibility of what they could be, now she couldn’t remember a time when they weren’t Lena and Kara, or think of a time when they wouldn’t be.Smiling as she clutched the pen tighter, Kara turned her attention to the small book in front of her.A diary gifted to her by Alex for the therapy sessions Kara now had frequently. DEO sessions of course- she may not have her abilities anymore, but Kara was still an alien and she couldn’t be sent to any old therapist, unless she wanted to be thrown in some mental asylum for the supposed things that had happened to her. No, she had to go to someone who knew of her and the abilities she used to have, someone DEO trained and sworn to secrecy.For safety she was told, though she didn’t always believe it.Partly she wondered if it was the DEO’s way of keeping tabs on her. J’onn could just read her mind now if he wanted to, she’d like to believe that he wouldn’t, but her trust in a lot of the people around her had been shattered by recent events.There were few she truly trusted now.She was trying to trust again, that was something this new therapist had been working with her on, opening those bridges and trusting again.It was why she had set up the meeting today with her cousin, to try and reach out, to make a start, to show Kal-El she was open to trying again with him for a family connection- but that it had to be on her terms this time. She’d been burned more than once by Kal, and now she had to try and protect her very human heart as much as possible.Another part of her wondered if she could trust this new DEO therapist, especially after everything that had happened with Tamara. While there were much more vigorous checks in place now it had still shown there were areas of the DEO’s security that were very much lacking. Still, so far this therapist had been helping Kara a lot, and Alex, always being Alex, had been checking in regularly to make sure Kara felt not only safe but listened to.Everyone did- everyone in their own ways had been doing what they could to help make this as easy as possible for Kara.They understood that she was going to have days where the pain, the memories, the loss and emotions became too much- just as they would for any person, any human who had been through what she had been through. They understood that Kara would have days where she would have to lean on some of them more than others, and days where she would need them to leave her alone, so she could figure things out for herself in her own time.They understood this, and they didn’t judge her for it.The accepted it, and accepted her for who she was, and that was what had enabled Kara to make the progress she had made, not only today, but every day since she had been released from hospital.Smiling to herself, Kara opened the diary to the next blank page and began to write.

Dear diary,

(Doctor Canning, DEO personal, and everyone else who reads this.)

I’m not stupid, I know it’s not just Doctor Canning that reads this, and I want you to know that I don’t mind. Not anymore, because today I realised something. You read this, you ask me to write these little blurbs of my day because you care. You care about me- and really that’s not a bad thing at all. I’ve spent my whole life wanting to feel valued and as must as it hurts me to say this, I never truly felt that way until I put on that cape and became Supergirl. To now know that on some level I am still of value even without my abilities makes me feel at peace with the decision I made. To know there are people in my life that care about me, not because I am Super, but because they see me, makes me feel like one of the luckiest beings in the world- I want you to know that I understand that not everyone gets to feel this way, and that the fact I do is in part a miracle of its own making.

I spoke with Kal today. It was the first time since leaving the hospital that we have spoken, it was the first time since leaving that CADMUS base that I’ve looked him in the eyes- and honestly, it went as okay as can be.

I still don’t trust him.

Part of me may never trust him fully, not because of what happened to me, but because truthfully, I don’t think I ever trusted him to begin with, not really.

I felt connected to him on this foreign planet, but I never trusted him the way family should trust one another. How could I when he just dumped me on his friends the second he met me, and barely kept contact? I know it was hard for him to meet me after thinking his whole family, our family, had died, and I understand that, but he never took a moment to think about how it was for me. How it was for me to actually see that moment happen- and that’s why I can’t trust him. He has a selfishness to him that many don’t see, but I do, as it was unfortunately one of the biggest downfalls of our family on Krypton. Regardless of that fact he is still my family, and I still feel connected to him which is why I had to try.

Part of me wishes I hadn’t though. I found out today he had been researching into the serum that was used to take my abilities away and make me human. Even though he knew this was something that I wanted, something that I choose with my last ounce of strength, he still decided it was up to him to look for a way to change me back. To take my own choice away, just like my father did the moment he placed me in that pod and sent me to earth.

Kal-El hasn’t found a ‘cure’ as he put it, he doesn’t know if there is a way to change me back, or even if the serum used will continue to keep me human in the way it has so far. He can’t tell us anything more about it than we already know, but that is not the point.

The point is that it was not his choice to make, but he made it anyway- and that is not okay.

I wanted to be angry with him while I sat there listening to his excuses and his explanations, and part of me was so mad, even Maggie was angry as she understood that once again I’d had another choice ripped out of my hands and decided upon for me- without my consent. Rao, I wanted to be angry, but as I sat staring into my hot chocolate, I couldn’t stop the smile that formed on my face. I was smiling because I was, and I am so happy he hasn’t been able to find anything else out- You know why?

Because I don’t want to know.

Whatever happens with my abilities, with if I ever become Super again is in Rao’s hands and I am more than happy with that.

If my abilities come back, then they come back.

If they don’t come back, then they don’t come back.

I am honestly happy with not knowing.

You probably think I sound crazy right? Well, let me ask you something for a change. Doesn’t not wanting to know and wanting to just let what is to be happen make me just like you? Human? We go out in to the world every day, walking out that front door not knowing if it will be the last time we return or not. We don’t care. We live each day to its fullest to make ourselves and our loved ones as happy as can be. We feel this need to make the best of what we have.

That’s how I feel about my abilities, if they should return along with my being Super.

I don’t know if they will ever come back, but I am more than happy with who I am today, and I am more than happy to live each day as though it may be last day- human or Kryptonian- because I am happy with who I am either way.

I know I am nowhere near healed.

I have scars, both physical and mental that plague me. I have endless nightmares and I still have countless questions and things about myself to learn- but for the first time in my life that I can remember, I feel truly happy with who I am.

I really do hope that you feel this too, as being surrounded by people who care for you, who love and accept you for who you are, enabling you to be happy with who you are is truly the most wonderful feeling.

I just wanted to leave you with that thought, until we speak again,

Kara.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Hi all,Hope you are all well?So, this is a random little authors note, basically popping some feelers out there with those that enjoyed this story- my question to you all, I know its been years but who would still like a sequel?As I'm still writing it currently, about half way through, but thinking of maybe slowly starting to post it towards the end of this month?Would anyone still be engaged in reading? Or would you prefer a fresh story for this pair, as I am also currently writing and preparing a AU no powers Karlena pairing story…And for those who are reading Only Human After All, I haven't forgotten you or the story, an update is coming, I'm just not happy with it yet and need a couple weeks to tweak and get back into the right head space for that story.Basically my writing muse is throwing me all over the place, and I really want to share with you all but I'm worried it has maybe been too long and no one would be interested in reading anymore…