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It hadn't started as a very memorable day.The weather was so-so, the line at the local coffee place had been just as long as usual, and you barely made it into the almost closed elevator. But the new sports guy, Steve, had stopped the doors, and you had smiled and thanked him. You narrowly avoided dropping your bag and papers all over the floor, smiled at your co-workers as you finally made it to your desk and sat down with a grateful sigh. You were still exhausted from that fire last night, and the following debris clear-up afterwards but damn you love helping people.You could never get tired of saving kittens from trees, stopping villains.Being a hero, being Superman is truly amazing. You start up your computer and hear Lois' pumping heart coming towards you. You look over at your computer and grin, lifting her coffee up towards her."I still don't understand how you drink that. Black coffee will always be gross.""That, Smallville, is because you don't know how to be a grown-up." You make a face at that. You're over 6 feet tall, own your apartment, paid off your student loans, and your alias literally ends with the word man."And before you go on a tangent about your... heroic deeds, you still eat candy when your sad, Kansas. And I bet my Pulitzer your coffee has a cosmic ton of sugar in it." She's not wrong."At least I don't sleep with cuddly toys." You honestly don't mind the small army of toys she has. They're pretty cute."We sleep in the same bed, Boy Scout." She replies, and easy smile crossing her features. You always thought her smile was beautiful."Are you ever going to run out of nicknames? This has been going on since we met, 4 years ago.""Maybe one day, Farm Boy." You laugh and grin, Lois always has to have the last word."We still on for our date tonight? That new Italian place?" She nods and kisses your cheek"Don't be late, Skywalker." You laugh again and shake your head, she walks away and you know in your heart of hearts, Lois Lane is the love of your life.You finally get back to work, finishing off that article. Some gang attacking aliens. The new photographer even managed to snap a few shots of Superman intervening an attack. The day tics on. You finish your assignment, start a new one. Talk to Sally the Secretary, stop a speeding car. You talk to Jimmy on the phone, message you Ma.The day was over, and you needed to speed home and change. Which you did, and made sure Lois had enough time to do all her girly things to get ready before the reservation. You're damn happy you did too. Last time you rushed her, her makeup was smudged at a gala and you slept on the sofa for a week. Not fun.But you make it to the restaurant on time, and let yourself relax. You're not going to be Superman tonight. The police can handle it for a night. You promised tonight was just for you and Lois.That promise didn't hold. It did for a while. Long enough for you and Lois to eat and smile and generally have a wonderful time. But then life got in the way, and you ended up cuffed to a railing slowly being poisoned by kryptonite. Your phone had rung, it was Jimmy again. He sounded... worried. Scared. He was always so stoic, confident. "Clark, you need to get here. Now. Kara- Kara needs your help. It's Cadmus. Some monster thing, there's *kryptonite* Clark. Hurry." You'd breathlessly apologised to Lois, who you think had nodded and told you to go, but you were already rushing to leave. You know it is at least a 14-minute flight to Nation City, 11 if you rush. You have a degree in Journalism, not physics. But you made it in 7 minutes, somehow. And when you arrived, it was hell. You'd heard the fight a few miles out, and new it would be bad. The road is torn, buildings on the edge of collapsing. Thank God and Rao and whoever the DEO had blocked the area, you couldn't handle the accidental deaths with this one.The... thing, which is at least 7 feet tall, and a mess of greying skin stretched too far over protruding bones, all sharp and jagged edges scorched with glowing green, is holding Kara by the throat. She kicks out and it lets go, and she coughs and splutters. You fly forward, all fists and anger, and let her rest for a moment."Need a hand?" You always thought humour helped ease situations, it helped you concentrate while your brain was working on something witty to say, somehow. Pa always said it was to stop you thinking too much, keep you slightly distracted so you don't worry. She just gulps in air heavily, nods and gives you a weak smile. You turn back to the thing in front of you, ducking beneath an... arm? It looks like an arm. You duck beneath its arm, and it roars. A deep noise, it reverberates around your skull and wraps around your bones. The green vines climb up its skin more, dragging themselves up your arms. You know you've got a few more seconds before the pain sets in, so you grasp the opportunity and half rugby tackle, half lift the thing up and fly back into the already splintering road. It roars again and claws at your back, and you feel your crimson and green tinted blood pour outwards.Lois is going to kill you for ruining another suit.You don't remember much after that. Apparently, the thing can fly, and you end up in the sky. Blows and scratches and pain later, your laying on your back face up on the roof of Catco. The experiment-gone-wrong (since its Cadmus, its probably gone-right) is staggering towards the building, you can hear its staccato breathes coming closer. But your bleeding and bruised and so tired. But your also Superman, and this thing is going to kill a lot of people if you don't stand. So, you do, and you stumble towards the railing. You feel the cool metal beneath your fingers, your blood making it red and sticky. The thing is a mile and a half away, fighting J'onn. The Martian is dodging more than attacking, probably biding time while the DEO find a definite solution. You bend your knees and go to jump, but feel a soft hand on your shoulder. You turn and see the ripped House of El Sigil and blonde hair.Her face is caked in dried blood, her nose is broken, and her eye is starting to bruise. She's looking at you with soft eyes, and you know she’s hurt much more than you are. She's always been braver, stronger. You are so proud of your cousin."I'm sorry I didn't get to raise you."What?"Kara? What-""I'm sorry I didn't get to raise you. But I'm so proud of the man you've become."Oh, she's crying."You’re an amazing hero Kal and a wonderful man. I'm so proud of who you've become.""Kara, we need to go-""Could you tell them? My family. Tell them I love them. Tell them I died proudly."Died? What the fuck?"Kara! what's happening?!""I love you Kal." There's a soft click, and you didn't even notice she was holding cuffs. Where the hell did she get handcuffs? You tug on them, but them metal holds and the action hurts your wrist. The metal clinks against the railing and you look back up at Kara."I really do you love you Kal. It's why I'm doing this. Just do me a favour? Keep going. You never needed me.Now you're crying too."Kara! Don't do this! Please, Kara! Don't-"She shakes her head and lets out a sob,"Alex has the key.""Kara!"She's gone. A gust of wind, and blur of red and blue. Too much red. You look back at Johnn and the thing, a shout clogging your throat. It's too hot and this is too fast, she can't do this, she can't. Kara wraps her arms around the thing, nods curtly at J'onn, and she's gone. Up, up, and away. She flew straight up. She didn't stop, didn't slow. She kept going, till even you couldn't see her. Maybe it was the kryptonite, maybe it was the tears. You watch Jhonn collapse on the ground, and a scream tore from his lips.He's looking up too.You wait for her to return. To fly down, a smile on her lips, hands on her hips, blonde hair all bouncy and light and good. But she doesn't.And she never did.You looked up at the sky for hours, until Alex uncuffed your wrists, and Lois took your face in her hands. Her eyes are red, and her makeup is smudged. You can't bring yourself to care about sleeping on the sofa. You just keep looking up at the sky.It hadn't started as a very memorable day.When Kara flew into space. When Kara saved everyone. When Kara died.You wish the day hadn't happened at all. You wish you hadn't watched. You wished it had been you.It hadn't started as a very memorable day. But Supergirl, Kara Danvers sacrificing everything to save everyone? You make sure the world knows what she did, the hero she will forever be.It hadn't started as a very memorable day. But you will never forget.