Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Survivors

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 44: All She Ever Wanted.

Dr. Hamilton was not sure what was going on. She knew Connolly’s team had gone on a mission, but taken no back up. Director Henshaw was directing the mission from the secure desert facility and she was on duty in the downtown medical bay. If at all possible, medical emergencies were transported to the downtown facility due to its superior medical ward. Henshaw had called her and told her to wait outside then hung up. By the time she reached the front of the building a DEO SUV pulled up and escorted her at break neck speeds to the desert facility. Hamilton noted that the electrical grid was charged and ready for activation. This was usually only done when a Kryptonian attack was suspected. The facility had a large electric barrier around it, strong enough to hurt a Kryptonian, giving agents time to procure Kryptonite weapons, even if the Kryptonians broke the field.

Once inside, Director Henshaw met her at the door and practically dragged her at a run towards the emergency bay. This was a sealed off wing, making her suspect that an agent had been exposed to an alien virus.

“Director Henshaw! Could you tell me what is going on, please?”

The man took a deep breath and looked at her. Hamilton’s night became even stranger. For the first time since she had known him, Hank Henshaw looked scared, even terrified.

“Dr. Eliza Danvers is on location. She is researching a parasite that has attached itself to one of our… assets. She has pictures but the asset will be here soon. The parasite is the size of her torso, definitely alien, tentacled and every attempt to pull it off of her has caused her to react violently, her heart beat escalating, throat being squeezed and cut off from air. Her blood pressure drops. The strange thing is, the creature has not penetrated her body. It hasn’t even broken through her uniform. The only touch it has are the tentacles holding it to her.”

“Okay. Has Eliza found the type of parasite we are dealing with?”

“She is looking. We haven’t found anything yet. Look, the asset… I guess you have been watching the news?”

“Yes…”

“Its Supergirl. She has been working with us, trying to find information on where the Rozz escapees are. She has taken out two on her own including one Kryptonian. We thought we had found others tonight. She went in first to make sure it was safe for our team. When she didn’t come back out, they went in and found her.”

Hamilton said noting for a moment, trying to soak this in. She had been as surprised as the rest of the world with the girl’s emergence. Not because of her being an alien of course. Hamilton knew everything there was to know about aliens. She was shocked because this blonde teen was the first alien she had seen not trying to harm humans and actually saving them.

“How long…”

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is we keep her alive until Dr. Danvers figures out a way to get this off of her or even what it is. We cannot use red sunlight because her strength may be the only thing saving her from death. Same goes for Kryptonite.”

“So I can’t use any drugs requiring injection. Any drugs at all, actually.”

“Yes. You should also know that both Danvers and their daughter Alex may be distraught. Kara is the adopted daughter of Eliza and Jeremiah Danvers. This is not well known in the DEO and I would like it kept that way for as long as possible. I expect your discretion.”

“Of course.” Hamilton assured her. The woman liked the Danvers and had admired this Supergirl, even if she was suspicious of the girl’s true motives. Knowing that she had been raised by the Danvers made things clearer to her. She also remembered that while their daughter Alex had been an intern there had also been another very shy blonde that had accompanied the Danvers a few times. The girl had worn glasses and had much darker hair than Supergirl but she was obviously the same.

“I can’t find anything!” Eliza practically shouted, walking in. “Get the table ready, I need a cellular scanner, pulse ox, the one from my lab and a solar bed. Why are we here? I have what she needs downtown!”

“This area is more secure. If this is a ploy and the Rozz prisoners try to attack with Supergirl out of commission then we will be able to defend everyone better here, Supergirl included. What you need is being flown here and will arrive in six minutes or less. K… Supergirl is eight minutes out.”

“Her name is Kara.” Eliza told Henshaw then turned to Hamilton. “You ever tell anyone her name I will murder you.”

Dr. Hamilton believed her.

Hamilton’s surprised continued when a stretcher with the brightly garbed heroine was rolled in, Dante in back, Connolly in front and Ale and Jeremiah on either side. The surprise was Connolly and Dante. She had seen both men, sad, angry, worried, but she had never seen them scared. They were obviously very scared right now and with good reason. What appeared to be a large, tentacled, alien plant was on top of the girl.

Hamilton had never seen anything like this and had absolutely no idea what to do.

Agent Chase was also present, annoyed once more that the college freshman who she had become enamored with and was likely the reason she would eventually be fired, had been allowed on a mission, something Chase had been denied in her time in the DEO. Not just a mission but one of the missions. The missions where only Connolly and his team took part of. Considered by Director Henshaw to be too dangerous for regular agents and Alex Danvers had gotten to be a part if it.

But judging by the look on Alex’s face, Chase’s annoyance was gone. Alex looked sick, terrified and the girl on the stretcher was… Supergirl?

Thoughts of the shy sister who had caught her and Alex in the training room entered her mind. But her sister had dark hair and…

and an alien wouldn’t have difficulty changing hair color in an instant.

Alex’s sister was Supergirl, the one the world was talking about.

Once the door was closed, leaving Hamilton, the Danvers, Henshaw, Connolly Dante and Henshaw alone with Kara, Jeremiah began, seeming the most calm on the outside.

“Eliza, what have you found?”

“Nothing!”

“Calm down Mom.”

“How the hell can I calm down?!”

“Because being upset won’t help her! She is alive and she is going to stay that way. Dr. Hamilton right?” Alex asked.

“Yes Alex?”

“Do me a favor and get out until we call you back in. Its important but I can’t explain why. Just do it.”

Not one who took orders from 19 year old girls, Hamilton found herself moving immediately.

Once the door was closed, Alex pressed a button on the nearly invisible com in her ear.

“Kelex, get Justin to break into this camera, scan it and tell me what the hell it is.”

“He can do that?” J’onn asked, disturbed.

“Don’t judge, He is the reason other people aren’t doing the same thing to your organization. I couldn’t get a good pic of this damn thing on the way here because it was dark. Kelex?”

“Closest translation, Black Mercy, a plant developed and harvested by the galactic criminal Mongul and sold to weapons traders. Some were kept in isolation on Fort Rozz in the event of a prisoner going insane and have to be disposed of mercifully. The plant attaches itself to a host and taps into their bio aura. By placing the victim into an illusion of a perfect reality, the plant grows stronger, feeding off the brain’s electrical impulses until the energy is gone and the hosts becomes in essence, brain dead.”

“Okay, how do we get it off?”

“The only way for a Black Mercy to detach is for the host to force it off, changing the brain waves it is feeding the creature. The host has to realize the illusion that the perfect dream world if you will, is false. Once it is realized to be false, the brain waves of the host change and the Black Mercy is repelled.”

“No other way?”

“Not without causing her to have a complete psychotic break and possible brain death regardless. Both host and plant must separate themselves together.”

“It can strangle her. How can it be this strong?”

“I do not know.”

“How is she supposed to know it is false if everything is so perfect?”

“Not many have survived. Those that have in the past report realizing their life was too perfect. Taking into consideration the therapy sessions I have listened in on with Dr, Ryan when Kara was at the Fortress with Clark, it is likely that she will fight to remain in her dream world until it is too late. As of this moment, by protocol you are in command of the Fortress, Alex Danvers. What is your wish?”

“I wish for you to give me an answer on how to get this damn thing off my sister without killing her!”

Kelex said nothing for a moment, leaving Alex to think he was silent as he usually was when he had no ideas. She was surprised when he spoke up again.

“I have an idea. It is very dangerous but may work. I believe I can use technology I have here, repurpose it and match your brain waves to Kara’s. In essence you would enter her perfect dream state. Since it is her perfect world you would have no problem falling under the illusion. You can attempt to convince her it is not real. If you are still in sync with her brain waves should she die, you will also die.”

“Get the equipment ready. We are leaving now. We can be there in… probably eight hours. How long would you say she has, Kelex?”

“In most cases the plant has fed off all brain activity between 24 and 36 Earth hours of becoming attached to a host.”

“Dante, arrange a jet. We need to get to the South Pole.” Alex told him.

“I could have a refueling in the air from a Galaxy, land at McMurdo and take us in by chopper. Its the fastest way but will still take ten hours.”

“Then get moving.” Jeremiah ordered.

The next hours were the longest of the Danvers life. Even longer than the hours after Kara had been carried back from Gotham City by Dante, longer than the night she had left in a rage, only to come back drunk and beaten. They sat around her, all touching her someway. Eliza had tried to talk to Clark calmly but had to pass the phone to Jeremiah. The boy didn’t understand why Dan Hawk was staying the night and his parents weren’t home. They had planned to have dinner at Alex and Kara’s place and Kara was going to tell Clark what it was like to catch a plane. All his friends had been talking about what a hero his sister was and he had kept the secret but desperately wanted to tell the world his sister was Supergirl.

Being reassured by Jeremiah that everything was fine, he asked to talk to Alex. Alex took the phone hesitantly.

“Hey Stinky.”

“The bad guys got her, didn’t they? Tell me the truth, Alex. Is she hurt. Is Kara hurt? Is she… Alex, tell me.”

Alex’s heart broke listening to Clark sound so scared. He and Kara always had differences in opinion, Kara thinking Clark should do what he was told immediately, no questions, no hesitations as she had when growing up and Clark wanting to be a typical kid. Clark had seen her burn herself, knew about the depression, the days Kara refused to get out of bed, the days she was followed into the bathroom, the nightmares. But throughout it all, Kara was always his hero. He loved her deeply, and the two had become closer now that Clark understood more about what Kara had gone through, what she did for him. Now he worried she was being taken away.

“Clark, something… Kara is not hurt. But she could be sick. We found some bad guys but they weren’t home. Kara found something and it is making her sick I think. But we are on our way to the Fortress now and Kelex knows how to make her better.”

“You promise. Alex? Promise me. Promise me she will be okay.” he begged.

“I promise you, Clark. I am going to make sure she is okay. Don’t forget to make Dan drive you by our place so you can feed Streaky. Change the litter box too or make Dan. Have fun at practice. Things are going to be fine.”

“I don’t want to go to practice. Call me when she is okay.”

The runway at McMurdo was empty, not a soul in sight. Alex supposed there must have been someone in air traffic control but other than that, the base was dark and very, very cold. They wind cut through the group as they hustled Kara’s stretcher to a large helicopter, already warmed up for Dante.

An hour later they landed in front of the cliff. Connolly and Dante took the ends of the stretcher and began following the Danvers up the narrow path to the entrance of the Fortress. Alex had never attempted this in the dark with only a small flashlight and howling wind in blizzard like conditions. It didn’t matter. Nothing was going to stop them from getting to that Fort. Alex briefly thought this Black Mercy may have frozen but it was still moving, tentacles sliding over Kara, including her throat.

“Kelex, I don’t have time to do the retinal scan and DNA. Open the damn door.”

“Kara has placed security…”

“Kelex this is Alex, you know my voice. I am in charge. If it isn’t me you are more than welcome to disintegrate me once we are inside. My parents are with me as well as Dante and Jason Connolly. Open the damn door and shine a light.”

“As you wish.” the robot responded, moving to a stop in front of a shocked Alex. He turned and shined a light on the path, leading them into the open door of the large cavern. The group followed him to the center where two hard crystal slabs were next to each other with multicolored crystals in between them.

“Who will be going into Kara’s…”

“I am.” all three Danvers told him, then looked at each other.

“Every time she has wanted to run, I have brought her back.” Jeremiah argued. “I won’t come back without her.”

“I am her mother. I can talk to her and…”

“And you both know I have to do this. I found her once and I can do it again. Kelex, how does this work?” Alex asked,leaving no room for doubt.

“You will lay on this table and Kara on the other. I will be using the crystal in the middle to connect your brainwaves. If it appears Kara is going to die, I can safely disconnect…”

“You do not bring me out unless she comes out as well. That is a direct order that will not be broken! Either we both come back or neither of us does. I don’t plan on dying today. I will bring her back. We are short on time so lets do this.”

Jeremiah held Kara’s hand while Eliza held Alex’s. Alex gave her mother a wink.

“No big deal. You know she does what I say.”

“One of us…”

“I’ll get her. I always do. Just hold onto us. We will be right back.”

Alex saw a small crystal being placed on Kara’s forehead and then Kelex placed similar one on hers. She closed her eyes and counted to ten.

Alex opened her eyes and found herself in a very familiar place, one that she had many of the best moments of her young life. She was in the house in Midvale, her true home. Her room was the same, the two beds side by side with a night stand between them, the docking station and speakers for her and Kara’s I Pods. The window with the gorgeous view, Kara’s canvas and brushes next to it. Taking it all in, she did notice some changes.

The drawing Kara had done on her first day of school, of Alex finding her and Clark in the cave was no longer framed on the wall. Pictures adorned the dresser, pictures of Alex and Kara in places only Alex had visited with her parents before Kara and Clark arrived. Alex had removed the pictures from the dresser without comment, noting how many times Kara had looked at them with longing and replaced them with pictures of the two of them. These pictures showed a much younger Kara, one she only recognized in the photos obtained from the Fortress of Solitude.

She looked under Kara’s bed and the sketch book, the one which she drew out her worst nightmares to share with Jessica, was not there.

Alex heard nothing, no movement downstairs but continued to explore quietly. Her parents room was exactly how it always had been. Clark’s room was the same as it was five years ago, the bed Alex knew Kara had set up instead of her father, the toy chest and mobile over his baby bed. This mobile had no rocket ships but birds of all colors flying above where he would lay.

So where was he? Where was everyone?

She moved quietly downstairs but it did no good. The stairs creaked as they always did. When she reached the living room, the changes were obvious. Pictures of the children were on the mantle above the fireplace and on the walls and desk. Vacations Alex had been on included pictures of a younger Kara now. There was a picture of her mother holding Alex as a baby, a picture of her mother holding a toddler size Clark and a picture of Eliza with a newborn baby in her arms, nearly bald except for a light fuzz of blonde hair.

“Oh Kara.” Alex whispered. How many times had the girl wished she had been human, wished she had spent her whole life here? After her suicide attempt when she turned 14, she had told Eliza that she wished she would have been her daughter from birth.

The kitchen was the same, pictures drawn by Kara on the refrigerator. Photos of Alex winning a science fair trophy with Kara smiling beside her, pictures of soccer teams that included both girls, hung by magnets covering the appliance.

“Hello?” Alex said loudly, wondering if anyone would be here. She knew she was in Kara’s head so where was Kara?

“If Clark has a baby bed, Kara would be thirteen or fourteen. If she isn’t here she will be at the beach or the cave.” Alex reasoned. “Looks like I am taking a walk.”

Stepping outside, her suspicions of Kara’s age were confirmed, not seeing Kara’s beloved bike in its parking spot in the drive.

The walk was familiar and fast. It freaked Alex out, how real this all was. The feel of the sun, the feel of the breeze, the scent of the ocean, birds chirping in the air, the grass under her feet. It was so vivid and life like. It was nearly impossible to imagine that it was not real.

Alex reached the cave first and to her surprise she found there was no cave. No depression in the ground, no hole farther along that allowed a bit of light into the damp structure. It was just gone. She didn’t ponder on this long, instead jogging towards the beach. It was the only place Kara could be.

And she was. Her whole family was there, Alex included. Kara sat a ways off alone on a large rock smoothed by the tides that she always favored, wearing the blue one piece suit Alex had given her the first time they visited the beach. Alex saw her younger self in the waves, holding Clark, her father next to them and her mother reclined on a beach chair, watching the three with a book in one hand.

In Kara’s hand was her sketch book. She was drawing, a large grin on her face, watching the family playing in the water.

“Kara?” Alex called softly, walking towards the young child. Kara looked at her, a genuine smile on her face. There was no sadness there, no constant anxiety in her eyes that never quite went away. Alex had never seen this natural smile.

It was beautiful.

“Hi. Do I know you?”

“I’m… my name is Alex. Do you remember me?” she told her. Kara frowned for a moment, just a second really, but soon her smile was back in place.

“Like my sister? You sort of look like her. Except she would never cut her gorgeous hair. Thats her in the water. We braid each other’s hair all the time. How do you know me?”

“You said you liked my hair.” Alex mumbled before shaking her head and focusing. “I… I just do, I guess.”

“Oh. My picture was in the paper last week! I won an art competition in Raleigh. They hold it every year and I guess this was my year. My sister and I play soccer. Maybe you saw us there. She is really good. I kind of suck but its fun to play. I love to run. I fall a lot mostly though. I’m not really that graceful or athletic.”

Alex shook her head and sat beside the girl.

“No, we have met before. If you think hard, you will remember me.”

Kara’s smile faded a bit but it was still present. The worry Alex had become accustomed to was returning to her eyes.

“I sing a lot. Have we met at a fair? I sang the National Anthem at the Midvale Spring Festival. Mom thinks I could be a professional singer one day but I like art better. Okay, I can’t decide. Maybe both, right? Anything is possible.”

“Yeah, I guess anything is.” Alex told her.

Kara laughed at something in the water. Alex took a look and saw Jeremiah had dunked her younger self now that he had Clark in his arms.

“They are going to want me to go out soon, but I wanted to draw this first. I love days like this. I like to capture them forever on paper, you know?”

“That is your family?”

“Of course. Duh. You are probably wondering about the hair right? Me and Mom are the blondes in the family. We get picked on about it but blondes have more fun. Thats what Mom has always told me.”

Alex’s stomach felt queasy. This was Kara’s perfect world. She had grown up here, her entire life. She was Eliza and Jeremiah’s daughter. No adoption, no Krypton or powers or spaceships crashing. No DEO or Fort Rozz. Just the family of five living by a beach house in Midvale, North Carolina and enjoying a summer day.

“Kara, can I ask you some questions?”

Kara looked at her suspiciously.

“I should probably go swim or keep Mom company.”

“Please? Just a few questions so you can figure out how I have met you before?”

Kara hesitated, looked back at her family then at Alex and gave a shy, nervous smile.

“I guess, but I can’t take long. Mom is going to want to put sun block on me. I burn easily.”

“Do you know someone named Kal El?”

Kara stiffened and clenched her jaw.

“Nope. Thats kind of a weird name. Do you go to Midvale High? I have never seen you in town before.”

“Does Krypton mean anything to you?”

“Are you on vacation?” the girl asked, deflecting. “Do you have family here? I’ve lived here my whole life. I bet I know them.”

“What about Alura? Zor El? Astra, Non, Kelex?”

The girl stiffened and stood up, smile gone from her face.

“Look weirdo, I don’t know what your game is but you need to leave. I’m going to my Dad. He is protective and doesn’t like me talking to strangers. I am trying to be nice here so I would suggest you go away.”

Kara began walking off. Alex knew she had to stop her. If she got near her family, she would fall farther into the delusion.

“ May Rao’s countenance shine on you!” she told her quickly in Kryptonese.

Kara stopped walking and turned slowly back to the older girl.

“What does that mean? What language is that? Spanish? I don’t speak Spanish. I only know English.”

“ Kara, I need you to listen to me. None of this is real. You have been attacked by something called a Black Mercy. It is killing you. The only way to save your life is to reject this fantasy. I know it seems real but you cannot fall for it. You know this language. You will always know this language. You dream in this language. When you talk in your sleep it is in Kryptonese. I know you understand me.”

“I… I… I don’t understand you. I have to go. Leave me alone. Go speak your weird language to someone else.”

“You do understand me. This isn’t your life, Kara. It isn’t ours, not anymore. You are 18 years old. You have saved a lot of people. You have these great powers and you could do anything with them and all you want is to help people. Those people still need you. We need you, me and Mom and Dad. Clark needs you. Who is going to teach him how to fly or sing him to sleep?”

“Shut up!” the blonde yelled, throwing her sketch book on the sand. “Leave me alone! I’m getting my Dad!”

“Our Mom and Dad are standing over us at the Fortress of Solitude, worried right now, worried that you won’t come back. You promised you wouldn’t leave me? Remember? After you tried to… on our birthday, you promised that you wouldn’t leave me. I need you, Kara.”

“You are not my sister. My sister is there, in the water, where I should be! Go away! You don’t belong here. You are not Alex!”

“You like Colby, right? You told me that one night, you said if you could have a boyfriend you would want someone like him. You color coordinate your underwear and t shirts in our drawer because you have some weird obsessive compulsive thing about colors. You even have your jeans hung in the closet from lightest to darkest denim. How would I know that if I wasn’t Alex?”

“You broke into our house. I’ll tell Dad.” she told her quietly.

“You don’t like horror movies but clowns scare you the worst. You also close your eyes whenever snakes are on TV but you deny being afraid of them. The Bermuda Petrel is your favorite bird because you think it flies the most gracefully and you like the black cap on its head because it covers its eyes and looks like a mask.”

“Stop.” Kara told her, begging quietly.

“You hate thunderstorms but you love rain showers. You never got to go outside on Krypton during the rain because it burned but here, you like to walk in the rain, as long as there is no thunder and lightning. Spiderman is your favorite comic book.”

“You can’t know that.”

“I can because I am your sister. I know everything about you. I know that you sleep on your right side but if you are really tired you sleep on your stomach and your head tilts to the right, because even after all this time you are still afraid of your eyes being in my direction when we sleep. You know that is not me out there. I am your sister but this, this is not real, Kara.”

“Yes it is!” the little girl screamed.

“Mom wanted to get you a pet bird when you were 16 but you hated the idea of something being kept in a cage that belonged in the wild. You hated cages, all cages. They… I’m sorry Kara… they remind you of what Hank Henshaw wanted to do to you and Clark.”

“Please don’t do this.” she whimpered.

“I don’t want to, but I have to. I can’t lose you, Kara. I won’t let you die.”

“Just leave me alone. Alex is in the water. I want to swim with her. Dad taught us to swim when I was 4. I had to doggy paddle and wear those stupid blow up rings on my arms and legs because I kept sinking. I had that pink bathing suit with the blue flowers. She picked on me because I had to wear a nose clip but she had to wear ear plugs and couldn’t hear is a picture of it in our photo album. I will show you if you will just stop pretending to be her.”

“That never happened, Kara. God, I wish it had. I know this life is better, and I wish it was real but it isn’t. Dante taught you to swim. The first time you got into the ocean you tried to drink the water. You were mad at me because I didn’t warn you it tasted horrible and then waves were crashing over your head. You remember that.”

“My Dad… no… he taught me! You aren’t real! You are not my Alex!”

“I am, Kara. You know I am. I wish this was real, I really do, but it isn’t.”

“So if I walk over to my family you think they won’t be there? You think I am imagining them? They are right there!”

“None of this is real. We are inside your head. They will talk to you, you can touch them but they aren’t real.”

“They have to be.” Kara told her. “This has to be real. Why do you think it isn’t, Alex?”

“You know I am Alex.” Alex whispered, relieved she had made it this far. “I am 19. We go to college. You and I, we fight bad guys together and people have started calling you Supergirl. Remember?”

“Just stop. Just shut up. Maybe you took some bad medicine or something. Maybe I did and this is some weird dream. You love me. If you were my Alex why would you do this to me?”

“I’m not, Kara. Someone else, something else is doing this to you. If I can’t bring you back, you will die.”

The little girl looked back longingly at her family. Eliza was waving at her, calling her over.

“Whats wrong with that? Maybe this is Heaven? If it is, I don’t want to leave. Please Alex, don’t make me remember. The water is so beautiful, look how happy Clark is. Mom is happy, she… Dad wants us to swim. We can even go fishing with him later. This is good. I don’t want to remember.”

“You do remember, Kara. I won’t let you die. I know your life has a lot of pain but it has love to. We love you. Clark, Mom and Dad, we all need you. I need my best friend, my little sister. I can’t let you die, Kara. You are too strong to give up. You have always been a fighter. No matter what life threw at you, you always fought back. You never stay down, ever. There were times I thought you would give up, that you would never come back but you always did. You always do. You are so strong. You have to fight this. I know it hurts but you have to. You can’t just give up.”

“You convinced me we could catch the Tooth Fairy when I lost my first tooth.” Kara told her. “We set a trap, remember? We used Dad’s fishing net and that string with cans on it. We worked for like an hour on that trap and Mom walked into it. She was so mad at us. Dad was laughing though, even when he kept snagging her hair in the net, trying to get it off of her.”

“That never happened, Kara.”

“It had to, Alex! It just had to. It happened. It was real and funny and we talk about it all the time.”

“I wish it had. I wish with everything in me that all of this had happened but it didn’t. You know it, Kara. If you will just believe it, admit it isn’t real, we can leave. You will wake up, we both will. I’m not going back without you. I told you, I will never leave your side. If you die, I die. I don’t want us to die, Kara. We need to go back. How is Mom going to explain to Clark that we are gone? He needs us.”

“Look at this, Alex!” Kara shouted and held up her arms. Alex gasped, seeing the scratches, the cuts rising up on her previously flawless skin.

“Kara…”

“My face! There is blood on my face, isn’t there?!”

It was true. The many times Kara had scratched her face during panic attacks, they always healed but they were there. Now they were visible, angry, red gashes.

“What is wrong with me?” the little girl asked, her arms and legs beginning to redden due to burns. “Why would I do this to myself? I look like a monster! Who does this to themselves, Alex? What is wrong with me?”

“Nothing.” the older sister told her, kneeling in front of her and pulling her into a hug. “Nothing is wrong with you, Kara. You have had a difficult time dealing with things. Sometimes you don’t handle it in the best way…”

“Look at me!” Kara screamed, jerking out of Alex’s arms. “It hurts! Why… I wasn’t hurting before you came! My arms won’t stop bleeding now! I wasn’t hurting and now I am! Look at me!”

Alex saw this was true. Her sister was going through a repeating cycle, as if every burn and cut she had ever given herself was reappearing then disappearing. Then her right index finger snapped and she fell to the ground, trying to scream but unable to make a sound, her face making her agony clear.

“Kara, look at me! I know it hurts, God, do I know it hurts you. I am so sorry, but this isn’t you. Not anymore.”

“I’m a killer.” she whispered, and before Alex’s eyes, Kara was back. Her Kara, dressed in her favorite jeans and a Midvale High Soccer t shirt with Alex’s number on the back of it. Her eyes were so blue and watery, they shined.

“No, you aren’t.”

“Yes I am. I am pain. I hurt myself, I kill others. I’m a weapon. I decided to become a weapon. My life is nothing.” the girl whispered. “I have blood all over me. My blood, others, its all I am.”

“That is not true! Look at me, Kara! You are everything to me! Mom and Dad, Clark, you are everything to all of us. We need you because of who you are. Not for any other reason. You are love.”

“I have blood all over me. Its on my hands and I can’t wash it off. It doesn’t even matter anymore. I don’t deserve to live. So many dead because of…”

“Of Jor El. Not you! Kara, look at me. Let’s go home, okay? We can sit on our couch and play with your flea bag kitten, eat ice cream. Our life isn’t all pain, Kara. We can go on a road trip on our bikes. Remember how much you loved building our bikes? We were going to take them to Coast City during Spring Break.”

“Look at what I have done to myself. If I stay I die? You can go back though. I can push you out of my mind. I can have this. I can still have you. You are right over…”

Kara turned and saw they were gone, her mother, father, her big sister and little brother were no longer on the beach.

“They are gone. Its all gone. Its not real. Why couldn’t it be real?” she asked quietly.

“I wish it was. I wish we had grown up our whole lives together but the years we have had, the years we still have, those are real and they are not pain.”

“I have to go back, don’t I?” Kara asked, standing up and staring at her burnt arms.

“Yes, we do. But I will be with you, just like always. Mom and Dad, our real Mom and Dad want us to wake up. You want to be with them, right?”

Kara nodded her head. “I have to go back. I don’t want to. Can’t they come here? Can’t they be where we are?” she asked her, desperation obvious in her voice.

Alex brought her in, wrapped her in her arms and closed her eyes. When she opened them, her eyes were staring at a high crystal ceiling in the Fortress of Solitude. She felt Kara’s hand in hers and turned, relieved to see the creature sliding off of her and Kara’s eyes open.

“Kelex, burn that thing.” Jeremiah ordered. As soon as it was safely away, sliding on the floor, Kelex unleashed a laser, disintegrating the monster.

“Kara? This is Mom. Can you hear me?” Eliza asked, stroking Kara’s cheek. Kara did not look at her, just lie still, staring at the ceiling.

“Kara, please say something.” Eliza begged.

“I am fine.” Kara told her in a flat voice. “I want to go home.”

Alex slid off the table she had lain beside her sister on.

“Kara, its okay.”

“I want to go home.” she repeated.

“Okay, sit up and we can go home. Do you want me to carry you?” her father asked.

The blonde shook her head slightly and stood on her own. Her face was blank and she made no eye contact with anyone.

“Who did this to me?”

“You… we think Astra or Non, maybe both, set a trap for you in the bunker. You were attacked by a parasite, one that gained access to your brain waves and placed you in a state of illusion while feeding off the electricity your brain generated. It would have eventually killed you.” Eliza told her.

“Okay. Can we go home now?” Kara asked again.

Alex looked at Dante and the man and Connolly went off to prepare the chopper.

“Dr. Danvers, or Dr. Danvers… or Alex, whoever is in charge, I would like to examine Kara for any lingering effects.” Kelex told them.

“I’m awake, I am in charge of my faculties and I am in charge of you.” Kara told the robot. “If I need any other examinations I will tell you Kelex. Until I request it, keep your medical advice to yourself.”

“As you wish, Kara.”

“Kara, it may not be a bad idea…” Jeremiah tried.

“I want to go home. Can I have a moment alone with Alex first?”

Jeremiah and Eliza looked at each other then hugged the girl and walked off, holding each other. The two sisters were alone.

“So you saved my life… again. Thanks.” Kara told her.

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be. You saved me. Thank you.”

“You aren’t mad?”

“Mad? I’m furious, but not at you. Astra, Non, one or both set a trap for me. It doesn’t matter who knew what. I am done with this. We aren’t going to wait for those cowards to come out of hiding. We are going to find that base, destroy Myriad before it ever launches and then its over. I have weapons being made for you but we are going to need more. They have an army and we need one too.”

“The DEO…”

“No. Not the DEO. Connolly and Dante, Hawk, Webb, Ty, they can be involved but not the agents. I need the Martian Manhunter more than I need Hank Henshaw leading a bunch of ill equipped agents. We are going to take the fight to them, wipe them all out, off the books and in the shadows. The public shouldn’t be afraid of all aliens because of the actions of a few.”

“We don’t know where they are. Kelex has been looking everywhere.”

“Forget technology. It isn’t working. I’m going to hire a bounty hunter who knows how to find aliens and knows how to fight. I know just where to find one.”

“Kara, no. That guy…”

“Is a murderer, yes. He has done horrible things but he has a code and I would sell my soul to the devil right now if it means they die. He will take us and our team to where he was supposed to take me. If any Rozz prisoners come for me we ambush them. If not his contract is still fulfilled and I hire him. He said he would fight with us. I believe him. If you hadn’t been there he would have taken me out. He has experience and despite his looks is very smart.”

“Dad is not going to be happy.”

“He really isn’t going to be happy with the rest of my plan. I need more fighters, all the fighters I can get who want to protect others. I need a billionaire who has a lot of tech and isn’t afraid to stand up to anyone if it means protecting people.”

“Kara… are you sure?”

“Yes, I think we need to take a road trip to Gotham. Its time we met the Batman. But first, take me home. I need to hold Clark.”