Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Reborn

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 03: Waking Up

“Yeah, I found you.” Alex told her, taking in those bright blue eyes she had waited to see for a year. The last time she saw her little sister, Kara was off to fight Reign and Alex was off on a reckless mission with Lobo. She woke up days later to learn her sister had gone into the sun. Everyone around her believed Kara was dead and at times, Alex admitted she had lost hope.

But the older sister knew if Kara were dead she would feel it. She felt the deep pain of her absence of course, but she knew Kara was there, trapped in the core of the sun, waiting, looking for a chance to escape and come back to her.

“ What did you do to your hair ?” the blonde mumbled in Kryptonese then and closed her eyes.

“Kara? Kara, I need you to stay awake, okay? Please Kara, stay awake.” Alex practically begged. It did no good. Kara was unconscious once more. Alex listened to her heartbeat and was relieved it was still going strong.

“God, I wish I had a bucket of water right now.” Alex said. “Kelex hover Scarlett directly overhead and drop that flight suit down I keep in the back. She may have no limits, but Kryptonian fabric does. I need to dress her and get her into a harness. I can’t get her to wake back up.”

Kelex didn’t answer, but she heard Scarlett moving towards her.

Alex took in her sleeping sister once more and couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. She slid her arms underneath Kara’s shoulders, raised her up, pulled her close and held on to her tightly. Kara’s head lay comfortably on her shoulder as she tenderly ran her fingers through her little sister’s hair, brushing it back away from her face.

“I missed you so damn much.” Alex told her between sobs. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again. We are going to put a lot of red crystals in you. I have been thinking about this for a long time. You aren’t going to be in danger again. We have had enough. I’m going to take care of you. I’m not letting you out of my sight. Everybody gave up on you, but I didn’t. Mom and Dad, even Clark thought you were dead, but I knew you would come back to me.”

Alex wiped her eyes and tried to catch her breath. She and Kara had been inseparable since Alex found her. She was more than a sister, she was her best friend, a piece of her, two sides to the same coin. Since Kara had been gone, Alex felt broken in half. Now she was whole. She felt she could stay like this forever, but Alex knew she had to get Kara back, away from this jungle, away from this crater, somewhere safe to hide. Because the world still needed to believe Supergirl was dead. As far as the older sister was concerned, she was. Kara was back, not Supergirl, and that was all that mattered.

The flight suit made her jump when it landed in front of her. Alex had forgotten about it though she asked for it only seconds ago. Scarlett hovered silently over them, casting shade on the two sisters.

Laying Kara down, Alex rolled her on her side and placed the suit under her, then began bending and moving her arms and legs into the one piece suit. The older sister unfortunately had experience dressing and undressing an unconscious Kara due to her many drunken states in the past. Thankfully this suit was a baggy one for last minute passengers, not one of her tighter suits.

Once she zipped up the suit, the harness began lowering.

Alex caressed Kara’s cheek and took in every inch of her face.

She stopped at her left eyebrow.

The small scar on the inside corner of her left brow was gone.

Alex thought for a second how this was possible then shuddered, realization hitting her.

“You had to rebuild your body, didn’t you?” the older sister whispered, wondering how much pain Kara had been subjected to during that process. How much of her had burned away? Was this why it took so long? Did it hurt her? Had she been awake this whole time trapped in the sun without a whole body, only holding on to her mind?

“What did I do with my hair?” Alex mumbled to herself.

Kara has asked that same question after Alex had cut it back when she was 18, a freshman in college. Before Supergirl came into being, before Myriad, before Astra. Was she just confused? Were parts of her past gone?

“Oh sweetie, what has happened to you? It doesn’t matter. I’ve got you, I’m going to take care of you from now on. No matter what we can get through it, right? For now, we need to get you out of here. This is going to be rough, so it may be best if you stay asleep for a few more minutes, then I need you to wake up, I need to hear your voice.”

Alex buckled the harness to Kara’s chest, arms and legs, then steadied her as Scarlett pulled her up. Once she was safely in the cockpit in the back, the floor closed. Scarlett lowered to the ground and Alex jumped into her seat, then moved over the barrier between the two seats and sat next to Kara, strapping her into the seat.

“I’m going to stay by you.” she assured the unconscious blonde.

“Alex, there is not much room.” Kelex reminded her, like Alex didn’t know that. She was crammed between the seat and the wall only two foot away and the backup flight controls in front of Kara.

“I need to be next to her. I don’t want her waking up and wondering where she is.”

“If she wakes and moves, she could easily crush you.” he tried to reason with her.

Alex shook her head, annoyed.

“I held her for four days from behind while she went through withdrawals. I think I can handle a few hours. She won’t hurt me. For once, please don’t argue with me and do as I say. If she wakes and doesn’t know exactly where she is, she could break the jet apart. Let’s go Kelex.”

The hover jet still guided by Kelex rose, and gently flew into the sky.

“Go over cloud cover and keep away from traffic lanes. Set speed to just under Mach 1. Slow and easy. I don’t want to feel any G force in this position.” Alex instructed her AI.

“We can go faster. I have contacted Eliza. She and Jeremiah are aware you have found Kara and are bringing her back. They are telling Clark. If you would place yourself in your seat we can easily accelerate to Mach 4 and be back in four hours or less.”

Alex laughed quietly to herself. Of course they would be waiting.

“They moved on remember? I’m the one who has been waiting. They can learn what it means to wait now.”

Kelex said nothing for a moment.

“Alex, the sooner we get back to the Fortress, the sooner I can examine her. Please, place a helmet on her head so I can monitor for any signs she might be waking. If she does, you can talk to her through the com system and calm her. The sooner we are in the Fortress, the better, right?”

At times, Alex hated his reasonable and logical suggestions. Yes, they needed to get to the Fortress quickly, but she didn’t want to be away from Kara. What if Kara woke and jumped out of the jet, not knowing where she was, before Alex had a chance to explain?

Shaking her head, Alex caressed Kara’s cheek once more, placed the flight helmet on her head and crawled to the front, buckling herself in.

“Hit Mach 5, Kelex. Get us home.” she told him, giving in to his damn reasonable thinking. For the first time, she hated her jet did not have a rear view mirror so she could see the back cockpit.

They flew in silence for ten minutes, Alex listening to every breath Kara took.

“Alex?” Kelex interrupted the silence. “Your parents wish to speak to you.”

Alex took a breath and a mean spirited part of her wanted to tell them she would see them when she got back to the Fortress.

She knew they didn’t deserve that though. Clark didn’t deserve that.

“Put them through.”

“Alex?” she heard her father’s hesitant voice.

“Hey Dad.”

“Your mother… she just told me you… you have Kara?”

Alex could usually gauge his state of mind by his voice. Right now was different. He didn’t sound disbelieving, but cautious. His voice sounded scratchy as if he had been crying.

“I have her in the backseat. She is asleep. She woke up when I found her, recognized me and then fell back asleep. I have to keep an eye on her. If she wakes up, she might freak out and we really do not need to drop out of the sky right now.”

“Alex,” Eliza cut in, “what condition is she in? What medical supplies do we need to prepare? Are any of her bones broken, will she need solar lamps, surgery, is her spine damaged…”

“Mom!” Alex snapped. “Enough. I can examine her in depth when we get to the Fortress. If her spine was compromised I wouldn’t have her in the backseat. She can move her limbs and has no visible wounds.”

Alex heard nothing for a few moments until her mother asked another question.

“What did she say?”

Alex grinned despite the situation. She wouldn’t feel comfortable until they were back at the Fortress, wouldn’t let herself relax until Kara was laid on an examining table and awake. But the few words she heard couldn’t help but bring a smile to her face.

“She said she knew I would find her.” the girl told her mother, trying to keep any sarcasm from her voice and not sure if she succeeded. “We will be there in a couple hours. Have a gown ready for her. This flight suit isn’t ideal for an examination. I am going to need a brain scan, so have the equipment ready. She might be… confused. I don’t know what state she will wake up in, but I need to be prepared for anything.”

“We will be prepared Alex.” Eliza assured her. Alex was a bit irritated the woman said we. They had considered her dead for the past year. Only Alex had been making plans for when Kara returned. Instead of saying anything she let it go. It was a lot for them to take in. Perhaps if they hadn’t given up… no, she would let that thought go. There were more important things to worry about.

After the connection was cut by Alex, Jeremiah left the Fortress while Eliza and Kelex prepared the place for Kara’s return. He had to talk to Clark.

The man walked slowly upstairs. He should have been excited, eager to tell his son something that was good for once. Great in fact. The man could tell his son a miracle had occurred, the impossible had happened.

Instead he felt trepidation.

Walking into the boy’s room without knocking, he found Clark saying bye to Dan Hawk and hanging up his phone. His father’s arrival caught his attention.

“The memorials in Metropolis, Star City, National City, Paris, London and Mexico City went off with no trouble. An alien, a White Martian, attacked the Memorial in Belgrade. He killed seven people and then took off, probably wanting to get out before J’onn found him.” the boy told him, eyes back on the television.

Jeremiah grabbed the remote and turned the television off. The father cleared his throat and sat on the bed next to Clark. The room was darker as night was falling, so he turned on the bedside lamp.

“Something has happened, something good. I need you to let me tell you everything before you ask any questions. Can you do that for me?”

Clark looked at him suspiciously. “Where is Mom?”

“Just listen and stay calm, okay?”

The boy still looked apprehensive, but did nod his head.

“This morning, early this morning, an object struck the Earth in the same place Kara… the same place Kara teleported herself into the sun last year.”

“What kind…”

“Please Clark? Let me speak and then we can talk.”

“Okay.” he told him, but Jeremiah knew it was a tentative agreement on the boy’s part.

“Kelex told Alex right away. They discovered the object came straight from the sun. Alex flew to Brazil and found Kara.”

The boy’s face froze in a way, no expression, no disbelief, no surprise, no happiness. It was a blank slate and it worried the father.

“Kara is okay. She is alive. Alex is bringing her back to the Fortress right now. She is about two hours away, maybe less.” he continued.

Clark listened to this, not quite understanding what his father was talking about, so he took a moment to let it sink in.

Kara was alive?

“You told me she was dead.” he said quietly.

“I know. I was wrong.” Jeremiah admitted softly, his voice breaking along with his heart. The man was very anxious about what his son’s reaction, his mind seeming to go through a million scenarios at once.

He was wrong? Clark thought. His Dad was wrong? That was his excuse?

“She came back from the sun? She survived. She has been there for a year, alone.” he said more to himself, letting the implication of that sink in.

“Yes, it looks like that…”

“She was alone!” the boy snapped. “When Alex told me Kara was alive you told me she was crazy!”

Jeremiah shook his head. He had never said that, only told his son that Alex was having a hard time letting go.

“That isn’t what I said.”

“You told me to give up! You told me she was gone. You and Mom! I heard Mom and Alex yelling at each other just because Alex tried to tell me the truth! You talked me into… Alex was right. She was watching, waiting and all you did was tell me to accept it? Kara was alone! We didn’t do anything!”

Jeremiah said nothing for the moment, letting Clark get it out. The trepidation he had felt was due to a possible reaction like this. It wasn’t surprising.

“Clark… we made a mistake. I’m still having a hard time… but Alex says she has her, Kelex has confirmed it…”

“Why do you need Kelex to confirm it? Alex told you. Isn’t that good enough? I should have never listened to you and Mom. I gave up on her! We all did! I didn’t think she could survive and she did. What do you… she is going to hate us. She is going to hate me. Kara hates being alone, trapped! She would have come back right away if she wasn’t trapped and you did nothing! You didn’t even try!”

Jeremiah dropped his head, hoping Clark wouldn’t see the tears threatening to break through. These were subjects he had thought of all day since Eliza had called him to the Fortress to tell him the news.

“Clark, she would never hate you. There was nothing we could have done to help her, or even determine if she was alive or where she was.”

“You could have tried.” Clark countered. “How long? Two hours?”

“Yes.”

Clark was gone so fast Jeremiah hadn’t even seen a blur.

The man ran to the basement and entered the Fortress, praying to himself Clark was not yelling at Eliza. The woman had been an emotional wreck all morning, especially after her fight with Alex then finding out Kara was alive. He knew Eliza was feeling everything he was and probably more.

To his relief, Clark was standing by Kelex watching Alex’s flight path and ETA on the largest monitor. Eliza walked over to him and hugged the boy. He hugged her back on instinct, but his eyes were only focused on the monitor. Jeremiah wasn’t fooled. He knew the emotions were still there, but Clark seemed to realize that Kara was truly alive and was focusing on that. Blame would be thrown around later no doubt, not just by Clark, but Alex. Right now none of that mattered.

The next two hours felt like they lasted forever, none of them could do anything but wait. Time slowed to a crawl then suddenly sped up as the roof to the Fortress opened up and Alex’s aircraft slowly descended.

The three held their breath, watching the craft finally touch down. The cockpit slid back, Alex in front, jumping out quickly and motioning to Kelex. Alex was not smiling, there were no tears of joy. The parents imagined those happened on the journey back.

The oldest daughter was all business at this point, focused, intense and in charge.

“Kelex, take her to an examination table.” Alex ordered. “I want a full physical workup including cellular levels of power and her brainwave patterns. She hasn’t woken or moved since she talked to me at the crash site. Give me everything you can.”

Kelex did as ordered, scooping Kara up in his arms from the back and walking towards the table they often used to examine Kara in the past. Alex was by his side, the other three following closely.

Once she was laid down, Alex moved to the end of the bed, touching her cheek while her parents and Clark slowly approached Kara’s prone form.

“Can I touch her?” he asked quietly, looking at Alex for permission. Alex smiled and nodded. Clark took her hand gently and squeezed, then placed Kara’s palm on his cheek.

“I always liked it when she did this.” he whispered.

Eliza did not ask for permission, touching her youngest daughter’s cheek with the back of her hand, doing her best to soothe her as her own tears fell.

Jeremiah stood in disbelief, frozen as if seeing an event he never thought possible. His baby was back home. Somehow, she did it. Somehow, she survived the sun. The man took her other hand gently and broke down.

“What happened to her scar, the one on the inside of her left eyebrow?” Eliza asked herself but everyone heard her.

Kelex walked back with portable scanner and ran it over Kara’s body. He had heard the mother’s question as well.

“As Alex and I theorized, in order to destroy the red ring and the Worldkiller in her body, it is highly probable that most of Kara’s body was disintegrated. Her brain and likely parts of her spinal column must have survived and her body has rebuilt itself over the past year. Oh my…”

“What ‘oh my’?” Alex asked quickly. “Is something wrong with her?”

“On the contrary, absolutely nothing is wrong with her. I need her undressed or at least in an examination gown, but from what the scanner is showing… please look at monitor.”

The four did and saw a familiar female outline, one they had studied often over the years.

“As you can see, she is in perfect physical health. I have never seen this much power radiating from her cells. I would recommend we bathe the Fortress in red sunlight.”

Alex shook her head quickly. “I don’t want her vulnerable right now.”

“She will not be.” the robot ensured her. “It will most likely take weeks for her levels of absorbed solar energy to return to a normal state. Until she has absorbed enough red solar energy to counteract the power in her cells, taking blood or tissue samples will be impossible.”

“I don’t need blood samples. Have you scanned her brain?” Alex asked impatiently.

Kelex walked off and returned with a crystal tiara which he placed on her forehead then checked the monitor.

“Her brain waves are… normal.” Alex told the room, sounding very relieved. “Too normal. Her brain before… Kelex I want a PET, a SPECT and an MRI. Give me a complete workup and compare it to before the Invasion.”

Jeremiah cleared his throat. He hated to be the one to ask, but it had to be checked. If there was a possibility that this was not completely his daughter he needed to know now, figure out how to get whatever remained of that thing out of her.

“Kelex, are there any signs that some part of the Worldkiller…”

“She wouldn’t have come back if it was still in her!” Alex snapped at him before he could finish the question. “The Worldkiller couldn’t have survived the sun. The ring obviously didn’t. She recognized me. Have you two been paying attention? Her body disintegrated! Do you think it hurt? What was she doing while this was going on, while her body rebuilt itself? I doubt she could close her eyes because she didn’t have eyes! You think Kara would have come back if there was any trace of that thing in her?!”

Jeremiah flinched at the accusation in his oldest daughter’s voice. He knew Alex had been in an obvious heightened state of anxiety and still was. His own emotions were all over the place, love, joy, relief… guilt.

“I am only saying that if any trace of it is still present, now would be the time to get it out of her system.” he reasoned.

Kelex stepped between the two. “There is no trace of anything in Kara other than her own DNA. As I said, she is in perfect physical health.”

Alex brushed a strand of Kara’s hair off her forehead. Her little sister’s hair was so filthy she wasn’t sure how many showers it would take to get it all the twigs, ash and dirt free. Her entire body was filthy and Alex debated bathing her before putting her in an examination gown. Kara had not been this filthy since the Hospital fire in Gotham when she was 17.

“If she is healthy, why is she unconscious?” Alex asked the AI.

“I suspect she may be very tired and is sleeping.” Kelex told her. “She did just escape an estimated 4 trillion pounds of pressure per square inch in the core of the sun, then flew to Earth at a speed of 26.56 million miles an hour and only slowed slightly when she entered the atmosphere before she crashed seconds later with the force of four very large hydrogen bombs. The need for rest is not unexpected.”

Kara seemed to confirm this theory when she moved on the table, causing everyone to tense. Even Alex was not certain of what state of mind she would be in when she finally woke.

Rather than waking, Kara rolled over on her right side, drew her knees up and placed her hands under her cheek.

She then began snoring.

Despite the tension Alex couldn’t help but laugh. She never thought she would miss that sound so much.

“I’ll be back.” Clark told them suddenly, then rushed to the transporter leading to Alex’s basement. A minute later he was back with Streaky in his arms.

The cat perked up as the boy carried her closer to Kara. Within jumping distance, Streaky leapt out of the boy’s arm onto the exam table, crawling under Kara’s hair and purring.

Jeremiah and Eliza looked at each other and smiled. Despite the uncertainty and tension of the day, seeing Streaky in her usual sleep position wrapped in her Kara’s hair made them smile.

“So, I guess all we can do is wait.” Jeremiah told the group.

“I’ve been doing that for a year.” Alex mumbled.

Her parents walked over to her and wrapped the girl in their arms.

“Thank you, Alex.” Eliza whispered.

Alex nodded, but said nothing. She didn’t want thanks. She wanted Kara to wake up so she could get her home.

A little over an hour later the snoring stopped. Streaky jumped from Kara’s hair and climbed over her shoulder, perching herself in front of the blonde’s face. One lick on the cheek was all it took.

Kara slowly opened her eyes and spotted her feline friend.

“Alex?” Kara asked, looking past the cat. She could feel Alex touching her cheek, but needed to see her to ensure she had not been dreaming again.

“I’m right here.” Alex assured her, leaning down in front of her sister to meet her eyes. “You are okay. We are at the Fortress. You are safe.”

Kara sat up and looked around her bed. She saw Clark and her parents… and Kelex? When had he gotten normal limbs?

“Mom, Dad? Clark? You are okay?”

“She recognizes us.” Eliza said, relieved and moving closer to Kara.

The blonde looked back at her sister.

“ What happened to me?”

“ What is the last thing you remember?” Alex asked.

Kara thought for a moment. Her mind was filled with so many memories and… none at all. Some things had happened, but what? How did they fit? When did Clark get so tall? How did Kelex have a fully formed functioning body? Where had she been? It had been so bright. What caused her to be there, wherever there was?

“I don’t know. I remember… things.” she answered in English. “We were building a house, right? I had been somewhere… I rebuilt a car for you. I think. Or was it a bike? Clark got his powers and we came… here. I… where was I?”

“Stay calm for me, okay? I will explain everything, but let’s make sure you are okay first. How do you feel?” Alex asked, becoming very worried. What all had Kara forgotten? Was her mind and the memories that were in it fractured or just gone?

Instead of dwelling on that for the moment, she wrapped Kara in her arms. Kara gently returned the hug. Alex knew she was holding back the same way she held back whenever she had her powers.

Kara’s confusion was dangerously close to making her panic, but the looks of apprehension on her family’s faces made her hold it together. How did she feel?

“ I feel better than I have my entire life . I’m hungry. Where have I been? Why is Clark so tall… no… where was I? What happened?” the blonde asked, beginning to feel a bit of anxiety now that she was becoming more alert.

“What is she saying Alex?” Eliza asked.

“You both had 13 years to learn Kryptonese. Maybe if you would have made an effort you would know.” Alex told them sharply, tensing up despite being held securely in Kara’s arms.

“Alex? Why would you say that? Don’t… what is going on? Why are you mad?” the blonde asked worriedly, pulling back from Alex so she could see her sister’s face.

Alex smiled as she gently reassured her little sister. “Kara, you need to relax now. You have been through a lot. You have been gone a while honey.”

“How… long?” Kara asked, remembering to speak in English. Her and Alex’s use of two languages had never been a problem before. For some reason it was causing tension now and Kara wanted no part of any tension. She had no idea what was going on and needed answers, not arguing.

“A year.” Clark answered. “You don’t remember?”

“A year?” Kara whispered. “Where have I been for a year?” she asked, beginning to understand more was wrong than just Kelex’s new body and Clark’s extra foot and half in height.

“The sun.” Clark told her before anyone could stop him. “You fought the Worldkiller, the first one. It was a symbiont and it got to you, so you went into the sun to kill it. You never came back.” he told her in a broken voice. “We thought you were dead. Alex and Kelex didn’t, but… we did.”

Kara listened to him in a bit of disbelief. Worldkiller 1? That was impossible. What would the Worldkiller be doing on Earth. How…

“ How did I… How did I get into the sun? That’s impossible.” she told the group, desperately trying to understand. They thought she had been dead for a year? The sun?

Alex rubbed her shoulders from behind. “What is the last thing you remember?”

Kara closed her eyes and tried to focus. She remembered Clark’s powers emerging… she became Supergirl… later. Myriad, Astra, she was building something… Hank Henshaw? Something about Hank Henshaw.

“I remember light.” Kara finally told them. “I was trapped in it. I wasn’t sure… I thought I was in hell… or heaven. Sometimes I felt pain, sometimes I didn’t… I tried to sleep… maybe I did. I couldn’t close my eyes though. The light… it was too bright. Clark had a soccer game yesterday… no, not yesterday…”

Kara stopped speaking for a moment then turned to look at Alex.

“Mother and Aunt Astra were with me where I was. I don’t know where we were. They told me to look, to listen for you. I could hear… everything. You were on a bench next to a window. Streaky was in your lap. You were crying. You asked me to come back to you, but I couldn’t move. Then I thought about it and really tried. I could feel my body finally and this power… so much power flowed through me. I followed your heartbeat. I… I remember the Earth was coming too fast and I tried to slow down. I hit the ground and stayed there and I was right. You found me.”

Alex stood unmoving, listening to Kara’s voice, shocked at what she had just heard.

“I didn’t sleep last night. I was by the window bench in my bedroom. You heard me?” she asked to be sure.

Kara nodded her head and the older sister grabbed onto her, breaking down into tears.

“You heard me.” Alex whispered., holding her tightly. “Thank you, Kara. You came back to me. You found me too.”

Kara pulled away from her sister and wiped a tear from Alex’s cheek.

“Alex, how the hell did I get into the sun? What happened? Worldkillers? They were just files, monsters, they weren’t supposed to be here. How did I fly all that way through the heat to the core? It shouldn’t be possible.”

Eliza sat on the table next to Kara. “Do you remember…” she looked to Jeremiah hesitantly, “… do you remember the red ring?”

The five in the room watched Kara intently. All of them were well versed in Kara’s ability to lie.

Her face showed nothing, no hint of recognition or reaction to the red ring.

“What ring?” the blonde asked.

Alex gave her mother a look that suggested they not push this.

“It’s not important right this minute. I will tell you everything, but first I need to know if you are okay. I want to run some more tests on you and then we can go home and get you some food, okay?”

Kara shook her head. “Tests can wait. I feel… amazing. I am so hungry. We can eat and you can tell me what happened.”

“I think that’s… okay.” Jeremiah agreed, thinking it may be best to get Kara away from here, get her home so se could feel more relaxed.

Alex scowled at the man, but then let it go. Maybe it would be better to explain somethings to Kara in a different environment.

“Kelex, please have ten pizzas delivered to our house as soon as possible…” Eliza asked before Alex interrupted her.

“We are taking her to our house. Do you remember, Kara? You built us a home on the cliff?”

Alex felt a great deal of relief when Kara smiled.

“You got more paint on yourself than the exterior.” she told Alex. “But we haven’t gotten the furniture moved in, have we?”

Jeremiah cleared his throat. “Alex, perhaps it would be better if she came home, especially if she is a little unclear at the moment. She might feel more comfortable there.”

“We are going to our home. Kelex have the food delivered there as soon as possible.” Alex ordered. She took Kara by the arm and the blonde allowed Alex to guide her to one of the large doors of light with Streaky perched on her shoulder.

“When did I hook up this transporter?” Kara asked.

Alex didn’t answer, instead activating the portal and walking them through it.

They all entered the basement of Kara and Alex’s house, Kelex included.

Kara walked slowly up the stairs and then stood still, taking in the house. To one who didn’t know better, it would appear she was looking at the walls and ceiling of the kitchen, but in fact, was X Raying the entire house.

“When did we do this? How long… did you do this? What the hell is going on?!”

“Hey, calm down.” Alex told her soothingly. “I will tell you everything, but you need food, right? I have some food in the fridge and the cabinets…”

Kara did not wait for Alex to finish, placed Streaky on the table top then walked to the cabinet and pulling out three cans of baked beans. She opened the cans with her fingernails and tilted the first can up. Three were emptied in seconds. Next, she attacked the cereal.

“I need more.” Kara whispered, tossing the empty container in the trash.

“Sit down and I will get you a drink. We can wait a few more minutes for the pizza to arrive, right?” Alex asked. “Then I can explain what happened and you can take a shower maybe? I still need to check you over. Do you understand?”

Kara seemed to snap out of the eating binge she had just begun. The blonde realized what she had just done and nodded her head, slightly embarrassed.

“I think I probably need a shower now before I eat… more.” she admitted. The blonde made her way to the top of the stairs and into her bedroom, Eliza and Alex in tow. She stopped in front of her bed and smiled.

“This is my room. Yours is just like it, right Alex?”

“Yeah, Kara. We match like always.”

Alex and Eliza stood outside the bathroom, waiting for the water to turn on, hoping Kara did not break a shower knob off. Despite her confusion, the blonde seemed to have remembered her ability to control her own strength. Once the shower started the two women took a deep breath.

“She is confused, all over the place. What do you think we should tell her?” Eliza asked.

“The truth and maybe remember she heard me from the sun, so she can certainly hear this conversation.” Alex told her shortly.

Eliza let out a defeated breath. “I get it, okay? You are angry at me, at me and your father, but please Alex, we just got her back. Can we put this aside for now? I just… you can yell at me later, tell me ‘I told you so’ for hours on end, but for now, can we just stop? You were right, I was wrong and you will never know how sorry I am for that, but not right now.”

Alex shook her head and leaned against the wall.

“Yeah, you are right. Sorry, I have just been a little… it’s been an emotional day and I am still having a hard time believing she is in the shower. I’m afraid if I don’t constantly watch her she might… disappear.”

Eliza agreed. It was surreal. She desperately wanted Kara in her home, in her old room under her watch, but knew if she tried Alex would fight her over it. Kara was confused enough. The last thing she needed was to see her parents and sister fighting.

Kara walked out ten minutes later, her flight suit traded for pajamas Alex had left her on the counter.

The blonde looked at her room one more time.

“My bed isn’t made. It looks like I just… I was gone for a year?” she asked, the disbelief still obvious in her voice.

“I never could bring myself to change anything.” Alex admitted.

Kara looked at her sister, seeing she was on the verge of tears again. She hugged her tightly.

“Whatever happened, it’s over. I smell pizza. Eat with me.” she told her, taking her hand and Eliza’s. “And then I want to hear what happened.”

Alex and Eliza looked at each other not knowing what to say to that or how much they should tell Kara right now. It was obvious she was very confused and the truth could only make her more confused.

Jeremiah and Clark were waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. The father wrapped an arm around his youngest daughter and was glad he felt no tension from her. Instead, she leaned her head on his shoulder and let herself relax, as she often had when younger.

The family sat at the table except Kelex who stood watch at the back of the kitchen. No one said a word as Kara continually downed slice after slice. Her appetite seemed to have no end.

Eventually after the seventh pizza, she forced herself to stop and sat back.

“Who is going to tell me what is going on?” the blonde asked.

The parents and Alex looked at each other, wondering who would take the lead.

Clark solved the problem for them.

“I’ll tell you everything.” the boy promised.