The sound of a bolt releasing from its perch in the chamber echoed throughout the empty hallway. Alex, balancing a warm pizza box and pot-sticker container in one arm, pulled the key out of the lock with her free hand. She turned, leaned her hip and shoulder into the white, heavy door and shoved her way into Kara's apartment. She had barely made it a step inside before she was confronted with a table full of empty take-out boxes and dishes.
She pushed over a few empty containers to make room on the table, slid the boxes she had brought into the vacant spot and walked to the refrigerator to grab a cold beer. After twisting off the cap and taking a long swallow, she turned to survey the rest of the apartment.
In the sink sat a stack of dirty dishes and a counter full of depleted donut boxes. The couch was invaded with stacks of folded clothes and beyond the living area, Alex could make out a pile of soiled laundry and an unmade bed.
"Argh. What a mess."
It was in dire need of a good cleaning and Kara wasn't there to do it. It really wasn't a task that Alex looked forward to, hell, she hated doing her own housework let alone someone else's, but she had time to pass as she waited and besides, Kara had helped her out so many times in the past. "Too many," she quietly whispered. So, she took one last gulp from the bottle and headed to the bedroom.
An hour later, Alex tossed the last empty donut box in the trash, grabbed another beer out of the refrigerator, picked up the pizza and potsticker boxes and made her way to the coffee table. Once everything was spread out on the table, she grabbed her drink and fell back onto the couch.
She sat with her head reclined back on the pillows and slowly sipped on her drink. The smooth liquid slid down her throat and warmed her stomach. It was a feeling that Alex knew well; one that made all of her problems seem insignificant. The last few weeks spun through Alex's mind and she took another swig from her drink in response. After a few minutes of reflection, she pulled herself out of the back of the couch, placed her empty bottle on the table and reached around her backside to pull the cell phone from her jean pocket. Her fingers flew across the screen of her phone and, as she waited for the call to go through, she reached for the television remote.
"Hi. Can you tell Brad that it's Alex, please?" She asked when the line finally picked up.
She hung on the line, sitting quietly and absently watching the action that was playing out on the television screen.
"Hey Alex," came the voice on the other end, "I'm glad you called back."
"Yeah, sorry I hung up, I had some things I needed to finish up," her fingers plucked at a loose string that hung from the arm of the couch. "But, I'm done, so here I am."
"Well, it's great to hear your voice again," Brad acknowledged.
Alex's attention was suddenly pulled away to a news report of Supergirl that had flashed across the television. She momentarily forgot about the phone conversation and watched the report, which showed her sister rushing into a burning building. The broadcast was highlighted with images of rescue workers arriving, firemen scrambling, flashes of electricity and interviews with survivors and witnesses.
Meanwhile, Brad waited in the uncomfortable silence on the other end, unaware of Alex's distraction and searching for the right words to try to keep the conversation moving forward.
"Tell me more about your family. You said you had a sister, Kerry, wasn't it?" Brad finally inquired.
"Kara." Alex corrected. The report concluded and she muted the television so she could refocus her attention.
"Yes, Kara. Sorry. You mentioned some difficulties she had growing up. That she had trouble fitting in at school. Why was that? Was she socially awkward?"
Alex chuckled. "Well, yes, you could say that. But, it was mainly because she was so naïve. She believed everyone was intrinsically good and she almost always took people for their word."
"And honesty and integrity are not traits that teenagers are generally known for," Brad laughed.
"No, definitely not. Unfortunately, Kara often found that out the hard way."
The cherry red Ford Mustang roared into the parking lot, screeching to a halt before quickly backing into a parking spot. The driver side door opened and a young man dressed in a black tux with a sharp red tie and matching cummerbund quickly jumped out and ran around to the passenger door. He stopped, took a moment to straighten his suit and opened the door to reach down and help out Alex, dressed in a short, daring red cocktail dress.
"You know, it would have been a lot easier getting in and out of here in this dress if you would have borrowed your parents Buick," Alex informed him once he pulled her to her feet.
"Yeah, but it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun," he smirked as he reached around her, shutting the door and then grabbing her waist, slowly spinning her toward him.
Alex laughed. "True. We do have a lot of fun in that tight space."
He started to lean into her when something caught his eye. "Hey, isn't that your sister?"
Alex straightened up and turned to follow his gaze. On a step alongside the building, Kara sat in a cobalt blue dress, her arms wrapped around her knees and chin thrust up, staring at the night sky.
"Yeah, it looks like it." Alex frowned, stepped away from the car and began walking toward Kara. As they got closer, Alex could make out the forlorn expression on Kara's face and she turned to her companion, "Austin, why don't you wait for me over by the front door?"
He nodded and Alex approached Kara alone.
"Hey."
Kara jumped and spun her head to the sound of Alex's voice. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't heard Alex's footsteps.
"Oh, hey." A puzzled look crossed Kara's face. "Why aren't you inside at the dance?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing." Alex countered. "Austin and I just got here. Why are you sitting on a step out here by yourself?" Alex's eyes narrowed. "Didn't you come with Jordan?"
"Yeah, he brought me." Kara picked up a small rock and began pulling it along the concrete step. "We took the obligatory pictures at Eliza's and then went out to Hamilton's to eat. I thought things were going okay but, when we got here, Jenny Mikels was waiting for us by the door." Kara pushed down on the rock, crushing it into small white pieces. "Jordan stopped and told me that this was where our night ended – that Jenny was his date and that I was just pre-dance entertainment."
Kara wiped her hand on the hem of her dress. "Since I'm only a sophomore, I can't get in without an upperclassman for a date. So, I've just been sitting here," she glanced up to the sky, "looking at the stars."
Alex could feel the heat work its way up from her neck to her face as Kara talked. Her teeth ground together and she clinched her hands into fists. She knew she shouldn't have trusted Jordan. His conceited and smug demeanor had made Alex leery of him when he called a few weeks ago to invite Kara to prom. But, Kara was so excited to be asked that Alex didn't voice her concerns.
"Where is Jordan now?" Alex asked, trying to keep her voice even, her emotions under control.
But, Kara could hear the rapid increase in Alex's heart rate and could see her face flush. "The two of them went into the dance together but, it's okay, Alex," she quickly reassured.
Kara had witnessed Alex's anger in the past and definitely didn't need a repeat of it now. "I'm fine. I called Eliza and left a message. She should be here soon, I think."
"No, she won't. She was going out of town with some friends tonight," Alex stated. "She won't be home for awhile because she thought we would be out late."
Alex looked at Kara, and knew that even though Kara had said it was okay, inside she was heartbroken. She had been so thrilled to get asked to go to prom. For Kara, it was more than just going to a dance. It meant that maybe she was beginning to fit in; that finally, after two years, she might be accepted by the rest of the students; and that maybe she might actually start to feel 'normal'.
"I'll be back in a minute," Alex told Kara and she turned to walk toward Austin standing by the doors. The two talked for a few minutes before both of them came back to Kara.
"Kara, you're going in with Austin," Alex informed her when they reached her.
Kara's eyes widened and her mouth dropped. "Huh?" Then, the realization at what Alex was suggesting hit her and shook her head. "No, Alex, Austin's your date. It's your senior prom. I'm not going to ruin it by taking your date."
"That's right; it's my senior year, which means that I don't need a date to get in," Alex countered. "This way we can all go. Austin agreed, right Austin?" She shot a look at him.
"Uh, yeah, sure. If it's okay with Alex, then it's a-okay with me," he agreed.
"Really?" Kara's eyes brightened as looked from Austin to Alex. "You're sure? I don't want to cause a problem."
"Yes, we're sure and it's not a problem." Alex held out her hand to Kara. "Come on, let's go to prom."
"Wow, that sounds tough," Brad acknowledged when Alex finished. "High school can be a hard place to be."
"Yes, it can be," Alex softly stated, "especially when you have a soft heart like Kara."
"So, whatever happened to Jordan," Brad was curious. "Were there any future discussions that involved big sis?"
Alex chuckled. "No, no discussions. But, I do know that later that night, alcohol was found mixed in with his drink. The police were called, his parents took him home and he was suspended for a week for bringing alcohol to a school event."
Brad laughed. "And how about Kara. Did she end up having a good night at the prom?"
"Yes, I think so. She and Austin went out on the dance floor frequently, which she loved." Alex smiled at the memory. "It was one of the few times that I can remember when she actually enjoyed a school function. I left for college a few months later and the rest of her high school career didn't seem to go much better."
Alex looked back at the television. Her eyes were growing tired and the images on the screen began to blur together. She reached behind, grabbed the blanket off the back of the sofa, pulled her feet into her body and spread the blanket across her lap.
"It sounds as though Kara might have had a hero for a sister while growing up," Brad stated.
"Yeah, well, she's stepped in plenty of times to rescue me," Alex replied.
The small square box, wrapped in a plaid red/green paper, corners smoothed and squared, and topped with an ornate gold bow, was cradled in Alex's lap as she sat on the bench along the ocean shore.
As Kara approached Alex, she could hear small, choked intakes of air followed every so often by a quiet sniffle. Tear stains, released from confinement, were etched along a path down the side of her face. Alex caught sight of Kara out of the corner of her eye. She quickly wiped at her tears and lowered her head, trying to hide emotions that she defined as weakness.
"Hey," Kara softly greeted Alex and took a seat next to her on the bench.
But, Alex didn't respond. Instead, she continued to stare down at the gift that she was now lightly turning around in her hands. Kara watched Alex manipulate the gift. She could see that Alex was struggling with her emotions and knew it was best not to push; that Alex would talk when she was ready. So, Kara held off on her questions and turned her gaze onto the ocean horizon.
They sat in silence for a few minutes until finally, Alex shifted her position and cleared her throat.
"I ordered this a couple of years ago, right before he - left." She stated, eyes still fixed on the small box. "I had saved all of my money from that summer when I babysat the Martin kids so I could afford to buy it. When it finally came in the mail, I can remember running out to the mailbox to make sure that I got to it before anyone else. I shoved it under my shirt and rushed into the house so he wouldn't see it." She smiled softly and shook her head. "I rummaged clear through house, trying to find paper to wrap it in and this was the only kind that I could find."
She lifted the gift out of the protection of her lap so Kara could get a better look. "It's Christmas paper. It's not really appropriate for Father's Day," she shamelessly confessed.
Kara examined the package that Alex's trembling hands held out to her. "Well, it is plaid - so, in a way – I think we could officially pass it off as Father's Day paper." She told Alex. "A very festive Father's Day paper, too, I might add."
Alex gave a small chuckle and the corners of her mouth turned up a little bit. "Yeah, I guess that's true."
She glanced back down at the gift and swallowed hard. "When he didn't return, I shoved it back into the closet and completely forgot about it. I didn't want to remember. Then this week, when I was packing for school, I ran across it," her voice began to shake as she continued. "I don't know what to do with it," she mournfully admitted.
Kara's heart lurched for Alex. She looked at the package and contemplated her answer before finally meeting Alex's eyes. "I think you should open it," she suggested.
Alex's brows came together. "Open it? I don't know, Kara. It's a gift to him and opening it, somehow doesn't feel right."
"Yes, it's his gift but you're the one that bought it for him right?" Kara argued. Her head swiveled around and she seemed to scan the ocean and open sky that painted the view in front of them. "And you know that he's here, watching us. I think that he would want you to open it."
Alex looked at Kara and followed her gaze out to the horizon. "You think so?"
Kara nodded. "Yes, I do. Open it."
With trembling fingers, Alex carefully pulled at the seams of the package. She placed the paper aside and opened the lid of the white box.
Kara eagerly peered around Alex's shoulder, watching as she slowly took a smaller black, hinged case out of the box.
Alex pried open the case, revealing a crystal star, about 10 inches wide, that was nestled inside. On a small gold plaque, located at the bottom of the case, was a single word, "Jeremiah."
"Oh, Alex! It's beautiful." Kara breathlessly remarked.
Alex slowly nodded. "It is, isn't." She took a deep breath. "I had found a place online where you could send in a request to have a star named after someone. Dad had always loved watching the stars and I thought that he might like the challenge of finding his own." Her chin began to quiver and her eyes brimmed with tears as she helplessly looked over at Kara.
"It's perfect." Kara told her. "I'm sure he loves it."
The emotions Alex had been holding back finally broke loose. Kara reached over and pulled her tightly into her shoulder as Alex collapsed in anguish.
Of course, Alex didn't tell the man on the phone how, after she dried her last tear Kara had flown her to the highest tree on Briar Cliff Mountain so she could hang Jeremiah's star at the peak.
She didn't tell him how, afterwards, the two of them sat on top of the Midvale Observatory, searching the stars to find the one that they both agreed had to be Jeremiah's. She told him nothing about all the amazing things that her sister did everyday that made her not only a superhero but, someone Alex realized that she couldn't live without.
"Brad, have you ever felt like you were incomplete - that if you looked inside yourself you would only find half of a soul? And you knew, deep down, that somewhere in this universe another person existed who carried around the other half?"
Alex grabbed the childhood photo of her and Kara off the side table, placed it on her lap and began tracing her finger around the image of her sister. "So, you end up wandering aimlessly through life and if you're really lucky, you find that other half, whether it's through a lover, a spouse, a friend or even a sister."
"Alex, I'm going in. The fire is spreading and people are trapped."
"Kara, no. The environment is too unstable. The voltage is rising and could cause a breach at any moment. Not to mention the numerous electrical circuits that are running across the loose cables and the containers of gaseous material that are located throughout the building. If those wires get pulled away from their source, it could ignite the whole place, creating a massive electrical explosion."
"It's a chance I'm willing to take if it means saving those people."
The air in the room suddenly became stifling. Alex's skin felt clammy and her face flushed. She laid the photo on the coffee table and rose from the sofa, quickly placing a hand on the arm cushion when her knees began to buckle. Once she regained her balance, she made her way to the floor to ceiling windows along the wall. She unhooked the latch on the window frame, grabbed the handle and swung them open. The cool night breeze hit her face and she took in a few deep, crisp breaths.
"Tonight is Danvers' sister night." Alex told the man as her eyes gazed out into the darkness, searching the skyline for a familiar figure streaking across.
"Danvers' sister night?" The voice asked.
"We always try to get it in at least once a week but, it's hard because our schedules don't always mesh," she continued.
"Kara! We're picking up a massive surge of electricity. You've got to get out of there!"
"I have to check one more room. I need to make sure the building is clear."
"What is Danvers' sister night?" The voice on the other end repeated.
"I am usually in charge of bringing the food, normally it's pizza or pot stickers but, with Kara, often it's both," Alex went on, ignoring the question, lost in her own thoughts. "She's inevitably late almost every time so the food gets cold and our show is usually half over by the time she gets here."
"That sounds−"
"−Of course, Kara doesn't care because she'll eat anything and more times than not, she ends up falling asleep before the movie finishes anyway."
Alex snapped her head to a movement along a nearby roof. A nighthawk flew off the ledge and Alex let out a breath, her shoulders dropping.
"Alex, there are ten people in this room. The hallways that I came through earlier are blocked with fallen hot wires and smoke. I need an escape route to get out of the building."
Alex quickly zoomed in on the schematics that she had pulled up on the screen. "There's another door in the back storage area of the room that you're in. Do you see it?"
Alex waited anxiously as Kara scanned the room. "Yes, I see it," Kara's voice suddenly became subdued.
"If you can get out the side door and get down to the 2nd level, there's a fire exit out the window at the end of the hallway," Alex relayed to her.
"−It doesn't matter what kind of week I've had or how much stress I'm under, Kara always has this way of making it all seem so unimportant." Alex stepped further to the edge of the window balcony and placed her free arm around her torso, pulling it tightly to her body.
"We've reached the storage room. Watch for them coming out in a couple of minutes and have rescue on that side of the building. Some are injured and they will need help once they get out."
"Rescue is on its way" Alex affirmed. "All the rooms have been cleared so you need to get out of there, too."
There was a quiet pause on the other end. "Alex, the pathway to the storage room is blocked with downed wires. I'm going to have to pull the wires out of the way so these people are able to get through to the exit."
"No, Kara! There are over 3000 volts of electricity running through each wire. That's enough to kill you if you grab hold of them! I'll find another way out."
"We can't wait any longer, Alex. The fire is getting closer and the temperature on the liquid storage units are at maximum. This is the only available option."
The screeching of metal being pulled against a concrete floor reverberated through Alex's earpiece. "Kara?"
Alex's query was met with a garbled static. "Kara!" Alex frantically repeated.
After a few more minutes, Kara finally came back on the line. "Okay, they're getting ready to come out."
"Kara, no! I can –"
"Alex - I have to do this," her confident voice broke slightly with emotion. "Alex, I love you."
"Kar-." A loud squeal blasted through Alex's earpiece, pounding her eardrum with so much force that she had to yank it out of her ear for her own self-preservation. Her trembling fingers fumbled to find the earpiece as she desperately sought to get it back in place.
"Kara?" Alex pressed the earpiece in tighter to her ear and watched the screen as the satellite picked up the images of people running away from the building. She held her breath, anxiously waiting for the familiar outline of a caped figure to follow them out. "Kara!" Alex repeated, terror resounding in her escalating voice. Her eyes widened as a bright light emerged from the center of the building, quickly spreading out and engulfing the entire building before the screen went dark.
"There's a feeling of complete contentment and peacefulness when the two halves of a soul finally find each other." A shiver crept up Alex's spine and she rubbed the small rock on the necklace that dangled from her hand.
"But, death enters and creates this path of destruction, tearing one part of the soul away from the other, leaving a barren hole in its place. And you know that that emptiness will never be filled because just like pieces of a puzzle there is only one half that will match the other."
"There won't be any more Danvers' sister nights, Brad." Alex's voice caught in her throat and she stopped. "Last week my little sister was the hero that I always knew she was and sacrificed her life so that others could live."
"Oh, Alex, I'm so sorry," the man said softly.
The lights of the city blurred as Alex's eyes filled with tears. She turned her shoulders and searched for a small piece of the evening sky that was situated between two buildings.
"She was the sun of our lives."
The Kryptonian prayer ran through her head. Kara had taught it to her a few months before, not long after she had pushed Fort Rozz into space.
"Alex, please, I need for you to learn it," Kara pleaded.
Alex shook her head, "no, Kara, I don't need to learn it. It's a Kryptonian custom, reserved for members of your Kryptonian family." She stated as she walked away from Kara. Even though it was always a possibility, Alex didn't want to think about Kara dying and she definitely wasn't going to consider a situation in which Kara died while she, herself, still lived.
"You're my family, Alex. You're the only remaining female that I have left besides Eliza. If something happens to me, I want – no, I need for you to recite the prayer."
"Nothing is going to happen to you, Kara. You're not going anywhere."
"No, I'm not planning on going anywhere but, we never know when some alien might show up that is more powerful than me or when I might have to fly something into space and you're not there to save me." Kara looked at Alex. "No one ever knows when they walk out that door if it might be the last time they do so."
She grabbed Alex's hands. "Please, Alex, do this for me. It's important."
Alex searched Kara's bright blue eyes and knew she would cave, just as she always did whenever it came to Kara. She finally nodded. "Okay, I'll learn it."
Kara grinned and jumped up and down in excitement.
"But, Kara…I will always be there to save you," Alex informed her as Kara pulled her in for a hug.
But, she hadn't been.
So, two nights ago, J'onn and Clark flew Alex and Eliza out to the evening sky where Alex recited the Kryptonian prayer for the dead among the stars and watched as her sister floated out into the night and into Rao's light.
A wave of dizziness suddenly overtook Alex, causing her body to momentarily sway and she stepped back from the balcony edge. She turned from the window and with shaky legs, slowly stumbled back toward the sofa. By the time she reached the sofa, her heart was racing and her breaths came in short bursts. She placed the phone on the arm of the couch, put her fist to her chest and stared over at the vacant chair sitting across from her.
"I may not need Superman to be a hero but, I will always need you."
"And I need you, Kara," Alex breathlessly stated. She leaned over and placed Kara's necklace on the photo of the two of them.
"Alex, are you still there?" The muffled voice anxiously rose from the speaker of the phone.
She leaned back into the cushion of the couch and closed her eyes.
"Alex?"
She was tired - tired of the memories and the pain that they brought. She missed the warmth and comfort of her little sister tucked in close to her side as they curled up on the couch.
Alex wrapped her arms around the front of her body and she squeezed them tight to her.
"Come here…no thinking just hugging."
"Alex…talk to me. Are you there?"
Reluctantly, she opened her eyes long enough to find the phone and bring it back up to her ear.
"Yeah, I'm here."
"Alex, I'm sorry about your sister. And I know that it's very hard to go on after losing someone but, you have to. You still have other family, right?"
"Alex, sweetie, I don't blame you. I just don't understand how this happened." Eliza's distraught eyes searched Alex's. "How can she be gone?"
Alex forced her heavy eyes open and focused on the two white envelopes marked "Eliza" and "Hank" written in her own hand, lying on the table.
"Yes."
"Good. You have to know that you're just as important to the rest of your family as your sister was to you. They need for you to go on, for them."
Her blurry eyes roamed over the unopened boxes of pot-stickers and pizza, the childhood photo...and Kara's necklace.
Keep it safe for me.
I can't.
She focused in on the empty pill bottle turned over on its side on the table.
And we await the night to join you in the sky.
"Life has been irrevocably altered," she mumbled, letting her eyes drop down again. "A merged soul that is torn apart will never be at peace until it is united once again."
"Alex, listen to−"
"Brad, I know−," Alex stopped and tried to organize her jumbled, drug-induced mind. "I know that I called you – that you're only doing your job," her words began slurring together. She uncurled her legs and slid her body down the sofa cushion until she was prone on the couch, "but, I don't need you to talk me out of anything anymore."
"What do you mean?"
The room grew darker and Alex listlessly watched as the light from the television danced across the walls and ceiling. The air seemed to pick up speed and the ache that had filled her heart for the last week finally subsided.
"Alex! Are you still there?! What do you mean?!"
The voice was growing further away and Alex was ready to distance herself from it.
"It's done and it's okay now."
"Alex, no! Give me your address and I'll come over. We can get through this together!"
A sudden gust of wind blew across the floor from the open window and Alex shifted her eyes to the opening. Through her glassy vision, Alex was able to make out a figure standing in the shadows. The shape stepped forward, the blonde hair glistening in the light cast by the moon.
"Kara."Alex breathed.
Kara smiled and Alex let out a small cry.
"You're here."
"Alex! I can help. You don't have to do this alone."
I'm not alone. I found my soul.
The phone dropped from her hand and Alex stood up. Her feet seemed to float across the floor as she went to Kara.
"Kara, I missed you so much."
"It's Danvers' sister night. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I'm sorry I'm late."
Kara held out her arms. "Come fly with me, Alex."
Alex smiled, reached out and grasped Kara's hands and together they flew into Rao's light.