"Please don't say you love me,
cause I might not say it back,
doesn't mean my heart's stopping skipping
when you look at me like that...
There's no need to worry when,
You see just where we're at,
Just please don't say you love me,
'Cause I might not say it back."
Gabrielle Aplin
"Hey, so, you know I love Kara, right?"
Alex stopped mid step and Mon-El smacked into her, causing some members of the DEO to look up from their computers and others to subtly edge closer to eavesdrop. They were supposed to be keeping an eye on battle specs, but Supergirl seemed to have this particular foe handled.
"What?"
"You're… aware that I'm in love with your sister?" He shifted his weight from one side to the other as she turned and crossed her arms.
"Sure. I mean, it's pretty obvious that you care about her." She said sceptically.
"No but… The day she broke up with me, I told her I loved her. And then she broke up with me. And I haven't really said it since, and she didn't say it back, but when she was in the musical trance the weird guy with the pocket square and the jazz hands said that the only way Iris and I could save Barry and Kara was with the power of love. Which, incidentally, Winn tells me is a great 80s pop anthem that I should add to my playlist." He stared at her expectantly and she squared herself up to him a little.
"You told her you loved her?" Alex was surprised; Kara hadn't mentioned that.
"Yeah. But…"
"But then you broke up and she never said it back and so you're, what? Worried?"
"No. Yes. I just… I don't know if I can start saying it again now or not, because it might make things weird. And I really want to start saying it more. As many times in a day as I possibly can, between world-ending catastrophes and job-hunting. I don't… I don't care if she doesn't say it back – at this point I'm just glad she took me back – but I want to say it."
"Okay. So, hang on, let me see if I have this right: you love Kara, and you want to tell her that you love her?"
"Yes." He rocked back on his heels.
"So – forgive me if I'm missing something – but why are you talking to me about it? Just go tell her."
"Ah. Yes. Well–"
"You're scared." Alex realised. He didn't say anything, but his face gave it away and she uncrossed her arms and gripped his shoulders, "Mon-El. She cares about you. She's not going to dump you for no reason, and that reason is definitely not going to be because you told her you love her. You're right, she might not say it back, but… that's just who she is – she's so guarded emotionally, because she's scared of getting hurt, but just because she doesn't say something, doesn't mean it isn't there."
"What, what do you mean?" He tried to squash down the hope that had risen in his chest.
"Look, last year, Kara thought she was gonna die. Right before you arrived, there was a huge 'world-ending catastrophe' and she believed that in saving all of us, she would have to sacrifice herself. She almost did." Alex let her hands drop and Mon-El stopped fidgeting and stood up straighter, listening intently, "She didn't tell anyone. She knew and she said goodbye to all of us, without ever actually saying goodbye. Kara doesn't… Uh… She, she told us how much she cared about us all; that was how she said goodbye, by expressing her feelings."
"So the only way I'll know if she loves me back is if she thinks she's gonna die?" He raised his eyebrows.
"Don't be ridiculous Mon-El, of course she lo–" Alex caught herself: that wasn't for her to say, "Kara does talk about her feelings sometimes, you have to know that: if she didn't, you wouldn't be dating. But she just… she needs a little more time than the rest of us."
"Okay. Okay, I can do this. I can tell her. On second thoughts, maybe I'll take it to the grave?"
"Take what to the grave?" Kara's voice rang out across the DEO and he spun to face her. She barely looked ruffled from the fight with the bank robbers, and her face brightened yet further when Mon-El met her eyes.
"Uh, the fact I, uh, really like those cheesy rom-coms I watch with you, even though human males prefer movies about baseball and wars."
"Oh! Yeah, you're right, don't tell anyone that, especially Jimmy and Winn." Kara laughed and pecked his cheek, "Alex, how's your leg?"
"It's healing fine, but honestly I'm still kicking myself. I should have known better than to get involved in alien business. I cannot believe I got dragged into a bar brawl."
"Dragged? Looked more like you started it there Alex..." Mon-El trailed off as the two women glared, "but then again, I was only standing right next to you behind the bar, so what do I know?" He raised his hands in defeat and grinned, disappearing down a corridor.
"What were you actually talking about?" Kara asked.
"Uh, you actually."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, he uh… he wanted my approval," not exactly a lie, Alex told herself. She saw Winn spinning in his chair, waggling his eyebrows in her direction – of course he'd been listening – nothing ever stayed a secret in the DEO for long.
Kara laughed, "Really?"
Alex opened her mouth to answer but before she had a chance to say anything there was a loud yell and something smacked into the wall next to them. The figure stood and they realised it was one of the Daxam ship guards even as Mon-El and another guard came into view. He swung a punch, but the guard caught him in the gut with his staff and Mon-El doubled over, using that second to throw himself forward and drag the man to the ground, but then the other was on top of him, dragging him back. Kara sped forward and threw him off, reaching for Mon-El, but before he could regain his footing the guard beneath him clapped something on his wrist. He flinched and looked down and the guard pressed something on his staff.
"Kara!?" He tried to yank himself free but the guard stomped on his ankle and he dropped to the floor. The two of them faded up in the unmistakeable shimmer of the Daxam ship's teleportation beam and Kara missed them by a second.
"Mon-El!?"
Kara spun on her heel, furious, and punched the second guard, "What is going on? I thought you were going to leave us alone?"
He stumbled, "We have our orders."
"What orders?" She hit him again and he flew back into a computer desk, sending sparks flying and DEO agents scrambling out of the way.
"Queen Rhea ordered that the Crown Prince be returned to Daxam." The man gasped, holding his side.
"What?! Why would she do that? Lar Gand released him from his obligation!" She snapped his staff in half and threw the pieces across the floor.
"Lar Gand is dead. Long live Queen Rhea. The prince must be returned to take his rightful place on the throne." He stayed on the floor, not fighting back.
"Lar Gand is dead?" She towered over him and he nodded, cowering, "How?"
"We do not question Queen Rhea."
"What?! What the hell does that mean?"
"We do not question Queen Rhea."
"Oh. Oh my god." The realisation hit Kara like a bullet train and she ran towards the balcony.
"Kara! Kara hang on, what's going on?" Alex yelled after her, cuffing the guard and giving him to some agents to take to a cell.
"Rhea killed Lar Gand because he let us go. She's going to take Mon-El back to Daxam by force." She looked at her sister with fury in her eyes, "I have to get him back."
"Okay, yes, you should definitely do that, but how about instead of flying directly at an impenetrable ship, you just use the handy portal?" Winn piped up, activating the archway. The room glowed purple and Kara's cape shifted a little.
Kara took a deep breath and tried to shake the rage out through her fingertips, "Okay. Okay, let's do this."
"Kara, think about this, she has kryptonite and an army and you're going to walk directly onto her home turf." Alex said.
"She's right Kara, we need a plan." J'onn approached with his arms crossed.
"I have a plan." Kara blustered.
"Oh yeah, course. What is it?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Punch Rhea in the face and get Mon-El back. See: plan. Now come on let's go!"
"Kara!" Alex yelled but Supergirl was already running into the portal. Alex rolled her eyes, "Well on the plus side, I'm the only one who hasn't been up there yet, so I guess it's my turn."
She stepped forward but the portal wouldn't let her pass through. It felt strangely solid.
"Winn, are you doing this?" She asked.
"No! I don't know what's happening, I punched in the coordinates, Kara went through fine, but then after she arrived it's like the ship, I dunno… it's like it disappeared from the radar. And you can't go through a portal if the location you're trying to reach doesn't let you," He shrugged, "Dobby doesn't want you to get to Hogwarts."
"What?" Alex said, "If you mean Queen Rhea, there is no way she's Dobby – Umbridge, maybe."
"They've put shields up." J'onn said, trying to get them back on track, "Blockers, to stop the portal's signal. Kara is on her own."
"Shit," Alex said, "What are the odds that this was Rhea's plan all along?"
Kara appeared in a familiar place – the remnants of her last visit were gone, but the glass of the window was still missing where Mon-El had blown it out and the safety guard was still up, so she couldn't see through to the stars.
"Oh good, just who I was looking for." Queen Rhea's voice echoed around the empty room and Kara turned. Rhea pressed some buttons on a switch board and the room glowed green. Kara felt the radiation crawling through her veins and she dropped to her knees, suddenly exhausted.
"I had some repairs done, seeing as you so thoroughly trashed the place last time you visited." Rhea said, "Kryptonite in the walls. Not much, but definitely enough to stop you. Your friends can't get through either – it's just us girls."
"Where's Mon-El?"
"Oh, he's perfectly fine. He's in a nice comfortable cell, which he will remain in until we return to Daxam."
"He won't rule for you. He doesn't want to go back to the way things were." Kara said, feeling her strength ebbing away.
"Oh yes he will. He just needs a little… breaking. That's all."
"No, no please don't hurt him!"
Rhea laughed, "Please, I'm not going to hurt my son!" She advanced slowly, pulling a large kryptonite sword from her cloak, much bigger than the two Sai she'd lost, "I'm going to hurt you."
She slammed the butt of the sword into Kara's face and she fell back, hitting the cold floor. Kara tried to stand but Rhea stabbed the knife down through her hand, pinning her to floor. She yelled in pain and kicked out, striking Rhea in the knee, but she didn't have any chance – Rhea stumbled but immediately rose up again, slapping Kara across the face, "When I'm finished with you, you're going to wish you'd died on Krypton." Something hit Kara from behind and she felt herself losing consciousness, even as two guards removed the sword from the floor and dragged her away.
Winn, Alex and J'onn were trying to hack back into the Daxamite ship.
"I thought you'd done this before?" Alex snapped.
"Yeah, I did, but unfortunately, Rhea thought ahead – she changed the system and double encrypted it. I can't get in."
"You're going to get in, Winn. We have to, we've got to get her out."
"Alex–" J'onn tried, but she shook her head at him and he nodded and stayed silent.
"Oh! Hang on, I've got something!"
"What have you got?" J'onn asked.
"I've managed to get into the camera feed on the ship. Give me two seconds and I'll find Kara."
The screen lit up to reveal Rhea standing by herself, kryptonite sword in hand.
"Oh my god, is that Kara's blood?" Alex couldn't take her eyes off the sword, but Winn started flicking through cameras.
"There's Mon-El!" J'onn pointed.
Mon-El was in a cell with guards surrounding it, punching the walls and yelling. He was covered in bruises and seemed to be favouring his left leg.
"Can you patch into the audio feed?" J'onn asked.
"Is Darth Vader Luke's father?" Winn responded and brought up the audio.
"Mother!? Father?! What the HELL is going on!?" He kicked the bars and one of the soldiers stabbed at him with his staff, throwing him back.
"No Kara," Winn switched cameras again, still searching, until he found another cell further down. His heart dropped into his stomach, "Not good."