Prologue (3 Years Ago)

It seemed that time stopped as Kara and Shade disappeared into the portal. As soon as their bodies disappeared, so did the swirling blue portal. I fell to my knees. "NO! KARA!" Tears stung my eyes and cascaded down my face. A hand was rested on my shoulder. Through my tears, I saw Barry standing over me. "Come on Alex, we need to get out of here." He stated. I didn't move from my spot. "K-Kara-" She was gone. In an instant.

Barry pulled me up and held onto my waist. "I know. I know. But Alex, we need to go before the National Guard get here. They don't take to kindly to aliens or metahumans." I felt limp, lifeless, cold. I was pulled away from my spot. Before I left, I reached down and grabbed her cape.

Finally, I broke out of my trance enough to jog after Clark, Astra, and Barry. We made it out onto the street and we saw total chaos. I tapped my comm hoping to get anyone from the DEO on line. "No answer." I stated. "We should get back to the DEO. If anything, that's where J'onn would want us to regroup." Barry stated. Clark and Astra nodded.

They weakly took to the skies and Barry scooped me up. He held onto me tightly as he ran back to the DEO. We entered the control room where J'onn, Lucy, and the other agents were waiting. J'onn smiled as he saw us. But it didn't last long, however. "Where is Kara?" He asked. I clenched my jaw, closed my eyes, and bowed my head. I couldn't trust my voice.

"Where is she?"

Still no one was brave enough to answer J'onn. I swallowed thickly as Barry broke the silence. "Gone." I looked up to J'onn and his eyes met mine. "Where is she?" He repeated. "Gone." I echoed and placed her cape down. He slammed his fist down on the table. "What does that mean? Where did she go?" His voice raised with worry.

"J'onn, she sacrificed herself for us. She pushed Shade through a portal, that portal lead to Barry's destroyed universe. It would lead to instant death if anyone crossed over." Clark explained. Silence fell over everyone gathered. "No- she can't be-" He whispered. J'onn took in a large breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Go to the med bay if needed. If not, go home, get some rest." He commanded.

Everyone dispersed except Barry, J'onn, and I. "Go home." I could see tears in his eyes. "J'onn, we need to tell the others. They need to know what happened to Kara." Barry stated.

J'onn nodded. "Yes, you're right. Let's go."

The three of us walked down to where everyone else was waiting. The doors slid open and they greeted us. A few of them scanned our small group and noticed that Kara was missing. "Where's Kara?" Caitlin asked.

"Is she hurt?"

"Is she in the med bay?"

J'onn cleared his throat. "Kara- is no longer with us. She sacrificed herself to protect us all. She saved Earth." He stated.

The room fell silent. Cat, however, broke forward. "What do you mean? Are you saying she's dead?" Her voice wavered. Our silence answered her question. "No, she can't be. You're lying! She's in the med bay? Isn't she?" Rage and sorrow controlled her voice. Winn stepped forward and grabbed Cat's arm. "Miss Grant-" He started. Suddenly, tears rushed down her face and she broke down.

I turned around and left everyone. Guilt and fear coursed through my body. How was I supposed to tell mom and dad? I walked into an empty hallway and I felt the tears threatening to fall. I bit my tongue and forced myself to be strong. But it backfired and tears rushed down my face. My body shook and I collapsed to the ground. I held my head in my hands as sobs escaped my body. My shoulders were grabbed and I was pulled into a hug.

"Leave me alone." I cried.

"I'm not leaving you, Alex."

"Please."

"No, I don't want you to be alone. Kara wouldn't want you to be."

I looked up through my hair and saw Barry looking down at me. His eyes were red, his hair everywhere, and there were a few bruises on his face and neck. "I-I have to tell my parents about Kara."

"Okay, then let's go."

"Huh?"

"I'll take you there."

I smiled briefly at him as he pulled me to my feet. "Thanks Barry." He returned the kind smile. "Anytime Alex." We walked out into the control room. "Barry, even though Kara never asked me how I felt about you dating her, I want you to know that you two were perfect for each other."

"Are. We are perfect for each other. I will always love Kara. And thank you Alex."

Barry scooped me up and ran me off to Midvale. I knocked on the door before opening it. "Mom? Dad?" I called out.

Mom walked around the corner and smiled. "Hi Alex, and Barry. What are you two doing here? And where is Kara?"

"Mom, we need Dad here, and maybe you should take a seat."

Dad walked into the room not a few seconds later. He sat down next to mom and they both looked up at me. "What's wrong, Alex?" Dad asked. "I don't know how to say this." I paused before taking a breath. "Mom, Dad, Kara is gone. She s-sacrificed herself to save us all. She took Shade down, but she also paid with her life."

Mom's hand flew up to her mouth. "What? No, that is impossible. How did Shade-" I shook my head. "It wasn't Shade who did it. It was my fault." Tears threatened to fall. "There was a portal that Shade opened that would kill the second anyone crossed over. I was about to be pushed in when Kara tackled him into the portal. As soon as they stepped through, the portal disappeared along with all of Shade's physical embodiment's of power." I bit my lip. "It was my fault she died." I sobbed softly.

Mom stood up and held me in a tight hug. "Oh Alex, nothing is ever your fault." I pushed away lightly.

"No, Mom. You weren't there." Barry decided to chime in. "Alex, it wasn't your fault. I was there and I know that you didn't cause any of this. If anything, I did. I am so sorry."

His eyes were red, but he would not allow himself to cry. I walked over to Barry and held him in a hug. "If it was anyone's fault, it was Shade's. He was the one to cause all this madness and chaos." Dad stated.

A few days passed and everyone agreed to let the world know that Supergirl was gone. As soon as the word got out, the world fell into a state of mourning. National City decided to hold a funeral for their fallen hero.

Superheroes showed up from all over the nation. From Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Blue Beetle, the Teen Titans, Captain Marvel, Doctor Fate, and so many others. There was a large memorial to Supergirl. It stood strong in the middle of National City.

After the funeral, the heroes carried the empty casket to the memorial. They lowered it into the ground and all the people who looked up to her paid their respects.

Supergirl's funeral didn't leave me crying. In fact, I didn't feel much at all. I felt numb, weak, and almost like I didn't belong. In the funeral, I sat near the back with Barry, our family, and the others. We couldn't show who knew Supergirl's real identity. A few days after the funeral, Barry announced to us that he would be National City's new protector. A few days after that, everyone close to Kara came down to Midvale for her funeral.

The sun shone brightly on the spring day and under its glare was the offensively bright and cheerful life. It was as if the world conspired to show me how life would go on without her. It shouldn't. Everything should be as grey and foggy as we felt; it should be cold and damp with silent air. She was our sun, and now she was gone. But the birds still sang, the stars still shone, and the flowers still bloomed.

I walked through the churchyard like a silhouette of myself, wishing I was really a shadow so my insides wouldn't feel as mangled. I took a pew near the front and allowed the tears to flow. I was not ashamed. I loved her. I loved my sister. Now that she was gone the light of everyone's day had been extinguished for forever.

I sat in grief and waited for the funeral to start. Maggie sat down next to me and held my hand.

The next couple days, I returned to National City to pack up Kara's apartment. I wasn't giving up hope, but I still had to accept that she was gone.

I sat in the middle of her apartment while holding a picture of us back in high school. "I remembered that you would always leave your jacket on the floor and forget to take your dirty shoes off, and I could always see the trail to the refrigerator."

I closed my eyes and pictured her smiling face in my head. "I remember you arguing with me over all the nonsense you enjoyed. Especially about the stars."

I chuckled lightly before it turned into a dry sob. "God, how I wish that you aren't gone. I love you Kara."

I put the picture down and walked to her room. I checked my phone to see if it rang. There were no messages or any notifications. I went to place it back down on her dresser.

Instead, I accidentally knocked it behind her dresser. I groaned as I heard my phone's screen shatter.

I crouched down and saw it laying in the back. I sighed and moved the dresser. I grabbed my phone, but I also spotted a letter with my name on it, written in Kara's small and slanted handwriting.

I picked it up and sat down on her bed. Why would she write a letter to me? What sense did it make for it to be behind her dresser? I opened the letter carefully.

Dear Alex, I will be forever indebted to you. You allowed me to be in your family, but it isn't fair for what I have done. I have gone to Cadmus to make a trade. Jeremiah for myself. I have been selfish enough, and you deserve your dad. I hope that you never have to read this letter, but in case the worst happens, I am writing this to you. I want you to know that love you. I will always love you. But this is something I must do. Something that I must make right.

Please give my love to my friends, to Eliza, to Barry, and hopefully Jeremiah. You must take care of them now. You must take care of each other. You must be strong. All of you. Depend on each other. The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. Especially alone. I want to say one more thing as much as I can. I love you, I love you, I love you. You are the best sister I could have ever wanted, you are the best thing that exists in my life and I am forever grateful. Everything you did for me, I will always appreciate. I am the woman that I am today because of you. It meant so much to me that you were my sister. To have a best friend. To have someone always looking out for me when I needed it most.

You have given so much to make me happy and now, you deserve happiness. I want you to move on, to live your life. I know about your girlfriend, Maggie Sawyer. And no, I didn't spy on you, I'm not completely oblivious to everything, like you think I am. I've noticed how much happier Maggie makes you. I've never seen you glow like this before. Be happy with her. Spend all the time you can with her. Depend on her when you need it; let her depend on you. Be supportive of each other. I know that you two will love each other for a very long time. Please, be happy. Love life. One thing that I learned about survivor's guilt is to surround yourself with those you love. Trust them, it makes life so much better.

Oh, Rao, now I'm getting too sappy. But know this, Alex. I love you more than the universe combined and I need you to know that I will always love you. Even when I am gone- I still love you; and I am always, always with you. You are never alone because sisters are forever and I am forever your sister. With all my love, your little sister~ Kara

My throat was dry and I was sobbing. My tears were coating the paper.

It finally made sense how she was at Cadmus. She let herself be caught. She was willing to give up her life to get dad back. She was willing to suffer just to make me happy. "Damn you Kara." I wept. Her promise she made after I heard that dad was alive echoed through my head. Alex, we're going to find Jeremiah, I swear.

I reread the letter multiple times. I knew exactly why she wanted to 'restore' our family. I remember exactly what I said when she first arrived on our doorstep. You don't deserve to hold the Danvers surname. You're just an alien.

And yet, she would always be the one by my side. Always the one who saw me as her own personal hero, despite everything I did when she first came to us. And even in the past few months, all the support she continuously gave me.

Her praises, her love, her words of support echoed through my head like a never-ending cycle.

And Maggie? What's she like? Does she make you happy?

I'm so proud of you.

Alex, you're not alone. You're never alone.

No, no… wait, wait… to family. Love bonds us all.

There was a knock on the door. I stood up slowly and walked to the door. I answered it and saw Maggie standing there in her uniform.

"Alex, I know that now is not a great time-" Her eyes landed on mine. "Oh, my God, are you okay?" She asked.

I looked limply down to the paper I had in my hands. "Kara-" I started, but I couldn't finish. Maggie tenderly reached down and grabbed the paper. She read it quickly and looked up to me with tearful eyes. "I can't believe that she-she-" Maggie tried to continue, but stopped short. Maggie rushed forward and held me in a hug. "She truly loved you Alex. She always saw you in this light that I've never seen her hold anyone else in. She looked up to you. She loved her sister. Her family."

I nodded. "Yeah, she did. But she also thought that she was the one who destroyed our family."

"What?"

Kara's heated words from that night echoed through my head. You know damn well I never belonged with you! With your parents! Jeremiah could be alive right now! You could've had a life not centered around me!

"She held herself responsible for Jeremiah being taken. She carried that with her even until she went to Cadmus. You read it right there. She felt like she needed to make things right in the family. She was willing to die for something that she didn't do."

Maggie looked speechless. "Damn, I knew Kara acted nobly and honorably, but that's ridiculous to hold that on her shoulders for that long. And, the fact that her entire planet died. How did she deal with it?"

"By helping others. It was partially why she became Supergirl. She kept her mind off the destruction of her own planet by saving ours. And Kara was humble. It was one of the many things I admired from her. Kara always found ways to be positive, or helpful, or kind. I never knew how she did it. I still don't." I smirked.

"I guess it was the way she was." Maggie handed me the paper back. "Come on, J'onn and the rest of the DEO are waiting at CatCo and are looking over all the evidence. He has some questions for you."

We headed off to CatCo and I finally realized how much damage was dealt to the city.

Buildings were failing apart, streets were destroyed, cars were turned into metal balls, and trees were twisted into splintered sticks.

The damage was too heavy on the block that CatCo resided on, so the city had to turn off the power. It wasn't the only place where the power was off. All around the city power was down, and people were relying on generators. Maggie and I walked up the stairs to the top of the building. As we approached Cat's office, my stomach began to lurch.

I could see the hole in the side of her office from where Kara was thrown into. The smell of blood circulated the air. DEO agents were collecting data from around the office. J'onn spotted me and walked to me. Over his shoulder, I could see Barry dressed as the Flash. His eyes were red and he was clenching his jaw. "Alex. Thank you for coming."

I gave a short nod. "What do you need me for?" I asked. "There are some things that aren't matching up. I was hoping that if you and Mr. Allen were here together, you could help us." J'onn explained. Barry heard his name and walked over. "Okay, what doesn't make sense?" I asked again.

J'onn hesitated for a second and looked into Cat's office. I followed his gaze, as well as Barry, and I saw a large dried puddle of blood next to a long thin blade. "Was that Kara's? And how did she get injured? Tycho stated that he used all the Kryptonite he found."

"I don't know J'onn. I didn't see anything that would harm her."

"I did. My view was better than Alex's. I saw something that was secured on her wrist. It had a hint of green. I believe that Shade made a Kryptonite shackle for Kara. She was sluggish in her movements, even before Shade pinned her with his blade."

"So, what happened after Shade stabbed her?" J'onn asked.

"Shade brought Astra and Clark here. He stated that he would kill them too. Kara pulled the blade from her leg and tackled him. He picked Kara up and threw her through the wall. Shade then picked up the blade and started to get closer to me." I paused for a second. "The next moment, I saw Kara rushing to me. I jumped out of the way and she and Shade went through the portal. The portal collapsed and there was no other sign of them. All signs of Shade's power, like the swirling black smoke, disappeared."

J'onn walked further into Cat's office. I didn't dare step closer to the large amount of blood. Instead, I turned away from the dried puddle. I could see the trail that Kara pulled herself along to get to me. It led out of the hole that she made. The sun shone brightly, and something reflected the light back at me. I walked over to shinning object. I reached down and pulled the object into my hand.

Once my eyes landed on it, I bit back a sob. "Alex? What did you find?" Barry asked. I opened my hand to Barry and J'onn. "It's the necklace that her mother gave her just before Krypton exploded. It must've snapped off when she went through the wall." I stated. I looked back down to the chain and gem hanging in the middle. There was the smallest smudge of blood on the back of the gem. I rubbed the blood away and pulled the necklace around my neck.

Hey guys, so I'm back! Woohoo! I'm so excited to start up the second part to I Need You. I hope you enjoy this as much as the last one. There are a few notes, however. In this book, some people will act a bit OOC rather than in their normal personalities. There will be more grittiness and angst in the later chapters as the plot moves on. Not everything is sunshine and daisies. Anyway, I hope you enjoy Now More Than Ever. ~Raya Kor-El