A/N: Takes place after "A Visit from the Future"
Supergirl paced back and forth in the DEO's Infirmary, her eyes never leaving the lone Coluan lying unconscious on a bed – his current condition a result of trying to stop the time travelling AI known as Vril Dox.
"The Legion have taken Brainiac-1 to their ship and locked him up in a cell that Brainiac-5 created," Alex offered. "Vril hasn't woken up yet."
"Brainy hasn't woken up either," Kara replied. "He said he'd be able to wake up as soon as he shut Vril down!"
"Well, Brainy also said there was a 49.5% chance he wouldn't be able to wake up right away," Alex pointed out.
Kara looked at her, "What?"
Alex furrowed her brow, "He didn't tell you?"
"He said the odds were in his favour!" Kara retorted.
"I guess that was technically true," Alex shrugged. "But Vril is Querl's equal in every way." She saw Kara's concern grow. "Look, I'm sure OUR Brainiac will be fine. His vitals are steady, and his brain activity is off the charts – as usual. He keeps complaining about how our 21st Century technology can't keep up with his processing power." She offered a small smile, but her sister wasn't responsive.
"I'm going to get him," Kara decided, grabbing the cerebral interface on the tool tray. "He came in to get ME when I was in my mind prison," she held the 31st Century tool up to study it. "It's only fair I do the same, right?"
"Kara, no!" Alex pleaded as Kara lay down on the bed nearest to Brainiac-5. "Brainy is the only one who knows how to use that!"
"I can figure it out," Kara insisted as she fiddled with the settings on the back of the interface.
"And if you can't, you'll fry your brain!"
"Got it!" Kara replied proudly when she finished tinkering. She placed the interface on her forehead.
Within seconds, she was unconscious.
"Well, that's not going to work," a female voice said behind Alex.
Alex whipped out her gun and spun around, only to see the windows around the Infirmary become opaque, hiding her and the patients from the view of the rest of the DEO. "What the—" she looked up to see the lights dim, the glow of computer screens now casting a bluish tint over the room.
A blue-skinned, blonde-haired Coluan in a Legion uniform shimmered into existence beside Supergirl. The figure quickly yanked the interface off Kara's forehead, changed a setting, then placed it back.
"There we go!" she turned to Alex. "She was close, but I calculated a 44.2% chance she would still end up with a scrambled brain. I couldn't take that chance." She then noticed the gun aimed at her, "Can you put that down, please?"
Alex furrowed her brow but lowered the gun. "Six?" She recognised the girl, then looked around the Infirmary, "What happened?"
"Oh this?" Six nodded to the windows and the lights. "Cloaking device." she explained. "I added it to my forcefield belt. I can switch up the range – narrow to wide - which is why you couldn't see me before."
Alex's eyes went to the belt around Six's waist. Three purple lights formed the Brainiac symbol on the buckle, which also matched the glowing symbol on her forehead.
"You look… older." Alex studied the girl in front of her. She had to be in her late teens now.
She nodded. "I'm a bit older than when you last saw me. Well…" she shrugged, "Last saw me in the 21st Century anyway. I actually saw the older you back home last week, on my 19th birthday."
"Back home being the 31st Century?" Alex asked.
Six nodded.
"I'm still alive in 1,000 years?"
"You move there when I'm a baby."
"Wait. I move to the 31st Century? Why?"
Six smiled, "Spoilers, but I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually. Let's just say you make good use of those maternal instincts when my parents are off superheroing." She then turned to the two unmoving figures. "So, this was the day Brainiac-5 took Vril Dox down."
"Yeah, I mean… I guess?" Alex glanced at the teen beside her. "Does he stay down?"
Six shrugged. "For a while, at least. He comes back, but not nearly as strong." She then let out a small laugh, "He even gives himself a terrible fake name. It's sad, really. You'd think a 12th Level Intellect would realize when he's beat."
"Vril is related to you, isn't he?" Alex asked.
"Unfortunately," Six scowled. "I have a lot of relatives I'd prefer not to have." She shuddered at a memory.
"Six?"
"Just… my father's mother. She's a piece of work." Six went to the other side of the Infirmary and grabbed two chairs, placing them at the foot of Kara and Brainiac-5's beds. "They'll be like this for a while. Have a seat."
Alex did as Six suggested.
"So, the Legion is here. I mean, the Legion I know," Alex clarified. "It's only been a year since they helped us stop Reign. You being from a Legion further up the timeline isn't going to cause a problem, is it?"
"They won't see me. That's why I cloaked the room," she indicated the windows.
"Isn't anyone going to wonder why this room is suddenly invisible?" Alex asked.
Six laughed, "Invisible? No no. There's a holo-projection of you scurrying around Mo—" she stopped, "Supergirl and Brainiac-5, checking their vitals and whatnot. So, no worries."
"The rest of your Legion aren't here, are they?" Alex asked.
"No, I came via time bubble," she explained. "It's a device my father created. Works quite well."
"Is there anything you can tell me about the future?" Alex asked. "I mean, that won't ruin anything?"
"I could," Six offered, "But keeping timelines straight might be a bit confusing. You may be talking to a younger version of Uncle Winn, and accidentally reveal something about the older version without realizing. Like Hey, Winn. How's your wife? And he'll be all confused, because he doesn't HAVE a wife yet, and then things get all messed up."
"He gets married in the future?" Alex asked eagerly.
"Spoilers," Six winked.
"Is there anything we can talk about?"
Six shrugged, "Want to make up stories about what's happening in Supergirl and Brainiac-5's heads? I say they're watching Star Wars, and he's breaking down all the scientific inaccuracies."
Alex laughed, "He DID do that, actually. Kara showed him Star Wars after we defeated Reign. She threatened to tape his mouth shut if he didn't keep quiet."
Six joined in the laughter, "She still threatens to do that any time he talks during a holo-vid!"
Alex stopped laughing, narrowing her eyes as she focused on Six, "So… Kara IS with you."
Six looked at the DEO director wide-eyed, "Oh, sprock!" She squeezed her eyes shut, then took a deep breath and released it. "There's only a 2.7% chance that affected the timeline." She turned back to Alex, "Based on the fact that you're good at keeping secrets, of course."
"Part of the job." Alex replied. Her eyes went back to Kara and Brainiac-5, her voice quiet. "I think I know why Winn rushed you back to the Legion ship the first time I saw you."
"Oh?" Six was curious now. "What's your hypothesis?"
"These two," she indicated the two unconscious forms. "You're theirs. My… my niece."
"I can neither confirm nor deny that," Six replied.
"Lexie," Alex began softly, "You're named after me."
"Uncle Winn," Six groaned. "I remember him saying my name that day. Didn't think much about it at the time."
"If I'm right," Alex replied, then took a moment to think it through, "That means – hypothetically, of course - at some point, my sister travels to the future with Brainy, and I join them." She glanced at Six, "Isn't she needed here though?"
Six shrugged. "If we're going by your hypothesis – still not confirming anything here – she may not have felt comfortable raising a noticeably alien baby on Earth, especially in a century filled with so much hate. It's not like she would leave the Earth undefended though. Not unless she was sure there was a team to protect it."
"What team?" Alex asked.
"A team made up of her cousin, and a bunch of his friends. That's all I can say." Six answered.
"Don't people hate Brainiacs in the future too though?"
"Not as much as Earthlings hate Non-Earthlings here."
"Touché," Alex sighed, then turned back to the two unconscious forms before her. "So, how long do they stay like this."
"A few days still." Six replied, then glanced at Alex, "You can go home for a bit and get some rest. I'll stay here and keep watch."
"Don't you need to sleep too?"
Six got up to lie on an unoccupied bed, hands behind her head. "Even when I'm napping, I'm connected to all the tech in here. If anything changes, I'll know immediately. Go."
Alex did as Six suggested. It was time for a shower anyway.
It had been five days, and neither Supergirl nor Brainiac-5 had woken up.
Six sat on a chair between the two beds, holding each of their hands as she monitored their vitals.
"Are they okay?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, they're fine. But I went into stealth mode and overheard the Legion – the younger Legion – talking. Vril is starting to wake up. These two need to be as far away from his mind as possible when he regains full consciousness again."
"Away from his mind? What do you mean?"
"Oh, did I bury the lead?" Six asked. "Sorry. They're kind of linked to Brainiac-1 right now and are trying to find a way to disconnect." Six closed her eyes and concentrated, "Of course. Vril's deleted all the exits."
"You can sense what's going on in there?" Alex asked.
Six nodded. "Kind of. I connected to both Da- Brainiac-5's AI, and the cerebral interface on Supergirl's forehead. I just have to… Yes! There we go!"
"What?" Alex asked.
"I couldn't find a door, so I just made the floor disappear beneath them instead. Now," she stood up and went to hug Alex, surprising the DEO Director with the sudden show of affection. "I have to go before they awake. It was nice seeing younger-you," she smiled, then hit a button on her belt and shimmered into nothing as the cloak around the Infirmary faded away, returning the room to its regular appearance.
Alex turned back to her patients, both of them waking up with a start.
She glanced at their vitals – they seemed fine... except for the way they were currently looking at each other, and the sudden spike in their pulse rates.
Alex realized that whatever had happened between the two of them in their shared coma, it definitely wasn't Star Wars related.
END