Warning: Major Character Death
If you could go back and change anything,
Would you?
One time Alex was out for vacation...one time away from the DEO… the one time she was on a break, when the incident happened. One time and it cost everything.
Several hours earlier, the plane she was on suffered from severe turbulence. She was seated at the back of the aircraft- a personal request for some reason, when it started to lose altitude. Very quickly, she found herself and several other passengers spiraling down the abyss.
Kara was just about to hand the layouts to Cat when she received the call from Hank.
"Uh, sorry Miss Grant, I have to take this."
He told her that there'd been an incident with a plane headed to Zurich. Right about the same time he mentioned this, the breaking news comes in, on one of Catco's screens.
Kara wondered why the DEO Director had to inform her personally...unless…
"I'm on my way."
She changed into her Supergirl outfit and flew to the crash site. Based from media reports, the exact location of the plane crash hasn't been pinpointed yet, but since this involved a DEO agent, drastic measures were taken.
"Rescue team is enroute, Supergirl. Top priority is securing any surviving passengers."
"Got it."
The first thing that Kara did was to scan the area for heartbeats. She sighed in relief, knowing that some, if not all, survived.
Alex is probably one of them.
She thought.
One by one at record speed, she rounded all civilians in one location, and informed relevant people.
But Alex wasn't one of those she managed to rescue. Of course, Kara wasn't going to give up so easily. Once again, she found herself scanning the area with her x-ray vision, along with super hearing to catch even the faintest heartbeat, and separated the ones that she had already secured.
Her alien ears finally caught a sound and she immediately rushed to its location.
"Help…"
A voice, almost inaudible to a human's ear, but not to a Kryptonian, was heard.
"Okay, I'm here. Hold on."
Instinctively, Kara x-rayed the person and saw massive injuries.
Seriously?
The debris had some of its part made of lead which conveniently obscured the identity of the person underneath it.
She could easily remove the object by the way, but she knew better than to do further damage if by any chance, this debris had hit any major organs.
The person's hip and legs were crushed beyond repair. Blood seemed to be filling up his/her lung. Right arm was no longer there.
Kara Danvers would have cringed, but tonight, she's Supergirl. She bent down and gasped in horror, when she discovered who it was.
"Oh my God, Alex!"
Without hesitation this time, she lifted the debris causing Alex to shriek in pain. This forced Kara to gently put it back to its place.
"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!" She blurted out in panic.
"Kara?"
"Hold on, Alex. I will get you out of there, I promise. Just...just hang on."
Her voice trembled. Shaky hands tapped on her communicator which went straight to Hank.
"Kara, what your status?"
"I-It's Alex. She-she's - it's bad, it's really bad. I don't what to do! You need to tell me what to do, Hank, please!"
"Run it down for me, Kara."
"U-uhm… she's trapped under a part of the plane. I couldn't move it without hurting her. H-her legs are crushed… she's a mess… I-"
At the DEO Headquarters, Hank's hand dropped to his side. He knew she wouldn't make it no matter what they do.
He clenched his hand until it went numb. He had to tell Kara.
"Kara," He started.
"Y-you need to tell me what to do, please. Please J'onn." Kara begged.
"Make sure she's comfortable." His voice cracked on the last word.
It seemed like everything stopped. Nothing could have ever prepared her for this.
"Kara…" Alex called out.
Supergirl mustered all her courage and laid down to grab her sister's hand.
"I'm here. I'm here, Alex. You're not alone."
Kara choked on every word. How could this happen?
"This is really bad, isn't it?" The elder Danvers chuckled despite herself.
That was the last straw. Whatever control her younger sister had in her, vanished as she sobbed uncontrollably.
"Tell Mom that I love her and you too, Kara. Take care of yourself. A lot of people are depending on you. I'm proud to have been part of your life. I'm proud to be your sister."
"Thank you for everything, Alex. I love you too."
Alex breathed her last, eyes still trained on her little sister.
Supergirl momentarily removed her hands and took the damn debris off her broken sister.
How would she tell Eliza that her daughter was gone?
At Catco…
"You, Toyman Junior. Where is Kiera? She hasn't been answering my calls."
"U-um, Miss Grant, I don't think Kara will be back anytime soon…"
The IT expert could barely hold back his tears. He and Alex were pals - she was cool with everything. No, she was just cool, period.
"Mind telling me why?"
"H-her sister...her sister was involved in that plane crash. S-she didn't make it."
Cat's facial expression softened.
"Oh. Where is she now?"
"In Midvale, probably."
Hank Henshaw took the liberty of informing Kara's friends about what happened. More than anything, Winn wanted to be there for Kara.
Worn out and weary, she still landed gracefully on the front porch of that two-storey house she grew up in, in Midvale.
Red rimmed eyes met brown ones after a single knock, and without needing any words, Eliza knew it had something to do with her daughter.
"Let me just get my bag. Is she alright?"
Kara's lips formed a thin line. She looked down, tears threatening to fall again. She shook her head and uttered "I'm sorry."
The funeral was held three days after the incident. A lot of people turned up, including the queen of all media.
After the ceremony, Cat approached Kara and Eliza to extend her condolences. Eliza was the first to leave.
"Thank you for being here, Miss Grant."
"You take all the time you need, Kiera."
"I know this isn't the proper place and time, but I'll say it anyway. I don't think I'd be able to continue as your assistant, Miss Grant. Eliza is not my real mom, but she was there for me when I had no one. Now it's my turn to be there for her. She needs me."
Or maybe it's the other way around.
"I get it Kiera. But remember what I told you when I was about to step down as CEO? You will always have a job with me if you want to."
"I appreciate that Miss Grant. Thank you for everything you've taught me until now."
"Well, don't be a stranger Sunny Danvers."
Cat shook her hands and left.
"Hey, Kara." Winn enveloped her into a hug. "I'll be here if you need me, okay?"
"Thank you Winn. I'll be alright."
James hugged her as well and kissed the top of her head.
"You'll get through this, Kara. We're here for you."
Kara found herself staring at Alex's headstone, deep in thoughts. If she had been there with her as originally planned, her sister would still be here.
Why did she decline the invite again? Ah, yes. She had a prior engagement with James. It was their first official date.
"It was still awkward, Alex," she started, "even though we really like each other. It didn't go uninterrupted either. I had to save a bus, and then stop a train, and a bank robbery. The only difference is that, I didn't have to come up with silly excuses.
In short, I still bailed out on him. I should've gone with you instead. I could've prevented this. I am so sorry I couldn't save you. All these powers, and yet, I couldn't even save the one person that mattered more. I also know you wouldn't want me to dive head first into self blame and depression - I can't help it. Can't you just come back? I'll do anything."
Her alarm sounded off at six forty five. She dreaded waking up - waking every morning without her confidant that was her elder sister.
Kara sighed. A knock on the door took her out of her reverie, and out of habit, she picked up her glasses but did not even bother to put them on.
She opened the door mindlessly, not even the slightest bit interested in the person on the other side until… she saw Alex with a pink box on her hand.
The elder Danvers raised her brows, confused as to why her sister was blocking the door.
"Good...morning? I come bearing gifts." She chided.
"Goddamn it J'onn. This is not funny."
This elicited an obnoxious "What" from Alex who sort of forced her way in.
"Are you drunk? No, forget I said that. You cannot get drunk. Bumped your head somewhere, perhaps?"
Alex's hands flew to Kara's forehead as she examined her closely.
"Nah, forget I said that too." She continued. "You are made of steel. I feel sorry to whoever or whatever clashed heads with you."
"Please, J'onn. Enough with the act. We are both trying to cope here."
"Cope with what? Why do you keep calling me J'onn? J'onn is at the DEO. He practically sleeps there."
"Alex?"
"Yeah." She replied nonchalantly as she took one donut from the box and took a bite out of it.
"Alex." Kara repeated.
"My god, Kara. You're starting to freak me out. Anyway, good luck on your date tonight. I'll call you when I get to Zurich, okay?"
"W-what? Zurich?"
"Yeeesss…? I'm on forced leave, remember? I'll be gone for a week or so."
"Alex!" Kara closed in on her and hugged her real tight.
"Can hardly breathe, sis. You can let go now, seriously."
Said sister sobbed on the agent's neck.
"I thought I would never see you again."
"What's the matter with you? Let's sit down, okay?"
The younger Danvers complied, forcing back a sniffle.
"It was probably a bad dream. It just felt so real...I-"
"What kind of dream?"
"Life-like hallucinations, similar to when I was under the influence of the black mercy."
"Well -"
Alex returned the favor and hugged her back.
"You're going to be okay Kara.. But, I still have to go to Zurich."
"You can't! I have a very bad feeling about you being on that plane. Or...or, at least let me come with you."
"What? You're bailing on James? On your first real date?"
"You're more important."
"Aaw. As much as I appreciate this concern you have for me, I still think you're better off starting your love life with James than be stuck with your sister. I can take care of myself, you know. "
"But…"
"No but-s. Okay, I'm going now. I'll call you."
"Alex, wait."
"Nah!"
Alex raised her palm in a halting gesture.
"Stay put Kara Danvers, or I swear to god, I'll cuff you with Kryptonite."
Of course Kara knew her sister wouldn't dare, unless necessary. Alex smiled at her and left her apartment.
Still, Supergirl cannot shake off the feeling of dread.
Was she shown a glimpse of the future? How? She knew that future will depend on whatever choices she'll make today.
A/N: Tada! New fic. :)