Disclaimer: I own nothing.

AN: I had to get this out

Now

Cold. Everything felt cold. A shiver ran through her bruised and battered body. She long lost her feeling in her dislocated shoulders and her now dangling legs. She could not fathom the extent of her injuries but she knew if she stayed in her save space, like her training had taught her to, she would be able to block out the pain and shock she knew were lingering around her. She stayed barely awake for the questioning which resulted in more beating which resulted in more pain which resulted in less hope of escape. She had known it was a bad idea to go out and clear her head after a ridiculous fight with Astra. She had known the risks for her life going out late at night with the acute danger of Cadmus lingering above her, too. She had not noticed when the two assailants had silently approached her from behind and struck her with a needle in the neck. Only the slight sting and the following dizziness were registered. She had already been under when a van had come around the corner and the two men had dumped her on the load space of the van. She had still been under when they had dragged her into a concrete cell and strung her up by her hands; until a sharp pain from a taser jolted her out of her unconsciousness. The first thing that had happened before a question was asked was the sudden snap in her shoulder joints from when they had dislocated her shoulder by lifting her body-weight by her arms. She had not even thought about holding back the scream of pain and the kicking of her legs when a punch to the gut silenced her to muffling sobs.

"Where is Supergirl?" had been the question of the masked man with the dark voice. When he had not gotten his answer, the next punch had followed and the next. The had come in turns. First the question then the punches. And they had come with super human strength. She had noticed it right from the first punch that it could not have been a normal human. So, she had braced herself for the pain, for the impact and for the damage to come. She had not answered one question, just told them to go to hell and kill her if necessary. She had lost consciousness numerous times but was always brought back for more torture. Until she had lost any sense of time, a woman had stepped into the room.

"I'm sorry Agent Danvers for the inconvenience. But I found another way to get in contact with Supergirl. She is already on her way. I apologize for the amount of torture Hank put you through but he has a certain disdain for people who associate with aliens." She had chuckled lightly and left her cell. Alex had only screamed for her to come back, had fired off question after question only to get a blow to the head from which she had passed out.

When Alex had woken up again everything had hurt. She had felt the need to vomit or pass out again until she had seen a figure seated in front of her. A slight green glow had illuminated the room and bathed it in a warm light. She had to blink several times to notice the person in front of her.

"Kar….. Supergirl" she had croaked out and had tried to wiggle out of her bonds to get to her sister, to no avail. The pain had shot through her whole body and she had thrown up the little content her stomach had housed.

"No, Alex don't…" Kara had whimpered, extremely weakened by the Kryptonite emitters. The woman had come out of the shadows watching their interaction. She had told what she wanted of Supergirl and if she would deny her, Agent Danvers would suffer the consequences. Alex had pleaded with her sister not to give in and that she could take everything they would do to her, that it was her task to protect her, which had only resulted in more punches and broken bones. Kara had yelled at the man beating her sister for him to stop but he has just picked up a bat from the corner and smashed Alex' knee. Kara had broken down sobbing begging for them to stop hurting her sister, which had resulted in an amuse expression on the woman's face. She had halted the whole scene and told Supergirl what she wanted.

Alex had only seen stars. It had been almost too late for her training to kick in if it had not been for the small voice in her head telling her to shut it down or she was no use for Kara. So, she had watched Kara leave the room with the blond woman knowing that she should comply. Little had she known then, that Hank Henshaw, had not finished with her.

And now everything had come back like a train hitting her. She still hung from the chains from the ceiling. Her shoulders were still dislocated. The whole midsection still hurt like a bitch and breathing felt like she would drown. She didn't give much thought to the lack of sensation in her legs. The pain from her waist up to the swollen and blood caked eye were ever present. Alex tried to listen to any noise coming from within the facility they were kept in but was only met with the constant dripping noise behind her. She was afraid for her sister, afraid for her lover, afraid for her friends; afraid of what the outcome of this situation meant. She did not want to die. She could not die, but she was very close to death. She briefly thought about her mother who surely had no idea in which situation Alex was in, her father who was still missing, Kara for whom she hoped had not died or had been tortured by the blond woman and Hank, Astra and their stupid jealousy fight over Detective Sawyer and J'onn who still needed her to keep up the front.

She coughed slightly, resulting in a coughing fit. She tasted blood on her lips and teeth. She knew her time had run out. So, she did something she rarely did. Growing up in a family of scientists did not leave much room for belief. But she prayed to a God she did not believe in, which seemed to be the last resort. She prayed for herself, for her lover, her sister, her mother and her friends at the DEO. She noticed how her heart rate slowed down, how her breathing became shallow and how her grip on reality slipped away. She didn't notice anymore when the metal door was ripped from its hinges and was thrown aside with a loud bang. She did not register the loud gasp and strangled sob coming from the woman she so dearly loved. She just slipped away into a painless, dreamless nothingness.

"Alex" Astra screamed when she saw her lover dangling from heavy chains. If she had been able to vomit she would have right the moment she used her x-ray vision on the dying Agent. Bones fractured, ripped through muscle and ligaments, organs ruptured bleeding from chaps into her body, a lung filling too fast with liquid and a knee dangling at an awkward angle from her upper thigh. She was interrupted by Kara leaning heavy into a man behind her.

"Is she…?" Kara asked afraid to finish her question. Astra turned around and sized up the man holding Kara and Kara from top to bottom looking for any signs of injury. But other the utter exhaustion she found nothing threatening.

"No… she… she is still alive, barely." Astra managed ruffled in her usual composure. "Don't look at her little one." The man had not said anything until Kara slightly whimpered.

"Who are you?" he asked looking pointedly at Astra never letting go of Kara.

"I am Astra In-Ze, last of the House In Ze from Krypton. I'm…" but Kara cut her off.

"She is my aunt, Jeremiah, she is here to help us," Kara said.

"You are her father." Astra simply stated, turning to Alex embracing her midsection to hold her up. She used her heat vision to melt the metal chains holding Alex up. When they came lose Alex slumped over like a puppet without her strings. Astra carefully lifted Alex into her arms and cradled her against her chest, listening to every change in Alex' body.

"I need to get her out of here, " Astra said in a professional tone. "A doctor needs to be seen. I trust you to get my niece out unharmed? There is a tactical team searching this facility. I trust you will find them, Jeremiah." Jeremiah shifted Kara on his side nodding to Astra, letting her through. After 12 years, he would not have thought about such a painful reunion. Seeing his biological daughter on the brink of death made his insides churn.

"Save my daughter, Astra." He said looking after Astra took off through a hole in the ceiling. He turned around, shuffling Kara through a long corridor. "You sure have grown up Kara." He chuckled to lighten the mood. She only grunted in response barely able to keep her eyes open. After she had blown out her powers, as she was forced to, they had put her in a cage with kryptonite emitters. They had planned on leaving her there, wanting to kill her after the project had succeeded but without a guard, it was easy for Jeremiah to get to his younger daughter. He had also been the source that had informed the DEO of Supergirl's and Agent Danvers' location.

When they reached a gate several men in tactical gear approached the duo. He was used to being treated as a suspect, mistrusted and mistreated, so he raised his free hand showing that he was not harmed and laid Kara at his feet for them to tend to her. When a black skinned man approached him with his weapon drawn he revealed himself from under his hoodie.

"Jeremiah?"