Two years, six months and three days, a handful of hours, that's how long it's been since Alex ran a Kryptonite sword through Astra's chest. That's the amount of time that passes before Alex steps into a clinically white room and finds Astra curled into herself in the far corner. Her breath stutters and stops, sticks in her throat, "Astra?" she manages to choke out.
Blue eyes so like her sister's rise to meet her own, except there's something broken in Astra, her fire gone. "Come to finish the job, Agent Danvers," she says, "after all you are the one who started this."
Alex moves forward, watches Astra flinch at her quick movements and kneels before the older woman, "I'm sorry," she tells the Kryptonian, "I'm sorry for what I did and I'm sorry you've been here all this time."
Astra reaches out and Alex spots the Kryptonite cuff on her wrist, "All pretty words, Agent Danvers, for an hallucination."
Placing her hand on Astra's her fingers wrapping around those of the other woman's she shakes her head, "No hallucination, Astra," she promises, "I'm real. I'm right here."
"You came for your father," Astra says quietly.
"We did," Alex says even as she begins working on the Kryptonite cuff on Astra's wrist. When the white bracelet falls open in her hand she quickly tosses it away and then stands, "Come on," she murmurs.
"No," Astra looks up at Alex, "you came for your father, brave one, not for me."
In that moment Alex thinks about that night in Kara's apartment when Astra told her how to defeat the Black Mercy, about what happened after. It's a memory she's blocked from her mind for years, a memory she's pretended doesn't exist, "If I had known you were here," she says quietly, "this would have been a two person rescue mission." She holds her hand out, "So come with me."
Looking up at the woman above her Astra nods, slips her hand into Alex's and allows herself to be pulled up, her legs shaky, "I'm sorry," she says when she stumbles into Alex, "they," she swallows, "they only returned me here just before you arrived." She shudders, "My body has not yet adjusted."
Wrapping an arm around her waist Alex nods, "I've got you." She steers Astra towards the door she entered moments before, "Let's meet up with the others and get out of here."
"Who else?"
"J'onn and Kara," Alex says, moving them in the direction of the meet point. "They've got my dad."
Astra stops suddenly outside a door a few down from hers and before Alex can stop her she's rushed in, "Astra," she says, stepping forward to hold the door open.
When the other woman returns she's carrying a small pod, barely bigger than a duffle bag, "Now we can go," she says, pod cradled to her chest.
Alex stares at the other woman, "We can't take that with us."
"We can and we are," Astra says firmly but doesn't elaborate more.
"Put that thing back where it came from or so help me -"
"It's an incubation pod, brave one," Astra says suddenly. Alex stops, stares at the other woman, "She's going with us."
Slowly Alex nods, "Okay," she nods once more, "okay."
They make their way through the rest of the halls, Astra still somewhat supported by Alex but holding tightly to the pod in her arms. When they reach the meet point Kara, J'onn and Jeremiah are already there. Alex looks her father over, he looks the same, just as she remembers him. She throws herself into his arms, feels herself pulled tight against him, just the way he always hugged her, "Daddy."
She reaches out to Kara, wraps her hand around her sister's and pulls her into the center of the hug. "I hate to break this up," J'onn says quietly, "but we have to go. They're coming."
Nodding Alex pulls away, brushing at her tears, "Okay," she says, "we need a new escape plan." She turns to find Astra leaning heavily against the wall, "Hey," she says quietly, "Astra?"
"Aunt Astra?" Kara questions appearing at her aunt's side.
"They've starved her," Astra says quietly, "starved both of us of the sun. This close to me she's leeching my energy from me."
Alex takes the pod from Astra, surprised by how light it is. She feels something take root in her chest at the feel of the pod in her arms, something extremely protective. "Can you fly if you aren't carrying her?"
Astra nods, "I think," she allows herself to hover a bit, "it'll be better when I'm in the sun."
Turning Alex passes the pod to J'onn, she meets his eyes, "You protect her with your life."
J'onn nods, he doesn't dare second guess her, he senses a change in Alex after she took the pod into her arms. "She'll be safe with me," he promises.
"Kara," Alex says turning to her sister, "take Dad with you," she looks between J'onn and Kara, "whatever happens the two of you make sure you get them out of this place."
"Alex -"
"Astra and I will make it, Kara, but Dad and the pod are your number one priorities right now."
"Okay," Kara says but there's a hesitance in her voice. "Can you carry Alex, Aunt Astra?"
Astra nods, "I can," she says, "I'll carry her on my back."
Nodding Kara moves to Jeremiah, "Alex, wouldn't it be -"
"She'll leech energy from you too, Kara," Alex says carefully, "you aren't her mother but you're blood relation."
Slowly Kara nods, "Right."
"You all go, Astra and I will be behind you." Watching her sister take flight with her father and J'onn take flight with the incubation pod Alex closes her eyes, she turns to Astra, "Where did they get my DNA?" she asks quietly.
"I always thought it was simply your father's but clearly that is not the case." She motions Alex around, "Come, we will figure this out when we are safe," she meets Alex's eyes, "when she is safe."
Alex nods, wraps her arms around Astra's neck and her legs around Astra's waist, the other woman gripping her thighs, "That way," she says pointing towards the exit. "The sun, our daughter, our family they're that way." Astra nods and then runs in the direction Alex pointed at super speed. There's too many unanswered questions and too many things that need to be understood but one thing Alex knows is that she has a child with the woman carrying her. She lays her head on Astra's shoulder for a moment, what are they going to do?
Prompt: Alex/Astra, "put that thing back where it came from or so help me"