**I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS BLAH BLAH BLAH YOU KNOW THE DRILL**
'Where am I? I don't know this place? I'm in so much pain. Why do I hurt so much? The explosion...the powder...' Kara started to panic midway to the shower. Standing her up had pumped up her blood-pressure, and amped up the effects of the pathogen. Or at least amped up her attention to the effects. Her thoughts were muddled, and cloudy. One minute she'd think she was at home, the next on Krypton, and the next at the Fortress. The pathogen was making it's way through her brain little by little. She'd flash of between memories, or colors. Not to mention everything was still spinning.
"Alex..." Kara breathed out. She was scared. She was really scared this time. Whoever illustrated this assault knew what they were doing. They had knowledge of the stars, of Krypton's history, and the history of other planets. In particular, details of the ugly feud between Daxam and Krypton.
"Kara, I'm right here, ok? Sorry we have to move you, but it will hopefully save your life. You have to be strong for us." Alex encouraged.
Dr. Hamilton had a chance to take out some of the shards in Kara's face, and once she found out she had to be moved, the lower left leg. This way she could be helped to stand, as opposed to risking digging the fragments in further by carrying her. Alex and Cat had been helping her quickly along. More like half dragging her along. Kara's head kept lulling forward, so she decided just to leave it there. She didn't have any control over the spinning, so she had to trust the women helping her along. Dr. Hamilton already had the shower running with cool water. As they entered the bathroom and Kara saw the water she startled.
"No! No! Please don't! I'll fall! Dunsae lauto svesana!" Kara screamed as her eyes were wild with fear. The women looked at each other as they were trying to keep Kara still. As she struggled, she opened up deeper wounds and started bleeding more than before.
"Kara KARA! NO! Stop! Stop! It's ok...shhh It's just the shower, ceevetu lau topido. Lau topido. Neeit svesana...neeit svesana..." Alex shushed Kara, holding her unfocused eyes on hers the best she could.
"Neeit svesana...topido?" Kara whispered closing her eyes. That was a bad decision. Kara turned an awful shade of grey and Dr. Hamilton recognized it first.
"She's getting sicker, get her to the shower!" She commanded. They didn't pause, they pulled her over to the shower, and all 3 jumped in fully clothed. Kara immediately vomited up anything she had eaten that morning. They were holding her head under the cool water of the shower to bring down her temperature, and to make her feel a little less sick. Once she was finished throwing up, she felt a little better. Still very sick, and in a lot of pain. The water stung all of her tiny wounds. Her dizziness was a little better with the refreshing water. She took a few deep breaths and dared to open her eyes. It was a regular shower. Beautiful, but a shower. Far from the inferno she had envisioned previously.
"Are you ok? See? Water." Alex soothed again, as she pulled Kara's wet hair back from her face.
Kara took one more unsteady deep breath and nodded slightly. "I'm ok...I'm ok. It's was just...Mel-Id...I thought..." Kara tried to articulate.
"I know sweety. The 'Dunsae', when the boy scared you when you were young. It's ok. We understand. It's messing with your brain." Alex explained. Kara just looked at her, silently thanking her for knowing her so well, and listening to all of her stupid stories from Krypton when she had first gotten to Earth, and just wanted someone to talk to about home. Alex had been a little standoffish at first, but within a year, they'd become inseparable. For Kara, Alex was like her anchor. Her mentor. Her bring between her home on Krypton, and her home on Earth.
"What the hell was all that?" Cat said, with feigned sarcasm, not so successfully covering up real concern. Dr. Hamilton just quietly continued carefully stripping Kara, and removing the poison as quickly as she could.
"Well my sister here, was having a slightly terrifying flashback because of the pathogen reactions in her brain. Luckily, it was a memory that she'd told me about before. She used to talk about Krypton...a LOT! It's kind of sad because the last few years, outside of her Supergirl duties, she barely speaks about it at all. So, they had this place on Krypton, it was called 'Dunsae'. A place where their planet's outer crust plates were separated a bit, and what we would consider like...I guess a lava? It poured down from one shelf to the next, then down into a deep pit, back under the surface of the shelf. Basically like when we have an earthquake because outer Continental Plates are shifting, except HUGE and HOT. A bully from school and his buddies didn't very much like the House of El. They were assholes with criminals as parents, who were constantly in front of Alura, Kara's mother, the highest judge. They grabbed Kara and tried to scare her by taking her to the edge of Dunsae, and holding her over the scorching inferno. What they didn't expect, was that heat is actually blasting up from the fissure. They were too dumb to learn anything about science in school. It scorched Kara's arms and neck, and she had to stay at home for what would be weeks in our time to recuperate. After that, she was home schooled." Alex explained. Kara just let out a deep sigh, talking was too hard right now, and didn't like thinking about that time. But at least listen to Alex talk about it as a story, put it where it should be. In her memories, instead of her reality.
Cat just seethed. "What kind of place WAS that planet of hers!?"
"No, no, she has dozens of wonderful, beautiful stories as well. Trust me, now that you know about her, she'll tell you. She trusts you, and she admires your strength and honesty." Alex assured.
"Thank you...Ms. Grant...for helping...being there...sorry 'bout...ughh...lies." Kara mustered through an apology to Cat for keeping her identity to herself.
"I'm not going to lie Keira, it stung that you didn't tell me. Especially when I asked you point blank, and told you I was on your side. But I knew...I didn't know how you managed the body double, but I knew. I hope deep down, you knew I knew. That's why you called me? Because you knew you could trust me..." Cat assumed.
Kara just shot her over a quick flash of a crooked smile. "It was instinct." Kara answered. Telling Cat everything she needed to know about her place in her young protege's life. Suddenly, she was drenched with water.
"OH!" she yelled out.
"Sorry, but you need to be clear of the contaminant as well. Quickly!" Dr. Hamilton said, sounding unapologetic. She noticed Kara's breathing getting faster, which meant her heart rate was going up. Which meant the pathogen was spreading quicker. They had brought a dialysis machine in the case of a biological assault. She was hoping they have it set up by now.
Spraying down Alex as well, she quickly turned the water off, and led them back out. Kara's got a little burst of energy from the cool air, and being soaking wet and half naked. They had a towel covering what they could, while being very careful. She was able to move her legs and focus a little better to get back to the living room. The massage table had been completed stripped, and sanitized. The two girls that came in with them, along with Big John the security beast, were all in other rooms getting washed off and changed as well. As they laid Kara back down, her burst of energy had burned out. All she could focus on again was the pain of the Kryponite, still instead her body, pulsing.
As Alex and Cat pried themselves away from the injured alien, they quickly went about changing out of their wet clothes, and into clean more comfortable clothes. As it turns out, most of the time that Carter spends with his father, Cat spent in this secret, makeshift penthouse she made for herself. A select few knew about it. Kara had her suspicions. She'd catch a glimpse of something up there with her x-ray vision, or hear something on the late nights at the office when everyone else was supposed to be at home. Cat had an entire wardrobe up there for her and for a couple security guards.
When they came back out, just minutes later, Dr. Hamilton had already made significant progress. The other DEO agents, or basically Physician's Assistants, already had Kara almost fully hooked up to the dialysis machine. She was so weak from the Kryponite, her powers were nonexistent.
Dr. Hamilton went swiftly, but carefully going in sections to make sure she didn't miss any Kryptonite.
The barista, and Liz were over in the office with J'onn, getting a debriefing on the happenings of the morning, and signing all of the Non-Disclosure Agreements along with knowing Supergirl's identity.
As Alex and Cat sat quietly holding Kara's hands while she squeezed weakly and whimpered in pain, the elevator door opened suddenly. In walked Winn and Agent Vasquez, escorted of course by Big John.
"Oh my God Kara!" Winn ran over to them, laptop and bulky bag in hand. "Who did this, do we know anything yet about the attack!? Is she going to be ok?"
Kara was startled at the new, frantic male voice coming at her. She cowered slightly, eyes wide. She would never say out loud, that for almost a full minute, she thought she was being berated by Non. Dr. Hamilton notices her tense, and paused, knowing that Kara would come back around.
"Wesley? What are you doing here!? How do you even know about here? What..." Cat was interrupted.
"I work with the DEO Ms. Grant! Relax! I help Kara. How is she? I saw the van on the news, there was Kryptonite EVERYWHERE. But somehow, interestingly enough, no one there saw anything? I guess that's fortunate? If not...odd..." Winn rambled.
"Winn! She'll hopefully be ok when all of this is said and done. But for right now, you're scaring her." Alex calmed him down. "Her brain and some neurological functions have been attacked, and impaired by the bio-weapon released in the attack. It doesn't seem to be affecting any of us, but for her, it's like torture. I need to you be calm, and to do your job right now. She needs you to find out who did this, and to contain her identity's exposure. First, check traffic cameras to see if you can identify where the van originated. Vasquez, if you can help ID everyone that was in that shop. They have to be vetted, and further questioned buy our agents. We'll pose as FBI, and use the guise of a possible anti-alien terror attack. Unfortunately, everyone would be quick to jump on that fake news. Cat, can you make a few calls, and make sure that's how they play this in the media. Tell them you have to eye witnesses that agreed to an interview, and you can use the girls in the other room's names. Assuming they're ok with that of course. Make SURE that everybody is 24/7 berated with the news that Supergirl was NOT present at the attack..." They all took in their instructions for a second.
"GO!" Alex commanded. Even Cat hustled away to do her chore. As Alex turned her attention more towards Kara, and met her eyes, she stared for a few seconds. She was actually inspecting Kara's micro-reactions and motor functions. She didn't look much better. It took Kara longer to snap out of it than she'd like. "Hey, where are you little sis? It's quieter now, it's that better?" Alex asked?
Kara looked away, she was spacey, like she was seeing something that wasn't there. Alex brought her hand to Kara's face, and slowly turned it back to look her in the eyes again.
"Kara. It's Alex. Are you with me? Look right here. Focus. It's ALEX." She chanted. Kara blink a couple times at those last words. Recognition slowly washed over Kara's face. She blinked slowly again, the look right into Alex's eyes.
"alex." Kara barely even made sound. To Alex it was the greatest sound she'd heard today.
"Heeyyyy, you're back with us. Don't go away again ok? Look at me, right here. I'm not getting up again. I won't leave you until we get you through this. OK?"
"Ok." Kara whispered. "I love you...help me?"
Alex's tear fell at that. Even Dr. Hamilton, ever the stoic, sniffled at that. Then continued her work. She was more than halfway done. Kara was startling to wiggle and shake more, making it more difficult. She was afraid she was coming down, and wanted to get this shit out before she went into shock, or worse.
"My sister. I'm right here. I'll help you. None of us are leaving you." Alex tried to convey all of her sincerity with her eyes. She was getting more worried as her sister's condition slowly deteriorated. She needed that machine to start doing it's job, NOW.
