The call he'd gotten from Kara had been more than unexpected.

He'd only talked with her two hours before.

Alex still wasn't awake.

Kara was requesting something that J'onn just didn't know if he could do. It would involve more than just the DEO's help, it meant so much more. What Kara was asking would be risky to both girls and it would also involve opening up the DEO to people that he hadn't been planning on bringing in (at least not again, in one case).

He sat there in his office, not having really slept for more than thirty minutes here and there since he'd initially received the call about Alex's accident. J'onn was exhausted, but he couldn't bring himself to sleep. He needed to know that Alex was going to be okay. Right now, that meant that he push to try to get things arranged while Kara did convincing on her end. J'onn wasn't sure who was going to be harder to convince to go along with Kara's plan (if it was even feasible) Eliza Danvers or Maxwell Lord.

"I must be hallucinating."

"You heard right."

Max just smiled and then let out a laugh. "You come here...in the middle of the night-"

"You said you'd do anything to help Alex, was that empty or did you mean it?"

His features seemed to go serious and soften. He rubbed his face and let out a sigh. "No, I meant it." He looked at J'onn for a long moment. "How do I know that you'll let me go once I help you? If I can even get the thing to work, which...by the way, there's no promises and there's no alien conduit this time. What you're proposing could kill both of them."

"I guess we're going to just have to take each other at his word unless you have another suggestion?"

J'onn hadn't wanted to go to Maxwell Lord in the first place, but he was the best in his field. He'd helped them solve the VR interface when Kara had been under the Black Mercy. That's what Kara wanted to use now, to modify the VR interface to somehow go into Alex's mind and pull her out. There were no promises and no certainty that it was even possible or that it would even work, but Kara was desperate.

So was he.

"No," Lord resigned. He was quiet for a moment. "We're doing this at the DEO facility?"

J'onn gave him a firm nod in response.

"Just trying to figure out what I'll have there." Lord was quiet, he seemed to be contemplating. "Can I at least get dressed first?"

Instead of responding verbally, J'onn huffed and turned to move out of Lord's bedroom and give him the privacy he required. This was so difficult for him. Lord couldn't be trusted and even though it was clear that Lord didn't like aliens, J'onn wasn't sure the man's exact feelings when it came to Alex (especially with Lord knowing that Kara was her sister). He'd have to keep a close eye on things.

Hank Henshaw: Any luck with Doctor Danvers?

Kara Danvers: No. She's still asleep.

Hank Henshaw: How's Alex?

Kara Danvers: The same. How are things going there?

Hank Henshaw: Max is on board. He's been here working on the interface right now.

Kara Danvers: Thank you for doing this.

Hank Henshaw: You still have convincing to do.

The big problem was that Max had to find a way to interface the VR equipment that Alex had originally used so that it could go into Kara's mind. It wasn't going to be the same this time. That was one of the reasons why, Lord had explained to him, that they could lose them both.

All he could think about was how weeks before, Alex had gone in and it hadn't gone as planned and to him, it had been close. They could have lost them both then. There had been the added horror that Alex had requested James stop him if he tried to pull Alex out. Then, Alex hadn't wanted to come back without Kara...now, he wouldn't be surprised if it was the same thing all over again. The sisters were close and they depended heavily upon each other to survive this world. It wasn't just National City or everyday life, it was the constant life or death situations and alien invasion. The world that the rest of the world didn't know existed for the most part, they only saw glimpses of it.

He watched Max work and he felt sick. What if this didn't work? What if something went wrong? Worry raced through his mind and he just had to hope that this would work and that Max would actually do the right thing.

Kara Danvers: She won't allow it.

That first text killed him.

He sat down, floored by the thought that he might never talk to Alex, see how her eyes sparkled before her smile fully formed, or argued with her again. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't force this on Alex. As far as he knew, Alex didn't have any legal papers giving someone else the right to make decisions on her behalf, so it fell to family. Her family was Eliza Danvers and Kara. Not him.

Kara Danvers: The doctor just officially said that Alex has slipped into a coma. He acted like it was nothing. We've been waiting for her to wake up for almost two days. I can't just sit here and hope that Alex wakes up. The doctors say that it's up to her. What if Alex doesn't want to come out of it because of me? I was awful to her.

If this was going to work, he knew that he needed to make other steps to make it happen. He couldn't just wait and hope that Kara would convince Doctor Danvers. He needed to go down there, no matter how much Alex's mother didn't want to see him, he needed her to understand that this was possibly the only way to get Alex back. They could just wait...and maybe Alex would wake on her own in a week or in a month, but what if she didn't?

He couldn't just sit there.

He wouldn't.

He got up and moved out of his office. This wasn't going to be how things ended. He'd made a promise and he was going to honor it. "Benanti, watch Lord and get him whatever he reasonably needs," J'onn barked as he moved across the command center area of the DEO facility.

"Yes, Sir."

Today might just be his last day as Hank Henshaw.

"What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

"I have nothing more to say to you! You've done enough damage to my family!"

"Alex is my family, too."

"How dare-"

"Eliza! Stop!" Kara snapped. Her voice softened when she spoke next, nearly pleading. "Please? He's really here to help! If Alex was awake, she'd tell you the same exact thing!"

Eliza Danvers seemed to stop at that.

"I don't even want to know what Alex must think of us if she can actually hear us," Kara went on. "She's always looked out for me, protected me, and pushed me to be better...now I have to be the one to look out and protect her. Please, Eliza, let me do that now."

"Do you really trust him?" Eliza asked. She motioned to him. "After everything that I have told you?"

"Yes and so does Alex."

"Kara-"

"You only know half the truth," J'onn interrupted. He knew that that not only caught Doctor Danvers' attention, but also Kara's. Kara wasn't expecting this, but he was certain that she knew what was coming now. He moved to the door and locked it before turning all of the blinds so that they could talk in private. "What I'm about to tell you-"

"You don't have to do this," Kara said gently.

"But I do," he said gently. "If it means that Alex is saved, I will do anything." It broke his heart to see Alex like she was. She would be upset with him later and she'd blame herself for what he was about to say. It would all be worth it. "My name is not Hank Henshaw," J'onn said as he looked to Doctor Danvers. "Your husband was working with the DEO and they believed they were tracking down a hostile alien. Jeremiah Danvers realized that the alien the DEO, that Hank Henshaw was tracking...was in fact, much like Kara...not a threat...just another alien without a home. Lost. Afraid. Only wanting peace. To be left alone. To make Earth his home." He paused for a moment, wondering how much of this Doctor Danvers was taking in. "My planet is gone. My family murdered...burned. I am the last son of Mars," he said. "And Jeremiah Danvers gave his life for mine, but before...I made a promise to protect Alex...to protect Kara."

"No," Eliza whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

"I am a shapeshifter, I took on the form of Hank Henshaw in order to make things safer on this world, for those like Kara and I, and to keep people like you safe from humans and aliens alike," he continued calmly. "After you revealed what happened to Jeremiah, Alex became suspicious and I had to show myself to...to explain the truth...and then to Kara." He knew that words and a story wasn't going to be enough. It wasn't what Doctor Danvers deserved. "Everything I have done since then, recruiting and training Alex...the DEO...all of it, it's been to honor Jeremiah Danvers."

"If you're not Henshaw…"

"My name is J'onn J'onzz," he said and shifted from the shape of Henshaw. With how much he spent in the form of Henshaw, sometimes being in his true form felt almost foreign to him.

He watched as Doctor Danvers nearly fell over, but Kara kept her upright. He was just thankful that she didn't scream out. At first, he could tell that she was shocked, taking in his true form. A moment later, she became curious and moved towards him. "Last son of Mars?" Eliza repeated. "Does that mean you're a Martian?"

"Green Martian," Kara corrected.

"There are others?"

"Yes," Kara and J'onn said together.

Eliza was quiet for some time and then finally looked back to Alex. J'onn morphed back into Hank Henshaw, waiting for the response he had hoped for. He watched Doctor Danvers, she was fidgeting with her hands, wringing one hand with the other, like he'd seen Alex do before. She was having a hard time, fighting for the right decision. "Okay," she finally whispered.

"I haven't told you everything," Kara said gently as she moved to Eliza's side. She reached out and took her hand, looking directly at her. J'onn knew that the hard part was convincing Doctor Danvers to let them take Alex back to the DEO or letting the DEO (especially him) being involved in any way. "A few weeks ago, I was in a similar situation. There was an alien parasite on me," Kara tried to explain. "I can't go into all the details right now. We don't feel we have the time. Then, Alex went into my mind in order to help me, to bring me home. That is what I want to do now. It's different, the interface will be different."

"It's risky," J'onn spoke up. "We could lose both of them." He felt like it was only fair for all the chips to be on the table.

"You're not going to lose either of us," Kara insisted. "I can do it. I can bring Alex back. She should have woken up, there has to be something else."

"Kara, are you sure?" Eliza questioned. "I can't lose either of you."

"I can get Alex to wake up and Maxwell Lord's genius will have the equipment figured out by the time we get Alex to the DEO," Kara said.

"I thought you said Lord-"

"No matter how creepy he is or how much he hates aliens, he's a genius and he likes to remind us all of it."

"And he seems to be willing to do anything for Alex," J'onn brought up.

"Another thing not to tell Alex," Kara pointed out.

"What do we have to do to get her moved?" Eliza questioned.

J'onn gave her a nod. "I'll take care of everything."

"I'm going with her, with them."

"Of course."

"How sure are you that this is going to work?" J'onn questioned. They were outside of the room that Alex was already prepped in, her mother had her side. He didn't know how to feel about this, but J'onn knew that he had to hope that this would work. It had to. This wasn't just about him wanting Alex back. It was about the possibility of losing Alex and Kara. It was about watching Eliza Danvers lose the rest of her family because of Hank Henshaw...because of J'onn J'onzz. He couldn't take that. He could lose his family all over again.

"I'm certain that it will work, but I can't be certain that Supergirl can bring Agent Danvers back," Lord said as he looked to Kara. "She's got to have reasons not to come back, right? Maybe you're responsible for some." He looked to J'onn. "Maybe you."

"Maybe," J'onn practically growled. It was hard to keep his cool with Lord acting like that. They needed him, though, Alex needed him.

"How do you have such confidence you can do it?" Lord asked Kara.

"Because she did it for me," Kara said gently.

Lord didn't seem to be convinced by Kara. "You know, I may be a genius and my device is definitely going to work, but that still doesn't mean that this won't be dangerous."

"I'm coming back with my sister," Kara insisted.

J'onn wanted to be the one to risk it, but he knew that Kara wouldn't let him...and she was likely the best person. He thought that he could convince Alex, but Kara knew her so much better. Alex had just risked her life to bring Kara back, how could he deny Kara to do the same? "We don't know what you'll see in there."

"It's not real."

"No," J'onn said. "That's the thing. It is real. This time, it's not the Black Mercy. Alex won't be in her ultimate dream fantasy...at least, we can't think that. You have no idea what you'll see in there. It could be her worst nightmare. It could be crowded or it could be barren. She might not want to see you-"

"I'll handle it."

"Kara-"

She sucked in a breath. "I can do it."

"Well," Lord said with a shrug. He was clearly not confidant that this plan was going to work. "I guess it's time."

J'onn watched as Doctor Danvers held tight to Kara, tears streaming down her face, and she held onto Kara for dear life. She'd already kissed Alex and he'd heard her tell Alex to come back with Kara. He hoped that it was enough.

As much as he was ready to have Alex back, he wasn't looking forward to watching Kara go in. The wait was going to kill him, kill them all. He watched as Doctor Danvers reluctantly let Kara go and move towards the other medical bed. He sucked in a breath and just tried to keep himself calm, which was getting harder and harder. His emotions kept bubbling up, threatening to overtake him, but J'onn knew that this wasn't time for that. He tried to keep his emotions for private and this just wasn't the time (or place or company for it).

Kara was launching herself at him, in a tight hug (even for him), and caught him off guard. "If something happens," she whispered.

"Nothing," J'onn told her, hugging her back. "Nothing is going to happen."

"If something-"

"I promise."

He knew that that was what she needed to hear. Kara needed to know that Eliza would be okay, that she would be looked after. The girls didn't realize that he'd been watching the entire family all these years. Eliza Danvers had known better about how to act and what to pursue, she'd had experience and she'd been impacted deeply by the consequences of too much. Kara, on the other hand, knew exactly how dangerous the world could be...it wasn't just the people or aliens, it was the possibility of losing an entire world. Alex, though, she'd been angry with the world and she'd felt like no matter what she did, she would never be good enough...but he'd strengthened her.

He released her and found himself not wanting to. As much as Doctor Danvers couldn't lose them, he really couldn't either. "Come back to us."

"With Alex," Kara told him and went to the medical bed.

Lord stepped up and started to hook Kara up with the same VR equipment that Alex had been weeks before. The augmented new equipment had already been hooked up to Alex and J'onn had just watched Lord double check it while Kara had hugged her adoptive mother. He just hoped that this worked, for all of their sakes.

"Don't pull me out," Kara said as she turned to look at him.

That was going to be hard.

He'd had to be kept from doing that weeks before.

"Kara-" Eliza started to argue.

"Not without Alex," Kara told her adoptive mother.

"Not without Alex," J'onn echoed a bit reluctantly. He placed his hands on his hips and pulled on his mask. He knew that he needed to be strong because they had no idea what they were about to go up against.

Kara laid back on the bed and Lord dropped the visor down. "Bring her back, Supergirl," Lord said quietly.

Now, they waited.

TBC…