A/N: Okay, so yeah, as you can tell it's been quite a while and honestly I could give a thousand excuses for why this is so late, but I'm not going to. Instead, I'm going to give you the last chapter of this story, which you so deserve for being so patient with my procrastinating self, so here I give you the final chapter of this story and hope to see you again on more stories to come. Enjoy!
PS. I brought Kelex back because tbh I love him and I hated to see him die.
TW: scars, talk of suicide
Alex quickly rushes down the hall, her girlfriend going the opposite direction to be with her little sister. On the way to the needed location she fishes out the emergency watch Clark gave her after Kara's "passing" so he could help her if she was in trouble. She presses the button, the dim light turning red as the watch sends out a distress signal. Alex pockets the watch once more and stops in front of a heavily secure door. Alex places her hand on the scanner while also looking into the retinal scanner. A few seconds pass before a beep sounds and a small room opens. Alex steps inside and raises her arms straight out as another body scan scans her to confirm her identity. The second door that's hidden from view opens and leads into an even smaller room with a tiny lead box.
Alex grabs the box and uses her thumbprint to open it, a green glow immediately catching her eye as the lid opens and reveals a small chunk of green kryptonite. She secures the lid back onto the box as she hears the sound of wind rushing and sees a flash of red and blue before Superman is standing in front of her.
"Alex! Your alarm went off, what's wrong?" Clark asks, looking around in confusion.
"I need you to take me to the fortress of solitude!" Clark's brows furrow (the same crinkle he shares with his cousin appears) as he looks at the box Alex is carrying.
"What's going on?"
"Kara's not dead, she contracted an old plague from Krypton and her body is just trying to defend itself. We can make a cure using a recipe in the fortress, but we have to use… this." Alex explains, looking down at the container guiltily. Clark's face shows a sudden understanding as he nods, clearly wanting to ask questions, but staying silent for now.
"You should get on warmer clothing especially because of the..." He pauses, looking at Alex's thin bare shoulders. She had gained a small bit of the weight back, but she still looked very different from how she did before all of this chaos. Alex nods in understanding as she walks out of the room, the security doors closing and scans resetting. Alex looks at Clark.
"Mind giving me a lift to my apartment?" Clark smiles and lifts her, before shooting out of the building, landing at her apartment minutes later. Once on the ground, Alex adjusts herself and smirks.
"Everyone's right. You're much slower than Kara." Clark scoffs, before chuckling slightly.
"And to think, I have more experience with all of this than her." Alex starts rummaging through her closet before she pulls out a black parka.
"I guess she must be born with it then," Alex responds, putting the parka on and zipping it up.
"Ready to go?" Alex nods as Clark lifts her up again, shooting off into the sky once more. It takes them about ten minutes to get to the fortress (would've taken Kara five) and Alex still manages to shiver as her boots crunch against the snow outside of the fortress entrance. Clark opens the door before they both walk in, Kelex immediately coming over to greet the two of them.
"Hello Kal-El, how may I help you?"
"Kelex, do you have the recipe for the cure to a virus that killed many Kryptonians many years ago?"
"Many years ago Zor-El saved a copy of the cure in these databases, along with instructions on how to form bronze kryptonite using green kryptonite." Kelex informs, Kryptonian letters appearing in front of Clark and Alex.
"You'll have to make the bronze kryptonite. After it's in that form it's harmless to me unless I ingest it." Alex nods, reading some of the Kryptonian writing, surprised by how much she can understand. Clark flies out and returns with some gathered items before handing them to Alex, instructing her on how to make the bronze kryptonite while he keeps his distance from the harmful green rock. Alex mixes the ingredients together, her mind buzzing with curiosity about some of the items, but she refrains from asking any questions right now, she needs to focus on saving Kara, not learning new alien things (although that may be the only thing that came out of this whole incident is she learned something new about Kryptonians). After Alex has finished putting the items together, she looks expectantly at Clark. He walks close and uses his laser vision on the pile of ingredients, watching as they solidify and rise, shining a dull gold colour as they form bronze kryptonite.
His eyes return normal, his hand reaching out hesitantly as he picks up the perfectly formed crystal of bronze kryptonite.
"Once we get back you have to break that open and force her to ingest the liquid as fast as possible." Clark looks at Alex with worry and confusion.
"Isn't that the only way this form of kryptonite can harm us? That'll hurt her." Clark looks back at Kelex. "How do we use the bronze kryptonite to heal Kara?"
"She must ingest the liquids inside the kryptonite before they solidify back into a harmful green kryptonite." Kelex replies.
"And what if it solidifies while she's ingesting it?" Clark asks with concern.
"You can use heat vision and hope what's left of the cure will help or remove the green kryptonite another way and start over with more bronze kryptonite. There is a 30% survival rate if the kryptonite solidifies and a 60% chance of it working if it doesn't." Alex's eyebrows raise.
"Wait, so this might not even work even if there are no complications?" Alex yells in frustration.
"Some Kryptonians bodies will see the bronze kryptonite as another threat instead of a cure and will end up attacking itself. Other Kryptonians don't survive the pain that comes with the healing process." Alex huffs as she leans against a snow platform, her palms digging into the freezing snow.
"So if you add it all up, there's a bigger chance of her dying from this, painfully, than if we just let her body try to fight the virus off itself." Alex pauses before she laughs, her body leaning forward as the laugh cuts off and turns into an angry yell. Her fists raise and hit against the snow platform, leaving small imprints in the loose snow. She hits it again, more towards the edge this time, leaving nothing, but imprints. A third time, a fourth, a fifth, finally a corner comes loose and slides off the platform and into a pile of snow that's enveloped her feet. Alex tries to hit again, but stops, letting her fists unclench and fall to her side.
"I don't know what to do." She admits, Clark nods in understanding. Alex nods back as she reaches into her pocket to get her cell. She opens the phone and clicks the speed dial for Maggie, before putting the phone up to her ear.
"Hey, sweetheart, I'm going to need you to get everyone to the DEO. We have something big to decide and it's best if everyone can help with the decision making. I'm on my way back. Love you. Bye." She hangs up and places the phone back into her pocket. Grabbing the bronze kryptonite, she prepares for flight once again.
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Alex and Clark walk in fifteen minutes after Maggie had called everyone to gather like they had done so many times before. Cat is standing over Kara, talking about something, but there's definitely a change in her that tells Alex that she knows Kara is alive. James and Winn are more off to the side, talking excitedly, clearly having made up after the whole keeping secrets scenario. Maggie is sitting next to Kara on the opposite side of Cat, whispering things to her as well until she notices her brunette lover walking in. Everyone else notices and silences, getting in a tighter circle as they await news. Alex suddenly feels awkward and nervous, everyone here looks so happy and excited and she's about to give them more bad news. She clears her throat and breathes deeply before starting to explain the situation.
"I'm glad you all came. Maggie may have already told you this, but Kara isn't dead, she's been infected with an ancient Kryptonian plague that caused her body to shut down so her immune system can focus only on the plague and defeating it. From the hologram of Kara's mom we managed to find a cure, but it's risky. So we have to decide if we want to give her the cure and hope for the best or to see if her body can fight the virus on its own." Alex breathes in deeply as the happy faces drop slightly.
"What do you mean by risky? What are the risks?" Cat asks.
"Since this isn't natural bronze kryptonite, it can solidify into green kryptonite if she doesn't ingest it quickly enough. There's only a 30% chance of survival if that happens. Even if she does swallow the cure correctly there's a 60% chance it works, and if she's too weak she'll die from the pain of it." Alex explains the last part with grief. Suddenly everyone turns their heads to the sound of the elevator opening as Eliza walks out and towards Alex, her arms open as the women embrace. From over her mom's shoulder, Alex looks over to Maggie who nods.
"I was nearby when Maggie called me, I came as fast as I could," Eliza explains and Alex looks at her in confusion.
"Why didn't you call if you were nearby?"
"I just got in a few days ago and I did try to call, but no one would answer." Alex's face pales as she glances down at her bandage that's still wrapped around her arm. Maggie also looks down guiltily, realising she also didn't inform her girlfriend's mother.
"Alex, what happened to you?" Eliza asks, looking at her daughter's thin figure and guilty expression. She pulls her mother aside and ushers her into an empty room, closing the door behind her. Her lip trembles and she bites down on it before she sniffles and tears roll down her cheeks.
"Alex." Eliza takes her thumb and brushes away the tears before pulling Alex into another hug, this one tighter and more comforting than just a greeting hug.
"I did something really bad mom. I messed up, and I did everything wrong." Alex sobs into her mother's shoulder.
"Alex, sweetie. What did you do?" Eliza pushes gently while comforting her oldest daughter.
"At first I just didn't care, I didn't care what happened to me, so I just stopped. Mom, I didn't mean for it to go this far, I'm sorry!" Eliza rubs soothing circles on Alex's back when she suddenly realises how much weight she had lost. Her eyes stare at the bandage as it all suddenly clicks.
"I just couldn't handle it anymore, it was hurting so badly, and I wasn't thinking, I just wanted her back, I just wanted to see her." She sniffles out as the feeling of dread fills Eliza.
"Can you take the bandage off, Alex?" Alex quickly shakes her head, she hasn't removed the bandage for days now. "Please, sweetie. You won't even have to look at it. I just need to see, okay?" Alex hesitates before she starts unraveling the gauze. Eliza takes ahold of it and unravels it the rest of the way, she covers her mouth before prodding at the giant scar on Alex's wrist and forearm. Alex suddenly feels defensive as she pulls her arm away quickly and glances at the scar. She gasps and stares at it, her eyes wandering up and down over and over again. She takes a deep breath before dropping her arm and searching for more gauze to cover it with.
"Honey, you don't need to cover it."
"I do, Mom, I don't like seeing it. I don't want Maggie or Cat to see it." Alex grabs a roll off a shelf before it slips and falls to the ground. Eliza reaches down and picks it up, before looking at her daughter again.
"They love you, they won't judge you for it, Alex. You can't hide it forever." Alex glances back over at the roll of gauze before closing her eyes and breathing deeply several times. Slowly, she nods, her eyes still closed as she let's the scarred arm fall to her side.
"Let's get back out there with the others, okay?" Alex nods as she follows her mother out of the room and back out in front of everyone else.
"We were talking, Alex, while you were gone," Cat starts saying, "and we think we should try the cure." Alex nods and looks at Clark who nods in agreement.
"Okay, let's do this then." Winn looks frightened suddenly.
"Wait you mean now?" Winn asks.
"Yes, I mean now." Winn just nods as Clark and Alex walk over to Kara. "J'onn I need you to lift her out and take her to one of the medical beds." J'onn nods as he lift's Kara up, his face grimacing slightly as he sees how limp she is. He walks over to the med bay and sets her down on one of the sterilized mattresses.
"I need you to hold her shoulders down, and James I need you to hold her legs down." Both men follow directions as they pin Kara's limbs down. Alex takes a deep shuddering breath as she looks at Clark. Clark lifts up the bronze crystal and with his super strength, snaps the top of it off, a strong chemical smell filling the room. Alex quickly grabs the crystal and pours the liquid down the back of Kara's throat, before stepping back, waiting. Nothing happens, Alex takes a light and opens Kara's mouth, looking to see if it solidified. It didn't, nothing was happening still. Suddenly, she hears gasping, and Kara's moving all over the place, catching James and J'onn off guard. Alex watches as Kara opens her eyes, hears the loud quick gasps as her lungs try to work properly once again. Her muscles spasm and her eyes move everywhere, not looking at anything in particular. Alex freezes, unsure of what to do, she just stands there watching her sister struggle.
Fifteen minutes pass and nothing changes, J'onn and James look at Alex desperately.
"How long is this supposed to last?" James yells over the loud noises coming from Kara.
"Hours or days, I'm not sure how much for her," Alex responds, her eyes on her sister, her face showing fear.
"We can't keep holding her like this Alex, we need to restrain her some other way," J'onn says as Alex nods, she looks at Clark who already has disappeared to look for something. A few minutes pass and Kara's gasping pauses, her muscles stop moving as she falls back against the mattress. Her eyes stare at the ceiling before she suddenly starts screaming, her body trembles intensely as Clark walks back in with gold coloured restraints. Quickly, he approaches Kara and attaches the shackles (for lack of a better description) to Kara's wrists and ankles, before attaching them to the bed. Alex walks over to Kara, pain clear on her features as she sits next to her sister, whispering things in Kryptonian, comforting things, things that may help ease the pain somehow.
After five hours, Kara goes silent, her body twitches slightly before also coming to a halt in movement. Her eyes shut and she looks peaceful. Alex watches her sister breathe for a few minutes before she lets out a laugh of relief. The others were outside, the only people in the room being Maggie, Alex, and Eliza. Alex stands, walking out towards the others, Maggie following close behind. As she approaches, the others turn to face Alex, their faces filled with worry. Alex sniffles and wipes away the tears that formed, everyone's faces drop and fill with grief. Alex shakes her head quickly and shakes her hand dismissively.
"Sorry, sorry, she's fine, I'm just...relieved," she explains and everyone sighs in unison, relief now showing instead of worry. Alex smiles slightly as Maggie kisses her cheek. It was finally all over.
#########################
Kara opens her eyes and looks over at Alex, a smile spreading across her face as she reaches an arm towards her. Alex looks up and smiles back, her hand gripping the blonde's outstretched fingers.
"I knew you'd figure it out. I got scared when I thought you gave up on me," Kara says, squeezing her sister's hand. Kara looks at the hand in almost shock as she squeezes again.
"Alex, what all happened when I was gone?" Kara's eyes scan her sister, noticing all the changes and the giant scar on her arm. She already can tell what it's from, the old conversation playing in her head.
"We have a lot to catch up on, and I'm doing much better since you're here," Alex says sincerely, "But there are some people who want to welcome you back." Alex looks at the clear glass door and the small crowd of people by it. Kara just nods as Alex stands and opens the door, everyone streaming in and standing around Kara. Kara's eyes widen as she notices both Cat and Lena there.
"So you both know now," Kara says, awkwardly.
"I already knew, I just needed evidence. The hand fracture was proof enough for me though." Cat jokes, Kara looks away guiltily. "Kara, I'm fine, you were sick. As long as you don't pull that dying stunt ever again, there's no reason to feel guilty." Kara nods.
"I started to feel something was off with all the Kara Danvers and Supergirl convenient night outs when I happen to be in trouble," Lena explains, Kara shrugging. "Also, you "flew here on a bus" doesn't sound very convincing either." Alex gives Kara a weird look as Kara overdramatically shrugs again.
"We're just glad you're okay," Winn speaks up, stopping all the awkward conversations. Everyone verbally agrees as Kara just smiles at them all. She turns her head towards her sister and Maggie.
"When can I go home? I've been in a pod for like a month." Alex chuckles and sighs.
"Knowing you will do anything (probably) to get out of here, I will talk to J'onn about you staying with me and Maggie for a while," Kara smiles excitedly, "But, for now, you have to stay here so we can make sure you're okay." Kara looks as if she's about to retort before Alex uses her "big sister stare" and she just nods in agreement.
"I think for now you should get some more rest," Alex says, everyone else agreeing and nodding their heads. All of Kara's friends say their farewells and wish Kara a quick recovery as they head out of the room, leaving only Alex and Maggie once again.
Kara shifts around on the bed uncomfortably, Alex looking up at her in confusion.
"What?" Alex asks.
"I've basically been asleep for like a month, I'm not tired," Kara complains. Alex rolls her eyes and Maggie chuckles as Alex stands, climbing onto the bed with Kara and letting her younger sister snuggle in closer to her, her eyes closing slightly as she breathes in the scent of her sister.
"I missed you," Kara says, sleepily.
"I missed you too."
"I love you." Alex smiles as Kara's body is being taken by exhaustion.
"I love you too, Kara."
A/N: Thank you so much for being patient with me and thank you for reading!