Pamukkale, Turkey December 26th 8:30 PM

The small stones littering the cave floor crunched under their boots as they made their way through the tunnel. Alex wasn't sure that it could actually be classified as a tunnel. More like a chasm within the rock. The space was extremely narrow. She could reach out and touch both sides of the cold, wet walls as she walked. And it was dark. The light from the cavern behind them had faded as they moved deeper into the cave, leaving only a small amount of light from the flashlights that she and her future self, or Dani as she was called, carried.

Alex was still trying to wrap her head around having another version of herself. She had so many questions to ask and was so intrigued to learn more about who she was in the future. But, Dani's rigid back and brisk strides ahead of her hadn't exactly welcomed any questions let alone conversation. They hadn't said two words to each other since they entered the passage nearly ten minutes earlier. Abruptly, Dani pulled up ahead of her and waited the few seconds it took for Alex to reach her.

"Through here," she pointed to a ledge a few feet off the cave floor. Alex watched as Dani hoisted herself up and crawled through a small opening in the rock. Following her lead, Alex pulled herself up and slid through it.

At the end of the opening, Alex stopped and peeked into what looked at first glance like a small compartment hidden within the rock. The area was only dimly lit with a single torch hanging close to the opening near her, but when Dani walked to a placeholder hanging on the wall and lit another torch, the area was showered in light.

Alex dropped off the ledge and dusted herself off. God, she needed a shower. How long had it been since she'd had one? The face plant in the snow didn't really count. It had to have been right after she left the DEO infirmary. Was that one day ago or two?

Straightening up, she fully took in the room. It was deceivingly quite large. And magnificent. The hollowed out circular chamber was framed with breathtaking powder-white walls, indented throughout with silver notches that gleamed when the light hit them and stretched up almost 20 feet in height. It was enclosed at the top with a similar material, save one small space in the back corner. Here, cross timbers held back dirt and sod from the ground above. And at the center of the chamber a solitary, large, flat rock rose out of the ground. On top lie a body wrapped in a linen shroud.

Purposely ignoring what sat in the center, Alex looked around the grand walls of the room and took in a deep breath. "This is beautiful."

Dani leaned back on one of the walls, crossed her arms. Flicking a gaze upward, she shrugged.

"I wonder what kind of rock it is," Alex noted.

"No clue. I'm not a geologist." Dani replied.

Awesome. This is going well, Alex thought. Obviously, the task at hand wasn't going to get stymied down with small talk. Which meant that Alex could no longer avoid acknowledging the body on the rock.

Walking near the outside edge of the chamber, running her fingers along the crevices of the wall, Alex slowly made her way around the perimeter to the altar. Dani watched her, continuing to hang back on her spot by the wall.

"Why is she wrapped up?" Alex asked as she neared the altar.

"So it stays preserved," Dani stated flatly.

Alex shuddered. She didn't want to have to think about the damage that was inflicted on Kara's body. She ran her hand along Kara's shoulder. For a moment, her throat locked and she was unable to speak. Finally, "I still can't believe it's her. That it happened. That it's real."

"There shouldn't be any uncertainty," Dani said. "That body's very real and no matter how much we wish, it's not going away."

That's not was Alex meant, and Dani knew it.

"I'm well aware," Alex replied through gritted teeth. She didn't realize she was beginning to feel very hostile until she looked down and saw her hand clenched into a fist on the altar top. She looked over her shoulder to Dani. "Is there a problem?"

Dani scrunched up her face and tilted her head to the side. "Not that I'm aware of. Why? Do you have one?"

Alex let out a hmph and shook her head. The idea of getting to know her future self was quickly becoming less appealing.

Turning back to the wrapped body, she tried imaging that it was her sister underneath. She found the outline of Kara's hand and grasped her fingers with her own. All this time later, she could still remember what it felt like to hold Kara's trembling fingers inside hers after a nightmare one of the first evenings after her arrival.

Taking in a slow breath, "I'm going to take this off. I need to see her."

"No." Dani replied firmly. "The body has to stay wrapped up."

Alex looked back at Dani. Her future self still stood with her arms crossed, chin down. Barely looking at Alex. "You want me to believe that this is her, but you say all that so nonchalantly. Body. It. As if it isn't Kara. Isn't our sister."

Dani thrust her chin up and glared at Alex. "It isn't. That's not Kara. Her soul left minutes after she bled out on that makeshift cross." She turned her head from Alex and stared into the empty space of the room. "That's just an empty shell."

"How can you - how can I be so cold?" Alex asked.

Dani clenched her jaw and said nothing.

Alex turned back to Kara's body. "I want to see her." She repeated and began to reach out to unwrap the cloth.

"No!" Dani yelled and stepped toward Alex. "Did you not hear a thing I said?"

"Yes, I heard you," Alex pulled her hand back and looked at Dani. "But I told you. I need to see her. To confirm it's really her. At this point, I can't believe that a couple of minutes would make any difference."

Dani quickly made her way to the other side of Kara's body. "I've told you that it's her body. That's the only confirmation that you should need," she argued.

"Just because you've confirmed it doesn't automatically make it okay for me." Alex countered. "You may be a version of me that's had time to let this whole thing sink in - to move on and get used to it, but I haven't. She still matters to me."

"Still matters to you?" Dani repeated. She leaned over, grabbed the edge of the altar. "As if she doesn't matter to me." Shaking her head, "you just don't get it." Shoving herself away from the altar, she stormed across the chamber to the opening. "Your unwillingness to listen to others and pigheadedness is what got us here in the first place," she threw out as she walked by Alex. Quickly, she pulled herself up to the opening, leaving Alex in the chamber alone.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few minutes later, Alex emerged from the passageway. A sense of weariness and defeat clung to her steps. Brainy, J'onn, his future self Jonah and Elaine and Penn were sitting around the middle set of rocks. Looking around the cavern, she noted Dani glaring at her, leaning against a wall within a few feet of the group. Mo was still working with some concoction at her table.

"Everything okay?" J'onn asked her as she pulled up a seat next to him.

Alex shot a quick glance over to Dani across the way before turning back. "Yeah, it's fine." Looking over at the crew from the future, "where's the other one - the tall guy?"

"Luc?" Penn asked. "He's gone into town to get some food for supper and last minute supplies."

Alex gave an acknowledging nod. Bending over, she placed her elbows onto her knees, hung her head and wrung her hands together.

Jonah watched her. "It's a lot to take in." She peered at him from behind loose bangs that had fallen across her face. "And you're wondering how this is all going to work," he added.

"It's crossed my mind."

Jonah looked to Penn and Elaine.

Penn received a quick acknowledging glace from Elaine, took a slow sip from the tin cup he was nurturing and set it down. "There is a belief, written in the Greek legends, that when someone dies, their soul travels to the Underworld," he said.

"The Underworld?" Alex asked. "Isn't that another name for hell?"

"No," Elaine, who had been quietly sitting rigid like a regimented military leader next to Penn, inched forward on the stone. "Many think that, but the Underworld is actually composed of many different divisions or regions." The intensity in her eyes made the grey iris' shine like brushed steel. "There is a region that could be equivalent to the human version of hell, but others are tamer, more pleasant places like heaven. When -", hesitating, she looked over to Penn who nodded. "When a soul enters the Underworld, they're judged and sent to a specific area depending on the kind of life they led here on Earth."

"And you think that Kara is there? That we can go to this Underworld and get her. Bring her back?"

"Maybe," Penn hesitantly replied.

"Maybe?" Alex's voice raised a bit.

"Some theorists have proposed that once a soul enters the Underworld and receives judgement, that it is impossible for it to leave," Penn explained.

"But, we don't think that's the case with Kara," Elaine quickly added. "Because in order to cross over, to be judged, the dead had to have received a proper burial."

"And, Kara hasn't had one," Penn said. "Which is one of the reasons why we took her when we did."

"So, it would give us more time," Elaine supplied.

"To get things together," Penn continued.

"To be able to bring her back," Elaine finished.

"Kara isn't from Earth. She's Kryptonian." All eyes shifted to J'onn. "Why would she follow the same path after death as those on Earth?" he asked.

"She spent as much time on Earth as she did on Krypton," Dani piped in from beside them. "And she died on Earth. Which makes the likelihood of her soul going to the Underworld much more possible."

Alex straightened and eyed Penn and Elaine across from her. "It sounds like there are an awful lot of if's and maybes. How do we even know that she's there?"

"We used our super duper decoder ring," Dani muttered, rolled her eyes and turned a shoulder away from the group, hunching against the wall.

Penn swiveled toward her and tossed a scowl. Turning back to Alex his earnest eyes found hers. "Yes," his voice softened, "you're right. There are a lot of unknowns," he conceded.

"It will work," Mo assured them. Questioning heads turned. Patiently waiting for her to elaborate as she slowly poured a thick green liquid into a cauldron. "I've seen it."

"You've seen what?" Alex said.

"The dwelling where souls are collected," Mo set the dish down and wiped her hands on a linen. "Where the unseeing wander the place between life and death."

Jonah turned to Alex. "Mo has the ability to perceive things. To prophesy events," he explained.

"So, then you've seen Kara?"

Mo reached across the table and grabbed a set of green leaves. "It doesn't work like that, but I've felt her, yes."

"Okay, you've felt her. But, you believe she's there," Alex stated.

Mo nodded as she tore the blades from the stem. Ripping them into small pieces and tossing them into the container.

A disquiet feeling brewed through Alex. A gnawing certainty that she was missing something. "And how are we supposed to get to her?"

"Through an entry into the Underworld," Elaine jumped in. "Anthropologists acknowledge that there maybe openings into the Underworld from above - from here on Earth. And one of those, Pluto's Gate, is not even a kilometer from where we now sit."

"Wait." Brainy said. "Pluto's Gate? I have heard of this place." Frowning, "The air there is not safe for human passage."

"Mo's taking care of that," Penn said. "We needn't worry."

Alex drew in a slow breath. Despite of Penn's assurances, she was having some difficulty putting her concerns aside. But, this was the path she was supposed to take. She felt it. Everything since that night in the warehouse had led her to this place, to these people. The wind picked up outside the cave, infusing and energizing her.

Standing up, "When do we go?" she asked.

"You don't go," Dani stated. Alex shot a look at her. "Mo and I leave at first light tomorrow morning," Dani continued, "everyone else is staying here to protect the body while we're gone." With that, Dani turned on her heels and walked out of the cave.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The flickering light from the torches cast an orange glow throughout the cavern. Shadows off the stalagmites danced around the recessed area where Alex sat, hunched over and legs crossed on the cave floor. The last week had been a roller coaster of emotions and it was only by pure adrenaline and desperation to find Kara's body that she had been able to get through it. She had thought that once she found Kara, that it would give her time. Time to finally reconcile with the loss and find some way to move forward. Instead, she was right back on that roller coaster, trying to hold on to a little bit of hope that had just been laid at her feet.

"Mind if I have a seat?" A voice broke into her thoughts and she looked up to find Jonah hovering over her.

"No," she shook her head and moved over just a bit, "not at all."

Jonah slid down the wall next to her. "Luc is going to take offense if you don't eat his famous kebabs."

"Huh?" Alex glanced at Jonah who pointed to the meat and rice on a plate that she was pushing around with her fork. "Oh. Yeah." Setting the fork onto the plate, "I'm not very hungry."

"I see." Jonah pulled his feet up to his torso and rested his arms on his knees. "It's important to keep your strength up."

"Hmm. I suppose it is." But, Alex shoved the plate away from her anyway and leaned back against the wall next to Jonah. Glancing at the ceiling, she took a few seconds to gather her thoughts. "I'm just having trouble figuring it all out. Wrapping my head around it," she finally said, pulling her eyes off the cave ceiling.

"About Kara?"

She nodded. "Yes. About Kara," Alex brought her feet and knees up to her rear and laid her arms across her stomach. Bending into herself. "When I found out that she'd -" swallowing - "died, I couldn't accept it and really -" she shook her head, "- really, there wasn't time to accept it. We were so busy trying to find her...and then," she slid the palm of one hand along her thigh up to her knee, "it was like - I hadn't really accepted it, but I was able to acknowledge it - " bouncing her fist on top of her knee " - that it had happened - you, know?" She glanced at Jonah who bowed his head. "And I had just started to think - to believe - that maybe at least she was in a better place."

"But, now...now I find that we may be able to find her - bring her back and -," she ran her hand through her hair - "and I...I don't know. I want her back so badly, but I don't know what that might mean for her."

"You're afraid that she might be happy where she is and that you could ruin that," Jonah supplied.

"Yes," Alex bobbed her head. "And while I'm relieved that there's a possibility to have her back, I also feel guilty for having that hope." She looked back to Jonah. "Does that make sense?"

"Perfect sense," he said. "I've had a similar conversation before." Alex's eyes followed his as he looked to Dani sitting near the mouth of the cave.

"With her - I mean, me?" Alex asked. "Hmph! I can imagine what she would have said," Alex replied sarcastically. Rolling her eyes, she put her head back against the wall. "How can I be so detached - so unfeeling?"

"Unfeeling?" Jonah repeated as he watched Dani look to the stars in the sky outside the cave. "No, I would say it's just the opposite. You've felt too much." He looked back to Alex. "You say that part of helping you get through Kara's death was being busy. Searching for her body. Well, Dani - or that Alex," he indicated to Dani, "didn't have that distraction and the outcome was much different."

"How so?"

"Let's just say that she had a different coping technique."

"Drinking," Alex stated flatly.

Jonah nodded, "it took many years of self-blame and self-destruction to get you back on the right path - to be able to finally accept it and move on." He lowered his chin, "and actually her response to this plan was exactly as yours was - at first."

"Really?" Alex asked doubtfully.

"Mm hmm."

"What made her change her mind?"

"The war."

"War?" Alex asked. "What war?"

"The catastrophic war that will destroy entire nations, civilizations," softening his voice, "families." He looked around the cave at the team members scattered about the cave. His eyes grew distant, his face became pensive. "The world I come from is very different from what it is now. It's a place where there is no order. Where laws - real laws designed to protect all species, don't exist."

"In my world, there aren't any heroes left." He waved his hand out away from him - "they're all wiped out. Hunted down. Exterminated. A few years after Kara, Clark fell. Then Barry who came to help. Oliver. All of them - all made examples of for anyone, human or alien, who might even think about trying to step into their shoes. And survival for the rest of us - well," shaking his head, "sometimes it meant doing things that one never thought they would ever do."

He turned his head and hooked Alex's gaze. He held it for a long moment. "The idea of bringing Kara back - to even allow her death to happen in the first place. It wasn't taken lightly. There were many other attempts to try to avoid it. Each one resulting in failure." He glanced over to Dani. "Each one cutting a bit deeper." He paused to make sure she was paying attention. "But, this war and the truth about what humans and aliens can do to each other. It seeps into you. Eventually, you will do anything to stop it. And it was her death and the possibility of what bringing her back can do to change the future - to stop all of it that left us no other choice."

Alex inhaled deeply. She sat, her hands hanging off her knees and looked over to where Dani sat.

"I have to go to this place - this Underworld," she stated firmly. "I need to be there when we find Kara, to bring her back."

Jonah turned his attention to Dani, too. Nodding, "yes, you do. But, this trip will not be as easy as Penn and Mo make it out to be. There will be obstacles, forces greater than any of us that won't be so willing to give her up. And there's a good possibility that no one will make it out."

End of Part 1