Kara rushed up the platform, stopping within a few feet of Alex and the man. With each step, her stomach turned and bile began to creep up her throat. Her eyes shot to the man's forearms, holding Alex in place and encapsulated by a green material.
Kryptonite.
Her gaze shifted to Alex and, as she absorbed the anguish and desperation that was etched across Alex's face, her heart lurched.
Get past this, Kara, she told herself. She swallowed hard, looked back to the man and steadied herself.
"I said, let her go!" She hissed through clenched teeth.
The man pressed his lips together. "Hmm. How has a human, such as this," he shoved Alex onto her knees, "become so important to you, Kara Zor-El? Have you forgotten who you are? Where you belong?"
Since Kara had first walked through the doors, Alex had been trying not to show vulnerability in front of the evil that stood behind her. She tried to have fortitude so her sister could stay focused on the threat rather than on Alex's pain. But, the heat in her body seared and it felt like every muscle, every organ, and every bone was shredding apart. So, when the man pushed her onto her knees, the added pain that shot through her was more than she could bear.
Her head fell forward and a whimper escaped through her tightened lips.
"Alex!" Kara doubled up her fists. She took another step forward and her eyes began to glow.
The green-eyed man chuckled, "okay, Kara Zor-El." His arms reverted back to human skin and he released his grip on Alex. "My interest only lies with you."
Kara watched as Alex, drained, fell to the floor. Alex lay unmoving, her body coiled in a state of shock. Kara's emotions pushed her toward Alex before her brain kicked in and she stopped mid-stride. She was torn between a desire to comfort her sister and an awareness that she needed to hold her defensive position.
Alex's head lifted slightly and turned to Kara before resting back on the floor. The look of determination in Alex's eyes provided Kara's answer.
She stepped back, squared her body to the man and pulled up her shoulders. "Who are you?" she asked roughly. "What do you want?"
"I told you. I'm here to bring you back." He said simply.
Kara shook her head. "I don't understand. Bring me back where?"
"Krypton," his eyes gleamed.
"Krypton? Krypton is gone."
The green-eyed man turned to the side and slowly stepped across the platform, glancing over his shoulder at Kara as he walked. "Do you remember as a child, sneaking out with your best friend Jayla to see the butterfly fish off the coast of Argo City?"
Kara's heart jumped into her throat. Her blue eyes narrowed.
"You told Alura that you were going to the science lab but, you lost track of time," he stopped and turned to face Kara. "When you didn't show for the evening meal, Alura and Zor-El were forced to go out and find you. They searched all night before finally locating the two of you, standing on the pier, watching the fish." He walked back to her. "Alura placed restrictions on you for a week but, you told Jayla that it was worth it just to be able to see the butterfly fish jumping across the night sky."
The memory was vividly reconstructed in Kara's head. She found herself standing on the dock, the smell of salt from the ocean hitting her nose. She saw the fish's brilliant rainbow of colors, illuminated by the Krypton moon as it jumped across the red night sky. She remembered her heart dancing with joy and turning to Jayla, whose eyes were transfixed on the fish with a smile spread across her face.
Jayla.
Her partner in the exploration of the mysteries of Krypton. Her confidant of secrets exchanged between the hearts of innocent children.
Her best friend from the time they were both six years old.
Jayla, who was lost with the rest of Krypton when it exploded.
Kara's heart ached as a flood of emotions crashed down on her chest. Her lungs tightened and she felt as though she was suffocating.
"How? −no one knows that. How do you know that?" Kara softly asked as her mind wrapped around the memory.
The green eyed man knew he had hit his mark.
"Or, do you recall when you were 10 and Mar-Zor caught you behind the Justice Center while you were waiting for your mother?" he continued. "He had been watching you from afar for quite some time, his heart pining with young love, until finally; he found enough courage to approach you." The green-eyed man cupped his chin between his finger and his thumb. "I believe it was your first kiss, wasn't it, Kara Zor-El?"
Kara took a step back; her eyes widened and darted around the room.
Her heart began to pound.
"I don't understand. How do you know these things?"
"I know everything about you, Kara Zor-El. You are a part of Krypton. It is your destiny. It is where you belong."
"No," Kara shook her head and stepped back. "No," she repeated, retreating from the memories, both physically and emotionally. "Krypton is gone. This is where I belong," she looked to Alex who had recovered enough to push her torso off the floor and watch the interchange. "This is my home and my family now."
The man's expression darkened. The veins in his neck bulged, his face reddened and his body seemed to shake from an anger building inside. "Kara Zor-El, you are wrong! Krypton is not gone! It very much exists and you will be a part of it!" His voice rose and he moved toward Alex. "This mirage that you have here is over! The people here," he snapped his arm at Alex, "mean nothing! It's time for you to come home!"
In one movement, the green-eyed man bent down, grabbed the sword and began to bring it down on Alex. Kara's eyes lit up and she shot a short burst of laser into his shoulder, momentarily throwing him back. He glanced down at his shoulder. Two holes had ripped into his skin and a green material now glowed through them.
Kara looked into the man's eyes and a chill ran through her body as she saw someone who no longer seemed human looking back at her. She braced herself and as he again raised the sword over his head, the laser from her eyes bore into him.
The man almost appeared frozen, stuck between advancing and retreating. He pushed against the force of the beam and his arm slowly moved forward.
Kara took a step closer to the man, increasing the intensity of her laser. She smelled burning flesh and her head swam with turmoil. She had to keep the man away from Alex but, knew that if she continued, she would eventually kill him.
"Please! I don't want to hurt you," Kara pleaded.
He swiveled his head toward Kara. The pupils of his eyes disappeared and shards of green glass broke through. His face mimicked the epicenter of an earthquake as his skin began to crack, splintering out from the corners of his eyes, travelling down his face and disappearing under the collar of his shirt. The same green material that was in the wounds of his shoulder began to seep out the cracks, pushing the gaps wider. He dropped the sword as the skin on his forearms shed and the green material emerged, spreading up his arms.
Kara's eyes stopped glowing and she watched in horror as each minute, the man's body grew larger, tearing away his skin and exposing a green liquid substance underneath. As the substance hit the air, it solidified, forming translucent green crystals.
When the transformation was complete, the glass figure standing in front of Alura's hologram created an eerie image as the light from the hologram shone through the crystals of his body, casting miniature images of her across the walls and ceiling.
A burning sensation pricked at Kara's fingertips and intensified until it reached deep into the core of her body. She stumbled backwards, her leg muscles unable to hold up her body, until finally she collapsed onto her knees.
"Kara!" Alex crawled over to where Kara knelt.
"It's kryptonite!" Kara gasped, her face pale and perspiration dripping down her forehead.
"Kara Zor-El, it's time for you to come home," the man told her.
Kara hunched over and grabbed her stomach, trying to keep out the pain that was overtaking her entire body. "Who…are… you?" she stammered.
The man stepped next to the small platform that supported Alura's hologram, "I am many things," he replied, reaching up to the hologram.
"Years ago, your parents selflessly sent you away from Krypton," he dropped his arm. "When it exploded, rock, hydrogen, and helium from the blast catapulted through the outer layers of the atmosphere and into space. Once in space, that material didn't disintegrate. It converged, forming a small star that was fueled by the same nuclear material that destroyed your planet.
That star lived for many years in space. But, a gravitational force from the collision of galaxies tossed it into Earth's galaxy, sending it spiraling out of control and gathering heat before it finally plummeted to the Earth surface." He turned back to Kara and briefly smiled. "I believe that humans refer to it as a shooting star.
He walked toward Kara and Alex. As he approached, the close proximity of the radiation forced Kara onto her hip and elbow.
"Most stars would have just burned out, buried deep under the Earth's soil, eventually pressed into hardened rock," he continued, "but, not this star.
"Because, you see Kara Zor-El, gases and rock were not the only items that were thrown out into space when Krypton exploded. The blast also sent the souls of every Kryptonian that was left on the planet into space, merging them with the gases and rock of that same bright star.
"And when that star crashed to Earth, it didn't die. Instead, the light from Earth's yellow sun burned down on the star, pulling each soul out of a passive existence and restoring life back to it. The energy from those lives shattered the rock shell and reignited the Krypton star."
The man now stood within feet of Kara and Alex. A light from within the green crystals began to glow. It became brighter, growing in intensity and replacing the images of Alura on the wall with small green prisms. Soon, the lights from each crystal on his body unified and overtook the interior space of the man's form. He raised his arms, lifted his chin to the ceiling and the crystals exploded, sending shards of glass flying across the room.
Kara and Alex ducked their heads to avoid the flying glass. When the two looked back at the man, the form was gone. In its place was a green gas, intermixed with dark particles that billowed into the air like a cloud, overtaking the top portion of the room.
Part of the nebula crept back down.
"We are Krypton, Kara Zor-El. We are those lives. We are your mother, your father, your neighbor and your best friend," a voice bellowed from within. "You are a part of us and we want you back."
"No, that can't be," Kara wheezed and shook her head. "My parents are at peace, in Rao's light." The overwhelming amount of the kryptonite pushed Kara beyond her limits and she collapsed the remaining distance to the floor.
Alex sprang into action. She knew she had to get Kara out of the room. She ignored her own pain and slid over to Kara, placing her shoulder under Kara's arm and wrapping her good arm around Kara's back. As she lifted Kara up, Kara's head drooped and her body slumped, creating dead weight. Alex struggled to get them both to their feet.
"Come on, Kara," Alex grunted, "I need you to help."
Kara forced her head up and the two managed to take a couple of steps when a flame shot out of the kryptonite star. It hit the top of the door and traveled down to the floor, sealing the door and eliminating the possibility of escape.
Alex pulled Kara back from the edge of the platform and turned them to find an alternative exit and to put some distance between the kryptonite and Kara. As they turned, a wisp of material extended out of the nebula, wrapped around Alex and pulled her away from Kara. It lifted her off the platform, unraveling as it moved and sending her spiraling into the wall.
"Alex," Kara breathlessly whispered as she fell back to her knees. She watched Alex slide down the wall and limply crumble to the floor. Kara inched her way on her hands and knees to the edge of the platform and the kryptonite material sank down, pressing her onto her stomach.
"Kara Zor-El, it's time for you to come home." A familiar voice came from the nebula.
"Father?" Kara slowly rolled onto her back, facing the green gas material as it hovered over her.
As Kara's eyes frantically searched the nebula, the voice was joined by another.
"Come with me, Kara."
"Jayla?"
"Kal-El does not need you, join us," said another.
"Uncle Jor-El?"
Kara's eyes brimmed with tears. "No, please stop," she begged.
More voices rang from the substance, coaxing her to join them: her grandmother, her neighbor, her science teacher, the friendly librarian, the post-man.
As each voice was added, the nebula took on a new life. Like a pin art toy, the shapes of the owner's faces pressed against edges of the nebula, beckoning her.
Orange and red lights flashed deep within the star and the chorus of voices grew in magnitude, becoming a frenzy of cries that echoed off the walls.
The gas-like being descended onto Kara.
Kara's throat constricted and she put a fist to her chest. The scars from her surgery began to rip open, spewing fresh blood from the wounds.
She squirmed in agony.
Her mouth opened to pull in urgent gasps of air. The gas ran down her throat and into her nose, filling her lungs and spreading through her vessels to her cells.
Kara stopped struggling and she stared into the nebula. The voices faded and the room grew still. All she could hear was the sound of her own breath reverberating in her ears. Her surroundings disappeared and the darkness that had started to line the outside of her vision began closing in.
A feeling of peacefulness overtook her.
The last thing she saw before she fell into the darkness was the head and torso of her mother extending out from the nebula, welcoming her home.