Hi all, I am so sorry for how long it has taken me to get this chapter to you. As some of you many know I had some problems with my living arrangements for a while which thankfully is all sorted now! I wont bore you with the details but it did make it hard for me to sort things out for this chapter.
Thank you to everyone who has been reading this story and for all your reviews so far, I love to hear from all of you, so please please keep those reviews coming and hope you are all still reading for the final, this is the pen ultimate chapter, the semi final as such, not gunna lie guys its long, like over 13000 words, so grab a drink and a snack and get ready.
Massive shout out and thank you to my amazing beta Jango27, who is awesome!
Warnings: Scenes of violence and death. References and implied torture and abuse of children and adults. Minor swearing.
Trigger Warnings: Torture, child abuse, death.
Chapter Twenty- Six.
"Long ago, before Rao's light shone on Krypton, there was another way of way of life, another code of living and another race of what we now call Kryptonian's. They were beautiful, mysterious beings- deadly to anyone who dared step foot on our planet- while also being kind to those deemed worthy. There were no high houses and no high families; everyone was equal, and everyone held the same name. They gave as much back to Krypton as taken from it, punishments were swift and none merciful, and children were taught the way of life from a much younger age.
They race were called the Malronite's, and they were the first inhibitors of Krypton.
They are the ones who built what we have now, and they are the rightful owners of all that is good here on Krypton, all that we have taken and named our own under Rao's light.
The time of the Malronite's was a time where no sun god was worshiped, only power and the Malronites's who wielded such power.
Their time was a better one- it was a time that should have never been changed.
Though it was.
One day a new race came to Krypton and took the land from the Malronite's. They formed a religion under the light of the great star, naming it Rao after the first son born. They became the Kryptonian's that we are today. Instead of giving back to Krypton they took from it, just as they do now- greedily taking all that is good and pure from our planet.
We now give mercy to those who have wronged us, whereas before judgment would have been swift, we now compromise in laws and education where before the rule and conduct was final.
We now live by their rules and not the rules of our true ancestors.
Our ancestors knew this day may come, they knew there would once be a time where the memory of the true first race of Krypton would be forgotten. Where the true law and teachings would be abandoned, and they prepared for this day.
For generations our family has told the story I am about to tell you know. This is a prophecy of what is to come, this is the prophecy of the fall of Krypton as we now know it.
This Prophecy will tell us how to prepare to make a new Krypton.
A better Krypton.
A Krypton like it should have always been.
This, my son, is your destiny.
You may have been born into the house of El, but you will always be a Mal-Ron, and you my son- when the time is right- you will be the one to lead our great name back to victory.
You will be the one to give life again to the true founders of Krypton- The Malronite's."
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Kara could feel the difference instantly as they stepped out on the other side of the portal. Straight away she felt so much stronger- yet, at the same time, weaker as well. As she looked up she knew why. The Phantom Zone had no sun; her powers would not work here, but then again neither would Dan-El's.
The effect of the Kryptonite seemed weaker here too, no longer did it feel like her body was fighting itself in trying to fight off the infection that was still in her blood. No longer could she feel her leg pulsating against the blade she had tucked away in the suit she had been made to wear for the trip.
She was surprised they even bothered to give her a suit but then the surprise wore off as she realised the suit she was in didn't have any blue Kryptonite to shield her. The only thing this suit did shield was her modesty now that she wasn't in a gown. It didn't protect her from anything, and if she was being honest it was far too uncomfortable as it was skin tight and made the scars littered across her body hurt with the pressure it was applying.
Though knowing Dan-El that was probably the whole point.
Luckily, she had been given boots to wear; tall boots that went far up her legs, hiding the end of the suit and hiding the dagger she had stashed away- a Kryptonite dagger given to her by no other than Lillian Luthor as she had helped her change into the suit.
For protection, Lillian had told her.
How Lillian expected her to have the strength to use it, Kara had no idea. How it was meant to protect her when all Dan-El had to do was overpower her and then kill her with it in return, she didn't know.
All she knew is that the blade hidden on her now was her only way of even attempting to stop what Dan-El had planned.
The blade itself had been giving her a great deal of discomfort; while it may not be touching the skin of her leg, it was close enough for her to have been able to feel its effects before entering the Phantom Zone- but still, as Lillian had said, she had protection all the same.
It seemed strange that out of all the people in that base, Lillian Luthor had been the one to offer her a blade for protection and warned her it would be wise to stay away from the injections Dan-El's army would be issuing if their suits became compromised.
Kara's mind was hazy, and though she could remember parts of a whispered conversation she had with Lillian the other day, she couldn't remember everything. She remembered Lillian saying how Dan-El wanted his army to be completely immune to the effects of green Kryptonite and how they had used Kara herself as the test subject to see if it worked, she remembered being covered in Lena's sweater and the comforting feel and smell of the sweater lulling her to sleep as Lillian whispered a plan in her ear- but she couldn't remember the plan itself.
Though from the small conversation and what she had been given while dressing in her combat suit this morning she would guess that Lillian expected her to stop Dan-El from carrying out his plan, using the blade to slow him down and using his idea of Kryptonite immunity against him.
Why else would Lillian have told her quietly not too use the blade unless in the Phantom Zone or until after Dan-El was forced to use his immunity shot?
Kara theorised that the shot itself had a different purpose entirely, but that was not something she wanted to test on herself or hang around to see if her theory was correct, as Dan-El used it himself. Truthfully, though Lillian had been helpful the last couple of days, and almost caring, Kara had no way of knowing if she was genuine or not. She had no way of knowing if Lillian was going to double-cross her like Kara thought she was double-crossing Dan-El. She knew it could all be a part of one big game, but that didn't stop her from at least trying to think of a way to play with the hand she had been dealt as best as she could.
Kara knew all she had to do now was find a way to use her weapon before Dan-El realised that she had it, and hope that he had also been weakened by the trip through the portal just like she had.
Kara didn't like to kill, it was her main rule.
After everything that had happened, that- at least, hadn't changed.
She still refused to kill.
That didn't mean that she refused to use a weapon to slow someone down enough to stop them from becoming a threat though. A dagger to the leg would give her time to escape from Dan-El and figure out a way to stop him- she didn't need to kill him, and she wouldn't.
She refused to let him win and turn her into the killing machine he had been trying to force her to become with the 'training' she had endured both on Earth and on Krypton.
Kara found herself almost wanting to laugh at how easy it had been to hide the weapon, how no one had even bothered to check her for a weapon. It was ironic, the infection she had caused her veins to pulsate green on and off and for her eyes to as well, in the same way that being close to Kryptonite would. So, when her veins and her eyes had been changing beforehand as they waited in the field for Dan-El to be ready, no one even thought to question why. They just assumed it was the after effects of the infection. No one suspected Kara of carrying a weapon, as none of them thought she would have the guts to. They probably all believed she was far too beaten down and broken to even bother trying to stop them now.
That was where they were wrong.
She had been so close to giving up, she practically had- but then they made a mistake.
They'd taken her back to the DEO, and though it had broken her heart to have to leave again it had also ignited her fighting instinct once more. Seeing Lena, seeing Alex and Eliza and everyone else made Kara remember that she had something and someone to fight for.
As much as she had been hurt and she had wanted to just give up and beg to be killed she couldn't and wouldn't as long as there was even the tiniest chance that she could be with her loved ones again. The dreams she had of being in Lena's arms and hearing Alex's laugh and Maggie's banter, of seeing J'onn roll his eyes in annoyance, of Winn getting excited about some new game, of Lucy being able to tell her more stories of her time away, of James' Snapper impressions that he acted out behind the grumpy reporter's back when he was going off on one, and Eliza's concerned mothering nature- those dreams are what helped to keep Kara going through it all.
Through the pain, the fear and confusion- the thought of being with her true family once again, her earth family- that was what had kept her alive throughout everything and that was what she was fighting to get back for.
Her family.
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Maggie's hand tightened on her gun as she checked behind her for any threats, she had been on high alert since they had entered these tunnels. Something about this place seemed creepy and the closer they got to the main hub of the base the darker it seemed to get even with their torches- or maybe that was just in her mind as she knew that the closer they got to the hub, the closer they got to where Kara had been tortured.
When she had entered the van earlier to find out from Winn and Lena that Kara's heart had stopped, her own had almost failed to keep beating.
While she and Kara didn't always get on or see eye to eye, she had become closer to the youngest Danvers and did very much so now see her as a little sister. Someone she could confide in, joke with, protect- someone she loved. While it wasn't the same type of love she had for Alex, it was love all the same and hearing that Kara had been killed, if only for seconds, was something she wished she had never had to hear.
Not just for herself but for Kara too.
She had no idea how afraid Kara must have been in that moment, and she worried for the condition of her little sister-in-law's mind for when and if they were able to rescue her.
She didn't want to say it out loud, but she knew rescuing was an 'if', rather than a 'when'.
While they knew that Kara was alive, they did fear for where she was.
Her signal on Winn's tracker had been static for some time now, since news of a portal being opened Kara's tracker had not moved. Though they could hear the clear sounds of a battle raging overhead and in the distance her tracker still stayed still. Not only did it stay still, but it blinked on and off as though the technology was having trouble locating her which made the possibility of Kara having gone through the portal seem even more possible.
That, and the fact they could not see her anywhere on the field with the drone cameras James had asked Winn to send out remotely to watch over the battle.
They had seen Superman arrive with a weapon, quickly firing into the field and causing the earth to rumble before J'onn led General Lane's army into battle as all hell broke loose.
They had seen Alex's DEO team slowly make their way around the outskirts, moving forward towards the portal and cannon while trying to stay clear of the Kryptonian's. A sight in itself that made Maggie extremely happy- though she knew Alex could handle herself, she didn't want her fiancée to put her self in harms way, especially not when she wasn't there to help.
Though she was glad to be able to see what was going on above them, Maggie wished that James had not told them of this plan to overview the battle remotely. Now that they knew the cameras were there, both she and Lena were asking for constant updates wanting to check on the girls they loved, and while Maggie was happy to see that Alex was doing well she could tell that Lena was becoming even more agitated and worried every time they looked at the footage and still could not see Kara.
"James?" Maggie asked, drawing the Guardian closer to herself as she eyed Lena and Winn, who were up ahead of them slightly. "Those cameras you have recording the battle, their purpose is more than what you said before isn't it?" she asked further.
The detective in her had been screaming that James was not being completely truthful with the explanation he given before.
James sighed. "No, but all they need to know is that it will help us with that mission."
"But the real reason?" Maggie prompted.
"J'onn wants a way to explain Supergirl's disappearance for if we can't disable to chip and get her out in time," James whispered, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat as he spoke.
Maggie closed her eyes briefly.
It was what she had feared, but hearing the words was something entirely different. "Catco will be reporting her death if we fail, you mean." Maggie commented bluntly.
James nodded, there wasn't much more he could say.
It was the cold truth- the cameras were there to make the public believe the story he was going to have to write about this battle if they were alive to tell it while Kara was not.
"As good as a story this would be for Catco- we best make sure there isn't one to write," Maggie said with finality, walking briskly to catch up with Lena and Winn.
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A gunshot rang out behind Lucy, causing her to jump and swirl around to see a Kryptonian solider staggering back, the blue Kryptonite in his suit now broken to pieces as in the distance Alex stood with her gun out in front of her. Lucy nodded at Alex with a smile of thanks, a relived breath leaving her lips before quickly swinging her Kryptonian sword around from behind her to slice the soldier that had just been about to hit her, as Alex ran further into the field making her way towards the cannon.
With his suit now compromised, Lucy's sword drew blood easily and the solider staggered backwards further reaching his hand into his pocket to produce a needle device similar to an EpiPen but with a long needle tip. He stabbed the needle tip into his neck quickly injecting a blue substance into his bloodstream before throwing the needle to the ground with a smirk on his face.
His face changed quickly.
No longer did he have a blank expression devoid of emotion.
As Lucy watched him warily, waiting to see what he was about to do she could see he looked confused, almost conflicted, and was glancing around the battle field looking at his fellow soldiers as they were in the middle of battles of their own. Suddenly his face changed again to a look of anger as he advanced on Lucy, causing her to draw her sword up in a defensive position.
The soldier charged for Lucy quickly- but though he was quick, he did not seem as fast as other soldiers Lucy had already been battling against. His lunge missed her by mere millimetres as she side stepped at the last moment, before turning her body and plunging her sword into his chest.
Time seemed to pause for just a moment.
The Kryptonian's eyes widened in shock as the sword went through his chest and out of his back.
He blinked, looking at Lucy before turning his gaze downwards to stare at the Kryptonite blade that was sticking through his middle as blood began to trickle down his stomach and back.
Gagging on a cough, he looked up into Lucy's eyes with a questioning look on his face.
Lucy pulled roughly on her sword, pulling it out from the Kryptonian and casing him to drop to his knees, gagging and gasping for breath with wide confused eyes that soon turned angry.
His eyes flared, beginning to tense as though he was trying to use heat vision.
A look of complete and utter surprise passed over his face as he realised he couldn't. He looked to his side where the needle lay and growled in anger. He had been told that the injection would grant him immunity to green Kryptonite if his suit had become compromised. He remembered having the conversation, he remembered everything- but what confused him most now, other than the fact he was not immune and was currently bleeding out from his chest and back, was that he felt something about that.
He had been devoid of emotion for so long, and had following orders as though a robot, unable to question the orders even though he had wanted too- until he had used that injection.
Somehow the injection had brought back his emotions and his freedom of thought, but it also had failed to do what he had been promised it would do, the Kryptonite was making him bleed. He could tell he was not immune to the effects of the green Kryptonite- but it wasn't causing his blood to boil and his skin to turn green either. It was as though the mere fact the blade had pierced him was causing his pain and not the Kryptonite itself.
He was bleeding and not healing- almost as though he was human.
It was then he realised the injection had affected his powers too, and as he looked down at his chest, lifting a hand to the wound before pulling it away to see it covered in blood, he felt almost relived.
He truly didn't know whether to be angry or sad- but as he looked back to the portal behind him further back in the field, he knew one thing for sure. He was glad that he wouldn't be around to see the Malronite's rise again after having been told horror stories of the race when he was a child on Krypton.
Turning back, he looked up to Lucy one last time, his expression softening. "Thank you," he breathed out quietly before plummeting to the floor and taking a last shaky breath- the last thing he saw being Lucy's confused and shocked expression.
"What the hell just happened?" Lucy muttered to herself, staring down at the dead soldier before her, finding herself frozen to the battle around her.
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It felt like they had been walking for hours in the dark when they finally came to a stop in front of an old derelict building, the sight of which made Kara feel shocked.
The only thing that they had to light their way was a torch Dan-El had brought with him.
How it worked in this dead zone in time, Kara had no idea. She assumed it was another of her crazy brother's inventions. As mad as he was, he did appear to be smart and capable with his creations- most of which Kara had been the test subject for.
There had been no light other than that from the torch until they reached this building.
That fact alone made Kara feel a great deal of unease as well as surprise. Not because of the state of the building, but more the style of it and the fact it was there in the first place and that it seemed to have some sort of power.
So far, as Dan-El had been dragging Kara along in the darkness somehow seeming to know where he was going and following small marks left in the wasteland they had been searching through, there had been no sign of life.
Nothing to indicate any other beings were in the Phantom Zone with them, other than the creepy things Kara had sworn she had seen moving in the darkness, if that was even possible.
Creepy moving shadows or not though, the fact there was a building here, a building that seemed as though it was abandoned yet appeared to have power, was a sign of life- and right now Kara wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
"What is this place?" Kara asked, staring up at the tall, crumbling building.
Turning to face his sister, Dan-El smirked. "Don't you remember?" he asked pointedly. "You've been here before a long time ago."
Kara shook her head, refusing to believe him.
The only time she remembered being in the Phantom Zone was when she was stuck in her space-pod, floating through the timeless dead zone in space with no hope of escaping.
She did not remember coming another time or spending any time in such a building.
"This was where I trained you to be the best you can be, you and the other children for project Malron. You lived in this building for over four years," Dan-El explained as he walked towards the building and pushed roughly on the large metal door to push it ajar, before turning back to Kara. "This is where it all began sister, it's only right we finish what we started, don't you think?" Dan-El asked, motioning for Kara to join him.
Kara crossed her arms over her chest, purposely taking a step backwards. "I never wanted anything to do with what you had planned, and I still don't now," Kara replied with force.
Dan-El laughed loudly. "You were four when we first came here, you didn't have a choice then and you still don't know. You had no idea what was going on, but you grew to be good in the training sessions, you learnt well from your teachings and would have made a fine Malronite," Dan-El said appraisingly, though his smile seemed calculating.
Quickly he walked back to Kara, grasping her arm tightly and pulling her towards the building. "You still can," Dan-El said, "you just have to submit to it."
"Krypton is gone Kara, we destroyed it by taking what was not ours all along- but earth is new. Earth has just begun, and with the right code of life we can make it the best it can be. We can make it what Krypton should have been all along before the ideocracy set in."
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"Go! I'll hold them off, get Lena and Winn to that control room," James yelled, engaging his shield and sending Maggie a stern look before running from the behind the crate they had been using as a shield. Maggie watched as James in his Guardian suit charged for the CADMUS agents, his shield up to deflect their fire, feeling torn.
She knew he was right, they had to leave and quick, they were so close to the control room now- so close to getting to where they needed to be to fulfil their mission, but it didn't seem right to her to leave James behind to fend for himself.
She knew he was capable, she had seen him fight before, but that was street thugs, not trained agents and not this amount. Though at the same time she also knew that Winn and Lena would both be busy trying to disable the chip as soon as they entered the room, and someone would need to watch their backs, someone would need to make sure they were not jumped so they could concentrate on the mission.
Breathing deeply, Maggie nodded to herself. "Come on, we need to go now while he is drawing their fire," Maggie yelled over the sound of bullets, looking out from the behind the crate carefully to see which way was best to go without being noticed.
"What about James?" Winn yelled, clutching his tablet close and ducking down with a wince as the sound of bullets firing made his ears ring.
Maggie turned back to Winn. "He knows what he's doing, and I'm hoping you two do as well, so we can get out of here quickly."
"Just get us to that room," Lena murmured, her face set with determination.
Maggie nodded, looking out from the crate one last time, "Stay close," she warned, "stick to the left behind those grids, the corridor we need is just down there, right Winn?"
Winn looked at his map before nodding quickly.
"Let's go, come on," Maggie yelled, moving quickly from the crates and dashing to the wall behind a metal grid, she waved her arm out signalling for Lena to follow, sighing in relief as the CEO made it with ease, followed closely by Winn. Quickly the three of them ran for the corridor, while trying to ignore the sounds of gun fire and metal clangs as Guardian used his shield and his other weapons that Winn had created for him.
As they ran down the corridor, quickly turning left at Winn's instruction, it was Lena who was first to enter the room, stopping dead in her tracks with wide eyes and causing both Maggie and Winn to bump into her back.
Maggie frowned, "Lena wha- you! What are you doing here?" Maggie asked angrily, moving around Lena and quickly drawing her gun.
A silence fell over the room.
"Answer her question, mother, what do you want?" Lena spat in disgust, her gaze hard and angry.
Lillian Luthor, who was sat in a swivel chair with her legs crossed over one another, a folded sweater on her lap, smirked at the anger in her daughter's voice and eyes. "Would you believe me if I told you I was here to help you?" Lillian asked.
Lena scoffed, folding her arms across her chest as she took a step forwards, moving to stand in front of Maggie.
Lillian smiled further, "I didn't think so," she answered her own question, "though I can't say I blame you," she continued, standing.
"She loves you very much- that became clear to me recently. She asked I ensure you get this back," Lillian commented, placing the folded sweater down the chair she had vacated. "I've logged you into the computer system- I take it you are here to try and disable the chip?" Lillian asked, turning to look at Lena once again.
Lena took a step forward once more, causing Maggie to follow at her side. "Why are you helping us?" Lena questioned, tilting her head to the side.
"I realised I was wrong to ever think I could trust another alien, and though he did get me what I wanted it's not worth the price he wants in return. While I still cannot stand Supergirl and her wretched cousin, she is the only hope Earth has now," Lillian responded.
Lena scoffed again, shaking her head, "So you're doing this to help yourself, again- but instead of fixing the mistake you make you're leaving it up to us. Up to her."
Lillian shrugged. "We only survive through self-preservation, Lena, I thought I already taught you that?" she mocked.
"The only thing I learnt from you, mother, is how to be heartless and cruel," Lena shot back.
Lillian smirked again, nodding with a chuckle as she moved over to the far wall of the room, pressing her back against it. Maggie followed her with her gun out in front of her, reaching around her back for the cuffs she always carried on her belt.
Noticing what the detective was doing, Lillian smiled. "Maybe another time dear, I don't plan to stick around today- oh and Lena, should your girlfriend find herself in need of a cure for Kryptonite poisoning again there is something you will need in the pocket," Lillian continued pointedly before slamming her back into the wall and causing the brick work she was leaning against to flip around, allowing her to disappear from the room.
Maggie charged at the wall, looking all around for some kind of switch as Lena walked over to the chair picking up the sweater carefully and taking out a small vial of blue liquid, pocketing it carefully while Winn made him way to the computer.
"How the hell did she just get away, damn it!" Maggie yelled in frustration hitting the wall with her fist.
Lena held the sweater to her chest as she walked to the computer, looking over Winn's shoulder as he began typing away. "Let's worry about my mother later- right now we have a mission to complete."
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Kara felt the unease seeping down her spine and making her shiver the more that she saw inside the building. The further they went, the more labs and rooms she saw that sparked different memories of her childhood that had before been hidden to her.
She knew Dan-El was telling the truth, she had been here before.
That fact was cemented in her mind the moment Dan-El took her to the room that had apparently used to be her own in her time here.
She knew straight away that it was.
One look in the small cement box with no windows made her sure of it by the fear and dread that filled her heart at seeing it. If that wasn't enough the fact she had seen her initials carved into the door on the inside of the room proved the fact even more.
She had been here before; she had lived here for four years and had learnt the teachings of Malron at her brother's insistence, she had been trained for a battle that had nothing to do with her, she had been punished for things she had no control over and used repeatedly for other's gains.
For what? So they could try and bring back a dead race that had been overpowered by those they deemed weaker.
Kara knew with every second they stayed in this lab, Dan-El was closer to getting to his way, closer to bringing back the race he wanted to resurrect entirely. When she had first heard the story from the AI of her mother she thought Dan-El's plan was simply to bring his own mother back, but she soon realised there was more than that at stake. She knew he had much more planned.
Finding his mother would just be an icing to the cake he had already eaten.
He didn't want to just bring back Krin Mal-Ron, he wanted to bring back his entire family line using a machine his mother had stolen from Zor-El and hidden away in this secret lab years ago.
The Lab that could only be found by entering the Phantom Zone, since the portal that was once used to transport beings to and from was destroyed the same day Dan-El himself was sent to Fort Rozz.
She had to get out of here and quickly, before Dan-El had a way to make his plan become a reality.
He had taken great pride in dictating to her exactly how he was going to bring back the race of the Malronite's with the last 'training session' he had given her shortly before she had been killed and then revived as they used her as a test subject. In some ways, Kara now thought that it might have been easier if she had never been revived- as then she wouldn't be having this problem of having to figure out a way to get this dagger from her boot and then into Dan-El without him realising what she was doing and then having to try and escape and stop him from being able to carry out his plan.
If she had died he would be missing the main thing he needed to make his plan work.
Her.
She was the key he needed to start the machine.
Her DNA, which he now had thanks to the bone he had taken from her chest while he had her opened up like an operation game on that metal table that she dreaded.
Kara almost felt like laughing at how screwed up this whole situation was.
How screwed up her whole family was compared to the happy and perfect images she had in her mind for so long.
The reason she had been through all this- all the pain, all the torment and fear- was because her father had made a machine to bring back an entire family line as an experiment but had no reason to use it. Zor-El had sealed it with an ancient ritual- almost like magic- so that only he, or a member from his own blood line could use it, years before even Dan-El himself had been born.
Dan-El had told her earlier while showing her around the building how his own mother had tried to use him to power the machine but couldn't as his blood was tainted.
He was not fully Kryptonian just like Krin herself wasn't.
Dan-El was part Malronite, so the machine did not recognise him as being from the same family line as he was not Kryptonian, not fully.
He was a hybrid, much like his mother before him and the rest of their family line.
Apparently, Dan-El had known from a young age about his background, but it wasn't until he began to work in more depth, within the hidden labs that his mother had introduced him to before being banished, that he had realised how different that truly made him from his father and the rest of the people of Krypton. It was also when he realised that his mother's life long work was useless, that her legacy would be nothing more than being banished to the wasteland that the secret lab now lay in.
Dan-El had spoken of how for two years he had tried to find his mother but could not, leaving him to only theorise one thing; that his mother had been killed in the Phantom Zone by what his family back on Krypton called the Phantoms, and without the machine there was no way to bring her back. The machine that would not work by using his blood.
He had felt lost, and with no purpose until Kara herself had been born; with her birth came the return of hope.
His mother's legacy and his destiny were back on track, but he had to be patient and that was something Dan-El was not. He had told Kara how the people he worked with had wanted her to be older to withstand the weakening the machine would cause. Apparently, it was theorised this would allow her to endure the effects of the machine for longer periods, but instead of waiting and testing her blood on a single subject- which had been the same plan Krin had for Dan-El when she used the Krin-Drive on him to make him older than he should have been- Dan-El had decided to take Kara when she was only four years old.
She was too young when they had taken her to power the machine properly and bring back the entire line and race of Malronite's.
When younger, Kara could only power the machine long enough to bring back one being per day, something she did have some memories of, and in her early years at the labs even that was a struggle.
That was her use- a juice box basically.
They sucked her dry using her blood and DNA to power the machine.
They needed her DNA to keep the machine working, so had her strapped down on a table and hooked up to the machine, then they needed her blood mixed with Dan-El's first, and then other decedents of the Malronite's that were working at the labs, to bring back their fallen family members.
They had no control over which fallen family member came first, they had no control over the process over than picking whose family would be resurrected each day.
Kara had learned to hate the machine and the doctors in the room that connected her to it, she hated the burn of the machine draining her power, she hated the noises it made, the red beams it had emitted. She learnt to fear the machine, but from the few failed escape attempts, she learnt it was better to let them use her than to try and stop them, as the punishments she would receive were far worse than the machine itself.
They tried to use the Krin-Drive on her, to make her older on some days to see if she lasted longer- she did but only by a small amount and the use of the Krin-Drive brought about other problems as it made her try to escape even more, and it made her attempts to escape nearly impossible to stop as she became a lot smarter after the use of the Krin-Drive.
It was the use of the Drive one day that brought about the rescue mission led by Astra In-Zee, another memory Kara had clearly in her mind.
Kara had managed to send a distress beacon through the portal with her location- how, no one knew and the eighteen-year-old version of herself that she had been aged into had refused to tell them even after they had tried to torture the answer out of her. In the end they had even resorted to aging her back to the eight-year-old she should have been all along before hurting her more to try and get the answers out of her as to what she had sent through the portal and how she had done it.
They did get the answer then, but not from Kara- from Astra In-Zee and her army that had stormed the labs on a rescue mission.
Upon hearing the army arriving Dan-El and his team had quickly tried to destroy as much of the lab as possible. Years of research and serums were quickly destroyed and thrown away, and the other children that they had been turning into young conformed Malronite soldiers were thrown out into the wilderness of the Phantom Zone never to be seen again.
Only a few were saved, Kara being one of them, and most of them were unable to go back to Krypton as they had been too badly conditioned and hurt to be able to live a normal Kryptonian life.
The few that did were troubled as would be expected, Kara more than most.
Dan-El found that working with Kara now reminded him a lot of the times she had been aged by the Krin-Drive, she was smart, she was fierce, and she was stubborn.
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Kal-El sped up as he tried to dodge the Kryptonian's that were following him.
Every time he tried to land on the field below he was ambushed, and currently with the amount of Kryptonite flying around the field through bullets and other weapons he was struggling to fight off the blue Kryptonite suited soldiers on the ground.
At least in the air he had more strength- but in the air he was mostly useless.
His weapons were low on fire power and needed to be saved to destroy the cannon and portal when needed, he couldn't fire it anymore to move the Kryptonian soldiers out the way.
Though he was now mostly useless in the battle, he could however see clearly the battlefield when he was not completely surrounded. He could see Alex strategically placing the DEO agents around the cannon and portal, keeping the Kryptonian's back as she made her way forwards.
He could also see the portal and would see when it was safe to destroy it.
After learning from Winn, who occasionally came in on comms when they had enough signal in the CADMUS base, about how Kara's tracker seemed to be static and fading in and out near the portal- J'onn had made it very clear it was not to be destroyed until they knew Kara was safe or they had no other option left.
Kal-El was adamant he would only destroy it when his cousin was safe, he had failed once already, and he wasn't about to do it again.
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Kara could feel her lungs burning with the effort her body was going through to breath fast and move even faster, she was running faster than she ever had as a child. She knew she didn't have much time, she could hear that she was being followed but she didn't dare look back behind her knowing she would only see the things that nightmares were made of.
The things she had dreamt about for years when she had first arrived on earth.
When her new family had asked her what the Phantom Zone was like she had said she was asleep, which was the truth. She did however miss out the fact that her pod would wake her every so often while preforming checks on her status condition, and when she was awake she saw them.
The Phantoms.
The beings she had sworn she had seen in the darkness earlier. The beings that invaded her nightmares for years. The beings she had heard stories about as a child that she still remembered to this day.
Though now she wondered if she had been actually told those stories or programmed to remember them by the chip in her brain.
Now she knew the things she once called Phantoms are actually something entirely different.
They are Malronite's, the first beings to inhabit Krypton. The beings that all the history lessons and teachings left out, the beings that were angry and wanted their home back but had been banished due to the cruelty they brought in their wake.
Dan-El was royalty here.
He was the last son to their race, just like she was the last daughter to her own, she knew if they caught her she would not escape. They had evolved to have powers here in the dark barren waste land, while she could not without sunlight.
They had changed themselves to be more savage, more violent and more powerful than what the stories she had heard of them had ever depicted.
Now Dan-El wanted to bring that to earth to make a new Krypton- a new Krypton where he was ruler and his people would destroy everything and anything in their path- and Kara would not let that happen. The people of earth had saved her life, they had helped her grow into the person she is today. While she may be broken beyond repair from everything that had happened to her in these last few weeks, and that happened to her while she was a child, she was not going to let him destroy everything she held dear.
She would not let him hurt her family, the family she had made for herself, and she would not let him take the home of a race that were only just beginning.
The Malronite's had had their time and their chance; they'd blown it with cruelty and war.
The Kryptonian's had theirs too, and they too blew it by being greedy and taking too much from the structure that gave them life.
Humans still had their chance to make something of their planet, and Kara saw herself as one alongside them, though she may not be human herself she lived by their code and conduct and she would protect them and her loved ones till her dying breath if she had too.
So now she ran, with no light and no real way of seeing where she was going.
She could hardly believe she had managed to pull it off- one minute she had been on the floor in pain as her head was throbbing as though she had been shocked again- the next the pain had stopped.
It had given the opportunity to use her weapon and escape- so she had.
Quickly, she had taken the dagger from her boot and stabbed it hard into Dan-El's thigh, causing him to scream out in pain and drop to the floor. As he fell she stole the bone he had pulled from her own body which was hooked up to the machine, and ran without once looking back. She had been tripping on rocks in her path, smacking into walls and cutting and bruising herself even more than she already was following a tiny dot of light she could see in the distance.
A tiny dot of sun light that showed her where her true home was.
Where Lena was, and Alex, and all her family.
There had been a little voice in her head for a long time now telling her she was too broken to keep going, but then she would hear Lena. Hear her telling her to 'hold on for her'. So she did- she held on and kept running.
For Lena- she would always hold on- she would always find a way.
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"J'onn, the program is still saying she's in the area- I think she is in the portal, I need to go through," Alex yelled into her comm as she dashed close to the cannon that was set up in the field.
Alex ducked, missing an arm to the face by a hairs length, before swinging back around with her gun to shoot twice in quick succession, one bullet blasting the blue Kryptonite in the soldier's suit to pieces and the second bullet embedding in his leg causing him to drop to the ground in a wail of agony.
Turning back around Alex continued to make her way to the cannon, "Agent Danvers you are not to enter that portal-"
"But J'onn, Kara's-"
"Agent Danvers, that is an order!" J'onn's voice sounded from the comm, sternly. "Alex, we will get her back, but I am not losing you in that portal, it's dangerous enough for Kara. I cannot let you go through, if anything were to happen to you Kara would not forgive me- I wouldn't forgive myself," J'onn's voice sounded from the comm device.
Alex sighed, knowing J'onn was right, but it didn't stop her from wanting to go through the portal in search of her sister.
She was about to reply when suddenly she was grabbed from behind and shoved into a table near the back of the cannon. As she struggled to free herself she could feel a hand tightening around her neck, choking her as she was lifted in the air. The Kryptonian turned her around mid-air, lifting her higher as he squeezed her throat harder making it impossible for her to breathe.
Alex felt her heart beating fast as her eyes glazed over and closed, her feet kicking at the solider wildly until there was a sudden thump, followed shortly by her being dropped to the ground in a heap gasping for breath.
As she continued to take gasping breaths, Alex pried her eyes open to see the Kryptonian on the floor beside her, unconscious with a red mark on his forehead. Alex could hear panting and knew even though she was still gasping for breath herself the sounds were not from her.
Looking up quickly, Alex smiled- she should have known.
There standing before her, with giant boulder in her hands was Kara.
She was bleeding and bruised and looked to be struggling, but she was here, and she had just saved Alex's life.
"Gimme," Alex said, holding her hands out for the boulder breathlessly, at her sister's confused look, she continued, "need to smash his suit's shield," Alex said, motioning to the blue Kryptonite.
Kara nodded, kneeling to the ground before smacking the boulder down hard onto the Kryptonian's chest, noticing right away that it was Gor she was disabling as she did so, before dropping the boulder to her side as she continued to pant, squinting slightly in the sunlight.
Alex ran a hand down Kara's arm trying to get her attention. "Move back, I'm going to cuff him with Kryptonite," Alex warned waiting until Kara had shuffled backwards towards the cannon before pulling out the Kryptonite cuffs and restraining him, to make sure he could not bother them easily if he was to wake up anytime soon. If Kara had not been here she would have probably shot him, but Kara hated killing, and she looked fragile enough in Alex's eyes.
She wasn't willing to add anymore to what she was sure her little sister had already endured and witnessed.
Taking a deep breath, Alex climbed to her feet and all but ran to where Kara was tiredly sitting on the ground, noticing the way her sister was flinching at every noise she heard and looking around herself frantically.
"Kara," Alex cried, pulling her sister into her body with the strength that would rival a Kryptonian's. "Oh god Kara, I was so scared we had lost you when I couldn't find you, but you're hear now, and everything is going to be okay. I got you, I got you sis," Alex promised, quickly wrapping her arms around her sister, holding her tightly as she rested her chin on top of Kara's head.
Kara shuddered at the thought of how close she had come to losing her sister and never seeing her again. She gripped onto Alex with all the strength she had right now and buried her face against her older sister's neck, blocking out the sounds of the battle around them and trying to focus on the steady heartbeat to calm her. She found herself slumping against Alex as she relaxed in to the feeling of her sister's hand rubbing across the top of her back.
Feeling her sister shudder in her arms, Alex pulled her closer for a moment, relishing in the fact she had Kara with her and that she was safe and still alive. "We need to get you out of here, there's too much Kryptonite on the field, Kar," Alex said, speaking softly into Kara's hair.
Pulling back from the embrace Kara looked her sister in the eyes, staring for a moment.
When she had been running to the portal and had seen Gor choking Alex through it she had been terrified she would be too late. The only thing that had been keeping her going was the thought of being back with her family and with Lena. To see one of the people she wanted with her more than anything else in the world being hurt like that had made her feel a rush of adrenaline like she had never felt before.
It had given her the strength she had needed to push herself that little bit more and be that little bit faster to get through the portal as quickly as possible. It had given her the strength to be able to withstand the pain she could feel at being exposed to the amount of Kryptonite on the field and rip Gor away from her sister by hitting him as hard as she could with that boulder.
Now that the adrenaline was wearing thin though, she could feel the Kryptonite weakening her, making her feel tired and drained. She could feel her veins pulsating and her heart beating faster in her chest as her body tried to fight of the effects of the Kryptonite surrounding her.
She knew that Alex was right, and they needed to leave, she needed to leave- but she couldn't yet.
Not until the portal was closed.
Though she had taken the bone Dan-El was going to use to power the machine with her, she had no idea whether it would be enough to stop Dan-El from carrying out his plan. She had no idea how many of the Phantoms had been following her or if Dan-El himself had been following her as well.
She had no idea if, and when, something or someone may follow her through that portal.
"-Kar, come on, I need to get you away from here, it's weakening you. We'll go as far as we can then I'll try to contact Winn to see if they have disabled whatever that monster did to that chip in your brain," Alex continued, her voice pulling Kara from her thoughts.
Kara's eyes widened at the mention of disabling the chip.
She knew she had felt something earlier when in the Phantom Zone. When she had fallen in the labs before making her escape due to a short and sharp pain in her head she thought Dan-El had pressed that button again, but maybe it had happened because the chip had been disabled? Dan-El had seemed just as shocked as she had when she had fallen clutching her head in pain, he had seemed even more shocked when she had plunged the dagger into his leg.
"-that's where Lena and Maggie are, Winn and James are with them too, they are in that underground base where you were being held and where Lucy and Kal escaped from. They are going to help you get out of here, okay? Then we can get you somewhere safe, I promise," Alex continued to explain, her voice sounding soft and soothing even as she spoke quickly and loudly over the noise on the field.
Kara found it hard to focus on the words Alex was speaking, she could hear too much from the field behind her, she could hear explosions and gunfire, screaming and yelling. It was too loud and currently her hearing was not even at its full capacity due to the Kryptonite weakening her.
Everything was too overwhelming, there was too much happening.
Too much death and destruction happening all around her, too much pain from her injuries and the effects of the Kryptonite, too much fear and emotion making her want to hide away- but most of all too much responsibility.
This was happening right now because of her.
The DEO had come for her, they were fighting for her and dying for her and she was frozen in place when she should be destroying the cannon and the portal.
Alex's voice broke through the panic in Kara's mind calling out to her with soothing tones and soft hands that were now cupping her cheeks. She was trying to get Kara to look at her as she wiped away tears from her sister's cheeks and from under her eyes.
Tears that Kara didn't even realise were flowing.
"Kara? Kar, Hey, hey, you're okay. I've got you sis, I'm going to get you out of here alright? Come on, come with me," Alex said soothingly, wrapping her arms around Kara's waist before beginning to try and haul her up carefully.
Kara wouldn't move though, as much as she wanted to be away from it all she couldn't leave yet. "No, I need to stop him," Kara cried out suddenly, her abrupt tone making Alex pause and cup her cheeks again.
"Kar, you're really weak right now. You need to be seen by a medic and then rest. Lots of rest. Let the DEO handle this, okay?" Alex recommended, trying to persuade her sister to leave.
Kara shook her head, "No- I have to stop him. Can't let him bring them back," Kara argued, her words coming out tired and almost slurred showing how weak she was becoming from the exposure to the Kryptonite.
"Kara, please. I need to get you away from the Kryptonite- we have to go." Alex pleaded, trying to pull Kara away only to find herself stuck as Kara grabbed onto the cannon behind them, using its frame to pull herself up.
Kara whimpered as she felt Alex pulling at her arm, causing the scars on her skin to hurt. "Please don't," she begged quietly, "I need to close the portal, Alex please. They can't be let out, they'll destroy everything, kill everything. It's not safe, they'll be too powerful here with powers and the technology they have. Earth will be destroyed, and I'll lose everyone. I need to stop them, he can't win. I need to close it, please help me close it. Alex please!" Kara begged, her speech coming out in quick distressed pants as tears began to fall more quickly from her eyes.
She could hear Alex talking into her comms about how they needed to destroy the portal straight away, she could feel Alex holding her tightly from behind, her chest pressed up against Kara's own back trying to offer her comfort.
"Alex, help me," Kara begged with a sob, the emotion and stress becoming too much for her to handle with the added pain and effects of the Kryptonite.
Alex wrapped an arm tightly around Kara's waist, pulling her into her side to help hold her little sister up. "I am Kar, I'm helping you. It's okay, I promise. Tell me what to do, they already know to destroy the portal but tell me how we can stop this cannon, do you know?" Alex soothed gently, holding Kara tighter as she felt the blonde tremble in her arms.
"Crystal, need to take the crystal out and destroy it. It's the only way to stop it- he did something to the cannon made it so the manual turn off won't work," Kara muttered, gripping to the edge of the cannon to pull herself along so she was level with the crystal.
She could feel the power coming from the cannon, it was making the ground they were standing on shake. If it wasn't for Alex holding her up right now, and the death grip her hands had on the metal frame work, she would probably have already fallen to the floor. She could feel a heat coming from the crystal and the beam of light that was being pulsated through it, though it wasn't hurting her it was uncomfortable, and with Alex being so close behind her it worried her that it may hurt her sister.
"Stand back, it's hot I don't want you to get hurt," Kara instructed, straightening her spine as she prepared herself.
"If I stand back you will fall to the floor, you asked me to help- so let me help you," Alex argued back.
Kara was going to protest but she knew that her sister was right.
She was too weak to stand on her own with all the Kryptonite flying around the field.
Instead, she nodded reluctantly. "Just- just make sure you don't get too close to this beam of light- and do not try to stop me," Kara relented.
She waited for Alex's response and frowned when all she felt was her sister's grip around her middle tightening. "Alex, I need you to promise me." Kara said seriously.
Alex sighed. "I won't stop you," she said, pausing for a moment, "unless I feel its too much for you. I just got you back and I am not losing you again- I made a promise to myself and your girlfriend that I intend to keep."
Kara sighed, but nodded in agreement, she knew it was pointless arguing with Alex when she used that tone. She knew that tone was her 'don't mess with me' big sister tone.
Taking a deep breath, Kara cried out loudly as she shoved her hand through the beam of light.
She could feel the heat fire through her hand, causing her body to shake as she pushed her hand further through the beam. Stretching as far as she could, Kara pushed against Alex and pulled herself closer to the cannon with her spare hand as slowly she managed to make her fingers curl around the crystal.
She screamed in exhaustion and pain as she managed to grasp the crystal, panicking as she could feel Alex beginning to try and pull her back. "No! I've almost got it, I can do this- let me do this," Kara cried out, keeping a hold on the crystal as she tried to dislodge it from the beam of bright white light.
Kara felt Alex's grip tighten around her waist again, no longer pulling her now just holding her tightly, a silent support and help. "You got this, I believe in you," Alex yelled from behind her, yelling over her sister's screams as she continued to pull at the crystal.
She knew it was stuck and she wasn't going to be able to move it, the only way to stop it was to destroy it where it was. Using as much strength as she could Kara squeezed the crystal tightly in her hand applying as much pressure as possible.
Movement by the portal caught her eye, as soon as she noticed the movement from the corner of her eyes everything happened so quickly.
First there was a shout.
Then there was something flying towards them.
Then a bang as the crystal exploded in Kara's hand that was still in the beam.
The crystal exploding caused a surge of energy that threw both Kara and Alex backwards, but not before Kara used the little of her strength left to move her body around Alex to protect her sister before falling to the ground with a thud, Alex on top of her.
"What have you done!?" Dan-El roared, having jumped through the portal at the last second. His leg was bloody with the dagger now removed, it had been bleeding badly. Though as Dan-El moved quickly over to where Kara and Alex lay on the ground groaning, he moved without a limp- the yellow sun already working on healing the damage Kara had caused.
Reaching them quickly, Dan-El yanked Alex out of the way throwing her away from Kara like a rag doll. Kara groaned, rolling onto her stomach with a small cry of pain, "Alex," she called out, looking for her sister as she felt Dan-El pull on her hair roughly.
"You stupid bitch! You've ruined it all! You better hope the computer can bring back that portal or everything I have put you through will seem like child's play compared to what I'll do to you!" Dan-El raged, smacking the back of her head with force, causing her eyes to close in a daze. Had the hit been any harder she would have been knocked unconscious.
Kara groaned again as she felt Dan-El take her leg roughly and drag her across the ground towards the back of the cannon where a computer system was set up. Dan-El dropped her next to a fallen, still unconscious and cuffed Gor, quickly typing away on the computer system before him.
He was engrossed in what he was doing and paid no attention to Kara as she wriggled around the floor beside him trying to move away, instead only stomping a booted foot down onto her back, causing her to cry out as she was slammed back to the ground. Kara whimpered while stretching her arm out, moving to tug at Gor's suit as leverage while she searched for what she wanted, she could feel pain in her side and blood dripping down her skin under the pressure she was exerting. From the corner of her eye she could see Alex moving on the ground and let out a sigh of relief at knowing her sister was at least alive after the fall and being thrown by Dan-El.
She had come so close to losing Alex again just then, she didn't know if Alex even realised how close she was to being stabbed with the dagger that had been thrown at them and was now wedged in Kara's side.
If Kara hadn't moved them at the last second, Alex would most probably be dead right now.
Instead Kara took the hit from the dagger that was now adding more Kryptonite to her already weakened body, her whole body pulsating as the Kryptonite burned her skin and made her blood feel like it was being boiled. The fact she hadn't passed out from the pain yet was a small miracle, but she could feel it wouldn't be long now.
She could feel herself growing tired and feel her energy leaving her.
Grasping the EpiPen from Gor's suit in her hand, Kara quickly pulled it from Gor's suit and hid it under her own body, glancing up to see Alex creeping her way forward carefully, gun pulled out and ready. Lifting up as much as she could Kara mouthed the word 'suit' to her sister, who nodded silently.
"Like I told you outside the Luthor's house- that will not work on me," Dan-El muttered, his eyes not leaving the computer screen as he continued to type.
Alex took aim, ignoring the jab, "Not yet anyway," she commented before firing.
Her aim was true and the blue Kryptonite in his suit shattered as the bullet hit its target.
Dan-El looked down with a smirk, reaching a hand into his pocket for the serum filled EpiPen he was carrying, though as he felt something jab into his leg he stopped and paused for a moment before looking down to see his sister had already injected another EpiPen into his leg.
He looked at her with a frown, before shrugging off his concerns with a smirk, "Thanks sis," he commented turning back to the screen and typing again.
His smirk slowly slipped from his face though as he began to feel weaker, it was almost as though the strength he felt under the yellow sun was leaving him, and though he was not in pain he could begin to feel a throb in his leg where Kara had stabbed him in the Phantom Zone before. He could feel Kara moving around on the floor below where his boot was still pushing her to the ground from her back and his frown deepened more as he found he was suddenly having to use more strength to keep her down. He could see Alex moving in on him with her gun still raised, and not wanting to test fully if this serum that had been made worked he leant down and pulled Kara up by her arm, earning a gasp from the blonde as the dagger in her side shifted while she was pulled around in front of him like a shield.
"I'll take that," Dan-El said, having felt the bone Kara had stolen from him in her pocket as he lifted her up. Taking the bone from Kara, he placed it in his own pocket with a smirk.
Dan-El returned to typing with a small smile as he noticed there was still a way for his plan to work, not in the way he had intended but he could still salvage his mission in part. While being so focused on his task though Dan-El hadn't noticed that Kara had been moving slightly in his grip, not until he felt it.
Pain.
Sharp, sudden, agonising pain.
He felt a coldness in his side, a coldness followed by a burning pain and then a wet, yet warm, trickle causing him to freeze in place.
Looking away from the computer, he turned to face his sister who was staring him hard in the eyes with a defiant and angry look that he thought he had beaten out of her long ago. Dan-El cried out in agony as he felt a further pain in his side, prompting him to look down to see Kara holding the dagger he had thrown as he re-entered earth.
The dagger was coated in blood, both Kara's and his, and as he looked at his side he could see blood seeping through his suit.
"You're welcome," Kara breathed out quietly, her nostrils flaring as she sent a punch to Dan-El's face, knocking him to the floor as he clutched his bleeding side.
Dan-El growled, narrowing his eyes and expecting to send a ray of heat vision in Kara's direction.
Instead nothing happened. "What have you done?" he yelled, causing Kara to flinch.
"I didn't do anything- you trusted Lillian Luthor to make you invincible when she hates aliens, did you really think she wouldn't screw you over? Especially after finding out what you have planned for Earth and for the human race," Kara responded, standing taller and sounding more confident as Alex reached them, standing by her sister's side with her gun still out in front of her and an arm around Kara's waist as she noticed Kara was having trouble standing by herself. "She made you what you wanted- you are immune to the green Kryptonite now, but only because you are human. No powers, no speed, no strength. You're just a mere human- you're no god."
Dan-El growled in response, lunging to get up before falling backwards to the ground again in pain.
Though he couldn't get to Kara the instinctive fear she felt at seeing him move towards her made her back away into Alex, who tightened the hold she had on Kara in support.
Alex's eyes widened as she felt a sticky wetness to Kara's side, pulling her hand back slightly she gasped at the blood she could see covering her hand. Glancing at Dan-El to check he wasn't currently a threat Alex moved around Kara to inspect the wound, "Kara, I need to get you out of here now," Alex said urgently. "J'onn we have Dan-El here, and disabled, and the machine has been stopped, I need you to come take over so I can get Supergirl to a medic," Alex spoke quietly and quickly into her comm piece while helping her sister down to the ground and keeping a wary eye on Dan-El.
Dan-El laughed, holding his side and panting hard after. "While this does hurt, yours looks fatal sister," he said mockingly. "You could have killed me, why didn't you?"
"I'm not a killer. You can beat me, and you can break me down to a shell of myself but one thing you will never do is turn me into a killer," Kara responded. "You will pay for what you have done and the lives you have taken, I'll make sure of it. You need to be alive for that though, and while I am no killer, I will enjoy watching you pay for what you have done," Kara finished breathlessly, looking upwards as she could see J'onn flying towards them in his Martian form.
Feeling Alex wrap an arm under her knees and around her back Kara lifted her arms weakly to wrap them around her sister's neck. As Alex lifted her from the ground, with far too much ease, Kara let her head drop to her sister's shoulder the exhaustion and pain finally catching up in full force now.
Kara could feel her eyes drooping as her body slumped into her sisters hold, the sound of her strong and steady, yet slightly faster than normal, heartbeat soothing her just like it had done before. She felt safe in her sister's arms and knew that soon this would be over.
Soon she would be with Lena, safe, loved and protected.
She could hear J'onn talking but couldn't make out what he was saying, she could hear Dan-El talking too and could feel movement as Alex began to walk. The movement made her whimper as it was making her aching and burning bones hurt more and caused the scars on her body to feel fresh and painful once again.
She knew it was the Kryptonite causing this, she had felt it before the last time.
It was strange how she couldn't hear what J'onn and Dan-El were saying when they were talking at a normal volume, but as soon as Dan-El chose to whisper she heard the words clearly.
"I'm a god to them Kara and I have all I need now- thank you for bringing my family back, little sister. I'll see you on the flip side, where it will be me that enjoys watching you pay."
Kara jerked.
Causing her whole body to move which caused Alex to stumble, barely being able to right herself and hold onto Kara.
"No! Stop him!" Kara cried, her eyes opening just in time to see Dan-El press one final button on the computer as he was marched past it in cuffs by a DEO agent.
It was J'onn that dashed forward to the computer, trying to see what he had done as the whole screen lit up red, a beep sounding in warning. "What have you done?" J'onn shouted over the beeping, Dan-El only smiled in response.
Just after he had spoken the portal began to spark and flicker, a dark light shinning from it as it began creating a wind field that started to suck in fallen Kryptonian's from the battle field including Gor, whose unconscious body was pulled straight through the portal.
Dan-El smirked in victory, "I can't bring my family here, so I am sending myself and my army back," he explained with a manic laugh. "Don't worry, it won't take you humans as long don't get too close, it only takes those who have Phantom Zone residue on them," Dan-El yelled over the sounds of high winds, before turning to look at the agent holding onto him tightly. "You might want to let go though, unless you want to be sucked in too," he joked, laughing as the agent quickly let him go, "See you shortly, little sister- time to go home," Dan-El finished, his yells becoming quieter as he too was sucked into the portal.
J'onn began frantically searching on the computer for a way to stop the portal but found that he had been locked out the system and that the program was not stoppable.
The only way to stop it was to destroy the portal.
While the portal sucking up the Kryptonian's on the battlefield was a good thing, as it would save them the trouble of containment and clean up- as J'onn looked over his shoulder, he could see Alex struggling to hold on to Kara as they gripped onto each other for dear life.
If they didn't find a way to stop this and soon they would lose Kara too.
"Alex!" Kara screamed as she felt herself being pulled away, "Please, I don't want to go back there!" she cried, screwing her eyes shut tightly. She could feel herself moving even with Alex's arms wrapped around her tightly and knew even with her eyes shut tight that Alex was being pulled back towards the portal as well.
In the distance she could hear J'onn yelling for backup, she could hear guns shooting and yells surrounding her as more Kryptonian's were sucked through the portal to the one place she never wanted to go back to ever again. With everything she had been through, all the pain and all the fear, none of it came to close the fear she felt right now as she clung to Alex.
None of it came close to fear she felt at being sucked back into the Phantom Zone and truly never seeing her family, her friends, and her girlfriend ever again.
Alex held her sister tightly with both arms, trying to strain her legs for leverage on the ground to stop herself from sliding forwards any more. She sighed in relief as she could finally see Kal-El flying overhead, having finally knocked off the Kryptonian's that had been surrounding him and causing them to be sucked through the portal as well.
"Kara hold on!" Alex yelled out, "Kal's coming, he'll get you out of here."
Kara opened her eyes and looked up to see her cousin making his way for them quickly, though he too was having some trouble with not being pulled into the wind field surrounding the portal having been in the phantom Zone himself before, courtesy of Zod.
She could see her cousin was shooting his heat vision at the portal, as well are firing another weapon she had never seen before but the wind that was portal was emitting as it sucked up anything that had been in the Phantom Zone was causing him to miss as he continued to try and get closer towards them.
As Kara watched him struggle to find a safe path to them, her eyes widened as she could see something flying right for them. As she lowered her gaze to look behind Alex she noticed a Kryptonian being sucked towards the portal- heading straight towards them.
"Alex, look out!" Kara yelled, though her warning came too late.
As the Kryptonian smacked into Alex's back at full force they both fell to floor, Alex's grip loosening on Kara as they fell for only a second.
That second was all it took for Kara to be sucked into the wind field as Alex screamed out to her sister, watching with wide terrified eyes as Kara was pulled towards the portal.
"KARA!"
AN: ... the final is coming soon... please let me know what you thought... sorry for that nasty cliff hanger... reviews are my friends... sorry again...