"What happened?" Kara asked as she woke up in a strange but familiar place and saw Alex and J'onn lying on the ground. Immediately forgetting her question she scrambled over to Alex, relieved to see she was moving.
"Are you okay?" She asked as she pulled Alex into a hug.
"Yeah." Alex said trying not to move her broken arm.
"I missed you." Kara said.
"Me too." Alex said pulling away.
"Your arm." Kara said.
"Will heal. We have bigger problems." Alex said. "Is this the valley of Juru?"
"Looks like it. How did we get here?" Kara asked.
"The scarab wasn't really the scarab. It was Harun-El sculpted to look like the scarab. We knew your mother couldn't interact with it so I took her place." J'onn explained as he helped splint Alex's arm.
"So you were my mom?" Kara asked confused.
"Yes."
"And you pretended some Harun-El was the Scarab? And used it to bring us here?" Alex asked.
"Yes." J'onn confirmed.
"Why bring Alex here? She's hurt." Kara asked.
"That wasn't my intention. She grabbed hold of the Scarab." J'onn said.
"You said grab it." Alex protested. "But if we are where I think we are, I can figure out which fountain to drink from." Alex pointed out.
"How do you know which fountain is the right fountain?" Kara asked.
"I asked Sam." Alex explained.
"How did you even know the plan was to use a fake Scarab to get us here?" Kara questioned still unsure about what was happening.
"I didn't." Alex said. "I just assumed at some stage we would be back here."
"If we are all here, where's the other me?" Kara asked looking round.
"No idea." J'onn said. "She was gone when I came round." He explained before noticing Alex was picking up something that resembled a branch. "What are you doing?"
"Finding a weapon." Alex said.
"You can't fight her." Kara said.
"Yes I can." Alex said. "She doesn't have powers here."
"Yeah, but you still have a broken arm." Kara argued.
"Which sucks." Alex complained.
"Kara, Alex, thank god you're okay." Another voice said.
"Lena? What are you doing here? How are you here?" Kara asked.
"I'm here with Brainy's help, but I don't know how long he can keep the link, so you need to listen. Wait, where's the other you?" Lena asked looking round.
"We don't know. We're trying to find her." Alex said, the pain in her arm not helping her mood. "What did you need to tell us?"
"Have you told them anything?" Lena asked J'onn.
"Not yet." He replied. Lena's question and J'onn's answer filling the sisters with dread.
"Both versions of you are suffering from cellular degradation." Lena started to explain. "In the other version it is happening much more rapidly, but both of you are effected. You need to merge before she dies or you will die as well."
"So I need to find the fountain?" Kara asked.
"No. That won't work by itself." Lena explained. "The solution is the interaction of the two of you with the Harun-El. I have a solution, but I don't know what it will do to Alex and J'onn."
"So you two need to leave." Kara said.
"Like hell I am." Alex replied. "I'm not leaving you in here with her."
"In here I am just as strong as she is and I know some new moves." Kara pointed out.
"Alex, I know you want to stay, but by being here you may stop the merging happening." Lena explained as Kara took Alex's good hand.
"I know you want to protect me and I love you for that. But you can't always protect me and you can't fight my battles for me. I have to do this alone."
"Even if I agreed to that we don't know how to leave." Alex said.
"Brainy has that covered." Lena said. "But if you aren't willing to go he is concerned you may get hurt."
"Please Alex." Kara pleaded. "Besides out there you can help Lena."
"What if she comes back before Lena does what she needs to do?" Alex asked.
"Then I'll fight her. Please Alex, trust me."
"I always trust you." Alex said.
"So I can tell Brainy to get you out?" Lena asked looking from J'onn to Alex.
"Yes." Alex said. Nodding Lena disappeared and Alex hugged Kara, ignoring the pain in her arm as it pressed against Kara.
"I love you." Alex said.
"Love you too." Kara said just as Alex and J'onn disappeared leaving her feeling alone. That is until she heard an all too familiar voice say. "I thought they would never go."
"You wanted them gone?" Kara asked turning.
"Of course. In here I can't defeat all three of you. But I can beat you. And whatever Lena is working on, I am pretty sure if I kill you in here, I will still win." With that she launched herself at Kara.
-00-
"Alex?" Eliza called as her daughter started to come round.
"Mom?" She asked cracking her eyes open before remembering what had happened. As soon as she did so she tried to sit up, wincing in pain as she did so.
"Careful." Eliza warned.
"Kara?" Alex asked.
"Still in the valley." Eliza said as Alex looked round and saw both Kara and the alternate version twitching wildly as they held the rock.
"What's happening?"
"I assume they are fighting." Brainy said as he attached wires to the Harun-El.
"What happens if one of them dies in there?" Eliza asked.
"There is no conclusive evidence, but I would assume they die here as well. Like the Matrix, but with no hope of going Neo."
"Brainy, now is not the time for movie references." Alex snapped before looking at Lena. "How long until you can do whatever it is you are doing?"
"Ten seconds." Lena said. "We are just charging the capacitors."
"Capacitors? What are you planning?"
"Alex, trust Lena." Eliza said. "There isn't time to argue."
"Okay." Alex conceded, hating the feeling of helplessness.
Nodding Lena flicked a button causing the lights to flicker and dim before the Haurn-El, still gripped by both Kara's, bathed the room in bright light causing everyone to cover their eyes. Once the rock had stopped glowing they all looked back to the Harun-El, which lay on the ground. Next to it was only one Kara.
-TBC...
A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing.
