No one had the heart to travel much further that night. In the same familiar fog of numb disbelief that they'd felt after their first loss, they traveled an hour past the village and made camp in a secluded forest glade where no one would stumble upon them. Kara could barely form thoughts, let alone words, as she raised a hand every so often to wipe at her eyes. It hurt to be without J'onn, who had always protected them, who would have laid down his life for any one of them without a second's hesitation. It hurt to be without M'gann, who could always be depended on as the voice of reason, who always looked after the little things that no one else would have thought about. And it hurt to be without Winn, who could always find the bright side in anything, always ready with a smile or a joke, always able, somehow, to make things seem less dark than they truly were.

The guilt was tearing at her. She would never be able to forget the way he'd looked in that moment, the absolute defeat in his voice. Had he always felt that way, like he didn't truly belong, like he wasn't worthy of them? Why hadn't they seen it? Why hadn't he said something? Why did he always have to be the way he was, so desperate to make others feel better that he forgot about himself?

As she lay there, wrapped in her blanket, unable to sleep, she sorted through their conversations, trying to determine if there was anything she had said that might have led him to feel like an outsider. There was nothing. Winn had been a part of their family, and they'd all done their best to make sure he knew that. But the old saying had proved true after all- blood was thicker than water. He was so used to hearing what his family saw in him that, in the end, it was all he could see in himself.

Kara's heart hurt. The memory of Siobhan's sneering face floated back into her mind, and the tears that filled her eyes were angry ones this time. Pushing herself to a sitting position against a nearby tree, she slammed a fist against the ground for no other reason than to get the fury out. Alex stirred a little, but didn't wake up, and Brainy and Mon-El didn't move.

Lena did. She rolled over onto her stomach, staring at Kara with wide eyes before her expression changed, suddenly, to one of sympathy and understanding. Rising soundlessly to her feet, she wrapped her blanket around her shoulders and crossed the campsite quickly, sitting down beside Kara.

"I'm sorry," she said, pitching her voice low so as not to wake the others. "About Winn. I know the two of you were close."

Kara sighed. "I just don't understand. You didn't see how things were back in his village, how his family treated him. He was barely more than a slave with them. But with us, he was...he was our friend. Why would he leave what he had with us to go back to what he had with them? It doesn't make any sense."

"Family's complicated," Lena said. Her face was solemn, and Kara suddenly realized that she was doing a very similar thing to what Winn had just done- returning to a family member who may not have her best interests at heart.

"Lena, I didn't mean-" she began, but the Luthor princess waved a hand dismissively.

"It's alright, Kara. Maybe it doesn't make any sense for me to go back to Lex." She glanced fondly at the sleeping forms of their companions. "If Brainy were awake, he'd see that as the perfect opportunity to jump in and start arguing the logic of it all. And he'd out-reason me, I know that for a sure thing." She glanced up at the sky, and Kara noticed her eyes once again- lovely, mismatched eyes that might easily belong to the black dragon. She forced the thought out of her mind. They'd been through enough in the past few days. Now was not the time to bring the dragon into the equation.

"But even when your family's less than ideal," Lena said, "it still means something to you. It can be hard to break those ties, even when you ought to. As impossible as it sounds, try not to worry too much about Winn. What you need to do right now is focus on the rest of your quest. Think of it. As soon as you come back to Kryptonia, the triumphant princess with four broken curses in tow, you can ride into that little village and tell Winn's family just where to get off their high horses. They can't do a thing then." She glanced sidewise at Kara with a shrewd, knowing look. "Besides, I have a feeling Winn isn't the only thing that's bothering you."

"It's not," Kara confessed. "I'm...I'm not used to being the leader. And everything's falling to pieces so fast. I mean, look at us. We're down to four people and a frog. Now that J'onn's gone, we have absolutely no one who can do a proper job of protecting us if the dragon comes back, or if Lex tries anything underhanded. We're all in grave danger, and it's up to me to lead us through it, even though I never wanted that job. This quest is changing me in a lot of ways I didn't expect, and I'm not sure I'm up to the challenge."

There was another stirring from Alex, and Kara and Lena fell quickly silent until she settled back down to sleep again. "I haven't known you long," Lena said, placing a reassuring hand on Kara's shoulder. "But even after this short time, I've seen how strong you are. You're right. This quest is pushing us all into uncharted territory, and I don't know what might happen next. But if anyone can rise to the occasion, Kara Zor-El, it's you."

It was early when Kara woke the next morning, the clearing still misty in the gray pre-dawn light. She yawned, pushing herself up blearily and blinking the sleep from her eyes.

Suddenly she felt those eyes widen. Across the campfire lay two still forms- Lena and Brainy, sound asleep. But Mon-El's bedroll was empty.

"What in the world?" Kara turned to Alex, frowning. "Did you see where Mon-El-"

She broke off, suddenly, with a little gasp. Alex too was gone. Tucked in her place in the hollow of grass above Kara's pillow was a scrap of parchment held down with a rock. In trembling hands, Kara picked it up and scanned its contents, putting a hand to her mouth.

Kara,

I'm having Mon-El write this for me, since he insisted on going along. I'll try to explain as quickly as possible. While we were in Daxam, I heard some of the peasants talking about a man they called the Wizard Lord. I thought they were talking about some wizard nobleman or something, but Mon-El tells me they weren't. They were talking about Maxwell Lord, the man who put this curse on me. He's back in Daxam. And I'm going after him.

Please don't panic. Just let me explain. I heard you and Lena talking last night, about how hard leading this quest has been for you. I'm so proud of what you've done on this journey, Kara, but I'm tired of sitting back and watching. It's time I did something to help you. It's time I was human again. Right now we're without protection, just like you said, and frog or no frog I'm not letting my best friend enter the Luthor kingdom without a guardsman at her side. I'm not J'onn, but I'm close, and you need me.

I'm sorry I didn't say a proper goodbye. But Cat said I have to break my curse alone, and I knew you'd never consent to letting me face Lord by myself. (The buffoon doesn't count. He's only coming because it would take me too long to hop).

Don't worry about me, Kara. You know me. I'll be fine. We'll meet up at the Luthor border, and I'll be human again. We can hand Lena off to Lex and go break your curse. That dragon won't know what hit her, and when we're done with that we'll fix everything else. We'll show J'onn and M'gann how in love they are, and then you can talk some sense into Winn while I knock his stepsisters into next Tuesday. We'll make this all work out somehow, I promise. But I'm not going to let you do this by yourself. You're my little sister, and I love you too much not to be by your side.

See you soon,

Alex

"No." The word escaped Kara's lips in a shocked whisper. Her heart pounded. "No, Alex, no. Don't do this. You can't-"

In a sudden panic she scrambled to her feet, calling out for her last two companions. "Brainy, Lena, get up! Get up, quick, it's Alex!"

They came awake quickly, staring at her with confusion on their faces. It was Brainy who recovered first, taking the letter from Kara's hand and running his eyes across the page. He frowned, but said nothing, passing the note on to Lena. Kara found herself struggling to hold back the tears. Winn and J'onn and M'gann, as dear to her as they were, didn't hold the same place in her heart that Alex did. She had never not had Alex with her before. Without Alex, she couldn't go on. She just couldn't.

"Oh, my goodness." Lena dropped the letter, coming to Kara's side and squeezing her hand. "I'm so sorry. Do you...what do you want to do? Are we going after her?"

"Logically-" Brainy's voice was heavy- "we don't have that option. Kara's time is running out and so is Lex's patience. Lena, we must get you home, for the sake of both your kingdom and Kara's. Whatever happens, we cannot slow down or turn back. We have to press on if we're to have any hope of making it to the end of this quest."

"I don't care about logic!" Kara exploded. "This isn't a curse gone wrong or a family matter. This is Alex. This is my sister."

"That doesn't mean you ought to risk your life. Think of your kingdom."

Kara sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, Brainy made sense. How did her cousin make these sorts of choices, denying himself in favor of his country? The dark shadow that loomed over Kryptonia- could she, in good conscience, risk that shadow's arrival by going after Alex? And there was her own curse to reckon with, too. What if time ran out and she fell back to sleep? What then?

She made a sharp sound of frustration in her throat. "Why does magic have to be so complicated? Why can't anything ever be easy?"

"I'm still asking that question myself," Brainy said softly.

Kara took a deep breath, trying to steel herself. "One day," she said. "Give me one day. They can't have gotten far; I'll take Mayarah and ride after them. You and Lena get things ready here and build a fire so I...so we can find our way back."

"And if you don't find them?"

"Then we'll move on and pray they don't get themselves killed. There's nothing else we can do. But I need to look, at least a little. I need to feel like I've done something. Maxwell Lord isn't a man to be trifled with, especially by one little frog."

"She's got Mon-El," Lena pointed out.

"Who will probably get himself recognized, if he hasn't been already. We'll probably have to break him out of his mother's clutches as soon as we deal with Lord. But for Alex, it's worth it."

She turned in the direction of Daxam, staring out at the horizon. "For Alex," she said softly, "I would do a great many harder things."