"Kara, NO!" Alex yelled fruitlessly as her sister's image broke into pieces and faded away. Adrenaline from the fight fading, Alex's heart sank. Seconds ago, her system riddled with Kryptonite, her sister had used the last of her energy to help Alex put an end to Lex's fantasy of living as a god. Lex was defeated, but not without a cost that Alex couldn't help but think she would have been unwilling to pay, had she had a choice.
Hurt, alone, and powerless, Kara had been banished yet again to the place she so often saw in her nightmares. The place Alex assured her she'd never see again as she soothed her sister's panic nightmare after nightmare over the years. Kara was gone, and Alex couldn't stop it.
"We're not watching those, because Kara is not dead," Alex said, hoping with her entire being that Nia wouldn't plug in that crystal and make Alex watch her sister say goodbye. Kara had recorded those messages under the assumption that Lex would kill her, but the reality was that Kara had suffered a fate that she might very well believe was worse than death. Kara was prepared to die. She'd made peace with it years ago. She never made peace with the Phantom Zone.
One at a time, the Super Friends left the Fortress, each with their own task in the aftermath of the fight. Alex, with nothing to do but wait for news, stayed behind for a moment. The Fortress was the place where Kara felt most connected to her past, and, if she tried hard enough, Alex could still feel her here. But Alex knew that Kara wasn't here at all. She was lost in lightyears of nothingness, surrounded by phantoms, and unprotected like she had been last time she landed there.
"I'm so sorry, Kara" Alex said to the empty air. "I spent years telling you that you're safe, that you'll never have to see that place again. This is my fault."
Alex chuckled to herself. She could almost hear Kara telling her to stop being ridiculous and blaming herself for every little thing yet again. Alex bit back tears as her sister's calming voice rang in her ears. Kara always knew what to say.
"I'm going to find you. I have to find you," Alex said with a shaky voice as she pocketed the memory crystal and pressed the button on the portal watch she knew she wouldn't return.