In the dream world, Kara, Zor-El, and Nyxly casually walked through a version of the Phantom Zone. "How are you feeling now?" Nyxly asked conversationally.
"One moment, it feels like ice in my veins, and the next, I feel an unyielding rage!" Kara said losing control of herself.
"This is getting to you," Zor-El sensed. "I can see it. It's becoming too much."
"You don't know shit. You have no idea the hell I've been through. I slaughtered dozens of people in high school because they became infected with the Kryptonite that came off the ship you sent me in. I had to save this world countless times. I got sent through a black hole where I had to start human civilization from scratch. Now, I'm back and I don't get any damn respect!" Kara raged.
"If you're imagining me now, you must still have feelings for me," Zor-El figured.
"I do find it weird you look very similar to Mon-El. Like, so similar I'm wondering if I'm remembering you wrong or I have daddy complex," Kara eyed him suspiciously.
"Perhaps, we should hold hands," Zor-El suggested.
"No, fuck yourself," Kara pulled away.
"This is the anchor in the Phantom Zone," Nyxly pointed out.
"Well, that was super-easy, barely an inconvenience," Kara smirked.
DEO Fortress
M'gann continued to heal in the infirmary while still looking human. Instead of shapeshifting herself to another form to immediately heal herself, she remained asleep under a heat blanket. As she did, she dreamed of herself still as a human inside a plastic womb with dancing energy balls. She finally awoke with a start.
Meanwhile, Hank reported to Brainiac 5 on the containment situation. "We got five Flaxians down there banging on the walls continuously. It's getting a little crowded in there."
Brainiac 5 activated a gas inside the containment cell that caused the Flaxian prisoners to become super-aggressive to the point of fighting each other. Brainiac 5 and Hank watched the video screen until only one was left alive. "Nice," Hank smiled.
"I knew you would like it," Brainiac 5 smiled and then turned the video feed off as Nia came in with Lex.
"And that is the end of the tour," Nia said.
"Thank you all for making me feel so welcome," Lex said appreciatively.
"On behalf of us all, it's great to see you with us in the trenches," Hank said.
"Finally," Brainiac 5 agreed.
M'gann then entered the room. "M'gann, right now, you should only be in the bedroom or in the kitchen," Hank lectured.
"I had a vision on the Flaxian lair. I think I'm still connected with the hive mind," M'gann said.
"How is that possible?" Nia wondered.
"M'gann's body and mind still have residual Flaxian DNA," Brainiac 5 explained.
"You being connected to their kind...well...it makes me so angry," Hank admitted.
"This is good news. I can tap into their hive-mind network. I know what they know," M'gann said brightly.
"The prime is going to protect his lair. What kinds of weapons do we have?" Hank asked.
Brainiac 5 gestured to Lex. "With Barney's help, of course, Lex Corp. has built a new plasma gun," Lex said as he unlocked a case. Inside was a weapon and pack that looked suspiciously like...
"So, that's going to...capture them?" Nia asked naively. "Like Ghostbusters?"
"The perfect movie," Brainiac 5 said dodging Nia's question.
"I know exactly what you mean. Leslie Jones is hilarious," Nia agreed.
Hank, Brainiac 5, and Lex all stared at her incredulously. "What about Supergirl?" M'gann asked breaking the tension.
"Silas is dead so breaking into the fortress isn't an option. Barney, look into the possibility of going back in time to ensure President Trump wins the election. Then, Supergirl will come back to us," Hank ordered.
"Wait...I'm not on board with that," Nia protested.
"It is the only way," Brainiac 5 said solemnly.
"No, fuck no. She can't always get what she wants," Nia said obviously.
"No more time playing around and debating, there's a Flaxian attack in progress at Grand Central Station," Hank noticed on the screen.
Hank, M'gann, Brainiac 5, and Nia headed to the Grand Central Station and found a Flaxian attacking a woman. Hank fired his pistol on the Flaxian taking him off the woman. "Barney, shoot him!" Hank shouted.
Brainiac 5 fired the plasma rifle at the Flaxian blasting him to pieces. "Watch out for his...," Nia began and then realized the Flaxian was destroyed.
The victim on the floor began to shake and transformed into a Flaxian. "Well...shit," Hank realized.
Brainiac 5 took aim but hesitated. A portal opened with a Flaxian prime exiting. He gathered the newly changed Flaxian into his arms and brought her through the portal. Brainiac 5's liquid metal skin detached from his metal endoskeleton and took a humanoid form. The liquid metal Brainiac 5 ran after the Flaxians and entered the portal. The portal then closed behind them. Brainiac 5 then activated his hologram to appear human.
"You're tracking them," Nia realized.
"Precisely," Brainiac 5 nodded.
Fortress of Solitude
Kara, Zor-El, and Nyxly came upon the anchor. Kara easily tore the doors open and went inside. "It seems a little too obvious to have the anchor where you would expect it," Nyxly remarked.
"Are you finding plotholes in my dream because if you are, you can go fuck yourself," Kara told her off.
"There is a mirror here that only the righteous can activate," Zor-El said as he looked around.
"Well, I guess we're all fucked," Kara mused.
"Instead of a reflection, you see your home and walk right through," Zor-El continued.
Kara turned on the power and immediately a mirror was shown to them, albeit broken. "Oh, no. I was wrong to have hoped," Zor-El said of the broken mirror.
"Well...shit, looks like we get seven years of bad luck," Kara mocked. "Use your magic and fix it," she ordered Nyxly.
"No good," Nyxly said as she snapped her fingers.
"I knew this was a waste of time," Zor-El turned to leave.
"Look, asshole, we now have a fortified position against phantoms and a fifth-dimensional being that has powers when the plot demands it. I mean, look what I've found in such a short time. You've been here for decades with shit to show for it," Kara said.
"Kara, your father died on Krypton. This is your imagination of your father," Nyxly reminded her.
"I don't give a fuck. I'm sure that if he were sent to the Phantom Zone, he'd still act like a bitch," Kara pointed out and then turned to her father. "You know, your whole role in this dream is to make me look awesome. So, keep it up. Keep acting pessimistic and pathetic because it only makes me look better in comparison. That's why I brought you into my fantasy. That's the whole point of you being here," Kara said angrily.
"What is there to do? The mirror can't be fixed," Zor-El said.
"I don't know. Maybe there's a spare around here," Kara suggested.
"In the supply room," Zor-El assumed.
"Well...no shit," Kara agreed.
DEO Fortress
"I feel I'm transforming again; like I'm losing my soul," M'gann said apprehensively.
"That's interesting," Brainiac 5 said as he ate a doughnut.
"How can you be so callous? You just killed a Flaxian and then witnessed a poor woman turn into one of them. And now, M'gann is talking about losing her soul," Nia said outraged.
"A soul is merely the...chemical reactions...and neurological activity...in your brain," Brainiac 5 said as he ate another doughnut.
"I don't believe that," M'gann said offended.
"Neither do I," Nia agreed.
"Oh, that's interesting," Brainiac 5 said condescendingly. "In any case, the Flaxian prime will become bigger and stronger with each lifeform he transforms."
"Until he becomes unstoppable?" Hank guessed.
"Well, until he's no longer super-easy, barely an inconvenience to take down," Brainiac 5 clarified.
"This is some serious shit. This could become a global pandemic," Hank warned.
"Karina's busy escorting the Russian armada into the Black Sea to blockade Ukraine," Lex reported. "Also, apparently, the gay vampire's presence offended her. She wants an apology."
"Oh, fuck her," Nia said angrily.
"He was pretty useless," Hank noted. "Dreamer, start dreaming shit so we can move this plot along," he ordered her.
Sometime later, Brainiac 5 placed the box of doughnuts in front of Nia. "Did you have a dream?" he asked curiously.
"The same one. It's Kara and Alex in high school. I don't know why I keep dreaming of it or what it means. All I see is death, despair, and horror," Nia said wide-eyed.
"Sprinkles?" Brainiac 5 offered.
"I know what this is, Barney. A doughnut isn't the answer to ease my fear and pain," Nia said dramatically.
"No, but it can be a start," Brainiac 5 said pushing the box towards her.
"Well...okay then," Nia said taking one.
Fortress of Solitude
Kara looked through the supply closet for that mirror. "This is not what I had in mind when I went to sleep last night," Kara muttered.
"Kara, I found it!" Zor-El shouted. "Oh, Rao!" he cried out.
Kara casually walked over to Zor-El who was now on the floor with a broken ankle. "A prisoner came in and beat him up. I tried to stop him, but he took off," Nyxly said.
"I knew we shouldn't have split up," Zor-El said pathetically.
"I don't know. That sounds like bullshit," Kara said skeptically. "Can you use your magic powers to heal him?" she asked Nyxly.
She snapped her fingers twice with no result. "My magic is still depleted," she said.
"Or...you suck. God, you are the worst fifth-dimensional being I've ever encountered," Kara chided.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on with me. I shouldn't have let you two alone. I could have prevented this," Nyxly blamed herself.
"Well...yeah," Kara said obviously.
"It will take us both to get this mirror to the anchor," Nyxly said.
"Just leave me here," Zor-El said sacrificially.
"No, no, absolutely not. I still want to talk shit about you to your face," Kara refused.
"Go to the anchor, activate it, and if it works, come back for me," Zor-El said.
"He has a point, Kara. If we don't get him to the exit, his wound will never heal," Nyxly pointed out.
"I'll barricade the door. I'll be safe," Zor-El assured her.
"You don't seem to understand what's happening here. You are here with me, so you can listen to me bitch," Kara told him.
"Daughter," Zor-El said to her in Kryptonian.
"No one's called me that in a long time," Kara recalled. "Wait, we've been talking in English this whole time? What the fuck for? You can understand Kryptonian, right?" she asked Nyxly.
"Sure can," she said.
"What the fuck is going on with me?" Kara wondered.
Nyxly merely shrugged. "Alright, I'm leaving your ass behind. If you die...you die," Kara said coldly to Zor-El and then left with Nyxly.
Smallville
At the house, Alex and Mara watched a hologram video recording Kara had made in the future in the living room. "Family isn't about blood or last names. It's about people who love you for who you are and stand by you no matter what. And just as my sister, Alex, has always been there for me, so have my friends. They're my family, too. Anything is possible when you have family that love and support you," Kara said in her Supergirl uniform.
"So full of shit," Alex shook her head dismayed.
"We may not always agree which may break us apart but in the end, we always come back together stronger than ever," Kara continued. "Which is why treason against me or my empire is punishable by...," Kara concluded.
Mara turned the recording off before she could finish. "The graphics on these holograms is really something," Alex said impressed. "It's like she's really here."
"She'll come back," Mara predicted.
"You told me she was in this kind of funk before when she found out I was dead," Alex recalled.
"Yea, yea, yea," Mara confirmed.
"How did she get out of it?" Alex asked.
"It's a long story," Mara recalled.
DEO Fortress
M'gann used her connection to the hive-mind to telepathically communicate the lair's location to Nia through a vision. Nia was then able to astral project herself into the lair where she found a warehouse full of eggs. "Holy shit," she realized.
Nia was then suddenly attacked by a large group of Flaxians. Nia ended the projection returning her mind to the DEO. "It's a generic warehouse full of eggs," Nia said to the others.
"We probably only have an hour before they hatch," Brainiac 5 said nonchalantly.
"I can lead us to it," M'gann volunteered.
"It's a risk I'm willing to take," Hank agreed.
Fortress of Solitude
Kara hooked up the replacement mirror and then activated it inside the anchor. "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest one of all?" Kara smiled as the screen became herself.
"We must abandon your father. He's dead weight," Nyxly said coldly.
"Consider it done," Kara said dismissively.
"Why do you hate him so?" Nyxly asked.
"He...considered my conception a mistake. He never appreciated my humor or wit. He was always critical. All I ever wanted to do was to make him laugh. But he put me in a pod to circle a star for eternity. The son-of-a-bitch banished me and now I can dream all sorts of creative ways to make him suffer," Kara said angrily.
"Oh, dear. I almost felt guilty knocking him out and slicing his Achilles' tendon," Nyxly said as she showed her true colors.
"You attacked him?" Kara asked giving her the crazy eye.
"Don't act so shocked. I did you a favor. So long as he's with you, you won't be able to escape this psychosis of yours. You will beat his ass endlessly," Nyxly told her.
"You think you're so powerful beating up a frail man that's only a figment of my imagination?" Kara questioned.
"If you don't let this go, I'm going to escape your mind and wreak havoc with my fifth-dimensional powers," Nyxly threatened.
Metropolis
Hank, Brainiac 5, Nia, and M'gann went about finding the lair in the sewers. "This way," M'gann said leading the group. As they entered an open area, they were ambushed from all sides by Flaxians.
Hank went into beast mode as he beat down the Flaxians but they eventually got the better of him by scratching him up and infecting him. "Run!" he shouted to the rest of the group.
Hank shape-shifted his body continuously as he was being scratched, voiding the infection each time. Brainiac 5, Nia, and M'gann continued their way down the sewers as Hank continued to fight. Brainiac 5 was suddenly hit by a Flaxian and was disarmed. He was taken to the floor and dragged off. "Shit," Nia realized as she and M'gann continued onward.
The two went up some stairs to the surface level inside the warehouse. "Ready for anything," Nia said as she created glowing orbs on her hands. There, they saw the colony of eggs ripped apart and two dozen Flaxian corpses stabbed and sliced to pieces. A liquid chrome humanoid solidified into Brainiac 5's form. At his feet was the Flaxian prime sliced open.
"The portal. You knew where the lair was all this time," Nia accused.
"My liquid metal form doesn't have the ability to transmit signals. I am nonetheless impressed you were able to find me," Brainiac 5 said.
Hank and Brainiac 5 then arrived on the scene. "That infection is a bitch," Hank said annoyed.
Brainiac 5 merged with his liquid metal counterpart and looked around. "Could any of them been saved?" Nia asked him.
"No," Brainiac 5 replied.
Fortress of Solitude
Nyxly kicked Kara's ass inside the anchor's control room. "This is a weird feeling, pride in someone else," Kara said as she wiped the blood from her lip.
"Now, you're going to stop this immature hissy fit of yours and come back to the real world. Or I'm going to make your dreams a living hell," Nyxly promised her. Kara fought back only to get a brutal beatdown. Nyxly broke her right leg, dislocated her left shoulder, and broke three of her ribs. Kara was punched to the floor with a cracked skull.
Nyxly reached out with her hand to crush Kara's body causing her to cry out in agony. "I can heal you, break you, and heal you again for as long as you can take it, Kara. Eventually, you'll come to realize that the real world is not as painful as your fantasy world."
"It's my right," Kara spat at her.
"All the while your family and your planet suffer so you can escape reality?" Nyxly questioned.
"I'm not a slave to them," Kara said defiantly.
"You consider yourself a queen but you are failing to uphold your own oath," Nyxly accused.
Kara glowed as she went Prime. "Rage-quitting, I see," Nyxly said unimpressed. Kara let out a scream as she annihilated the anchor, blasted apart the mirror, and consumed the entire landscape in fire.
Kara awoke in her bed inside the fortress only to find Nyxly smirking at her. "Alright, I'm up. Now, what?" Kara asked impatiently.
"I'm going to send you to the past, present, and future so you can appreciate your life and what it means to others," Nyxly said to her.
"Fuck...me," Kara groaned. "Let's get on with it."
Reality changed as Nyxly and Kara were now in Midvale during her teenage years. "Do you know where you are?" Nyxly asked.
"No," Kara said argumentatively.
Kara then saw her old classmates go by her: Pete Ross, Vicki Donaghue, Jake Powell, and...Kenny Li. As she did, she shed a tear as she remembered her past.
Author's Notes: Kara wouldn't have been put in a position to either sacrifice her father or go through the mirror if she hadn't foolishly split up. M'gann isn't able to go on the mission because she foolishly went on her own in the previous episode. This puts Alex in a position where she has to sacrifice Kara in order to save the city from the phantoms. And, of course, this is all the result of Kara not locking up her phantom projector when she should have. All the plotlines are the result of foolish decisions on the part of the heroes. I am so glad we get a break from it all with Midvale although the reasons don't make sense. Why go back to Midvale when you can go just prior to Lex entering the fortress? Why is Kara's DNA so sparse? How do they know that phantom will even cooperate if they do get that DNA?
Whatever happens in SG 6x05-06, I'm not going to retcon my Midvale fic. It appears that the flashback episode will be events that occur before my Midvale story takes place, but it's very likely these episodes will be heavily modified nonetheless. If you want to check out my Kara's version of her high school years, Midvale deals with 4 seasons of it.