Kara didn't know how long she had been in the cell. There were no windows, or anything to indicate the time of day. Security guards passed by every few hours, she would estimate, and once, she had been given a bowl of cold broth and some stale saltine crackers, all of which she had eaten hungrily.

They had only taken her back into the lab one time so far, to take cell samples. Her powers were still gone from the dampening gun that knocked her unconscious, and without any sunlight to bring them back, they were able to draw blood, swab her cheeks, and take skin and hair samples. Then they put her under a yellow sun lamp for a few hours, until her powers returned, before returning her to the cell, and that was all. If Selah's experience was any indication, however, she knew that they'd be back.

The cell was maybe six feet by twelve feet- Kara had walked out the distance as soon as she arrived- made entirely of Nth metal. Three of the walls were solid metal, but the front one was made of Nth metal bars that spanned the entire length of the floor to the ceiling, with a small cutout for a door; also made of bars. There were no furnishings whatsoever, and she was certain that her body would be aching from sleeping on the hard floor if her powers were still gone. The door had a small slot through which they pushed food through, but the hinge only worked one way, so she couldn't stick her hand out. She could get her hand through the bars, but only barely past her wrist.

Past the door was a hallway that led to a larger room, with many more rooms branching off of it, one of which was the lab that they had taken her to. The entire building had lead plating on the walls, ceilings, and floors, so she couldn't see into any other areas. The only source of light was in the hallway, a bare bulb that flickered nervously whenever the guards walked by. Kara suspected that this was also a yellow sun lamp, based off the yellow glow and the fact that her powers were not deteriorating despite her being constantly indoors. When she first awoke in this cell, she immediately began examining every square inch of it, trying to formulate an escape plan. Now, she had investigated the room eight times, tried to goad the guards into letting important details slip, and fruitlessly used her heat vision on the metal in an attempt to melt it. When all these plans failed, there was nothing left to do but sit and allow herself to become engulfed in her thoughts.

Kara's connection to her religion had fluctuated over time. Right as soon as she came to Earth, she was more devoted than she had ever been on Krypton, praying to Rao every morning and evening and reciting all of the texts that she could remember; all in an attempt to try and keep her religion alive. It reminded her of standing in the temple with her classmates, all of them saying the words in unison. She knew that Kal-El had crystals with the texts on them, but on Krypton all children had to commit them to memory before the age of twelve- a task which she had barely accomplished before the planet exploded. Saying the words aloud made her feel the connection to her people, her culture, in a way that simply couldn't be replicated by the crystals.

As she got older, her intensity to her faith faded, and she disconnected from it almost entirely once she started college, determined to be as 'normal' as possible. Humans didn't worship Rao, so neither would she. She would usually describe herself as spiritual instead of religious, mostly because she couldn't exactly explain that she worshiped a god of a red star that was thousands of light years away. Eventually, she began reconnecting with her religion again, especially once she became Supergirl, allowing herself to truly embrace her identity for the first time. From the moment she saw Alex's plane starting to go down, she instinctively began reciting the enai osh urvish, a benediction for safety that she had learned so long before. The words that were ingrained into her memory sprung up with surprising ease.

Sitting alone in that cell, Kara began praying again. She had no idea when it was morning or night, but she made her best guess as to the time and prayed. When she laid on the floor and tried to sleep, she whispered the words of Rao's supplications, a plea for comfort and health for friends and loved ones.

So once Selah arrived, she figured that Rao hadn't been listening.

The girl was thrust into the cell unceremoniously, awaking Kara from her fourth sleep. The door squeaked open, and Selah fell to the floor with a thud, her hands confined in power dampening cuffs. The guards wordlessly locked the cell again, and strode away as Kara sat up, moving to the girl.

"Selah?" she asked. She could see the outline of the girl in the dim lighting. As soon as the hero's hand touched her shoulder, she stiffened up.

"They lied," she wept, cowering away. "They lied to me."

"Shh," Kara murmured, sitting down on the floor next to her.

"They said that they'd send you back if I came. They promised."

"It's okay."

"I'm so sorry, Kara," she said, lifting her tearstained face. "I never meant for you to get taken, I never wanted you to end up here. It was so stupid of me to go to them, I just wanted to fix things but they took you and it's all my fault." She sobbed, fat tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm sorry."

Bowing her head, Selah waited for anger to rise up in Kara's thoughts, for her to tell her how reckless she was, how idiotic her actions were, and that she endangered everyone. She waited for Kara to yell and push her away, for her to get angry and lash out. But those words never came.

"Love," Kara's voice came softly and gently, her thoughts full of compassion. She scooted closer to Selah and wrapped her arms around the girl, who accepted the embrace this time.

"I'm sorry," she said, trembling.

"It's okay," Kara replied. "I'm okay."

"Did they do anything to you?"

"No. They just took some cell samples. Nothing bad." Selah nodded. "Are you okay?"

"You're asking me if I'm okay?" the girl laughed sadly. "When you've been here for over a week because of me?"

"That long?"

"I'm sorry," she said again, her hands shaking as she wiped at her tears- an awkward task with her hands cuffed together.

"No more apologizing," Kara said firmly. "We can't change what happened, but we can figure out how to move ahead." The girl still looked unconvinced, and Kara could sense her guilt, hanging in the air above them. "Look, I don't know what I would have done in your situation. After all that you've been through, I probably would have done the same things as you did when it comes down to it. But hey," she whispered, drying the girl's teary cheek. "We will get out of here. I promise." There was no reply from Selah, who just let out a shuddery sigh. "How did they get you?"

"I left when Alex wasn't paying attention, and waited in the alley behind Noonan's until they showed up." Kara shut her eyes, trying not to think about how worried her sister must be. "It was stupid of me to think that they'd actually follow through on sending you back."

"It's okay," the hero murmured. Selah leaned into her shoulder, still trembling slightly, and Kara put an arm around the girl. "We'll be okay. Are all your powers gone?" she asked, nodding to the cuffs.

"No, just the telekinesis, as far as I can tell. My telepathy is weaker but it's still mostly here. I can still hear you." Selah bit back another yawn, and Kara smiled.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"Does being put under anesthesia count?"

"Get some rest," Kara ordered. "I'll keep watch and wake you up if anything happens." The girl nodded, and curled up on the hard metal floor next to the hero, resting her head against Kara's knee. The hero pulled her cape out from behind her and draped it across Selah's body. Gently pushing a few curls off of the girl's forehead, she began humming softly until Selah drifted into an uneasy sleep.

.

"Try it again," Kara said, ignoring Selah's groan.

"I guarantee that they've put up psychic blockers around the whole facility," she said. "I won't be able to reach anyone even if I manage to send out a signal that's strong enough to overpower the cuffs."

"You never know unless we try."

"Fine," the girl shut her eyes again, sighing dramatically. The two were sitting cross-legged on opposite sides of the cell, working on Selah's telepathy as a part of Kara's latest escape plan. Concentrating her power and focusing on the image in her mind, Selah grimaced.

"It's a... spider?" The hero asked, furrowing her brow. "No, a sheep. A goat?" Groaning again, the girl opened her eyes and flopped to the floor.

"It was your childhood cat, Streaky," she said, rubbing her forehead angrily as she laid on the ground. "Let's face it, this isn't working."

"You're getting better though," Kara said. "When we first started I couldn't get anything from you."

"So if I do manage to connect with anyone at all, they'll maybe hear something vague about the concept of spiders. That will sure help us a lot." The hero gave Selah a long look, and she sighed, sitting up. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so negative. It's just frustrating."

"I know." Kara got up and crossed to Selah's side of the cell, sitting next to her. "But we have to keep trying."

"The telepathy or in general?"

"In general. We'll revisit the telepathy later."

"We could try getting the cuffs off with heat vision again?" Selah offered.

"I'm amazed by how quickly you forget the third degree burns I gave you the last time we tried that."

"Burns are better than playing telepathic 'I'm thinking of an animal'." Kara was about to reply when the door to the hallway swung open, and Director Beta walked in, followed by a guard. Selah felt herself weaken slightly, and she noticed a green vial in the guard's hand. Turning to face Kara, she saw the hero stumble back against the wall, her face pale. Director Beta stood patiently outside of the cell as the guard unlocked it, entering as soon as the door was open.

"How are we doing this morning?" she asked in a syrupy voice. Neither replied, so she continued. "I was hoping that the Kryptonian would grace us with her presence."

"No," Selah said, anger rising in her chest. She took a step to the side, placing her body between Kara and the Director, ignoring the protest that rose up in Kara's thoughts. "You promised that you'd send her back."

"Circumstances change," Beta said lightly. "I do regret that we weren't able to uphold our end of that agreement."

"You promised," the girl insisted, not moving. "Take me instead." Kara's thoughts grew louder with this, rising to a panicked crescendo, but Selah didn't so much as flinch. "You can do whatever you want to me, but you are not going to touch her." The director pursed her lips, raising an eyebrow as she sized up the girl.

"No resisting?" she asked. The girl's stomach lurched as she nodded stiffly.

"You have my word."

"No," Kara managed to interject, trying to grab at Selah's arm with a feeble grasp. Selah glanced at the hero, her face even as she took a step forward, moving out of her reach.

"Well then." Beta glanced over at Kara, before fixing her gaze back on Selah. "Shall we?"

A guard pressed a small button on his belt before entering the cell, grabbing the girl's shoulder in the familiar hold, and she felt herself get slightly weaker as the Kryptonite got closer. Kara's thoughts filled with pain, and she fell to the floor, unable to move as they left the cell.

"Fun, isn't it?" The director asked, pointing to the guard's vial as they walked, leaving the hallway. "Concentrated Kryptonite. Much stronger than the usual kind. It can't hurt you too badly, as you aren't fully Kryptonian. But the exposure alone is enough to kill a full-blooded Kryptonian," she laughed softly. "But I'm sure it won't come to that. You'll do exactly as we say, yes?"

"I gave you my word. But if you so much as touch her," Selah threatened, her voice low.

"No resisting," Beta reminded, the ever present smile still gracing her lips. "Or we might just find out precisely how long it would take our special Kryptonite to do its job." The threat loomed over Selah as she was led through the hallways again, uncertain of what awaited her.

.

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Note: I'd like to give credit to Darren Doyle and his website kryptonian info for the translations in this chapter. I'm hoping to use this resource more in the future, as it's super useful, and is also the site that the writers use for the show when characters speak in Kryptonian.