"I carry pepper spray," Lea said in an even voice as she threw a bag of trash into the dumpster behind Noonan's. Her breath floated up in the cold air as she spoke, drifting up to the dim stars overhead. Selah took a deep breath and stepped out of the shadows into the light above the doorway. The woman's face shifted as she pulled the dumpster shut and began heading back inside.
"Hi," the girl said.
"Look kid, I'm tired and I don't have time for your nonsense right now."
"I know you're Andromedan," Selah said desperately as her aunt opened the door to leave. Lea froze, her back instantly stiffening. "Please, can we talk?"
"I don't know who you are or what you want with me," the woman spat. "But I promise you, you do not want to cross me."
"Please," Selah repeated. The woman slowly turned around, letting the door behind her swing shut. She stood firmly, crossing her arms over her chest as she sized up the girl. "I need your help."
"Why can't I hear you?" She asked after a few beats.
"I'm Empath," Selah replied. Lea's impossibly straight back somehow got even straighter as she tightened her crossed arms more.
"Who are you?" The girl hesitated, trying to decide how to reply.
"It's a long story."
"Give me the short version."
"I'm from another Earth?" Lea rolled her eyes and began turning to leave. "Wait, please." Selah stretched out her hand, her eyes wide. Lea stonily stared at the girl, chewing her lip before exhaling heavily and touching her fingertips to Selah's. The girl closed her eyes, focusing on her powers. A memory began projecting itself into the dim light of the alley, hazy at first, but growing in strength. A younger Selah was sitting on a park bench next to Lea, who was blowing bubbles and laughing as the girl danced around, frantically trying to pop them all. The woman pulled the girl into a hug, still smiling as the memory faded and shifted. Then Lea and Selah were wearing matching scarves, walking along the waterside and talking animatedly. Then the two of them were sitting in Lea's old apartment, reading side by side.
"What are these?" Lea asked quietly, her face illuminated in the soft glow of the scene in front of her. She let her hand fall to her side, and the memories flickered away.
"On my Earth, my mother- your sister- gave birth to me a year after you landed. You raised me with her."
"How did you get here?"
"That's... also a long story." Lea turned and opened the back door to Noonan's again, but this time instead of leaving, she held it open for Selah.
"Let's talk inside," she said evenly. The girl followed her aunt into the coffeeshop, where the woman led her to a small break room and closed the door behind them. "If you want my help, you will tell me everything."
Selah took a deep breath, not really knowing where to start, but diving into it anyways. Lea listened attentively, her grey eyes fixed firmly on her niece as she spoke, detailing how exactly she had found herself on this Earth, and what she needed Lea's help with.
"It won't work," the woman said finally, as Selah ended her speech. "I can't help you power the machine."
"What? Why?"
"For the same reason I cannot hear your thoughts. Empaths process on a different frequency than regular Andromedans. If this machine is set to your frequency, I will not be able to connect to it." Selah deflated a little bit, flopping back in her chair. "However-" she began.
"No," the girl replied firmly, standing up. "Absolutely not."
"She might be your only option."
"Then I will find another way." Shoving her hands into her jacket pockets, Selah turned to the door. "Thank you for your help, Aunt Lea." The woman merely nodded, watching as Selah left.
.
"That cannot be the answer," Selah insisted as she paced the perimeter of Linda's guest room.
"Maybe we can find something else that can work," Kara replied, but the girl wasn't really listening.
"My mother is the reason that we are here in the first place. Asking her to help us get back home?" She shook her head angrily. "No."
"Hey," Kara said. Selah finally stopped pacing, and dropped onto her bed, her hands burying themselves in the blankets. "We don't have to go through her. You and Winn can keep working on the prototype, I'm sure you'll figure something out eventually."
"But what if she's our only shot?" The girl asked, staring firmly at the mauve carpet.
"We'll figure something out." Groaning, Selah threw herself backwards onto the bed, rubbing at her eyes angrily.
"I hate science. I hate stupid science problems that I don't know how to solve."
"Aren't you a physics major?" Kara asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I hate it," the girl insisted. "I'm going to switch into-" she paused, clearly thinking of a different degree. "Theatre."
"Alright."
"I know how it would go if we talk to her." Selah sprung back up off of the bed and resumed her pacing. "She'd say some crap about how I'm a disappointment and then she'd sabotage the entire project. It's too much of a risk."
"Selah, is it possible that you're projecting a little bit?"
"No," the girl replied lowly.
"What your mother did to you was inexcusable, I'm not trying to say that it's okay. But this woman is not your mother, technically speaking. Just like how this Lea isn't your aunt, or I'm not Linda."
"Yeah, but she's a literal doppelganger of my mother. On some level they are the same person. I bet deep down you secretly love mauve, just like Linda."
"How dare you," Kara quipped.
"I can't trust her, Kara. I won't trust her."
"Okay." Crossing back to her bed, Selah pulled open a notebook and began scribbling furiously, trying to find another solution. As she wrote, her mind whirred, working through her calculations, thinking about her mother, absently scanning for any sign of Beta, and telepathically stabilizing the pen in her thumbless hand. After about twenty minutes, she hadn't made any progress, instead discovering that one of her previous equations was wrong and needed to be redone. Ripping out a page and crumpling it in frustration, she tossed it across the room and turned to Kara.
"What would she have to do?" the hero asked. "Just be in the same room as the machine, and she can help power it?"
"I would have to psychically connect with her," Selah replied. "Let her into my mind, to see whatever she wants to see. That kind of bond can't easily be broken. And once we get back to our Earth, it could carry over to my actual mother."
"You don't have to do it. We can find another way." The girl began staring at the wall again, chewing on her lip.
"I'm going to go talk to Lea," she said curtly, standing up. "See if she knows where my not-mother is."
"I'll come with," the hero said quietly, grabbing their coats.
.
Kara crossed her arms as she sized up Lyla warily. She and Linda were stationed in the professor's office with her as Selah and Winn put the finishing touches on the machine. Linda was grading papers, but Kara felt that she couldn't take her eyes off of Lyla, preparing herself for anything that the woman might do. She had never met Selah's mother on their Earth, and while she knew that the small red-haired woman sitting opposite her was not that Lyla, she couldn't resist the urge to hate the woman for what her Earth-38 counterpart had done.
"I know you don't trust me," Lyla said suddenly. "And from what I understand of how you got here, I can't say I blame you. But can you please think it a little quieter? You're giving me a headache."
"Sorry," Kara said shortly. She shifted her position in the hard chair and began looking out the window- making sure that she could still see the woman out of the corner of her eye.
From what Selah had said, there still was a fair amount of work to be done on the prototype, but Kara couldn't help but feel excited about the prospect of going back home. It was now well into December, and she had mentally made a promise to Alex- wherever she was- that she would be home in time for Christmas. The idea of being in Midvale with Eliza and her sister, opening presents still seemed be light years away, but each new development brought them a step closer. She missed home so much that it was an ache that sat inside of her, deep within her ribcage. And now it was almost here, so close that she could practically feel it. She wanted so badly to run to Winn's office to check on their progress, or to see if there was anything that she could do to help, but she didn't trust Lyla enough to let the woman out of her sight.
Almost as if she had heard Kara's plea for any kind of an update, Selah appeared in the doorway, oil smudged across her cheek.
"Is it done?" she demanded, jumping out of her chair.
"Not yet," Selah answered. "I started a small fire-" at this Linda's head popped up from her marking, and the girl clarified. "Just a very small one, I swear. But Winn said I had to take a break and told me to find you guys."
"How close?"
"Twenty minutes to a half hour." The hero's stomach dropped in anticipation. The girl glanced at her not-mother quickly before turning her gaze back on Kara. "Can I talk to you for a second?" She asked. Kara followed Selah out of the room and into the hallway, where the girl rocked on her heels for a few moments, deciding what to say.
"You okay?" Kara asked finally, after a few moments of silence.
"Yeah," Selah said quickly. "Um. I need her help. Lyla's. Will you come with?" The hero nodded silently, and they walked side by side back to Linda's office.
"How is it going?" Linda asked as they entered, piling up her stack of papers.
"Fine," the girl answered. "Um, good." Her hands twisted around an oil rag as she approached her not-mother. "Um," she began.
"I'll come," Lyla said quietly, looking up at Selah, but the girl wouldn't meet her eyes.
"Please don't listen so closely," she muttered. Lyla nodded and stood, following the others across campus to Winn's office. It was a quiet walk, and the tension was palpable in the air. Once they reached the office, Kara held the door open for Selah and her not-mother and went with Linda to stand somewhere out of the way.
"Progress?" Selah demanded.
"Um, well." Winn began. "I put your fire out, to start. Rewiring is done, I just need to finalize the coding."
"I'll help."
Lyla didn't seem to know what to do with herself as the two started typing frantically. She glanced at Kara and Linda to see the hero staring evenly back at her, and instead focused her gaze on her hands. Kara was reminded of Selah as the woman began fidgeting with her shirt hem awkwardly.
"Okay," Winn said finally, straightening up from the keyboard. "It should be done." Selah nodded, chewing on her lip and not making eye contact with anyone.
"Show her where to stand," she said to the professor, nodding to her not-mother. Winn and Lyla approached the machine and the girl turned to Kara, her chest heaving in short bursts.
"Breathe," Kara reminded, putting her hands on Selah's shaking shoulders.
"I don't know if I can do this."
"Selah, look at me." The girl's grey eyes met Kara's, and the hero was surprised to see tears gathering in them. "We are so close to everything we have been working for. We're almost home. You have been so strong for this whole time. You just need to be strong for a little while longer, and then we'll be safe." She pulled the girl's stiff body into a hug. "I'll be here the whole time, I promise."
"Okay," she whispered. Letting the girl go, Kara followed her as she walked to the machine where Winn and Lyla were waiting.
"We're ready?" Winn asked, tapping a few buttons on his tablet. Selah nodded mutely. "Okay great. I am going to hit this button and the machine will either start or explode, killing me instantly." He glanced over at Kara grinning, but no one else seemed to find his joke funny. "Jeez, tough room. Okay," he tapped the button and shut his eyes, but no explosion came.
"It's working?" Kara asked.
"Yes, for now. The machine was able to power up before, but once we got to around twenty percent capacity we ran out of energy. So..." he trailed off, looking at Selah and her mother expectantly. The girl took a deep breath, cracking her knuckles as she steeled herself. She shut her eyes and reached a hand out to Lyla. The woman slowly took it, and Selah's vision went white as the psychic connection began.
'I am sorry for the things she did,' Lyla's voice echoed in her ears.
"You're not her," Selah replied evenly, her eyes still tightly shut.
'But I carry her face. This must be difficult for you.'
"That's the understatement of the century," she muttered. A wave of energy washed over her and she shivered. "How long is this going to take?"
'Not long.' Lyla fell silent, and Selah only heard the quiet pulsating noise of their psychic connection. Slowly opening one eye, she looked around her. She was in a boundless void of only white, and her not-mother was standing a few feet away from her, the same way as she was in Winn's office.
"How long is not long?" she asked, warily opening the other eye.
'I see you were not gifted with my patience,' Lyla quipped, raising an eyebrow. Selah offered no reaction. 'That was a joke.'
"Not really in the mood."
'Sorry.' An image rose up in front of them, projected like the memories Selah had shown her aunt in the alley way a few nights prior. It was of Kara and Selah walking side by side through the city, drinking lattes.
"What is this?" Selah demanded, taking a step back. "Are you doing this?"
'As the bond strengthens, your memories will rise to the surface. This is normal.'
"Okay well, I hate it."
'You and Kara are close?' Lyla asked, looking at their faces as they flickered in front of her.
"She's my father's cousin. Some of the only family I have left." The memory faded, but another one took its place, this time Selah studying a textbook at the kitchen table of her apartment while Nia sat across from her, writing an article.
'Who is this?"
"My roommate. Are all of the questions really necessary?"
'If we are to connect, you must let me in. You are still holding back.'
"Gee, I wonder why."
'The more you block me out, the longer this will take, Selah.'
"Please don't say my name." Lyla was quiet, and the apartment slowly disappeared. The next memory took longer to appear, and flickered more erratically.
'What is this?' she asked, her face confused as she looked at the scene. There wasn't much to see, just two dark walls and a door with a sliver of light shining out from under it. 'Are we in a closet?'
"Yeah." Selah replied. "This is where Aunt Lea used to make me hide whenever you came home drunk." The door was ripped open, and light poured into the closet. A tall figure was silhouetted against it, its hands reaching out and grabbing. "Didn't help much. It's hard to hide from a telepath, I guess." The woman winced as this memory vanished.
'I'm sorry," she said again, looking at her not-daughter.
"It wasn't you." Selah said flatly.
'I'm still sorry.' The girl waited for the next memory to rise up, mentally steeling herself for it, but none came.
"What's happening," she asked, turning to her not-mother. "Why did it stop?"
'You're blocking me. We cannot progress until you let me in.'
"What, do you want me to tell you about all the times you hit me? How I couldn't tell anyone, and couldn't even have any bruises as proof? How you constantly reminded me that I ruined your life, and I was the reason-" Selah cut herself off, taking back the steps she hadn't even realized she had taken towards her not-mother.
'I know this is hard.' Lyla said quietly.
"It wasn't always bad," Selah admitted quietly. She looked up as a projection of her childhood apartment materialized in front of her. "You would visit sometimes, after I moved in with Aunt Lea." She and her mother were sitting side by side on a sofa, watching a movie together. "You would take me out for ice cream, or we'd go to the beach. But the tiniest thing I said could set you off, and then you'd blow up at me and disappear for months." The scene shifted, and Selah was alone on the couch, the television turned off. "I never knew what I was doing wrong."
'My sister, she was good to you?' Selah nodded slowly, still looking at the image of her younger self.
"She worked a lot, to keep the lights on. Waitressing doesn't pay well, and she had both of us to worry about. I was alone a lot, but I never doubted that she loved me."
'And yet, she let me do all of those awful things to you. She never stepped in to protect you.'
"She did what she could," the girl said weakly, trying to defend her aunt.
'But was it enough?' Lyla pressed gently.
"No," she admitted, angrily rubbing at the tears that pricked at her eyes.
The apartment scene dimmed, and suddenly they were underwater, bubbles rising desperately to the surface above. Hazy figures flashed above the water, but none could be seen clearly.
'What is this?' Selah didn't reply, shutting her eyes. The image disappeared. 'Selah?'
"We were at the beach," she said in a halting voice as the memory re-formed in front of them. "I asked where you went when you left me with Lea. You didn't like that."
'I did this?' The girl nodded.
"You drained my powers so that I couldn't breathe underwater." Lyla's distant voice echoed around them,
'I'm your mother,' Dream Lyla screamed. 'Don't you forget that.'
"Two weeks later, you sold me to The Agenda."
Not-Lyla's face was pale.
'I,' she began. 'I don't know what to say.'
"Let me guess, you're sorry?" Selah spat. She slid to the floor and sat with her arms on her knees.
'I am. I know it doesn't help much.'
"You don't get it," the girl said lowly as the beach scene faded along with Dream Lyla's voice. The room was still for a long time, with no new memories rising.
'You're blocking me,' Lyla reminded, carefully walking over to where the girl sat.
"That's what makes this so hard. That you're sorry. That you're normal."
'I don't understand," the woman said.
"My mother told me time and time again that I ruined her life. That I was the reason she was the way that she was. And you're proof of that." Selah wiped at her eyes again, her hands shaking. "On this earth, I was never born. And you're fine." Lyla sat down next to Selah, who finally looked at her. "Am I the reason that she's not?" The woman opened her arms, and Selah fell into them, gripping the back of her not-mother's shirt as the void melted away.
When she opened her eyes again, she was back in Winn's office, standing across from Lyla.
"Did it work?" Kara asked, looking over Winn's shoulder at the tablet.
"We're at a hundred!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms up in celebration. Kara threw herself at Selah, hugging the girl tightly. It took a few moments for the girl to hug back, as the connection between her and her not-mother solidified.
"We can go home?" Selah asked Winn, who nodded.
"I am almost positive it works. Either that or it will explode, killing me instantly."
"Thank you."
"Come here, I'm a hugger," he replied, pulling the somewhat reluctant girl into a hug. "If you ever want to maybe blow up a university campus in the name of science, you know where to find me."
"Okay," she replied, smiling despite herself.
"Thank you," Kara said, turning to Linda. "For everything. You're a lot cooler than the Nazi Kara."
"What?" Linda asked.
"Don't worry about it," Kara replied. "Hit me up if you're ever on Earth-38."
"Will do."
As they said their goodbyes, Selah noticed her not-mother standing back, beside the machine. After a moment, she walked over to the woman.
"I guess I owe you a thank you," she said.
"I only did the right thing."
"But you didn't have to. I'm glad you're not... like her."
"Me too," she replied, before adding, "Selah, you are not the reason. She chose her actions, and that is no fault of yours." The girl nodded slowly, offering a small smile to her not-mother as she walked back to Kara, who was standing in front of the machine.
"Ready?" she asked. Selah nodded, grinning slowly.
"Let's go."
"Um Winn?" Kara asked, turning to the professor. "How exactly do we go?"
"Oh, that red button," Winn replied. "Just press it together, and click your heels three times."
"This earth has The Wizard of Oz," Selah noted.
"Maybe we should stay," Kara quipped.
"Here's to hopefully not exploding." Together, they pressed the button, and were swallowed up in a beam of white light.
.
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