"Come on, sis," a voice calls to Nia from across the room, "you know this."

"Walking with a limp," Nia utters. "Means that the walker is reluctant… hesitant…".

"And…," Maeve prods her.

Nia closes her eyes tightly to concentrate. "Uncertain about proceeding forward… trying to distance themselves from a particular life experience. It's a reflection of their situation and obstacles they are facing."

"Nice!", Maeve says encouragingly as she walks back from the kitchen with a cup of tea to sit down on the sofa next to her sister. "I see you've been studying."

Nia nods and grins broadly. "Damn right I have! Wanted to impress my instructor. Go ahead… ask me another one."

"Okay," Maeve replies thoughtfully. "How about… falling?"

Nia gets up from the sofa, walks past the table, taps her finger to her to her chin repeatedly, and begins to pace. "Falling… falling… If you're falling… and not scared… it means that you will overcome adversity with ease, but if you're frightened… it indicates a lack of control, insecurity, or a lack of support in your waking life."

Maeve smiles, gives her a confirming nod, and says, "What if you're falling backwards?"

Nia stops in her tracks, turns excitedly to her sister, and responds, "That means you've stopped yourself from making a bad decision or a mistake! And… if you dream about the Fall season… it means that you're reaching the end of something and that something new will begin or it could symbolize the cycle of life!"

"Not bad," Maeve says impressed by the hard work her sister's been clearly putting in. "You're really starting to get this stuff down."

Nia walks back over with a huge grin on her face and sits down opposite Maeve on the sofa. "It helps to have such an amazing teacher." She reaches over and puts a hand on her sister's knee. "I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me to have you back in my life. I missed you so much."

Maeve slides closer, puts her arms around Nia, and gives her a tight hug. Nia rubs her sister's back and closes her eyes awash in the deep sense of relief and joy she feels at the thought that she and her sister have made such great strides in repairing their relationship. Knowing how deep Maeve's disappointment ran when she discovered Nia had inherited their Mother's dream powers, the harsh manner with which that revelation had torn them apart, and Maeve's behavior when Nia sought her help to retrieve the Dream Totem, there was a moment where she thought they might never have this again. Maeve, however, truly regretted her behavior and had made every effort since that time to make amends. She returned home to Parthas to reunite with their Father, spent time getting to know Nia's extended family, was helping Nia learn to master her powers, and served as Nia's Maid of Honor when she married Brainy. Ironically, for Nia, it has been like a dream come true.

Separating from the hug, Maeve holds onto her sister's arms, and looks at her with an enormous sense of pride. "I missed you, too. No matter how bad things ever got… know that deep down I was always so proud of what you were accomplishing here with your friends. Your work at CatCo… your devotion to protecting this city as Dreamer… it's inspiring. I know I let my jealousy and disappointment get the best of me for far too long, but I truly love you and I'm so happy we've found our way back to each other. I know it was incredibly hard for you to give me a second chance after the awful things I did and said. What I said to you after Mom's funeral, even more than disappearing for so long, is the biggest regret of my life. Thank you for…". Maeve begins to cry and Nia pulls her back in for another hug.

"You are my sister," Nia says affectionately, "and no matter how much we may tick each other off from time-to-time I cannot imagine a world where we don't eventually find our way back home to one another." They hold each other tightly for several moments with nothing but the sounds of sobs and sniffles filling the room. Eventually, Nia lets Maeve go, sits back, and wipes the tears from her face.

Maeve uses the back of her hand to wipe her own tears away, looks around the loft, and says, "Gotta say… I love your new place. This loft is amazing!"

"Used to be Kara's!", Nia remarks proudly. "Brainy and I were so excited when she suggested we pick up the lease after she and Lena decided to move into the penthouse together. We have had so many wonderful memories here already. It felt like home before we even brought our first box of stuff up from the truck."

"Speaking of Kara and Lena," Maeve pivots the conversation, "I read your interview with them on CatCo's website this morning. It was amazing! I cannot believe what those two went through."

Nia smiles softly. "They are both such amazing people and I'm so lucky to have them in my life. It has been a sometimes perilous and challenging path for them, but I've never met two more determined and passionate people. Deep down I believe that they both always knew what they really were destined for and, even subconsciously, neither of them would ever be deterred from finding their way to that destiny by anyone or anything. Honestly, standing by and supporting Kara through all the chaos of Lena's reaction to learning the truth about Supergirl was a big reason that deep in my own heart I believed you and I could eventually reconcile."

"How do you mean?", Maeve inquires.

Nia gets a somewhat somber look on her face. "As much as I love Lena… and even now that I have a better understanding and appreciation of all the trauma she's endured, it was really hard on all of us when we discovered that she was manipulating Kara for weeks after finding out the truth. I mean, as much as it hurt me when you got upset and lashed out about Mom's powers… you locked most of if away and disappeared. That was really hard for me to handle, but Lena… she used Kara's trust against her, asked her to do things that she knew deep down were wrong, but because of how much Kara cared for her and her guilt over lying for so long she knew she would do, and then to top it off she stole from her and used Kryptonite against her. Kara was shattered."

With a pained look Maeve remarks, "Oh my, that's horrible. After all of that, how did Kara… or any of you for that matter, find it in your hearts to forgive her?"

"If we were a normal family, leading normal lives… I'm not sure we would have ever recovered," Nia smiles tenderly. "But we aren't. This family… is extraordinary and we live extraordinary lives. When she came back to us we were faced with dire circumstances and she never waivered in her commitment to protect this family or the world. Kara was hesitant at first to let her back in, but Lena showed genuine remorse for what she had done and was willing to sacrafice herself to protect Kara. Deep down we all knew what was in her heart. Love… the love between friends, the love between family members… the love we share with those most precious to us… it's love that transcends it all. It was love that brought Kara and Lena back together, love that helped this family heal and rescue Kara from the Phantom Zone, and love that reunited us."

A broad, glowing smile fills Maeve's face. "I love you, Nia."

Nia smiles affectionately back at her. "I love you, too." She looks down at her watch and then back at her sister. "You know, we have enough time to do a some more before we have to take off."

"Sure," Maeve replies. "Hey, is Brainy going to meet us here or at Dreamer Center?"

"He's meeting us at Dreamer Center," Nia responds. "He, Alex, J'onn, and Kara are out by the old DEO desert facility this afternoon. Dana just finished her first week at NCU… so they decided that instead of torturing her with more of Alex's hand-to-hand combat boot camp they'd get outside for some flight and powers training."

It's a warm, breezy, and sunny afternoon as Kara, in her super suit, is flying at a brisk pace to a familiar dirt and grass covered plateau about 30 miles outside of National City. As she gets closer to her destination a sense of deja vu begins to overtake her as she sees a cluster of DEO personnel buzzing about and equipment laid out for Dana's training exercises. Her memories flash back to a similar experience her first week as Supergirl as she was making her approach to Director Henshaw's training location only to be met by an unexpected missile attack and unwanted criticism of her flight speed. A wide grin breaks across her face as she thinks back to those early days… she was green… naïve… Director Henshaw was pushing her… testing her… and she pushed back. Of course, what she didn't know… what none of them knew… the reason he pushed so hard… the promise he had made to Jeremiah… how much they would all grow to respect and love each other… how they would become a family. As she makes her final approach and comes in for a landing a portal opens up a few yards away. Dana and Alex step out as Kara lands and J'onn and Brainy approach.

"Dana!", Kara exclaims as she steps up and hugs the young woman. "Welcome back. How was your first week at NCU?"

Dana squeezes her tightly before they let go of each other. "It was great… and a bit weird. I love being back in National City, but I do miss my friends at KSU."

"Well," Alex says as she stops next to Dana, "that's to be expected. You were there for the last 3 years. It's bound to be hard to leave the familiarity of that place and those people to build a new life in National City. I admire the courage it took to make that decision."

J'onn nods in agreement. "We all do, Dana, and we're all very happy to have you back with us."

"Thank you, Director," Dana replies respectfully. "I'm thrilled to be back."

"Dana," J'onn smiles at her, "please… call me J'onn." She grins warmly and nods. "I hope you're ready for some hard work today," J'onn adds.

As they all start walking towards a canopied area to their left Kara, Alex, and Dana walk a few steps behind the guys. "So," Alex asks, "what did you end up telling your Mom?"

Dana looks down at her feet and sighs. "Well… it was hard, but I did what you both suggested.. I told her the truth… about all of it."

Kara asks, "How did she react?"

"Well," Dana begins, "as you can imagine… at first… she thought I was crazy… maybe on drugs, but…".

"Let me guess," Alex interjects, "you turned off your PD bracelet and…".

"I re-heated her cup of tea with my heat vision," Dana says with a mischievous smirk. "Scared her so much she dropped her cup on the kitchen floor."

Alex chortles, "Sounds familiar. Our Mom let out the loudest blood curdling scream I've ever heard the first time Kara used her heat vision on a tea cup she was holding."

Kara throws her head back and sighs. "Ugh… I can still hear that scream. I was so embarrassed."

Alex and Dana laugh. "After she calmed down," Dana continues, "I told her about everything that happened, about my decision to keep my powers and move here, about the X-Kryptonite… it was a lot for her to take in. She was understandably upset about my behavior… she was thankful I didn't hurt anyone… and relieved that all of you went so far out of your way to protect me. After a very long and emotional discussion she decided she's going to sell the farm and move here to live closer to me."

"Wow!", Kara reacts. "How do you feel about that?"

Dana smiles. "You know… I'm really looking forward to it. Since my Dad passed away it's been harder and harder for me to go back to Smallville. He loved it there so much and we had made so many amazing memories there… it's just felt so hollow and lonely there without him. I think we both need a fresh start, so I hope this will be good for us both."

Alex puts a hand on Dana's shoulder. "If there is anything we can do to help either of you get settled in or adjust to National City, we're here for you."

"Thank you, Alex," Dana responds with an appreciative glance as they catch up with Brainy and J'onn under the canopy. "So, what does J'onn have in store for me here today?"

Brainy picks up a couple of bracelets from a nearby table, turns to Dana, and says, "Today we want to try to get a good idea of the current limits of your abilities. Based on the updated scans Alex took earlier back at the DEO there's been no physiological changes since your last check up with Lena at the end of your internship… which is good. That should mean your abilities are fairly stable by now, but if you're anything like Kal and Kara they will definitely continue to get more powerful as you use them more. Today's observations and data collection is intended to establish a baseline for us to track that growth over time."

J'onn adds, "We'll be asking you to push your physical limits with respect to air speed, running speed, heat vision, physical strength, and overall endurance. Alex will fit you with some dermal sensors that will allow her to track your vitals while Brainy, Kara, and I put you through the paces."

"Also," Kara notes, "while we these exercises are designed to be stress tests of a sort we'll also be focusing on your ability control and harness your powers. It's very important, though, that you be completely upfront with us if you feel you're being pushed too far, too fast… especially with your heat vision."

"Solar flaring?", Dana inquires.

Kara nods. "Yes… if you push your heat vision to hard you can blow out your powers temporarily. We want to take you to your limit, but not blow past it."

"Understood," Dana responds thoughtfully. "So, if we're going to be flying today do we have something more conducive to comfort and aerodynamics I can change into?"

"As a matter of fact," Brainy says as he steps toward her with an enthusiastic gleam in his eyes, "I have something for you. Please remove your PD bracelet and place one of these on each wrist… the silver one on your right and the black one on your left." He hands her the new bracelets in exchange for her PD bracelet.

Dana puts the new braclets on and lifts her forearms up in front of her to get a better look at them. "Are these what I think they are?", she asks with as an excited glow fills her face.

Brainy nods affirmatively. "Yes. If you tap the top of the right one your new suit will materialize over whatever you're wearing and when you tap the top of the left one the suit will dematerialize to reveal your regular outfit. I also encoded them with PD tech, as well. If you tap the bracelets together the power dampener will activate or deactivate. Please, give it a try."

An exuberant grin fills Dana's face as she taps the top of the right bracelet. She looks down at her arms, torso, and legs as the her new super suit begins to snake its way up her appendages and encases her body. The suit, which looks to be similar in design to Kara's… but aesthetically adorned like Mon-El's, is black with an emerald green cape fastened to the shoulders with gold clasps, an emerald green and gold belt, emerald green boots, and a single emerald green stripe running up the side of each leg and each side of her torso to her underarms. Brainy walks up next to her, reaches behind her head to lift up a deep hood that includes a mask piece to cover her eyes and her brow line.

Alex takes a picture of her with her cellphone and shows it to Dana. "You look incredible," Alex says with an encouraging grin.

"Brainy," Kara adds, "you've outdone yourself again. Dana that suit is awesome!"

Dana looks at Brainy with a radiant smile. "Brainy… thank you. This is so much more than I could have ever hoped for. It's amazing!"

"Now," J'onn remarks, "before we get started there's just one more thing to do. We need to figure out what your team designation will be. Any thoughts?"

Dana nods with a pleased look on her face. "Actually… I've been giving that some thought. I wanted to go with something along the lines of Guardian and Sentinel. Something that speaks to what I want the world to see me as when they see me in this suit. After a lot of soul searching… I think I'd like to go with… Protector."

Kara nods approvingly as she repeats her, "Protector… That's got a nice ring to it."

Alex comments, "Yeah, I think that suits you."

J'onn smiles proudly and puts his hand on her shoulder. "Then it's settled… Protector it is." He takes his hand off her shoulder and continues, "Okay everyone… let's get to work."

A couple of hours later, as the sun begins to set on the horizon, Brainy, Dana, J'onn, and Kara land next to the canopy. Dana and Kara tap the bracelets on their left wrists and their respective super suits dematerialize. Alex steps out from under the canopy to greet them.

"That was great!", Alex exclaims. "Nice work… all of you. I think we got everything we need to establish a good baseline for future comparison."

Dana looks excited and relieved. "Man, that was intense. You guys really know how to push a girl to her limits."

Kara smiles and giggles. "Consider yourself lucky." She points at J'onn and adds, "My first time out here this one was firing training missiles at me."

"Seriously?!?", Dana asks flabbergasted.

"I promised Jeremiah I'd protect you," J'onn remarks. "I had hoped pushing you the way I did would convince you to stop. Thank goodness I underestimated you."

Kara laughs, walks over, and hugs J'onn. "You know all you accomplished with that approach to was make me more determined to succeed at being Supergirl."

"Believe me," J'onn chuckles and replies, "I discovered that very quickly."

Brainy looks at everyone and says, "I regret to say that I must depart. I'm meeting Nia and Maeve at Dreamer Center for a board meeting to discuss the Halloween Charity Ball. The meeting is scheduled to start in about 25 minutes."

Alex walks over, hugs Brainy, and says, "Then you better get going. Give the girls our love." Alex lets him go. He smiles, nods, and launches himself up and flies away.

Dana looks at her watch. "Alex, we need to get going, too. I need you to drop me off at the Tower for my session with Kelly."

Alex turns a dial on her wrist device and opens a portal to their right. "Yep, Kelly and Esme are waiting. Kara… you coming over tonight?"

"Absolutely," Kara replies, smiling brightly. "Lena and I will be over around 7."

Alex walks over and hugs her sister. "Sounds good. We'll see you then." She lets Kara go, walks back over to Dana, and they wave at J'onn and Kara as they step into the portal which closes behind them as they vanish.

Just as Kara's about to turn to ask J'onn a question an alert sounds from her wrist device. She taps a button and familiar voice spills out of the speaker.

":Zhao i," Lena's voice says, "you almost done out there?"

Kara's face lights up at the sound of her fiancé's voice. "Just finishing up now :divi i. What's up?"

"Better head over to my lab," Lena remarks. "I got an alert from Kelex. Ukr is trying to contact us at the Foretress."

Kara looks up at J'onn who says, "You better get going."

She nods, taps her right wrist to re-engage her super suit, and launches herself into the sky and flies away toward Lena's lab.