HALLEY'S P. O. V
I remained with my eyes closed, kneeling on the floor as I muttered kryptonian words, just trying to feel in peace, at least for a few seconds.
"What are you doing?" I heard a voice ask, which made me open my eyes kind of scared, finding Mia in front of me. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you" she apologized.
"It's okay, I was just meditating" I told her while getting up.
"Oh, I didn't know you were into that" she looked surprised at the fact, getting me to frown as she sat down on a chair.
"How are you doing after...?" I couldn't finish asking, a lump in my throat.
Mia just shrugged as if she didn't know what to answer, her eyes were still red from the crying and I could tell that she was holding up at that moment.
All us were upset about what happened that evening, not knowing how to keep fighting when a loss had just happened a few hours ago.
"I think I'll get use to it, I grew up without a father after all" Mia finally answered, looking down.
"That doesn't mean it's easier" I told her, getting her to look at me.
"No, it's not" She sighed, knowing what she was feeling, because at that moment I was mourning my family's death, too. "You're so different from the Halley I know" Mia commented while observing me, to what I frowned.
"When did we met in your future?" I asked her, being curious about it.
"Two years ago or so" she answered. "You came to live in Earth-1, well... Actually you had been between both Earths for years" she explained, getting me to surprise me, not understanding why would I do that. "You went into a dark path after Kara's death" Mia barely looked at me as fresh tears were being contained in my eyes. "I'm sorry, I thought you knew" she apologized, worrying about how I was reacting.
"I learnt about it a few minutes before appearing in this time" I told her, knowing that my cousin's death would hit me hard since it was doing it already.
"The Halley I know act like a warrior as if she is part of an army" Mia commented, I guessed it was in my blood to act that way. "It's nice to see how you were before and as a child" she smiled.
"What happened with my family?" I asked her, wanting to know why I left them behind.
"Well, you don't talk that much about what happened" Mia answered before adding "There is only one person that knows you really well, Nightwing" she looked at me as I frowned.
"I don't have a sidekick" I told her.
"You will have one" she said while shrugging, but I sighed, not sure things would play out the same way.
Both of us turned the moment the door of the room opened, my younger self walking inside, Saffire in between her arms as she held tightly Comet's leash, slowly letting go of him, so the puppy did not hesitate to run towards me, his paws on my lap as I petted him.
"Hi, boy" I smiled while embracing him. "I've been missing you a lot recently" I whispered, fighting for not to start crying, that last year had been hard without him. "Are you okay?" I asked after observing the eight year old, she was frowning.
"Scared" she answered, barely looking at me.
At that moment I let go of Comet and moved closer to her, kneeling in front of the child as she stared at me confused, but I knew perfectly how she was feeling.
"Hey, it's okay, kiddo" I brushed her hair away from her face. "Everything will be fine" I whispered, hoping that she would trust me.
"But our Earth is gone, Mon-El and Winn..." the child looked away as I closed my eyes, ending up by hugging her against me, just wanting to calm her down.
However, the eight year old started crying, her face buried in my neck as I started rubbing circles on her back.
"Will Kara be okay?" I heard her ask as I looked at Mia, unsure of whether I should tell her or not since I didn't know what was going to happen, but I knew that the child trusted me.
"She will be" I told her.
It was being weird having to calm my younger self down, but there was none who would know her as I did.
We had been taken to the Legends' ship to figure out how to stop the anti-matter wave from destroying more universes.
"Hal, Jon is crying" my younger self said as I turned to look at her, shortly before walking to where the baby was.
"Hi, baby boy" I whispered while picking him up, getting him to stop crying, but he continued to groan. "It's okay, Jon" I cradled him gently without getting anything, so I ended up taking him to where Lois and Clark were, the eight year old following me close. "He's a little bit fussy" I explained to Lois as she took him from my arms.
"Thanks" she smiled.
"It was nothing" I smiled back before approaching my cousin, not wanting to interrupt for longer whatever the Monitor was explaining them.
"We must find all eight paragons" the Monitor said, getting me to frown.
"How about, like, a hint?" Lois asked.
"I have four. Kara Zor-El, despite all you have endured, you are the Paragon of Hope" he answered while pointing at Kara, who sighed.
"Well, you might want to double-check your omnipotence, 'cause I'm not feeling that hopeful right now" she whispered, probably not wanting to be heard, but I knew that my younger self had done it, since she turned to look at Kara.
"Sara Lance is the Paragon of Destiny" the Monitor continued talking. "I have only descriptions for the other two Paragons. One is of a second Kryptonian, who is said to have suffered a greater loss than most mortal men could endure. Today, he stands as the Paragon of Truth" he explained before adding. "The Paragon of Courage is known only as the bat of the future"
"Bummed-out Kryptonian and Future Bat, which technically means..." Lois questioned him.
"Earth-99 exists in a future time where Bruce Wayne has dedicated himself, body and soul, to fighting crime" the Monitor answered. "The path to find him will lead you to the Paragon of courage"
"Okay. Who wants to meet Batman?" Kate asked.
LITTLE HALLEY'S P. O. V
She observed with sadness how their Earth disappeared, holding even tighter her cousin's hand, Kara closing her eyes as if she was trying to calm herself down. They had lost everything.
"An entire universe wiped from existence distilled down to a computer graphic" the moment she heard that voice, her arms wrapped around her cousin's legs. "Gotta say, missing that "wow" factor" Lex Luthor was standing in front of them as she felt the pressure on her chest, barely being able to breathe.
"Lena killed you" her cousin stared at him while trying to keep her behind her.
"Yeah, only for a little while" Lex answered, his gaze fixed on her. "Hi, there, kiddo" he smiled at her, which made her to look away in panic while gripping at her cousin even tightly.
Kara didn't say anything else, she just walked a little closer while making use of her heat vision, ready to attack him, but the Monitor stopped her, causing her cousin annoyance.
"His destiny was unfulfilled, Lex Luthor still has an important role to play" he explained as she felt how her breathing was getting even more agitated.
"So you can revive him, but you can't bring back Oliver?" Kara asked really angry about it.
"I restored Luthor long before the Crisis caused my power to wane" the Monitor answered.
And what about those innocent lives on Earth-38? Did they not have destinies to fulfill?" her cousin asked. "I'm sorry, but I can't trust a man who thinks Lex Luthor is an ally" Kara picked her up to walk away from there.
Her cousin sat down on a chair, keeping her in her arms, moment at which she started sobbing, not being able to hold it up for longer.
"I need you to breathe, baby" Kara whispered in her ear, rubbing circles on her back, but she shook her head. "Yes, you can, just try. In and out" her cousin instructed her, so slowly she started to breathe a little bit better.
She rested her head on her cousin's shoulder, her eyes closed as she tried to calm down, but knowing that Lex Luthor was in the same ship as they were, it wasn't helping, because she couldn't avoid panicking again.
Kara was doing her best to calm her down, keeping her embraced and whispering reassuring words in her ear, but she could tell that her cousin was also scared and angry of him being there.
"Is she okay?" she heard Batwoman asked, her cousin barely whispered an answer, only being focused on her.
"It's okay, you're safe" Kara whispered, brushing her hair away from her face. "He won't hurt you, I'm not going to let him" her cousin promised before kissing her forehead, to what she tried to nod, but the fear was still there.
She sat down next to Comet, embracing him tightly as she tried to control the next panic attack that was about to hit her.
Kara had left a few minutes ago, leaving her behind, which was starting to scare her as she did not know what would happen if she met Lex Luthor again.
"Hey, What are you doing here?" She heard a voice ask, her gaze meeting Clark's, who kneeled down in front of her. "You okay, kiddo?" he asked, to what she shook her head. "Kara will be fine" he reassured her, but, even though that was scaring her, it wasn't the worst thing. "Come on, let's see what the rest are doing" Kal-El said while scooping her up and taking Comet's leash, her head resting on his shoulder as she closed her eyes, only focusing on his heartbeat.
She suspected that he knew about Lex since he was being overprotective with her at that moment, which was helping her to feel safe.
"Hey, Is she okay?" Lois asked the moment they approached her.
"She's scared" Clark answered. "But everything will be fine, right, kiddo?" he asked her, not getting her to nod.
"Are you guys ready to leave?" Iris asked, moment at which she gripped Kal's cape, not wanting to let go of him.
"It's okay, sweetie" Clark hugged her tightly. "Why don't you help Ray with the machine?" he asked while sitting her on a stool next to him.
"I could use some help" Ray smiled at her.
"Don't go" she whispered clinging to his cape, Clark staring at her worryingly before taking her face in between his hands.
"You'll be okay, kiddo" he whispered, looking directly into her eyes. "We'll be back soon, Hal" Clark kissed her forehead before leaving.
She sighed while staring at Ray, who smiled at her again as if he was trying to show her that everything was fine.
However, not being able to be calm as at that moment she was scared that her cousin would result hurt on the other Earth, so she wouldn't relax until Kara was back.
HALLEY'S P. O. V
"Is it true? Lex is alive?" I asked Kara after having heard her talking about him to Kate.
"He is" she answered, getting me to shake my head while trying to calm myself down.
However, when we stept inside that room, I was not able to control myself, my hands turning into fists as I walked angrily toward him, punching him on the face as everyone else stared at me surprised.
"Halley!" Clark grabbed my arm to pulled me away, because I was going to hit him again.
"What? I've been waiting ten years!" I exclaimed while hearing him chuckle.
"You weren't like this the last time" Lex pointed out, moment at which I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pinning him to a wall.
"Well, Red Daughter trained me good, I don't think you really want to know what I'm capable of" I answered him, keeping his gaze. "You did horrible things and I know that my eight year old self is terrified, so I'm doing it for her" I told him, that time punching him on his stomach, moment at which I frowned, that had hurt, my hand was turning green.
"I think you found it" he smiled while taking out the kryptonite, making me to let go of him. "What's wrong? Can't you keep up?" he mocked, feeling how I was getting weaker, but my anger wasn't going to let me stop.
"Why do you have kryptonite?" I asked him while walking a little away from him.
"In case you show up" he answered. "Now it's a fair fight" he pointed out shortly before I punched him again.
"Hal, stop!" Kara tried to grab me by my arms, but I let go. "We can't kill him" she told me, getting me to look at her confused, Why couldn't we kill him?
However, turned myself to look at my cousin was a mistake, since Lex didn't hesitate to attack me, stabbing me on my back with the kryptonite, which made me fall to the floor in pain.
"Halley!" Kara screamed while kneeling beside me. "Hey, hey, look at me" she asked, taking my face in between her hands. "Go away from here before I kill you myself" my cousin threatened Lex before she started searching for the wound.
"It hurts" I complained the moment she touched it, Kal grabbing my hands before I could push Kara's.
"There's kryptonite inside, it's blocking your blood to come out" she explained while observing it. "I'm taking you to Star Labs, Alex is there, she should be able to help you" Kara told me before taking me in her arms, my eyes closed because of the pain. "Stay with me, Hal" she asked, but I passed out in her arms.
When I woke up I was laying on a stretcher, Alex checking my vitals as Kara was sitting by my side, holding me hand in between hers.
For a moment, I thought that I was back in my time, closing my eyes the moment that I realized that my cousin was supposed to be dead, tears threatening with escape my eyes.
"You were lucky, Hal" Alex commented as I looked at her. "He didn't stab you on any important organ, your lung was really close" she explained.
"Why can't we kill him?" I asked Kara.
"Because the Monitor doesn't let us" She answered kind of upset. "I would have killed him, too" she admitted in a whispered.
"Supergirl doesn't kill" I looked at her.
"And I thought I had been teaching you that, but here we are" she pointed out as I sighed. "After everything he had done... It's what he deserves" Kara said.
I stared at her while frowning. When I was younger I had never realized that my cousin was that angry at him, but I guess it was obvious since she had seen how my younger self had been reacting after the kidnap.
"Don't do it again, Halley" Kara said while looking directly into my eyes.
"I won't" I whispered, knowing that I wouldn't be able to contain myself about doing it.
"Is she okay to leave?" my cousin asked Alex, who nodded, so I got up from the stretcher.
"Be careful you two, please" Alex asked as Kara embraced her before we both left to the ship.
Once we were there, my younger self came running toward Kara, hugging tightly at her as I couldn't avoid a smile.
"Are you okay?" the eight year old asked me once Kara had picked her up.
"Yeah, I'm fine" I answered her, but she just observed me not really buying my answer.
"You're brave" she commented.
"Someday, you'll be, too" I told her with a smile, to what she smiled as well.
"You're back" Lex said the moment I walked inside that room, barely staring at him, just walking toward my cousin.
"Do you have all the paragons?" I asked her.
"We still need to find one" She answered still trying to open the book of Destiny. "The paragon of innocence" Kara said.
"That might be because there's none who fit in the description" Lex commented, getting me to look at him.
"Because the only being that could be innocent in this ship, you broke it, right?" I asked him while frowning.
"Hal..." Kara called me, kind of warning me of not doing what I was about to do.
"You're going to listen to her, huh?" he stared at me with mockery.
"Trust me when I tell you that I never commit the same mistakes and if have to fight you again, next time you're dead" I assured them before turning around and walking away.
I was trying really hard to control myself, not wanting to get into a fight with him, even if, deep down, I knew that it wasn't the best option, but, as Kara had said, he deserved it.
I couldn't avoid smiling when I saw my younger self playing with Kal-El, both of them laughing as a few tears threatened with escape my eyes. I missed being that little, with no worries or, at least, not as the ones that I had at that moment, not knowing if I would have my family back.
"Hal!" The eight year old smiled while running towards me, so I kneeled down to embrace her. "Come on, play with us" she asked, grabbing my hand to approach me to Clark.
"How are you doing?" he asked after observing me for a few seconds.
"I'm fine, the wound healed well" I answered him sitting on the floor next to him.
"I mean about being here" Kal said as I sighed.
"It's weird, there are so many different things" I told him. "The worst thing is that I don't even know if I will have a home to go back to" I closed my eyes in tears.
"I can't tell you that we'll get our Earth back, but I know that we have to fight, so that we can have that chance" he tried to cheer me up, getting me to look at him, smiling a little.
"Thanks" I whispered as he embraced me.
"It's great to see how you grew up, you're an amazing hero, Kara taught you well" he commented, to what I smiled again.
I was happy of being able to spend those days with them, but being heartbroken about everyone I had lost, my family, friends... I missed them.
KARA'S P. O. V
She panicked the moment they were taken to that Vanishing point, barely listening to what Sara was saying, just feeling completely broken.
She had lost her family once again, her baby cousin, without her she was completely lost.
"Something is wrong" the Superman from Earth-96 murmured as she panicked.
"Kal?" she called him, rushing to his side when he fell to the ground, holding him as he seemed to be disappearing. "What do I do?" she asked the rest. "No, no!" she exclaimed not being able to do anything, just stepping away from him, feeling anger the moment she saw the person that was laying there.
"Oh, I'm so happy that it worked" Lex said getting up.
"Lex, What did you do?" she asked angrily.
"I saw that you eight paragons were going to be sent here and I thought Destiny could use a little rewrite" he answered while showing them the paper.
"Wait, Did you say eight? We're just seven, we didn't find the eighth one" Barry pointed out as she frowned while picking up a new heartbeat in that place.
She turned only to find a pair of blue eyes that was staring back at her with so much fear, tears being contained in her eyes as she ran to hold that scared little girl.
Halley sobbed the moment she wrapped her arms around her, just keeping her cousin as close as possible, grateful for having the child there with her.
"It's okay, baby" she whispered, trying to pull her away a little, but her cousin refused by holding tightly at her.
She ended up picking the child up to approach the rest, J'onn gently caressing Halley's hair, who was resting her head on her shoulder.
"I think we found the eighth one" Kate said while pointing at them.
"A Kryptonian child is not going to save us" Lex commented, getting her even angrier, but trying to control herself just for her cousin's sake.
It made sense for Halley to be the Paragon of Innocence since she was a child, a happy child after all, but, at the same time, it scared her, not knowing how all of that was going to affect her baby cousin.
Hi!
I had a hard time deciding which Halley I wanted to be a Paragon, but I ended up choosing little Halley since Kara will be more overprotective with her while Lex is around.
Also, Halley and Lex story... Teen Halley isn't scared anymore, but the kid.., she's still terrified, so having to work with him is going to be hard for her, Kara and everyone else.
I can't wait until the crossover comes back.
Thanks so much for reading, let me know what you think,
Ayrin