KARA'S P. O. V
"Come on, we're going to be late" she told her cousin, who shook her head, refusing to put her jacket on and to take her backpack. "Hal, baby..." she sighed, she was going to be late to work.
"My head hurts" the eight year old complained, looking directly into her eyes, repeating the exact same process as the day before.
"Hey, kiddo, I know that you don't want to go, but everything is going to be okay" she kneeled down in front of her, helping her with the jacket. "He's not going to hurt you there, plus I'm just a call away" she tried to convince her.
"But..." Halley frowned as she stared at her kind of worryingly, she knew that the child was still getting used to every new thing that was happening.
"Why are you so scared?" she asked, to what her cousin shrugged.
"Lex" the eight year old finally whispered, not even looking at her, so she took her tiny face in between her hands.
"He won't be at school" she said while wiping the first tears that were streaming down her cousin's cheeks.
"But he will be at the DEO" the child pointed out, for the first time understanding that Halley was afraid of her being harm by him.
"Hey, I'm going to be fine" she smiled at her, her baby cousin barely nodding. "I'll be picking you up from school, I promise" she kissed her forehead before embracing her tightly, the child arms wrapping around her neck as her tiny head rested on her shoulder. "And now let's go, grab Comet's leash" she told her once they pulled away from each other.
They were running late, but she knew that Halley loved to take Comet for a walk before school and after knowing how her cousin was feeling, she wasn't going to deny it.
It wasn't the first time her cousin had tried to persuade her about not going to school and the first day, she completely bought it, letting the child stay at home as she thought that it was for the best.
However, after a long conversation with her sister, she had realized that Halley was just adjusting to every change and that the little girl was still afraid of them, but the child should keep going to school.
"Are we going to meet Lena today?" her cousin asked while grabbing her hand, which made her frown.
"Why are you asking me that?" she questioned confused.
"Because we used to meet her every Friday" the eight year old answered, looking directly into her eyes. "Do you think she's still angry at you?" Halley asked, getting her to stop walking, honestly, she hadn't even thought of how their relationship was in that new Earth.
"I don't know" she sighed, part of her hoping for having her best friend back, back knowing that she would not be able to forgive what Lena did to her baby cousin, at least not for a long time. "Maybe we meet her other day, we'll see, okay?" she told her cousin, who nodded slightly.
"Are you mad at her?" the child stared at her kind of waiting for her answer.
"Yes" she admitted, her cousin's eyes opening widely. "She did the only thing she shouldn't have done, and it was hurting you" she explained, Halley hugging at her, so she couldn't avoid picking her up. "I need you safe, baby" she whispered before kissing the child's forehead.
"Then, Why are you taking me to the school?" Halley pulled herself away, needing a few seconds to understand her cousin's question.
"You'll be fine, I promise" she assured her while laughing a little. "Just remember, if anything happens..." she started talking, but her cousin interrupted her.
"I can call you by using the necklace" Halley completed the sentence.
"That's right" she smiled, her cousin embracing at her, so she kept her as close as possible, leaving a few kisses on the child's hair before finally letting her walk inside the school.
It was going to be a long process to adjustment to everything new, but she was glad that they still had each other.
She needed to talk to Lena, try to do better than she did on the other Earth, so despite her sister's warnings, she flew to her best friend's office.
"I've been looking for you" she said walking inside the office.
"Here I am" Lena answered, waiting for her to talk.
"So, uh, there's something I... I have to tell you. I know you think Lex is a good man, that he's your partner..." she started talking without even breathing, just wanting to tell her as fast as possible.
"Save it. I already know" her friend interrupted her, getting her to frown.
"What exactly do you know?" she asked kind of confused.
"Crisis, what Lex did, what you did" Lena answered as she sighed, of course Lex was going to tell his sister everything.
"So you even remember hurting Halley?" she asked, not being able to stop herself from doing it.
"I didn't hurt her" the CEO shook her head.
"You took her away from me" she pointed out, being upset with how those events turned out.
"I never intended for her to be involved" Lena told her.
"Yet, you did" she murmured. "If you knew, Why didn't you call me?" she asked. "Maybe this new Earth is an opportunity for us to be friends again..." she stopped talking after observing how her friend was staring at her, she was wrong.
"What did you think would happen when you came here?" Lena asked, but she didn't have time to answer her. "That you'd tell me everything in a fit of selflessness, even if it meant that I knew how you betrayed me, and then I'd just keel over and forgive you?" her friend questioned her, to what she looked away for a few seconds.
"Lena, I hurt you. I... I know I hurt you" she admitted in just a whisper. "I thought I was doing the right thing not telling you, I just wanted to protect you from anyone that could harm you" she tried to explain, not understanding why it was so hard for them to understand each other. "I have a secret identity to protect the people I love... I should have told you before, maybe it would have been different from how it's now" she shrugged, Lena not saying anything, just waiting for her to stop talking. "I know how much good you want to do in the world, just think of what we could do together to help people" she told her, one more time seeing the good in her best friend.
"Funny. Lex gave me the same pitch" Lena commented, surprising her.
"He asked you to help him? You're not seriously considering, are you?" she couldn't avoid asking, shaking her head slightly when she understood what the woman's silence meant. "Please, just be careful" she asked her before flying away from there.
It was almost noon when she received a call from Halley's school to explain her that her cousin had gotten into trouble and that they needed to talk to her.
That phone call managed to scare her, because Halley always behaved well, so it was kind of unexpected, but being able to understand everything when she saw the other person that was at the Principal's office.
"Well, thanks for coming, miss Danvers" the Principal smiled slightly at her, so she tried to smile back. "We're a little bit worry about how Halley behaved this morning when she saw Mr. Luthor. At first she panicked and then she pushed him when he approached her" the woman explained, to what she had to hold her own laugh. "Has she been behaving like that at home?"
"Um..., No" she answered. "She's a little bit afraid of meeting new people, so probably that's why she reacted that way" she explained while glancing Lex, she was sure that he had said something to the child to get that respond.
"As you may understand, we don't approve violence, so Halley is expelled for today" the Principal told her, to what she sighed with so much sadness. "We're sorry, we know that she's a brilliant student, but she needs to learn that it's not right what she did" the woman looked at her as she nodded. "We also would like for Halley to apologize to Mr. Luthor" she didn't have other option than to agree, even though she didn't want to make her cousin go through that process.
The eight year old barely stared at Lex before getting close to her, her cousin's eyes red because of the crying, which managed to break her heart.
She wrapped her arms around her baby cousin, Halley resting her head on her shoulder, the child's tiny body shivering.
"You have to apologize, okay?" she whispered, feeling how the kid refused to pull away from her. "We'll talk later, baby" she kissed her cousin's hair before letting go of her.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Luthor" Halley whispered barely looking at him.
"I forgive you, kiddo" Lex smiled while pinching the kid's cheek, which only got her cousin to breathe with agitation.
After that she grabbed her cousin's hand and started walking out of the school, neither of them talking about what had recently happened inside that room, even though she was curious about what had triggered her cousin to act that way.
"Are you mad at me?" Halley asked in just a whispered, their eyes meeting as she decided to kneel down in front of the child.
"Why would I be mad at you for defending yourself?" she questioned her back, her cousin shrugging, not knowing what to answer. "What exactly happened?" she asked.
"He said something about Supergirl and I defended you... He tried to grab my arm while doing the picture, so I panicked and I pushed him" the eight year old explained. "I didn't really control my strength and he almost fell, every kid laughed, but..." her cousin smiled as she couldn't avoid laughing as well.
"Well, I guess it wasn't the perfect time for doing that, but you did it right" she told her baby cousin. "Don't let him hurt you, baby" she kissed her forehead before standing up, grabbing the child's hand again.
They walked toward the DEO, not without stopping to have lunch, enjoying the time that she was spending with the little one.
Halley was a little bit more calm than before, but feeling how the child pulled from her hand as they approached the conference room, Lex was already there.
"Hey, What is she doing here? Is she sick?" Alex asked while approaching them.
"Nope" she shook her head. "Tell Alex what you did, baby" she asked her cousin, who explained quietly what had happened that morning. "She has been expelled from school for today" she added.
"For doing what? Hurting his feelings?" her sister asked while embracing the child. "We're teaching you well, kiddo" Alex commented, to what her cousin smiled as she heard Lex calling her. "Go, I'll stay with her" her sister told her, so she nodded before approaching him.
"Control your cousin" Lex told her as the door closed.
"Excuse me?" she stared back at him confused.
"I don't know what you're telling her, but you should be scolding her for what she did today" he said as she sighed.
"You know that she's afraid of you, I'm not going to scold her for defending herself" she answered him, Lex frowning.
"You're still judging me by the bad things the other Lex did" he sat down on a chair. "You should be hiring a babysitter, I don't like kids here at the DEO" Lex stared directly into her eyes.
"I'm not..." she couldn't complain as Lex interrupted her.
"Then she should be train, you choose, but that child needs discipline" he told her. "I expect you to answer me tomorrow" he said shortly before making her leave that room.
She stood there kind of confused about what had just happened, but hating the fact that Lex was the new boss of the DEO, that he could gave her orders or even her sister.
At that moment she feared for cousin, maybe a hiring a babysitter would manage to keep Lex away from the little girl, but at the same time, she wanted the child at the same place she was so she could keep an eye on her.
"You're still wanting to throw up?" her sister asked once she returned to the room, Halley staring at her while frowning. "What did he say? You look as if you were about to kill someone" Alex commented as she grimmanced.
"He's disgusting" she said sitting right next to her baby cousin. "He wants to train Halley or to kick her out of the DEO" she explained, her baby cousin shaking her head with fear.
"What? Why?" Alex asked as she take her cousin in her arms, embracing tightly the eight year old.
"Because he thinks that she needs discipline, but I think that he's scared of her" she answered before looking at her sister. "I'm not going to choose neither of the options" she assured the child, who at that moment was with her eyes closed while trying so hard to calm down.
"Kara, if he gives that order, there's nothing we can do" her sister told her as she sighed. "So why don't you agree to train her yourself?" Alex asked.
"Because he wants to turn an eight year old into a soldier and I'm not going to let that happen, I'm not going to let him use my cousin as a weapon" she answered angrily, she knew that she couldn't trust Lex.
"But if you train her, you would decide" her sister commented.
"But... Would you like to train, baby?" she asked her cousin, instead who moved a little to look at her.
"Only if it's with you" Halley whispered, her blue eyes looking directly into hers.
"Only me, I promise, little one" she kissed her forehead before embracing her again.
She was going to protect her from becoming what Non wanted that little girl to be, she would fight for her baby cousin to have a normal and a safety childhood.
"Director Danvers, Mr. Luthor gave the order to imprison a Kryptonian that could be Supergirl's doppelganger, she's in containment" one of the agents explained, her sister ready to start working as she got up with her cousin in her arms.
"When did you find her?" Alex asked.
"A few hours ago" the agent answered. "She asked to talk to Supergirl, but Mr. Luthor gave the order and now that he's gone..." Thomas explained, he was one of the few agents that didn't believe Lex was good.
"Does she look like Supergirl?" her sister asked as she panicked at the possibility of a new Red Daughter.
"Um... No, she's a teenager, we didn't even think she could be a doppelganger until he said so" he told them, her sister staring at her, they were both thinking of the same person.
"Does she look like her?" she asked while pointing to her cousin, to what the agent nodded slightly. "Halley" she whispered, not understanding how her cousin had been able to time travel again.
"She's inside" he pointed to the room.
"Thanks" she smiled, leaving her baby cousin in the floor before grabbing her hand and walking inside that room with her sister.
The teenager was sitting on the bed of the cell, her back leaning on the wall as her eyes remained closed as if she was really deep into her thoughts.
However, she could tell that the girl she was seeing, hadn't anything to so do with the one she had seen during the Crisis.
Halley's hair was shorter, by her shoulders, and curler than she remembered, her suit was also different from the one she knew. It was all black, instead of a skirt she was wearing pants and the House of El crest was black over a yellow, orangey background.
"Hal" she called her, the girl looking at them for the first time, she could tell that her cousin was relieved.
"Thanks Rao, I don't know how I got here" the teenager said while standing up as Alex opened the cell, for the first time being able to observe that the cape imitated a bird's wings, also yellow.
"What do you mean?" she asked. "What's the last thing you remember?" she questioned, still observing her.
"The Crisis" the girl answered. "Every Earth dissappeared, Why am I not in my time?" Halley asked them.
"I don't think we have an answer for that" her sister answered, observing how the young girl sighed.
"What happened before the Crisis?" she asked her, wanting to know if the girl she had in front was the exact same she had seen during the Crisis.
"You had sent us to Argo and when I came back, you were dead" the teenager whispered looking directly into her eyes, her baby cousin frowning while clinging tightly to her hand.
"How are you so different from the Halley we saw during the Crisis?" she questioned more to herself than to her teenage cousin, who was staring back at her confused. "Your hair was longer and you were wearing a blue suit... A skirt and you're cape was red" she tried to explain, but Halley shook her head.
"My hair has been this way since the kidnapping and I've been using this suit for almost a year, I guess" Halley shrugged while answering.
"You don't remember being a Paragon?" it was Alex the one who asked.
"I was a Paragon?" the girl asked.
"Well, not you, she was" her sister said pointing to the eight year old, getting the teenager to shake her head. "Okay, we'll be taking you to J'onn after solving Brainy's problem" Alex looked at her, to what she nodded. "For now all you need to know is that Lex owns the DEO, so be careful, kid" her sister explained before pulling Halley into a hug, the teenager clinging to the director of the DEO.
"Can you look after her?" she asked while pointing to her baby cousin, to what the girl nodded. "Thanks, be careful, both of you" she kissed theirs foreheads shortly before leaving.
She could be sure that having both of her cousins was going to be hard.
HALLEY'S P. O. V
I looked at the little girl with a smile, she was sitting on a chair while coloring a few drawings that I had been making for her.
It was weird to be back in this time, since my first wish after realizing that I was on Earth, was to be in the future, probably mourning Kara's death, but with my family anyways.
"What do you want?" I asked as Lex entered the room, standing in front of my younger self.
"We're going to train, isn't that right, kiddo?" he asked, to what the child shook her head, she was afraid.
"I don't think so" I answered him while observing how he was about to grab the kid's arm.
Before he could do that, I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pinning him against a wall, my left hand turning into a fist as I was getting ready to fight.
"You should be in containment, you're a dangerous alien" he commented, which only got me to gripped him even with more strength.
I heard a shot and then I felt it, a tiny needle piercing the skin of my neck, which managed to get dizzy enough for me to fall to the floor as I couldn't keep my balance.
"Do you know what's the best part of being the boss?" he asked while kneeling by my side, barely being able to focus on his face. "That everyone follows my orders, you should think about that next time" Lex answered his own question as I frowned. "Sweet dreams, Kryptonian" he smirked while patting my hair, shortly before getting up.
I tried to move, wanting to stop him from taking the child, but I couldn't, just feeling how I was getting more dizzy until I lost unconscious.
KARA'S P. O. V
She frowned while walking inside the room where both of her cousins should be, but she couldn't find neither of them there, a few crayons and drawings on the table. It kind of looked as if her cousins had been in a rush leaving that room.
"Containment and playground" it was Lex the one that talked behind her, so she turned around to look at him.
"What?" she asked trying to remain calm.
"The teenager attacked me, here, I'll show you" he said while handing her a tablet, being really worry about the fact that the girl ended up unconscious. "Don't worry, it was just a little bit of kryptonite to calm her down" Lex explained.
"And Halley?" she asked pointing to the eight year old, the little girl had observed the whole scene afraid of what was happening.
"We've trained and now she's in a room playing" he answered as she panicked.
"You've what? I didn't even give you permission" she stared at him really upset, controlling herself as much as possible. "I will be the only person that will train her" she told him.
"Okay" he whispered as she frowned, it couldn't be that easy. "I'll take you to her" he told her.
She followed him to a separate room, two agents guarding the door, however, the fact that surprised her the most was how that room was perfectly decorated for her baby cousin, a lot of dragons figures and drawings on the walls.
"Kara!" her cousin exclaimed while running to hug her her legs, being able to observe how the little one tried to stay as far as possible from Lex, so she picked her up.
"What are you trying with all of this?" she asked him, seeing him smirk.
"Nothing, it's just a little space for her" he answered. "I have agents on the door just in case someone wants to hurt her" Lex commented.
"Oh, you mean people like you, right?" she stared back at him, keeping the child tightly embraced.
"Um.., no, I'm just protecting her" he assured her. "You'll appreciate by the end of it" he added before leaving them alone.
"Are you okay?" she asked while observing the child, who nodded slightly. "I'm going to take you home with Alex, okay?" she kissed her forehead.
"Is Hal okay?" the eight year old asked. "She tried to protect me, but Lex..." her cousin said, looking directly into her eyes.
"She's just asleep, she will be fine" she answered, wanting to calm her down, even though she was really worried about the teenager.
She took the little girl home before going back to the DEO to take teen Halley to J'onn's office, hoping that he would be able to give them some answers.
The teenager remained unconscious while J'onn tried to figure out what was going on with Halley's memories, also hoping for them to get to know how the girl had ended up back in that time.
"Her memories are blocked " J'onn finally said. "She can remember what happened before this Earth, but not after" he explained as she sighed.
"There's no way to know how she got here?" she asked, losing hope when he shook his head.
"Maybe she's here because she needs to be" he pointed out. "I mean, maybe her memories are blocked for a reason" he added, getting her to nod, that could be a possibility.
Maybe her cousin was there to help them with whatever that was about to come, even if the teenager didn't know about it.
HALLEY'S P. O. V
I slowly opened my eyes, blinking for a few seconds as I tried to get used to the new amount of light, my head still hurting as I sat down on the bed.
"Hey, easy" I heard Kara telling me, so I looked for her, I was back in my childhood room. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
"My head hurts" I complained, Kara nodding slightly. "How long I've been unconscious?" I asked her.
"The whole evening" she answered while sitting by my side. "I talked to J'onn, you're memories are blocked, we don't know why, but we'll figure it out" she explained, getting me to nod slightly. "You're stuck with me until then, kiddo" Kara smiled while pulling me into a hug, which got me to smile as well. "We need a name for you, just in case we're on public" my cousin said, pulling me away a little. "Um... Juliet" she whispered as I quickly shook my head. "Why not? I like that name" Kara commented, but I refused to be named with my baby sister's name.
"Like Romeo and Juliet? I think I pass" I told her, Kara frowning while staring at me.
"What do you have against romance?" she asked confused as I sighed.
"Everything. Let's not talk about that" I answered, not wanting to remember the fact that Val had a girlfriend.
"Okay" she sighed. "We'll think of another name" my cousin kissed my hair.
I nodded slightly. I closed my eyes with my head resting on Kara's shoulder, remembering the last time she had hold in between her arms and how much I had wished that after learning that she was dead. I needed my cousin by my side.
Hi!
I was going to write both episodes in one chapter, but it was going to be so long.
Teen Halley is back in the present to stay for a while until I can figure out how the new Earth has changed everything, but I'm really happy about how it's turning out.
Thanks so much for reading, let me know what you think,
Ayrin