FUTURE HALLEY'S P. O. V
"What is Kara's emergency?" Alex asked me, to what I shrugged, my cousin was just nervous about having a date with William. "You don't know?" she observed, shaking my head.
Kara had been refusing to talk about the date during the last two days, constantly changing the topic whenever we asked her about what they were going to do or where they were going to go. She had spent the whole morning choosing the perfect outfit, asking me from time to time, but, honestly, I didn't know what to answer since she would do the opposite.
We got distracted by the news, Dreamer and Supergirl had teamed up to catch a Dominator and it had been an amazing fight, although I couldn't lie, I was jealous, I would love to be out there with my cousin, but Kara believed that it was dangerous for me.
"Hey, What's your emergency?" Alex asked as soon as Kara landed in her room, walking to the living room with two t-shirts, one purple and the other light blue.
"Blue or purple?" my cousin asked.
"Oh, your date with William is tonight" Alex realized.
"Yes, cancel it for me?" Kara asked her the exact same thing she had asked me that morning, begging me to fake that I was sick and I should admit that I thought about for a few minutes, but I ended up declining the offer.
"No, I will not" her sister shook her head. "And blue, always go with the blue, you already know this" Alex commented as Kara sighed.
"I know, I know" my cousin frowned. "But it's been two years and a half since I went on a date, What if I forgot how to do it?" she asked.
"You smile and you laugh and you reach out for the check" Alex told her, before looking at me. "Wait, Why haven't you asked Halley about the t-shirts?" she asked while pointing at me.
"Halley, blue or purple?" Kara asked as I shrugged, not wanting to go through the whole process again. "That's why" she answered her sister.
"Okay, now that we know what it's like to have a teenager at home, What if you were going on a date? What would you choose?" the woman asked me.
"Not happening" I shook my head without giving her a real answer, which made her frown.
"You have never gone on a date?!" Alex exclaimed as I sighed, looking away.
"She hates romance" Kara pointed out, smiling widely as they both sat down on the couch, one at each side.
"A, I did go on a date once and B, you know why I hate romance" I pointed at my cousin, causing her giggles.
"Let me guess, it didn't work out" Alex guessed, getting me to shrugged, I really didn't want to talk about it. "What else do you know, Kar?" she questioned her sister, who observed me during a few seconds as I frowned angrily.
"Okay, let's not, I don't want you to get mad at me, Hal" Kara hugged me. "It's a complicated situation, isn't that right, sweetie?" she asked me, to what I nodded while looking away, being aware that Alex was confused.
"We tried, but I pushed him away and the last thing I know is that he has a girlfriend" I explained as my cousin was keeping me embraced. "So yeah, a date isn't happening soon" I sighed.
"Why would you push him away?" my cousin's sister asked.
"Because he wanted me to move to Argo and I didn't want to... I was going through a lot" I answered, being upset that the next thing I would see him, I would have to say goodbye to him.
"So he's a Kryptonian" Alex pointed out, getting me to nod. "I'm so sorry to hear that, kiddo" she hugged me as well.
"Can we please focus again on Kara's date?" I questioned, both of them laughing, but my cousin was fast to change the topic again, talking about Nia.
"I'm so proud of her" Kara commented. "And it just feels so good to know that if I want to take a night off, there's someone there that can save the day" she explained.
"I can do that, too" I told her.
"No, no, uh-uh, not happening, Halley" she looked at me as I sighed. "I'm sorry, but I'm not risking you getting hurt, not in this time" she pointed out.
I didn't like being treated as a child, but I knew that she was really scared of something happening to me, much more after learning that I was dead in the future, which had led her to think that I was a reckless teenager.
"Okay, I have to go pick up lil' Halley from Levi's" Kara got up from the couch as Alex did it as well.
"You're leaving?" I asked Alex, who nodded.
"Yeah, I'm training with J'onn to control this guy" she answered while showing us the martian weapon, doing a demonstration until the weapon didn't do what she expected. "This thing is supposed to know what I'm thinking, but it's being very stubborn" Alex complained.
"Like soldier, like hand" Kara laughed as Alex scared her, which made both of us to laugh. "Don't scared me" my cousin told her. "Okay, I should really get going" she said shortly before leaping into the sky.
I got up from the couch after hearing someone knocking on the door, knowing that Kara wasn't going to do it since she was dealing with my younger self's tantrum.
"Hi, um... Is Kara ready?" William asked the moment I opened the door.
"Yeah, I believe she is" I answered, . "Come on in" I smiled while letting him walk inside the apartment.
It was uncomfortable and awkward, I just wanted my cousin to go back to the living room, but I was still able to hear the kid's sobs.
"Is your sister okay?" he asked as my cousin walked into the living room, the child in her arms.
"Hey, I didn't know you were already here" Kara smiled while trying to leave the eight year old on the floor, the little one refusing to let go of her. "Hal, baby" my cousin whispered really trying to calm her down. "It's okay, I'll be here if you need me" she told the child, who shook her head in between sobs.
"She will come back, Halley" I approached them, the kid looking at me. "It will be fine, I promise" I told her as she stretched her arms toward me, so I picked her up.
"Okay, there's dinner in the fridge, do not order food, understood?" Kara questioned me, to what I nodded. "Call if anything happens, please" she begged.
"I will" I assured her. "Go, have fun" I pushed them toward the door. "Bye" I tried for Kara to leave, but she hugged both of us.
"I love you, girls" she whispered before kissing our foreheads.
"We love you, too" I whispered, finally getting her to walk out of the apartment, closing the door before focusing on the child that I was still holding. "It's okay, she's going to be fine, kiddo" I told her.
"You promise?" she questioned me.
"I promise" I hugged her tightly, Kara was going to be fine.
I ended up breaking Kara's first and only rule since I order Chinese food, even though we had eaten the dinner my cousin had left in the fridge, but I was still hungry.
The eight year old refused to go to sleep, she was terrified of something like the other night happening, which was keeping me in alert, I wasn't going to make things that easy for Lex.
We both turned our heads scared after hearing the door being opened, my heart pounding heavily in my chest as I got up from the couch ready to attack, but stopping when I saw my cousin, William standing behind her.
"Were you going to attack me?" she asked as I tried to calm myself down.
"You freaked me out" I told her, the little girl was still sitting on the couch shaking, needing a few more seconds before finally running to hug Kara.
"Did you order Chinese?" Kara questioned me while observing the apartment. "I told you there was dinner in the fridge" she looked at me.
"And we ate it, but we... I was still hungry" I answered, my cousin shaking her head.
"You should be sleeping" she commented to the child, who frowned.
"I was scared" the kid whispered, her head resting on Kara's shoulder, who didn't say anything else, just hugging the child.
"Thanks for tonight, William" my cousin smiled.
"No, don't thank me" he shook his head. "I had so much fun" William smiled.
"Me too" Kara told him, keeping the smile on her face. "I see tomorrow at work" she commented.
"See you tomorrow, bye girls" he said shortly before leaving, moment in which Kara turn to look at me.
"Clean this mess as I tuck her in" she ordered me, to what I nodded, knowing that I wasn't going to have any other option.
KARA'S P. O. V
It was the first time after a long time that her cousin had brought her to CatCo since none could stay with her. Alex and J'onn were working on a mission together, her teenage version and Nia as well and Brainy… Kara refused to take her to the DEO because it would let Lex to have even more control over her.
"Hey, baby, I have to go" Kara told her, getting her to pack her homework in her backpack, hoping to be leaving with her. "I need you to stay here with William" her cousin said as she frowned, which Kara to kneel in front of her.
"Where are you going?" she asked, not quite understanding why she couldn't go.
"I have to help Nia and Hal, I'll be back soon" her cousin answered while gently tucking her brown hair behind her ears. "You can call me if anything happens, okay?" Kara kissed her forehead, to what she nodded.
She grabbed her cousin's hand tightly as they both walked to William's desk, who smiled at them, Kara trying for her to let her go of her, but she needed for a few more seconds before finally doing it.
"Listen to William, okay?" her cousin asked her, getting her to nodded. "She has everything she needs in her backpack, call me if anything happens" Kara looked at William, hugging her one last time shortly before leaving.
At that moment she looked down at her feet shyly, it was the first time she was by her own with him and she wasn't sure of what to expect.
"Do you have to do homework?" William asked, to what she nodded slightly. "Are you okay sitting here?" he questioned her while pointing to the chair that was next to his.
She sat on the chair quietly, going back to do her homework, feeling observed by him from time to time, which made her not to look up, only focusing on the craft that she had to do about the spring.
She was cutting flowers shapes to glue on a paper sheet, but flinching when she felt how the scissors cut the palm of her left hand, a drop of blood falling on the paper. At that moment, she frowned, she shouldn't be bleeding.
"You okay?" William asked, but she didn't answer, starting to panic. "Let me see" he said while grabbing her hand, pressing a tissue over the cut. "It's okay, It's just a small cut" the reporter commented.
She looked back at her hands. Blood. She hated it. Everything blurry around her. No sound coming out of her throat as she opened her mouth.
Her heart was pounding heavily on her chest, her ears being blocked by the sound of it as she closed her eyes in an attempt to calm herself down.
"Eve forced her head to her right while pulling out the needle from her neck, her eyes closed as the burning sensation of the kryptonite was slowly fading away, which got her to relax even if it was just for a few seconds.
The woman freed her wrists from the kryptonite handcuffs, massaging the zone a little, making her flinch, her skin was burned and sensitive.
She opened her eyes after not feeling her presence, finding her talking to one of the soldiers that was always in front of her door, who approached her to pick her up, moment at which she knew where he was taking her.
There was a stretcher in the middle of the room, a few screens by its left as well as a table with surgical instruments. However, what had been disturbing her the most was the smell of everything being so clean, she couldn't stand it for a long time, it was hard to breathe.
When the soldier left her on the stretcher, it was Eve the one who approached her again, but, even though it wasn't the first time she was there, she was really focused on the lamps that were above her head since she had never seen them working.
"Okay, sweetie, let's get you ready" Eve said while tugging from her t-shirt, letting the woman to take off her shirt before laying on the stretcher. "You're going to get cold" the woman commented, covering her with a blanket.
She didn't move when Eve handcuffed her hands, she had tried to fight it other times and it hadn't worked, so she remained still, just observing how the woman turned on the lamps.
Red sun lamps. They were weakening her. She felt tired, well, she had been feeling like that for the last few days, but still hoping that her cousin was going to find her soon.
"Hi, kid" Lex Luthor walked inside the room. "How are you feeling?" he questioned her, but she didn't answer, a huge oppression on her chest, not being able to breathe properly.
That man had become her worst nightmare during the few days she had been there, torturing her in any way, so she could tell that whatever that was going to happen, it wasn't going to be different from the others times.
"Eve, Are the scanners ready?" he asked, to what the woman nodded slightly. "Good, let's get started" he said as she closed her eyes afraid, her heart racing as he uncovered her. "It's okay, don't be afraid" Lex caressed her cheek, getting her to move her face away from his touch while opening her eyes.
A few minutes later everything was ready for him to start, being able to hear a machine beeping as the same rhythm of her heartbeat, which was increasing with every second that passed.
She couldn't avoid the tears when he picked up a surgical knife from the table, observing how he was looking one of the scanners before turning to look at her.
"No, no!" she screamed as he pressed the scalpel on her chest, trying to move so he wouldn't touch her.
However that didn't stop him from keep going, not even when the first cut was made and she screamed in pain, sobbing while trying to get him away from her.
She could feel the blood pouring out from the cut as he kept going, her eyes drifting to his hand, moment at which she panicked, there was too much blood over her chest.
There was a moment in which she closed her eyes, crying in pain as he continued to cut her skin, just hoping for him to stop. She was barely able to understand what he saying, tired and confused about what was happening, slowly drifting into unconscious without being able to avoid it."
KARA'S P. O. V
She sprinted through the office, William had called her because her baby cousin was crying and he didn't know what to do, so she didn't even get to talk to Brainy as she had to come back.
Apparently, the eight year old had cut the palm of her hand while doing some crafts, which had made her panic and she could assure the it was because of the blood. Her cousin had never liked the sight of it.
"Hey, what happened?" she asked while observing how the child was sobbing without wanting to be embraced by William, pushing him away whenever he got closer to her. "It's okay, I'm here, baby" she whispered taking the kid in her arms, her cousin hiding her face in her neck as she hugged her as tight as possible.
"She got scared because of the blood" William explained, to what she nodded slightly, being a little worried about the fact that hee baby cousin was bleeding, although the child didn't have all of her powers yet.
"Can I see it, baby?" she asked her, sitting on a chair before placing the kid on her lap, slowly unwrapping her cousin's left hand.
It was a small cut, which wasn't even bleeding anymore, but it had been enough to freak out the little girl, who still fighting to breathe properly.
"It's okay" she whispered, trying to pull her cousin away. "Try to breathe" she told her, but the eight year old shook her head while gripping tightly to her clothes. "In and out, come on, you can do it" she instructed, the little one starting to calm down a little. "Good job, baby" she kissed her cousin's forehead.
She remained hugging the child until her baby cousin was asleep in her arms, gently adjusting her so both of them would be comfortable.
"I'm sorry I had to call you, but she wasn't calming down and everytime I tried to approach her, she panicked even more..." William mumbled, being confused and worried about the whole situation.
"It's okay" she told him, rolling up her cousin's right sleeve, a scar being visible. "Halley was physically abused by my aunt's husband, she was left alone with him after her mom died" she started explaining, seeing how he frowned while observing the scar.
"It was a panic attack, wasn't it?" he asked her, to what she nodded slightly.
"I should have told you" she looked at him. "It happens a lot and normally she needs me to calm down, so you did it good calling me, she wouldn't have let you help her" she commented, stroking her cousin's hair.
"What happened here?" it was Andrea who asked. "Didn't I told you not to bring the child here?" the woman looked at her as she sighed.
"I know, I'm sorry, I didn't have anyone to stay with her" she apologized. "I have to go to do an interview and I can't bring her with me, Could I leave her here? It won't be long and she's asleep, she won't be a problem..." she couldn't keep talking as Andrea interrupted her.
"Just for today" the woman answered. "Leave her on the couch in my office, she can rest there" her boss told her.
"Thank you" she smiled a little while getting up with the child in her arms, following Andrea.
She laid her baby cousin on the couch, the little girl tossing around a little as she crouched down beside her.
"Shh, it's okay, you're safe" she whispered before kissing the child's forehead.
"Go, you're going to be late" William pointed out, to what she nodded, she needed to talk to Nia before something could go wrong. "I'll keep an eye on her" he told her.
"Thanks" she smiled slightly, looking one last time to her baby cousin before finally leaving.
She barely had time to talk to Brainy before Nia was already working out her plan and her teenage cousin with her.
"Dreamer, don't!" she heard Halley exclaimed, the teenager was trying to get to Nia. "I've been were you are and I know it's the easiest thing to do, but you won't be able to live with it" the girl said, but Dreamer didn't stop. "I tried to kill someone, the first arrow hit his shoulder because I missed it and it made me mad... I had never missed a shot before, but I couldn't do it. It didn't even matter how mad I was at him or how much hurt he had inflicted me and my family" her cousin explained as she frowned, trying to understand what had led her cousin to do that. "You think you're gonna win this way, but that's not true, he will. You'll become someone you are not" Halley shook her head as she walked closer to them, being proud of how the teenager was handling the whole situation.
"She's right" she said, getting both of them to look at her. "You've already won" she pointed out, observing how Nia was still pulling, trying to choke him. "If you do this, you'll take a piece of his darkness and carry it with you forever" she told her. "When you put that suit on, you became a symbol, you give people hope, don't let them down by stumping to his level. Please let just turn him in and make sure he faces justice" she asked her, getting Nia to look at her.
"You can't promise that it'll happen" Dreamer shook her head.
"No, I can't" she sighed. "And I understand, you feel like you're the only one protecting your community, but you're not alone, you have me and Alex and J'onn and even Brainy" she told her. "And maybe we all should have opened our eyes to the realities that you and your community fight day by day, but now we have" she knew Nia was starting to listen to her. "And now we'll have our eyes open for people like him" she added finally getting Dreamer to stop, which made her sighed relieved.
Halley walked closer to her, a smile on her face as she embraced her a little, still feeling confused about what the teenager had said earlier. Although she could be more proud of her.
"Can you pick up Halley from CatCo while I accompany Nia?" she asked her.
"Sure" her cousin answered.
"Thanks, see you at home" she smiled shortly before the teen leaped into the dark night sky.
FUTURE HALLEY'S P. O. V
"Hey, What are you two doing?" Kara asked opening the door, the eight year old running to hug her legs. "Are you feeling better?" she kissed the child's forehead, who nodded slightly. "I have to finish an article, but What if we watch a movie after that?" she questioned us.
"Yeah, I'm in" I smiled at her, turning my attention to Comet, who was bringing me all of his toys to play. "Catch" I threw one of his toys, seeing how he ran to pick it up and come back to me. "Good boy" I petted him, which made him bark.
It was soon my younger self who replaced me, throwing Comet all of his toys without even giving him time to take them back to her, which made me laugh, the puppy was getting tired.
"Hal, about what you said to Nia..." Kara said, getting me to look at her. "Who did you try to kill?" she asked kind of curious, to what I shrugged not wanting to talk about it. "I know it wasn't Lex, you didn't have your bow and arrows" she pointed out as I sighed.
"I don't want to talk about it" I answered as she frowned.
"Has something to do with the kidnapping?" my cousin asked, to what I nodded. "So maybe if I know, I can stop it from happening" she commented.
"No, you can't stop it" I told her. "It's going to be a long recovery, but it was what made me be who I am today" I looked at her, seeing how she smiled a little.
"I'm so proud of you, Hal" Kara hugged, so I did it as well.
Kara went back to finish her article as I tried my best to keep the eight year old and Comet distracted, laughing when I saw the puppy copying everything the child was doing.
The three of us turned our heads toward the door, when it opened, Kara sitting up from the stool as Alex walked inside.
"Alex?" Kara asked a little confused, we weren't expecting her visit.
"Mom just called me" Alex said as if she was still thinking about something. "They found dad" she added.
"Jeremiah?" my cousin was confused as I just stared at Alex, kind of knowing what her next words were going to be.
"He's dead" it was barely a whispered, but loud enough to be heard.
Both sisters stared at each other for what it seemed like an eternity before Kara finally walked to embrace Alex.
I couldn't say that I didn't know that that was going to happen, because I did, so I just sighed while grabbing the eight year old's hand, wanting to keep her calm. Even Comet had stopped playing, one of his toys still in his mouth, sitting down next to us as if he didn't understand what was going on.
I could already tell that it was going to be a long night for all of us.
LITTLE HALLEY'S P. O. V
"Come on, girls, we're leaving" Kara called them, so she picked up her backpack as her teenage version grabbed Comet's leash. "Do you need help with that, kiddo?" her cousin asked after observing that she was holding two books and Saffire in between her arms. "How many books are you taking?" Kara questioned her.
"Five" she answered.
"Okay, I know that you read pretty fast, but I don't think you have to take that many" her cousin told her while taking the books she was holding, which made her pout. "We're only leaving for three days, baby" Kara tucked her brown hair behind her ears as she sighed before nodding slightly.
They were supposed to be meeting with Alex and Kelly, so all of them would leave to Midvale at the same time.
"I'm not going" Alex said the moment she saw them at her door. "And you can spare me the big accusing eyes, Kara, I'm not changing my mind" the woman told her sister, getting Kara to walk inside the apartment.
"Excuse me, um... Alex, I don't understand, you were with me last night when we made the arrangements" Kara commented, kind of confused.
"I never said that I was participating" Alex pointed out, both sisters were getting into an argument. "Okay, stop telling me how I feel" the woman asked Kara
"Okay, then you tell me how you feel" her cousin looked at her sister. "Tell me why you're refusing to go to your father's funeral" Kara asked.
"Because I don't feel the need to bury a man who has been dead to me for years" Alex answered angrily.
It wasn't the first time she had seen both sisters arguing that way, but she knew that Kara wasn't going to get Alex to leave with them to Midvale and part of her wished she had stayed with her teen version and Comet in the street.
"After leaving Cadmus, did you think he was just gonna be able to call us whenever he felt like?" her cousin asked.
"I am the one who held out hope for him, I am the one that said that he was good, and that Cadmus was forcing him to kill people" Alex told her.
"And he helped you escape" Kara pointed out.
"And then he disappeared. Again. Just like that!" the former DEO's director yelled, getting her to flinch, J'onn resting his hand on her shoulder to keep her calm.
"Alex, he's still your father" her cousin tried one more time. "You should be at his burial"
"Look, the man that I loved hasn't been a father to me in years" Alex said. "And... Yes, we were so close that we could just... we could finish each other's sentences, but his obsession with keeping you safe changed all of it. Nothing else mattered to him, the least of all me" the woman pointed at herself.
"That is not true" her cousin shook her head, she could tell that Kara was hurt.
"Oh, come on, Kara, he treated you like you were some golden girl, and of course you have love for him, and I totally respect that" Alex commented, Kara looking away for a few seconds. "But he treated me like I wasn't even worth his time"
"Okay, So what do you want me to tell Eliza?" Kara asked starting to give up.
"I don't care" the oldest sister shrugged.
"You don't care. You don't care what I tell our grieving mother?" her cousin frowned.
"I have spent my entire life protecting this whole family, and I will not do it again!" Alex yelled again while shutting closed the bathroom door.
"She is all yours, Kelly, I'm not dealing with this" Kara said while picking her up and walked out of the apartment.
"You okay?" she asked after observing how the superhero was fighting her own tears.
"Yeah, baby, I'm okay" her cousin kissed her forehead, to what she nodded, not wanting to keep asking about it.
"Where's Alex and Kelly?" the teenager asked the moment they approached her.
"Alex refused to come" Kara answered, getting the girl to frown, but not to ask anything else.
She knew that Kara was hurt by Alex's words and that her cousin wasn't going to talk about how she was feeling since she had never done it, not even when Mon-El left, which had led her into having panic attacks and nightmares, those she didn't want to see again.
KARA'S P. O. V
She had walked down the beach as soon as everyone had gone to bed, just as she had done almost sixteen years ago.
Her sister's words were being repeated in her head over and over again, deep down she knew that Alex was right, if it hadn't been because of her, Jeremiah wouldn't have left his family behind.
"Kara?" it was barely a whisper, but it got her to turn her head, Alex was walking towards her. "What are you doing here? It's late" her sister pointed out, to what she nodded, she already knew that.
She started walking again, just focusing on the sound of the waves, a few tears fighting their way out of her eyes as she was being followed by Alex, who seemed to be confused about why she was being so distant.
"You okay?" her sister asked, but she didn't answer, Was she really okay? "Kara, if it has something to do with what I told you yesterday, I'm sorry, I know I hurt you..." Alex started to talk, but she didn't let her finish, turning around to look at her.
"But you're right" she told her. "If it hadn't been because of me, he would have never left his family and you would have had a father" she explained while looking away.
Her sister wasn't even answering anything, not even trying for her to get that out of her mind, instead Alex just sighed while shaking her head as she continued walking.
"Kara, hey, stop" her sister grabbed her arm, pulling from it, but it didn't stop her. "I'm so sorry" the way her sister's voice cracked made her stop, tears were starting to appear in Alex's eyes. "I didn't want you to feel like you don't belong to this family, because you do, you're my sister and I don't want a life without you in it" Alex admitted, getting her to close her eyes in tears shortly before throwing herself to embrace her sister.
She had been needing to do that for the whole day, her face buried in her sister's shoulder, both of them crying while clinging at each other as tight as possible.
"It's okay" she whispered when Alex apologized again.
"No, it's not, I shouldn't have pushed you away, you're mourning, too" her sister tried to pulled away a little, but she didn't let her.
"I love you" she whispered, feeling how Alex increased the strength of the hug.
"I love you, too, sis" Alex answered as she smiled a little, finally feeling calm, happy of having her sister by her side.
Hi!
I thought that it was going to take me less time to write this chapter. I wasn't even going to include episode sixteen.
I hope everyone is doing well with this whole situation.
Thanks so much for reading, let me know what you think,
Ayrin