KARA'S P.O.V
"Where is Halley?" was the first thing she asked as soon she and Mxy entered the Tower, trying her best to hide her own fear.
"She's over there with Mon-El, she fell asleep" her sister pointed to the couch, to which she nodded before starting walking to them. "What is Mxy doing here?" Alex asked confused, but she didn't stop to answer her, only wanting to get to her cousin.
"Oh, the daxamite is back!" Mxy exclaimed, appearing next to her, which got Mon-El's attention.
"Who is he?" Mon-El asked her.
"Mxy" she answered, focusing on the little girl as the daxamite kept staring at the imp confused. "Keep an eye on her, please" she asked him, gently caressing her cousin's cheek.
"Kara, what's going on?" her sister as she sighed, finally turning to them.
"I was attacked by umm... a fifth dimensional imp, Nyxly, so I had to summon Mxy" she answered, not knowing how to explain everything. "I met her at the Phantom Zone. She had been sent there and she didn't have her full powers, so today... It was kind of a trap, she used my heat vision to get her magic back" she told them, before being interrupted by Mxy, who kept explaining the whole situation.
She frowned, feeling anxious since she had not thought about seeing Nyxly again, not after the explosion that took place at the Anchor, already knowing that her baby cousin was going to be targeted by the imp.
"Her name is Nxyly?" J'onn asked.
"Officially, the Princess Nxylgsptinz" Mxy corrected him.
"Whatever it is, she is the reason that my father and I almost stayed trapped in the Phantom Zone forever. And the reason I wouldn't be here if Mxy hadn't saved me" she commented. "And before anyone says anything, I know I should have told you guys about her sooner, but I really didn't think I would ever see her again" she told them, especially to her sister.
"She must have hitched a ride on the Tower ship when we portal-jumped back to Earth" Brainy said as she frowned slightly.
"The Coluan is right. But, she was going to escape the Phantom Zone sooner or later" Mxy shrugged.
"What do you mean?" Alex asked confused, just as the rest of them.
"What she'd learned from her father" the imp answered, but after not receiving an answer, he continued talking. "You're kidding? Wicked King Brpxz? Doesn't ring a bell? Wow, okay. I can explain everything"
"You told Supergirl that you could sense each other's energies. That means that even with the Tower's cloaking shields, Nxyly can track your magic here" Brainy explained after all of them had stopped Mxy from using his magic.
She sat down on the stairs, hearing the fifth dimensional imp sang while explaining the whole story, but not truly listening to him since her mind was going back and forth to everything that had happened in the Phantom Zone.
"Hold on, I'm confused" she stopped the music. "Because she told me that her brother was dead. That her father killed him" she commented.
"She was probably speaking metaphorically" Mxy answered. "I mean, since they both rebelled and she was banished and the golden son was rewarded, he's probably dead to her" he explained as she frowned.
"Okay, fine. But what are these totems?" her sister asked.
"And what's this AllStone?" the elevator doors opened for Nia to walk there.
"Thousands of years ago, there was an evil imp named Jyrryd, and he created an all-powerful AllStone to give him mastery over... everything" the fifth dimensional imp started to explain as all of them stared at him even more confused and scared about the situation. "Energy, matter, magic, even life and death" he enumerated. "The other imps found out about it. They banished Jyrryd and they blew up the AllStone, scattering the pieces throughout the known universes where they became the totems of truth, destiny, love, dreams, hope, humanity, and courage. Pretty much every planet has a set" Mxy told them.
"I'm sorry, but what does any of this have to do with Nxyly showing up to put you in a crystal?" Brainy asked.
"Nxyly needs the totems... to make a new AllStone, but the totems can be disguised as literally anything, so she needs a magical orb to find them. Jyrryd's crystal." Mxy answered.
"She had a crystal ball at the Ormfell and in the Phantom Zone" she pointed out.
"To give power to the crystal, the orb needs to have an imp with the blood of Jyrryd inside it. And guess who has two thumbs and is Jyrryd's last descendant?" the imp asked before pointing to himself.
"Nxyly wants to capture you in her crystal, which she can use to find the seven totems that will give her ultimate power" Brainy said, seeing Mxy nod.
"Okay, but what has all of that to do with Halley?" her sister asked as she realized that she had not really explained anything.
"Nyxly knows about her. I just know she's going to try to hurt her to get to me" she answered, regretting the fact that she had told that imp so much about her baby cousin.
"How does she know?" J'onn asked.
"She helped me to see Halley in the Phantom Zone, so after that I told Nyxly about her" she explained. "And she has threatening me with going after Halley" she told them, shaking her head to get away the idea of Nyxly truly hurting the little girl.
"You saw her? She never mentioned that" Alex said as she shrugged, not really knowing why her cousin had not said anything about it.
"We'll keep her safe" Brainy assured her, so she nodded to him.
"Actually, there's something else I think Nyxly might be interested in about your cousin" Mxy talked, getting her to turn to him. "Could I...?" he asked approaching the sleeping child, but observing how Mon-El embraced the kid to prevent Mxy from touching her.
"It's okay" she told the daxamite, being a little confused about what was happening, but trusting the imp.
"The last time he approached her, he used a Black Mercy on her" Mon-El pointed out, the fifth dimensional imp looking at him while feeling offended for not being trusted.
"He's not going to hurt her, let him" she said since Mxy knew better than to doing something to Halley.
They all observed in silence how Mxy touched the little girl's face, not truly understanding what was he doing, but frowning slightly when she was able to observe how a little blue orb emerged from her cousin's right hand, only to disappear a few seconds later.
"What was that?" she asked, fearing the answer he may give her.
"Um... Magic" he answered. "That kid is bonded to dark Kryptonian magic" Mxy told her as she shook her head, not really believing it, there was no way her cousin had magical powers. "Nyxly could use Halley's energy to make hers even stronger" he explained as she felt her heart sank, not baring the idea of the child being hurt again.
"But how does Nyxly know about it?" her sister asked.
"Probably since the moment she saw her at the Phantom Zone" the fifth dimensional imp said as she just sighed before leaving to the balcony in need of fresh air.
"Kara" her sister called her, but she didn't move, only staring at the dark night sky. "I know it's scary, but this time you're not alone" Alex walked closer to her.
She didn't move when the woman next to her wrapped her arms around her, barely noticing how the tears she had been trying to hide were rolling freely on her cheeks as she felt more and more responsible for everything.
"It's my fault... Everything is" she murmured, a lump in her throat. "You were right about Halley" she said while leaning into the embrace.
"Actually, it was your mom the one who told me" Alex pointed out, to which she nodded slightly.
"I... I don't know if I'm going to be able to help her" she admitted, feeling scared since magic was one of her vulnerabilities.
"We'll figure all out, we need to focus one thing at a time" her sister assured her while tightening the hug.
She closed her eyes to contain the rest of her tears, truly wanting to believe that everything would be alright.
-/-
She had just gone to find the amulet to damper Nyxly's magic, but still they did not have a plan about how to put the cuff on the imp as soon as it was ready.
"Could I talk to you?" Mxy asked her before looking to Halley, who was coloring while listening to some music.
She nodded slightly before guiding him to the balcony, hoping her cousin wouldn't hear them since she had not told her anything about the magic.
"I think you could use a tiny piece from the amulet to prevent her from using her magic" Mxy said as she frowned.
"Is it necessary?" she asked.
"Well, she uses her magic involuntarily, which can help Nyxly to find her" the fifth dimensional imp answered. "Your cousin has a magic aura around her, the amulet should hide it" he said, getting her to sigh, all of that was new for her. "Her extraction of energy can go both ways" he added after observing her, giving her more reasons to do it. "She's taking energy from Juru's valley, but the demons could also take her energy away and trap her there forever" Mxy explained.
"Would the amulet avoid it?" she questioned him, afraid of her baby cousin getting hurt, seeing the imp nod. "Okay"
"It won't hurt her. You can always remove it whenever you feel is safe to do it and that she could control it" Mxy told her.
"I... I need time to think about it" she answered, to which he nodded before leaving.
It wasn't a long time after that Mon-El joined her there, standing next to her while staring at the city, but she knew he had heard every single word.
"Halley?" she asked him.
"Still drawing" he answered before facing her.
"Do you think it's the best option?" she questioned him, not knowing what was best for her cousin.
"It would keep her safe" Mon-El said as if that would be enough.
She wanted that little girl to be safe by all means, but denying her heritage..., not explaining her cousin how much power she held... She wasn't sure if she was going to be able to keep it all inside.
"I'm taking everything away from her" she sighed. "What if it never happens? What if she's okay?" she asked more to herself than him.
"We're vulnerable to magic..." Mon-El pointed out as she turned to look at him.
"Are you saying that I should fear my cousin?" she frowned.
"No, no, that's not what I mean" he shook his head. "I'm saying that we won't be able to help her. She would go through all of that alone" he explained and she knew he was right, there was no way she would be able to help that little girl.
"I'll talk to Alex. See what we can do" she nodded slightly. "Keep an eye on her, please" she asked him, seeing him nodded before she left.
-/-
HALLEY'S P.O.V
She was sitting on the floor, coloring Mon-El's drawing, getting scared the moment Mxy appeared right next to her, which only got her best friend to grabbed her from the shoulder and pulled her closer to him.
"Can I color too?" the fifth dimensional imp asked her as she looked at Mon-El for a few seconds.
"Only if you two behave" she told him, seeing Mxy nodded. "Okay" she answered.
"You still like dragons" the imp commented after observing the drawing, getting her to nod while smiling widely.
"Mon-El we have to go" Alex said, getting him to get up from the couch, so she stood up as well, her cousin was in danger. "It'll be okay, sweetie" her cousin's sister assured her, hugging her. "You have to stay here. Mxy, keep an eye on her, please" the woman asked him.
"Will do" the fifth dimensional imp answered shortly before the rest of the team left.
At that moment she saw how Mxy went to the control room, wanting to see what was happening with Nyxly, so she followed him.
She couldn't avoid panicking when she saw the Superfriends being handcuffed as a dragon was flying above them while breathing kryptonite, which only got her to fear for something happening to her cousin.
She covered her eyes with her hands when the dragon's kryptonite reached Kara, hearing Mxy screamed before being left alone in the Tower.
Her nervousness increased with each second that passed, feeling scared as she couldn't stop to keep looking to that screen.
"It's okay, it's okay" Kara whispered as soon as she ran to hug herself to her. "I'm fine, baby" her cousin brushed her hair away from her face.
She barely nodded, not daring to let go of Kara even after that, so her cousin grabbed her hand just to keep her close.
"Come here" Kara ended up picking her up, her face hiding in her cousin's neck as she held tightly to Supergirl's cape. "I'm okay, I promise" her cousin assured her, hugging as tight as possible.
"I've already upgraded Halley's necklace" Brainy said, feeling how her cousin tensed a little while hearing those words, which got her frowned.
Kara took it from Brainy's hand to give it to her, helping her to put it on.
"I love you so much, don't ever forget that, baby" her cousin kissed her forehead.
"I love you too" she whispered back, being a little unsure about what was going on.
-/-
KARA'S
Panic had rushed through her veins the moment she received a call from Halley's school, the little girl had fainted in the middle of a test, so in between of everything that was going on, she went to pick her cousin up.
At that moment the child had fallen asleep shortly before arriving at the Tower, but everything seemed to be okay.
"Her vitals are good, she's okay" her sister assured her, but she knew something was going on with her cousin.
"Do you think it could be the...?" she asked, pointing to the kid's necklace.
"The amulet?" Alex said unsure, to which she nodded. "It can be. It's probably taking away that part of her energy, which could explain why she feels so tired" her sister explained.
She sighed, feeling responsible for her baby cousin to feel that way and not being able to explain to her what was happening, since she was scared of something going wrong with the kid's magic.
After she decided to let the child rest, she went back to try to pass the test for the courage totem, but she ended up sitting with so much frustration.
"Any luck with your trials?" she heard Lena asked, turning her head to look at her.
"No, not even a little" she shook her head as her friend sat next to her. "How about you and Brainy? Have you managed to contain the totem's energy?"
"Not exactly. I'm actually on my way to talk to our friend Vita" Lena answered.
"Well, at least you two haven't been affected by the totem" she pointed out. "I wish we had an explanation for why I can't pass this gauntlet. The test wants me to overcome a moment where my courage failed" she explained. "It's the night I made my first save as Supergirl, when I saved Alex's plane" she told her.
"That doesn't sound like a moment where you lacked courage" her best friend commented.
"Right? I feel like I was the most courageous then. There's gotta be something more..." she frowned, still trying to figure everything out. "I mean, what do I do? If I try again and fail, people could get really hurt. But then if I don't try..."
"The imp could get the totem and all the magic it contains" Lena completed, getting her to nod.
"Do you really not believe in magic?" she asked.
"I believe in you" her best friend answered and, honestly, she wanted to believe at herself as well, but at that moment she felt hopeless. "And in all of us. We'll defeat this, no matter what it's called" the woman added. "I heard Halley fainted at school, is she okay?"
"Asleep for now" she answered, not really knowing if the little girl was fine or not. "Mxy told me that Halley has access to dark Kryptonian magic from Juru's valley, but that it could be dangerous for her" she looked away while explaining. "He also said that Nyxly could try to use Halley's magic to power her own. So we're using a tiny piece from the amulet we used for Nyxly... I think that's what's weakening her" she said, one more time feeling responsible for cousin feeling like that.
"Is it a bad thing that she has magic?" Lena asked her, to which she sighed.
"No, not at all" she shook her head. "It just... It scares me. I don't know how to help her" she admitted.
"She doesn't know, does she?" her friend asked, getting her to shake her head.
"I'll tell her once all of this is over. When I feel she's able to control it" she answered, not knowing for how long she would be able to keep it a secret.
"She'll be fine, Kara" her best friend commented. "She has you. You'll help her"
She barely nodded to those words, hoping to be able to help her baby cousin with her magic, but feeling scared that at some point her help would not be enough for that little girl and that the risks would be to big for all of them to understand.
-/-
She smiled observing how Halley was laughing while roasting her about the PSA she did with Brainy a few days ago, getting Lena to do it as well.
"How did you accept to do it?" Lena asked her, getting her to shrug while smiling.
"It was important for Brainy" she answered. "But I think I should have done one for bedtime" she commented while looking at the little girl. "It's way past your bedtime, little miss" she told her, seeing how her cousin pouted.
"Just one more chapter, please" Halley pleaded while taking the book she was reading.
"Okay" she nodded. "I don't get it. I always try to be courageous. I don't understand why I can't pass that trial" she said while sitting on the couch next to her best friend.
"I don't get it, either. You've sacrificed yourself for so many people" Lena shook her head.
"And yet there was still something I was doing wrong" she complained.
"Well, I may have a way to fight Nxyly without your needing to pass the gauntlet" her friend told her, getting her to frown. "So, you know I went to Newfoundland to learn more about my mother" Lena started to explain. "Well, it's complicated, but it turns out... that... that she's a witch, and apparently, so am I" the woman confessed, to which she couldn't avoid being surprised, getting her cousin's attention.
"What? That's... seriously?" she asked, not knowing what else to say.
"You're a witch?" the nine year old asked, seeing how Lena nodded. "So you have magical powers... That's so cool!" the child exclaimed.
"Well, I'm not so sure about that for now, sweetie" her best friend answered. "It comes with responsibilities..."
"But it's magic, you can help fight Nyxly and even stop her" her cousin said as she sighed.
"That's what you would do if you had magic?" she asked the little girl, who shrugged.
"And probably having a lizard that could shape sift into a dragon when I would want to" Halley answered as she couldn't avoid laughing along with Lena.
"I don't think we have enough room for a lizard or a dragon, kiddo" she smiled at her cousin, being kind of worried about what would happen if the kid would learn about her own magic. "And now let's go, it's time to go to bed" she said while getting up to grab the child's hand.
Halley grabbed Saffire before getting into bed just as she made sure to leave the night light on, Comet jumping to the bed to lay down by the kid's feet.
"I'm glad you've been feeling better during the evening, sweetie" she commented with a smile, gently caressing her cousin's cheek, realizing that Halley wasn't wearing her necklace. "Hey, where is your necklace, kiddo?" she asked her.
"It's over there" the child pointed to the desk, so she got up to pick it up.
"Remember I told it was really important you were wearing it all the time?" she sat down on the edge of the bed, seeing how the little girl nodded slightly. "Good. You can't take it off, baby" she told her, tucking the kid's brown hair behind her ears.
"You're scared of what Nyxly might do, aren't you?" the nine year old asked as she sighed, knowing that she couldn't tell her the whole reason, not yet.
"I am" she nodded. "I know you're home. I know you're safe, but just in case something happens..." she helped her cousin to put on the necklace. "It'll be alright, okay?" she tried to smile a little, getting Halley to smile as well. "Sweet dreams. I love you, baby" she kissed the little girl's forehead.
"I love you too" the little girl whispered with a smile, so she ruffled her brown hair before leaving, but having to stop the moment she closed the door as fresh tears appeared in her eyes.
Lying to that little girl was going to be one of the hardest things she had ever done.
Hi!
It took me a while to finish this chapter. I would have liked to publish it before last episode, but the last part of the chapter was uncompleted and I didn't have time to finish it until now.
As a huge Marvel fan I couldn't avoid thinking about the similarities Supergirl's storyline has with Infinity War and Endgame. Hopefully we don't have a similar ending.
While watching last episode, I thought about what Halley's reaction would be to Esme and I can totally see it not being idyllic. I mean, Halley has been only child for almost five years and now she has to share the time she spends with the superfriends with Esme, especially the time she spends with Alex. I think she will be warming up to Esme slowly.
About her magic, I'm not sure yet about if I want her to know or not, maybe for the finale.
Thanks so much for reading, let me know what you think,
Ayrin