Hello!

Consider this somewhat of a bonus chapter :) It's a little shorter but has a lot of Danvers sister goodness (at least I think so!)

I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Supergirl!

P.S. Shoutout to Phaerre for suggesting having Kara teach Alex Kryptonian!

"Say it again?"

"El mayarah."

"El mayarah," Alex repeated. "Did I say that right?"

Based on the way Kara was trying to hide her laugh, Alex was cetain that she did not. Making Kara smile was totally worth the embarrassment though.

"That's… better," Kara's eyes sparkled.

"You're lying," Alex shook her head. "It was awful, wasn't it?"

"Not awful," Kara shook her head vehemently. "Just… there's room for improvement."

The moment was so normal that Alex almost forgot they were in a lab and there were bars separating them. Almost.

It was impossible to completely forget when every time Alex looked at Kara, she saw the dark bloodstains mottling her clothing and discolored skin around surgical incisions.

I'm going to get you out of here, I promise.

Alex repeated those words periodically to herself because it was the only way she could handle being so helpless. She wasn't able to keep Kara safe right now, but when the moment came, she would do whatever she had to do.

"Okay, now you teach me a human saying," Kara's words interrupted Alex's brooding.

"Your English is practically perfect," "Alex shook her head. "I don't think I have anything to teach you."

"You can tell me some native speech, local sayings… all cultures have them," Kara clarified, looking excited.

"You mean like slang?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Slang…" Kara repeated the word as if she were studying it. "What is this… slang?"
This time Alex was the one laughing, the seriousness with which the girl was considering the word contrasting so delightfully with the word itself.

"Item number two on our to-do list can be finding some earth teenagers to teach you slang," Alex grinned.

"What is item number one?" Kara asked, smiling slightly as she played with a strand of hair.

"Food." Alex stated. "If Earth has one thing going for it, it's the food. What did you and your aunt eat?"

Kara made a face. "We mostly tried to recreate Kryptonian dishes with earth plants we grew ourselves… it didn't work very well. We had a lot of… I believe you call them potatoes. And the green balls..." Kara motioned with her hands, indicating a bowling ball sized object.

"Cabbage?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Yes! That's it." Kara nodded excitedly.

"Oh no, oh no no no…" Alex shook her head. "Cabbage and potatoes? That is unacceptable. When we get out of here, we're going to hit up all the best food carts and take-out places around. I'm talking potstickers, ice cream, tacos…"

"I do not think we should hit these places; surely we do not need to bring violence into it?" Kara interrupted, looking confused.

"What? Oh, no, hit up just means we're going to get stuff there. No actual hitting involved. It's a saying."

"Ah. A slang," Kara's expression cleared. "We will hit up places for food."

"There you go," Alex couldn't help laughing. "You got your slang and I got some Kryptonian. How do I say those words again? El mayarah?"

"That's good," Kara exclaimed. "You are improving." The Kryptonian's smile was filled with genuine excitement, a look that Alex hadn't seen before. "You are the first human I've taught Kryptonian to."

Alex smiled. "I'm honored to learn. Maybe you can teach me more?"

If possible, Kara looked even more excited. "Yes! I would love that."
Alex couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness at Kara's excitement that someone would be interested in her heritage. Everything was just so wrong. After everything she had lost, Kara should be surrounded by loving people that supported her and cared about her. Instead the Kryptonian was here in this hellhole, going through god-knew what every day.

"It means stronger together," Kara's words interrupted Alex's brooding.

"What?"

"El mayarah. It means stronger together; it is our family motto."

Alex smiled. "That's beautiful."

Kara's blue gaze shifted, expression suddenly dimming with sorrow. "Except my family is not together. Not anymore." She looked at the ground, one hand absentmindedly touching her temple, fingertips brushing over dried blood. "Our strength is gone."

Alex reached through the bars to put a hand on Kara's shoulder. "You will find it again, Kara. I know you will."

The Kryptonian looked up slowly, face bruised and bloodied, tangled golden locks falling over hollow cheeks and shadowed eyes.

"Do you really think so?" Kara studied her.

"Yes."

The faintest glimmer of hope infiltrated the despair.

When Kara and Astra were found by humans clad in black with glowing green weapons, Kara had thought it was all just a misunderstanding.

They were peaceful beings that avoided human civilization. They hadn't done anything to warrant capture and therefore Kara had assumed they would be released once the mistake was realized.

However it became quickly apparent that it wasn't anything they had done – it was who they were. And the humans in the facility had no intention of ever letting them or the other captive aliens go.

Kara had still tried to stay positive. They were survivors. They had lived through the destruction of their entire planet; of course they would make it through whatever these earth beings had in store. They were Kryptonian after all, what threat did humans really pose?

They very quickly had learned the answer to that question.

But still, even as their existence deteriorated into a rhythm of pain and suffering, Kara had believed they would find a way. Surely Rao had not led them to this planet as Krypton's sole survivors just to have them die in a human laboratory.

Kara had held onto that hope right up until Astra was given Argo Fever.

It was an attempt to weaken the older Kryptonian's mind that went gravely awry. In reviving a Kryptonian disease, the humans had foolishly tampered with matters far beyond their understanding. Already weakened by months of their torturous treatment, Astra was rapidly overcome by the sickness.

Kara didn't even get to say goodbye.

Her own soul began to slip away. She didn't move; the guards had to practically carry her back and forth and even when they put her under healing lamps, she continued to waste away.

The pain ached and blurred until she didn't know what was being done to her and no longer cared. All she thought about was whether Rao would find Astra's soul without a proper sendoff on this forsaken planet, whether Rao would find her as her own time approached.

Then Kara had woken up to find an inhabitant in the neighboring cell, an auburn haired woman with dark kind eyes.

It was startling how quickly a stranger could become family.

It was that thought that filled Kara's mind as she formed her hand into a fist and bounced it on her hand before holding out her hand out still curled in a fist.

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

Alex's hand, dried blood still staining the creases, was held out flat.

"Rock and paper," Kara racked her brain for the rules of this human game that Alex had just explained to her. "Which one wins?"

"Paper," Alex smiled, wrapping her hand around Kara's fist. "I win."

"How?" Kara stared at her, wondering not for the first time about humans' capacity for reason. "A rock is much stronger than paper."

"But paper covers the rock," Alex explained, brushing a strand of auburn hair out of her face. Kara was distracted for a moment by the dark bruises that hugged the right side of the agent's face. Although the woman acted as though nothing had happened, Kara had witnessed every moment of the beating she had received. She knew the agent was hiding injuries. While Alex might pretend it never happened, Kara would never forget. After all, it was only in defending Kara that those injuries had been inflicted.

Suddenly the human game made sense. Kara was the rock and Alex was the paper. Kara should have been the one who was strong no matter what, but it was Alex who had covered her with her seemingly weaker form and ultimately been stronger.

Kara wasn't sure what she thought about that. On one had, she was gratefully stunned that a human would risk their safety for her.

On the other hand, she was terrified that next time the paper would tear.

Kara could not allow that to happen. Regardless of what happened to her, Alex had to be safe.

"You okay?"

Alex's words pulled Kara from her thoughts.

"Yes, let us battle again," Kara forced a smile.

Alex studied her for a moment, clearly not convinced, but didn't say anything about it.

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot."

This time Kara held out her fingers in a V shape while Alex held her hand flat again.

"Which one wins now?" Kara looked to Alex for guidance. "What are scissors?"

"You win. Scissors cut paper," Alex explained.

"What are scissors?" Although Kara had spent a significant amount of time on this planet, her human vocabulary was a bit weak given her lack of contact with earth's natives.

"Scissors are like two knives attached to each other…."

Kara looked down at her hands, trying to quell the sudden terror that raced through her veins as she realized what Alex was describing.

"You've seen scissors, back there, haven't you?" Alex's voice was soft as she reached for Kara's hand, the touch comforting.

Kara glanced at Alex and almost burst into tears at the look of concern and care on the agent's face. She could only manage to nod and a flash of anger darted across Alex's expression. It took a moment for Kara to realize that Alex was angry for her, not at her.

"I'm so sorry," Alex squeezed her hand.

Alex said that a lot even though it never was her fault. It was this place and the people running it, horrible horrible people who knew nothing of kindness and justice.

If paper was Alex, scissors truly were this place: cruel, painful, and sterile.

"So scissors cut paper?" Kara's mind churned with thoughts.

"Yep, that's how it goes," Alex confirmed.

That was exactly what Kara was afraid of: Alex would be destroyed trying to protect her.

Kara had feared that the moment Alex had promised to help her and that fear transformed to terror as she taunted the guard away from Kara.

Alex could have been killed.

Next time, she might be.

Kara didn't know how to convince Alex to let her go. The scientists would not kill Kara; they needed her, they wanted her. But they would kill Alex.

Kara couldn't let that happen.

The agent had given her far more than she would ever know. Her kindness held Kara from endless despair, brought joy where it didn't seem possible and it meant everything to the Kryptonian. Just knowing someone cared… it changed everything. Whatever happened to her, she was ready to face it now. She was not afraid to join her family in Rao's light when the time came, thankful that she could do so holding onto Alex's kindness for strength and knowing that at least one being was left in the universe that cared.

Yes, Kara was at peace with her fate.

But Alex had a family, a future, a purpose… She had to live.

"How are scissors defeated?" Kara asked.

"Rock crushes them," Alex explained, motioning with her hands, fist hitting fingers spread in a V.

Of course.

Kara wanted to see all these wonderful plans with Alex actually happen. She wanted to consider a future where she had a big sister to explore earth with, wanted to experience a world that held possibility rather than pain. She wanted it more than she could ever express. But her first priority was making sure that Alex made it back to that world, regardless of whether Kara could come with her or not.

So even as Alex promised to get her out, Kara silently was determined to do the same for her, whatever the cost.

She had to be the rock that crushed the scissors.

"What are you thinking?" Alex's soft voice interrupted her thoughts.

Kara looked at the agent on the other side of the bars and wished she could somehow tell her how thankful she was, how much everything she had done for her meant. Even the pain of her injuries seemed to dull in her presence.

But Kara couldn't find the words so she just smiled.

"Let's play again."

I really hope you enjoyed this calm chapter - you'll need it before the craziness that is coming in the next update!

Let me know what you think - I look forward to hearing from you :)

I'll try to get the next update up soon!

~silverliningineachcloud