A/N: This chapter is pretty short compared to the others in this fic. It takes place a month after the previous chapter, jumping to Supergirl episode 3x07. The reason I'm not doing episodes 3x03-3x06 is because not too much is different from canon, including the Mars plot in 3x03 since Barry didn't go with Kara and J'onn on that mission and instead stayed behind in National City to keep an eye on things. Also, 3x07 is when the season's main storylines start to pick up a bit.

Chapter 5

A little over a month had passed since Barry moved to Earth-38. It hadn't taken him long at all to adjust to living in another universe, thanks to the Speed Force thoroughly preparing him for it.

As for Kara, her attitude had started improving lately as she was no longer moody and shut off like she had been for months since Mon-El's departure and, after an inspiring conversation with Barry, came to realize that being Kryptonian didn't mean she was above human emotions.

Barry sped to a halt and Kara descended next to him as the two entered the D.E.O. They were in their Flash and Supergirl suits respectively.

"Winn," Kara said.

"We got your message," Barry added.

"Yes, yes, of course," Winn replied, as Barry, Kara, and J'onn followed him over to a computer. Sitting down, he added, "So, I'm not really quite sure what to make of it, but I thought you guys should see this." He started typing on the keyboard. "This is an incident that happened this morning."

"What is it?" J'onn inquired.

"So, the city sent out an exploratory team to investigate the effects of the submarine attack," Winn explained. "And you can see that they found something strange in the bedrock, so they went to check it out, and..."

Barry, Kara, and J'onn looked up at the screen showing underwater footage of a submersible approaching a larger, advanced-looking ship. A moment later, a white light shot out of the large ship, attacking the submersible.

"It got attacked," J'onn noted.

"Yeah," Winn said. "I mean, luckily, their emergency systems kicked in and they made it to the surface, but they could've easily just been taken out."

"What else can you find out?" J'onn asked.

"Oh, the USGS geothermal scans," Winn said, as he started typing again. "We can pull up one of those to find these coordinates." The screen then showed a map with a small digital image of the mysterious spacecraft. "Okay, I can tell you two things right off the bat." He got up from his seat and walked up to the screen. "One, according to the rock layers, that ship has been under there for about twelve thousand years, and two, whatever metal it's made out of is not on the periodic table."

Barry, Kara, and J'onn exchanged glances.

(Outside)

Barry, Kara, Winn, and J'onn were walking along the sidewalk as pedestrians were eying the former two.

"Okay, we're getting close, we're getting close," Winn said, looking at a device in his hand. As the device beeped, he added, "Wait, wait, wait." He, Barry, Kara, and J'onn stopped. "Okay, ship should be right under us."

"Okay," Kara nodded, before glancing at any nearby pedestrians. "All right, stand back. Everyone, stand back. I saw Clark do this once."

"I don't think obliterating the sidewalk is a good idea," Barry said, knowing what Kara was about to do. "Especially when J'onn or I could just phase us underground and into the ship."

"Mr. Allen is right," J'onn agreed. "There's a way of doing this without destroying public property. Let's go."

"Man, I wanted to see that," Winn muttered in disappointment, as they headed around a corner.

"All right," J'onn said, wrapping his arms around Kara, Barry, and Winn.

Winn frowned at J'onn. "What are you doing?"

"This might feel a little weird," the Martian warned.

"I'm pretty used to it," Barry said.

J'onn, Kara, Barry, and Winn glowed red as J'onn phased them deep underground until they landed inside the underwater ship.

"Oh, God, that was horrible," Winn remarked.

"Shhh," Kara said.

"That was amazing," Winn whispered. "Can we do that all the time please?"

"No," J'onn answered.

"Okay," Winn said.

J'onn shined a flashlight as he, Barry, Kara, and Winn started walking through the ship. They noticed several chambers, each containing a figure and water inside them.

"There are people in these chambers," Barry noted, as they examined the objects in question.

"There's an empty one," Kara said, noticing one of the chambers didn't have a figure inside it.

"Okay, that's not creepy, not at all," Winn commented.

Just then, they heard a whirring sound and turned to see a someone pointing a gun blaster at them. Kara's eyes lit up, while Barry took a fighting stance and J'onn pointed a handgun at the figure. The figure then fired a blue blast from his gun, the blast hitting Kara in her arm, though she was unaffected.

"Don't shoot," Kara exclaimed.

After the figure responded something in a different language, Kara then said, "We're not here to hurt you."

The figure stepped forward into the light and Kara, Barry, Winn, and J'onn looked at him in shock as they recognized him as Mon-El.

"Kara," Mon-El muttered, lowering his weapon and dropping it to the floor.

Staring at him in disbelief, Kara walked up to Mon-El and placed her hands on his cheeks, wanting to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. A moment later, she threw her arms around him in an embrace.

(D.E.O.)

Mon-El was lying on the bed as Kara knelt beside him holding his hand, while Barry, Winn, and J'onn were standing around them. Barry and Kara were now in civilian clothes.

"My God," Alex said, as she rushed into the med-bay before recognizing who was in the bed. "Oh, my God, it's Mon-El."

"I know," Kara said with tears of joy, before turning back to her boyfriend. "You're back."

"Wait a minute, how are you breathing?" Alex asked Mon-El, before turning to the others. "How is he breathing?"

Winn shook his head. "We don't know."

"According to the samples taken this morning, the air should still be toxic to Daxamites," J'onn said.

"It's incredible," Kara said, still in disbelief that her boyfriend was back.

"Maybe someone cured him somehow," Barry suggested.

"Yeah, and what was that language you were speaking on the ship?" Winn asked Mon-El.

"Saturnian," Mon-El answered.

"But there's... There's life on Saturn?" Winn asked in surprise.

"Why did you fire on the divers in that submersible?" J'onn inquired.

"I didn't," Mon-El answered. "I heard the ship's defense system activate though. Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, they got out of there in time," Kara answered.

"That's some ship you got there," J'onn said to Mon-El. "I've never seen anything like it."

"It's, uh... alien," Mon-El said.

"Who are the people in the other chambers?" Barry asked.

"Just passengers," Mon-El answered.

"Are they dangerous?" Alex asked.

"No, they're, uh, they're like me," Mon-El answered.

"Why did you wake up and everybody else is still asleep?" Winn asked.

"I'm sorry, guys, I was in hyper-sleep, and it's all... It's all very hazy right now, so..."

"So you don't remember anything about the other passengers?" J'onn asked.

"There will be plenty of time to ask questions," Kara said. "He really needs to rest." Gesturing Alex, Winn, Barry, and J'onn to leave the med-bay, she added, "Come on."

"Right, good to see you, buddy," Winn said to Mon-El.

"Yeah, it's great to have you back," Alex then said.

"We'll leave you both to it," Barry added.

"I look forward to our debriefing," J'onn said to Mon-El.

"Enough," Kara said, as the others left the med-bay, leaving her and Mon-El alone.

(Later)

Kara was standing outside the med-bay looking at Mon-El through the glass when Barry walked up behind her.

"It must be nice for you having him back," Barry said.

"Yeah," Kara said, with a smile. "Yeah, it is."

"What do you think of his beard?" Barry asked.

"I kinda like it," Kara answered. "I liked yours too after you came out of the Speed Force."

"I think I'd rather stick to being clean-shaven," Barry said. "I'm really happy for you, Kara."

"Yeah," Kara said. "Yeah, he's been a little... a little distant. I don't know."

"Well, we don't know what he's been through," Barry said. "Maybe he needs a little time to readjust to his surroundings."

"You're probably right," Kara nodded in agreement.

(Next day)

Barry and Winn approached the holding cell that Mon-El was in. Earlier, Mon-El had snuck out of the med-bay and broke into a storage room to retrieve a device for his ship. He had been caught by two agents, whom he had knocked out, before Kara showed up and, in turn, knocked him out with a punch to the face. Kara had then put Mon-El in the cell and questioned him about his actions and the fact that he was acting different, but Mon-El had refused to tell her anything, with Kara walking away from him in tears.

Winn tapped the glass of the cell, getting Mon-El's attention.

"Okay, you look... you look different," Winn said.

"How are you?" Mon-El asked.

"I'm fine, thanks," Winn answered. "I'm better than Kara. Yeah, I'm assuming that since you didn't tell her anything, you are definitely not gonna tell us anything, so... Still, here we are. Thought we'd give it a shot."

Mon-El got up from the bench and walked up to the glass.

"Something is obviously going on with you," Barry said. "I mean, you had to have gotten that alien ship from somewhere. And there are other people in that ship with you and you're the only one who woke up from your chamber. And somehow you're able to walk around fine even though the air is still laced with lead."

"There's a lot that you two don't understand, okay?" Mon-El said. "It's..."

"What, complicated?" Barry asked. "You're gonna have to come clean with sooner or later."

"Things are different now," Mon-El said.

"Different how?" Winn wondered.

"It's just different! Okay?" Mon-El snapped. In a calmer tone, he added, "There's a lot... There's a lot to explain here, okay? I acknowledge that. And I'm sorry, but I need you guys right now." He looked at Winn first and then Barry. "I need you as a friend, and I need you as a friend of Kara's. I need you two to believe me. And I need your help to get back to that ship."

"What for?" Barry asked.

"Because people will get hurt if I don't," Mon-El answered. "Kara will get hurt. Please."

Barry and Winn considered for a few moments before Barry turned back to Mon-El and nodded. "All right. If it means keeping Kara and others from getting hurt, Winn and I will help you."

(Later, spaceship)

Mon-El placed a round device on a console on the wall of the ship. A moment later, the console lit up as the huge screen next to it came on.

"I think it's working," Winn said.

"Okay, the stasis fluid levels are okay," Mon-El said, looking at the information on the screen. "How's the power?"

"Are you sure this is safe?" Winn asked.

"Grife, the tarian pump is jammed," Mon-El said in alarm.

"What does that mean?" Barry asked.

"We need to reset the circuit on the end of the first pod," Mon-El instructed.

Barry and Winn nodded before they turned around, only to stop dead in their tracks at the sight of Supergirl, who had arrived in the ship.

"Winn, Barry, you guys okay?" Kara asked.

"Um..." Winn stammered, not knowing how to respond.

"We're fine, Kara," Barry answered. "We're just helping Mon-El with something important."

"Helping him with what?" Kara demanded.

"Listen, we only have your best interests at heart," Winn said.

"So, uh, which of you three is deciding what my best interests are?" Kara asked, sharply. The three men exchanged glances, not sure how to answer. "Good. I'm taking that," she pointed to the round device on the wall, "and you," she pointed to Mon-El, "back to the D.E.O."

As Kara started towards the device, Mon-El stepped in her way and said, "I can't let you..."

"Get out of my way!" Kara snapped, as she grabbed Mon-El's shirt, only to suddenly stop and calm down as she recognized a familiar necklace around his neck. "My necklace."

Mon-El quickly tucked the necklace back under his shirt. "Why'd you have to come down here anyway?"

"If we hadn't come here, you would have died," Kara pointed out.

"It doesn't matter, I'm not your problem anymore," Mon-El said.

"How could you have changed so much?!" Kara wondered. "It's only been seven months!"

"No, it's been seven years!" Mon-El snapped, shocking Kara, Barry, and Winn. "It's been seven months for you, but it has been seven years for me since the day I went in that pod."

"Let me guess, time travel was involved?" Barry asked.

Mon-El nodded. "When I left Earth, I went through some kind of wormhole. Kor-El calls it a disruption, and it took me to the future. And I've been living on Earth in the 31st century for the past seven years."

"It explains why he's not allergic to lead anymore," Winn pointed out.

"L-Corp develops a cure about four hundred years from now," Mon-El explained.

"So, what, you just... You just forgot about me?" Kara asked in a hurt tone. "Why are you still wearing the necklace?"

Suddenly, the machines started beeping erratically as the information on the large screen changed color from blue to yellow.

"No," Mon-El said in alarm. "No, no."

"What's going on?" Barry asked.

"The power to the chambers are failing," Mon-El answered, as he rushed over to the ship's computer and started typing.

"Does that mean that everybody else is gonna wake up?" Winn asked.

"No, it means they're going to die," Mon-El said frantically, as Kara, Barry, and Winn looked concerned. "We can reroute the power to all the chambers except..." He turned to one of the chambers and saw that the figure inside it was shaking wildly. "No." He rushed over to the chamber.

"What's wrong?" Winn asked.

"She's drowning," Mon-El answered. He punched the glass of the chamber as hard as he could, but the glass was completely unaffected. "Dammit." He punched the glass two more times, to no avail. "I can't..." He punched the glass again, but there was still not even a single crack in it. "It's white dwarf glass, I can't..."

Kara rushed forward and, with a single punch, shattered most of the glass, revealing a dark-haired beautiful woman, who was unconscious, dressed in a maroon shirt and matching shorts. As the woman was about to fall out of the chamber, Mon-El quickly caught her in his arms before she could hit the floor.

"Imra," Mon-El said in concern. "Imra." He stroked her hair and face before nearing his face to her mouth. Looking up at Barry, Kara, and Winn, he said, "She's okay. She's breathing."

(D.E.O.)

The woman called Imra was lying on the bed in the med-bay as Barry, Kara, Alex, Winn, and Mon-El stood around her. She was still unconscious.

"Are there any updates?" Mon-El asked.

"She's stable for now," Alex answered.

"We're still analyzing her genetic makeup so we can treat her properly," Winn added. "I mean, is there anything you can tell us to help?"

"She's from Titan," Mon-El said. "Without power to the ship, she may have been off life support longer than we think."

Kara turned to Mon-El, a look of worry on her face. "Who is she?"

"Her name is Imra," Mon-El answered, before turning to Winn and Barry. "Will you guys let me know if her condition changes?"

"Yeah, of course," Winn answered.

Mon-El left the med-bay, Kara and Alex staring after him. "He's from the future," Kara said to her sister.

"Yeah, I can safely say that I was not expecting that," Alex said, putting an arm around Kara.

(Later)

Kara and Mon-El were standing on the balcony of the D.E.O.

"I'm sorry," Mon-El said. "For all of this. I never thought I'd see you again." Kara sighed as Mon-El continued. "I had to keep living."

"You kept the necklace," Kara replied.

"Of course I did," Mon-El said. "As a reminder of everything you taught me and did for me. A reminder of you."

"It means a lot," Kara said, smiling gratefully.

"You have to believe that no matter what... what century or universe, or world I'm living in, that I would never forget you," Mon-El said. "Never. It was wrong of me to keep the truth from you."

"Well, the truth never hurts as much as secrets," Kara pointed out.

"Yeah, and I should've known better," Mon-El said. "You've never needed my protection. Except for that one time when we went for all-you-can-eat ribs. And you, uh... you were inhaling those things if I remember correctly. I swear, if hadn't stopped you..."

"It was a limited-time offer," Kara recalled. "I had to."

Mon-El laughed. "That's a good point."

"This is the first time I've seen you smile since you've been back," Kara noted.

"I haven't had a chance to say it yet, but, uh... It's really good to see you," Mon-El said.

"Yeah," Kara nodded.

"There's something I have to tell you," Mon-El said.

"Mon-El?"

Kara and Mon-El turned to see Imra had approached them.

"Imra," Mon-El walked over to her. "Imra." The two then engaged in a passionate kiss as Kara watched them with a look of disbelief. "I'm so glad you're okay," Mon-El said to Imra. "We thought your life support failed."

"No, I'm fine," Imra replied, smiling affectionately at Mon-El. "Tired, but fine."

The two turned to Kara and Mon-El said, "Uh... Imra, this is Kara Danvers, Supergirl."

Imra stared at the other woman in astonishment. "I can't believe it's really you."

Kara smiled politely at Imra in response.

"Kara, this is Imra Ardeen," Mon-El said. "My wife."

At that moment, Kara's smile instantly disappeared and was replaced by a heartbroken look as Mon-El's last two words sunk into her brain.

(Barry's apartment, Night)

Barry was sitting on the couch helping himself to three double cheeseburgers, five churros, six funnel cakes, and a large Coke when he heard a few knocks on the door. Getting up, he walked to the door, looked through the peep hole, and opened it.

"Kara, what's going on?" Barry said, noticing the gloomy look on her face.

"Mind if I come in?" Kara asked, glumly.

"Of course," Barry said, as Kara walked into the apartment. He closed the door back.

"I just found out that Mon-El and Imra are married," Kara said.

Barry looked stunned. "Really? I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be, it's not anyone's fault," Kara said. "I mean, it's been seven years on their end and seven months on mine. The complications of time travel, right?"

"Unfortunately," Barry nodded, as he and Kara sat down on the couch. He grabbed one of his cheeseburgers and offered it to her. "Cheeseburger?"

Kara sighed as she took the burger from Barry. "Sure, why not. I can definitely use something high-calorie to put in my body right now." She unwrapped the burger and took a bite of it.

"I know Mon-El's return meant a lot to you and that you were really looking forward to picking up where you guys left off, but life doesn't always happen the way we want it to," Barry said.

"Tell me about it," Kara agreed. "It's times like right now that I feel my life should only be about Supergirl, but since you and Alex both convinced me that I shouldn't abandon Kara Danvers, I realize now that's not the way to go."

"Trust me, trying to bottle up your pain rather than dealing with it at the moment never helps," Barry said. "If anything, bottling up your feelings only makes it worse. And just because I said life doesn't always happen the way you want it doesn't mean it'll only get worse from here on out. For all you know, your life could become even better than you intended. You just have to keep on living and you never know what kind of surprises will come your way."

"Have I mentioned how much I love your advice?" Kara asked, smiling.

"I've had several people in my life who often gave me great advice," Barry said, thinking of his parents Henry and Nora, his foster father Joe, and brother in all but blood Oliver.

"Do you wanna watch a movie?" Kara asked. "I just wanna get my mind off of... off of everything that's happened these last couple of days."

"Sure," Barry agreed, "What movie genre are you in the mood for?"

"Anything besides romance," Kara answered.

"All right," Barry said, picking up the remote and turning on the TV before he went to Netflix.

Not the best chapter, aside from Barry and Kara's scene at the end, but it was necessary. But the next one, which will cover the events of Supergirl 3x09, should be more interesting.