Landing with a thud, Kara slid on her back a bit before coming to a halt as she broke Gemma's fall. The two had decided it would be easiest for them to just fly to the fortress, and it ended up proving incredibly difficult for Kara. She'd only just gotten used to flying, and it was awkward for her to carry someone else that distance when she could barely control her speed and height in the air as it was, so she happily welcomed the break her crash landing brought from having to focus on flying properly.

Pushing herself to her feet, Kara looked into the entrance. Looking back at Gemma, she said, "Stay close to me heading in. It's going to think you're an intruder, but there will be a brief window of time in which I should be able to stop it from employing any defense mechanisms."

Gemma nodded, seeming unfazed, a silent reminder to Kara that she was going to need to be careful to avoid letting Gemma get anything extra out of the fortress. Gemma would be an even match for her, and she hadn't exactly had a lot of time to learn how to harness her powers in a fight. Shaking away the gnawing feeling that bringing Gemma into the fortress was a mistake, Kara headed in. It was the only way to save Lena. There was no going back.

As they stepped inside, Kara quickly made her way over to the control panel when the defenses immediately locked on Gemma as an intruder. Staring at the panel in front of her, Kara swiftly recalled how she'd been taught to get into the system, managing to disengage the defenses and stop the fortress from viewing Gemma as a threat in a matter of seconds, to both of their relief.

The two girls visibly relaxed as Gemma proceeded to walk up and stand next to Kara, eyeing the Kryptonian curiously. Kara searched for information on the medallion, before demonstrating to Gemma how to keep searching and stepping aside to let her find information. Kara shifted nervously from foot to foot as she watched the other girl, wanting her to hurry up and find what she needed so they could get out before any damage could be done. Suddenly, a red box appeared on the projected screen Gemma was searching on.

"What did you do?" Kara asked, alert as she took a couple of steps toward Gemma. "What is that?"

It appeared to be a warning that some of the information Gemma was trying to access was restricted. Shoving Gemma aside with a huff, visibly annoyed, Kara set to fixing the error on the screen. Meanwhile, Gemma's eyes locked on what she needed. Moving quietly behind Kara's back, Gemma did everything she remembered her parents telling her to do in order to break out the hidden Kryptonite.

"Here, Gemma," Kara said after a while of messing with the system, taking a step back from the control panel. "You should be able to access it now."

Suddenly, she felt a searing pain tear through her body as if she'd been struck by lightning. Letting out a pained scream, Kara whipped around to find Gemma standing in front of her, a smug smile on her face. The bag she'd brought with her appeared significantly fuller than when they'd arrived, and in her hands, she held a pile of rocks, glowing with a bright green light. Kara fell to her knees, looking at her arms to find that a green light was glowing from her veins.

Tossing the pile in her hands toward Kara, Gemma proceeded to study her nails lazily, as though bored. "Thanks for getting me the location of the medallion, Kara. And thank you for the Kryptonite."

"This… this was your plan all along. How were you expecting to get out without me?" Kara hissed. She needed to get away from the substance in front of her, but she was trapped between it and the control panel. Gemma smirked at her.

"Well, obviously this was my plan. I wasn't going to let you live given everything you know. Besides, someone needs to pay for the mistakes of your kind. Myza Nok-Ur murdered my mother in cold blood. My parents may have adopted me, but I'm sure you of all people can relate to what it would be like if you lost an adopted parent." Gemma fixed Kara with a harsh stare, and Kara had to swallow back the hurt that her words were inflicting.

"Myza already paid," Kara shot back through gritted teeth. "Your family killed her. And you were the reason her son died first. She didn't even fire the first shot."

A sharp pain erupted in Kara's cheek as Gemma gave her a swift kick in the face. The Kryptonian collapsed to one side, catching herself with her forearm before she fully hit the ground. The world spun and black dots danced in her vision as she reeled from the impact. There was something wet dripping down the side of her face, and she tasted something slightly metallic. Blood? Fuck. She'd never been able to bleed on Earth before.

"Enjoy your slow death alone here," Gemma growled, resentment shining in her eyes as she looked down on Kara. Kara's eyes snapped to Gemma, and she watched in shock and disbelief as the older girl pulled out a device from her pocket, finally answering her question about how she expected to leave without Kara. Pressing a button, a seam of light not unlike a tear in the atmosphere appeared and expanded into a doorway in front of Gemma. A portal.

"Adios," Gemma gave Kara a small wave before stepping into the portal. Before Kara could try to move, the portal had zipped up as quickly as it had appeared. The black spots in Kara's vision were beginning to look like pools of black now, and she felt the pain grow to be so intense that she lost feeling in parts of her body. The portion of her arm still holding herself up finally gave out, and the horrifying thought that she really could die here settled on her mind like a dark storm cloud.

But then, something about Gemma's words reinvigorated her as though ice water was being poured over her head. I wasn't going to let you live given everything you know. Lena knew the same things. What was worse, Gemma knew that Lena knew the same things. Determination surged through Kara. No amount of Kryptonite was going to force her to let another person she loved die at her hands. Staggering to her feet, she limped a few feet away from the glowing rocks, before unsteadily pushing a foot into the ground and shooting into the air with remarkable force, given the state she was in.

Kara flew back to campus basically on autopilot, not considering until the grounds were in range that people could potentially see her. Using the cover of the fog in the woods and the clouds that hung low, she managed to stay out of sight until she approached the library. A second surge of pain had forced its way through the determination Kara had initially given herself to save Lena. Just as she was beginning to drop from the air, she caught a sound drifting from the direction of the library. Lena?

She had to break into the lab. She was going to crash into the ground regardless; she figured she might as well make it worth something. Angling herself toward the grass just outside of the outer library wall, Kara gathered just enough strength to give more speed to her fall, barreling into the ground with incredible force. Bracing herself for the impact of the outer wall of the lab, which she still was not entirely sure she'd be able to break through, she thought, I really hope this works.

The fall was incredibly painful. Kara was grateful that the sun had given her just enough strength on the way back to prevent the impact of the fall from seriously injuring or killing her. But the Kryptonite had weakened her just enough that her back felt the stinging sensation of hitting the ground, and her tired muscles ached from the energy she was exerting to use her powers in spite of the effects of the Kryptonite. Gemma had been right about one thing, after all. The Kryptonite should have killed her.

But then again, Krypton exploding should have killed her. Getting sucked into the Phantom Zone should have killed her. Kara was no stranger to things that were supposed to kill her and didn't. She was stronger than Gemma could ever hope to be.

Breaking through the ceiling of the lab and the wall of Lena's cell, Kara collided with Gemma, knocking her to the floor just as a bullet was fired. Kara saw Lena scream, but it was as if she were deaf in that moment. Kara once again felt the pain she'd felt next to the Kryptonite in the fortress, and realized that Gemma was still carrying the bag full of what she'd brought back with her. She staggered to her feet as she felt another pain, a much greater pain, blossom throughout her shoulder, and she didn't hear the own scream that she must've let out at the same time as Lena.

Fighting through the pain in her shoulder, Kara forced herself to approach Gemma, who was still reeling on the ground from the force of Kara knocking her over and the debris from the wall collapsing on top of her. The backpack was no longer on Gemma's shoulders; it was loosely hanging from one of her arms, nearly discarded. Grabbing the strap, Kara pulled the backpack away from Gemma and hurled it far out into the hallway, away from her. She grabbed the gun as well, but didn't toss it aside like she had done with the backpack.

Taking a couple of steps back, Kara looked down and realized that her veins were once again glowing green. It was beginning to fade now that she'd gotten the backpack away, but it was a harsh reminder that she'd been shot, and she suddenly found herself collapsing to her knees. Just when she thought she'd hit the floor, a pair of warm, steadying hands caught her. The last thing she remembered seeing before her surroundings faded into darkness was Lena's concerned, tear-covered face hovering above hers, begging her to stay awake.

…

Lena paced back and forth in her cell, unable to settle down. It felt like it'd been an eternity since she'd spoken to Alex through the vent. She hoped that they'd gotten to Kara in time, and she knew it was only a matter of time before they at least gave her an update now that they were aware of her location. The sound of the door opening made her jump, and she snapped her eyes to the door to find Gemma standing there. The blonde was carrying a backpack that appeared to be very bulky. Lena swallowed back the bad feeling she had; she couldn't let on that she'd spoken to anyone.

"A deal's a deal," Gemma said, and Lena narrowed her eyes. "Of course, the specifics of the deal are definitely up for debate once one of the people involved dies. That being said, I don't owe the Kryptonian anything anymore. And that means I no longer have a use for you."

Lena's eyes widened when she heard Gemma mention Kara. There's no way… she can't really be… Something about this news hit Lena much harder than any grief she'd ever experienced. She knew she was in denial; Kara was gone. But there was a part of her that refused to believe it. She remembered the blonde sitting next to her that first day of classes… the only person to see past the bad taste of the Luthor name. The girl who had eagerly taken her up a hill just to roll down it when she found out her father had passed. That girl couldn't be dead. It wasn't possible.

"You're lying."

"I'm not," Gemma said calmly, fixing Lena with an amused look. "But if you want to live out your last few moments in utter denial, who am I to stop that?"

Lena watched in horror as Gemma pointed a gun at her. She heard herself scream Kara's name before she even realized that's what she was doing. She had known that there wasn't any way Gemma would let her live given everything she knew. But she truly had been hoping against hope that Kara and her friends would come through in the end. Despite her nihilistic view of everything that was happening, she had been harboring a feeling that things would somehow work themselves out.

Just then, she felt her hair stand on end, and for a moment it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Then, a deafening roar filled Lena's ears just as the gun fired, and Lena realized that the wall and ceiling before her were caving in. She managed to move just in time as a figure blew through the ceiling and knocked Gemma aside. The debris clattered to the floor in a crescendo of destruction, collapsing on top of Gemma. As the dust settled, Lena saw the figure standing before her, tall and steady against the bright light beaming in from the hallway. She felt a wave of relief for a moment; it was Kara.

But then she noticed something else, and she felt a scream tear from her lips as she lurched toward the blonde, who seemed to be struggling to keep herself upright. The bullet had lodged itself in Kara's shoulder, and Lena made the connection quickly that the green light shining from Kara's veins must've been an effect of the Kryptonite Gemma had tried to poison her with.

Lena felt less panicked when she realized Kara was still moving and taking objects away from Gemma, but things seemed to move in slow motion when she watched Kara take a step back and begin to sway from side to side. The green light was fading from her body, but it was as if her energy was leaving at the same time. Kara started to sink to her knees, and Lena jumped into action just in time to catch her before she hit the floor.

Cradling Kara's head in her lap, Lena found her hands on either side of the other girl's face, brushing her hair out of her face and feeling tears well up in her eyes. She tried to catch Kara's gaze, but the Kryptonian's blue eyes were glassy and unfocused, moving as though looking for something but not really seeing. Lena swallowed back a wave of emotion that threatened to turn her handful of tears into all-out sobs. I can't let her die for me. I won't.

"Look at me, Kara," she demanded, and Kara's eyes drifted in her direction. Better than nothing. "You have to stay awake." Lena glanced up to see Alex rushing toward them, her phone already to her ear. The older Danvers dropped to her knees next to Lena, talking hurriedly to a man on the phone. Lena could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation, but she caught something about Midvale and the DEO. She had returned most of her attention to Kara, however, who had managed to focus her eyes on Lena's.

"That's it," Lena murmured, in part to encourage Kara, but also to reassure herself. "Stay with me." Just as Alex was hanging up the phone, Kara let out a long breath, like a sigh, before her eyes rolled back into her head and her eyelids fluttered closed. Lena was trying not to panic when Alex started speaking at the speed of light.

"Listen, Lena, I'm sure you're really confused and really upset with Kara right now, but this is life or death. We need to get her out of here."

"Okay, but how are we going to explain the mess here?" Lena said, gesturing to the rubble. "Campus probably evacuated thinking it was a sinkhole or an earthquake, some sort of freak incident, but what happens when they come back and find this busted lab?"

Alex glanced over at Maggie and Lex, who were now standing next to them, alert, waiting for a way to help. Lex seemed less enthusiastic than Maggie, and was looking at Kara dubiously, but it seemed his desire to help Lena was overriding his misgivings about helping an alien for the time being.

"Maggie and Lex will stay here with Gemma," Alex said. "I think the ceiling caving in on her decapacitated her for a while, but I don't know how long. Maggie, make sure that Kryptonite doesn't get into the wrong hands. When people start to return, we'll have to frame Gemma, and use the fact that she's not human to explain the destruction. Kara wouldn't like the bad reputation it's going to give alien immigrants… but it's the only way Gemma will be held accountable for everything she's done."

"I can spin a story, no problem," Lex said, smirking.

Maggie nodded, a more serious and determined look on her face than Lex's relaxed, smug smile. "And you can count on us to keep Gemma from getting away."

Alex looked to Lena, giving her a brief rundown of what was going to happen before the two of them lifted the unconscious Kara and made their way out of the lab. Once they'd gotten outside, they were met by Jeremiah and Eliza, who immediately took Kara from the two girls and told them quickly to get in the back of the car. It was a bit of a squeeze with Kara lying horizontally across the seats, but Lena once again found herself letting Kara use her lap as a pillow as they drove off.

"You kids are lucky we were both in the area," Jeremiah said, his voice grim. "It's a short trip to the DEO from here, and Eliza knows quite a bit about alien biology, but if we'd been at home in Midvale…" he fell silent, and everyone else knew what he was thinking. It would've been too late.

When they arrived at the DEO, Kara was rushed in by Jeremiah and a man who Lena thought she'd heard Jeremiah referred to as J'onn, but who most of the agents seemed to be referring to as Hank. Eliza followed close behind them as they headed to the infirmary, and Alex and Lena found themselves closed out of the locked medical unit by the time they'd made it inside. An agent walked up to the two of them as they stood outside of the doors, trying to peer past the blinds as though expecting someone to let them in or at least tell them what was going on. The woman who approached had a long gray braid and a friendly smile, but her shoulders were sturdy and squared, and there was a sharp look to her eyes that said she wasn't someone to be messed with.

"Are you Jeremiah's kids?" the woman asked, tilting her head to one side.

"I am," Alex said, looking at Lena. "This is a friend of mine. She was involved in everything going on now, though. There wasn't enough time; she just had to come here with us."

"Where exactly is here?" Lena asked then, looking between the woman and Alex confusedly. "I know this is the DEO, but what is the DEO?"

Alex and the woman exchanged a look. Then, the woman said, "We deal with highly classified alien-related matters. We can't share any details, and it's not very often that ordinary civilians get the opportunity to find out we even exist."

"Fair enough," Lena said, frowning. She wondered if she should be concerned; once again, it seemed that she knew too much. But Alex seemed at ease, and when Lena pictured the worried faces of Jeremiah and Eliza, she didn't think they'd ever knowingly put her in harm's way. Unlike the cold, callous Luthors, the Danvers seemed warm and caring. She was in safe hands.

"I know you want to check on your friend," the woman was saying when Lena tuned back in from her thoughts. "Someone will let you know as soon as she's stable, I promise. In the meantime, why don't you two come with me? You look like a couple of intelligent young ladies; as long as you don't let Hank catch wind, I can show you something cool."

Alex and Lena exchanged a look, and it seemed that they were on the same page. It was clear they weren't getting in to see Kara anytime soon, and it wouldn't be like either of them to pass up the opportunity to explore a secret government agency. The woman gestured for them to follow her as she turned and walked up one of the hallways, scanning her ID to enter a certain point and letting them walk in ahead of her.

They entered what appeared to be a surveillance room, with numerous screens documenting various areas of the DEO. The woman spent a while showing them around and showing them some of the areas that weren't highly classified. It was a decent distraction, but it was only a matter of time before the woman was called to duty and they all had to exit. It didn't seem that any of the other agents were especially interested in entertaining a couple of teenagers, so Alex and Lena found themselves sitting impatiently outside of the infirmary once more.

They were quiet for a while, Lena staring at some nonexistent point in the distance as she fell deep into thought, Alex fidgeting and looking around impatiently, clearly wanting to be able to do more than she was. After a while, Alex's attention moved over to Lena, and she began to think about what this entire situation meant for Kara and her friend.

"This must all seem crazy to you," Alex commented. Lena looked at her with an expression that said, no, really? She remained silent, however, as she looked away. It did seem crazy, and now that Lena and Kara were both at least out of Gemma's reach, Lena was reminded of how hurt she felt that Kara didn't trust her.

When Lena didn't respond, Alex added, "Look, I know you're probably confused and mad, and you have reason to be. But you can't blame Kara. She was just doing what everyone told her to do when she arrived here, and in the end, she wanted to tell you, but she thought she couldn't tell you the truth if she wanted to keep you safe. I actually just convinced her to tell you a few days ago… but then…" Alex trailed off.

Lena took a deep breath in, and Alex struggled to figure out how Lena was feeling. She had a cold, calculating expression that didn't seem to waver no matter what Alex said, and she was clearly hiding any emotional reaction that tried to work its way into her body language. All Alex could do was hope that she was just taking a moment to mull over the information. After a few moments of tense silence, Lena looked back at Alex, hesitating slightly when she started to respond.

"You're right," she began. "I am confused and I'm incredibly angry. I was perfectly content being by myself and doing my own thing, and then Kara comes along and all of a sudden I'm trusting again, caring again." The Luthor shook her head, fixing Alex with an irritated look. "She betrayed my trust, which is the only thing I ever ask people not to do. I can clearly take care of myself. I just can't believe I was completely honest with her, I let her meet Lillian, and in the end, she needed to be convinced to tell me the truth?"

Alex looked like she was going to argue, but Lena cut her off before she had the chance. "But you don't have to give me some spiel on why she didn't tell me, either. Even though I'm mad… she just saved my life. And she's also the best friend I've ever had. I'm going to give her a piece of my mind," she said, her voice stony, but her eyes and tone softened as she finished, "but not until I know she's okay and she's had the chance to recover."

It took Lena a moment to realize that Alex was smirking. Confused, she muttered, "What?"

"I told her it would end up fine," Alex boasted. "She was all worried you'd hate her forever but I knew she meant too much to you and that you'd come around."

"Hate her forever?" Lena cocked an eyebrow. "That's a bit extreme."

Alex shrugged. "I mean…"

Lena huffed. "Fair enough." Her eyes drifted over to the glass separating them from Kara, wishing someone would bump into the blinds just enough that she could see what was happening. "I could never truly hate her, though."

In fact, Lena wasn't even certain that the anger she was feeling was entirely directed at Kara anymore. She had been swallowing her anger ever since she found out that Gemma was planning to kill Kara, pushing her feelings aside until she and Kara were safe from that immediate threat. It had been her assumption that she would address those feelings and talk to Kara about it later, once things had settled to some extent. Instead, however, when she'd seen Kara fly through the wall and knock Gemma over just in time for her to shoot a bullet at Lena, the direction of her anger had changed.

Kara cared so greatly for Lena that she had fought off the effects of the substance that should have killed her and made it just in time to save Lena from what would have certainly been her demise. The fact that Kara had taken the bullet just made Lena even more angry, but not at the Kryptonian. Kara hadn't intended to take the bullet; it had ricocheted back at her, and Lena found that the blind rage she'd felt when she saw the bullet in Kara's shoulder was directed at Gemma and Gemma alone.

The two girls jumped, then, at the sound of the door to the infirmary opening. They were both on their feet in an instant, walking over to meet Jeremiah, who was holding the door open and gesturing for them to enter. Alex walked in first, followed by Lena. As the door closed behind them, Lena peered over Alex's shoulder and took in what seemed to be going on.

Kara had been changed out of her torn, battered clothes that she'd arrived in and was wearing sweats and a loose button-down with a few of the top buttons undone to allow easy access for Eliza to check on her wound. Her hair was splayed around her head like a golden halo, and she was lying on her back under a yellow lamp. There were bandages wrapped around her shoulder, and it appeared that she was still unconscious. Now that she was changed out of her clothes, which had covered some of the worst of her injuries, it was very clear that her entire body had taken a beating. She was bruised and battered, although it looked like some of her injuries were already beginning to heal.

Jeremiah had split off from them after entering the infirmary and was standing off to the side in deep, hushed conversation with the head of the DEO, as well as a couple of agents. Eliza approached the two teens, a tired look in her eyes, but when she smiled at them reassuringly, they both felt relieved.

"Kara is stable," she said. "She's not awake yet, but we only needed you to stay outside during the operation to remove the bullet. Now, Alex, do you want to tell me in detail what's been going on?"

Lena looked over to Alex, who was looking down at her feet. She didn't think she'd ever seen the oldest Danvers look so small; perhaps her mother brought out a more vulnerable side of her. Alex explained what happened, from the incident with Winn and the Gemma's blackmail to Lena's kidnapping and the mission they'd undertaken to rescue her. Throughout the story, Eliza never looked disappointed or judgmental. She simply nodded in understanding, urging Alex to tell her everything. Finally, Alex had gotten her mother caught up to the present moment.

"That was incredibly dangerous," Eliza said matter-of-factly, "and you should've called us sooner. But," she said, smiling and sighing, "you are your father's daughter. And if I recall everything correctly from our time with Kal… the house of El will do anything to help a friend in need, even if it means risking themselves. I'm just glad you two and Kara are okay. And, Lena, is it?"

Lena looked up, surprised that Eliza was speaking to her, and nodded as the kind woman continued to speak, "I'm glad my daughters have such a brilliant and caring young woman as a friend. We really should make sure you're alright physically, though. I'm assuming those girls weren't very kind to you while you were in their captivity."

"No, they weren't," Lena agreed. "I'm sure I'm alright, though. I'm sure it was no different from being treated as a prisoner; the Coopers can certainly afford a furnished cell."

Eliza nodded. "I'm sorry to hear that, in any case. I'll trust your judgment, but if you're concerned and want me to give you a quick physical, just let me know. In the meantime, it might be a good idea for you two to sit with Kara. There's not much more that can be done now until she wakes up, but that could be at any moment now, and I'm sure she'll want her friends at her side."

As the adults moved into another room to discuss the situation away from the kids, Alex and Lena did as Eliza suggested and pulled up chairs to sit next to Kara. Neither of them seemed to want to break the silence as they waited for Kara to wake up, hanging on Eliza's words, any moment now.

Unfortunately, any moment turned into an hour, which turned into an hour and a half, and then Alex was getting up to use the restroom and Lena was debating whether Eliza really knew what she was talking about. When Alex had left the room and Lena was left alone with Kara, she found herself silently willing the blonde to open her eyes. She watched impatiently for any sign of a twitch or fidget, but alas, none occurred.

Finally, with a sigh, Lena decided she ought to get up and stretch her legs for a bit. Standing up, she turned to head out of the infirmary, when a weak, tired voice from behind her struck her like a bolt of electricity.

"Lena?"

A/N I considered giving y'all this chapter early since the last one ended on a cliffhanger… But then I forgot. Sorry to torment you all like that!

Now that the ~threat has been neutralized~ we can get into our lovely angsty Supercorp drama though, so that's fun. The angst nobody asked for is what I am here to provide c: (okay, actually to be fair some people did ask for some angst in moderation)

Anyways, shit just hit the fan, the problems got resolved, but in the wise words of Patrick Star, "That's what you think, but it's not over yet!"

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, we put out new chapters every Wednesday sometimes Thursday (rip Jenna)

Thank you all for your continued support!

Until next time,

Nana