A/N: Another chapter for you all! I was hit with a bit of motivation after seeing such a response from the last chapter.
Now, I have seen the Fort Rozz episode and thoroughly enjoyed it, and I just wanted to clarify that I knew I did not want to do a copycat chapter of the show's episode. I also recognize that the show did a great job making the episode packed with action and super fun and chapter does not take place at Fort Rozz. I wanted to leave that as is and left with the show. Instead, I wanted to take this point in the show at a different angle and twist it to fit my own needs for this story, though I do use a few lines from the episode.
Anyway, I hope you all find enjoyment with this. Reviews are always welcomed (and move me to write more, faster!)
5.
When he wakes, it's with a jolt of fear. Gasping and blinking into the darkness of night, Querl's heart thumps wildly in his chest. The room is empty, save for himself. And his panic only rises when he realizes Kara no longer lays beside him.
It was a dream, his most prominent intellect tells him. Only a dream. Still, he shakes beneath the bed sheets, unable to rid the terrible tracings of his nightmare.
He held her close, his bloody hand cupping her face and stroking her icy cold cheek. Her beautiful blue eyes stare passed him, lifeless and haunting. The gaping hole in her chest oozes fresh blood down her body and soaks her red and blue costume.
Tears slip down his cheeks, sprinkling her face and neck. He leans down slowly, placing a soft kiss to her parted lips before resting his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry," he whispers between his sobs. "I'm so sorry, my love…"
"Kara..." his voice croaks, raw from being unused. He coughs, trying to clear his throat before his low rumble breaks through. "Kara!"
It goes unanswered and only spikes the angst he woke with.
He squints to read the clock above the door, seeing the arms pointing at the bold numbers eleven and three to say the time is 11:15. Though whatever day it is escapes him entirely. Gruffly, he yanks the catheter from his wrist vein, paying no mind to the slight pinch of pain the needle brings. He swings his legs over the edge of his bed and stands, a wave of dizziness overcoming him from rising too quickly.
He shakes his head and presses on, stumbling into the main area of the medbay. The room is vacant and dark, not even Tessa is in sight - something he's quite thankful for. As he throws open the door to leave, noise from the 's computer and briefing room hits his ears immediately. Without haste, he makes his way in that direction.
Alex and J'onn stand behind Winn as he sits at his computer, typing rapidly and giving nervous orders into a communicator. The feedback is pure static and he looks nervously at his superiors for answers.
"Keep trying," J'onn commands. "We'll reach them eventually."
"Eventually might not be soon enough!" Mon-El paces the room, chewing his thumbnail and wearing a look of worry.
Alex nods her agreement. "He's right, J'onn. We haven't heard from them in over an hour. They could be in serious trouble by now."
"She can do this," the Director answers, his eyes never leaving Winn's computer screen. "We have to believe she can do this."
Querl steps forward on shaky legs, his brow furrowed and a frown deepening on his face. "What's happened?" He comes to stand beside Alex and study the screen before them.
"Supergirl and her team," Alex doesn't bother masking her concern. "We sent them with the Legion's ship to Fort Rozz prison in outer space. There's a Kryptonian woman kept there called Jindah Kol Rozz and we have reason to believe she has information on how to defeat Reign. But," she chews her bottom lip. "Without the yellow sun, Kara's powers are down. And Winn can't reach a connection to communicate with anyone."
Querl turns to Mon-El, anger flashing. "You should have woken me! We should have gone! I can pilot the ship better than anyone and communications would've been properly established."
Mon-El shakes his head. "The prison resides within the orbit of a blue star, the radiation would have killed you and I both."
"Which is why Kara and Imra went instead," Alex finishes for him.
"With Psi and Livewire," Winn scoffs from his desk. "Still don't think that was the best plan, boss."
"Kara put her trust in them, we should do the same," J'onn's deep voice leaves no room for argument.
Quickly, Querl takes a seat at the computer next to Winn's and immediately starts typing. "No luck at all?"
"Negative," Winn answers. "And the ship took a hit from a solar flare earlier, knocking it out of orbit. I got one message through. Fuzzy as shit and I can't get through again. Everything's jammed."
"Our biggest concern is the blue star," Mon-El adds. "It'll incinerate them if they're there too long."
"Of course it will, it's a star," Querl rolls his eyes. "Let me see if I can reach them."
Winn glances at him, "I don't think you will, dude. I've been trying none stop."
His eyes narrow and his frown worsens. "Clearly you don't understand who I am." His fingers attack the keyboard furiously, entering codes and series as quickly as they come to mind. A pounding headache surfaces. "Why is every computer here equivalent to a damn espresso machine?!" Another entered code fails and he slams his fist on the table. "I will not be known as the twelfth-level intellect that allowed Supergirl to burn up in a blue star!"
Winn raises a brow at him, but says nothing and continues to type on his own computer.
A growl escapes Querl's lips. Hold on Kara, just hold on. I am not going to lose you this soon.
A hand lays upon his shoulder. Glancing up, Querl finds Alex looking down at him, her brown eyes convey the worry she shares. Lightly, she squeezes his shoulder and offers a small smile. "Just keep trying," she says softly.
"If you have any suggests, I'm open to them," he grumbles. "Anything short of a note in a bottle would be appreciated."
"Note in a bottle…" Winn mutters next to them. "That's it!" He claps his hands together and turns to face Querl. "You're a goddamn genius!" His fingers fly over his keyboard.
"What are you doing?" Querl's brow furrows as he tries to pick up on Winn's actions.
"Trying to use Voyager 2 as a means to bounce our signal to the ship."
"Winn, that's brilliant!" Alex cheers encouragingly. "Can it really work?"
"Just give me some time. It should, I mean, it could. But," he bites his lip, uncertain. "I have no idea how far out the satellite is currently."
Leaning far enough to see the coordinates Winn uses, Querl swirls to face his own computer to copy them and aid in the quest. "Come on...come on…"
Minutes pass by like hours with each pair of eyes glued to the two computer screens. Static sounds through the speakers, making everyone on edge. Querl and Winn barely blink as they scan their signals and codes, keys clinking and clanking as they type faster and faster with each passing second. A hush settles over the group, each collectively holding their breath as they wait in anxiousness.
And then, "Hello? Hello? Can anyone hear me?"
"Imra?!" Winn practically shouts in the communicator. Mon-El quickly moves to stand next to him, his face coated in anguish. "Imra, are you there?"
"Winn?" She shouts, though it comes through faintly. "Winn, Reign is aboard the ship! I-I can't locate Kara or Livewire!"
No, Querl's stomach practically drops out of him as his nerves jolt and twist. Hastily, he snatches the communicator from Winn and shouts into it. "Imra!"
"Brainy? The ship's machinery is down! I don't know what to do!"
He frets, all twelve of his intellects racing to decipher which means of repair would be the fastest and most efficient. "Imra, listen to me. I'm going to walk you through everything, okay? Keep your comm with you at all times. Understand?"
"Yes," she answers him. Another voice in the background speaks, though it's one he does not recognize. "Hold on, I need to free Gayle from her inhibitor."
"What?" Mon-El barks. "Imra, no! She's not to be trusted."
There's no answer for a few minutes until Imra returns to her comm. "I'm here, sorry. She's off to aid the others. What do I do?"
"You need to go to the mainframe with the toolkit under my seat," he answers quickly.
She's quiet again before answering that she's retrieved his tools. Shots of electricity and the fizzing of wires can be heard over the communicators. "Alright, I'm here."
He's sharp and pointed with his instructions, telling her exactly what needs to be done. She follows without hesitation or question, completely his step-by-step tasks flawlessly. As time goes on, Imra swears beneath her breath as another wire snaps and shocks her.
"Be careful," Mon-El says.
"I don't have time to be careful!" His wife snaps. "We've got little more than ten minutes before the entire ship fries!"
Mon-El and Querl share a worried look and Alex grips the back of Winn's chair tightly.
"I'm sorry," Imra says softly, tiredly. "Now is not the time for me to argue with you."
Mon-El swallows a lump in his throat. "Don't apologize. Just-just come back to me."
"I love you," it's easy to hear the fear and sadness in her voice. "I -"
"Save this for later," Querl barks, his own feelings threatening to surface drastically. "Imra, connect the yellow and black wires, then press the two buttons on the side panel at the same time. It should effectively restart the ship." And fucking find Kara, he wants to yell.
"Okay," her voice shakes. "Okay."
They wait, praying Saturn Girl is successful in establishing the ship's power.
"Three minutes," Winn whispers, his face pale.
"She'll do it," J'onn responds, though perhaps to settle his own unease more than voice his true faith in Imra's ability.
Time stills as they wait for Imra's voice to soothe them. To tell them she'd completed Querl's task and the ship was steady once more. Yet the more they waited, the larger the silence, and the greater their fears grew.
And then, suddenly, like a splash of cold water, she returns. "I-I did it! It worked! The mainframe is online again!"
"Yes!" Mon-El hoots, clapping his hands together and smiling widely. "Way to go, sweetheart!"
"Fly out of there!" Querl shouts. "You've got one minute, Imra, put it in hyperdrive and don't hold back!"
"Copy that!" She replies, steadier than she was moments before. "Brainy stay on with me, just in case."
J'onn turns to the D.E.O. agents surrounding the computer screens. "You hear that, people? They're coming home!" A cheer sweeps through the room with people clapping and hugging each other in delight. Alex, near tears from the stress, pulls J'onn into a tight embrace, only breaking to pull Winn into one as well.
Mon-El clasps Querl's shoulder, smiling at him through shining tears. "You did good, man. Thanks for steering her through that."
Querl nods, biting the words he wants to say. They shouldn't have gone at all. Instead he gives a short, "It was nothing." And quickly, he excuses himself, feeling Mon-El stare after him.
***O***O***O***
When the Legion's ship lands hours later, Querl stands in the middle of the crowd gathered in the D.E.O. He shifts anxiously from foot to foot, peering over others to catch sight of Kara.
If she's hurt at all...if she's bleeding or broken something...his mind can only obsess over the possible harms that could have come to her.
His thoughts are broken as soon as the agents of the D.E.O. begin clapping and whistling, marking the return of Supergirl and her team. Querl strains his neck and stands on the tips of his toes, trying to see better. Hoots and cheers fill the room, with enthusiastic shouts for girl power and chanting of "Supergirl! Saturn Girl!".
Imra smiles and runs down the steps, practically flying into Mon-El's arms. Even from his stance among the others, Querl can see the tears in her eyes as her husband hugs her tightly. He doesn't bother watching them for long, knowing they'll be retreating to their private room as soon as possible to truly celebrate Imra's return.
His attention is brought back to the staircase at the sound of a voice he's longed to hear since he'd woken that day.
"...can you guys find her a nicer cell? Maybe one with a window?" Kara pleads with the guards taking Psi back into custody. And the two women share a mutual look of respect for one another before the villain is carted off.
Kara then turns to face the crowd, a shy smile on her pink lips.
She's okay, he tells himself. She's here, and she's okay.
Her eyes move over the people standing before her, her brow furrowing slightly as she searches for someone. They land on her sister, who's trying to climb the stairs to meet her, though the boot she wears for her broken leg causes her trouble. Kara smiles and quickly meets her instead, wrapping her arms around Alex and saying something Querl cannot hear over the noise of the crowd. Winn and J'onn join them, folding the two women into their arms and Querl can only pin this as a moment meant for family only.
He waits, hoping she takes notice soon, for his patience has always been thin and the stress he'd been enduring all day was close to making him crack.
When at last she is free, she turns to look again through the now dispersing crowd. Finally she finds him and instantly a smile decorates her face. She nearly runs at him, her hair bouncing and sky blue eyes shining. He feels frozen in his spot, unable to move and completely dazed by her coming to greet him.
Without a word, he grabs for her as soon as she reaches him, cupping her face gently and pulling her to his lips in a desperate, loving kiss. She returns it eagerly, mimicking him and holding his own face in her delicate hands. Their kiss blossoms from one to two, and three, then four, and five before he finally breaks away from her, breathing hard and planting more, softer, shorter kisses on her cheeks, eyelids, and nose before he can bring himself to speak.
He gazes into her eyes with his own dark set. "You're alright?" His voice quivers, revealing the fear he'd been holding in all day. "Did she hurt you?"
She shakes her head. "No, I'm okay. I healed once we reached the yellow sun's orbit."
"So she did hurt you?"
"I'm okay, Querl, really." She drops her eyes momentarily.
He frowns, catching that something plagues her. "What is it? What's happened?"
"We lost Leslie," she explains quietly, the guilt she feels evident in her tone. "I-I couldn't help her; I was too late. She fought Reign on her own, and I was little more than a spectator." She sighs softly. "And then, she-she jumped in front of me. She was hit, full force and everything. All to protect me. And I couldn't - I wasn't -"
"Shhhh," He brings her closer to him, slipping his arms around her slim waist. "It's not your fault, Kara. Don't shoulder this burden. None of you should have been out there to begin with, honestly. It was a risk to send the lot of you so far away without proper aid."
"It was my idea," she laid her head upon his shoulder, a shiver running through her. "I thought we could just barge in there, without any kind of consequence. And it cost Leslie her life." She sniffles and he can tell she's doing her best not to cry.
"Come on," he kisses her hair. "Let's get you home."
She nods into the curve of his neck. "Will you stay with me?" She sniffles again, voice small. "Please?"
He tightens his hold around her. "Of course, darling. Of course."