A/N: The poll has finally been updated! Thank you for all your patience and enthusiasm.
Big thanks to the guest who sent in today's prompt: The DEO was too late when Alex was controlled by myriad and Kara was hurt badly by Alex
So, this takes place back in season one in the last two episodes.
Storm sends bullets of rain water smashing against the pavement and the droplets splash back up before settling into crevices on the street and when the kryptonite blade slashes her abdomen, slits her skin, deep crimson pours out and the asphalt is bathed in red.
Kara's knees crash into the pavement and she sinks forward; pale, shaking hand shooting out to clutch the gash, while the other arm jolts to break her fall. She's bent over and the effort to raise her head is a monumental feat as she anticipates the next hit from Alex.
Blood surges out of Kara's abdomen and into her hand and her other arm screams and snaps under the weight of her fall and somewhere in the distance a familiar voice calls her sister's name.
Kara blinks. Heavy. Dark. The arm beneath her gives out, the bone a mess of fractures, and the other clenches against her stomach as conversation flits away from her.
Thunder and her heart boom. The pavement slickens with blood and rain. A cycle of beats roars in her ears and her head drops forward, lungs heaving against the burning white pain swelling inside her.
Metal clatters against the ground. Another crackle sounds. Hands rub her back, softening against her pounding head. Kara, Kara, Kara echoes around her and the strained cry of I'm sorry, I'm so sorry circling through a loop.
She fights her body to open her eyes, glances half-lidded at the blurry forms in front of her. Alex. Eliza.
"You're okay, sweetie," Eliza's voice murmurs through the rain. "We need to get you inside so we can fix this, okay?"
Kara's words are lost in her throat, in the fuzziness of her brain.
"I can carry her," another voice says and Kara squints, sees J'onn standing over her. She bites her lip as he lifts her up, draws blood when her body is jostled and she swallows a scream. She sees Alex lingering to the side, eyes distant and misty, everything about her posture is wrong.
Kara's voice is still gone so she lifts her broken arm and tears flood her eyes at the movement as she nudges Alex. "It's okay," she manages finally, as the rain cuts out and a ceiling takes form above her, Alex just shakes her head and tightens her fingers in their fidgeting.
Kara's laid on a table in an empty room and her blood spills forth, drenches the material as tears mingle and fall, cutting of her next words.
Cat Grant flings the door open and steps through the frame, her voice is slow and dangerous as she asks "What the hell is going on?"
Alex ducks her head into shadow, shoves away the remnants of her tears. From the table, Kara tries to lift her head, but it only falls back with a thud and an involuntary cry, and Cat's eyes flit over, land on Supergirl and pooling blood. Cat blinks, then pushes her way in and lingers.
"There was an accident," J'onn explains and Cat nods absently, her gaze is already trained on Kara, the younger woman's eyes are scrunched closed in pain. The rest of the group stands silent and unmoving.
The air buzzes with tenseness and panic.
Cat's head snaps up. "Well, you are going to help her, aren't you?"
Alex lifts her eyes to meet Cat's. "That's exactly what we were trying to do, when you shoved your way in," the brunette retorts and steps in front of the other woman, putting herself between Cat and Kara. "Now we're going to continue. We'll rejoin you when Supergirl is okay."
Cat rolls her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Listen—" Alex begins, but is cut off by J'onn.
"Agent Danvers, we have more important things to focus on. Supergirl needs your help."
Alex shoots him a glare but turns away from Cat and refocuses her attention on Kara, falling silent and tearing off her jacket to press into Kara's wound. The blonde squirms, biting her lip as Alex applies more pressure. "I'm sorry," Alex says, tears leaking into her voice again. "I'm so sorry." Eliza joins Alex on the other side of the table and Cat takes a few steps back, watches from the side of the room.
"Ka-Supergirl," Eliza corrects herself and Cat rolls her eyes.
"I know it's her."
Three sets of eyes snap into her direction and Kara makes an attempt to look over from the table.
"Oh don't act so surprised," she waves her hand and from the Kryptonian's position, emerges a small cry when Alex's hand shifts.
Alex shoots her gaze back down to her sister. "We don't have time for this bullshit, we'll worry about it later," she says. "Right now we have more important things to focus on," she says, using J'onn's words. "I need a first aid kit, whatever we can get," she says and J'onn agrees to find them.
"Kara, sweetheart, I need look at the wound," Eliza says, turning back around.
Kara whimpers, pulls her hand tighter around her abdomen as Eliza wedges her fingers beneath Kara's, tries to ease them away.
"Shit," Alex says, the moment Kara's hand is away. A green glow pulsates from the surging blood, shards of the sword embedded in her flesh and muscle. "This is bad. This is so bad."
Eliza peers in, brows furrowed as she studies the wound.
"What are we going to do?" Alex asks, looking up at her mom with wide eyes. "We can't—there's… there's too much, we'll never get—get it all out. There's too much. There-"
"Alex," Eliza begins. "You're going to do it. You're going to get tweezers that J'onn finds and pull the pieces out, once the kryptonite is gone, Kara's powers will aid in her healing. It will be slower than normal, but it should save her life."
"I—I can't. It'll hurt her. Why can't you do it? I can't—I can't do this right now, I'll screw up. I'll-" Alex breaks off, rubbing a hand across her forehead, hard enough that Eliza knows it hurts.
"Hold this," Eliza instructs Cat, tilting her head to the jacket pressed against Kara. "We'll be right back, Kara, just hold on a little longer, sweetie." With that, Eliza takes Alex's hand, guides her into the hallway and closes the door.
Alex's breaths leap in her throat, her diaphragm lurching and hiccupping.
"Alex," Eliza starts, voice sturdy and slow. "Alexandra, look at me. Just take a second to breathe. Deep breaths, there you go."
Alex tilts her head up, eyes watery and red, shoves her shaking hands in her pocket. "I did that… that was me… I h—hurt her, I can't do it again."
Eliza shakes her head. "That wasn't you, honey."
"I hurt her," Alex repeats and all her features pull down in guilt, sits heavy in her stomach and limbs.
"Hey, and now you get the chance to undo it," Eliza says, pulls Alex's hands into her own, provides a warm weight until they stop shaking. "Alex Danvers, you are the best doctor I have ever met, that's why you need to do this. Because I know you can. Because you are better at this than I ever have been. And I know you've been patching up Kara longer than any of us."
Alex lets out a watery choke of a laugh.
She sniffles and Eliza releases her daughter's hands to wipe the brunette's eyes. "Your sister needs you. We need you, Alex. You can do this."
Alex nods, lets out a shaky breath. "Kara needs me," she says and J'onn appears around the hall. She takes the kit and he disappears again in search of more supplies.
Inside the room, Cat had held the jacket to Kara's wound with one hand, used the over to brush back blonde hair. "You're strong, Kara," she whispers, in a tone she's only ever used with Carter before. "You're strong enough to get through this, so you have to fight."
"You're not mad?" Kara asks, voice breathy and eyes still scrunched close.
"No, I'm not mad." She moves her hand to Kara's shoulder, gives it a gentle squeeze. "We'll talk later, you just focus on hanging on right now, hmm?"
"Okay," she whispers, opens her mouth to say something else when the door swings open, hits the wall and rebounds back toward the frame.
"Kara," Alex says, putting her tools on the table. "We're going to do this and it's going to hurt like hell, but then you're going to heal, okay?"
Kara nods, tears spill over from her eyes. "I believe in you, Alex," she says, voice strained against gurgling blood and heavy eyelids.
"I love you, Kara," Alex says, takes the jacket from Cat and grabs the tweezers.
"Love you too, 'lex," Kara murmurs, squeezes her eyes shut as Alex snaps on gloves and moves skin away from the wound.
"You hang on for me, all right?"
"All right," Kara murmurs softly.
"Hold her hand," Alex says.
"Me?" Eliza asks.
"No," Alex shakes her head. "I'm going to need you to hand me stuff."
She looks around. "Shit, J'onn's still not back. Cat, would you—"
"Yes," Cat says, extends her hand to Kara and lets the younger woman grasp it, squeeze in nervousness as Alex's tweezers make contact with the first sliver of bare and bloody flesh.
Then Alex plunges the metal into the first shard of kryptonite, the largest in the inner side of Kara's abdomen. The jagged edges yank on Kara's muscle and a scream slips from Kara's lips, reverberates through the room. She presses her head against the table, hand clenching around Cat's. Pain scorches across Kara's abdomen, flashes through her neurons as cells tear and the kryptonite leaks.
Alex finesses the fragment out, removes the tweezers and shifts the kryptonite into a box Eliza holds. Kara's shoulders unclench, her head lolling against the back of the table as her breath screeches and her heart pounds.
"Okay, Kar, we're going to go again. You're doing great, little sis," Alex says and Eliza strokes Kara's hair for a moment. Kara's bites the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out, eyes still squeezed shut.
Alex probes back inside, the metal grates against Kara's inside. Scrapes, pulls, and slits. Kara writhes and it's instantly worse than before—the smaller the piece, the more digging required, the more burning flashes of pain send her eyes threatening to roll backward, as the darkness behind her eyes go darker.
The tweezers finally grip the targeted piece and the yanking begins. White sparks shoot behind her eyes. Kara writhes and her whimpering is involuntary—a penetrating yelp that grows sharper and louder. The shard is halfway out of where it's embedded in Kara's inside when J'onn walks in and Alex has to yell over Kara's cries, for J'onn to hold down Kara's thrashing form.
Kara is still yelling for Alex to stop when the piece is dropped into the box and moved away. "It's out, Kara, the second one is out," Alex murmurs and she wants to reach for Kara's hair, run a soothing hand through it, but her fingers are drenched in blood. The blonde sinks back against the table, lungs heaving and tears spilling forward.
"Ready? Just a few more," Alex says, dries her gloved hand on a towel Eliza produces.
"I can't," Kara whispers, voice edged and soaked in pain.
"Yes you can, I know you can."
"No," she squeezes her eyes closed even tighter, grits her teeth. "I can't. I can't."
"Come on, please. It'll be over soon," Alex tries and her own voice becomes leaden with threatening tears as she pleads with her sister.
Kara shakes her head, she only manages to move mere centimeters but her message is clear as cries fall from behind closed eyelids. "It's too much, I can't. I—"
"Kara." Cat's sharp voice cuts through the air of soft words and whispers.
Kara blinks her eyes open.
"I know it hurts," Cat continues. "But you did not fight through all these worlds, all these years, for all these people, to give up now and be taken down by some bullshit unflattering shade of green space rock, you hear me?"
Kara nods.
"Good. Now you're going to squeeze my hand and we're going to take care of you…and you scream and kick and cry—you do whatever you need to get through this, and you will… get through this. You can do it, Kara. Give the okay and Agent Danvers will start and this will be over soon."
So Kara does. She nods and Alex starts, twists the tweezers through muscle and flesh, digs out shards of kryptonite.
Twenty one times.
Alex drops the last piece into the lead box. Kara's arched back collapses back onto the table, murmuring nonsense words and Alex immediately yanks off her gloves so she can take Kara's hand, rub her shoulder, press a kiss against her sweat drenched forehead. "It's over, Kar. You're going to start healing now," Alex whispers. "It's over, it's okay."
Kara breaks into a sob, equal parts pain and relief.
Alex cleans the wound with quivering hands, brow soaked in sweat as she stitches up her sister with delicate fingers even though Alex might be shaking more than her sister when the whole thing's complete.
Kara's slipped into sleep, cheek pressed against Alex's hand when the brunette declares her stable. Cat and J'onn filter out, with promises to be back later. Eliza lingers, rubs Alex's back and pressing a kiss into her hair.
"You did well, Alex."
Without releasing her grip from Kara, Alex lifts her other arm, pulls Eliza into a hug and lets her tears fall. "I didn't mean to h-hurt her. I didn't mean to."
"I know," Eliza murmurs against Alex's hair. "It's okay, sweetheart. You're okay and so is Kara."
Alex sniffles, tightens her grip on both Danvers until her tears ebb away and she takes a deep breath. "I think—I think I'm going to stay here with her a little longer. I don't want her to wake up alone."
"Okay," Eliza says, straightening and squeezing Alex's shoulder. "Call if you need anything."
Alex nods, and with that she's alone with her sister, lets her forehead rest against Kara's hair, holds the hand closest to her.
It's an hour later when Kara blinks back into consciousness, tilts her head toward Alex's blurry form. "What're you doing? You need to be out there fighting."
Alex lifts her head, a smile pulls at her lips. "Hey sleepyhead, we'll save the world tomorrow, right now, I've gotta make sure the best part of my world is doing okay."
A grin lights up Kara's pale cheeks. "I'm not even from this world."
"You're still the best part."
Kara makes a move to shift closer but a hiss falls from her lips instead, face contorting in pain.
"What's wrong?" Alex asks, sitting upright and squinting at Kara, following her sister's gaze.
"Nothing," Kara says, but Alex is already up, easing Kara's arm out of the sleeve of her supersuit.
"Kara," the agent says, voice in tears. "Your arm, what happened? Why didn't you say anything earlier? Why didn't I catch this?"
"You were saving my life, Alex. It's just a broken bone."
"Just a broken bone? Kara's there are at least three breaks here." Her bottom lip quiver and she bites it. Hard, keeps it trapped between her teeth to keep a cry from escaping. "I did this to you," she murmurs, eyes distant and impervious to Kara's words of comfort, meant to alleviate guilt, the light conversation she initiates as Alex sets Kara's arm and braces it.
"Is that better?" she asks, voice cracking on the last word.
"Yeah, of course," Kara says, sitting up with a few grunts and sighs. "I'm already healing, Alex. A few hours and I'll be fine, good to go in the morning, especially with the sunlight."
Alex buries her head in Kara's hair, tears wetting the blonde locks. "I'm sorry," she sobs. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to… I didn't want to do it. I tried to stop but I couldn't, it was t—too strong. I could have killed you… I almost killed you."
"Hey," Kara murmurs, the fingers on her good hand reach up and run along Alex's hair, clench around it and hug Alex into her side. "It wasn't your fault. I know it wasn't your fault."
"I love you," Alex says, sniffling when her tears have slowed.
"I love you, too," Kara says. "Come lay up here with me."
Alex gives a small watery laugh. "You're on a table."
Kara looks over the side. "Oh."
Alex smiles and Kara grins at her. "Do it anyway."
Alex complies, climbing up and stretching alongside the blonde.
Kara snuggles into the touch. "When this is all over I want to have sisters' night every night for, like, at least a week."
"Sounds like a deal." Alex laughs.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." The brunette affirms and pulls Kara closer, holds her until Kara's powers spark back to life and the sun rises and it's time to save the world again.