Earth - 31st Century - 3036

Mon-El had been more than a little surprised when he'd walked into Astra's office with Imra to find his grown son. He hadn't actually told Astra that he'd left a ring behind for the boy in hopes that something like this would happen, so when she gave him a slight glare he managed to look a bit sheepish. Out of all of her Legionnaires Astra was truly close to a handful, though she cared deeply about them all. Imra and Preya were the closest to her because they were like her own children since she'd raised them from the time they were nine and five years old. Brainy because his desire to prove his worth as a good person, as a hero, reminded her a lot of herself. And Mon-El, whom she'd had a very rocky start with for so many reasons.

They would need to send the children back soon but Astra agreed to allow Mon-El and Andrew some time together. The boy clearly wanted to get to know his father and Mon-El wanted to know his son. So she'd agreed to give them twenty four hours. After finishing some paperwork Astra headed up to the garden. Seeing Kara's children had shaken her and she needed time to deal with the days events. Years ago her favorite spot on the waterfront had been destroyed in a battle, so she'd had the garden on the roof built, not only to serve as a memorial for Supergirl, but for all of those who fell along the way. As she made her way along the path she was more than a little surprise to see Alexis in one of the open patches of grass. Not only was she surprised to see the girl, having assumed she'd gone with her brother and Mon-El, but she was also surprised by the familiar movements the girl was doing.

Astra watched the girl for several minutes before finally approaching her. "You know advanced level Klurkor?" She asked the girl, who suddenly stopped and turned to face her. "Your mother never knew more than the basics. Alura never wanted her to know more than the beginners level, who taught you that?"

Alexis smiled warmly at the woman. "You did of course. Klurkor, Torquasm Rao, Torquasm Vo, Horu-Kanu, I learned them all from you."

"Form me?" Astra replied, her eyes wide. "How, little one?"

"My mother's a genius." Alexis said with great pride. "She was able to unlock a lot of the secret files in the Alura living memory hologram, that combined with personal journals Mama found on a derelict Fort Rozz, and insight from other sources like the living memory recordings made by Seg El, and Mama's own memories of you, my Mom was able to create a hologram of you just like Grandmother's. You've been our teachers since I was little."

That both surprised Astra and warmed her heart. Kara not only allowed her children to know her, but to be taught by her likeness. She had gone out of her way to keep the Astra she remembered alive for her own children. "Would you mind showing me how well my hologram has done as a teacher?"

"I'd love too." Alexis said with a huge smile.

They spared in silence for a while, both of them measuring the other up a bit. Astra was quite impressed with the girl. It was clear in the way she moved, in the way she fought, that she didn't rely solely on her super abilities. That was good, that was smart, and even though it wasn't actually her giving the girl these lessons, Astra couldn't help but feel proud. Finally after a few more minutes of focusing on the physical, Astra asked her first question. "You didn't go with your brother and Mon-El?"

Alexis shook her head before dodging a blow. "Mon-El is his biological parent not mine. I figured I'd give them time alone. I'd rather stay here with you. I have questions."

Astra smiled warmly. "I suppose you do. Well, go ahead little one, ask them."

Nervously biting the corner of her lip was a habit Alexis had picked up from both of her mothers. She bit her lip for a moment before stopping the sparing so she could focus on Astra. A lot of what she wanted to know was pretty heavy stuff and they should probably focus on that. "I guess the most important thing I'd like to know is why, if your rings can time travel, did you never come back? Why didn't you come back and let Mama know you were alive? She misses you, and my Aunt Alex, I don't think she's ever really gotten over what happened. And why wouldn't you have come back after finding out about Sam?"

Those were indeed heavy questions. Truth was that Astra hadn't wanted to hurt Kara by telling her the truth. She had felt it was better if her niece had continued to think she were dead. As for Alex, Astra had a great deal of respect for her niece's adoptive human sister and it pained her to think that she was a lasting cause of emotional upset for the young Danvers woman. Unsure if she could properly say any of that to the girl in a way that she would understand, Astra decided to tackle what she assumed to be the easier topic of choice. "Who is Sam?"

Green eyes, an El with green eyes amused Astra greatly, went wide with surprise at Astra's words. "You don't know?" Astra shook her head, still looking confused or puzzled. "Oh, wow, I'd just assumed after they'd returned they would have told you."

"They?" Astra questioned. "You mean Mon-El, Imra and Brainy?"

Alexis nodded. Then she bit her lip again and started to nervously play with her fingers. Looking up at Astra she said, "So I've watched enough time travel science fiction to know that you can't tell me anything about the future because when I go back to my time I could end up changing something, but does that apply the other way around? Is it alright for me to tell you something about the past?"

Astra motioned towards a nearby bench where the pair could sit and talk while she spoke, "When Brainy first told me he'd included a time travel feature in the rings, I must have yelled at him for over an hour, asking him why he would include such a thing. Afterwards I knew there would need to be some major rules put into place and some adjustments made on the procall. For example, time travel is never done alone, which is why you got pulled here along with Andrew. Time travel is never done without permission and a game plan, and it's used pretty rarely. The events that happened regarding Andrew were special because they hadn't happened yet. We knew that Lobo was going after Andrew because he'd come after Mon-El first, so we didn't really need to worry about changing the past. We don't make a habit of changing the past, Alexis, we have enough to worry about in our present." Reaching out Astra cupped the girl's chin the way she use to hold Kara's chin when they spoke. "I can tell that whatever it is you want to tell me you think it's something important I should know."

"It is." Alexis replied. "Not just for you but for her too."

"Her too?" Astra replied. "Do you mean this Sam person you mentioned?"

Alexis nodded.

"Then by all means, little one, tell me." Astra said gently.

Alexis chewed her lip again. "It's going to hurt you."

Dear Rao, the child looked so much like Kara in that moment that Astra wanted to cry. She smiled instead, wanting to be reassuring. "I'm a hard biscuit, I can take it."

Alexis blinked and then relaxed with a soft chuckle. "You mean a tough cookie."

"All these years and Earth idioms still go over my head." Astra said with a gentle laugh and shake of her head. Again she smiled at the girl and caressed her cheek reassuringly. "Now, go on little one, what is it I should know?"

"Non lied to you." Alexis said without hesitation. "Your daughter wasn't too weak to survive, she didn't die the night of her birth, he stole her. Non took her to the Cult of Reign and she was kept in stasis while they experimented on her to give her superpowers on Krypton. Two of the cult members worked for my grandfather Zor, they knew the end was coming, and they knew what Zor and Jor were planning to do with their kids. They built their own escape pod and when the planet was about to explode they took the baby from status and put her in it, and sent her to Earth. You're daughter is alive, Aunt Astra, there's blood tests to prove it. Her name is Samantha Arias, she's married to my Aunt Alex and she has two daughters, Ruby and Maya, and when she's sad or frightened or lost she talks to your hologram, because sometimes a girl just needs her mom. I love my Aunt Sam, I think she's amazing and special, and I don't know, I just thought maybe, since you're alive, maybe she could get to know her mom for real. I was out here trying to clear my head because I was kind of mad at you. I couldn't understand why, if you were alive, you hadn't come for Aunt Sam, to meet her, but you didn't know, you needed to know."

Astra blinked. She was still processing everything the girl had just said. "Rao, you are your mother's child."

Alexis blushed. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

How did Alexis even know she had a child? Astra made Alura swear never to speak of it again. The girl had mentioned earlier that her mother had unlocked secret files on Alura's living memory banks, they must have discovered it there. The Cult of Reign? She had never put much stock into the whispers, but hadn't Non been assigned to look into reports about something strange and dark involving the old gods? Could Non have fallen in with them? Could he have done something as savage and cruel as sacrificing their child to them? There hadn't been a body, just a tiny urn filled with ashes. He'd said he wanted to spare her more grief. Then her mind flashed to what she knew of the past. "Reign. As in the world killer?"

"Non was plotting a coup." Alexis said softly. "Reign was meant to be his ultimate weapon."

Non had been looking for something on Earth before they'd come across Myriad. Could he have been looking for his ultimate weapon? He would never tell her what he was searching for, only that it would be their greatest asset, and that things would finally be set right.

"Aunt Astra." Alexis said softly and waited until the older woman looked at her. "I'm sorry I've caused you pain. I just really thought you should know the truth."

"You have given me a lot to think about, little one." Asta said reassuringly. "And even when it does cause pain, the truth is always best."

Alexis snorted softly. "You sound like my moms telling me that telling the truth will get me into less trouble. When it all goes down I'm still in trouble."

Still unable to face her past, even more so now that she knew of Samantha, Astra asks Brainy to remove her presence from the children's memories as they slept. Then she retreated to her living quarters until after the children were sent back to their time. She struggled with not wanting to believe what Alexis had told her, and knowing deep down it was possible. How different would her life had been if she'd gotten to raise her child, to watch her grow alongside Kara. She wondered, not for the first time to be totally honest, how she could have allowed herself to be taken in by Non and his charm and manipulations.

After the children were gone and she'd had time to think and sort through her thoughts and emotions Astra sent for Imra, Mon-El and Brainy. She sat quite stoically in her chair as the three stood before her. She could tell that Imra wanted to say something, she probably wanted to ask why she had Brainy remove her from the children's memory, but the look on Astra's face kept her words at bay. Finally Astra asked, "Why didn't any of you tell me that the woman Brainy helped Lena Luthor save was my daughter?"

Imra gasped. Mon-El looked just as surprised. Brainy stood there with his head slightly tilted to the left.

"Your daughter?" Imra repeated. "Reign was your daughter?"

"We didn't know, Astra." Mon-El reassured her. "If we'd know Sam was your daughter…"

"I knew." Brainy spoke up.

"What?" Mon-El replied, snapping his head to his left to look at his friend.

"I had access to Samantha Arias' personal files while I assisted Lena Luthor in extracting the Reign virus." Brainy explained. "I saw the lab results of the mitochondrial DNA tests that confirmed that Reign and Supergirl shared the same matrilineal bloodline."

"Briany, how could you!" Imra scolded, looking at him with disbelief. "Why would you keep something like that to yourself? Why would you lie to, Astra?"

"I did not lie." Brainy said, tilting his head slightly to the other side.

"A lie of omission is still a lie, Brainy." Mon-El said reproachfully. "You should have been upfront with that information. Astra had a right to know."

"After everything she's done for you." Imra said, angry on Astra's behalf. "Why would you keep something so important from her."

Brainly looked as uncomfortable as he could as his gaze shifted between his friends and mentor.

"Enough." Astra ordered. "Both of you, leave Brainy alone. I know his intentions were malicious."

"I never meant to cause anyone pain." Brainy said softly. "Quite the opposite in fact. Not only Astra's but Imra's as well."

Imra blinked. "Mine?"

"I calculated a very high chance that if Astra knew about Samantha's indentiny she would leave." Brainy explained. "And I could not bare… I did not want… I knew that that would cause Imra pain."

Mon-El crossed his arms. "Did you bother to calculate the odds of her returning?"

"No I did not." Brainy replied, dropping his gaze to the floor. When he felt a hand on his shoulder, Brainy looked up to find Astra standing before him. She squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

"I'm not angry with you, Brainy." Astra told him. "Perhaps a little hurt." She said honestly. "But I'm not angry. And I would never abandon you." She took her hand from Brainy's shoulder to caress Imra's cheek. "Any of you."

Imra didn't leave after Astra dismissed them. Astra had given her and Preya a life after losing everything on Titan, their parents, their home, their planet. She had protected them, raised them as her own, loved them as her own, and now was Imra's chance to give something back to Astra. Walking up behind the older woman Imra spoke softly. "Tia?"

"Yes Immy?" Astra replied without looking away from the window and the city beyond.

"You should go meet her." Imra said firmly. "Your daughter, Samantha, you should go meet her."

"Immy." Astra sighed softly and let her head fall forward. "I can't. You know I can't."

"Because you're afraid?" Imra replied. "Ashamed? You don't think Kara's compassion would include you? Even now? Surely she knows everything Non did, how he used you, how he…"

"Imra." Astra warned gently.

Imra sighed softly and moved closer. "You have been a wonderful mother to me and Preya. I think Samantha deserves the chance to know you. Just think about it, Tia. Please."

"Perhaps." Astra replied softly. "But I make no promises."

Imra smirked and hugged Astra from behind. "Of course you don't, Tia."

"Try to sound less smug, child." Astra huffed. "It's annoying."