And so, we know the costs of the battle against Reign. It's time for the aftermath now. Trigger warning: Heavy drinking and mentions of depression.

Just so you know, I used a slightly altered version of canon for this story:

The only canon I kept from the second half of season 3 was the fact that Lena helped Sam, they used Black K to separate Sam/Reign, and the Legion did go back to the future (except much earlier and without Winn). So that means Lena and James didn't date (for obvious reasons), James never revealed himself as Guardian nor did he spy on Lena at Kara's request and Argo doesn't exist (so both Alura and Zor-El are dead).

And now, enjoy the chapter (and grab a tissue or 10). Let me know what you think and come say hi on Tumblr (misthiosonthewall)!

Alex and Lena stood in the desert as the breeze picked up the sand around the feet and watched as the DEO techs reverently slipped Kara—no, Kara's body—into a black body bag. As the deafening silence boomed in their ears, the two women stared at the scene around them, focusing on the few bits of evidences left from the epic battle that had raged in the desert only an hour ago, the battle that had taken Kara's life—a scarlet pool of drying blood and a crimson handprint where the dying blonde had dug her fingers into the sand. The journey back to the DEO was a blur. Alex and Lena accompanied the body as it was laid out on the morgue slab for them to identify and confirm that it really was their blonde personification of sunshine lying there in a gruesome, but ultimately necessary formality. They stood and slowly took in the visual of unseeing blue eyes, once sparkling and full of life, gazing in the ceiling, the purple bruising around her throat, the angry red patches of torn skin, and the gaping hole in Kara's chest, just to the left of the singed crest of the once Great House of El.

Alex and Lena made eye contact from their position on either side of the slab as a sheet was pulled over Kara's body, her sightless eyes pulled gently shut by a sympathetic morgue tech. Alex's eyes were dulled by her grief as Lena's shone with unshed tears for the woman who had once brought so much joy to her life. Alex gently pressed a kiss to Kara's sheet-covered forehead and disappeared. Confident that she was alone, Lena began to weep as she pressed her head to Kara's chest, mourning the loss of the one person who had always promised never to leave her and then did, having sacrificed her life so that a near stranger could live—so that Lena would still have a friend in this world. Hours after Lena had cried out all the tears her eyes could produce, Alex silently crept into the morgue and too wept for the blonde that had left them all far too soon.

National City mourned the loss of its hero, who in four short years had managed to become its symbol and greatest defender. The statue by the waterfront became a makeshift memorial as flowers piled up around its base. Even the criminals seemed to be in mourning as the crime rate plummeted in the days following Supergirl's unexpected fall. The Fire Department and NCPD hung memorial bunting on every one of their stations as they joined the citizens of National City in mourning.

CatCo put out a photo of Kara's human persona in the lobby as a memorial to the rising journalist who had been caught in the crossfire. The company's former CEO, Press Secretary Cat Grant, put out a statement honoring her mentee as well as paying tribute to the hero whose career she helped jumpstart. In an uncharacteristic show of emotion, Cat teared up when she announced Kara's fall, not wanting the journalist she helped nurture to be forgotten as the world grieved for her superpowered alter ego.

L-Corp set out an 'in memoriam' photo of Supergirl in its lobby, next to a photo of Kara Danvers. The photos were placed far enough apart that people couldn't compare the two and make the connection between the fallen hero and journalist. Its CEO, who was conspicuously missing, expressed her condolences to the city and Kara Danvers' family. No one had seen her in three days. Sam, who was filling in for Lena, also expressed her sadness over the loss. Her secret connection to the battles that had ravaged National City in the past months remained known only to select few.

Once again the face of CatCo, James publicly expressed his sadness over a great career cut short, over the loss of a rising star whose potential would never be reached. Guardian had begun patrolling the streets of National City in the days after Supergirl's passing. His style was rougher and more violent, grief-stricken.

Winn hadn't slept in three days, his puffy eyes focused on his screen, wondering what he could have done differently. The DEO was silent and lifeless without its energetic blonde hero. Unable to bear the stillness, his sole focus was now keeping James and the other DEO agents safe, so no other mothers, sisters, and friends had to experience a grief like theirs.

Lucy arrived in the city the day after Kara's death and although she was unsure of her place amongst her colleagues and friends, she returned to the DEO anyway. In the time she had been apart from them, she was worried that they would all grow apart. They hadn't. The DEO agents were grateful to have her around and her friends were thankful for the support. Lucy's calm, stoic presence was a godsend in the chaotically silent DEO.

J'onn grieved for his Earth daughter in the much same way he had mourned his family on Mars. The normally stoic DEO leader wore a haunted expression on his face and a mournful shadow in his eyes. He grieved for the memory of Krypton, too, as Kara's death had meant the end of all those who remembered the Kryptonian way of life—and now one could say that Krypton was truly gone. He was secretly happy that Lucy had returned to National City's DEO branch as it allowed him to deal with his grief without it potentially endangering the lives of others.

Without Kara, Alex was lost. Desperate to erase the images of her sister taking her last breath as she lay alone in the desert, Alex drank and drank. A shell of her usually intimidating self, this frighteningly small version of Alex had stopped functioning altogether. Maggie desperately plied her with water as Alex just drank and drank and drank. In the few moments that she wasn't consuming everything remotely alcoholic in sight, Alex just sat there are the images of Kara dying in that desert, the images of Kara on that slab, the images of Kara in a body bag all played in her head like a merciless newsreel. Alex prayed to a god that she didn't believe in to make the images stop. No one ever answered her prayers.

Although it was no secret that Maggie and Kara butted heads (a lot), the detective mourned for the little sister she never wanted, but couldn't imagine her life without. Unwilling to add to Alex's anguish, Maggie grieved for the sunny blonde in private, sobbing when Alex finally passed out from exhaustion or whenever she managed a moment alone. And as though losing Kara wasn't enough, Maggie lamented the state her wife was in as she did all she could to keep Alex's emptiness from consuming her.

It is said that the loss of a child is so horrible that there is no word for a parent who loses one. Eliza always said that she couldn't imagine the pain of losing a child. Now she didn't have to—now she knew that pain. Eliza mourned Kara in solitude as she stayed in the blonde's apartment. It was just so Kara that Eliza could almost feel the blonde's radiant presence. As she mourned the loss of one child, the older woman found herself forced to watch as her other daughter threatened to slip away and her own feelings of loss threatened to eat her alive. Eliza's own demons also made their everlasting presence known as they threatened to eat her alive too. She was tempted to let them.

L-Corp's young CEO hadn't been seen in days. Her guilt all-consuming, Lena couldn't bear to be in her office where memories of Kara seemed to permeate every inch. Lena desperately wanted to hate Kara for lying to her and not trusting her, but she couldn't. She had heard every word Kara had said as she lay dying. Even in her last moments, the blonde wanted nothing more than to have Lena by her side—and Lena had no idea what to with that fact. Even though she was angry at Kara, Lena understood why she had reacted the way she did, but part of her was still furious about what had happened between them. And yet, in spite of everything, Kara had sacrificed her life so that Lena's only other friend could live her life in peace, free of the threat of Reign. Unsure of how to deal with the conflicting thoughts swirling around in her head, Lena drank and drank until they stopped. She drank until she stopped seeing empty blue eyes staring up at the dark sky. Drank until she stopped seeing the hole in Kara's chest. Drank until she didn't have the image of blood slowly seeping out of Kara's body still in her head. Drank until she forgot the very moment when Kara Danvers died.

Superman was grief-stricken at the loss of his cousin. Since her death, he had become noticeably harsher in his dealings with criminals. He even killed a kingpin who taunted about his loss. Superman doesn't kill—he never kills. Except he just did.

On the fourth day after Supergirl's death, a memorial service, led by President Marsdin and Superman, was held in front of the statue Lena had erected for her. Unsurprisingly, it was attended by many high-profile figures. The President spoke fondly of how the hero had saved her more than once and had become something of a friend while Clark spoke of how his cousin had brought him stories of his parents and connections to a culture he never had the chance to know. Stories were told of the kind hero who had made the ultimate sacrifice to keep National City safe. Guests regaled the crowd with stories of the hero who would save snakes from trees and bring ice cream to crying children all while being fierce enough to face the galaxy's most dangerous criminals—and win. Lena Luthor had even made a surprise appearance to honor her friend's memory and give a speech about a life cut short. That evening, the isle of flickering candles and mountains of flowers doubled in size. The crime lull in National City held steady.

The next day, a small funeral was held for Kara Danvers in her hometown of Midvale. Despite her relative lack of fame, Kara's funeral was rather well attended as the crowd was filled with fans of her work, her coworkers, and the likes of Cat Grant, Clark Kent, and Lois Lane. For a relative unknown in the journalistic world, Kara had managed to make friends in very high places as many powerful figures were in the crowd, unbeknownst to many of the other attendees. In attendance were the CFO of L-Corp, famed antiquities dealer Diana Prince, Alien Intelligence Liaison to the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lucy Lane, the second-in-command of the NCPD's Science Division, Maggie Sawyer, and, of course, Lena Luthor. Kara's coffin was topped with a massive bouquet of plumerias and a hidden House of El glyph as her friends and family took moments to honor her memory with eulogies filled with stories of an awkward teen who grew up to be one of the kindest beings on the planet, but in the end was a stark reminder of the fragility of life as she became the victim of very villains she vowed to stop.

The day after the funeral, CatCo announced that it would publish a special, commemorative issue of CatCo magazine featuring reprints of Kara's most famous stories and some of her lesser known, but equally brilliant articles. It also included a previously unpublished piece that she had been working on and a touching letter from Snapper Carr, who in an uncharacteristic display paid tribute to his protegee. The issues sold out almost instantly when they hit the stands the next week. CatCo was forced to order another run of the issue. Lena had a copy framed in her office—as did Alex and Eliza.

Two Weeks After Kara's Death…

After two weeks of constant drinking, Alex woke up to an apartment that was thoroughly cleansed of anything even remotely alcoholic and Maggie and Eliza sitting across from her. The brunette gingerly sat up, her head still pounding as the hangover set in, and gaped at the two serious-looking women. "What's going on?" Alex mumbled.

"We're trying to keep you from drinking yourself to death, sweetie," Eliza started.

"Yeah, Danvers. I know you're hurting, but I can't let you do this. I can't let you kill yourself, Alex. Kara would want you to live, not pickle your liver with scotch."

"You can't actually do that, you know," Alex grumbled.

"So not the point here, Alex," Maggie chastised. "You need to get out of the house. You need to find some way to survive this, Alex, because I don't think I'll be able to handle losing you too."

"Yes, sweetie," Eliza agreed as she moved onto the couch to sit next to Alex. "I know how much you love—loved—your sister, but she wouldn't want you to drown in your sorrows like this." Alex nodded and tears glistened in her eyes as she turned and buried her head in Eliza's shoulder. As she began to sob, Maggie got up and wrapped her arms around both Danvers women.

After a few minutes, Alex pulled away and spoke, "I know Kara wouldn't want this. She wrote me a letter. I found it in her locker at the DEO. There was one for me—and one for Lena." Alex paused and swallowed. "I—uh—read the one for me and I just couldn't, you know? Here she was knowing she was going to die and she wrote us letters—to what? Remember her by? God, this is so fucked up," Alex said. "She was supposed to outlive us all and now she's in a box in the ground—and I couldn't protect her. I let her go. I let her sacrifice her life and I didn't even tell her that I loved her. I never got to say goodbye," Alex continued, her voice getting louder with every word.

"I had to listen as she died in that desert. I had to listen as she begged us not to make her go. Well, actually she begged Lena. Can you imagine how fucking miserable and alone you have to be to literally hallucinate someone so you don't die alone? She lay there in the sand with a hole in her damn chest and she was all alone because no one could get there in time and it's all my fault. I should have stopped her. I should have done something."

"It's not your fault, Alex. Kara was fighting an extremely powerful, magically enhanced Kryptonian, who was engineered to be stronger and better and she knew what she was doing. Not every decision Kara ever made was on your shoulders, Alex. I know I made you feel that way and I was wrong."

"Listen to your mother, Danvers. She's right," Maggie said as she rubbed Alex's back. Alex smiled slightly as she sniffled and dropped her head into her hands. Maggie shifted awkwardly and looked at Alex who was still leaning into her. Unsure of how to bring up the topic, Maggie decided to simply rip off the proverbial bandaid. "Hey, Alex, I know there is no right time to ask this, but are you ever going to give Lena that letter?"

"I will. I should probably do it sooner rather than later. She deserves to know what Kara left for her. I know she was really angry with Kara before—well, before, but I think it's time someone saved Lena Luthor from herself," Alex declared in a determined voice.

"Are you sure it's a good idea for you to go right now, Alex?"

"I don't know, but there's only one way to find out, Mom. If I keep sitting here, I will drive myself insane with grief and I think that Kara would kill me if I let Lena do to herself what I did to myself. So, I'm gonna take a shower, drink some water, and somehow track down our favorite billionaire."

"You don't have to do much tracking," Maggie declared. Alex stared at the detective quizzically and motioned for her to continue. "I've been talking to Sam." Alex and Eliza's head snapped toward Maggie in confusion. "What? We're friends now and someone had to keep tabs on what's going on. Anyway, Lena hasn't left her apartment in two weeks. Jess came to see her a few times, but all she got was 5 minutes with a very drunk and very heartbroken Lena before she was 'politely' asked to leave—aka basically thrown out. Lena is never that short with Jess, so I had Sam keep an eye on her. She's not okay. In fact, I think she may have taken Kara's—you know—worse than you."

"Unfortunately, one of the things Lena excelled at is blaming herself for things that were out of her control and feeling guilty in general. Luckily, I can relate. She also likes to drink scotch, so I think this will go well," Alex said as she got up and left the living room. Once Alex was out of sight, Eliza and Maggie looked at each other as if to say 'that went surprisingly well.'

An hour and a half later, when Alex left the apartment envelope in hand, Eliza finally said what they were both thinking. "This won't end well, will it?"

"Oh God no. Someone's gonna get killed or maimed. Alex doesn't exactly wear kid-sized gloves," Maggie deadpanned. The two women laughed as for the first time in two weeks, they had hope that things could go back to normal.

Squinting slightly as the sun shined in her eyes, Alex (who was still sporting a killer hangover) hailed a cab and took it to Lena's building. She gave her name to the guard in the lobby and, to her pleasant surprise, she was allowed up. The guard gave her a small smile and a nod as she walked to the elevators. The long elevator ride up to Lena's penthouse gave Alex the time to steel herself and collect her thoughts as her hand gently patted her coat pocket, secure knowing that she hadn't forgotten the letter. Alex took a deep breath and brought her fist up to knock on the door. She hesitated for a moment, suddenly afraid that she was breaking some unspoken boundary, but knocked anyway. She was taken aback when the brunette at the door was decidedly not the one she was expecting. "Alex?" Sam asked, the surprise evident in her voice. "Are you here to see Lena?"

"Yeah, I am," Alex said meekly. Sam swallowed and nodded. "Is everything okay, Sam?" Alex asked worriedly as she tried to get a glimpse into the apartment.

"I don't know," the taller woman as she stepped out into the hallway and pulled the door shut behind her. Sam crossed her arms before speaking again. "She doesn't talk, you know. She has barely said a word since Kara died. She just stares—and drinks. I honestly have no idea what to do. Lena's been there for me through so much, but I just don't know how to help her. I don't know if you'll be able to get through to her, Alex, but I really hope that you can." Sam's worried expression softened as she made eye contact with Alex and reached out to put a hand on Alex's leather-clad shoulder. "How are you doing, Alex?"

"I don't know. I haven't exactly been myself the last couple of weeks and this is the first day that I'm more or less thinking clearly. I think I'm okay. I don't—I'm not—I'm just not sure how I feel yet. I haven't really gotten used to the idea of Kara not being here anymore."

"I'm so sorry, Alex. For everything-including my role in this. I really wish it hadn't ended this way."

Alex smiled slightly and answered, "Thank you, Sam, but this isn't your fault. It was all Reign. You were as much a victim in this as Kara was."

"Maybe, but I got to live."

"True, but you still shouldn't blame yourself. She wouldn't want you to. Besides, I think there are enough people feeling guilty that we need at least one person still sane. God knows that I have enough to feel guilty about. I played too big a part in this not to."

"It's still not your fault, Alex."

"Maybe. Maybe not. I hope that one day I'll believe that. Maybe one day, enough people will have said that to me that I'll start to believe it too. Until then…" Alex shrugged as she trailed off. "Anyway, I don't want to saddle you with all my problems. You have enough to worry about as it is. Thank you, Sam. Really." Sam nodded and pulled Alex into a hug. They stayed like that for a moment before Alex pulled back and smiled before walking into Lena's apartment. Although Sam had told her what kind of state Lena was in, Alex wasn't fully prepared when she walked into see Lena's pale form sitting on the couch, hugging her knees, and simply staring. The young CEO barely even blinked when the door shut behind Alex and the agent made her presence known by clearing her throat. Alex secretly wondered if Lena was too far gone. If Lena was as lost to her as her sister was. If Lena was just as lost as she was.

Alex cleared her throat again, causing Lena to startle slightly as she slowly turned her head to look at the new presence in her apartment. "Hi Lena," Alex said awkwardly as she walked farther into the apartment and sat down on a plush leather chair across from the matching couch Lena was occupying. The young brunette's eyes tracked the agent's movements until Alex settled into the chair. "How are you doing, Lena?" Alex asked gently. The young woman stared before turning her head back toward the window and continuing to look out the window again.

"How do you think I'm going, Agent Danvers?" Lena mumbled. Lena's response was so cold that Alex could almost feel the temperature in the room drop.

"I—uh—I don't know, Lena. I assume you've been dealing just as well as I have. Sam told me that you've been drinking quite a bit."

"Perhaps I have. Not that it's any of your concern, Agent Danvers."

"Lena, you don't have to do that. You can still call me Alex, you know that."

"Oh, I'm well aware, Alex. I'm also well aware of the fact that you and I no longer have any connection or obligation to each other anymore. Our only connection was your sister and now she's dead. I'm not sure what you came here to do, but I would prefer that you do it elsewhere."

"I came to see you, Lena. I know you've been struggling and I just want to help you. Despite what happened between you and Kara, I still consider you a friend, Lena." Lena scoffed at Alex's assertion.

"So did, Kara, and look at what happened. I'd like you to go now, Agent Danvers."

"No."

"No?"

"I'm not going to leave you alone, Lena. I just want to you help you, damnit. I don't want you to shut yourself off from the world, Lena—and neither would Kara."

"And how would you know what Kara would have wanted, Agent Danvers? Last time, I checked she was dead. What is it you want to talk about? About how she didn't trust me? About how she practically turned her back on me when I made the kryptonite? About how she was okay with everyone else but me having it? Or about how we had to listen to her die? How even after everything, she convinced herself that I was there with her?" Lena's voice rose with every sentence until she was almost shouting. She took a deep breath before quietly continuing, "How she said she loved me? Yes, let's talk about that, shall we?"

"I know, Lena. I know it was painful and what Kara did was wrong, but I also know that she regretted it ever since. She missed you, Lena. Her life was empty without you."

"Well, that's the problem, isn't it?"

"What does it matter, Lena? I thought you hated her for lying to you, for turning on you? What changed?"

"I could never hate her, Alex. I was just hurt."

"It certainly didn't seem that way. What changed?"

Frustrated by Alex's increasingly invasive questions, Lena yelled out, "That's none of your damn business, Alex."

"I just want to know what's going on with you, Lena. You won't even say her name, for fuck's sake! I want to know why!"

"BECAUSE I LOVED HER, TOO! Okay? I loved her and she loved me." Lena roared. Shocked, Alex leaned back in her chair and gaped at Lena.

"You what?"

"There! Now you know everything, Agent Danvers. I have nothing left to tell you now, Alex. Nothing left to explain why I feel all this guilt and anger and shame. I'm just so fucking done. I fell in love with my best friend who, of course, had to be a Super and what did I get in return? Nothing—Nothing, but pain. And you want to know why I can't say her name? Because—" Lena's voice wavered, "because if I say her name, then it all comes back and it all becomes real. Kara's dead, Alex. That self-sacrificing idiot died alone in a fucking desert for me and I don't know why she would do that." Alex got up and hugged the young brunette, as tightly as Kara used to hug them both and Lena started to cry. Soon Lena's tears subsided and she pulled back from the tight hug. "I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize, Lena. You're allowed to have feelings too. You're allowed to be sad."

"I suppose you're right. Either way… thank you for that. Can I ask you a question?" Lena asked as she looked at Alex's pale face.

"Shoot," Alex said as she dropped back into her previous seat.

"Why are you here, Alex? I haven't seen you in two weeks and now you've taken it upon yourself to barge into my apartment and force me to talk about my feelings."

"Yeah—I'm sorry that I disappeared, Lena. I was sorta trying to drink myself to death. It didn't work… obviously." Lena was taken aback by Alex' candid admission. "I'm not all that great with emotions. Kara used to—Kara used to help me with them. Anyway, that doesn't answer your question. Kara left me a letter in my locker the day she died, I found it when I was preparing to go home after—well…after." Alex reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. It was blank save for Lena's name being written on the front in familiar, loopy handwriting. "She left one for you too," Alex continued as she extended her arm toward Lena. The young woman reached out with a quivering hand and took the envelope. Lena carefully untucked the flap and took out the 3 sheets of paper inside. She took a deep breath and began to read Kara's last message to her.

Dear Lena,

If you're reading this letter, it that means I'm dead. In fact, by the time you see this, I'll probably be in Rao's light. I'm so sorry for leaving you. It's one of the many things I have to apologize for, but it's as good a place as any to start.

Chances are that I died fighting Reign and I hope that my life was enough of a price to pay to stop her plans. If I wasn't enough to stop her, if I couldn't stop her—if the prophecy failed to come true—I am so very sorry. My failure will be a burden I will carry into Rao's light with me. However, should I have been able to stop Reign, I am glad that I was able to give you one last gift: Sam's safety and freedom. I am so very grateful that you won't be alone in this world—that Sam is not amongst the things the world has taken from you. Not amongst the things I have taken from you. You don't know how much I wish that I could be the one by your side, but I've always known that at some point, my lies would all catch up with me and that there would be a price to be paid.

I want you to know that none of this was your fault. The events that led to my death were set in motion millennia ago, in a time before either of our understanding. I'm just glad that I was able to at least do something to right some of my wrongs and to do one last good thing for you. Even if it weren't for this prophecy, know that I would gladly have laid down my life to keep you safe.

The most important thing I have to say is that I'm sorry. So, so sorry. I know that I may never be able to apologize enough, but I'd like to at least try.

I'm sorry for not telling you that I was Supergirl. It was unbelievably selfish of me and it hurt you, which is by far the worst part. It had nothing to do with you being a Luthor, but everything to do with me being a Danvers. My entire life on Earth I have been told that I had to blend in and not attract any attention. My grades couldn't be too high, my work couldn't be too good. I've spent the last 14 years hiding and you were the first person to pay attention to Kara Danvers and Kara Danvers alone. I'd never really had that before. Everyone in my life knew me as an alien and had all these expectations that came along with that. But you never expected anything from me and it was the first time in my life that I had ever had something like that. I was so happy to just be able to be myself around you that I put it off. Mostly out of fear, to be honest.

Despite my fear, there was never a moment in my life when I doubted whether I could trust you. One of the things I have been certain of since the day we met is that you, Lena Luthor, are one of the most trustworthy people on Earth. I trusted you from the moment we met and I know (and always have) that you are nothing like your brother. You managed to bring light to the darkness shrouding the Luthor name. But (in one of the worst decisions I have made), I waited to tell you and the longer I waited, the more afraid I became of what would happen when you finally learned the truth. I was going to tell you right before the Daxamites came, but then they invaded and Lillian told me that you would hate me if you ever found out. And I was so horrified by that fact, that I just kept putting it off to avoid the inevitable moment when you would start to hate me. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened and I only have myself to blame. There's this quote in one of my favorite movies (you know the one about that billionaire and the mob) that goes something like this:

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

I have lived long enough to become a hero to the city, but a villain to those closest to me. Somehow, in all my fear I became the villain in my own life, too. My terror at the idea of losing you made me do insane things, which while not an excuse… is also a little bit of an excuse. I'm sorry for the way I acted. I'm sorry for lashing out at you about the Kryptonite. I know you were only trying to help and would never use it to hurt me, but I just let my fear take over. The only thing that scares me more than the thought of losing you is Kryptonite, but that doesn't mean that I should have flipped out on you like that. It doesn't even begin to excuse my behavior, but just know that I never stopped trusting you. Ever.

I know that our friendship is over and that the blame lies entirely in my decisions, but I want you to know that I will always be there for you. Even if all I can do is haunt a nasty investor. My life on Earth has been nothing short of extraordinary. I got to do all sorts of amazing things. I got to meet you and fall in love with you, which was the greatest privilege of all.

Lena, I want you to do two things for me. I know I'm in no place to make any requests, but consider this my final wish. I don't want you to grieve for me, Lena. I had a good life and I knew this end was coming for me. I don't want you to live your life with grief hanging over you, so please, don't mourn my death. Instead, celebrate the life I had the privilege to live and the things we did together. And now, I have one last request—one more thing that I very much hope you do. I want you to continue being the amazing person you are. The kind soul that you became in spite of all the tragedy in your life, in spite of all the pain (including that which I caused). Please never lose the amazing things that make you so incredible, Lena Luthor.

With all my love and a heavy heart,

Kara Zor-El Danvers

Lena's hands shook as she finished the letter. Tears cascaded down her face as she clenched her eyes shut, struggling to get her emotions under control. "Lena?" Alex asked cautiously. The youngest Luthor shook her head as she began to weep. Alex jumped up and rushed over to the couch as Lena clasped a hand to her mouth, desperately trying to contain her sobs.

"It takes a special kind of asshole to apologize, admit love, and tell you not to be sad about their death all in one letter."

"Kara, did it to you, too, huh?" Alex asked as Lena nodded again and snorted.

"God, this is so fucked up. I really want to be angry at her, but damn her, Kara's apology was a fucking good one."

"What did she say?"

"She explained herself and while, I'm still a little pissed at her, I'm less angry than I was. Admittedly, when I made that Kryptonite for Sam, I was so deadset on helping her that I didn't realize how it might make Kara feel when she found out that the woman she thought was her friend was making the one thing on Earth that could kill her. You and I both know that I would never have done anything to hurt Kara, but I really should have given her a head's up."

"Yes, you should have, but you were just trying to help your friend, Lena. Kara understood that and so do I. It was a mistake."

"A big one and look at what it cost me. It cost me almost everything."

"You still have Sam, Lena—and all of us. And, don't forget, without all that research of Kryptonite that you had already done, you would never have been able to use the Legion's schematics to make Black Kryptonite—not in time anyway. You saved us all, Lena. Don't forget that."

"Some hero I am. I saved the world and lost the girl. Ironic, isn't it?"

"Maybe, but what I can say is this—you really are a hero, Lena Luthor. No matter what you think."

"Alex, I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"What the fuck are we supposed to do now?"

"Live. We live and keep the world safe so that Kara's sacrifice wasn't for nothing."

Unfortunately for Alex and Lena, finding a way to move on with your life after such a significant loss was much easier said than done. In the days following their heart-to-heart, both women threw themselves into their work—perhaps a little too heavily. Lena chose to spend her days in her lab, trying to find some way to turn Kryptonite into something helpful, something worthy of the one whose life it took. Despite her best efforts, she was only successful in finding a way to make a lead vaccine for the Daxamites that had been forced off of Earth. If Lena wasn't working, she was secretly drowning in her grief, which usually led to Jess forcing her to eat or go home for some sleep. Lena's dreams were filled with images of Kara—images of Kara declaring her love, images of them having a happy future together, images of Kara being alive. Lena didn't sleep very much.

Alex coped by throwing herself into every mission she led. The older Danvers was driven by nothing more than a fierce need to make sure that the world stayed safe for aliens and humans alike. In true Alex Danvers style, this drive led to her acting increasingly recklessly and taking on missions that were always more dangerous than the last. J'onn tried everything he could to stop her from continuing her vaguely suicidal, one-man crusade but found that the harder he tried, the more useless his efforts became. So, he just let her continue as she wished while secretly keeping a very close eye on her.

Which is how Alex found herself face to face with a very large, very pissed K'hund in one of National City's many alleys. The two traded blows, but Alex was quickly overpowered by the angry alien when her assault rifle ran out of bullets. The brunette was entirely convinced that she would never see her beloved wife or family again when the brute lifted her by the neck and began to squeeze. Alex's vision slowly started to fill with growing black circles when a blue blur suddenly appeared and knocked the K'hund to the ground. As Alex struggled to get up, she heard the sounds of a struggle, quickly followed by the sound of a fist furiously hitting a face repeatedly. By the time, Alex stood up, the figure was long gone and an unconscious K'hund was the only evidence of its appearance. "The fuck?" Alex muttered as she cautiously approached her downed opponent.

An hour later, Alex and the K'hund were transported to DEO headquarters and the alien was processed and put into a cell. Alex stalked into the command center angrily and searched for J'onn. As soon as she laid eyes on him, she called out "What the hell, J'onn? I didn't need you to save my ass back there?"

"First of all, yes you did, Agent Danvers. Second, it wasn't me."

"The hell it wasn't! It couldn't have been Clark since he's at the Fortress this week and there are no other aliens that could have possibly taken on a K'hund, J'onn. It had to be you!"

"I assure you that it wasn't, Alex."

"Then who the hell was it?"

"It was me." Alex's brows furrowed and she whipped around to point her gun at the sudden intruder to find that there was no one behind her. All the agents in the command center quickly pulled out their guns and aimed them at the figure silently descending onto the DEO balcony.

"Who the hell are you?" Alex bellowed. The figure didn't answer and continued to silently approach the agents from the cover of darkness. "I asked you a question!" Alex shouted as she jabbed her gun in the direction of the approaching shape. The intruder didn't answer as she finally emerged from the shadows and stepped into the well-lit foyer of the DEO's headquarters. Alex's face dropped in shock as she realized who it was.

"Kara?"