I'm so sorry guys, I know, I am incredibly cruel! But I promise, things will improve, please don't give up on our space puppies yet! Thank you all so much for the support and the reviews, I adore you all so much.

Love, Talis xxx

Oh everyone takes turns
Now it's yours to play the part
And they're sitting all around you
Holding copies of your chart
And the misery inside their eyes
Is synchronized and reflected into yours

Hold on
One more time with feeling
Try it again
Breathing's just a rhythm
Say it in your mind
Until you know that the words are right
This is why we fight...

Regina Spektor

Rhea fell to her knees and her hands raked down her face; this had not been her objective, she had never intended to kill her son. If he had opted to die rather than return to Daxam, that would have been his choice, but never in a million years would she have been able to deal the final blow herself.

And yet here she was.

And she had stabbed her son.

And she couldn't believe what she'd done.

She sunk to the floor in silent shock and wept dismal tears.

Kara screamed his name so loudly and with so much pain in her voice that the entire battle ceased around them as everyone turned to look.

Alex and J'onn rushed forward, but hung back slightly when they saw the state of Mon-El – both of them had been soldiers long enough to know when someone was a lost cause. So, they stood back to let Kara say goodbye.

"Oh Mon-El," Alex said quietly, and J'onn pulled her into a hug.

"Oh my god, what happened?!" Felicity's voice echoed in Oliver's ear, but he didn't respond, and within seconds a portal had opened beside him. Felicity, Julian, Winn and Cisco tumbled through it, "Oh no," Felicity brought both hands up to cover her mouth and Winn leant on Julian for support. Cisco said something into the comms, but no-one heard it.

Guardian and Diggle pushed their way through the crowd and Rene and Curtis followed. James saw the scene before them and looked away, unable to bring himself any closer.

Kara finally seemed to find her feet, and stood up, burning rage in her eyes, and they started to smoulder angrily. She moved towards not Mon-El, but his mother, and Oliver, J'onn and Alex moved as one. They gripped her, held her back as she writhed against them, screaming and yanking, and they weren't nearly enough to hold her, even this close to Kryptonite. Cisco said something else into the link, but everyone was now worried about Kara committing murder, so no-one noticed when he backed away slightly.

Alex moved in front of her, "Kara, think about this."

"No, no she's dead. I'm going to kill her." Kara hissed through gritted teeth, tears pouring down her cheeks like she'd been standing in torrential rains.

"No, Kara, listen, think about Mon-El – he needs you right now, and killing his mother is going to take up any seconds you might have with him."

Kara yanked herself free of the men and Oliver joined Alex, "Kara, I know what you're going through – I've lost so many people and I've killed the people who killed them, and it doesn't help, I promise you. It doesn't make it better."

"We are not the same, Oliver Queen!" Kara snapped.

"No, we're not – you're better than me, Kara, you've got more heart than anyone I know. Don't do this. You'll never forgive yourself."

"I've lost EVERYTHING! My family, my planet, my foster father, everything I care about I lose! I can't lose him! I can't let her take him away from me!" Kara screamed, but now James and Diggle were standing between her and revenge as well, and the Kryptonite was weakening her too much to fly over them. Cisco opened up a portal and grabbed Winn's arm, and both of them disappeared from sight.

"Kara, don't. I won't let you become that person, not for me." Mon-El said, and the group parted so she could see him. He was on his knees, green blade protruding from his chest, and when she saw him pushing himself up to talk to her, she broke down completely. All the fight left her and she collapsed onto Oliver's shoulders, weeping hysterically, unable to bring herself to look back at her boyfriend. Oliver instantly switched from a defensive pose to a friend, holding her up and stroking her shoulder gently.

Queen Rhea dragged herself forward and everyone's guards went up, all of them raising their weapons in her direction, but she wasn't attacking.

"Mon-El. My son… I'm so sorry." She bawled, touching his arm.

"Don't." Mon-El said tiredly.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry my son, I never meant for you–"

"No, you just wanted to kill the woman I love." Mon-El was fading, his skin turning a sickly shade of grey.

"If the Kryptonian hadn't–"

"Her name is Kara. And she never did anything to you." His breathing was becoming tighter and his lungs were starting to fill with fluid.

"It was her – if she hadn't poisoned your mind against us–"

"I still wouldn't have gone back with you. I hated that life, hated you both so much." He wavered on his haunches and fell onto his side, barely avoiding shoving the sword in further.

"That's a lie." His mother's tone hardened.

He reached up and wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the sword that was buried in his chest. With a few moments to steel himself, he swiftly yanked the knife from his body and dropped it at his side, which only made Kara sob harder as his injuries became more apparent. Rhea heard Kara's crying and remembered why she'd come to this earth in the first place – to kill the Kryptonian. Mon-El took a shuddering breath and he saw her glance behind him and reach into her cloak for something. She shook her grief for her son off and glared up at the woman who she saw as the source of all her problems.

"This is her fault." Rhea spat. She moved, a small green shard of something in her hand and Kara reacted instinctively, but Mon-El was faster.

"NO!" He bellowed, and reached downwards. He gripped the sword and thrust it upwards before she could get past him, and it lodged itself firmly in her throat. She looked surprised, blinking down at him.

"You're not hurting her." Mon-El murmured, and yanked the sword back. It clattered unceremoniously between them and Rhea began to choke, her hands vainly clawing at her neck, trying to close the wound.

"Son…" She tried, betrayal in her eyes.

"I am no son of yours." Mon-El muttered, and then he collapsed backwards.

"MON-EL!" Kara's voice tore through the air and she was on her feet and by his side before he managed to hit the floor. She caught him as he landed and he smiled at her.

"Sorry." He said softly.

"Mon-El…" Kara repeated, tears splashing onto his face and arms.

He took a shallow, shuddering breath, "She was going to kill you."

"You should have let her." Kara cried, and Mon-El would have done anything to make her smile again.

"You look like a tree." He whispered.

"Mon-El, what did you do?" She was crying hysterically and every phrase was punctuated by huge wracking sobs, "Mon-El what… what… Why did you… I can't… Please…"

"I'm okay." Mon-El said softly, despite being able to feel his blood gushing in places where it shouldn't be, "I'm okay, Kara, it's okay, everything's gonna be okay."

"Mon-El," His name tied itself into a knot in her mouth and she found she was unable to speak as she gripped the fading body of the man she loved. Her lips moved but no sound came out; her tears had overtaken her, and she pulled him closer, crying into his neck.

Kara…" He smiled as her name played about his lips. His heartbeat was slowing, drifting away.

"No, no, Mon-El!" She gripped him tighter, as if that would make everything go away, and he couldn't stand to see her so upset.

"It's okay. I was no good for you anyway – selfish and stubborn. I never listened." He tried, but she shook her head vehemently.

"Don't say things like that, don't you dare."

"Why not?"

"Because you're dying and you're trying to make me feel better. Tell me that you're a terrible boyfriend later."

He chuckled; that conversation with Kara on Rhea's ship seemed like an eternity ago, but it was barely 48 hours. He wished he could fix it, but he knew he had to tell her the truth, "I'm not going to get a later, Kara."

"Yes, you are!" Kara moaned.

"No, I'm not. And that's okay. You'll be fine."

"No, please, please, you're not gonna die, we can fix this." She broke down, her eyes closing against the reality of what was happening. She couldn't breathe and her sobs were starting to sound more like screams and she buried her face into Mon-El's neck again.

"Kara…" He tried, but she wasn't listening, she was so angry with him and upset and heartbroken and panicked and he tried again, "Kara? Kara."

"Kara," Oliver said loudly, and she snapped out of it slightly, enough to open her eyes. She came face to face with the man she loved, and he smiled at her lovingly, instantly more relaxed at the sight of her big blue eyes.

"Comets," He sighed.

"Mon-El…" Kara wept, unable to think of anything except his name.

"I love you… so much… Kara…" He breathed, and when his last breath whooshed from his lips, Kara's face crumpled and she rocked back and forth with him in her arms.

"No… no… Mon-El… I love you. I love you Mon-El, please! Please… please…" She couldn't breathe, everything was too much, the room was spinning and closing in on her. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move, she couldn't see through her swollen eyelids, she couldn't hear anything except the absence of Mon-El's usually deafening heartbeat. The silence was suffocating and she cried into his hair. She didn't know how much time had passed, it could have been years or microseconds, but she couldn't care less. She would stay there holding him for eternity if she had to.

Without warning, or maybe there had been warning, she didn't know, someone grabbed her and plied her away and she turned and buried her face into their shoulder. It was Alex. They sat there on the cold floor and Alex stroked her back gently, "I really hope this works."

Kara blinked and shook her head slightly, "What works?"

Barry, Wally and Savitar were running around the city, chasing each other across streets and up the sides of buildings, when the sounds of screaming came through the comms.

"Ah, what the hell is going on?" Barry shrieked, veering off course slightly.

"I dunno!" Wally yelled back, and then Cisco's voice came in through their ears.

"Mon-El's mother tried to kill Kara with Kryptonite, but he got in the way."

"What?!" Barry's heart dropped into his shoes.

"Is he okay?" Wally asked, dreading the answer.

"No. He's dying."

"Do you need us to come back?"

There was a very long pause, and they kept running, waiting for someone, anyone to give them a sign.

"Where are you?" Cisco returned.

"56th and Boulevard, why?"

"We'll get Savitar another day," Cisco said determinedly, "I've got an idea."

A portal appeared in front of them and they ran through it without question, glimpsing Savitar fading into the distance beyond it as they emerged somewhere completely different. They screeched to a halt and looked around. The room was dark, but still light enough to see their surroundings. There was a pulsing green light that could only be kryptonite lodged into a wall, and a metal wall nearby was covered in futuristic flashing lights.

"Where are we?" Wally asked.

"On Queen Rhea's ship," Winn's voice echoed around them, seemingly coming from everywhere.

"Um, okay that's scary, Winn, where are you?" Barry asked.

"I'm behind you, dude." Winn's voice returned to normal and both of them spun in shock to find Winn and Cisco standing by a corridor, looking grim.

"How did you do that?" Wally asked.

"What do you mean? Oh, how did I go all Wizard of Oz on you? I'm tapped into the mainframe. Which means, if we are very, very lucky…" He flicked something on his tablet and all the lights dimmed and flashed twice before settling back to normal.

"Then, what? We get a cool light show?" Wally raised an eyebrow.

"No… hang on… I found it! You two, stay on the comms, and go down that corridor!" Winn pointed and they both sped into action immediately, no questions asked, "Wally, go left, Barry keep straight."

Wally tore away and Barry increased his speed until Winn told him to stop and turn left twice. He did so and found himself in what appeared to be a medical bay, "Okay, what am I looking for here Winn?"

Immediately every light in the room went out except for a small drawer to the right of one of the hospital beds, "Grab everything in there and get back to us," Cisco commanded. Barry did as he was told, yanking the drawer from its runners and sprinting back to the hold. Wally returned not a second later with something mechanic and unmistakeably alien in each hand.

Cisco opened a portal, "We need to move, now!"

They all leapt through, leaving the silent spaceship behind and arriving to an eardrum-piercing cry.

Cisco grabbed the drawer as they landed and yanked a massive syringe out of it, ripping off the plastic seal and throwing it behind him. Everyone looked up, and Wally and Barry instantly realised just how bad things were. Rhea was dead, growing cold on the ground, and the group had surrounded Kara, who was clutching Mon-El's nearly lifeless body. Felicity was gripping onto Oliver and James was leaning on J'onn. Rene and Curtis had faced outwards in an attempt to keep the soldiers at bay, but not one of them had moved an inch since the Queen had hit the floor. Alex looked up at them.

"Get her off him," Cisco ordered, giant syringe in hand.

"What are you going to do to him?" Alex asked nervously.

"Nothing that will make him any more dead." Cisco said pointedly and Alex gave in and knelt down by Kara, pulling her gently away. She didn't put up much resistance, and Alex hugged her sister tight.

Cisco moved forward and slammed the syringe down, brutally, into Mon-El's wound. The solution inside, which had been colourless, flickered purple as it entered Mon-El's chest. The liquid flowed downwards through his veins, making its own way, as there was no heartbeat to move it by force. He stepped back and dropped the empty needle. There was a long pause.

"Did it work?" Winn asked hesitantly.

"That depends, does he look very alive right now?" Cisco snapped.

"Not really." Winn sounded on the verge of tears.

"Then I don't think it worked." Cisco said, a huge lump in his throat. First his brother, then Caitlin, now Mon-El – everyone just kept dying. Not that Caitlin was dead anymore, but she may as well have been.

The tiniest glimmer of hope they'd brought with them through the portal sputtered and died, and their hearts sunk. Aside from Kara, J'onn was the most affected, and he considered shutting off his abilities, but he felt that wouldn't help. Oliver held Felicity as she cried and Diggle fingered his phone in his pocket: he'd never wanted to call Lyla so much in his life. Julian felt an ache in his chest for Caitlin and Alex wished that Eliza and Maggie had come through with them, because they would know what to do – between them, they always knew what to do. James clapped Winn on the shoulder and Winn whimpered slightly, but tried to keep his composure. Wally and Barry were both thinking about Savitar, about Iris, and about their fallen comrade, but Barry was also pained by the agony of his super friend, who had just lost the man she loved.

They stood in mourning that way for five long minutes, unable to decide what to do, and just as Barry opened his mouth to rally them together, Mon-El's body began to glow purple.