Chapter Two: Hope
Earth- 37 Years Later
It was TV night for Alexandra and Kara Danvers – a sacred event where the women gathered and feasted upon all of their unwatched DVR recordings. Kara's apartment was closer to the Department of Extranormal Operations Base, and after a long day of protecting the city, they'd decided to settle there for their night in.
"I'd give up my liver for Fitzsimmons to finally become a couple," Kara declared, gushing over the latest romantic near-miss scene between the pair of fictional scientists.
Huddled next to her on the couch, Alex snorted. Unbeknownst to Kara, she may have already watched this episode without her, unable to wait after last week's cliffhanger ending. "Is that even possible?"
Kara shrugged, too engrossed in the television show to respond, and Alex shook her head, swiping some popcorn from the bowl in her sister's lap. As Kara took a sip from her soda, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. came to an abrupt halt mid-episode.
"We interrupt this night-time program with breaking news…"
"Oh, come on!" Both women yelled simultaneously. Kara threw a handful of popcorn at the TV in disgust.
Suddenly, the sisters remembered who they were and what they did every day. They shot each other wide, sheepish grins.
Kara grabbed the remote from her coffee table, raising the volume on the news report for the benefit of her human sister's straining ears.
"… the gondola lift appears to be stuck over National City Bay, leaving dozens of people trapped hundreds of feet in the air. Sources confirm a powered woman has arrived on the scene. Video is coming in now …"
Before Alex could register the fact that the flying girl looked familiar, the harsh sound of grinding metal diverted her attention.
"Kara?" She leaned forward on the couch to gauge her younger sister's expression. Kara looked ashen as if she'd seen a ghost, her lips were slightly parted, eyes studying the live footage intently; she seemed oblivious to the remains of the remote still clutched tightly in her fist.
Something was wrong.
Alex cautiously reached over and placed a hand on Kara's knee. The touch seemed to jolt Kara back to reality. Much faster than Alex could follow with her eyes, Kara was dressed in her Supergirl costume, three feet away from the apartment's bay window, preparing to launch herself through it and into the night sky.
"Kara!" Kara's eyes snapped to Alex's concerned face at the notes of urgency in her sister's voice. "You need to tell me what is going on."
Kara bit her lip, clearly struggling to contain a deep and simmering emotional reaction. Her eyes began to water, and the sight had Alex off the couch, standing in front of her, before Kara could blink.
Kara gestured wildly at the TV. "Alex, it's … Sydney."
"…What?" Alex gasped, bewildered.
For months after Kara's arrival into her life, Alex had only heard the girl scream her older cousin's name during night terrors. It had taken a year for Alex to coax the story of Sydney's tragic death – her sacrifice – from Kara. The Kryptonian had blamed herself for her cousin's death then, and if Alex knew her sister (which she did), Kara still held herself responsible today.
"How is that even possible," Alex inquired, at last. "She's four years older than you? But she looks…"
"I know, but I'd recognize her anywhere. Listen, I have to go. Find out what you can, and I'll meet you at the D.E.O."
Kara dimly registered the clatter of windows shattering as she broke the sound barrier, trying to out run (or out fly) her warring thoughts and emotions.
"I love you. You're going to be okay. I promise."
Even after being asleep for twenty-five years, Sydney's goodbye was the first thing she'd remembered upon awakening.
Her parents and Krypton – she did not have enough time to even fathom an alternative. One minute she was saying goodbye and the next, they were just gone. But, when she saw Sydney amidst the hurtling remains of her planet, she had begun to hope… to hope that she would not be alone, that she would not be wholly responsible for the infant Kal-El.
So when, suddenly, Sydney was staring at her with blatant emotion, a farewell written in the lines of her face. It had hurt. It was immeasurably different than the other wounds she carried from the loss of Krypton. Unsoothed by time, it ached, and eventually she learned to live with the sharp, unwavering throb.
Logically, Kara knew that the person she was speeding towards was mostly likely not her cousin. She'd seen the asteroid, the desperation on her cousin's face. How could she have survived? And even if she had survived, why did she still look so young?
But hope was crafty. It did not take much for it to trump logic, every time.
Sydney Is-Ac had already stabilized the gondola lift, ensuring it would not fall unexpectedly into the water below. Now, she was waiting. She hovered in the air, approximately 6-feet above the transportation vehicle, trying, but ultimately failing to drown out the voices of the humans trapped inside of it.
It was difficult to see long distances in the dark night of National City, so her other senses were growing even stronger than usual to compensate.
"Sydney?!"
She whipped around at the sound of a voice; the two Kryptonians stared at each other for a tense beat. Sydney glowered, reluctantly captivated by this flying woman's face. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, but she seemed…joyful?
How odd. Though, she does look familiar…
Sydney's eyes drifted to the crest on the woman's chest, and her thoughts came to a screeching halt.
Supergirl.
Sydney growled, charging towards Supergirl at maximum speed. She seized her around the waist and began shoving her down the hundreds of feet towards the bay surface.
"Sydney, what are you doing?" Kara called out, not willing to harm her cousin.
"We … kill Supergirl," she answered, mechanically.
Kara closed her eyes for a moment as the pair continued their descent, calming her mind and centering herself. Then, she flipped her cousin mid-air, wrapping both arms tightly around Sydney's chest to anchor them together. She swiftly flew them both upward.
"Sydney, this isn't you. Someone is making you do this!" Kara grunted, constricting Sydney more strongly as the girl struggled to break free of her hold.
Once Kara flew them high enough so that they were once again level with the gondola lift, Sydney switched tactics. She lifted both of her legs perpendicular to her torso and propelled herself and Kara careening backwards into the transportation vehicle, with Kara taking the brunt of the impact.
The cable car made a loud, creaking sound due to the force of the collision; it began to sway back and forth in a wide arc, causing the passengers inside to scream in terror. Surprised by the move, Kara's hold briefly slackened, and Sydney ripped herself free from her Supergirl's arms. She hastily flew above the lift and used her ice vision to freeze the steel cables that were keeping the car suspended.
Sensing her cousin's plan, Kara shouted, "Sydney, don't!" and dived towards her.
Before Kara could grab her again, Sydney promptly shattered the ice with a powerful hammer-fist strike from her forearm. The cable snapped in half, sending both the passenger car and the dozens of people inside into a deadly, vertical plummet.
Instinctively, Kara nosedived after the vehicle, grabbing hold of its broken grappling hook with a powerful pull in seconds. Once it was securely in her grasp, her head darted upwards, searching for Sydney…
But she was gone.
Kara stalked through the halls of the D.E.O. base, until she finally reached the building's main mission control room. She saw J'onn J'onzz and Alex leaning over one of area's several computer monitors, talking in hushed tones.
"Please, tell me you guys have some information. On top of everything, her powers are… different than mine. She had freeze vision."
Alex and J'onn separated, and Alex shot Kara a nervous glance before beckoning her closer. "Kara," Alex said slowly, "you might want to have a seat."
"Alex…" Kara began through gritted teeth.
"Please?" Alex added sweetly, and Kara sighed. With an eye roll, she took a seat in the chair J'onn had just rolled over from another computing station.
"There, I'm seated. Now, can you please tell me what is going on."
"Do you remember when J'onn infiltrated Lord Technologies a few days ago?" At Kara's nod, Alex continued. "He came across a Jane Doe, but before J'onn could get her any help, one of Lord's security guards came, and he had to make a fast exit…"
J'onn cleared his throat, trying to dispel the guilt he felt for having to erase the guard's mind. "I did manage to snap a few photos of the girl. We ran them through our database, but did not get any matches at the time," he added.
Kara's heart sunk as the pieces began to fall together. "Show me," she commanded, unsteadily.
J'onn clicked open a few folders on the screen and suddenly, Kara was staring at the face she'd never expected to see again. She noticed the little details she hadn't gotten a chance to search for at the bay. The small, horizontal scar on her left cheek, the dimple in her chin, the wavy, dark brown hair fanning the pillows that was the exact shade as her mother's…
It was Sydney.
Her eyes were closed; she was laying in a hospital bed, hooked up to an I.V. bag full of dense, black liquid.
"We suspect the fluids have something to do with her new powers," Alex explained.
Kara's throat went dry. "Maxwell Lord is behind this," she said, lowly.
As soon as Kara lurched forward out of her chair, sending it crashing into a nearby wall, Alex raised her arms, imploringly. "Supergirl," she cautioned. "We need to come up with a plan first."
Kara's mouth snapped open, but before she could utter a retort, the entire building shook.
"What is that?" J'onn barked, catching the attention of the nearby agents manning the D.E.O.'s surveillance station.
"It's… it's General Astra," Agent Vasquez responded shakily.
J'onn's eyebrows shot up in surprise, a rare expression for the 300 year-old Martian. "How… what did she do?"
"She flew straight into our main entryway at full speed."
Alex jogged the ten feet over to Vasquez to watch the feed from one of the D.E.O.'s several security cameras. Her mouth dropped open in disbelief.
Astra was alone. Her usual stoic yet haughty demeanor was gone, and she looked frenzied as she repeatedly punched and kicked at the reinforced entrance-way doors with all of her strength.
Alex turned to stare at her sister, a question vibrant in her eyes, and Kara nodded at her, speechless.
"Let her in, Vasquez." Alex ordered.
Hesitant, Vasquez peered over at the Director. J'onn straightened his stance, standing stiffly. "I was a parent once." He said, clearing his throat. "I understand. Let her in, it'll only get worse."
Kara swallowed thickly at his words. The hand she ached to put on his shoulder in comfort, lay still at her side. Now wasn't the time.
J'onn seemed to agree, sending her a quick quirk of his lips, which she interpreted as thanks, as she walked to the center of the control room, away from the other D.E.O. agents.
Astra was in the room, standing a yard away from Kara, seconds after the doors opened. A trail of scattered papers, metal, and glass lay strewn throughout the D.E.O.'s halls in her wake.
Kara could not bear the expression on Astra's face. It was unsettling to see her in this raw, vulnerable state; Kara feared what would come next. She had only ever seen Astra look so open, her emotions translucent for all to see, twice in her life.
The first was when she was thirteen. She had summoned Astra to her room on Krypton with her Spy Beacon. At the time, Astra's emotional farewell had confused her. But she'd later learned from Astra herself, that the woman believed it would be the last time she saw her.
The second and final time was the worst, by far – it had happened soon after the media established her as Supergirl, when Astra had revealed herself to Kara and hesitantly asked for Sydney's whereabouts.
The way her legs had given out and she'd sunk to floor, the gut-wrenching, anguished cry that had wrenched itself from her aunt's throat at the news of Sydney's death…
Kara closed the distance separating her from Astra in one stride. The air between them shifted imperceptibly. Their warring alter-egos, General Danvers and Supergirl, vanished. In this moment, they were family only – an aunt and her beloved niece.
Kara squeezed Astra's hands tightly, and the woman released a shaky breath. "I… I saw my daugh… I saw her, on your city news. But how… Kara, you said… I mean, she looks…" Astra trailed off, her eyes starting to water. Kara recognized that wavering look – it spoke of an internal battle between terror and hope, one currently waging within herself as well.
"Aunt Astra, it is her. But, we're not sure how she got here, or why she hasn't aged much. She's also being controlled somehow." Kara bit her lip, as Astra's eyes met her own. "I'm so sorry, all this time… I thought she was dead, but I never saw it happen. We could've been searching for her…"
"Oh, Kara." Astra exhaled quietly, cupping her niece's cheek. "It is not your fault, Little One." She slid her hand down to rest atop Kara's shoulder. "I am her mother after all, if it's anyone's…" Astra paused, shaking her head, resolutely. "There will be a time for blame later."
"Right… you're right, Aunt Astra."
"Kara." Astra began carefully, tentatively toeing the line in the sand they'd just drawn, "Do you have any leads, any information at all about Sy… about her."
To Astra's great surprise, Kara did not waver. "We know that Lord Technologies is involved."
Maxwell Lord… Astra subconsciously clutched Kara's shoulder more tightly as the name looped through her thoughts, willing herself to stay calm.
"Aunt Astra, we need to give this our best shot. We all must work together if we want to bring Sydney home, and repair whatever has been done to her. Revenge will only get in the way of everything," Kara asserted, remembering Alex's earlier words.
Astra contemplated her niece's proposal, observing the D.E.O. agents in the room for a moment.
The Director, Hank Henshaw, certainly would be a useful asset. She had a growing suspicion that there was much more to him than his subordinates knew.
Her gaze wandered to the impressive, brunette soldier – the Hellgrammite slayer. She was not surprised to find the woman scrutinizing her, as well. Alex raised an eyebrow, and Astra smirked faintly at the unspoken challenge.
"Kara, you are right. Joining forces is the best option. I… I will not make any attempts at vengeance."
Kara chose to ignore it for now, wrapping her aunt in a warm embrace. She sighed happily when Astra returned the hug, pulling Kara into her snugly…
But, the silent yet at the end of Astra's statement was implicit, an unspoken vow.