This chapter is long overdue, don't you think? It's more of a filler chapter, but the next one, boy, it's going to be one hell of a roller coaster! (I think...I hope :) )

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and have a brilliantly brilliant day!

SIX

5 HOURS BEFORE

DEO Medical Bay

"Do you know what they say about dawn, Kara?"

Kara looked over to Lena, who was smiling broadly. "What?"

"They say it is always darkest before dawn."

"And?" Kara insisted, not entirely comprehending.

"How can it be dark when I'm with you?" The CEO replied, moving closer to Kara, caressing the superhero's leg. However, Kara felt uncomfortable and moved further back.

"I can't, Lena."

Lena frowned, as she softly said: "Why not?"

"Because, you're with James. I can't betray my friend like that."

The Luthor sighed. Lena stood up abruptly, and placed a hand on Kara's shoulder. "I know. But that kiss. You were into it, weren't you?"

"I was." Kara replied, slightly red-faced and guilty-looking. "I don't know what to do Lena. I can't do this." Lena looked at Kara, biting her lip. Lena desperately wanted to be with Kara, but the Kryptonian had raised a valuable point. Their newfound love would put their friendship with James at risk.

"It's your choice, Kara." Lena said, sternly. "I'm not going to make it for you." Lena put her hand on the doorframe and looked back at Kara with pleading eyes. Kara was speechless. "I'm going to see if I can make a cure. For Sam."

Kara nodded gratefully, but secretly she cursed herself for pushing Lena away. As Lena vanished into the bustling crowds of agents, Kara clenched her knuckles tightly.

Lena was more important. But was she? Just before all of this mayhem, Lena had hated her for not trusting her. James had been with her since this whole superhero thing had started.

Her thoughts were constantly contradicting each other, and it gave Kara a splitting headache. The pain caused her head to throb, and it came to such an extent that Kara was forced to press her 'help' button. (A button that Alex had insisted on putting in Kara's hospital room. It was for emergencies, or as Alex had put it, ir was for 'when Alex needed to kick some ass'.)

She needed someone to talk some sense into her. And who better to talk to than someone who was playing for the same team as Kara?

A few minutes passed and Kara impatiently let out a moan: "Alex!"

DEO Lab

Lena gritted her teeth, pushing her emotions down. It was the only thing she could possibly do.

Her legs planted firmly on the ground, she leaned forward, peering through the microscope lens. She was looking at a sample of Sam's DNA. Her cells were mutating very briskly – the longer they took the more Reign Sam would become. Lena would never wish that fate upon her best friend.

Grumbling, Lena looked up. Her eyes were trained to the board of calculations. It was messy and only Lena could understand the frantic scribbles and collection of numbers. Drifting her attention to the rock, she picked it up carefully.

Her eyes scoured its surface, looking for anything odd. She saw nothing. It was just a piece of stupid rock. Frustrated, she slammed it back down on the table.

"You know, just because its from Krypton doesn't mean that it is indestructible."

Lena turned around, catching sight of Winn Schott who was casually leaning against the door.

"Having some problems?"

Lena glared.

"Okay," Winn said calmly, walking to her. "Let me help."

"Fine." Lena remarked stubbornly. "But don't touch my stuff!" she said, batting Winn's hands away from her prized microscope.

"It's just a microscope!" he argued, flinging his hands up in surrender.

"No it isn't!" Lena snapped. "It's Milo. My very first microscope."

"That's not weird at all," Winn muttered, fiddling with his fingers.

Lena threw an indignant glare. Winn raised his eyebrows.

He grabbed the rock and began tossing it around between his hands. "The rock of Yuda Kal. Also known as… Fancy Space Rock. What exactly are you trying to do with it?"

"I need to figure out whether there is liquid in its core, then I can extract it and use it in the remedy for Sam. But I can't figure out a way to do that."

Winn frowned, "I remember doing this in Physics class in college. It's how… how they discovered the structure of the Earth!"

Something clicked in Lena's head. Her eyes lit up. "Yes!" she exclaimed, joy filling her. "That's it! Seismic waves!" Snatching the rock from Winn, she looked at it once more. Her eyes darted around and she ran forward, grabbing various pieces of equipment from the desks. Winn stood back, perplexed.

"Calm the farm, Lena! Alex is going to get quite annoyed if her lab is trashed."

Lena ignored him. She knew how to do this.

She looked up at him, a smile playing on her rosy lips. "Longitudinal P waves travel through both solid and liquid. I can send one of them through, and then I'll know for sure that there is liquid if the wave refracts. Then, if we find the rock's boiling point, we can conduct an experiment and melt the outside of the rock. Therefore, even if there isn't a liquid inside, we'll have it anyway!"

"That makes no sense," Winn said. "But, if it works, then..."

Lena smirked, as Winn had a sudden epiphany. He spoke with newfound confidence:

"Then we can cure Sam of Reign."

DEO Secured Medical Bay

Sam...

A voice was whispering to her. It was small and quiet, and sounded as if it came from a child. Somehow, it soothed Sam, calmed her down. It was if this voice was drawing her into a deep sleep. It was not like a deceptive, enigmatic voice – it was one that promised her peace and Sam couldn't help but be consumed by it.

Sam. Listen.

The next time the voice spoke in the darkness of Sam's unconsciousness, it was vaguely familiar.

Mum. Mum? Can you hear me?

It was Ruby. Her sweet child.

Sam's heart flooded with warmth as she smiled.

Mum, I need help. Can you help me?

The darkness in her mind faded into an image of Ruby. The 12-year-old was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt with a leaf on it that read: Leaf me alone! Sam chuckled when her mind flashed back to the memory of Ruby's reaction when Sam bought it for her. Ruby had loathed it. She had always hated puns. The girl had always thought that they were a 'sad attempt at humour'.

Ruby was sporting a playful smile and her eyes were wide with wonder.

Mum. Her voice was much clearer now.

Suddenly, her expression turned to one of sheer fright.

What are you doing? She said, her voice trembling. Sam frowned. Why was Ruby scared? She reached out a hand to assure the girl, but Ruby's eyes widened in terror as Sam came close.

No. Mum! Don't!

Sam's hand turned black. No, not black - it was covered by a black suit of some sort.

A wave of fear crashed over her, as Sam realized that this was no her but Reign.

What have you done with my mum?

Reign cackled. Sam turned around, trying to locate the Worldkiller. But the Kryptonian was speaking from her. Reign was her.

Another scream. The hand reached out, wrapping itself around Ruby's throat. The girl's eyes were full of shock as she managed: How could you do this mum?

Then Ruby collapsed to the floor. Her eyes were unseeing.

Sam screamed.

Jolting up, she could feel her heart throbbing in her chest. Her face was caked with sweat, as Sam grabbed her own throat.

It was simply a nightmare, her mind tried to convince herself.

Sam was terrified. "Ruby," she said softly.

Someone spoke from her left. "She's okay. Don't worry."

Sam looked and saw the anxious complexion of Alex Danvers. Her hair was curled and her big brown eyes were gazing intently at Sam. She was dressed in unadorned black clothes, a blue-shimmering gun strapped to her waist. Alex was standing in front of the desk, a microscope sitting idly by her. Various charts were pinned up on the walls, with computers screens flashing information.

"Ruby's with her dad."

Sam gulped. "That's... that's good."

Alex came forward, sitting on the edge of Sam's bed. She put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know." Sam said shakily. "I really don't know." The woman choked out a sob.

Alex looked at her sad eyes. "You'll be fine. We're working on a cure. Reign will go away."

"But if Reign is part of me," she hesitated for a moment, "then if you kill her won't you..." her voice trailed off.

"No." Alex said, determined. "That won't happen."

"Wait a second. Who exactly is 'we'?"

Alex smiled. "Everyone here at the DEO. It's an organization that deals with alien threats and monitors alien activity. Including Supergirl."

Supergirl. Kara.

Sam gasped. "Kara."

Alex's eyes widened in shock. "What?" she cried out.

"Kara's Supergirl. And I hurt her." Sam shook. "What have I done?"

Alex pushed Kara's identity crisis aside. She would have a talk with her little sister later about sharing her identity. Alex trusted Sam, but the notion that the woman knew Kara's identity presented a bigger threat toward Kara and the people she loved. The most evident threat it posed was that Reign could use it to her advantage. Alex didn't even want to think about what would happen if that became reality. It was a thought too ghastly for her to handle.

"It's not your fault. She's okay. She'll live."

"I hurt your sister. How can you look at me knowing I caused her harm?"

Alex sighed. She lowered her head and began to twiddle with her thumbs. After a few moments of silence, she raised her head and spoke solemnly. "I don't know. So many people have hurt her: emotionally and physically. But you didn't hurt her. Reign did."

Sam looked at Alex with astonishment. She had never imagined that the older Danvers sibling was possible of forgiveness on such a large scale. "I'm Reign. Reign is part of me."

"Sometimes, we have parts of us that we really don't like. And we just have to deal with them; find a way to make sure that we control ourselves, not just for us, but for the sake of others.

"I'm gay. I used to hate myself for that, for being different. However, now, I embrace it. It's part of me. And now I can't help but love it! Without it, I wouldn't be me!" Alex smiled at Sam. "Reign is very bad. Horrible, in fact." Sam laughed a little. "But Sam, if you can expel all the evil of Reign and then embrace your Kryptonian roots, do you know what you have left?"

Sam shook her head.

"You have this badass Kryptonian who can fight evil! Someone who can protect everyone she loves without worrying about her dark side coming out. Someone people can look up to. Like Supergirl."

"Like Kara."

"Yeah. Ruby will be so proud of you. Everyone will be."

"Thanks, Alex."

It was at that moment, for the first time in twenty-five years that Sam wished that she had a sibling. She felt quite jealous that Kara had such a kind-hearted and phenomenal sister - one who would always stand by her, no matter what happens; a flashlight in the dark that could guide her home. But Sam had no one. Her mother was distant. Lena was wary around her. Even Ruby feared her – her own mother.

Sam sighed. An alarm suddenly blared in the room, and Alex groaned. "Kara." she murmured, slowly and reluctantly getting up. At that, Sam couldn't help but chuckle.

She watched as Alex disappeared into the bustling crowds, both of them completely oblivious to the shadowy figure lurking in the dark.

TBC...