I don't own these characters; Disney/ABC does. I also don't own the guest star of this chapter.
3: The Real Monster
Kara was very much enjoying her conversation with Henry. He was very engaging and not put off by any questions from her or Lena. He had plenty of questions for them, especially wanting to know how Kara and Emma met. It was all good until Henry asked a question that sucked all of the air out of Kara's lungs, which was not good with the ants crawling under her skin thanks to the damn magic in the air.
"So, when are you two going to get married? Ma makes it sound like you're way braver than she is and it took everything in her to ask Mom to marry her, so according to her, you should've tied the knot a while ago," Henry said.
Kara swallowed as her heart pounded in her ears. She was certain her guts spilled out onto the floor, but she was too scared to look. The void inside of her tore open a little more, pulsing and growling, gnawing at what was left of her. Then, Lena patted her thigh, meaning to soothe her. Instead, the abyss in her soul throbbed and moaned.
Lena opened her mouth as if she was going to say something and Kara feared whatever those words might be more than anything in her life. She would rather be in the Phantom Zone than to hear Lena's opinion on this. She was saved as Emma and Regina walked over.
"I'm sorry about that," Emma said as she and Regina slid into the booth, pushing Henry over toward the wall.
Kara managed a laugh, hoping it did not sound too deranged as she silently pieced herself back together. "No, you're not. You said that's the only reason you'd want to see Alex. She expected it."
"But, you hoped I was bluffing," Emma replied.
"Yeah, but was also prepared if you weren't. I just hoped you'd be willing to talk to her. I guess not." Kara gave a nervous laugh. There was a flutter in her belly. The magic in the air still burned through her.
Emma frowned. "Yeah, no."
"It's okay. Not like you hurt her or anything," Kara said with a shrug.
Emma's frown deepened. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Let's focus on the important stuff. Your wedding." Kara grinned. "You're getting married!" She giggled and threw her hands up.
Emma sat up, proud, and put her arm around Regina. "Yeah." She turned to Regina. "Regina, please meet my dear friend, Kara Danvers."
Kara reached across the table and shook Regina's hand. A little spark went between them, like a static shock but with a little more of a jolt. Kara was not sure if Regina noticed. Was that magic as well? Kara had never dealt with magic being all around her, just from that annoying imp, Mister Mxyzptlk. This was different from his magic. But, now that she thought about it, one of the things that had attracted her to Emma so long ago was the little tingle that would go through her whenever Emma put a hand on her shoulder or something like that. She had always wondered why there was always a fizzle when Emma touched her.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you and see that Emma didn't make you up," Regina said.
Kara laughed. "You sound like this one." Kara turned to Lena. "This is my girlfriend, Lena Luthor."
Lena leaned across the table to shake both Emma's hand and Regina's hand. "It is nice to see that Kara didn't make you up as well."
"And I'm Henry, their son, also not made up," Henry said with a grin.
Kara and Lena laughed, shaking his hand as well, even though they had already gone through that. Sometimes, kids liked to be included in ridiculous things with their parents. "Emma told me all about how happy she was when you found her," Kara said.
Henry smiled and squared his shoulders. "Nice to know she talks about me."
"From the beginning. I'll spare you the details, but you were always on her mind and in her heart," Kara replied. She recalled those tough times. It took the longest for Emma to tell her that she was not only pregnant, but in prison. It was not until after she had Henry that she spilled the whole story, finally writing after disappearing for almost a full year. Then, every year on Henry's birthday, she would have a breakdown and every year Kara wished she could just fly to Emma and hug her until the emotional turmoil passed.
"So, how did you two meet? You make a dashing couple," Regina said.
Kara glanced at Lena. "You wanna tell it and make it sound exciting or should I tell them what really happened when I just had to interview you for an article?"
Lena smiled and bumped her with her shoulder. "You always want to tell the boring version."
"Because it's true. You just want it to be exciting. Our lives are exciting enough without exaggerating."
"Your lives can't be more exciting than ours," Henry seemed to boast, chin in the air.
Lena scoffed. "You have to spend some time with these Danvers."
Kara gasped dramatically and pressed her hand to her chest. "You mean we're the problem? The Danvers don't need a bodyguard."
Lena's face fell into a deadpan. "So, we're going to pretend Alex's entire identity isn't wrapped up in being your bodyguard?"
Kara's mouth fell open and she was speechless for a long moment. "Well, you get saved by Supergirl on an almost daily basis."
"And I save her just as much at this point," Lena replied, which was kind of true.
Henry's eyes brightened. "You know Supergirl?"
"Intimately," Lena replied. "As Kara said, I get saved almost on a daily basis by her. Or is it that I save her on almost a daily basis?" A challenge shined in Lena's eyes.
Kara did not take the bait. "You guys get news about Supergirl this far? I thought she was a strictly west coast phenomena."
"We get the big things over here, saving the world stuff," Henry answered. "You used to write about her, huh?"
Kara nodded. "When I was a reporter."
"Ma used to talk about it all the time. She showed me a lot of your articles. Uh… I'm… kinda a writer." He blushed.
Kara perked up. "That's great. I'm actually not. I thought I was. My boss, Cat Grant, she kinda made me a reporter to teach me a lesson."
"Didn't you win an award for your work, though?" Emma asked.
"Yeah, but I found out I wasn't very happy reporting and I almost quit work by accident," Kara replied.
"How do you quit work by accident?" Emma arched an eyebrow and glanced at Regina, who frowned. Emma grinned and held up both hands. "I'm not getting any ideas."
"You better not. This town needs a sheriff," Regina stated. Emma nodded.
Kara pressed on since Henry was still looking at her, wanting an explanation. "I just… kinda stopped showing up. I got caught up in other things. Miss Grant wanted me to see that I liked to think I wanted to be a reporter because of the good that can come of it, but I actually didn't. Just because I'm good at something and want certain outcomes doesn't mean it'll work out as a career. It wasn't a good career move for me."
Regina nodded. "Sometimes things that actually get on our nerves tend to be a better career choice."
"Yeah, Miss Grant sees something in me that I mostly don't see, but she's right about it. She thinks I have the ability to be a leader more like her, which I never considered, but as she keeps piling on responsibilities, I keep rising to the occasion. I mostly work on layouts, but she also has me editing articles. It's annoying, but I'm also damn good at it." Kara grinned.
"It's a curse." Regina sighed.
Kara laughed. "Emma said you're the mayor. She always tells me how great you are at your job, even though you hate everyone."
"Were it not for my son and his mother, I would let this whole town burn to the ground," Regina said. Movement around the diner seemed to pause for just a moment, like they were worried that might actually happen.
Henry laughed. "No, you wouldn't!"
Emma pulled Regina close. "And that's one of the many reasons I love her. She's got a heart of gold under a very rough exterior."
Kara smiled. "Reminds me of someone else I know."
"Hey, standing up for you doesn't make me a good person," Emma said.
"No, all the other stuff does. You can't fool me, Emma. I've known you way too long." Kara playfully wagged her finger at Emma.
Emma blushed. "Anyway, I'm hoping you both will agree to stay at the house while you're here." She glanced at Lena. "Might be closer to your penthouse than the B&B, anyway. You'll be more comfortable."
Lena smiled. "I've roughed it very many times in my life, but I'm here for Kara's ride. So whatever she decides, I'm with."
Kara nodded. "We'll stay if that was the plan. But…" Kara glanced out of the window. Alex and Maggie were nowhere to be seen.
Emma scowled. "Alex."
Lena patted Kara's hand. "Alex'll be fine. She's got Maggie to keep an eye on her. She wants you to have a good time and enjoy the wedding. Beyond that, I'm sure she and Maggie won't mind staying at the B&B because you're nosy."
Kara gasped. "I am not! But, if we don't watch those two, they get into trouble."
"Alex would say the same of us and she wouldn't be wrong," Lena pointed out. "Stop worrying about Alex and focus on why you're here."
"If I may ask," Henry started up.
"Oh, nice manners." Kara smiled.
Henry squared his shoulders. "It comes from having a mom like mine. I was just wondering… I mean, what did you sister do that was so awful?" He looked at Emma, wanting his mother to explain, even though the question seemed to be directed at Kara.
"She's just a terrible person and a poor excuse for a human being," Emma replied and that seemed to be the end of it. Henry looked between them and squirmed a little. Kara would not have indulged him, but Regina also stared, like she wanted an outside opinion.
Kara folded her arms in front of her. "It's hard to describe. I think Emma took the most offense to Alex bullying me when I was her sister."
Emma grunted, but she did not say anything. Kara could only imagine what horrors Emma had gone through in foster care, as she only hinted to things even now, but there was always a fire in her eyes when she saw Alex saying something to Kara. Of course, whenever she tried to step in, Alex and her friends just turned on Emma and it was somehow more brutal.
"What kind of bullying?" Henry looked from Kara to Emma and back to Kara. "Like stick your head in a toilet kind of stuff?"
Kara laughed. "No, not stuff like that." She looked at Lena. "Could you imagine?"
"I could see her doing it now," Lena said.
Kara gasped, truly offended now. "Excuse you! I could totally take Alex." Definitely needed her powers, but she could take Alex.
Lena threw her head back with laughter. "Please, say that to Alex's face when you get a chance. I want to see this happen."
"So, she didn't beat you up or something?" Henry asked.
"No, it was just very harsh words, which stick with you a lot longer than a punch," Kara replied and she stared at Emma.
"I'd rather just punch her again." Emma folded her arms across her chest. Henry wiggled in his seat and his face was tense for a moment. He probably was not used to seeing his mother like this.
"Instead, how about you give us a tour of the place? This looks like a really quaint town. Oh, and I can't wait to meet your parents!" Kara squealed.
Henry glanced at Emma. "Is that really a good idea?"
"Kara's cool," Emma replied.
"Then, how come you don't listen to her about her sister?" Henry asked.
Emma frowned. "Because she's biased about that. Anyway, we'll drop your bags off at the house and then walk around the place."
Kara did not argue. They exited the diner. Alex and Maggie were nowhere in sight. Kara was not happy about that and was even more upset when she tried to listen for Alex's heartbeat. There was static. This damn magic.
"You okay?" Lena wrapped her arm around Kara's.
"I can't… I can't hear her…" Kara scowled.
"She's fine. We'll call her and find out where she and Maggie are." Lena pulled out her phone. "Hey, Alex. Your sister's freaking out a little."
"I am not!" Kara hissed.
"It's fine. We're trying to get checked into the B&B, but I guess the town saw Emma deck me. She's clearly very loved around here. The lady at the counter doesn't want to give us a room. Maggie's already imagining us camping out in the park," Alex said. Kara could barely hear her, static buzzing in her brain.
"Alex can't get a room in the B&B," Lena reported.
Emma laughed. "Good for her."
Regina elbowed her in the side. "You might have certain feelings for Alex, but she is your friend's sister and if she doesn't have any place to stay, I imagine your friend won't be staying long."
Emma frowned. "Fine. I'll help, but only for Kara."
Kara smiled. "Thank you."
-8-8-8-8-
Emma had to hold back the urge to just blast Alex with her magic as they made their way to the entrance next door to the diner, going into the B&B. Alex and Maggie stood at the front desk with Granny proudly ignoring them, focusing on some knitting she had going. Oddly enough, Maggie was the one who looked pissed between them. Maybe Maggie did not know the situation. Emma could not imagine Alex explaining to her wife that she was evil incarnate.
"Hey, Granny," Emma said, swaggering up to the desk.
"Sheriff," Granny replied.
"I appreciate you trying to stand up for me and all, but I kinda need them to get a room if I'm going to keep a bridesmaid." Emma jabbed her thumb at Kara.
Granny looked at Kara, unimpressed. "Maybe you need better friends."
Kara flinched, but Alex was the one who spoke up. "Hey!" Alex glared at Granny.
"Oh, easy to stand up for Kara when dealing with an old woman, huh?" Emma glowered at Alex.
Alex opened her mouth, but closed it before she said anything. Kara looked like she wanted to move, but did not know where to go. Lena grabbed her hand, calming her down, while Emma's stomach twisted. She really did not want to make this situation difficult for Kara. Why the hell did Kara have to bring Alex and her fake ass apology along?
"It's okay," Lena said to Kara.
Regina stepped over to Emma and held her hand, calming her down as well. "Maybe focus on the problem at hand."
Emma grunted but turned her attention back to Granny. Emma hammered out whatever details there were to get Alex and Maggie a room. Then, she made it a point to knock Alex with her shoulder as she walked out. Alex took the hit, barely moving.
"I'm sorry about Emma," Regina said.
Emma turned around. "Don't apologize for me to that." She curled her lip at Alex.
Alex waved it off, keeping her eyes solely on Regina. "Has she told you what I was like in high school? It's cool."
"But, you weren't like that the whole time!" Kara pointed out.
Alex shrugged. "The whole time she was there." Alex looked at Regina. "It's fine. I get it."
"This is bullshit!" Emma stormed outside, even though she could still hear them.
"Do you? Because I don't even think she gets it," Regina said.
"I'm the face of every bully, every asshole she'll never see again. Doesn't matter what I actually did. I did everything as far as she's concerned. I'm the greatest monster she could ever see," Alex replied.
Regina nodded. "Okay, I guess you do get it better than she does. I'll talk to her… again."
"If only for her own peace of mind. I'm only here for three days. She can only hit me so much and for a limited time," Alex said. Alex might think she was so enlightened, but Emma would gladly bash her face in for the three days she was there.
"So… Lena and I are going to stay at Emma and Regina's place, okay?" Kara asked.
Alex smiled, as if she was not the devil in disguise. "Kara, please, go enjoy yourself. I'm good. Hell, I might not know what to do with myself without someone punching me."
Maggie chuckled. "I got you covered, Danvers. Seems like I could get away with a lot of domestic abuse around here considering how the sheriff feels about you." Despite the words, she smiled and kissed Alex's bruised cheek.
Alex just laughed. Regina stepped outside as Kara and Lena squared away any details with Alex and Maggie. Henry hung back, glancing at Alex and then Emma. He actually seemed a little uncomfortable. Damn it.
"I don't even have to ask if you feel proud of yourself because I can see you don't," Regina said.
Emma rubbed the back of her neck. "Okay, maybe I shouldn't be doing this in front of Henry. He kinda looks like he swallowed a bug."
"Yes, because his life is already full of drama, we both know he doesn't need his mothers adding to it. I'm glad you realized that. Now, is what Alex said true? Do you actually look at her and see every person who's ever wronged you?"
"Regina, that's stupid."
"It's not. But, I'm curious if you're able to forgive me because you've actually just put everything on Alex, who I have to assume you thought you would never see again," Regina said.
Emma reeled. "What? No. That's crazy. I forgave you because I love you. I want to marry you. It has nothing to do with Alex."
"I always thought you had a strong capacity for forgiveness when you were able to move past everything I had done and then everything your parents had done, but I see now that you can hold a grudge on par with me. Have you… have you just been burying how you actually feel about me?" Regina looked away.
Emma gasped. "What? No!" She grabbed Regina into a tight hug and held her tight. The world fell away from her. She had to make this right and nothing else mattered. "I love you so damn much, Regina. I want to marry you and keep building this life we have together."
Regina wrapped her arms around Emma. "And you don't think one day you might not wake up and look at me and think about how I did so much worse than bully a foster child when I was fifteen?"
"I won't because I know you've become a better person. I know your heart," Emma replied.
Regina looked at her, eyes wet with worry. "Do you? Do I? What if…"
"There is no 'what if.' You know what this means to you, to me, to Henry, and you would never jeopardize that. I would never do that either. I would also never give up on you if for whatever reason you stumbled and fell. I'd be right by your side, picking you up, carrying you until you could stand on your own again."
A tear slid down Regina's face. "God, those aren't your vows, are they?"
Emma chuckled and wiped away the tear with her thumb. "I would never spoil that surprise. But, how I feel about you makes me say stuff like this easily. I know you get scared that you have a monster inside of you and you think it'll get in the way of your happiness, but I'm here. Henry's here. We're not going anywhere and in two days, you're going to have pain in the ass in-laws, too, who aren't going anywhere."
Regina nodded and smiled. "They are pains in the ass."
Emma grinned. "I know and I can't wait to introduce them to Kara. They'll love her. She and Mom can out optimism each other."
"I don't know how I'll survive that, but if you're intent on having Kara in your life, maybe in more than just this phone relationship you have with her, consider listening to her about her sister. If she is who you think she is, then she's probably right about Alex," Regina said.
Emma sucked her teeth. She looked into the B&B, at how Kara looked at Alex. It reminded her of how Henry looked at her, like she was some damn hero. Her stomach turned. She was not sure it was enough. Maybe Alex was the face of everyone who wronged her. Alex was always just a monster in her eyes and she was not sure three days could change that.
Emma sighed. "Can we just go?" If she put some distance between her and Alex she could figure this out. Or at least stop acting in a way that made Henry uncomfortable and worry about her.
"Of course." Regina gave her an extra squeeze before stepping away to collect their party.
-8-8-8-8-
"Wow, this is where you live?" Kara gasped as they stepped into a freaking mansion. The drive over had been uneventful, even though Lena had not been too happy that she was elected to sit in the middle in the backseat of the Benz. But, well, she was the smallest and those were the rules. However, Henry managed to bypass the actual rules where the youngest should be in the middle by the simple fact that it was his mom's car.
Emma laughed and playfully shoved Kara. "You live in a penthouse and before that you had a loft."
"You had a loft, too!"
"But, I got mine from out-hustling my hustler of a landlord, not being honest."
Kara turned to look at Lena and Regina. She then leaned in, not really whispering to Emma. "I think it's safe to say we both married up."
"Don't say it too loud or they might ditch us," Emma replied.
Lena scoffed. "If Regina's been through half as much with you as I've been through with Kara, she's more than likely stuck with you at this point."
"My own personal pain-in-the-ass before the engagement. I can only imagine how it'll be after we get married," Regina replied.
"You love me." Emma blew Regina a kiss and Regina rolled her eyes, but tipped her head, as if she accepted the kiss on her cheek.
Kara suddenly found it a little harder to breathe. She was happy for Emma and Regina, for their love, and for their commitment to each other, but did they have to lay it on so thick in front of Lena? Eventually, Lena would understand Kara could not give her what other couples and Lena would have to do what was best for her. Or worse, Kara would have to do what was best for Lena.
"That's the only explanation for why I'm marrying you, as you are a constant headache," Regina replied with a wink.
"If Emma gets over this thing with Alex, you, me, and Maggie have to have drinks. The stories to tell," Lena said. Emma frowned for a second, but then took a breath and her face was neutral.
"Until then, how about a tour?" Regina motioned for Lena to follow her.
Regina handled the tour with Lena and Kara right behind her. The house was huge, having an office, library, game room, and a couple of family rooms along with several bedrooms. Lena seemed unimpressed, but she had grown up on the Luthor estate. While it might have been short on love and warmth, it had space for days. This place seemed like it had both.
Once the tour was done, Emma wanted to walk around town with Kara. Regina let them go, but not without giving them a hard stare, reminding them to be back by six. There was a family dinner, not a rehearsal dinner or anything formal, just family.
"Can't rehearse for our lives," Emma said with a grin as she stepped outside with Kara. The day was still bright and warm, as it was barely the middle of the afternoon. It felt so much later after everything that happened earlier.
Kara smiled. "I know the feeling. I'm so glad you're happy and settled. You deserve all this and more."
"You deserve it, too, so you need to ask Lena to marry you." Emma knocked her with her shoulder again.
Kara laughed, even though she wanted to vomit as soon as Emma finished. She held in the urge to snap at Emma, to tell her to stop twisting the knife. Emma was only trying to help. Emma was just trying to be a good friend, as always. Of course, that did not make her words hurt less.
"I couldn't do that. Lena deserves so much better," Kara said.
"Then, are you going to dump her, so she can go find so much better?"
Kara frowned. "Of course not!" Her heart rate shot up at the very idea! She could not lose Lena like that.
Emma shrugged. "Then, you might as well ask her, especially if she's already stuck with you through so much crap. That's what made me ask Regina. I realized she would literally do anything for me and she trusted me with everything. She's my family. I wanted to make it official, so I got down on one knee in front of her stupid apple tree — don't ask — and poured my heart out to her about how I never felt more at home than when I was with her. I mean, yeah, I found my parents and all, but Regina's home."
"I think that's where we're different," Kara said, putting her hands in her pockets.
Emma arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"I love Lena with all my heart and I never want to be anywhere without her, but…" Kara shrugged. "Alex is home for me. I know you don't want to hear that, but it's true."
Emma scoffed. "You got heavy Stockholm syndrome there, my friend."
"Maybe. I love Lena in a way that makes me want to write poetry in her honor."
"She told you to stop, didn't she?"
"To be fair, it was exceptionally bad poetry." Kara chuckled. But, Lena had cooed and fawned over her for a while when she did it, but eventually got her to stop. Now, she wrote love letters, which were much better and did not get as much laughing as the love poems did.
"I never got to that point with Regina, but I did write my own vows. I have to hope she doesn't punch me over them." Emma blew out a long breath.
"She'll love them because they're from you and your heart."
Emma gave her a sidelong glance. "You sure your poetry sucked? And also, you sure you don't want to propose to Lena? I get the feeling she'd jump in your arms if you did. You are more than good enough."
"It's just… I hurt her, deeply. And I'm scared I might be capable of that again and she deserves so much better." She hurt everyone eventually, in the worst ways.
"Did it ever occur to you that you might have learned from your mistake? You know about half of the shit I put Regina through, yet she's still here. Willing to get locked down to this." Emma motioned to herself. "She trusts that I learned from my past behavior."
Kara smiled. "Yeah, so maybe I just don't trust myself. It scares me to think I could hurt her again." It scared her to think Lena might actually accept and then be bound to the disaster that she was.
"I don't think you would, not like that anyway. I've always known you had a heart of gold, kid."
Kara was about to joke that she had a heart of steel, even though she never specifically told Emma she was Supergirl. Emma hinted that she knew. But, she did not get to make it that far.
There was a rumble and the ground shook. There was a water spout large enough to see from where they stood. Emma sighed.
"Never a dull moment," Emma muttered. "Let's head back to the house." She took off in a run with Kara right behind her. Kara resisted the urge to use super-speed. She could feel her powers bubbling just under the magic in every breath she took.
They burst into the house and Regina was already at the door. "The docks."
Emma scowled. "You think?"
"He does think you're a possession and a prize to be won. I'm sure somehow he thinks some weird antic will win you," Regina replied.
"What's going on? Can we help?" Kara asked as Lena stepped over to the situation.
"It'll be dangerous," Regina said.
"That's any day that ends in 'y' for us," Lena stated, crossing her arms.
"Let's go before someone gets hurt," Emma said, anxiously bouncing from one foot to another.
Regina waved her hand and they were engulfed in purple smoke. Kara did not even have time to panic over magic swirling around her. Lena held her up as they reappeared by the docks.
"It's okay, Kara," Lena whispered to her.
"Okay." Kara held up her hands as acid burned her throat. "I need a warning next time magic is just shoved in my face."
"You mean like that?" Emma pointed out into the ocean. Not too far away, there was a giant… something. Dozens of people around the docks were screaming and yelling, trying to get away. There seemed to be a few people trying to clear the area, pointing people to safety.
"Sure it's magic? Could be an alien," Kara replied. "And, no, I just need a warning if magic is going to be used on me. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, almost literally." She had to resist the urge to scrape her tongue or scratch her skin.
"Nah, magic and Disney shit is our thing around here," Emma answered.
"Aliens are Disney shit. I mean, they do have Star Wars now," Kara pointed out.
"You got me there," Emma agreed.
"Plus, Lilo and Stitch, a personal fav," Kara continued.
"You really don't know Cthulhu when you see him?" Alex asked as she ran over with Maggie by her side. Of course, they were there, trying to usher people to safety.
"No, idea what a Cthulhu is," Kara replied.
"Seconded," Emma said.
Alex sighed. "Lovecraft. Elder gods. Stuff like that."
"Nope." Emma and Kara shook their heads.
"Look, it's magic, it's in the ocean, and we're getting married in two days. It's obviously Hook," Regina said.
"Old friend?" Kara hoped, so they might be able to settle things without someone getting hurt.
"Ex-boyfriend. Killian. I've mentioned him," Emma replied.
Kara did not get a chance to ask more as the giant thing — Cthulhu — came closer. It was massive, standing on two legs with the body of a man, but its skin was grayish-green, and it had like an octopus head. There were huge, leathery wings on its back and it roared, like a dragon, tentacles in front of its face wiggling.
"Maybe it comes in peace?" Kara offered. From the way people rushed away, before it was even at the shore, though, shouting things she could not quite make out, she had a feeling they saw stuff like this before and it was not peaceful.
Cthulhu pushed up closer, causing massive waves that crashed just ahead of them, knocking over trees and benches, driving boats ashore. Water gushed everywhere, making it hard to see. Some of the boats were occupied and people fell out as they crashed onto the road. They all rushed to help get those people up, point them to safety, while keeping an eye on this Cthulhu thing. It bent over, spewing what looked like oozing giant pearls from its mouth. The pearls burst, like gooey pods, and nothing short of giant, flying, cuttlefish burst forth.
There were more screams, more confusion, and more attempts to just clear the damn dock. Green acid dripped from their mouths, burning anything it touched, and they screeched, shooting thick barbs from their tentacled mouths. Regina flung fire balls at them from her own hands as people continued to get out of the way. They went down pretty easy from the fire balls.
"Good thing I packed for this." Alex pulled out her alien gun. Well, not really her alien gun. Lena and Brainy had been nice enough to make her a replica. So, it was her gun, but quite Earthly now.
"Really? You brought a gun on a plane?" Maggie asked.
"One of the best reasons for flying private."
"You brought a gun on our walk through town?"
"Do I ask questions when you randomly have guns on dates? Now, do you want the gun or not?" Alex held it out for her.
"Aw, babe. You're sharing your gun with me?" Maggie grinned.
"To be fair…" Alex's watch changed into the Hand of the Soldier.
"Of course."
"Me and Regina have this. We don't need your help," Emma said.
"I'm not asking," Alex replied. "Lena, either do some science or get the hell out of here. Stitch, go see if you can punch out Cthulhu."
"I feel like this is a reference I don't get," Kara said before rushing off toward the monster.
Alex did not answer, charging right at Cthulhu as Kara expected her to. The Hand of the Soldier changed into some massive gun that Kara had no idea what it was. Alex opened fire, but the gun did not seem to have any effect on Cthulhu as shots impacted its chest, but worked well against the flying cuttlefish. Alex took aim at those things as they were getting way too close to the fleeing citizens of Storybrooke.
Kara turned her attention to flying, skin seared internally by magic as she accessed her powers. She gritted her teeth and pushed herself, barely taking off. She flew straight at the thing's head as salt water misted around them and it roared. She cocked her fist back only to be swatted out of the sky by a tentacle at that was thicker than she was.
"Kara!" Emma and Alex called as she crashed into the sidewalk, causing quite the hole.
"Babe, pay attention!" Maggie called.
"Gotta help Kara! Watch my back!"
Kara was not surprised Alex and Emma tried to help her out of the hole. Maggie and Regina kept the heat on Cthulhu, but they might as well had been throwing pebbles at it from the way it reacted. Then, they had to turn their attention to the minions as they went after people. There were more snot pearls and from those giant, slimy cuttlefish with bat-like wings emerged, immediately shooting sharp barbs from their mouths.
"Focus on Cthulhu, Kara. We got those." Alex turned, big gun now slightly smaller, looking more like a gatling gun, something easier to fire multiple shots from.
Kara nodded and took off again, but damn it was harder the second time. She tried her laser vision, blinking hard before she felt the familiar burn behind her eyes. The lasers connected, but Cthulhu only roared and swiped at her with its massive hand. She dipped out of the way, but Cthulhu's movement caused more giant waves onto the land, taking out trees and cars that were nearby now. Car alarms blared and people cried out. She turned, just to check on her people and that was all Cthulhu needed. Kara was in the dirt again.
"Kara, frost breath!" Lena called.
Kara stood up, shook her head to stop the ringing in her ears, and nodded. "Got it!"
"Regina, can you make ice as well as fire?" Lena asked.
"It's not my speciality, but I can handle it," Regina replied. "Emma, help me if you can!"
Emma gave her a thumbs up. "I'll do my best."
"Alex, Maggie, let it freeze up and then blast it!" Lena called.
Kara tried to get closer, so she could hit the damn thing with her frost breath, but those freaking cuttlefish were everywhere, like a swarm. She moved out of their way, blasting them with jolts of her laser eyes, unable to get continuous beams. She then had trouble getting into the sky again. Alex ran over to cover her, accidentally shoving her out of the way and giving her enough momentum to get in the air.
Kara did not try to get close again, just letting her frost breath go as Cthulhu's arm drew closer. Thankfully, the arm as Regina's target, too, maybe she went with where she saw Kara going. There was not enough, but then another blast of ice joined in. Emma. With the three of them working, the arm froze up as sweat beads formed on Kara's head. Cthulhu roared.
Kara moved to focus on the head and Regina shifted that way as well. Cthulhu tried to bat her away with the free hand, but now it was a little slower. It spit up more pearls, trying to build up an army apparently. Kara did not stop, nor did Regina. She could hear two shots fired, one after the other, so was unsurprised when Cthulhu's head exploded.
Kara landed and grinned. "Good job, team!" Except, no one rallied around her for high-fives and stuff. Instead, they were gathered around someone in the dirt. Kara's heart sank. "No!" It was Alex. She skidded down next to Alex, who was cradled by Maggie.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: the end… maybe for Alex.