Day 9, 2 left. During the morning, Eliza and Alex had rushed over the medbay, alerted by the sound of agitation. Kara had an other cardiac arrest. Time was running out and the countdown the agent had predicted became untrustworthy. The doctors had once again managed to bring back Kara but everyone knew they may not be so lucky next time.
Just after lunch, the two scientists took time to be with the young kryptonian. Alex was sitting next to her sister's bed, a hand strocking Kara's hair, the other gripping the young woman's hand. She was crying silently. Eliza was sitting on her bed, her back against the wall and her knees close to her chest. She was watching her two girls from a safe distance, trying to keep hope by remembering what she was fighting for.
"I know you're in pain. I know it's hard." Alex started softly close to her sister's face. "But hold on, Kara. You have to. Mom and I are so close to find the anti-virus. You have to fight for me, for the city." she said gently stroking the blond hair. "I promise you, we will save you and I will take care of you like you did for me when I was sick."
A hand interrupted Alex by resting on her shoulder. The young agent looked up with wet eyes and saw her mother. Eliza was standing next to her, sharing her concern, her fear and her sadness.
"The new serum is ready." Eliza simply said showing her watch.
Alex smiled at her weakly and stood up, squeezing Kara's hand before leaving. Eliza looked back at her adopted daughter and sighed. They wished they could stay longer with Kara but that was a privilege they couldn't afford. But being so close to her while being so far away, stuck in the lab, was extemely frustrating.
"I love you, sweetie." she said brushing Kara's arm lightly.
She then followed Alex in the lab. But when they got there, they found Hank, waiting for them, his arms crossed.
"I need to talk to you...about something no one here wants to consider." he said looking down
"It's Kara, isn't it?" Eliza asked already knowing the answer
"We don't have much time and we have to consider the possibility of failure."
"That's never gonna happen." Alex quickly contered
"Alex, you of all people know it's a possibility." Hank stated making the agent look at the ground. "I think we should let Cat Grant know. I understand she's close to Kara" the director proposed
"And the people. The should know too." Eliza said
"That's not a good idea. If we let the people know, the whole city could be in danger and it's the only thing criminals want to increase their activities." Hank contered firmly
"People have the right to know, Hank. They have the right to know their hero can't be here to save them." Alex started taking a step closer to the man. "That way, the city can prepare itself the way it was prepared before Supergirl. And the crime rate is already higher and reached the numbers from before Kara came out. And if the city is in danger, we can just call Superman."
"I'm with Alex. She's right, people have to know why Supergirl can't save them for now. It's only fair for them and for Kara."
"Fine." Hank admitted after a few seconds of reflexion. "I'll send Vasquez." he added before leaving.
An hour later, agent Vasquez was in Cat's doorway. She knocked on the door to signal her presence to the Queen of all Media. Cat looked up from her computer and a sudden fear settled in her mind.
"Agent Vasquez, please come and sit." she said motioning to the seat in front of her desk.
Cat easily noticed the concern on the agent's face. Vasquez smiled weakly and did as told.
"I am here to give you the authorization to announce Supergirl's incapacity to the people of National City."
"But I already did after you came the first time. But I suppose you came to share more details and I'm afraid that the reason of this sudden need of sharing is because...you don't have good news." Cat supposed more concerned than before
"I'm afraid so. Our scientists are close to find the cure but Supergirl's condition has gone worst, a lot worst." Vasquez started not making a lot of effort to hide her sadness. "She's made two cardiac arrests already which means that her time is short."
Cat surely didn't expect such bad news. Of course, she had considered the possibility of Supergirl dying but knowing she actually came close to death twice was quite shocking, especially when she couldn't separate Supergirl from Kara.
"I'll ask you the same question I asked the first time. What am I supposed to say?"
"The truth. But Director Henshaw ordered me to tell you to omit the fact that Supergirl is dying. You can say that she is in danger and very sick but not that she has less than two days if we don't find a cure."
"Two days..." Cat whispered feeling tears coming
"Ma'am?" Vasquez asked seeing the woman's distress
"I'm fine." Cat lied snapping her head back up. "I'll make the annoncement myself. Thank you for sharing." she added suddenly making her way back to a professional attitude
"Of course." the agent nodded before standing up and leaving.
As soon as she past the door, Cat stood up and walked towards her bar. She poured herself a scotch and drank it in one gulp. The woman rested her arms one the bar to support her and closed her eyes. Feeling the burning sensation of alcohol sliding down her throat, Cat suddenly relived the moment where Kara was standing just next to her and fell unconscious in her office. She shook that thought off her mind and looked up, facing the many bottles and glasses in front of her.
"Winn!" she called making her way back to her desk
"Y-Yes, Miss Grant?" he said walking in the office
"Prepare my office for a live broadcast. I have an annoncement to make." she started writing down some notes on what she was going to say. "And Winn..." she added looking up at the young man with compassion. "Call Olsen. I know you've already tried and the reception in the Egyptian desert isn't the best but...It may be the time for him to know."
Thirty minutes later, Cat's office was ready for live broadcast. The make up artist was just finishing Cat's make up and Winn was pluging the last wire. Everybody walked behind the camera and let Cat alone, sitting at her desk, reading her notes one last time. Eventually, the Queen of all Media sighed heavily and waved she was ready. Winn started a countdown from three with his fingers and lunched the broadcast.
"People of National City. This is Cat Grant coming to you from CatCo Plazza. In the beginning of the week, I brougth you some bad news on our local hero. Unfortunatly, I'm bringing some more today. I have just been informed that Supergirl is sick. She has been infected by a kryptonian virus. I know it can be scary, such a powerful person being sick. But don't worry, our human physiology protect us from the virus. We don't need to fear any epidemic. This infection is serious and that's why, since a few days now, we haven't heard the usual sound of Supergirl protecting us from the sky. I've been assured that the government is working day and night to cure our hero. I know that some criminals have already taken advantage of the situation to increase the frequence of their crimes. This cowardise is unacceptable and will be punished soon enough by the local police. It's been a week since we are living without Supergirl and things might stay that way. So I demand you. Do not panic, do not fear. Just go back to live your normal life. It's not because Supergirl isn't here that we aren't safe. It's true, she has made our life easier and brighter but we can still manage to live correctly like before she came. I'm counting on you to do just that and Supergirl is counting on you too."
Cat ended the broadact by removing her glasses. That way, Winn knew he could turn off the camera.
"I want it on the screens once every hour. You." she said pointing at an intern. "Get me a bouquet of sunflowers. Not to big, not to small." she ordered.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Kara looked at the two men in front of her with a grin on her face. They seemed so lost and afraid of their mistake. Probably for the first time in his life, Max admitted he had been wrong. They both knew that if Supergirl herself didn't care about people anymore, she wouldn't give them anything more. Lane and Max realized, by watching the grining selfish look of Supergirl, that they had just created the powerful emotionless monster they had feared all this time. They would never have any more information from her. Eventually, Lane regained his composure and walked closer to Kara with a threatening look.
"I understand that you are no use for me now. However, that's not the case for my collegue right there. So I guess I just have to leave and let him dissec and experiment on you."
Kara didn't respond. She continued to stare but with less anger than before. She watched the general exiting the room and the smirk forming on Max's face. As soon as Lane was out of sight, an army of doctors entered with all kind of instrument and a steel table. Strong arms wrapped around Kara's wrists and she felt herself fall when the kryptonite cuffs were removed. She didn't have the strength to stand up alone so she let the men drag her to the table. However, when they tried to lay her on it, Kara decided to fight back. The young woman started to thrash in every way possible, managing to free one of her leg. She used it to kick one of the men. She found the will to kick an other one but she fell hard on the ground when someone hit her on the back of the head. Kara's vision was blury and her shoulder was hurting to much. She tried to crowl out of the room but a man kicked her in the stomach, making her fall on her side. There, the young kryptonian saw the foot coming right at her face but couldn't dodge it. It gave the possibility to the three doctors to lift her half conscious body and restrain her on the table.
"I knew you would try." Max smirked from a distance.
An hour later, Kara was wide awake and alone. Her body was hurting in every way possible. Two doctors came in.
"What do you want?" Kara asked firmly
"To learn." one of them answered.
The young woman observed them closely. She watched without wincing when a doctor plunged a needle in her wrist and took some of her blood. She watched silently and confused when they used an other pair of cuffs on her wrists and ankles.
"What is that for?" she asked still with determination
"You will see soon enough."
A minute later, Max entered with special glasses. He put one pair on his head and gave the other two to his employees. When everything was ready, Max pushed a button and the kryptonite cuffs fell on the floor. Instantly, Kara felt her strength coming back and her wounds healing.
"I want to see how much electricity you can take. Of course, I want you to have your powers but I have to warn you. The second pair of cuffs are special. They are made of inertron. Very rare but so much more resistant than any other material. Even at full power you won't be able to break it."
"I can still do this." Kara said before raising her head and using her heat-vision.
But as soon as her eyes started to glow red, Max activated the electricity discharge. Kara screamed and tried to get away from the table. After three seconds, the electricity stopped and Kara's head fell hard on the table.
"Told you." Max smirked.
Kara growned with rage and waited for the next shock. She didn't have to wait long. This time, the discharge was higher and lasted longer. So did her scream. And it stopped. Kara was still feeling strong. The doctors had just the time to right a few notes before the electricity was turned on, always higher. This time, the force surprised Kara and she had just the time to scream for a split second before her mouth closed itselft and her teeth stayed tightly closed. Her eyes wide open, Kara could only make muffled cries. Eventually, when it stopped, her body fell on the table but the young woman was still vibrating spasmodicly. Kara was panting and it took a few moments before she could catch her breath.
"Well, I think we are close to the breaking point. Let's stop the electricity and test her lung capacity." Max ordered.
It took fifteen minutes to change the material. By that time, Kara was feeling better. The electricity had reminded her of her fight with Livewire, how her heart almost stopped if it wasn't for Cat. Cat that was now dead.
A doctor placed a mask on the young woman's face. It was covering her nose and her mouth.
"You should take a big inspiration. You'll need it." Max smirked.
Kara had no choice but do what he said, understanding what was going to happen. As soon as she was at maximum capacity, she hold her breath.
"Start the clock."
Almost an hour later, Kara started to struggle against the mask. Her face flushed with a light shade of pink. She exhaled but when she naturaly tried to inhale, the young woman began to panic. There was no oxygen in her mask. She panicked even more when she saw the evil grin on Max's face. He was just staring at the poor woman, smiling at her own pain.
Kara's face was now red and she was trying by any means possible to get some air but it wasn't coming. The sounds that were coming out of her mouth were raw and horse. Finally, when she was at the edge of uncounsciousness, the mask was removed and she took instictivly a big gulp of air. It took Kara a minute to catch a rather normal breath.
"That was close, wasn't it?" Max said smiling at her face. Seeing Kara's distress couldn't make him happier.
The young woman finally realized. She wouldn't give any information for sure because she had no one to rely on and she didn't care anymore. But for that exact same reason, she had lost her identity and was now just a vulgar lab rat. Kara had lost her reason to live, to want to stay alive, to fight. Now, she was afraid and panicked. Soon, she would be traumatised, and not just mentaly.
"I can see the terror in your eyes every time you're next to death. It's just getting better." Max smiled making the young kryptonian shiver. "Let's figure out how much pressure your bones can handle." he said watching the other scientists preparing the next test. Kara's face filled with terror. "Let me explain. We're going to put your legs in this thing and crush them until they break. Don't worry we will give you time to heal before the next test."
Kara's eyes widened. She felt the two strong metal part blocking her legs and began to panic.
"No, no, no." The young woman repeated over and over.
She tried to move but it was impossible. Kara felt the pressure beginning to apply on her skin. Soon, it got stronger, heavier. Then, it was hurting, painful. Finally, it was excrutiating, unbearable. At first, Kara had tried not to scream but it was hurting too much. Her scream went crescendo with the pain and the pressure to finally reach her full power. Her voice filled the room and was deafening.
"Stop! Stop, please stop!" she yelled, tears rolling down her face. But it didn't, so she continued screaming. "Stop! I give up! I give up!" Kara scream with desperation.
Max made a sudden move with his hand and the machine stopped abruptly, releasing Kara's legs. They were hurting like hell but they weren't broken. Kara was crying and panting. She couldn't stop. First Cat, then Alex and Winn and finally it was her turn.
"What did you just say?" Maw said surprised and satisfied at the same time
"I give up." Kara said crying heavily. "Kill me, I don't want to fight anymore. Just kill me, please. Kill me." she demanded.
The young woman had lost hope and courage. She just wanted all of this to stop and join her friends and family. She was tired of fighting for nothing.
"As you wish, Supergirl." Max said with an evil and satisfied smile.
That was the last thing Kara saw before pain stopped and the darkness wrapped her in comfortable warmth.
AN: Here's chapter 8!
So Cat is going to have a bigger role, starting from now. Maybe she won't be in the next chapter but she will be present at some point later. Some of you asked me; this is not a SuperCat story. Here, Cat cares about Kara as her protegée and maybe a friend.
I have to admit, I'm not very happy with what I did in this nightmare. But I had to make Kara question herself a little and I needed her to want to give up.
Don't forget to review, I'll respond as usual. Hopefully I'll post the next chapter tomorrow.
Next, some good news. Finally!