A/N: Hey, guys! I hope you all are liking this story so far! It's been really fun to write and we aren't even close to being done. I'm sorry if the last chapter was a little depressing. I want to add a lot of emotion in here between the different scenes so that it can start to show some character depth and growth. Not all the chapters will be like that though. This one will have mostly recuperation, regrouping, some visitors, and about what Kara's going through in Cadmus. Sorry, but this chapter gets a little out of hand on the word count. It also gets really really dire but bear with me. I have a definite plan for this and it will get better. Just as a reminder, for each CW show we are going to ignore the cliffhangers of their season and pretend everything is not going to hell. Enjoy!
Reminder: These characters are not mine. They belong to DC, CW, and CBS respectively.
Chapter 7
Alex Danvers felt like her whole world exploded. She had her mother. She had her father. She had everyone she thought would make her life complete again, but she didn't have Kara. The smiling blonde that she loved. Alex couldn't even remember what it was like to hate Kara. The days spent loathing the attention that the alien got, or the jealousy she had, even the embarrassment. She'd give anything to go back and change how she had acted back then. She wished she could have been better, more welcome, more loving to the little girl who had lost her entire world.
She remembered the day when she stopped hating Kara.
For months she ignored her. She sat with her friends at a table, leaving Kara to sit alone at lunch and barely feeling any guilt. Alex would flirt with Rick, or chat with her friends. She even went as far as to make fun of Kara with them. All she wanted to do was fit in. But things changed. Alex was walking back from her class, going to make sure Kara got on the bus with her, as commanded by her mother, when she saw two girls and a guy shoving her around. They were shouting obscene things while Kara remained stone faced. Then they mentioned how she was an orphan. That her parents never wanted her and so she had to live with the Danvers, living off of them. The guy shoved her to the ground, but Kara still remained still, not even bothering to fight back. Alex could see the misting of her eyes in that moment. The sadness at the loss of her family, the loss of her whole world. Alex knew that Kara could have easily beat them. Use a little super strength and they would never bother her again, but Kara never did. She just sat on the ground while the group poked at her hair and pushed her around. Alex's heart broke and anger filled her at the thought of these bullies pushing her little sister around.
She wanted to do something. She wanted to defend Kara right then and there, but she didn't. She turned around and walked as fast as she could back to the bus. She slipped into the seat next to her friend and watched the bus door, waiting for Kara to board it. Minutes later, right before the driver shut the door, Kara walked up the stairs and sat at a seat by herself. That night Alex couldn't sleep. She remained awake, thinking of her cowardice. She heard a soft whimper and cry, and she bolted upwards in her bed. Alex saw Kara on her side, tears falling freely as she stroked the necklace she always wore.
Forgetting the embarrassment, the jealousy, and hate, Alex slipped from under her covers and moved towards the girl. She climbed in beside her and wrapped her arms around the alien. They both sat up, but Alex's arms never left Kara. They rocked back and forth with Alex whispering into her ear. Their relationship had changed on that night. From that point on, she never thought of her as an alien, or an orphan, or adopted sister. There didn't need to be any other titles. Kara was Alex's sister, end of story.
The next day, she found the three bullies and smiled at them. They returned the grin and called out to her. Without even breaking stride, she put as much force as she could into her punch and the boy's head snapped back. His hands went straight to his nose as blood dripped down from it and onto the floor. The two girls just stared at Alex, not even sure what was going on. Alex just smiled, and grabbed the boy, slamming his head against the locker.
"If you ever lay a hand on her again you're going to get a lot worse than a bloody nose, so I suggest you apologize," she said calmly. She turned towards the girls beside her. "And if you two ever make fun of her parents again, you're going to get the same thing he's getting over here."
The two exchanged looks and then one of them stepped forward, her bent ego evident from a mile away. "What the hell, Alex? You were just making fun of her yesterday!"
Alex winced and then walked towards her, making the other one flinch. "That was then. This is now."
She walked away, leaving the three bullies fuming at the new development. The days passed and Alex kept true to her word. Kara never sat alone again. She was never bullied or made fun of. Alex stayed by her side each year and fought for her little sister that had let herself be shoved around rather than stand up for herself because she was afraid of hurting someone. They became each other's heroes.
Alex couldn't live without Kara. They balanced each other out, and she was afraid that without Kara, she would tip off the edge. She had come to depend on her just as Kara had depended on Alex. She could only imagine what Cadmus was doing to her right now. Her heart ached at the thought as she recalled what Kara had told her they did the last time she had been there. They had shot Mon-El and drained Kara of her powers. They were ruthless, and she didn't doubt the fact that as soon as they were done with her, Kara would be killed. The thought made her stomach churn and she felt like throwing up.
She saw Barry out of the corner of her eye, still sitting on the couch, his eyes sad. The group was silent. No one spoke. They all just pondered what had happened, the fights they went through, and how they were going to get Kara back. Bruce cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him.
"We need to head somewhere to talk. We can go to the Batcave. I'll have Alfred set up some rooms, so we can all stay there and plan a course of action to get Kara back," he said quietly.
The group nodded their heads in agreement. Alex grabbed her father's tied hands and yanked him up. Before anyone could leave, they heard Clark land in the back of the house, running inside. His face was hard as he realized what had happened. He looked at Alex.
"Where is she?"
"Cadmus has her. They're probably experimenting on her as we speak. We're heading to Bruce's Batcave. Bruce can take mom, you take dad, and Barry can take me. Good?"
Everyone mumbled their agreement, and Alex moved over towards Barry. The rest of the team filtered out of the house, leaving the two alone. Barry stood and gave Alex a questioning look.
"You love her, don't you?" Alex asked.
Barry froze at the words. Kara was amazing. Her humility and hope was inspiring, and he couldn't help but smile every time he looked at her. He thought that he loved Iris enough to start something with her, but around Kara that love seemed dull in comparison. Did he love her? He knew he felt something strong, stronger than whatever he had with Iris. A bond that he knew she was aware of as well. They had tread lightly around each other after reuniting, remembering the incident with the Music Meister, but they recognized the mutual attraction.
"Not as much as you do," he answered simply.
Alex smiled at the response and motioned for him to sit down again, taking a spot next to him. "I do love Kara. She's not just my sister. She's my life. Ever since her pod landed on this earth my mother told me to look out for her. So I did. I protected her in school, I joined the DEO, and I moved to National City. Everything I do is to make sure that she's safe."
Barry frowned at the brunette in front of him. "It's not your fault, Alex. You did the best you could do in the situation. No matter how much time you devote to keeping her safe, you're never going to be able to shield her from everything. They found a loophole. They tricked us, but we will get her back. I will. I promise you that."
"Thank you, Barry. You know she talked a lot about you after you left."
Barry grinned. "Did she now?"
Alex laughed, bumping her shoulder against his. "Yeah. She really liked you. She told me that she wished I could have met you. She thought you were some kind of superhero master with intricate planning and cool inventions."
"I was pretty impressed with her too," Barry shifted in his seat. "What, uh, happened to Mon-El?"
Alex's face fell. "I'll let Kara tell you that when we get her back," she responded, leaving Barry curious. "We should probably head to the Batcave now."
Barry nodded, and they both stood, grabbing each other in a hug. They saw the same emotions in the other person's eyes and realized the emotional weight of the situation. Kara was their anchor. The one who kept them grounded in humility and kindness. The two were afraid for what would happen if they were to have lost the person they loved the most. The stakes were too high.
Barry gently picked up Alex and ran to Gotham. The two arrived just as Bruce pulled in with Eliza. Clark and Jeremiah were already there with Jeremiah attempting to apologize to him. The superhero merely nodded, his face void of emotion. J'onn had arrived earlier and had been briefed on the current situation. His face was hard and angry. He had lost too many people he cared about and did not plan to make Kara his third daughter to die. The newly arrived took seats around the circular table. Bruce cleared his voice and began.
"We should report," he said slowly. He noticed the mood of the room had changed. The group was torn at the loss, each person deeply affected. This was personal for everyone here, and the air seemed to chill without the bubbling happiness that Kara brought.
"Metropolis?" Bruce asked, prompting Clark.
"Ben Krull attacked Metropolis. I managed to beat him with the same technique that the DEO and Kara used. Afterwards, I took the core and Krull to the DEO. J'onn locked him up."
"National City?"
Barry sighed and started. "Livewire wreaked havoc on the city. There were fires everywhere. I was able to defeat her with help from J'onn. He took her to the DEO while I put out all the fires. He told me to assist you in Gotham. I arrived, but you weren't there. I then ran to Midvale."
Bruce's hair stood on end. He detected some bitterness in the young man's voice and was afraid there might be an argument arising. He didn't have to wait long, and J'onn leaned back, crossing his arms.
"I hope you're not implying that it's my fault Kara got taken," he said, his voice tight.
Barry laughed at the man. "Isn't it? I told you I should help Kara! You're the one who commanded me to go to Gotham! If I hadn't, I would have gotten to Midvale just in time to keep her from getting taken!" he accused, his voice rising in volume.
"It was the right move and you know it!" J'onn responded.
"Was it, J'onn?" Clark added, joining in the conversation.
He raised his eyes at the angry cousin in front of him. "I didn't see you rushing off to help her!"
"I was busy locking someone behind bars! Or would you rather me let him roam free?" he countered. Clark spun around and focused his withering gaze on Alex. "What were you doing while you let Kara get taken?"
"Excuse me?" she said, taken aback. "I had my own problems to deal with! And since when do you care? You abandoned her with us when she had just landed on a new planet after spending 24 years in the Phantom Zone! It was my job to protect her after you just left! Her whole life was turned upside down and all you did was add to her list of losses!"
Clark stood, his chair skidding back several inches before falling on the ground. His eyes lit up in anger. Barry and Bruce pushed back their chairs and attempted to conduct a cease fire between the two angered and emotional family members. Barry went to Alex while Bruce placed his hands on Clark's chest on pushed him back.
"Enough! This is exactly why we have been defeated so easily! Stop fighting amongst each other and work together!" Bruce yelled. "We have to get her back. Luckily, thanks to Alex, we have a member of Cadmus with us."
"What are we going to do?" Barry asked, worried. "We have no legion of superheroes that we can just call upon whenever we have a problem."
"You're right. We don't, but we can. Super powered individuals are scattered around the world. We need to unite them under one mantle. One goal. We have fought our own battles and got ourselves almost killed in the process. Kara and J'onn took on her crazed fanatic uncle and Indigo and barely escaped. Imagine if we had a group of people that would respond on that call and aid whoever needed help."
"That's a novel idea, really, but won't that leave their own cities vulnerable to an attack?" Alex questioned.
"It might. For a while at least, but we can coordinate stations around the world. We have some of the smartest minds on our side to help us. Some people have teleportation abilities. We could incorporate the same powers into transportation that would immediately send heroes to an active site. They could be stationed in a designated city and called upon if they're needed and replaced with someone else," Bruce explained.
"Do we even have enough people to form a group like this?" J'onn asked.
"I have contacts. I know a woman with amazing skills who lives on an island with all women. Another who has a ring that is only limited by his imagination. Powerful individuals that can become a force to be reckoned with if they are united."
"It sounds like a work in progress. There's no way that we can organize something this complex in time to counter whatever Cadmus has planned." Clark added.
Bruce smiled. "I anticipated something like this. I have been working on assembling a…a…league of sorts that will bring criminals to justice for a while now. Wayne Enterprises has established a think tank of the greatest minds known to mankind with the goal of solving some of the world's most prevalent issues. It will allow us to work anonymously with significant funding."
The group exchanged looks around the table. The idea seemed flawless if they could pull it off. It would allow for them to neutralize a threat before it became too uncontrollable.
Barry remembered the years past where he spent months planning and scheming against the Reverse Flash, Zoom, and Savitar. He lost people he loved each time and if he could prevent something like that from happening again, he would be a fool to refuse. He opened his mouth to respond but stopped when he saw a blue-white hole beginning to open only a few feet from the table they were sitting at.
The group jumped into action. Barry pulled the mask over his head and lightning flashed through his eyes as he prepared himself for whatever was coming through. Alex pulled her gun from its holster, pointing it towards the breach. Clark's eyes lit up in response and J'onn morphed into his natural form. Bruce ran over behind the breach, planning to surprise whoever came through with an attack from behind.
The breach reached its peak size and held. Before they could blink, an arrow flew through. Barry's eyes widened in surprise as it landed in front of them. Before he could call off the team, smoke billowed out of the arrow, throwing each of them into a coughing fit.
Alex covered her mouth and coughed, briefly lowering her gun. Someone attacked her and whacked the weapon out of his hand. Barely able to see anything, she tried to use her other senses to fight, only managing to clip the attacker on the side of the head. She was thrown from her feet and landed hard on the ground. She felt the presence of a metal pole on its downward path to her head and shifted to keep it from busting her head open. Alex spun her leg around tripping the newly revealed woman to the floor. The woman currently on the ground wore a white suit and carried a metal staff with her. The smoke began to clear and Alex could see all the people that had jumped through the breach.
A man decked in all green carried a dangerous looking bow nocked with a unique arrow and tip. He had a hood pulled over his face and she could see the shadow of a mask below it as well. He was currently engaged in a seemingly even battle with Bruce.
Her mouth fell open slightly when she saw a man completely on fire attempting to defeat J'onn. His eyes lacked pupils and were fully white. He levitated slightly over the ground as he fought, noticeably confused when his hands seemed to pass through the Martian.
She saw a man with goggles was barely holding his own against Clark, opening breaches each time the man came close to him. He aimed his hand at the superhero and knocked him out of the sky with a blast of some sort of energy.
The white-suited woman on the ground stood up quickly and swung her staff at Alex. She ducked underneath it, rising and punching the woman in the face. The woman stumbled back and charged again kicking at Alex's knee, forcing her to the ground. She raised the staff, but paused when she heard Barry yell. Alex seized the moment and grabbed the staff, slamming her shoulder into her chest and knocking her to the ground.
Barry raised his hands in the air. He was befuddled at the events that were unfolding in front of him. Some of the best people he knew were engaged in an amazing display of powers and hand-to-hand combat. Everyone in the room stopped at the sound of his voice. Alex was currently about to bludgeon Sara with her own staff, Oliver was put in a headlock by Bruce, Firestorm was strengthening his nuclear output and about to attempt to incapacitate J'onn, and Cisco was merely fighting for his life against Clark. It was a truly baffling sight, and Barry didn't know who would win if he had just let this fizzle out naturally.
"Guys, stop! These are my friends from my earth!" Barry yelled. The group of people hesitantly lowered their arms and bows. Oliver eyed Bruce and walked over to Barry.
"What is going on, Barry? You left through a breach with Scudder, Mardon, and Simmons and didn't come back. I was trapped in a mirror!" he said, clearly upset.
"I'm sorry. Things have been pretty bad over here," Barry responded. "Why don't we catch up? I'll introduce everyone."
Oliver nodded and motioned to Firestorm, Sara, and Cisco to join the others at the table. Alex offered her hand to her, and she took it, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. The two groups sat at the table, an awkward silence greeting them. Both looked to Barry to start.
"Uh, so, J'onn you already met Cisco," he said, pointing to his friend. "This is Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow. He protects Star City. Next to him is Sara Lance, the White Canary, then Jefferson Jackson or Jax, also known as Firestorm," he concluded, clapping his hands together. Oliver raised his eyebrow at the brown haired man.
"Oh and on this earth we have Alex Danvers, Kara's sister, J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, Clark Kent, Superman, and Bruce Wayne, Batman."
Clark looked questioningly at the new people. "What can they do?"
"I shoot blasts of nuclear energy," Jax answered, bluntly.
"I'm basically an assassin," Sara added, inspecting her staff.
"Jax and Cisco are the only ones with metahumans powers if that's what you're asking," Barry said.
Oliver looked around, searching for Kara. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He would have expected Kara to be here with her sister and Barry. Oliver turned towards his friend. "Where's Kara?"
The group quieted, almost as if they were discussing a death, but with Cadmus involved, she might actually be dead. They held onto hope, but they couldn't help but consider the logical possibility.
"She was taken," Barry muttered.
Oliver's countenance fell at the news. He had given the woman the cold shoulder when they first met, mostly due to the overwhelming lingering thought of her being an alien, but he couldn't help but enjoy her sunny nature and bubbly personality. She reminded him a lot of Barry.
Cisco bit his lip in disappointment. Kara was just so likeable. Everyone who knew her couldn't help but smile when around her. He had only known her for a few months, but he knew that he had to help this new group of people get her back. He saw the looks that passed over Barry's face when he was around Kara. He had seen the same thing on a lesser scale when Barry looked at Iris. He didn't think it was possible, especially after all the two had gone through, that someone could captivate Barry more than Iris had. They had so much history behind them full of love and pain. They had endured so much that had strengthened their relationship as they traveled through the fire together. With Kara, all of that seemed to pale, and Barry would just attract to the blonde. Cisco couldn't have his friend lose someone as important as that.
"What's your plan to get her back?" Sara asked. She had liked the woman immediately when she saw her. She would babble and laugh, much like Felicity, but she was so unfailingly nice and humble that Sara could recognized the rarity of a person like that. This world would not be deprived of Supergirl.
"What do you mean? We have a plan, but you have to get back to Earth-1 to protect it," Barry said.
Cisco laughed. "Dude, they don't need us right now. They have Thea, Diggle, Felicity, Nate, Amaya, Ray, Mick, Nyssa, Wells, Wally, and Caitlin," he said, listing off each person.
"Wait, Caitlin?" Barry asked, confused on why Caitlin would be back.
Cisco shrugged. "We needed her help. Oliver was trapped in a mirror and we needed to reach temperatures near absolute zero. Julian was able to track her down, and he brought her back to S.T.A.R. labs. We had to get to some pretty escaping temperatures so she used her powers to freeze the mirror and allow Oliver to escape."
"Is she back for good? Without Killer Frost?"
Cisco smiled at his friend. "I think so, man."
Barry sagged in his chair, letting out a breath of relief. He never wanted to experience that again or have to fight her. She had always been by his side, and he couldn't betray her like that. At least there was a sliver of good news in this otherwise terrible day. Oliver clapped Barry on the back.
"How are we rescuing Kara?"
Bruce stood up and pointed to this monitor. "There has been chatter of a new Cadmus Headquarters. They have previously used abandoned warehouses or buildings that had been discarded by L-Corp, but this one is rumored to be a research facility for experimentation. Sources have claimed that they have obtained alien DNA and spliced and modified it into a completely new creation. I believe that Kara would be held there for observation and assessment."
"What's their security?" Oliver asked.
"Unknown. This is a fairly new building and it houses their most dangerous projects. We have to assume it's more serious than the others."
"Then we can't make a course of action. We don't have enough information to breach their base of operations," J'onn responded.
Alex's stomach dropped at the conversation the three were having. The thought of her sister being poked and prodded by a group of needle happy scientists made her sick. Her sister was strong, and she had no doubt that Kara would hold on until she was able to get to her, however she couldn't imagine the state she would be in.
"What can we do then?" Jax inquired.
Sara looked at the crestfallen group in front of her. Their dejected body language gave her all the answers she needed. "I guess all we can do is wait."
Bruce sighed. "We will find so—" He was cut off by a sudden beep from the monitor. "Power surge. A building on the outskirts of National City just surged with a radiation similar to that of Kryptonite."
Alex and Barry looked each other, fear creeping in. "That has to be where she is."
Bruce nodded. "We have to be smart. Last time we split up, we lost Kara."
"He's right. White Canary, Firestorm, and Superman should stay here to be able to make sure all the other cities don't spontaneously go to hell," Oliver said. "The rest of us can go get Kara and make sure she's okay."
Bruce clenched his jaw, unused to someone else calling the shots. It was a little unnerving, but he knew the man was smart, sectioning off who would go and who wouldn't.
Clark stood from the table to look at the Robin Hood wannabe. "No. I'm going to get Kara."
Oliver raised his eyebrow. "That's a great idea if you'd like to die. Bruce just told us that there are radiation signals that match Kryptonite. If you go there, you will die."
Clark took a deep breath, realizing his error and sat back down. "Fine. Just make sure she gets here safely."
Oliver nodded at the emotional man in front of him. "You have my word we will get her back." He motioned to the others. "Let's go."
Kara remembered when she fought Vartox. That axe wielding maniac had cut her and introduced her to the world of pain. It was agonizing and surprising. She had gone through life on Earth as if she was invincible. She hadn't experienced pain, and it was disconcerting to know that she could be hurt. Her naïve perspective had changed quickly when she emerged as Supergirl. She had been thrown, stabbed, cut, punched, shot, and mind controlled. She liked to think that she had become hardened since she first started her fulfilling night life as a superhero. Her experiences had led her to alter what she believed from invincible to perseverant. She knew that she could be hurt, but she also knew that whatever she faced, she could get through it as long as she knew what she was fighting for.
It didn't matter if it was Kryptonite, magic, bombs, or bullets, she would emerge stronger. She couldn't afford to be weak and lose someone she cared about. Her mother, father, Astra, Mon-El, her life was full of reminders of what happens when you aren't strong enough.
Kara was aware that several hours had passed since she was taken, and she held onto hope that Barry and her sister would come for her. Hope was all she had as the deranged scientists discussed options on how to achieve their goal. They mentioned cutting her open, experimenting with Kryptonite, and other nauseating activities. She assumed they thought they had some sort of psychological leverage if they talked about what they were going to do right in front of her.
It bothered her thinking about her body being mutilated for their viewing pleasure, but she consoled herself with thoughts of her family. No matter what, her family was safe. She would get back to them before Lillian accomplished her goal and effectively mind controlled her. She had already been through this whole ordeal more times than she cared for. She had promised herself that she wouldn't have to go through the emotional pain again after the Red K incident, but she saw how well that worked out after she was put under a different influence with the Dominators. Now here she saw, breaking another unrealistic promise she had made to herself. She wished she had gone through the same DEO training Alex had so that she could whip out some DEO ninja tricks and get out the hell out of here.
She couldn't hurt her sister or Barry. She would rather die than do so, and she was pretty done with everyone who kept trying to get her to do it. She remembered J'onn telling her that his psychic powers didn't work on her and she was glad she had that at least. It would take them a while to figure out some way to get her under their control, and that would allow her time to construct a plan.
She didn't have Jeremiah to bail her out this time, and she didn't even have Mon-El to keep her company. Kara had always hated being alone, and now here she was, facing the thing she hated the most, alone.
She heard the door unlock and Lillian came into the room, her heels clicking. She peered at the pale Kryptonian and smiled.
"I see you aren't healing," she observed.
Kara laughed. "I wonder why. You had your new Metallo almost kill me and then you put me in Kryptonite cuffs. Of course I'm not healing," she snapped.
"That's not the ambiable Kara Danvers I remember."
"I'm sorry if I'm not exactly happy to talk to you," she grumbled at the lady. "What do you want?"
Lillian smiled. "I have a surprise for you." The door opened again, and Kara shook her head in disgust.
"Maxwell Lord. You're working with Cadmus," Kara said, blankly.
"Yes. Yes I am. While I'm no fan genocide, I can't help but agree with some of their ideals."
"So you just signed up to their cult?"
He sucked in a breath. "I wouldn't say signed up. We have common interests. I have something they need, and they will do something for me. It's not a permanent partnership."
Kara rolled her eyes. "And what is that?"
Lillian grabbed something from the pocket of her jacket, holding it in front of Kara to see. She gasped. "The omegahedron," she said, incredulous. "How did you get that?"
Max winked at her. "After your battle, General Samuel Lane gifted me with this little beauty. I think you already know what it does."
"Why, Max? I thought we had some sort of agreement after what happened with Myriad." Kara said, softly.
"That's why I'm sorry for what's to come," he paused, "but it still has to come. Aliens threaten our ability to defend ourselves. I spent so much time with Bizarro and Kryptonite when all I needed to do was regulate you. Limit the world's most powerful woman and you have no threats. Anyone that stands against you won't stand a chance."
"Thanks to some intel we've received, we no longer need to waste our time having alien species try to control your mind. You see, we have made a deal with someone much more powerful than you, and he has given us a gift. A show of good faith if you will," Lillian said. "Dominator technology. I'm sure you're familiar with it after your adventure on your friend's earth."
Kara's eyes widened. "How did you know about that?"
Lillian chuckled. "All in due time, Supergirl. Our friend gave us the device that had brought you under its control. However, he didn't supply us with the energy to power it. He told us his friendship only extended so far. Max has kindly offered us use of the omegahedron that should power the device."
"However, it was crude and needed adjustments. The Dominators heavily influenced parts of your brain that kept you from interacting. It sent out waves of neural impulses that rendered you close to useless. With my adjustments, the device sends out neural triggers that will activate certain programmed feelings towards people." He bit his lip. "It's not full mind control, merely a more controlled version of Red K."
Kara shook her head violently at the man. "Please, Max don't do this."
He frowned. "I'm sorry, Supergirl. I'm sorry it has to be this way. I made sure it's a relatively harmless process. The Earth you visited has more advanced Nano technology. I developed a bot that you can swallow and it will attach to different parts of your brain. They will insert and merge with your brain and lay dormant until the device triggers them. I ran simulators that stressed unknown variables once it attaches. You might have a slight seizure until the bots adapt with your brain's electrical output."
He motioned to the men by the bed to tighten the Kryptonite cuffs on her wrists. She squirmed against them and looked at Max, pleading with her eyes. "Please. I'm begging you. If you won't stop this, just kill me. I can't hurt my family. Kill me."
The two paused at the blonde's words. She was desperate, but they didn't think she would resort to this drastic course of action. Lillian looked at Max and shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Supergirl," he said and pressed his hands against her forehead and jaw.
Holding it open, Lillian took the syringe from the side of the table and emptied its contents into her mouth. Kara struggled against the man, trying to spit them up. He slammed her head down, closing her nose, forcing her to swallow. Her body began to shake and she started to scream. Attempting to hold her down, the seizure lasted a minute before dying down.
She stopped shaking and stared at the two people in front of her. Her eyes were wet from crying, and her hair damp from sweat. Lillian Luthor grabbed a gun from the guard beside her. Max frowned sympathetically at the Kryptonian on the table. He placed the omegahedron in a slot in the device a few feet from them and pulled a remote from his pocket.
"Your first neural trigger is on your prefrontal cortex and phonological loop. Once I press the button, it will send out a signal telling the bot to temporarily stop the loop. That will basically make sure you forget this conversation," Max explained.
Lillian turned the gun towards Kara making her flinch. "Don't worry. It's all part of the show."
"Wh-why are y-you going t-to shoot me?" Kara stuttered, still recovering from the seizure.
"Our failure with Jeremiah taught us a lesson. We have to be convincing when we return you. We will make it seem as though we have taken everything we want from you and that this disposal was only inevitable. You probably won't die. If I miss and hit a vital organ, oops. Then I guess we will just have to take your cousin. It really doesn't matter. Your friends should be on their way."
Smiling at her, she aimed the gun at Kara's stomach and pulled the trigger twice. Green bullets embedded themselves in her suit and her hands immediately went to her wounds. Everything became hazy, and she could barely hear someone say that they needed to evacuate. Her eyes made contact with her bloody hands, and she scrunched her face. She had been in pain before. She had pulled through because she had someone worth fighting for. Her sister, her mother, the world. Now, knowing what Max's plans were, she didn't know why she still fought. She had begged them to let her die, and they had inadvertently given her a chance to do so. Kara wouldn't have to hurt those she loved. She could die right now and be free.
She heard someone crash into the room and saw her sister's face above her. Kara could tell she was crying and wanted her to stop. She couldn't stand when her sister cried. It always broke her heart seeing her hero, the one she looked to for strength, in such a despairing state. Barry appeared beside her with the same look on his face.
"Oh god no!" he screamed, putting his hands over her stomach and pressing.
Alex unlocked the cuffs and pulled the woman into her arms. The two somehow managed to fall to the ground with Kara still remaining in her arms, and Barry frantically trying to stop the bleeding. She put her hand on her sister's face, smiling at her.
"You're gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay." Tears ran freely down her face. "Please be okay. I need you. I need you more than anyone else. I'm sorry for everything I said before. You're more important than anyone else. I can't live without you," she whispered to the blonde in her arms.
Kara's face twitched as she tried to smile. "I-I l-love you, Al-Alex," she stuttered.
Alex rubbed her sister's face with her thumb. "I love you too. Save your strength. You're gonna be alright."
Kara shook her head. "N-no. P-ple-please, A-Alex. Let me die."
Alex recoiled at her sister's words. "No! I can't! Please, Kara! You've always fought! Fight now! We'll get through this!"
"N-no," Kara began again. She was vaguely aware in the back of her mind that Max had pressed the button. She only had a few more seconds before she forgot everything. Only a few seconds to save her family. "I ha-have to! Ma-Max…" Two more seconds. She had to tell them. "D-Dominators. P-please! I can't h-hurt y-you!" Kara felt her mind seize, making her forget everything that she had been told. The pain in her chest and now brain overwhelmed her, and she slipped into unconsciousness.
Alex's face contorted in confusion. "Why would you hurt me, Kara? Kara?" She gently shook her sister. Getting no response, she turned to Barry. "Is she—"
He shook his head. "No. Not yet. We need to perform surgery now!"
The both of them stood, Barry calling for Cisco. Alex set her sister back onto the table she was on before, disconnecting the Kryptonite cuffs and handing them to Barry.
"Run these away as fast as you can!" she yelled.
The man zipped away running faster than he had ever before. Before Alex could blink, he was back by Kara's side and pressing his hands against the wound. Cisco charged into the room glancing at the blood around them. His eyes widened in horror. Barry left Kara with Alex taking over putting pressure on the wound.
Barry shook his friend, getting him to focus. "I need you to bring Superman here now!
Cisco nodded and raised his hand, opening a breach. Alex looked around. They were in some sort of lab that she assumed was used for dissection. She saw scalpels and clamps on a table by the side along with a EEG monitor. She attached the electrodes to Kara and heard the hauntingly slow beep. The breach opened, with Cisco dragging Clark out of the hole. The man's eyes immediately clouded up, and he ran to his cousin's side.
Alex pushed him out of the man and pointed to Barry. "Get out of my way, Clark! I need to perform surgery on her right now! Barry! Do you have any medical training?"
"I have a little, but not enough to perform surgery."
"Can you draw blood?" she asked.
"Yeah. That's the only thing I learned from Caitlin."
"Good." She grabbed a needle with a tinted green tip. "I think they used this to operate on Kara. It's a Kryptonite needle. It will pierce Clark's skin. I need you to draw his blood and get ready for a transfusion. I'm going to try to remove the bullets from her stomach. We're going to set up a direct line between Kara and Clark. Once I get these bullets out I want you to get them the hell away from here."
Oliver ran into the room, his eyes connecting with Kara's limp body. His heart constricted, and he walked over to the brunette. "What can I do?"
Alex rushed to the sink and washed her hands. "You know what. Change of plans. Barry, run to the DEO and get the solar lamps, Cisco, I want you to set up the direct transfusion line from Clark to Kara, and, Oliver, I need you as my extra pair of hands."
The group galvanized into action. Barry left, leaving a trail of lightning behind him to fetch the solar radiation lamps while Cisco sat Clark down and set up the transfusion line. Oliver leaned towards the brunette beside him, mimicking her and putting on gloves.
"Have you ever performed surgery before?" he asked, skeptically.
"No, but I am an expert on Kryptonian physiology, and I'm pretty sure I have a good enough grasp of biology to do this. You?"
"No official medical training, but I have enough knowledge about the human anatomy to torture someone and identify poisons," he offered.
Alex paled for a moment but continued arranging the tools to operate on her sister. Barry arrived two minutes later with the sun lamps from the DEO and placed them on either sides of her. He moved to turn them on, but Alex shook her head.
"We can't have her healing over the bullets. Help Cisco set up the direct line. She needs blood now!" she yelled, growing more panicked by the second.
Cisco attached the tube, and the blood slowly moved from Clark's body to Kara's. Alex sighed in relief and cut open her sister's suit. It pained her to have her sister be defiled by people as terrible as Cadmus. She saw the concerned looks on the faces around her and looked down at her almost naked little sister. She motioned for the others to wait on the other side of the room until she needed them.
Two bullets had entered Kara's abdomen. One had punctured her intestines while the other severed her vena cava. Tears wet her eyes as she worked on repairing the artery. If she didn't work fast enough, her heart would give out from loss of blood. Alex was thankful that she was able to arrive when she did but wished could have gotten here sooner to kill Lillian. She would die for what she did to her little sister.
The bullet lodged in her intestines worried her but not as much as the damage to the artery. For any normal human there was risk of bacterial inflammation that could travel through the blood stream to other parts of the body, but as soon as she got the bullets out, Kara should begin to heal, erasing any chance of it.
However, the artery was essential to Kara's heart, and if Alex didn't repair the damage in the next two minutes, the person she loved most would die right here on the same table that Cadmus desecrated her on.
Kara's heart flatlined.