A/N: Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows! Sorry I haven't updated consistently. Life is hard. But anyway, if you haven't already noticed…. this is a major AU. However, despite that, my favorite thing about writing this is hearing what y'all have to say. I know you guys have had some suggestions, and I promise I have them in mind, but if you have other things you want to see just review or DM me on FFnet and I'll try to incorporate them in. This story has been really really thought out to the end, so I have a very big master plan, but I will still try to add some small scenes that y'all want to see. Soooo thanks! P.S. The characters mentioned later in this chapter are all based off the comic book versions except for one which you can probably guess when you get there.
Chapter 19
Barry shifted in his seat, his hands clammy and hot. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so nervous in front of someone. Actually, he could. He remembered being 21 and interviewing for his first job at the Central City Police Department—a wide eyed kid, fresh out of college with hopes of snagging a job as a mere assistant to a CSI detective. Now he was almost 29 and still feeling like a baby-faced adolescent in front of National City's police chief.
The man tilted his head at him, examining every movement he made. Barry stilled, feeling vulnerable and exposed underneath his steady eye. Barry cleared his throat and slid his hand over the other. He had a feeling the man was more than a little annoyed at being canceled on the past couple of times, but no matter how much he wanted this job, Kara would always take precedence.
"So, Bartholomew Henry Allen?"
"Barry," he corrected immediately. The chief shot him a withering gaze, and he shut his mouth.
"Bartholomew Allen, I admit I am very impressed by your résumé although a little perplexed. Your prior histories are…vague to say the least. They all lead back to some clandestine government agency that no one I call can confirm or deny, so I ask you this—are you bullshitting me? Or are you as good as you are on paper?"
Barry sucked in a breath. He, Winn, and J'onn had prepared for this. "I'm as good it says, sir. I've been in this line of work for over seven years now."
The chief nodded, pressing his lips together tightly. There was something about this man. An air of confidence but not over-cockiness that compelled the man to believe him. Their last CSI had quit after discovering something particularly disgusting and worrisome on the battlefield after the Daxamite invasion, and it was something he very much wanted to avoid this time around. He felt like this man was not one to get…unnerved by these types of encounters and perhaps had even experienced them before.
"Now, Allen, I have to warn you. This…city, it brings along with it certain aspects of the job that others don't have to deal with. Are you prepared?" he asked, hopeful.
Barry took a deep breath and smiled. "I'm prepared."
The chief grinned slightly. "Good. Mr. Allen, you can start this following Monday. Enjoy your weekend."
They both stood up, Barry reaching for the man's hand and shaking it. "Thank you, sir! I-I—"
"Save it, Mr. Allen. I'm not sure you should be thanking me quite yet."
Barry smirked and turned, trying not to speed away. He looked behind him, checking his surroundings, and pulled out his phone hitting one on speed dial. It rang for approximately one minute before clicking and answering.
"Kara!" he yelled into the phone. He heard a sharp intake of breath and quickly apologized. "Oh sorry! I got the job!" There was a yell and then a few incomprehensible words that he assumed varied around 'that's awesome' and 'I'm so proud of you'.
"Where are you so we can celebrate?" he asked, standing in a secluded alley.
"Oh, uh, I would love to, but I'm at the DEO. There's an escaped alien," she explained.
"That's alright. How about tonight me and you go out for some karaoke, potstickers, and ice cream?"
"Oh, Rao, that sounds awesome. Yeah, let's do that. It's a date."
"Great! I'll pick you up from your place at 5."
They disconnected, and he pocketed his phone. Before he could even take another step, he heard it ring and then vibrate. He pulled it out, confused when he saw the caller id.
"Alex? What's up? Shouldn't you be working?"
"Huh? What are you talking about, Barry?
He squinted. "Escaped alien? Rampaging around the DEO?"
"Why the hell would you think there's an escaped alien? It's actually competing to be the most boring day at the DEO since Kara started working here. I was calling to see if you knew where she was?"
"She's not with you?" he asked, worry starting to brew in the pit of his stomach.
"No. Wait, why would you think she would be? And why would you think there was an escaped alien?"
"Kara just called me and said you guys were dealing with an escaped alien. So I guess you aren't."
"No, Allen. We aren't. Where is she?"
"I don't know, Alex! If I did, this conversation would have ended over five sentences ago!"
"I thought she was with you. I called her, and she told me that she was with you at NCPD."
"Why would she lie to both of us?"
"I don't know!" she growled, frustrated. "And she's not wearing her suit, so I can't track her."
Barry paused. "Hold up. You have a tracker on her suit?"
"Focus on what's important, Allen! Where is she?"
"Do you think she had another panic attack and flew off?" Barry asked, the idea worrying him even more.
"No, she sounded fairly lucid on the phone. And after last week, she's been, I don't know…lighter. She still won't talk about where she went though."
"Okay. Then where is she?"
Kara took a deep breath and opened the door. She hated lying to both Barry and Alex, but she knew they would want to come with her for this or more realistically—persuade her not to come. So as much as their presence was calming, it didn't stop the fact that she wanted to be alone for this. It was a situation she had to deal with by herself.
She walked in, seeing the woman poised in front of a whiteboard, marker in hand and scribbling equations.
"Lena?"
The woman turned around, an unreadable expression on her face. Kara felt scared. Scared of being yelled at by her best friend and scared that her secret had ruined the friendship that the two of them had made. Lena had asked for this meeting, and Kara would have felt better had there been any words to construct any kind of context for this gathering. Instead she was forced to live off the plainly placed words and think of the worst thing possible
"Kara," she whispered. She walked towards her, and Kara hesitated, unsure of what was next. What she didn't expect was for the woman to wrap her arms around her and squeeze, engulfing her in a hug. Kara returned it quickly, confused but grateful as her fears melted into relief
"Lena, I-I—"
"Kara, don't. I was angry and paranoid that you never told me because of my Luthor blood, but I don't want to be them. I don't want to be my mother. You never told me because you wanted to keep me safe, and the less people who knew would mean less people in danger. I know who Kara is, and that's all who matters. Not Luthors, or Supergirl, or anyone else."
Kara collapsed into Lena, completely astounded and alleviated from the proclamation. They were going to be alright. They were going to be alright.
"Lena, I can't explain how good it is to hear you say that. I've missed my best friend."
"I've missed you too, Kara." She averted her eyes and pulled the both of them to her sofa on the side of her room. "But there's something I need to tell you."
"What's wrong?" Kara asked, grabbing Lena's hand in hers.
She bit her lip and then looked her in the eye. "My mother's organization has made a reappearance. Apparently her death hasn't killed off Cadmus—it just delayed it. Henshaw and Metallo were spotted in National City at a LuthorCorp site in Alaska."
"No," she murmured, horrified.
"I'm so sorry, Kara. I know what my mother did—what Cadmus did. I'm trying to do everything I can do to get the site contained and on lock down, but my requests are being blocked."
"Lex."
"Lex? What about him?" Lena questioned, wondering what he had to do with it.
"It has to be Lex, Lena. He's probably sitting at desk using override codes to block your efforts."
"He's in prison, Kara. I doubt there's much he can do from inside a four-walled cell."
"Lena, he's not in prison. He visited me weeks ago claiming that Krypton was still alive, and that he could bring me back there. He's free, Lena. He's the one who's been doing all of this," Kara cautioned, scanning her eyes for any sense of betrayal or anger. Instead she just saw resigned defeat and exhaustion plaguing her friend's emerald eyes.
"I-of course. Of course it's Lex. Kara, you can't go to the site. They're bound to have synthetic Kryptonite. Enough to kill you." She knew her plea was futile. Lena could see it in Kara's eyes—the ferocity and stubbornness. There was no way she wouldn't not go. It would go against her nature, her innate personality to leave Lex be and hide away.
"No! No, Lena! I'm not going to hide."
Lena closed her eyes, fully expecting the obstinate blonde to refuse such a proposal. But oh how she wished that for once Kara would back down from a fight. That she would enlist the help from her other friends and stay the hell away from the one mineral that could hurt her—that could kill her.
"Kara, you don't need to do this. You don't need to be the hero this time—I'm begging you not to be."
Kara offered a grim smile, shaking her head at the woman. "Lena, I can't. Who would I be if I didn't try?"
"You would be a person who's alive, Kara. That's what you would be," Lena argued, seeing the sharp pain flare through her best friend's eyes.
"I'm sorry, Lena. You have to trust me."
"I do trust you! I trust you more than anyone, but you almost died because of my mother. I don't want my brother to complete the task."
"Lena, please. I need you to say you'll trust me."
She grimaced. It was a simple request, but the weight behind such a proclamation felt like the difference between air and the sun. It was so easy for her to say she trusted her. It was incredibly easy, but when it boiled down to it, she just couldn't say she trusted her family to not hurt her. They had such an unbelievable track record between Kara and Superman and then her mother and Lex. Lena's instincts were to cry out no and tie her friend down to keep her from flying off headfirst into danger, but her heart was telling her that Kara would be alright. Her friends wouldn't let her be hurt.
"I trust you, Kara."
The blonde let out a deep breath, her shoulders falling forwards in relief. "Good. That's good. Then I need you to trust me now. I-I-I've been keeping a secret. I don't want anyone else to know, but I need your help."
"What are you talking about?" Lena could feel the panic building in her chest, the pressure exponentially growing. Her mind couldn't help but go to the worst thing possible.
"When I-when I was tortured. I met someone. Her name is Tera-Zar."
"Kryptonian?" Lena whispered.
"No. Daxamite. I need to find her. She was still there when Alex saved me. She had to be moved."
Lena flinched. She knew Kara's personality would never permit her to consider that her friend was dead, but Lena couldn't help but feel like she was. Her mother never would have let her survive especially after Kara escaped.
"Kara—"
"No. No. She's not dead, Lena. She can't be. I need you to find her." Her eyes were wide and pleading.
There was an intensity inside the coral blue of her eyes. An intensity that made it easy and plausible to see how vastly different Kara and Supergirl was. Her disguise was more than glasses and a slouch. It was a split in personalities and how she carried herself. The unsureness was a trait that plagued the entirety of Kara Danvers, but as Supergirl there was a gleam in her eye that made you believe—made you truly hope. It was the same gleam Lena was subject to now and she had never been good at denying Kara or Supergirl anything when they were looking at her like that.
"I-Kara, please."
"Lena, she's alive. I know it."
"Okay, Kara. Okay. Where am I looking?"
She sighed, a small grin gracing the creases of her face. "Any LuthorCorp offsite. My best bet is checking the place where Metallo and Henshaw are. They have to know where she is."
"Kara—" she had to try one more time "—you have to consider that she's dead."
"But she's not. She's out there somewhere," Kara steeled her face against Lena's, daring her to question her.
"Okay. I'll look. I swear to you, Kara. If she's out there, I will find her," Lena promised.
"Thank you. I'm sorry to drop this on you, but I need to find her."
"It's alright, Kara. It sounds like she made a very big impact on you while you were trapped." She grinned softly, placing her hand over Kara's. "Tell me about her."
Kara's eyes glazed over in a faraway look as she remembered what Tera-Zar had done for her. "She saved my life. A guard attacked me—he was going to kill me. She convinced them to let her into my cell, and she kept me alive until Alex could save me. I owe my life to her."
Lena nodded, immediately feeling indebted to the woman as well. If there was the faintest chance of her being alive, then Lena was going to find her. There was nothing that could persuade her otherwise.
"Then I can't wait to meet her."
Kara's phone buzzed, and she pulled it to her face. There was a string of rings and beeps as a flurry of angry texts from both Alex and Barry filled her phone. Her face scrunched together in guilt, and she stood up, grabbing her bag quickly.
"I'm sorry, Lena. I have to go. Please don't tell Alex or Barry."
The woman nodded slowly. "I won't, but I think you should tell them."
"They can't know. They'll just worry."
"I'll take your word for it. Don't worry. I'll call you when I find her."
Kara mouthed a thank you and threw her arms around her in a brief hug. She leapt through the window, launching herself upwards to avoid curious eyes drifting up. Her phone rang once more, and she answered it, giving a shy hello.
"Heeeeey, Barry! How'd the interview go?" she asked innocently.
"It went well. In fact, it went so well that I set up a date with my girlfriend to celebrate."
Kara's face flushed in guilt, her cheeks lightening with a tint of pink. "Rao, I'm late, aren't I?"
"Just a little bit."
"I'm really sorry, Barry. It just slipped my mind!"
"Kara, I'm not really worried about our date. I'm worried about you. Alex and I realized you lied to both of us. Where are you? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Barry. I promise. I just had to take care of something. I'm sorry I lied to both of you," she replied, hoping that it would halt the questions and satisfy him.
There was a pause on the other end.
"Barry?"
"I'm here, Kara. You're fine?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Then I trust you. Are we going to be able to at least salvage our date? I'm fine dining in and watching a movie."
She tilted her head, hovering over the window of her apartment. "Potstickers and ice cream?"
"Of course."
"Yes!" She pushed herself through the window, landing lightly on her feet. Barry turned around, surprised, phone pressed tightly to his ear.
He grinned and let the phone drop, pulling her in a firm hug. "Just so you know—I'm here whenever you want to talk about your lie."
Kara pulled backwards and punched him lightly in the arm causing him to fall back onto the couch. "Hey, jerk. It was important!"
He laughed, pulling on her arm to make her collapse back onto the couch with him. "I'm sure it was, but either way I'm here for you."
"Thanks, Barry. I appreciate it." The two leaned in, pressing their lips together before pulling back.
"So, you got the job?" Kara prompted.
He grinned at her and slipped his arm around her shoulders. "I did. The guy was scary as hell, but I think he was impressed by my résumé. Winn did a good job making me look way better than I actually am."
"Uh, excuse me. I'm positive Winn only put the truth. You're the best forensic scientist across both earths. NCPD is lucky to have you on the force."
He scoffed at her. "I didn't really get that impression. I got more of the I'm-skeptical-but-there-is-no-one-else kind of vibe from him. Apparently, the last guy quit due to seeing something happen during the Daxamite invasion."
Kara winced, pressing her face into her hands. "Yeah that wasn't for the faint of heart. Rhea and her army would have slaughtered the entire city if it weren't for the device Lena and Winn made."
"And you," he added, trying to look her in the eyes.
"Yeah," she said half-heartedly. "Is it wrong to wonder what would have happened if I hadn't pressed the button? If I let her army run rampant and let Mon-El stay?"
He shook his head. "No. Not at all. I told you about the time I ran back in time, right?"
"Not in many details."
"Well, after I lost my dad I ran back in time and saved my mom. I was lost, and I was broken, and I thought that I couldn't take anymore—I knew I couldn't. So, I changed the timeline and created an alternate world where my mother was alive, my father was alive, and I thought it was perfect. It was my utopia with everything and everyone that I thought I needed in my life."
"But it wasn't?" Kara asked.
"No, of course not. Kara, these things happen to us to bring us to better moments. In our finite minds we can't comprehend the lengths to which the universe will go to make things happen because at the end of the day the bad things that happen—the torture, the loss, the pain—teach us to do things differently. Letting the Daxamites parade throughout the city was the wrong call. Millions of people would have died, and I don't think you could have lived with yourself if that happened. Do you think you would have made the decision you did if Krypton would have been the one to suffer?"
"No," she admitted. "I don't think I could've done it."
"The loss of your planet prevented the loss of National City and then perhaps the world. You convinced yourself that you wouldn't lose another one and it's because of that that you chose to release the lead. You would have chosen to release Kryptonite had that have been the choice. Your crucibles are what have made you the hero you are today. I couldn't have made the decision you did. I didn't."
She smiled thoughtfully and scooted the rest of her body so that her head could rest on his chest. "How are you so wise?"
"Well I have been a superhero longer than you have, so that has to count for something, right? I'm not invincible, but I have seniority."
Kara laughed and wrapped her arms around him, enjoying the feeling of being close and free without the burden of Cadmus or another city villain looming over her mind. It was a serenity that she hadn't felt in a long time, and one she wanted to keep for the rest of her life.
Tera-Zar was pissed. She heard the shots go off...a month ago? Two months? It was hard to keep track of time where she was—a dark cellar complete with her very own hole in the middle of the ground leading to a nice and cold death on the other side. It was her bathroom, though she wasn't sure how anyone could ever consider that fishing hole a bathroom. She couldn't complain though. She was fairly certain that they were only keeping her alive out of a scientific necessity or rather bait.
She really hoped it was bait.
To god, Rao, Buddha, anyone, she hoped it was bait. The gunshots had gone off, and Tera-Zar had screamed. It had been at least a month and she was forced to remember that Kara had been taken an hour before she heard the gunshots. An hour. She'd been through all of the excuses, convincing herself that people died her all the time. It was practically an every other day occurrence, but then she never returned. Kara never returned. And thirty minutes later everyone was picked up and shipped to another secluded area where the sun never shined and there were holes in the floor.
Tera-Zar had considered throwing herself through her pissing hole again, but the first time had resulted in her pulling herself up and sputtering up frozen water that had locked her muscles in place. While she couldn't exactly feel the effects of a minor gust of cold air, anything in extreme she definitely felt. Oh, and she couldn't breathe underwater. It seemed like a small issue that she was sure she could figure out once she swam far enough and reached land, but her lungs burned, and she was forced to resurface through the same hole she had left. It was humiliating to see the wry grins that graced her guards' faces when they saw her soaking wet and shivering, so she resolved to use that as a last measure should she become truly desperate.
And she was afraid she was steadily reaching 'truly desperate'.
Her plan had been simple: Save Supergirl. Then she got caught up in the Daxamite invasion, taken by Cadmus, and stuck in a cellar that she assumed was across the world. At first, she felt like calling for help, but she reached an empty headquarters that no one answering. Then Kara appeared—disheveled and nearly dead, and Tera-Zar was certain that this was her chance. In fact, she was positive she could save them both and then complete her mission, but it all went to hell in a way that she was all too familiar with. Her communication device was taken and probably broken into a billion tiny bits, and Kara had vanished, leaving Tera-Zar to come up with a relatively intelligent plan to get out of this frozen hell hole.
At least she still had the pissing hole plan.
She hadn't anticipated having to bow to the captivity of Cadmus and Lillian Luthor, who thankfully, seemed to have disappeared. She didn't plan on any of this. All Tera-Zar wanted was to leave, complete her mission, and save the world. It seemed so simple but the few miscalculations that they had had turned into major hurdles that she wasn't sure she could jump by herself.
It was a circle of misfortune that she was trapped in, and it was angering her by the second. There were guards posted outside her cell were armed with her lovely weakness of lead—the element with which guns perpetuated. It was more than inconvenient. It was downright bad luck.
The only thing she was able to notice was the fact that less and less guards were posted outside her cell each week. Henshaw and the green robot roamed often, looking harried and overworked and calling them to the main room. It made her think that the two were coming up with something big—building something big. If it was what she thought it was, then she needed to get out now. Now and fast or else she would fail and the whole world would crumple underneath her incompetence. She couldn't figure out what she had to do or how she could even manage to escape short of taking another dive and hoping she wouldn't drown again.
The door to her cell swung open and Henshaw stomped through, commanding the guards to leave and grabbing her by her neck. The man's eye was lit and dangerously close to her face.
"Where is it?" he demanded.
She grimaced as she shifted her body, trying to open her windpipe to allow air to flow through. "You're going to have to be a little more specific."
"The DEO!" he roared, shaking her hard.
She yelped and extended her arms to push his face, her hands landing on empty air. "Yo-you have to p-put me down."
Her growled and pressed her against the wall, allowing the surface to take some of the pressure off her neck.
"How the hell would I know?" she responded, the resurgence of air fueling her natural snark.
"Supergirl told you. She told you where the DEO was located, didn't she?"
"If she did then you would have better luck removing your cyber eye than getting me to tell you."
He slammed her against the wall, causing her to yell.
"Yeah, that's still not going to make me tell you. And what's wrong? The DEO finally get you back for killing Supergirl?" she goaded. If anything, she would find out if Kara had survived. She had to know.
"No, that alien killed her!"
Tera-Zar laughed. "That's funny. It's a good joke. Supergirl never kills."
"Tell me!" he commanded.
"Nope, sorry." She braced herself for another attack.
The cyborg threw her to the ground, pressing his foot against her trachea. "You're going to die!"
Tera-Zar eyed the open door behind him. "Not today, I won't."
She twisted his foot, causing him to tense and fall to the ground. Quickly, she scrambled to her feet and dove for the door. She managed to tuck and roll outside the cage and kick the door shut with her heel. Tera-Zar heard a bang for what she presumed to be him slamming his body into the metal and stood.
The cyborg shook the bars, his eye lighting up as he beamed the metal. It bounced back and shot him in the chest, propelling him backwards. He fell on his back and scampered back towards her, arms reaching.
"Let me out, alien!" he screamed, slamming his palms onto the bars.
"Sorry, Henshaw. And," she said, gripping the metal, "this is Nth Metal. No use trying to break out."
Tera-Zar turned on her heels and ran, trying to be strategic but probably looking like a bat out of hell. She twisted down a different hallway and slowed to a mere fast walk. She could barely hear the conversations of a few soldiers down the corridor.
"-oss has some big machine lined up. Says it's supposed to let us to travel through breaches to different worlds or something. You know I don't got the science of it."
"Seriously? That's so cool, man. Think they'll pick me to do some exploring? I could name the planet."
"Hell, no. They ain't gonna pick us to do nothing. We're the grunts. We hold down the fort."
Tera-Zar rolled her eyes. There was a click as she felt a gun shoved into the small of her back. She stiffened.
"What are you doing out of your cage? Henshaw told me he was going to kill you."
She recognized the deep voice and winced. Of course big green robot was patrolling the halls. Of course, he was. He dragged her to the main room where a machine the size of a shed sat in a hanger. It had poles on either side with what looked like a hamster wheel in between. It was a circular gate that she supposed would allow someone to stand as they got beamed to wherever they were trying to go.
"You will be the first to try it."
Tera-Zar shrugged her shoulders. "Doesn't seem like that bad of an idea to get thrown onto a different earth."
"This isn't a portal, Daxamite. This machine is going to kill you."
Tera-Zar felt a stone drop in her stomach. It was numbing to hear point blank that you were going to die and know that no one was coming to save you. It was numbing and terrifying, but she would be damned before she let her fear show in front of this man, robot thing.
"Then I guess I'm going to die."
There was a flash and a shattering of glass as a blur whipped through the room. Blue and red spiraled throughout the hanger knocking scientists and guards unconscious. Metallo thrusted her into the machine, pressing several buttons before smacking a very large one next to the pad. The machine began to whir, and she barely managed to keep track of the zooming figures in the room. She saw Metallo fall and then a hand pressed against the gate.
"Kara?"
1 Hour Prior
Kara laughed and poked Barry's stomach with her finger.
"I'm serious, Allen. You can't have my potsickers! Eat your own!"
"Even though I paid for it?"
"Uh, that money was freely given by J'onn so I guess these belong to him."
"Cool," he said, standing up with the bag of food in his arms. "Then we should give these to him."
Kara whipped her head around to him and gasped, horrified. "No."
She sped over to him and ripped the bag out of his hands, depositing it on the couch. She returned a second later, arms crossed over her chest.
"No more for you."
Barry inched closer to her, eyebrows wagging. "Mhmm. What if I can convince you otherswise?"
She scoffed. "Nope."
He grabbed her by the waist and pushed his lips onto hers. The two wrapped their arms around each other, and he pressed her against the wall. She smiled against his lips.
"Still no."
"I'm not done."
He leaned in again, the phone ringing before he could continue. Kara groaned and slipped out from under his arms.
"You should just let it go to voicemail!" he called after her.
"I can't! It might be something important." She answered her phone quickly.
"Hello?"
"Kara, I think you should go. I did some more digging and there are some very big energy depletions coming from the site. Cadmus is doing something big. If your friend is anywhere, it's there. The readings are steadily increasing. It's now or never. I don't think you'll get another chance."
"Thank you so much, Lena! I'm on my way."
"Kara, please don't go by yourself. I can't tell what they're making, but from the amount of power they're drawing, I have to assume it's something that can hurt you."
"Okay, I won't. I promise."
Kara ended the call just as Alex entered, looking angry and annoyed. Her countenance dropped as soon as she saw Kara, and she ran to give her a hug.
"Kara? Where have you been? I called Barry, and I was—"
"Alex, not right now. I need your help. And yours," she said quickly, shooting a glance at Barry.
"What's wrong?" both asked.
"Okay, short version, just don't kill me. When I was tortured I met a woman named Tera-Zar. She saved my life, and this morning I went to Lena to try and get her help to find her. Lena found out that there is an offshore Cadmus site in Alaska. I need to go there, but I need your help."
"Wait, Lena like the woman-who-found-out-your-secret-and-might-be-playing-you Lena?" Barry clarified.
"I'm in," Alex said, pulling her suit out of her backpack. "Let's go."
"Hold on, am I the only one who's a little concerned about this? I mean..." Barry tried.
"Barry, please. I don't have time. I swear I'll explain it to you when we get back, but for now we have to go."
He nodded. He had to trust her. "Okay. Let's go. I think I can run there. It shouldn't be too hard."
"Follow me. I'll take Alex. When we get there, we should split up and cover more ground. Alex, you can go after Henshaw, Barry you can go after Metallo, and I will look for Tera-Zar. Sound good?"
The other two nodded, and Kara grinned as Alex quickly changed and placed her mask on her face. She was proud to see the crest of her house emblazoned on the shoulder of her sister's suit. It was the final nail that connected the two of them as family, and the reason why Kara had insisted on having it placed there anyways. She'd have to come up with a way to have Barry wear it too.
"Then let's go."
"Kara?" Tera-Zar asked, sure her eyes were fooling her. She heard a muffled cry on the other end and saw her fist as it slammed into the cage again and again.
"Kara, stop! You won't break through!" she yelled. Her eyes wandered and caught a glimpse of a metal object under a microscope. Her mouth gaped, and she pointed hurriedly to it. "Kara, you have to get me that! Get me that!"
The woman squinted her eyes before nodding and zooming over to grab it. She cradled it in her hand, staring at it before moving to look at her. Tera-Zar could see the look in her eyes—confusion, betrayal. It hurt like hell, but she needed to get it.
"Please, Kara, I need it!"
Kara turned over her shoulder, making eye contact with Barry. "Flash! I need your help!"
The man zoomed over to her quickly, seeing the ring in her hand. "What?"
"Can you phase through and give this to her?"
She saw the countdown on the pad. Five minutes left.
"I can."
He took the ring from her hand and vibrated quickly. His body shifted through the cage and then solidified as he dropped the piece of metal into her hand. She slipped it onto her finger and twisted the logo 45 degrees.
"What is that?"
"It's a ring, and hopefully our way out of here."
The two could feel the shaking as the countdown steadily declined and as Kara continued pounding on the gate. Barry saw Alex enter from the doorway across the room, carting an alien gun with her. She nodded for Kara to step back and fired the weapon at the cage, the energy ricocheting off and towards the other side of the wall.
"Tera-Zar, I can't break through this!"
The woman smiled softly. "It's okay, Kara." She turned towards Barry, shoving him towards the other side. "Get out. Now. I don't want you caught up in the explosion. You have to go, Mr. Allen."
"How do yo—"
"Kara told me about you." She smiled and nodded towards Alex. "And she told me about you. Rao, it's an honor to meet all three of you. I've heard stores."
"Tera-Zar, please, I'll get you out," Kara pleaded.
"It's okay."
Lightning flashed through his eyes, and he phased through the gate. Three minutes left. He sped through the lab, building speed quickly. He could see the pain in Kara's eyes and in Tera-Zar's. He would build speed. He would build speed and throw a million lightning bolts at the cage until she was free.
"You have to get out of here," she yelled, "the world needs Supergirl!"
Kara shook her head, tears brimming. She slammed her fists again and again, switching to heat vision and pouring every frustration and helpless feeling into her attack. The outpour of energy seeped into her cells, depleting the solar energy stored in the bonds of her atoms. Alex could feel the heat from the exertion, starting to sweat and burn even being a few feet away. Her sister fell to her knees in a heap, tears streaming down her face as the heat vision fizzled out and the redness from her eyes disappeared to reveal the crystal blue of her irises.
"Kara, we have to go," Alex insisted, trying to pull her sister away from the ground.
"No," she whispered. "No."
"Kara, now!" Alex demanded. She found it too easy as she yanked her sister from the ground and realized that Kara had blown out her powers from the blast. She was human. "Kara, you lost your powers. There's nothing more to do! If we don't leave right now, we'll die! You'll die!"
Kara only shook her head as she grasped at the bars of the cage and watched Barry run around in circles throwing lightning at the metal prison. Alex turned to look at the clock. Fifteen seconds. She pulled her sister into a hug, squeezing her eyes shut and bracing for the explosion.
The blast seemed to happen in slow-motion, and for Barry, it did. He saw the parts of the shrapnel blow outwards. He saw the force shove everything away, and most of all, he saw the glowing blue-white circle grow from in the middle. His scarlet streak trailing behind him combined with whatever was mixed in the explosion, and the force threw all four people and the mounds of shrapnel towards it. He saw a piece of the cage impale Alex in the side, another smack Kara in the face, and the brunt crush into Tera-Zar. He managed to angle himself to land underneath Kara and hopefully take the majority of the fall.
They tumbled out on the other side, the breach closing behind them and leaving them stranded in wherever they were. He pulled Kara close to him, not feeling her move. He flipped her over, taking off his mask, and seeing blood running down her head where the piece of shrapnel had smacked against her forehead. There was a large gash covered by wisps of blonde hair. Barry gently pushed the hair out of the way and set her on the ground, moving to check the others. Alex was grunting as she sat up, a large piece of metal protruding from the side of her body. She sucked in a deep breath as she attempted to move it herself.
If Kara and Alex looked beat, Tera-Zar looked like the embodiment of death. Her skin was paper pale with cuts ranging from several depths covering the entirety of her body. Her body just looked broken.
"Where are we, Barry?" Alex asked, crawling to Kara.
"I don't know," he said slowly. The buildings didn't look like buildings from National City or rather any city in the United States or the world. They were constructed as if...years into the future. There were strange buildings shaped in strange ways that were simply unprecedented.
"It looks...futuristic."
Alex looked around, examining each brick and stone and placement. "Tell me you didn't time travel. And then bring us with you."
"Pretty sure I didn't do this on my own."
Kara jolted awake, gasping and hands swinging to grab the nearest object. Her hands clutched Barry's hand. She winced and lifted her hand, touching her forehead and bringing it away with large traces of blood.
"Did I blow out my powers?"
Alex nodded. "Yep. And lucky for us we're in an unknown time with our biggest asset incapacitated, me with a-a giant pole sticking outside of me, and your friend's not looking so good."
Kara's eyes widened, and she inched towards Tera-Zar. "No."
Alex stiffened from beside her. "I'm so sorry, Kara."
"She's not dead. We need to find her help."
"Uh, guys," Barry called, moving his arm to shield Kara. "Incoming. Kara, stay behind me."
A man with short black hair and a purple and black suit landed softly on the ground, three others behind him. The woman had short blonde hair and a red and white suit with what looked like the emblem of a planet in the center of her chest. The other man had roguishly long red hair and an annoying smirk displayed on a face full of freckles. His suit was sleeveless but blue and white with yellow lightning flashing from the underneath his armpits towards his chest.
But it was the last man who landed that caught his attention. It was the way he stared at Kara—with longing and desire and loss swirling around in his face. He had a dark brown beard covering the bottom half of his face and short, layered hair piled on the top of his head. His eyes were hardened but kind, but what struck Barry the most was his suit. It seemed like the inverse of Kara's Supergirl suit—at least her previous one before it was destroyed, and Cisco had made her the new one she was wearing now. His was a red body with a blue cape that went over his shoulders. While there was no House of El crest, there was a shadow of the shape where it was on Kara's. The whole look was completed with blue boots and a ring that all four plus Tera-Zar had. The ring had an indented L and an...asteroid? A meteor?
The man landed softly, slowly approaching Kara. Barry stood up, blocking his view.
"Hey! Get away from her!" he said, his fists clenching in anticipation. He would kill this man if he had to.
"I don't mean any harm. We are just responding to the distress call given by Laurel." The other three approached the fallen woman quickly and carefully, examining the extent of her injuries.
"She's not looking good, Valor. We need to get her back," the red-haired man said, moving to pick her up.
"Laurel?"
"Yes," he said, pointing towards Tera-Zar. "Laurel Gand. Andromeda. Who are you?" The man proceeded to try and move past Barry before he shoved him backwards.
"Hey! I said get away from her."
"I'm afraid being the protectors of the universe gives me the right to see whoever I want to see. Step aside or else I'll have the United Planets throw you in a cell."
Barry laughed, his hand vibrating slightly behind his back. "I'd like to see them try." He moved to launch at him before Kara pulled him backwards. Alex stood and grabbed Kara's hand, mouth agape.
"Kara, what are you doing?"
"Barry, stop. This is-this...it's Mon-El," she said, choking on her words.
His hand dropped to his side, and his heart plunged.
"Mon-El?"
Mon-El. Kara's first love. The man she was forced to rocket into space. The man who became a hero. The one she trained for a year. Mon-El. The man she thought was dead for months. That Mon-El.
Barry couldn't help the thumping in his chest or the pounding in his head as this realization came to him with the weight of the world bearing down on his heart. How could he compete? Even looking at the two of them staring at each other was enough to shatter his resolve and strike fear and jealousy into the very cells of his being.
The two of them embraced, and Alex slipped her hand onto his shoulder, squeezing—something that he was sure was supposed to be comforting but felt more like a death sentence. They released each other after what seemed like hours, and Barry felt a pathetically jealous need to wrap his arms around her protectively.
"Oh my gosh, Mon-El, I thought you were dead."
He gave a grim smile. "No, Kara. You saved me. I was sent through a wormhole that placed me in the thirty-first century."
Alex gulped. "Wait. You're saying we're in the thirty-first century?"
"Yes. And I'm sorry, but you can't leave."