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Chapter 22

Alex Danvers knew her heart. She knew who she was at her core, and she had never once strayed from the incessant pounding that beat from her center. Her personality had always been proud and unapologetic, bulldozing through whatever she wanted and demolishing whatever was in her way. There was a callousness about her when her heart was threatened, disregarding any emotional connection that she shared with humanity and severing any tie that restricted her from tapping into the pent-up rage she always seemed to have.

And she knew this.

She knew the consequences of feeling, of loving someone so much that others, even herself, took a backseat to them. She knew it, yet she made the decision wholeheartedly, opting to relinquish any parts of her life and give them away. It was a ferocity that encompassed the quintessential parts of her, and everyone knew that her heart was guarded by the very part that made her a force of nature.

So Alex sat, pondering the very fatalistic existence that seemed to plague her since she had first set eyes on her heart, her sister, the very soul of them both. It was whirlwind of love, fear, and hope that surrounded them whenever they faced off against villains, or death, or separation. She felt that anger after Clark had dropped a small girl tainted by the disasters of life and who was, once again, being abandoned. Before jealousy, before inadequacy, Alex Danvers felt compassion and anger swirling around until both were seemingly indistinguishable from the other. It was a slow fade into a darkness that mixed with sunny brightness. A darkness she had no choice but to occupy if she were to protect them both, protect her. It was a role she gladly played, surpassing any precedents, breaking any boundaries, and redefining the meaning of love in its entirety. There were no lengths she wouldn't go. There were no walls she wouldn't shatter.

There was nothing she wouldn't do for her sister, but now here she sat cursing herself for making that promise. Cursing herself for promising to not do anything to save the life of her sister. Her heart.

It wasn't like she had never broken promises before—she had. Fairly innocuous things that no one could bat an eye at and say were a testament to her flakey tendencies, but more often than not, Alex Danvers was a woman of her word. However, weighing promises to saving a life seemed hardly comparable. The justifications weaved throughout her consciousness moving to validate her shoving her hand up the ass of the person who ended up killing Kara and then further slamming their head onto the ground until only the mighty hand of god could piece that mutilated puzzle back together.

But however strong that darkness was, the light was stronger. The tethered good that restricted her from jumping face first into a life of brooding and altogether sadness. The rope that was strung across her wrist and yanked back whenever she got a little too close to the chasm. It was instinctual to do the right thing just as it was instinctual to defend those who needed it. The difficulty was the methods that tended to blur when she felt ever so inclined.

Like now.

She was pacing as Kara talked to Tera-Zar or Laurel or whatever the hell her name actually was. She was pacing back and forth, ignoring the pain and justifying the end. She could steal a ring, time hop, and save her sister—she could. It was practically effortless, yet she found herself at a stalemate. There were the two parts of her bickering and arguing about the implications and the consequences because as long as her sister was alive, she couldn't find herself completely ignorant of how this would affect others. About how this act would possibly ruin lives.

Knowledge was a curse disguised as a knight in shining armor. As the savior of mankind and doer of all good things, but it clawed at her. She felt the knowledge of what was going to happen bear down in all its density and suffocate her. To know and do nothing is the greatest tragedy, Alex believed. And here she was—knowing and doing absolutely nothing.

She could picture the death of Kara—she had nearly seen it many times before. Even before this incident with Cadmus, she saw her sister die by Vartox. In her mind she saw her die by Astra, Non, Rhea, the United States government, anyone they had ever came into contact with. But more terrifying was when she saw Kara die by reckless abandonment. The type of recklessness that came with bravery and morally strong principles. It was chaotic but graceful. It was beautiful, but it was also utterly painful. A hero's resolve was only as strong as their love for humanity, and Alex had never seen such stronger love than that from Kara. So more often than not Alex pictured her sister dying by saving someone's life. By throwing herself in the mix and sacrificing herself for another.

It was simple really, and she never thought any differently. No matter how much she groveled or begged her to stay or save herself, Kara would always save the civilian. She would always go through hell and back to make sure that they were safe, no matter the cost.

And that's what she saw right now. It's what she saw when she thought of Mon-El's proclamation that Kara would die. She pictured the selfless act of heroism that her sister would no doubt perform, and then the crushing blow that would ultimately take her from her.

It was graphic and gut-wrenching, and Alex knew what she had to do. So she perused the headquarters, aware of how inefficiently it was laid and how unguarded everything was. She didn't find it difficult to snag a ring from Brainiac's lab or put it on or project herself a year to the future.

Because when Mon-El said the time period was isolated, he must not have known Alex. He must not have known the lengths that she would go to save her sister and the will-power she possessed when it came down to doing just that. He must not have known what she would do to save her heart.

The swirling and disorienting lights and vibrations tunneled out her insides, and she felt like she was being ripped apart only to be put back together in worse shape than she had left. It was sickening, and she was sure she was going to pop out on the other in a pile of goo, but she didn't. By some stretch of miracle, she landed on her knees and hands, attempting to escape the pain and failing miserably.

She could make out the faint voices of people gathering around her, worried and throats thick with emotion. She thought she could make out the shape of Barry behind her, and she panicked, sure that she had time-jumped not far enough ahead.

"Alex? Is that you?"

She shook out her head, desperate to get the annoying ringing out of her head. "What?" she mumbled, angrily. "What?"

"Alex, get up." She felt arms wrap under her and yank her upwards. "Alex, I'm sorry. I know you're mourning. It's my fault."

She heard the catch in his voice and felt a quiver or fear flow through her body. She knew who he was talking about. She had made it here after all.

"Alex," a new voice, cold and distant.

"Clark?" She peered into the distance, aware of the long black hair that fell over his eyes and the dark beard and mustache that hid the flush in his cheeks. She didn't miss the unmistakable pain and anger that hid behind his blue eyes.

"Alex. I thought you said we were all cowards and were going to go kill him yourself." He looked around. "I don't see anything changing."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

He rolled his eyes, hands snaking through his long hair and shoving it backwards. "Cut the shit, Alex. Face it. You failed. We all failed. Just go back to Star City and get lost in a bottle again. Like you always do."

"Wh-what? Star City? We don't ha—" She looked around. She hadn't noticed the changes before when she landed. The way the were standing in front of S.T.A.R Labs, and the fact that Clark was on Earth-1. Or—she looked around again, seeing the faint outline of things that were only present in the Central City on Earth-38. Something was off and wrong, and she bet her life that this was what had caused the entire mess. Whatever did this,killed her sister.

Clark was walking away, ignoring her grunts of confusion and moving to fly to the roof of the building. She was left only with Barry, noticing that he wasn't looking much better. While he didn't look as unkept as Clark, his face showed signs of deep tissue bruises and breaks that she believed he should have healed from. His hair was wet with what looked like blood and sweat, and she didn't miss the way he flinched from her gaze as if she was going to kill him with a mere look.

"Alex," he grunted, and Alex could see the pain etched on his features. "Cait-Caitlin she, uh, she cleaned her up. If you, uh, if you want to go say goodbye before we send her off."

"Send her off?" she asked.

"Yeah. Like her aunt. She always said she wanted, uh, she wanted to do that."

"Yeah," she said, eager to get away from these phantoms of people she cared about. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. "I'll go."

She turned away quickly, worried she might break down right then and there if she kept looking at the clearly broken man. She walked quickly into the lab and down the hall. She didn't know where she was headed, but at the same time she did. Her feet took her right, and then a left. They took her face to face to her sister who was laying with her hands crossed over the other and in a Kryptonian pod.

She saw the lifeless gaze in her sister's pale blue eyes, and the way she had a faint smile on her face. Her cheeks were flushed but clearly by makeup and not the way she would whenever she was embarrassed or excited. Every emotion and expression was the work of carefully affixed makeup and displayed the artificiality of death. This wasn't how she looked when she died. It was how she was when she was alive except her face wasn't moving and her lips weren't turning upwards in a smile like they always did when Alex visited. Kara wasn't moving to hug her as they would do whenever they saw each other again. She just merely…was. She was just there without anything else. She was dead.

Alex always thought she would feel more when her sister would die. That she might collapse in a heap of tears and heartbreak, but she just felt numb. She felt nothing at all, and that scared her. She felt nothing, but as she sat there, hour after hour after hour her emotions evolved. The hole in her heart was evident now. It was sinking and growing by the second. She felt herself drift away—the good parts of her. She felt them drift away, and she couldn't seem to catch them again. Then came anger. Anger at whoever or whatever did this. Anger at the fact the Barry couldn't save her. That Clark didn't save her.

That she couldn't save her.

After that was the steely resolve of Alex Danvers. It was the vow to damn whoever did this. It was the stubborn and unforgiving part of her that officially grabbed the reigns of her body and was prepared to do whatever was necessary. She reminded herself that this wasn't her Kara. This hadn't happened yet. She could prevent this. She needed to find out what happened.

Alex stormed out of the lab, bumping into Barry. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall.

"How did this happen! How!" she screamed, her voice laced with thick pain.

"Alex! Stop! I couldn't do anything. I tried. God I tried. He's too strong. We tried everything! Can't you see, Alex? He's too strong. Ever since we lost the Monitor we've—we can't win, Alex. Don't you see? I couldn't stop her. Clark and I couldn't stop her. Oliver tried to get her to leave, but she was distracted. She didn't see the blast. Alex, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Alex glared at him, shoving him into the wall and letting go. She stormed out of the building, trying to find Clark. Trying to get an explanation to why she wasn't there to stop this. Trying to understand how he didn't stop this.

The earth trembled, and she lost her footing, falling to the ground. She thought she saw things flicker and readjust, so she blinked, hoping to clear her eyes. The trembling stopped, and she stood up, confused at why there was a building where there previously was none.

"What the hell is happening," she muttered.

Alex found Clark exactly where she thought she would. For all their differences they were still the same in one important aspect. Their love of Kara.

He was kneeling, poking at the grass where Kara's pod had landed nearly fourteen years ago. Poking at the exact place he had found her. His eyes were red and puffy, and she thought she could make out slight mutterings from where he was.

"Clark," she said quietly.

He didn't turn around. "Fourteen years ago, I found her. I found her and then gave her away. I want you to know, Alex, that I didn't want to. I'm not naïve enough to think that you don't resent me for leaving her all alone, I know that, I do. It wasn't an easy decision, but I did it because I loved her. Mom and dad sacrificed so much to give me a life that they thought I deserved—free from any expectations. I had that choice, and I wanted to give that to Kara. I don't expect you to believe me or forgive me for abandoning her. I should have visited more. I know that. I shouldn't have brushed her off, but it hurt so much to see this remnant of my world and be forced to relive my decision. I'm not strong.

"But I will never regret that more than this. I will never forgive myself for letting her die. If I had just listened to Bruce. If I had just listened to him and not rushed into the situation, she would still be here. But she saved me, just like she always does. She saved me, and she saved Barry. Now look at this. We failed in our mission, and we're going to lose our world because of it."

Alex remained silent, unsure of what to say and what to do. She always had a fixed view on her cousin and her opinion of him. And a low one at that. She resented him—hated him. It was a hatred she kept hidden, but now she was seeing the vulnerability of a young man faced with an impossible decision. One that she couldn't expect a person so young to make and do so perfectly. He made mistakes, but she couldn't fault him for it. She couldn't. Not when she had made her fair share as well.

"Clark, I'm going to get her back." She was surprised to hear no doubt in her voice. That it didn't waver or crack but remained strong and consistent throughout. She mustered as much courage and belief into those seven words.

"Alex—you can't. It's impossible. You can't."

She shook her head vehemently. "I will, Clark."

They both heard a sound behind them and turned quickly. She saw a man in a brown trench coat approach them warily. His face was pinched, almost apologetic as he walked up to Alex. His hair was parted neatly, and his attire looked almost western. Clark stood, moving to stand next to Alex.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice threatening.

"Hello, Mr. Kent. I hope you don't mind but I need to talk with Agent Danvers."

"Not until you tell me who you are."

"Apologies. I'm Rip Hunter. Now, if I may?" He nodded towards Alex, and she found herself finding him familiar in some sense.

"No way in hell. She's not going with you," he said, stepping in front her.

She glared at him. "Clark, shut up. I'll go."

He whipped back around. "Alex, think about this."

"I am, Clark. I'll be back."

She moved towards the man, and he led her away towards a back area of the clearing. There was a suspicious gap of trees in an otherwise full forest. Her eyes must have fooled her because a second later a ship, something that looked like it was from Star Wars, appeared out of thin air. It extended across the entire clearing and ramp extended from the bottom. Rip gestured towards the ramp, and she bounded up the side of it, examining each panel on the wall.

"Interesting, isn't it?" he mentioned, noticing the careful way she looked over the ship.

"Futuristic might be the better word, wouldn't it?"

"Indeed."

"Why am I here, Rip?"

He sighed. "Agent Danvers, I think you know why I'm here."

She glanced at the ring on her middle finger. "It's because I traveled in time. You're here to stop me."

"I'm here to show you what happens. That's what you want? Isn't it?"

She nods.

He presses a button on the console in the middle of the room, and a holographic image pops up. Alex saw a planet. A different one that had green skies and skyscrapers. She saw a man, a blue man vaporized in front of what looked like a council. The picture mutated to a formation of a group that wore green and black and rings that projected a green light. It shaped to show black and white—light and dark swirling around in one area. One side and another. The light vanished suddenly and disappeared from the picture, leaving only the dark. It morphed into a figure, tall blue and robotic with hollow eyes. The being snapped, and a world was wiped. Another snap—another death. She saw a unification between her friends and Lex Luthor. She saw another figure that was purple and one she didn't recognize.

There was then silence. Darkness and the quiet surrounded her, and she felt what was going to happen before it happened. The robotic being had Clark and Barry by their throats. Oliver was perched above, arrow nocked and ready. He was peering at the enemy, ready to shoot him but hesitating. And then there was Kara. She slammed into the man causing him to drop them both. They fell to the ground in a heap, grasping at their necks and trying to relieve the pressure that had just been there not two seconds ago. The struggle between the two was brutal, Kara receiving hit after hit but not wavering in her resolve. She punched and kicked using every bit of her powers to push it back and far away from Barry and Clark. There was a moment when Alex thought she was going to win. A small, slight hesitation on his part that allowed for her to jam her fist into his face. Then a kick. Then heat vision. She was going to win.

But she didn't. Oliver saw it. Alex could see the look on his face. The look of hard-earned experience. She knew he saw the way the robot pulled his punches to prepare for a bigger takedown. The way he positioned himself. The way he set Kara up to be beaten. So he called out to her to warn of the impending hit that would shatter her.

And she looked. She looked at him for a half a second. And then the robot struck. A blast of energy that connected in the center of her chest—straight on the 's'. Her body shook, and the hit reverberated throughout. The suit was burned away revealing bruises so grotesque that Alex felt like she had to throw up. Blood poured from the cuts all across her body, and Alex could see the shake of her stomach as she sucked in her last breath. The way her eyes widened and then all vestiges of life disappeared.

The world seemed to still. Barry, Clark, Oliver—she saw their expressions. The unbelief. The shame. The guilt. She saw it all in slow motion as Barry vibrated and healed himself faster than she had ever thought him capable of doing. In a moment, he was healed and running towards Kara, scooping her up in his arms and running away. In fact, that's what all of them did. They ran.

The death of a hero. The death of Supergirl. The death of Kara. The death of her sister. Alex felt her chest constrict. The death of her heart.

She saw billions—even trillions of earths all slam into each other at once to combine into one. The multiverse—gone. Memories merged. Identities forgotten.

This image morphed and merged, changing ever so quickly that her eyes fought to keep up. This was more than her worst fears. This was more than a problem. This was a crisis. This was the end of all earths.

Then the video stopped, and Alex turned towards Rip, tears burning her eyes.

"Why did you show me that?" Her voice was thick and broken. Defeated and withdrawn.

"Isn't that what you wanted, Agent Danvers?"

She shook her head. "No." The word came out as a plea. She cleared her throat. "Where was I? Where was I when she was kill-killed?"

"You were off earth. Fighting someone much more dangerous."

"I should have been there," she whispered.

"No. You would have died as well."

"How can I stop this? How do I keep this from happening?" There was a helplessness to her voice.

"Mr. Allen was supposed to die as well. Him and Supergirl both. But something changed, and he didn't. Your friends have a nasty habit of changing the future, and I believe you can still change it. Your friend Mon-El was right. The key is in Barry. The key is in you. She was supposed to die on Krypton, but fate saved her and placed her with a family that made her who she is today. You have both rewritten your destinies, and you can do it again."

"I can't lose her."

Rip smiled faintly. "If I may overstep my bounds—Barry and Kara exhibit an extraordinary propensity for selflessness. Their relationship is unlike anything I have ever seen, transcending earths and fate itself, but the truly unique relationship lies with you and your sister. There is nothing like it across any reality or any timeline. I believe that you can save her, Agent Danvers."

"How do I stop what's coming?"

"You just will. Things are already in motion." He smiled softly, sadness lining his eyes. "I'm very sorry about this."

Alex didn't see it happen. She wasn't prepared when Rip raised his hand with a small device. There was a flash and then everything she had learned, everything she had known fled from her mind, escaping. It was quick and painless, but she felt the memories of the past day fleeing. Her knowledge of Kara's death, of the future—gone.

She woke up in her mind, confused and dazed, at the Legion headquarters. She was aware she had lost something important—something essential, but Alex shook it off and got up. She went and found Mon-El to ask him about the Legion, oblivious to the strange look he gave her and the way he looked at her as if she were going to kill him. Everything wiped. All knowledge of the impending crisis gone.

Kara was sure that something was wrong. Alex seemed distant, almost lost when she had come and said hi. She felt Mon-El's lingering eyes on her whenever they were together, and the way the new girl stared at her was unsettling to say the least. Everything just felt off.

She mentioned it to Laurel, but the woman waived their responses to the awe of meeting her. The way someone would get flustered in front of a celebrity or a role model, and she always felt strange whenever she thought of herself in that light. It was weird.

In fact this whole situation was just weird. She wasn't stupid, not by any stretch. So she wondered why Laurel was in 21st century. She had tried to force herself to tame her curiosity, but she couldn't do that anymore than she could force herself to not be Supergirl. Things weren't adding up and people felt as if they were walking on eggshells around her. It was infuriating.

She was currently sitting next to Laurel, listening to her explain the Legion's policies and whatnot, but she felt like all she could focus on was the nagging on the back of her mind to get the truth finally.

"—and that's how the Fatal Five became out archenemies. I know you had an enemy with Reign which was brutal to say the least."

"Who?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh sorry. It's no one. I was just talking to myself apparently. Kara, are you even listening to me?"

"Laurel, I'm sorry. Yes. You were explaining why the Legion is the way it is, and that you guys faced off against someone named the Fatal Five. Right?"

"Right. But still. You seem a little dazed. Are you alright? Is it the Kryptonite in you? Do you need to go see Gym'll again?"

"Laurel, I'm fine. I promise. I do have one question though. Are you ever coming back to the 21st century?"

She shook her head, wincing. "I don't know, Kara. I told you before that I didn't complete my assignment. The future is still in jeopardy. I don't know if the boss is going to send someone else. We can't have more than one member in the past now that the Fatal Five is back." He brows furrowed suddenly as if a thought had just occurred to her. "Would that be alright with you if someone else went?"

"I wish Mon-El would just tell me what was wrong. I could help."

Laurel flinched. "I don't think so, Kara. This is a little bigger than you."

"If you say so."

They both turned aware, hearing a slight knock at the door as Mon-El entered the room. He grinned at the two of them, his eyes lighting up.

"Hey, Kara. I think Barry's looking for you."

She stood up, grabbing Laurel's hand and squeezing it softly. "Thanks. I'll see you later."

Mon-El's eyes follow her as she leaves, moving to sit next to Laurel on the bed as soon as she's gone. "Alex seems to have forgot our whole conversation. I'm not sure what happened, but I think Rip Hunter might have something to do with it."

"That's good," she says, shaking her head. "By what I've heard about Alex, she would do anything to save her sister and could ultimately make things worse."

"Yeah." He looked at her tiredly. "What do I do, Laurel? How do I stop this?"

"I don't know, Mon-El. I don't know. Maybe this is how things have to happen. Maybe she has to die."

"No," he stated with as much confidence as he could muster. "No."

"What else can we do without jeopardizing the future even more than it is?"

"I don't know. We still have time before the wave reaches the 30th century. There is still time to fix this."

"How?"

"I think Barry is the key. He can save her."

Kara entered the room, smiling as her eyes connected with Barry's.

"Heard you were looking for me."

"Yeah. I was wondering how we're going to get back. Mon-El seemed pretty adamant that we shouldn't leave. I'm pretty sure I could steal a ring and get us back to where we need to be."

"Yeah." She bit her lip. "Do you get the feeling that they're hiding something from us?"

"Of course I do. This is the future. I'm sure they have many things that they know but are keeping hidden from us. As someone who has messed up the timeline more times than anyone, if I have learned anything it's that the future is best kept a secret. We don't need to know."

"You're right. I know you are, but this feels different. It feels bigger."

"Just trust me, Kara. Nothing good can come from knowing."

"Okay. No more questions then. Let's get out of here. I'm sure that my parents and Clark are losing their minds."

"Hopefully not too much. Alex sent everyone a test before we entered the facility. They shouldn't be too worried. But I agree. Let's get out of here."

Before they could take a step, there was a bright flash of green light and then something flew outside of it, barely caught by Barry before it connected with his face. He stared at the object, bewildered at it. It looked like a trident.

Next was a woman who came barreling out of it brandishing a sword. The blade swung, and the blunt end smacked against Barry's chest, keeping him in place. His hands immediately raised, and he prepared himself to be skewered into a million pieces.

The last people to enter was Bruce, Clark, and a new man wearing green and black. Their faces were somber and serious, emoting the severity of whatever they were about to say.

"Diana, it's fine." The woman backed off slowly, her sword lowering but her eyes no less suspicious.

"Are you guys done fooling around? Because Cadmus has made their move, and we could really use your help."

Lex Luthor was furious.

Though his relationship with Brainiac could be described as one-sided, he knew that he retained the power. He was necessary to the plan, and without him, Brainiac could not accomplish his goal. It was intricate. It was methodical. This would not fail. Gathering troops, uniting people. It was almost too simple. And now having Jones gain control of the DEO was almost too sweet. With his mother dead and his sister's pathetic decision to side with the heroes, everything had fallen to him. Cadmus, the ideology, the responsibility to save the human race from compliance.

He agreed with Brainiac. Knowledge was power and as a man that who had traversed galaxies, Lex was sure that the secret to salvation lay on the ship.

So seeing the ship flying above Metropolis was unsettling to say the least and to have not been aware of it had been downright disrespectful to their relationship. Something had to have changed in the plan, and Brainiac was now abandoning anything they had decided unanimously.

Flying menacingly above his city, Lex was prepared to defend the human race once more from the alien scourge.

This would not go unanswered.