It was clear to see that their parents hadn't been expecting to run into their children today. Half of them wore expressions of heartbreak because they knew that they had put their kids in this situation that could so easily cost them their lives. The other half had expressions of hope, like they thought that once Jonah was gone, once Pride's mission was officially over, things could go back to normal.
"Karolina," Jonah greeted her warmly, his genuine smile contrasting starkly with the image that Nico had in her head of the monster he was. "I'm so happy you could make it. I was hoping you could meet your siblings and mother before we left."
"I'm not going anywhere with you," Karolina responds sharply, the grip she has on Nico's waist tightening ever so slightly. Nico can feel the extra warmth from Karolina's hands, her powers not completely shut off after their flight up.
"I'm afraid that's not up to you," Jonah says. "I won't let anyone stop me from reuniting with my family and that includes you. Obviously some part of you wants to join me, otherwise you wouldn't be standing here."
"I'm here to stop you, that's it," Karolina glared at the man who claimed to be her father.
"So young, so naive," Jonah tutted at her. "You'll learn to forget this place, in time. After we've reclaimed our rightful throne, earth will be nothing more than a nightmare to you."
"She's not going with you," Nico spat venomously, darkness creeping in on the edge of her vision. Jonah's gaze slides to her like he's noticing her for the first time and his lips twist into a grim looking smirk.
"Ah yes the other Minoru girl," Jonah notes the way Nico and Karolina cling to each other and scowls. "A bright mind, if I'm not mistaken, and a fair bit of power as well, but - in the grand scheme of things - useless. I imagine you'll be just as easy to get rid of as your sister was."
Silence reigns after Jonah's statement, a sick, deafening silence as the adults and teenagers in the clearing digest Jonah's words. Someone releases a cry of outrage and accusations begin flying from the adults scattered behind Jonah but Nico pays them no mind. Her attention is split in two ways, the majority of her thoughts centered on all the ways she could end Jonah's life then and there, rage boiling in her stomach at the confirmation of what she had half expected anyway. Jonah had killed her sister. Karolina's father had killed Nico's sister. There was a sick irony in knowing that the man responsible for giving Karolina life, for giving Nico her greatest happiness, was also the source of Nicos' greatest despair.
The other half of her attention was dedicated to focusing on the feeling of Karolina's hand on her back, the tension that ran up the arm connected to it, the increasingly bright lights coming from the girl standing beside her. Karolina's presence was the only thing that was keeping Nico from lashing out and she wasn't sure if that thought was comforting or scary.
"We won't let you hurt them, Jonah," Tina was saying when Nico's rage clouded mind cleared a bit. "You've destroyed our families enough."
"You can have your families, as long as I get the same," Jonah returned. "All of them."
"She's not your family!" Molly declared furiously, her eyes glowing orange. "We're her family. And we'll fight you if we have too!"
"You aren't taking Karolina anywhere." Chase agreed, pulling the Fistagons up into a fighting position. Beside him, Gert called Old Lace to attention and even Alex had sunk into a fighting stance that Kara and Alex D. had trained them with.
"I really wanted to do this the easy way, but no matter," Jonah grinned menacingly as the white light of his power enveloped him, so similar and yet so different from Karolina's own.
Jonah glared down at his daughter as he hovered in the air, no words spoken even as his eyes challenged Karolina to meet him in the air.
"Karolina-" Nico said softly as she felt Karolina pulling away from her.
"When we get home," Karolina promised, covering the hand that Nico raised to cup her cheek with one of her own. Nico nodded silently, rising onto her toes to press a short kiss to Karolina's lips. She said everything that Karolina had asked her not to say with that kiss, her lips trembling with emotion when she pulled away.
Stepping back from Nico, Karolina allowed her lights to fill her being and lift her up so she was level with Jonah in the air above the dig site.
With Karolina facing off with Jonah again, a thought that has Nico's heart racing with fear when she thinks about how that worked out last time, Nico forces herself to turn her attention to the other threats around them, namely their parents and the glowing mushroom-like spaceship attempting to break through the earth. Taking deep, cleansing breaths, Nico registers the presences now standing on either side of her and realizes that her friends have stepped up to be level with her now, a firm line against their parents between Pride and the straining ship.
"We have to stop the ship from launching," Nico addresses her words to her friends, but her gaze stays focused on her mother. The Staff pulses in her hand, begging to be used.
"We can help with that!" Dale spoke up eagerly, glancing back and forth between his daughters as though he was looking for their approval as he dug into his pockets with the hand not holding a small, specialized crossbow.
"We've been working on this serum, as much as we can anyway," Stacey continued as Dale continued to fumble for whatever he was looking for, eventually producing a vial of some silvery substance that reflected the growing light from Jonah's ship. "We've only tested it once but we know it hurts the ship."
"Hurts the ship?" Chase asked, skeptic.
"The ship isn't a machine, or if it is, it's not like anything we've seen before." Janet said quickly, glancing bove them where Jonah and Karolina were moving in a slow circle, trading words more than blows for the moment even if both them had their hands at the ready to fire a beam of light it needed. "It's an organism of some kind. The ship is alive."
Amongst noises of disbelief from her friends, Nico glanced to her right and caught Alex's gaze. He pressed a finger to his chest, just below the charm of the necklace Kara and Lena had given them. A part of Nico wants to say no, they have come this far on their own, they should be able to finish the job. This is their mission, not Kara's. But the larger part of Nico remembers what happened the last time they faced their parents, remembered her frantic worry for Karolina's safety and their desperate run to get away. She doesn't want to go through that again, and she knows with the press of a button, she won't have too.
Nico nods once. Alex pesses his finger to the charm the way that Lena had instructed them too.
"It doesn't matter what the ship is," Nico broke in on the brewing argument. "The ship is launching and we are going to stop it. Jonah is not getting away from here and he is definitely not taking my girlfriend anywhere."
"You can't possibly stop him, Nico. He's thousands of years old." Tina spoke directly to her daughter, Jonah's threat ringing in her mind. "No one is powerful enough to keep him down for long. We've tried."
"You're not powerful enough, and maybe we aren't either," Chase says, but Nico can tell by his tone that he's grinning. She looks at him and then follows his gaze skyward, a relieved smile pulling at her own lips. "But we brought back up."
In a rush of air, Kara came to a stop hovering just above and behind the kids, strength oozing out of her every pore.
"Supergirl?" Leslie asked with wide eyes. "You've been living with Supergirl?"
"A friend of hers, actually," Nico asserts before the others can speak up. There's no way they're going to reveal that they know Kara's secret identity, even by accident.
"No wonder we couldn't find you anywhere in the city," Katherin said. "Smart move."
"I'm here to help your children," Supergirl said, her voice calm but commanding as it washed over the members of Pride. "I know what crimes you have committed, and I will not forget about them. Once this is done, the children leave with me."
"You will not take our children away from us again!"
"She didn't take us away!" Chase returns his father's angry shout. "You drove us away! You lied to us! You made us think we were crazy! Supergirl is more of a parent to me than you have ever been."
"Chase, please, come home. We can talk about this." Victor took a menacing step forward when Chase didn't move. "Chase. Come here, now."
Chase's shoulders tensed visibly at the tone his father took with him but he stood his ground, shooting a pleading look towards Kara above him. Kara met his eyes and nodded.
"Enough! We don't have time for this. If you can weaken the ship, do it now. It's breaking through to the surface." Supergirl ordered the adults. "Runaways, you know what to do."
The Pride watched in shocked astonishment as their children followed Supergirl's order without question, dispersing around the digsite in search of anything that might keep the ship from launching. Supergirl herself gave the adults one last warning look before lifting higher into the air so that she was level with Karolina.
"Kryptonian," Jonah sneered as Kara arrived. "Such as shame you made it off your dying planet in time."
"Your time is up, Jonah. Surrender, shut down the ship, and let this all be over."
"So these humans can put me up for trial in their sham of a justice system? I am a King! I will return to my home and reclaim my throne, and I will be taking my daughter with me. No one can stop me, not even you." Jonah's hands began to glow brighter, the white light nearly blinding even to those watching them on the ground.
Before Kara could call up her own heat vision to match Jonah's blast, the man himself was flung away by a powerful beam of pink-purple light, an angry cry coming from Karolina's lips.
"Diamonds, look at me," Kara ordered the girl, taking her by the shoulders. "It's okay, you did it."
"He said I was - he called me - "
"I know, I heard," Kara rubbed Karolina's shoulders in a soothing manner. "But he was wrong. You aren't weak. You aren't a mistake. You have every right to be here and you have every right to love Nico."
"He wants me to go with him. He says if I leave peacefully, he won't hurt any of them. He won't hurt Nico."
"But what would he do to you?" Kara asked softly, keeping an ear out for signs of Jonah coming back towards them. Karolina had flung him a good distance away. "Lock you in a chamber? Marry you off to some rich noble son? It's not worth giving up yourself, especially when you know you can fight."
"If he hurts Nico because of me-"
"He won't. You and Nico would face him together, if need be. Even if he does hurt her, it's no one's fault but his. Don't blame yourself for what he has done."
"He killed Nico's sister." Karolina was helpless against the tears that fell, streaming down her face like little orbs of light. "What if I'm just like him?"
"You aren't," Kara promised. "I know what it's like to be disillusioned by your parents, I know how much it hurts. But you are not your father, his actions are not yours. And if you're really scared of being just like him, you make the choice to be better."
"He's so strong, Kara. I don't think I can face him again."
"You don't have too," Kara cupped Karolina's cheek gently and brushed her tears away. "Go, help the others stop the ship. Protect Nico. I'll handle Jonah, and when this is all over, we'll eat potstickers and pizza until we pass out in the living room."
"Promise?"
"I promise," Kara nodded towards the ship that was beginning to push through the surface. "Help stop the ship, preferably before an earthquake destroys the city."
"What about our parents?"
"We have nothing against them yet, unless they make a confession here. Don't worry about them for now. Alex and Lena will be here soon."
Karolina nodded and began to make her way down to stand with her friends, her family, as Jonah stared up at Kara glowing brighter than Karolina had ever seen in his anger. Karolina landed to the right of Nico, calling her powers into herself until only her hands and forearms remained covered in the power of her lights. When Karolina looked over at the Pride, she found her mother staring at her.
"You've changed so much," Leslie said, her tone full of pride and wonder in a way that made Karolina's stomach twist. She looked over her mother with a critical eye, noting the slight protrusion of her mother's stomach and the way she cradled the growing bump with her hand.
"So have you."
"We've got to stop the ship from launching," Nico broke off the staring match between mother and daughter, transferring the Staff to her left hand so she could reach to the side with her right hand and touch Karolina's arm gently.
"We only have one vial," Dale held up a single dose of the shimmering, silver liquid that he said would stop the ship.
"There's no way that can take out the whole ship," Gert gripped onto Old Lace for stability as the ground began to rumble, sighing in relief when she noticed Chase reach to help Molly stay on her feet as well. "We're running out of time."
"Maybe that's enough to weaken it," Chase held up his Fistagon clad fists once the ground stopped shaking. "We can finish the job after that."
"I don't know if I can do any damage to it," Karolina glanced over her shoulder at the top of the ship slowly breaking through, the momentum that it had when it was chasing them from the opening slowed now that it had to break through who knew how many layers of dirt.
"You knocked Jonah back. We all saw it." Alex looks skyward, where Jonah and Supergirl are circling one another above them. Jonah's entire body is lit up, his lights a thrashing, angry white as he tries again and again to land a blow against Supergirl.
"I caught him by surprise, that's all," Karolina shrugged. "If the ship has some kind of defense system that matches my powers, it'll set off another EMP. We can't afford that."
"She's right," Nico agrees, seeing the hidden truth in Karolina's eyes. It's not that Karolina doesn't think her powers will affect the ship, it's that she doesn't know if she can handle the thought of hurting the potentially innocent souls inside, especially if they might be her family. "If the serum can weaken the ship, Chase, you and I can take it out."
"Fine, but we need to do it now."
"Dale, get ready."
Nico felt the small prick on her finger as the Staff activated and readied herself to cast a spell verbally. She could hear Dale behind her, muttering to himself as he readied his specialized crossbow, but ignored him in favor of speaking in a low tone.
"Kara," she said, knowing that the Kryptonian could hear her. "We're going to take out the ship, if you can get Jonah above it, I think we can take him out too."
Sparing a glance up, Nico almost smiled in relief when she noticed that Kara had already started directing Jonah to the space above where the ship was breaking through. They had to wait for the perfect moment and Nico took the time to gesture for Molly, Gert, and Alex to move behind herself, Chase, and Karolina. Chase was powering up the Fistagons, pushing them to the highest possible level, while Karolina held her hands out defensively. She'd been practicing calling up a shield out of her lights, just in case. Nico had her command ready and watched carefully.
Above them, Kara hit Jonah with a strong punch that sent the man sailing towards his ship. Nico called the order to attack with one simple word.
"Destroy!"
Dale fired his crossbow, Chase let the blast of his gauntlets loose and Nico released the spell all at the same time, augmented by Kara firing a blast of heat vision from above. There was a blinding burst of light, the shockwave knocking every one near the ship off their feet. Nico's ears were ringing, her vision blurry as she tried to look through the dust in the air. She noticed a glow to her left and tensed, then her vision cleared enough that she could see the distinct pink-purple tones of her girlfriend's powers rather than the white of Jonah's.
"Everyone okay?" Nico yelled, shaking her head in hopes of making the ringing sound dissipate.
"Good," Gert called back, coughing slightly. "Molly?"
"I'm fine!" Molly popped up a few feet behind Gert, Old Lace curled protectively around her. Chase climbed to his feet to Nico's left, the Fistagons in pieces on his hands.
"Chase!" Gert moved closer to him, investigating the damage. Nico could tell just from Chase's expression that he was in pain. His hands must have been burned.
"We did it?" His question was directed to Nico, his voice equal parts hopeful and terrified.
"I think so," Alex confirmed, wiping the dust off his glasses and then sliding them back on his nose. "The ship's definitely gone."
"I guess that's for the best," Karolina looked a little unsteady on her feet and Nico quickly moved to her side. She wrapped an arm around Karolina's waist. Before she could ask if her girlfriend was alright, Kara landed with them and stole the words right out of her mouth.
"Are you okay?" Her question was directed at all of them, her gaze sweeping over them carefully.
"A little dusty," Karolina confirmed, looking at Kara and then Nico. "But otherwise okay."
"Same here," the others chorused in not quite unison.
"Good," Kara placed her hands on hips in her classic pose and for just a second, all six teenagers were in awe of Kara in a way that they hadn't been since they had first met. It wasn't like any of them had forgotten that they were living with the strongest woman on earth, but Supergirl the Hero was so different from Kara, their friend and caretaker, one of the three adults that they genuinely trusted. "Because, unfortunately, we aren't done yet."
As if Supergirl's words had triggered it, the air around them was suddenly filled with the sound of the members of Pride calling for their children. Still partially hidden by the cloud of dust, the teenagers took a moment to group together again, presenting a united front, before they let Kara blow the dust away with a quick, powerful movement of her cape.
"Are you guys okay?"
"What happened?"
"How did you do that?"
"Why are you with her?"
"What happened to Jonah?"
"ENOUGH!"
Supergirl's voice cut off the rapid fire questions coming from the adults around, her tone in the single word enough to shut all of the adults up quickly enough that Alex had to hide a snicker.
"What have you done to our children?" Tina demanded, her eyes flashing dangerously as she glared at Supergirl.
"Helped them," Supergirl answered simply. "I know what you have done, about the people you have killed."
"We were trying to protect our families," Janet Stein said in defense of their actions. Supergirl fought the urge to roll her eyes.
"Maybe you should have been looking closer to home if that's what you wanted to do," Chase almost growled the words, studiously avoiding looking at his father though they all understood the implications of his words. Kara made a mental note that Chase had moved on from his depressed questioning phase and was now right in the middle of being pissed off about the way he grew up to be addressed later.
"You have no proof that we did anything. It's our word against yours." Catherine Wilde, ever the lawyer, joined in.
"I think you'll find that my word carries quite a bit of weight." The threat in Supergirl's words carried easily into the ears of the adults standing before her. "You're children are innocent, their names have been cleared. Let this be done now."
"And do what? Sign our parental rights away?"
"That is exactly what you are going to do," All six teenagers turned in relief as they heard the strong voice of Alex Danvers stretch across the destroyed digsite, Lena walking calmly at her side. "Agent Danvers, FBI. All of you and your organization, Pride, are currently being investigated for the crimes of first degree murder on several counts as well as kidnapping and evading the law. As such, the government has deemed you unfit to be parents and has mandated that you sign over guardianship."
"We will do no such thing." Victor Stein insisted.
"I don't think you have a choice," Chase said to his father, his glare hard. "Whether you sign or not, we're not going anywhere with you."
"Nico, come home. Please," Tina looked at her daughter, her eyes shining with more emotion than Nico had seen in years. "I'm your mother. I love you."
"I thought we agreed not to lie to each other anymore, Mom," Nico said. "I am going home, with people that I know trust me and love me and my home is far, far away from you."
"Ms. Luthor, get the children loaded up," Supergirl directed, silently apologizing to Lena for ordering her to do something like that.
"You won't leave them with us but you'll trust them with a Luthor?" Tina demanded.
"Yes."
Supergirl's simple answer only seemed to enrage the woman more and she looked as though she would have charged at the woman if her husband hadn't grabbed her arm at that moment.
"Tine, let them go." Robert advised softly. "We can't fight this today."
"This isn't over." Tina promised, her sentiment echoed in the glares that the rest of the adults sent in Supergirl's direction and the longing looks they gave the six retreating teenagers under Lena's protective watch.
"The only reason that you aren't under arrest right now is because of those kids," Agent Danvers told them. "But rest assured that we're watching you and as soon as we have proof, you'll be locked up so long you'll have great-grandchildren before you see the light of day again."
"Is that a threat, Agent Danvers?"
Alex smirked at Leslie, confident in herself and her directive when she spoke again. "It's a promise."
Agent Danvers turned and walked away, following the Runaways and Lena to the DEO van parked just out of sight. Kara remained at the digsite until Alex was gone as well, glaring at the parents in warning before taking to the skies to take her own leave.
"We need to find Jonah," Leslie said eventually, breaking the group from their staring in the direction that their children left in.
"If there's anything left to find." Robert muttered. Another moment of silence stretched on before the assembled group began digging through the rubble around the digsite, their actions centered on finding Jonah but their minds focused on their children.
By the time Kara arrived at the Los Angeles DEO base, all six runaways had been looked over. Chase, the only one in need of serious medical treatment, was having his hands examined by Alex D. when Kara walked into the medbay.
"Everyone okay?" Kara asked softly when she walked in, taking in the haggard appearances of the six teenagers. Nico and Karolina stood together, Nico in Karolina's arms as they leaned against the wall. Alex W. had his glasses off and eyes closed as he sat on the floor beside them, his arms resting on his knees. Molly and Gert were beside Chase, holding on to one another as they watched Alex treat the burns that Chase had endured from pushing the Fistagons so hard.
"We're okay," Karolina confirmed for the group at large, a small cut on her forehead already halfway healed. "Just tired."
"That's not surprising," Lena moved to Kara's side as she spoke, looking her girlfriend over for any obvious signs of injury. Satisfied that Kara was okay, Lena kissed her cheek briefly before addressing the Runaways again. "We have a helicopter waiting to take you guys back to the Mansion as soon as everyone is good to go."
"We don't have to drive back?" Molly asked, half awake as she leaned against her sister.
"No, someone will drive the suburban back to National City tomorrow. It'll be a bit of a tight fit, but all six of you will fit in the bird together, with me and Lena as your pilots."
"You can fly a helicopter?" Gert asked Alex D. in surprise.
"I had to learn how before I became an Agent," Alex explained. "Flying from here to National City is a lot easier than flying combat ops."
"Can we leave now?" Chase asked as Alex finished wrapping his hands. None of them were eager to stay in the city too long, especially after seeing their parents again. Kara expected that it would be a quiet flight home.
"As long as everyone is ready." Alex confirmed. "Lena and I will be in the bird behind you guys, Supergirl will fly ahead."
"File in, Runaways," Supergirl gestured, wrapping a supportive arm around Molly as she waited for the other five teenagers to move past her and then followed them in the direction of the helipad on the roof.
"They aren't okay," Alex said once it was only her and Lena in the lab.
"I know. Kara and I have been vetting therapists for them for a while now but we wanted to have all of this over with before we brought it up. And we're both thinking about taking some time off work, if they want us too. We don't want to stifle them." Lena began to walk towards the exit as well.
"Can you take that kind of time off work?" Alex asked, genuinely curious as she fell into step beside Lena.
"Not easily, but I do have someone who can do my job at least as well as I can, I just have to get her to come here."
"What about Kara? She loves working at CatCo."
"I do," Kara said as the elevator door opened, still dressed in her suit. "Kids are already up."
"You're really going to take time off?" Alex asked. Kara shrugged, pulling Lena into her arms as soon as the door to the elevator closed.
"CatCo hasn't really been the same since Cat left," Kara said. Lena shifted in her embrace, leaning her head back against Kara's shoulder and closing her eyes as Kara held her tighter. "Nothing against James, but it's just different. I think I want to do something else for a bit."
"You love reporting."
"I do, and I know that I could end up being really good at it, but I also don't know if that's really what I want to do. I kinda decided to be a reporter because you and Ms. Grant and Lena all thought it would be a good idea." Kara shrugged again, blushing slightly when Lena opened her eyes to look at her curiously. "I can still do reporting work just more on a freelance basis."
"If that's what you want, you know I support you all the way," Alex straightened up as the elevator neared their floor.
"It is," Kara confirmed. She let go of Lena a moment before the door opened and let both her girlfriend and her sister walk out first. "I'll see you both at home."
Lena offered Kara a smile through the closed helicopter door. Kara stepped back to give the helicopter room to take off. Once it was gone, Kara took to the skies as well, but she wasn't heading home just yet. Instead, Kara returned to the digsite and hovered high above where the adults of Pride were looking around. She could hear them talking, planning, scheming. It was clear that none of them were happy with how their conflict had turned out.
While it was somewhat helpful to know that she and Lena could expect Pride to make themselves known in National City, Kara was more interested in making sure that they were unsuccessful in their search for Jonah. The blast that had taken out the ship was powerful, almost enough to knock Kara out of the sky, and Jonah had been caught right in the middle of it. Kara would be surprised if he had survived and for a moment, she regretted listening to Nico's request to get Jonah within range. As if the Runaways didn't have enough to deal with, now they would have to process the fact that they had actually killed someone.
Kara waited until Pride left the digsite, their search thankfully coming up empty, before she swiftly flew back to the Mansion to wait for her family to come home.
It was indeed a quiet flight home for the Runaways, and then a quiet drive back to the Mansion from the DEO headquarters in National City. Alex stayed behind to get the paperwork for their little excursion to L.A. in order but promised that she would be at the Mansion first thing in the morning. The teenagers were kind of glad about that, knowing that Kara and Lena wouldn't make them talk about what had happened.
None of them were sure that they'd be ready for that conversation in the morning, either, but it was nice to know that they would at least be able to get some rest before having to try.
Kara was waiting for them in the foyer, having already changed out of her super suit and spread everything out on the kitchen counters for the kids to make their own sandwiches. They didn't protest as they filed into the kitchen for dinner, nor did they banter like they normally did and the silence was all the more worrying. The silence was only broken when Lena asked Chase to come with her to the lab so she could check his hands and test if they could do a skin graft to help heal the burns he had endured.
When the pair returned from the lab, Chase's hands still wrapped but his pain having obviously lessened, Nico pushed her plate away from herself, gripping Karolina's hand firmly as she turned to Kara.
"Did they find him?"
"No," Kara watched as the Runaways released a collective breath. "No sign of him, or the ship."
"Good," Gert said decisively. "Now we can move on from all this crap."
"Not quite," Lena said softly. "Your names are clear but your parents will obviously try to get you to go home. We may be through the worst of it, but I'm sure there's more to come. They definitely aren't happy with signing over custody to us."
"They can try as much as they want," Karolina said. "We decided this morning that we'd all rather stay here."
"Really?" Lena asked, surprised. She and Kara had been aware that there was some kind of secret meeting happening on the balcony, but they didn't ask why or what they had talked about. If it was important, one of the kids would have come to them eventually.
"Of course," Molly nodded. "We're home here, with each other and with both of you."
"If you'll let us stay," Nico said, something akin to expectation in her eyes.
"Of course we want you to stay," Kara confirmed. "But it's your choice."
"Even if you're our legal guardians now?" Chase asked.
"Even then. If you want to stay or go, we'll support you either way."
"I do have one question," Molly said, looking around with a hint of mischief in her eyes when all the occupants turned to look at her expectantly. "Does this mean we have to go back to school?"
"We can figure all of that out later," Lena said after everyone had stopped laughing from the question. "For now, you guys look exhausted. Go get some sleep."
"Aye, aye, boss," Alex gathered the paper plates that everyone had been using and threw them away. On his way out of the kitchen, he paused by Kara and Lena and, surprising everyone in the room, wrapped his arms around both women in a short but meaningful hug.
"Thank you." Alex said softly, his voice thick with emotion. "For everything."
He pulled away before either of the women could respond and they were somewhat grateful for that as they weren't sure what to say. After Alex, Molly came and hugged them as well, then Gert, then Chase, then Karolina, and finally Nico. Each of them offered their own gratitude to the two women who had become family.
"Thank you for trusting us to help you," Lena said after Nico had stepped back into Karolina's waiting arms. "And letting us in."
"We love you, all of you." Kara added, her voice soft and sure as she met each of the teenagers eyes one by one. She could see the effect that her words had on them in the way their shoulders slumped and their lips stretched into small smiles, eyes shining with relief. Nico cleared her throat slightly, leaning further into Karolina's embrace as she replied for all of them.
"We love you, too."
Kara's and Lena's smiles were bright as they bid each of the kids goodnight, lingering in the kitchen to make sure that they teenagers wouldn't feel like they were hovering.
"They'll be okay, won't they?" Lena asked once she heard the last door close upstairs. Kara wrapped her arms around Lena's waist and pulled her close, pressing a kiss against her temple.
"I think they will." Kara said. "With Lena Luthor in their corner, how could they not be?"
"I think you're giving me too much credit, Supergirl." Lena teased, smiling as she turned in Kara's arms and draped her own over Kara's shoulders. Kara shrugged.
"I might be a bit biased but that's only because I love you."
Lena's smile was even more radiant as she leaned in to press their lips together. "I love you too."
Upstairs, after separating from their friends, Karolina and Nico made quick work of washing the grime and dirt from their little adventure off. For a second, Nico considered asking Karolina if she wanted to shower together, but changed her mind. She didn't want Karolina to feel like Nico was expecting something from her. So, they showered separately and then climbed into bed together.
"I can't believe he's really gone," Karolina said after she was settled against Nico's chest.
"I kinda can't either," Nico agreed. "But I'm glad it's over with. One less thing for us to worry about."
"I'm sorry about what he did, about Amy," Karolina turned her face into Nico's neck and pressed a kiss against the skin there.
"At least I know the truth now," Nico shrugged. "As much as it hurts, it's better than not knowing."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not yet," Nico shook her head. "I'm still...processing."
"That's okay," Karolina kissed her neck again. "Take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," Karolina confirmed. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be and no one else I'd rather be with."
"I'm glad, I don't know how I would have gotten through all of this without you here." Nico angled her head slightly so that her next words were whispered against Karolina's temple. "I love you."
Karolina sat up, smiling at Nico with some much love in her eyes, Nico was kind of surprised that she wasn't literally glowing.
"I love you too, Nico." Karolina leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to Nico's lips. "I'm sorry I didn't let you say it this morning."
"I get why," Nico pulled her in for another kiss. "But we said it. I love you and I'm going to tell you that every day for as long as you'll let me."
"How does our entire lives sound to you?" Karolina smiled moving so she was straddling Nico's waist. Nico gripped her hips and grinned back up at her.
"Sounds perfect," Nico hummed as Karolina dipped her head down to place a kiss against her pulse point. "I love you."
"I love you." Karolina leaned over so that her face was level with Nico's. "Let me show you?"
"Are you sure?" Nico asked. Sure they had fooled around a bit, but nothing below the waist. Nico wanted to be absolutely certain that this was what they both wanted before the moved any further.
"I am, I want you Nico. Are you sure?" Karolina grinned when Nico nodded enthusiastically. "I need you to say it, baby."
"I'm sure."
This time when Karolina leaned in to kiss her, she didn't pull away.
Despite not getting much sleep, Nico and Karolina woke up feeling happy and refreshed, safely wrapped up in one another's arms. If they were a bit more clingy than usual at breakfast, no one commented on it. At least, not until Chase was done with his food and making his way to the backyard, where he paused at the door and grinned at the two girls still sitting by the table.
"So, ladies, how was the rave last night?"
"CHASE!" Gert's indignant shriek was enough to set them all laughing as she chased her boyfriend out of the kitchen. Alex W. in a rare form, made a show of looking Karolina up and down and then whistling as he held up a fist to Nico.
"Dude," he said, grinning, "nice."
Nico rolled her eyes but bumped his fist with one of her own, her other hand never leaving the grasp of her giggling girlfriend.
Yeah, Nico thought happily as she nuzzled into Karolina's side and watched Chase be chased by Gert, Molly, and Old Lace through the window, they'd be okay.