"Are we having a party?" Kara asked entering her sister's kitchen where Eliza was busy cooking.
"No. I'm just making sure the freezer is well stocked." Eliza smiled.
"So you are heading back?" Kara guessed.
"I am, tomorrow." Eliza confirmed.
"Do you need me to fly you?"
"No, J'onn is going to drive me." Eliza said. "But I can come back anytime you need me."
"I know." Kara said.
"Good. But don't forget it." Eliza said. "Either of you." She said glancing over at her eldest who had just entered the kitchen.
"Forget what?" Alex asked confused.
"That I will come down whenever you need me."
"You have more than proven that." Alex assured her before realising how quiet the house was. "Where are the kids?"
"Actually I asked J'onn to take them out tonight." Kara said.
"Why?" Alex asked frowning.
"Because I wanted to talk to both of you, without interruptions."
"Sounds bad." Alex said frowning.
"It isn't. I just felt we were overdue a chat. I know you have a lot of questions about what happened to me. And I know I haven't told you as much as you want." Kara started. "It's not because I am trying to shut you out. Some of it was because I was trying to protect you. But most of it is just because it wasn't that interesting. If I had to write everything good and everything bad down, that good list would be far longer than the bad list." She went on as she started to play with a pen that was on the table.
"A lot of it was just finding a routine and making it work. Arriving on a planet. Finding accommodation and work. Getting Alex settled at a school. Then after we had enough money moving on. Most of the time I could avoid the bad planets. But every so often I heard rumours about Rensh and had to leave sooner than planned. On those occasions there were a couple of times we ended up on bad planets. And those were hard. One was infamous for trafficking."
"As in drugs?" Alex asked.
"People." Kara corrected.
"Did you-" Alex immediately jumped in.
"No. By then I knew how to avoid trouble. But my point is, regardless of the type of planet, one thing I did find were many aliens, well people, out there, who despite their own hardships helped us. And I always felt bad for leaving them. I feel bad that I can never repay them." Kara went on, almost loosing herself to her own memories.
"What exactly did happen out there?" Alex asked, pulling Kara back to the present. "How did you get those scars?"
"When I was first transported I ended up crashing through a window into an office. The window was made of something similar to glass and without my powers it cut me pretty badly. I must have been knocked out because when I opened my eyes there was a man kneeling over me. He had started to help when he saw the crest on my uniform. He recognised the crest of the House of El. His boss's father had been imprisoned in Fort Rozz, by my mother, and he hated Kryptonians, especially my mother and all those connected to her. If I had crashed into his boss's office I wouldn't have survived. As it was, the safe thing for the man, Reni, whose office I crashed through, to do was hand me over to his boss. But Reni, didn't hold a grudge so he helped me as best he could. Including treating my wounds. But he wasn't a doctor and I didn't have powers, and well you saw the scars. To protect me he gave me new clothes and burned my uniform. The hardest part of that day was when I saw my uniform burn. I was in so much pain from my wounds and I felt so lost and disconnected from you. It was like he was burning my ties to Earth." She said causing Alex to reach over the table and squeeze her hand. "But then I remembered why he was doing it and how much danger he had put himself in for me and I realised that no matter where I was I could get through it." She went on before pausing briefly and looking down at the pen she was playing with.
"Eventually, I told him how I got there and that others would come for me. I am pretty sure he thought I was insane. But he gave me shelter and food. As time went on we started to talk more and I gave him more details about what had happened and he pointed out that you would all think that I was dead and that no one was coming for me. I still hadn't healed properly and being injured and hearing that, I felt so broken. But he reminded me that that didn't mean I wouldn't see you again. He helped me plan a journey to get back to Earth. He shared some star charts and told me what planets were safe and what planets he knew people on. He gave me details of people who would help. I had a plan to get back to Earth and I was convinced I would be home in under a year."
"So once I had fully healed I started the journey and I made it five planets and several months closer to Earth when I first came across Rensh. After I arrived on the planet I went to meet one of Reni's contacts. But when I arrived at the address, the place was empty apart from a small data cube. It held a message from Reni. It was a holographic message, like the ones my mother left in my pod. When I turned it on I saw Reni and he was so bruised and battered. He told me a bounty hunter was after me and that had had no choice and that he was sorry."
"Sorry for what?" Alex asked.
"He had told Rensh everything, where I was going, who I was meeting and the fact I was trying to get to Earth." Kara explained. "At the time I thought Rensh had been hired by Reni's boss so I knew I could no longer get help. I wanted to get back here but I didn't want to endanger you. Plus he knew I was heading to Earth. So the safest way to avoid him was to not head back. I had already cost you Jeremiah." Kara argued. "I had placed you in so much danger and I didn't want that for you. I thought that if he followed my original route and I did something different, by the time he realised I wasn't going to Earth there would be too many possibilities and he wouldn't find me. Unfortunately on that new path I knew no one and there was no one I could get help from and I had limited information about which planets were good and which ones were less good and without help I couldn't be picky anyway. And there were some bad planets and I have told you about those. But most were okay." She said before looking up.
"My point is, most of what happened wasn't that bad. And I got Alex. I know you are worried about what happened. But those eighteen years weren't that bad. I mean it was no Lian Yu."
"Lian Yu?" Eliza asked confused.
"The island Oliver was stuck on that turned him into, well the Arrow." Kara said. "My point is although bad things did happen, it wasn't all bad, because I had help. The worst part was not having you there. And I am glad I am home, I hated living on the run." She paused again. "But when Mongul mentioned Lobo I was tempted to take Alex and run. But I don't want that life anymore, neither does Alex."
"So you are staying?" Her sister asked.
"That's up to you. If we stay here we could be placing MJ and Kara in danger."
"We are in this together." Alex said. "And no matter what happens we will get through this together."
"I know you have already agreed. But I need to really hear it." Kara said looking at Alex, before glancing at Eliza. "If something happens to me I need to -" She started only for Alex to grab her hand.
"No matter what happens Alex will be okay."
"She will always have family here." Eliza said taking her other hand.
-00-
"How'd all the scheming go?" The teenage Kara asked her mother late that evening.
"What scheming?" Alex asked confused.
"About Lobo."
"How do you know about Lobo?"
"Alex told us." The teenager explained. "Plus we heard you and Grandma talking yesterday."
"We weren't talking about Lobo." Alex said. "Besides there is nothing to scheme, we don't know if he is really coming."
"But he could?"
"He could."
"And you are going to freak out." The teenager guessed.
"Worrying about you is not the same as freaking out." Alex reminded her before changing topics and asking. "How is your leg?"
"Still no pain. Maybe it is fixed."
"That's what the doctor said. But don't forget to build it up slowly."
"I won't." She said before asking. "Is it true we can go to Argo?"
"Are you trying to get away from me?" Alex asked.
"No. But Argo sounds cool."
"You didn't want to go."
"When there was no choice. Now there is and Alex might need back up."
"Which you know how?"
"Alex told us."
"Your cousin talks far too much."
"So can we go to Argo?"
"We'll see."