"What are you guys doing here?" Kara asked when her niece, nephew and sister sat next to her in the hall the next day.
"Cheering on Alex." The teenage Kara said.
"But it is Saturday." The adult Kara said.
"And chess is boring." MJ said. "But we thought Alex needed support."
"Thank you." Kara said hugging her niece who was next to her.
"You are showing me up bringing the whole cheer squad along." Steve commented as he sat down on Kara's other side.
"Steve. Hi." Kara smiled.
"Is it okay to sit next to you?" Steve asked.
"Sure."
"You sure? I mean we are on competing sides today?"
"We are?" Kara asked confused.
"Alex didn't tell you? It's an individual tournament today. That's why there is no team meet up after. That and no one organised one. But today it's every player for themselves."
"Does that mean less matches?" MJ asked optimistically.
"Depends on how well Alex does." Steve explained. "It's a knock out. With five rounds including the final."
"Five? As in five hours?" MJ asked.
"Only if Alex makes the final." Steve answered.
"She will." MJ said without both doubt and enthusiasm.
"You never know you may learn something." His mother said.
"Such as?"
"Tactics and strategy." His sister suggested. "Patience."
"If it makes you feel better there is a really good coffee cart outside with excellent doughnuts and muffins." Steve commented.
-00-
As the tournament broke for lunch Kara headed straight to her daughter.
"You feeling okay?" She asked.
"I guess."
"You're fine." Kara assured her. "And you are doing great."
"How can you be okay round me?" Her daughter asked as she was plagued by another round of guilt.
"Alex, what happened wasn't your fault and I don't blame you or resent you. But if you really want to make it up to me there are two things you can do."
"Which are?"
"Forgive yourself and do your best today."
"Not win?"
"As long as you do your best so you don't have regrets I'll be happy." Kara said as her sister's kids approached.
"We got you lunch." The teenage Kara said passing her cousin a bag as MJ turned to his aunt and said.
"We've got this."
"Okay." Kara said confused before looking at her daughter again. "Good luck." She said hugging her daughter before heading back to find her sister.
"That was quick." The adult Alex said as Kara joined her.
"I was sent away. Apparently Kara and MJ are more qualified to give pep talks." Kara said.
"Have a consolation doughnut." Alex said offering Kara the bag.
"This is why Alex needs to appreciate junk food." Kara said.
"Why?" Alex asked confused.
"It always helps me get over Red-K."
"You really want to share your doughnuts?" Alex asked amused.
"No. But I'd like to eat them with Alex throwing a guilt trip."
-00-
"You okay?" The teenage Kara asked her aunt as just before the final started when she noticed her older namesake was fidgeting in her seat.
"Yes. No. Should I go?" The adult Kara asked.
"Why?" The teen question confused.
"I don't want to jinx her."
"You haven't for the last four games." The teen pointed out.
"They weren't the final." Kara said as Steve sat down next to her and handed her a coffee.
"I'd thought you'd gone?" The older Kara said.
"And miss another hour of watching people stare at a table?" Steve asked before explaining. "Martin wanted to watch, so we're staying."
"Just to be clear, who are you cheering for?" The teenage Kara asked.
"Alex of course." Steve said before noticing how agitated the older Kara was. "You okay?" He asked.
"Just can't work out if I am going to jinx her by watching."
"I'm pretty sure she isn't Schrödinger's cat. Although thinking about it I'm not sure that's the right analogy." Steve said. "Either way she'll be fine and I am pretty sure she'd prefer to see you here than not."
-00-
Forty minutes later, with silence in the hall, Steve passed Kara a note from Martin. Opening it she read. "Four moves and she wins."
Looking round Steve she mouthed to Marin.
"You sure?"
When he nodded Kara went back to looking at her daughter wondering what exactly Martin had seen to make him so confident.
But even with Martin's prediction she found time almost ground to a halt as those final moves played out. But when the teen Alex final shook her opponent's hand the whole row burst into applause before the teacher stood at the front and gave a short speech before handing out trophies.
"Is Alex okay? She didn't look very happy about winning." Steve said clapping as Alex got her trophy.
"She's going through some stuff." Kara said vaguely.
"Stuff that is making your life hard too?" Steve asked.
"Not as hard as it is for Alex."
"You know if you ever want to talk, which you probably don't as you have your sister, but if you did I'm here."
"Thanks." Kara smiled as the teenager approached them. Before she reached them though her cousins and Martin surrounded her. After a few moments on incoherent teenage babble MJ turned to his mother and asked.
"Can we go celebrate?" MJ asked.
"What did you have in mind?" The adult Alex asked.
"Bowling and burgers? And can Martin come too?"
"Actually I'm-" The teenage Alex started to say only for her mother to cut in.
"That sounds like a great idea, but can you guys go on ahead?"
"Sure." Her sister said before looking at her niece and pointing at her trophy while offering. "Do you want me to put that in the car?"
"Okay." The teenager said passing her aunt the trophy.
The adult Alex then turned to Steve and asked. "You coming?"
"Is that okay?" He asked not sure how far MJ's invite had extended to.
"Absolutely." Alex said before shepherding the group away from her sister and niece.
Once they had gone Kara turned to her daughter and hugged her saying. "I'm so proud of you." After a moment she released her and said. "Let's take a walk."
"Can't we go home?"
"No." Kara said leading her daughter out of the school. "Alex, I know how hard this is. I also know the hardest thing you are going to have to do is forgive yourself and that will take time. But what you can't do is live in fear." She paused before asking. "Do you trust me?"
"Yes."
"Then trust me when I tell you the Red-K is gone. You are back to being you."
"But what if I am exposed again and next time I hurt someone, more than I did this time?"
"I can't promise you that you won't be exposed again. But if you are, I and your aunt and Lena and J'onn will get you a cure as quickly as possible."
"You shouldn't be okay with this. I was so mean to you."
"The first time I was on Red-K I threw Cat off a roof, broke Alex's arm, not to mention said really horrible things to her and then I forced J'onn to reveal that he was a Martian." Kara said. "After that J'onn and Alex became fugitives and the world feared me. So in the grand scheme of things you were angelic. But here is the really important thing." Kara went on. "The Red-K makes you act differently, you aren't in control so you weren't responsible. But what you said, was based on truth. And we need to work through that. And we will. But tonight we are going to celebrate."
-00-
"J'onn what are doing here?" Kara asked when she saw the Martian at the bowling alley.
"I was invited to make up numbers." He explained before smiling at Alex and adding. "Congratulations."
"Thanks."
"Why are we making up numbers?" Kara asked.
"We need even teams. And the kids vetoed Lena as she is too good." Alex said.
"Lena bowls?" Kara asked.
"She visualises various family members as the pins." The teenage Kara said. "She's really good."
"I don't doubt that she is good at bowling, I just can't see her wearing rental bowling shoes." Kara explained.
"She doesn't, she has her own." MJ said.
"Of course she does." Kara said.
-00-
"You two suck at this." Alex said looking at Kara and Steve. "I didn't think you could get any worse, but I was wrong." She added looking at her sister. She then looked at Steve and muttered. "As for you I don't even know where to start."
"Did I mention she is insanely competitive?" Kara asked Steve.
"Just a few times. Although I kind of feel it wasn't enough." Steve replied.
"Sorry." Kara apologised.
"Ir's okay, but how is she going to take it when we lose."
"You'll be fine. I mean she'll probably ignore you for two weeks."
"That would be better than the glare I am getting right now." He said as J'onn approached them and said.
"Let's see some hustle guys."
"Good luck." Kara said as Steve walked towards the balls.
Having landed the ball in the gutter twice he walked back to Kara, trying to avoid looking at Alex, only to hear J'onn complain to Alex.
"He's worse than Kara. Perhaps we should introduce training."
"J'onn is almost as bad as Alex." Kara explained to Steve. "The difference is you can bribe your way back into J'onn's good books."
-00-
As the three kids walked ahead of their mothers, happily talking, the adult Alex commented to her sister.
"Alex almost seems back to normal."
"Yes she does and I think MJ is to thank for that."
"His belligerence has a use." Alex said. "Although being part of the team that trounced us may have helped as well. I still can't believe how bad you and Steve were."
"I think your constant glaring put Steve off."
"He's meant to be a trauma surgeon, he should be able to cope with the pressure." Alex countered before asking. "How are you doing?"
"Me? Fine why?"
"Your crinkle gives you away."
"Why did I not get it fixed?" Kara asked.
"So what's wrong?"
"Nothing. Everything." Kara sighed. "I don't know. I just feel like I'm letting Alex down and I feel like I am missing something really important about Sloane."
"It will be okay." Alex said as they turned the corner and she noticed her eldest had disappeared. "Are we missing a kid?"
"It would appear so." Kara agreed causing Alex to call to her son.
"MJ. Where's your sister?"
"She went off to meet some friends." He shrugged.
"Which friends?"
"Don't know. Didn't ask."
"Why are you getting so irate?" Her sister asked.
"If she didn't have anything to hide she would have told me and she wouldn't have snuck off after going round a corner. The fact she did means Diz is probably involved."
"Or school friends." Kara pointed out.