"How is aunt Kara?" The teenage Kara asked when her mother entered the room.
"She is going to have some major guilt issues for a while." Her mother explained.
"But she'll be okay?"
"I think so."
"You still mad at Alex?" MJ asked.
"Yes." Alex confirmed. "And if either of you do something so reckless you will be grounded for life." She said before noticing Diz wasn't there. "Where's Diz?"
"He found the toy room." MJ said.
"What toy room?" Alex asked lost.
"Lena's prototype robots." Kara said. "Lena is showing him how they work."
"Okay, well I know you probably want to go home, but I need you to stay here tonight."
"Why?" Her daughter asked.
"Because I need to help your aunt and we don't know where Lobo is."
"Okay." MJ agreed.
"Why are you not fighting this?" Alex asked suspiciously.
"Are you kidding me?" MJ asked. "The games room here is way better than what I have at home."
-00-
"You should be resting." Alex said when she entered her sister's room the next day, where Kara was pacing up and down.
"I can't. It was sleeping that allowed him to take control."
"You remember it happening?"
"Not exactly. For the last few weeks something felt wrong. I felt angry all the time and it seemed so easy to give into that anger. But that's what he wanted. If he enabled my anger it was easier for him to take control. At night when I did sleep I remember this terrible nightmares and waking up so angry. Every night he grew stronger and took more control."
"I'm sorry I didn't notice."
"You did. You saw something was wrong, but me? He was inside me, slowly taking over and I didn't have a clue. Not until it was too late and he took over. I was a passenger in my own body. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't break free."
"But you did. You beat him." Alex reminded her.
"Barely and that wasn't exactly me."
"What do you mean. Alex bombarded me with memories and feelings, it was, overwhelming wouldn't start to describe it and there was such love and hope in those memories it lost control and I beat it. But at what price though? I nearly killed Alex."
"He nearly killed Alex, not you." Her sister reminded her.
"My body, my hands. Literally."
"Alex doesn't blame you." Her sister said.
"She should." Kara said. "I used to think I was so strong and invincible, but at the end of the day I was so weak. And there's something else. While he was in control I could access his memories. I saw so many atrocities that had been conducted by his hand. But that wasn't the worst part."
"What was?"
"My father made him." Kara said.
"What?"
"The parasite was called Worldkiller-1. He, well it, was made on Krypton, by my father. He wasn't like the other Worldkillers, instead it is a parasite designed to empower. He took over a Kryptonian and left. After that he transferred bodies many times. He believed that his purpose is to cull the weak. What he wanted was a red lantern Kryptonian. Somehow Lobo knew that, or maybe he seeded the idea. Then Lobo tracked down the Diasporans and told him all about me and his ring. Having made a pact with Lobo to get the ring he got my body."
"How?" Alex asked.
"His real form is a shape-shifting blob of inky, gelatinous sentient matter. He knew I wouldn't bond with him so he set a trap. He hijacked Tycho's plan and then hid in the molten Kryptonite."
"It survived that?"
"Barely. That's why it took so long to take over. It's entire philosophy is to become strong you need to overcome everything. The weak must die. Going into the Kryptonite was just another way to prove that he himself was worthy to live. It was actually it's presence in my arm that saved it. Having a Kryptonian cell structure he is already strong and can regenerate. My body used that to heal itself. After that it started to grow in strength."
"I'm sorry, I should have known something was wrong." Alex said feeling guilty.
"You did. In fact it was your insistence on testing that made him act. His plan had been to wait for another couple of weeks so he could grow stronger, but when you started testing he was concerned you would find him so sped up his plans."
"What matters is you beat it."
"Barely and what I did to Alex-"
"Alex is okay. And I am pretty sure she is more scared of me than you." Her sister confessed.
"Why, what did you do?"
"In the cave, when she collapsed, I thought she was dead. After we got back and she woke up I was scared and angry and I may have yelled, a lot." Alex confessed.
"How much is a lot?"
"Do you remember when I was back for the holidays during my first year at college and you incinerated my coursework and how much I yelled at you?"
"Yes."
"Double it and you are in the right ballpark. I'm sorry. I overstepped. And mom has already-"
"Alex, it's okay." Kara said.
"It is?"
"Right now I know I should yell at her for what she did, I mean she was so reckless and she could have died, but I can't. After what I did to her, how can I?" She asked as Lena walked in.
"Hi Kara, how are you feeling? Actually your face tells me all I need to know." Lena greeted. "I have the latest results and you are all clear. You are free to go."
"What if part of it is still hiding inside me?"
"What if it isn't?" Lena countered.
"But if it is and I hurt Alex-"
"Kara we can find no trace." Lena said.
"You thought that about Reign." Kara reminded her.
"Kara, look at this." Alex said taking the tablet off Lena. "These are the results of every test we ran after you were exposed to molten Kryptonite. While there is nothing obvious there was one small anomaly. Technically it wasn't even that as it was within normal range. But after the exposure this test showed elevated results. But now it doesn't."
"He's clever, he could be hiding." Kara argued.
"Do you feel angry?" Alex asked.
"Of course I do."
"I mean angry in a sinister way or angry in a I want revenge way?"
"The latter."
"There you go then." Alex said. "You can't hide here forever, it isn't fair on Alex."
"It's for Alex I need to hide here." Kara argued.
"Perhaps you should let Alex decide?" Lena suggested.
"She's a kid." Kara reminded her friend.
"But is as headstrong and stubborn as her mother." Lena countered.
-00-
"Is mom ready to go yet?" The teenage Alex asked when her aunt and grandmother entered the room, where the teenage Alex sat with Chewie, her cousins and Diz.
"No, not yet." Her aunt said.
"What's wrong with her?"
"We have run every test we can think off and can't find anything wrong with your mom. But there is a very, very, very small chance that the Worldkiller parasite is still hiding in her and we just can't see it."
"That is what mom is afraid of?" The teen asked.
"Yes." Eliza confirmed.
"She's scared of hurting you." Alex added.
"So she doesn't want to leave?" The teen guessed.
"Yes." Her aunt confirmed.
"Can I see her?"
"Of course." Eliza said. "Why don't I take you to see her," she started before turning to her daughter and saying, "and then Alex, you take the other kids home."
"Do we have to?" MJ asked still playing a video game.
"Yes." His mother said. She then looked at her niece and hugged her. "We'll see you soon."
-00-
"Alex? What are you doing here? I thought you were going home?" Kara said when her daughter entered the lab.
"Not without you."
"It's not safe for me to leave." Kara said.
"Yes it is. Your tests are fine."
"It could be hiding. I can't risk you."
"You told me hope and faith were important." The teen argued.
"They are." Kara agreed.
"Don't you have faith in Alex and Lena?"
"Of course I do. But I don't want to do anything that puts you at risk."
"Well if you are in here, who is out there protecting me from Lobo?"
-00-
Waking from a nightmare the teenage Alex wanted nothing more than to see her mother and check she was okay. But as she contemplated going to her mother's room she remembered what had happened last time and suddenly felt herself frozen with fear.
"Alex?" Kara called entering the room.
"Mom?"
"What's wrong?"
"I had a nightmare."
"It's okay." Kara said moving towards her daughter. She was only half way to the bed the teen jumped off it and rushed into her mother's arms.
"It's okay." Kara said holding her tightly, feeling guilty that she was the likely cause of the nightmare.
"I love you." The teen said into the hug.
"Love you too." Kara said.
"Are you okay?" The teenager asked as she finally pulled away.
"Me?" Kara asked. "You're the one having nightmares."
"You were possessed." The teen said.
"Not anymore. Thanks to you." Kara said. "But Alex was right to be mad at you."
"I know. But I'd do it again."
"Alex, you can't." Kara said. "You are too important."
"Then stop getting into trouble."