"How are holding up?" J'onn asked Eliza as he walked into the lounge.
"I don't know. Right now I am just focused on Alex, who seems so lost right now." Eliza said. "Right now I'm glad you are here. I'll take any help I can get."
"Alex isn't here?" J'onn asked.
"No. She is at work."
"Why?"
"I don't know. It may be Lobo related. I'm not sure."
"I check in on her later. For now why don't I talk to Alex? The younger one."
"I'm sure she'll appreciate that." Eliza said leading J'onn upstairs to her daughter's bedroom where she assumed her niece was sleeping. Finding the room empty she went to the den where MJ and the teenage Kara were talking.
"Have you seen Alex?" Eliza asked.
"We thought she was sleeping." Kara said.
"She's not." Eliza replied sounding worried.
"We'll find her." MJ said standing as he and his sister ran down stairs.
-00-
"Alex, you're here." MJ said entering the garage.
"Is that not okay?" His cousin asked.
"It's fine. But grandma is looking for you."
"Okay." The teen said passing Diz the spark plug she had been cleaning adding a, "thanks." Before leaving the garage.
"Where's Kar?" Diz asked when it was just him and MJ.
"Went to aunt Ka- I mean Alex's apartment, to look for her. I think she and grandma thought Alex had run away."
"Kar's there by herself?" Diz asked frowning.
"I guess. I mean there was probably a DEO Agent with her." MJ said.
"I'll go get her." Diz said putting down the spark plug and wiping the grease off his hands. "I'll be back in a minute." He added before leaving the front of the garage as MJ followed his cousin out of the garage to the house where J'onn was waiting.
"Hello Alex." J'onn said hugging her.
"Hi." She replied.
"I'll finish getting dinner ready." Eliza said leading MJ into the kitchen to give J'onn and Alex space.
"Come through here." J'onn said leading the teen to the lounge. As they entered he saw she was wearing the inhibitors and asked. "Why are you wearing them?"
"Because I can't control my powers and if I take them off I know the others will get hurt."
"The more you bottle things up and refuse to talk the harder it will be to control your powers." J'onn warned. "I know how hard this is. And I know that you want to shut everything off so you can't feel anything. But that isn't the answer."
"Why not?"
"Because all it will do it harm you and those you care about." He said. "Many years ago I felt the weight of surviving, of being the last. I had given up. I was prepared to die. But your mother told me I had to get up, had to go on. She told me about the hole she had in her heart from losing everyone. The same hole I had, the same hole you have now. But she told me that I couldn't fall into it. I had to fight. And you know she'd tell you the exact same thing."
"I know." The teen said a tear rolling down her face. "But I'm not her. I'm not strong like she is … was."
"I know you feel helpless right now. But you are strong. I look at you and in your eyes I see your mother's light and strength. You may not believe it, but you are strong."
"Then why couldn't I save her?"
"Even with powers you aren't a god. Somethings are out of your control. All you can do is control your own decisions. Today everything seems hard, but it will get better. For now just focus on what you can do. Which in this case is eat dinner."
-00-
"This is odd." Lena said the next day as she stared at some results.
"What is?" Alex asked.
"After Kara was brought here they took several swabs from the wound, but no one ever looked at it until now. Look at this."
"What is that?" Alex asked not recognising the structure.
"No idea. I have never seen anything like it. But when you add it to Kryptonian blood cells it shuts them down." She said showing Alex a microscope image.
"So the blade was coated in a poison?"
"Maybe."
"Alex what are-" J'onn started as walked into the room. But seeing Kara's lifeless body lying under the solar lamps his tone hardened and he asked. "What the hell are you doing?"
"J'onn? What are you doing here?" Alex asked.
"You didn't come home last night. Your mother is worried about you. And with good reason." He said looking at Kara's motionless body. "You have to let her go."
"Her wound healed." Alex said.
"What?" J'onn asked.
"The wound has healed."
"What do you mean healed?" J'onn asked.
"Just that. It has completely gone."
"But she isn't breathing? Her heart isn't beating? There is no brain function?"
"Well no." Alex said. "But there is no decomposition either."
"When was the last time either of you slept?" J'onn asked. "You have become obsessed and you clearly aren't thinking straight."
"Oh my god." Lena suddenly said.
"What?" Alex asked grateful for an excuse not to be stared at by J'onn.
"One of the samples I added the substance to, the one under the solar lamps. Look at it. Those cells have reactivated. I think you may have been right, but for the wrong reason. We need to increase the intensity of those lamps."
"Stop!" J'onn demanded. "One of you tell me what is happening."
"Kara's wound had an alien substance round it, we are guessing the blade was coated in it. When I added it to some Kryptonian cells, those cells shut down. For all intents and purposes they were dead. But after soaking them in solar radiation they reactivated. Which means they were never dead, just dormant. What if Lobo didn't mean to kill Kara, just put her in a dormant state."
"Lobo likes killing." J'onn reminded them.
"I know. But he also likes Kara, maybe he wanted us to think she was dead."
"Why?"
"I don't know." Alex confessed. "I know this doesn't make sense and I know I don't make sense and I know some of that may be due to lack of sleep. But something is telling me not to let this go."
"You were the same way after Kara disappeared all those years ago and that obsession nearly destroyed you." He reminded her.
"I know, but it wasn't misplaced was it? I mean she was out there and needing help." Alex said.
"I don't want Kara to be gone anymore than you do, but Kryptonians aren't gods. They can die like the rest of us." J'onn argued.
"I'm not arguing with that." Alex said. "I just don't think she is dead. And I just need some more time to prove it."
Suddenly they heard a large gasping sound from the bed.
"Kara?" Alex said turning to her sister who was sitting upright looking dazed.
"Alex?" Kara asked confused before being hugged by her sister.
"You okay?" Kara asked surprised with how hard Alex was holding her. Feeling her shoulder get wet she realised her sister was crying and asked. "What's wrong?"
"You died?" Alex said, tears still rolling down her face.
"What do you mean?" Kara asked lost. "I'm fine."
"Lobo put a blade through your heart. It killed you. I mean you stopped breathing and your heart stopped and-"
"Alex, I'm here." Kara said as she tried to remember what had happened. Suddenly recalling her last moments talking to her daughter she pulled back and said. "Wait, does Alex think I'm dead?"
"Yes." Alex confirmed. "Everyone does."
"I have to get to her." Kara said getting of the bed before collapsing. She was saved from hitting the floor by J'onn catching her.
"Kara we need to make sure that you are okay." Alex said as Lena jumped in.
"Alex has lost you once, if this is temporary do you want her to go through that again?"
"Fine. Run whatever tests. Just please hurry." Kara said as J'onn helped her sit down on the gurney, before asking. "What exactly happened?"
"Lobo stabbed you through the chest. We think the blade was coated in something that put you into statis."
"Wait, could it have had Worldkiller-1 in?"
"A step ahead of you." Lena said. "Already testing. So far no sign."
"Do you feel angry?" Alex asked.
"Of course I feel angry. Lobo made Alex see me die." Kara said. "And next time I see him I will so make him pay for this." She ranted before looking at her sister and saying. "Don't worry, I own this anger."
"That's good." Alex said as she started to run another test.
"Where is he?"
"Lobo?" Alex guessed.
"Yes."
"We don't know. But we think he is still on Earth."
"Then I need to get to Alex." Kara said trying to stand again, only for J'onn to hold her in place.
"I know. But we need to make sure you are okay and not about to be taken over. Alex has been through enough as it is." J'onn said. "Just be patient."
"That's not really my thing." Kara pointed out.
"No it's not." J'onn smiled as he hugged her.