I'm sorry this has taken so long to update. I kind of backed myself into a corner in attempting to work on several different projects at once. While writing this chapter, though, I've gotten more of a grip on the content I want in the following chapters, so the next hopefully won't leave you stranded for months without an update.

Thank you for reading,

Brielle

...

Kara stood against the railing of the balcony overlooking National City, still reeling from seeing Sud-Aletheia's face. She saw him every day all day for 18 months and 22 days, and the worst part was that he wasn't hideous or even scary looking. Despite how old he must be, Sud-Aletheia appeared no older than she with soft features and the kind of handsomeness many women would fall for.

That's what made him so terrifying.

He would create nightmares and spew the most horrendous obscenities and weave flawless lies, all while giving Kara that disarming smile. Kara knew the evil that lay just beneath that white-toothed smile—like a false grin that turns wicked even though the eyes shine with plastic kindness.

There was something missing. Kara felt like her mind was a puzzle and the last piece which would complete the picture had been knocked off the table and lost.

She closed her eyes, breathed in the early autumn air, and soaked in the rays of the yellow sun. As it replenished her power, Kara's weakened mind seemed to knit itself back together. She took a deep breath, held it, and then exhaled.

Fingers slid between Kara's to hold her hand. Kara opened an eye and glanced sideways into emerald irises.

Lena nudged Kara with a shoulder. "How are you?"

She shrugged. "Better than a few minutes ago." She shook her head, the image of Lena's face only inches from hers as heat built behind her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Lena."

"There's nothing to apologize for."

"Yes, there is," she nodded. "I almost—" She couldn't bring herself to say the words.

Lena squeezed her hand. "I wasn't scared. I know you would never hurt me."

"But I almost did." Kara took a breath. "I thought—I thought you were him."

"Sud-Aletheia?"

She nodded. "He appeared to me." Kara wiped at her eyes and exhaled. "He's here somewhere—on Earth. I can feel it. He's waiting to strike."

Lena straightened. "Then we need to get you somewhere safe. Somewhere he can't get to you."

Kara gave a sad smile. "You know I can't do that. I can't run and hide. I need to face him."

Her wife clutched her hand, squeezing so hard Kara actually felt it. She leaned her elbows against the railing, shaking Kara's hands. "I just got you back." Her green eyes were almost serpentine in her desperation. "I will not lose you again."

Kara kissed the back of Lena's hand. "I don't want to risk losing you anymore than you do me, but I can't hide. I need to face this—face him." She shrugged. "I used to be a symbol for this city. Right now, they all think I'm dead. If I hide and remain dead to them, then who will show them the way? Who will be the symbol of strength and hope when they're lost?"

Lena shook her head, eyes glistening. "But why? Why must it always be you? Why must you be the one to sacrifice for everyone else?"

"I don't know any other way. I'd rather lose my life and save them"—Kara inclined her chin out at National City—"and save my family—save you, than lose an innocent life knowing I could have stopped it."

"But why must it be you?" Lena whispered, voice and hands trembling. "You're my family, and I don't want to lose you, Kara."

Kara wrapped her arms around Lena and pulled her close, placing a hand on the back of her head. "Because if not me, then who?" she whispered.

"Ask Clark for help."

Kara shook her head. "He has two boys and a wife—"

Lena clenched Kara's shirt in her hands and breathed, "I have a wife."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "I know, I know." She whispered into Lena's hair, "If I don't fight Sud-Aletheia, if I don't stop him, then I will lose everyone I love. When he manipulated my mind, I was helpless. It didn't matter what I did, I lost you. I lost you, Alex, J'onn—everyone." She pulled away and stared into Lena's watery eyes. "Here, in this reality, I have power. I have the ability to fight for those I love. I will not stand on the sidelines and let you all fight for me when all I experienced for almost two years was the inability to fight. I had no agency, so now when I do, I want to use it."

She tilted her head and thought about it for a moment. "Under Sud-Aletheia's control, I was bound to his will as though Kryptonite chains held me down." She waved a hand. "Out here, those chains are broken and I am free. And Rao, does it feel good to know that my actions are my own and my power won't be held back by some outside force.

"So, Lena, my love, that's why it must be me. Because I've already lost you thousands of times, but in the one reality where I can stop him from harming you, there's no way in hell I'm going to give up that chance to fight for you."

Lena chuckled and wiped a tear from her cheek. "God, sometimes I hate how selfless you are. It's quite frustrating." She pressed a soft kiss to Kara's lips and they held each other for a moment while Kara soaked it in.

How she had missed her. Her lips, her touch, her presence—a piece of her had been missing without Lena by her side.

Lena grinned, leaning her forehead against Kara's. She cupped Kara's face in her hands and stared into her eyes. "Just because you have the ability to fight for me does not mean I will not fight for you. We fight for each other."

A small smile appeared. "I'd expect nothing less from you, Lena Luthor-Danvers."

They stood in peaceful silence for a while, just being close. Kara soaked in the warming sun, her powers growing and solidifying with each moment. God, it felt good to feel strong again. To be confident in her strength and power.

Then, she thought of reality. She was back home, which meant Kara Danvers and Supergirl were back.

She kissed Lena's forehead and pulled away. "What are we going to do about my return?"

Lena blinked a couple times. "I don't know. I hadn't thought that far ahead yet."

Kara offered an arm to her wife and motioned with her chin. "Let's go back inside and talk it out with the team."

The team. A sentence she hadn't used it almost two years, and something she never thought she'd say again. She rolled her shoulders, the ghost of a smile on her lips. It felt good to say that again.

As they walked down the stairs, J'onn and Alex approached them.

J'onn folded his arms over his chest. "We need to talk."

"So do we," Lena said.

Kara looked to Alex. "What about?"

Her sister took a breath. "We think that Sud-Aletheia is going to return to try and get to you and J'onn."

Kara narrowed her gaze. "J'onn? Why?"

J'onn raised a hand between the sisters. "That's why we need to talk. Better to get together and talk it out as a team." He stood to the side and motioned Kara and Lena toward the center console.

Kara leaned her palms on its smooth edge, and in some way, even though she wasn't wearing her suit, the movement felt like falling back into place. It felt right. Familiar.

Nia and Brainy joined them, talking about something to do with Edgar Allen Poe.

"So, I'm back," Kara said after everyone had joined, "but how are we going to announce that to National City? How am I supposed to just go back to Cat Co.?"

Lena glanced at Alex who looked at Nia. The youngest girl said, "Well, I have you covered at Cat Co. with Andrea." She shook her head. "And when I say covered, I mean I gave Andrea a convincing cover." She grinned, but sorrow was hidden beneath it. "I'm basically a pro at that by now."

Kara glanced sidelong at Alex, brows raised. "So what are the stories?"

Her sister placed a hand over Kara's and squeezed. "After you disappeared, we weren't sure if we would find you or if you'd ever come back. However, we didn't want to have Supergirl's death posted on the front pages of media outlets because that just seemed like—" Alex glanced up at Kara, eyes shining. "That just felt like too permanent of a thing. Almost like if your death was announced then that would make it true." Kara squeezed Alex's hand when it started trembling. "None of us were ready to accept your death as a possible answer."

Lena nodded. "Death was the last factor on our list, and we were going to do everything in our power to make sure that we didn't have to cross it off."

"And what about Cat Co.? What did you all say about Kara Danvers' disappearance?" Kara looked to Nia. "What does Andrea know?"

Nia's throat bobbed. "Like Alex said, at first, we weren't sure—didn't want to believe—that you were dead. We basically told the truth. Kara Danvers was kidnapped and there were no leads."

"I'm sorry you had to do that," Kara said softly.

Nia shrugged, but the movement was heavy. "I became your eyewitness." Nia waved a hand over her face in a circle. "Since I sustained major bruising and cuts on my face after our battle against the NCPD and Sud-Aletheia, it was easy for me as Nia Nal to go into Cat Co. as a frantic and grieving friend whose best friend had been kidnapped.

"Two days after you disappeared, I returned to work and told Andrea that we were walking home from Al's Dive Bar when we were both jumped. I was beaten and you, Kara Danvers, were taken." Nia sighed. "She of course asked if I had filed a report with the police, to which I said yes."

Kara's throat bobbed. "Did she believe it?"

Nia nodded. "Without question. She was horrified. She nearly broke down at the news."

"Maybe she was just sad she'd lost her best reporter," Alex said, a bite to her tone.

She knew Alex never liked Andrea because Andrea was a business woman, much like Cat Grant. Her company and her work almost always came before her personal relationships. To Kara, Andrea's reaction spoke volumes on how she viewed her work relationship with Kara Danvers. If she was that worried, perhaps deep down, Andrea really did care. She paused. Or she really was just mourning the loss of a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist.

"However Andrea truly felt," Nia continued, "she was understanding."

"She visited me over her lunch hour multiple times in the first few weeks," Lena said. "Andrea was my friend first, and when she showed up, that's who she was." Lena tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "It wasn't hard to play the grieving spouse searching for her missing wife because we were doing just that. It's just that Supergirl's disappearance was more alien. I kept up to date with the DEO and in turn answered any questions with that information while just leaving out the alien factors."

"Did anyone suspect a connection between Supergirl and Kara Danver's disappearances?"

Nia shook her head and then she paused. "Nobody suspected that you two were one and the same, but they did connect Supergirl and Kara Danvers' disappearances because media outlets were speculating that Kara was taken because of her connection to Supergirl."

"How so?"

"After those rumors started, I told Andrea my fake hypothesis for why you might have been kidnapped." Nia leaned her elbows on the console surface. "You were kidnapped following a lead for an article you were writing under the table. It involved telekinetic and mental manipulation aliens."

"That would tie in with Supergirl," Kara breathed, "because we had been fighting an alien with psychic abilities."

"Exactly."

"What came of the cover story?"

Nia inhaled. "Nothing. It served its use while the tension of Supergirl and Kara Danvers' disappearances were front-page news, but eventually, after a few months, it all died down. We began to lose hope, and news companies weren't gaining traction with those headlines anymore."

"I think we began to lose hope when the rest of the world did," Alex said, rubbing a hand down her face. "It's hard to believe the opposite of what everyone else is saying, especially when it had been, I think, six months since you disappeared."

Kara didn't want to think about the grief her friends and family went through. She gasped. "Eliza. Alex—"

Alex put a hand on Kara's shoulder, the contact calming her. "Just take your time, Kara. Yes, she will know you're back. I can call her if you want, but I think you should let her know yourself." She rubbed her thumb along Kara's collarbone, and the circular motion grounded her. "If you wanted to fly to Midvale after this, you could do that, too."

Kara nodded. "Yes. Eliza deserves to find out in person. After we're done discussing future plans, I'll leave to go see her." She raised her hands and shook her head. "But I'll deal with that later. Right now, I need to focus on this. How should the return of Supergirl and Kara Danvers happen? Should I go back to Cat Co.—if I can even get my job back—first before I reappear as Supergirl?"

J'onn shrugged. "I think that's up to you, Kara. We can spin a story to fit whichever situation you choose."

Kara considered. "I…think I'll return as Kara first. I can speak for Supergirl." She raised a brow. "I can say she's the one who found me and she'll be coming back to National City soon."

Alex tapped a finger to the surface of the table. "Just so you're aware, it was never publicly announced that you were dead." She motioned around at the group. "We all eventually accepted your possible death, but the most we did publicly is that I used my FBI clearance to put out false information on Kara Danvers' kidnapping."

Kara raised a brow. "Isn't that, like, highly illegal?"

"Yes."

She sucked her lips between her teeth and then made a popping sound as she opened her mouth. "Okay."

"Anyway," Alex said, "a statement was released by the FBI claiming the kidnapping of National City's prize journalist unsolved. To this day it remains a cold case."

Lena nodded and breathed, "With no body or proof of death, it wasn't difficult to believe."

"You guys should write a TV show," Kara said, a hand on her hip. "You thought of everything to cover for my identity." She closed her eyes and inhaled slowly. Then she looked at her friends and family. "Thank you."

This time, Brainy spoke up. "Kara, you should know that we would do anything for you. You are Supergirl to this city, but you are family to us." His brows furrowed as he gave her a nod.

Lena wrapped her arms around Kara's waist and planted a kiss on her shoulder. "We would do anything for you, just as you would do for us."

She placed her hands over Lena's and said again, "Thank you all."

Alex turned and hugged her tightly. Kara closed her eyes and let herself sink into her embrace, inhaling her sister's scent: leather, violet, cardamom, and patchouli. Floral and spicy.

"Now we need to discuss Sud-Aletheia," Alex mumbled against Kara's shoulder. She pulled away and gave Kara an empathetic smile. "I know that's probably the last thing you want to do."

"It's necessary. It doesn't matter what I want."

Alex squeezed her hand. "It always matters what you want."

After enduring so much pain and sorrow for almost the last two years, Kara had gotten used to disappointment and tragedy. Her feelings didn't matter, so she had learned to turn them off. It made the bitterness a little easier to swallow. Now that she was home, part of her had opened up to Lena, her love, and she was terrified that little peek into her heart would be used against her. Actually, it was inevitable. Sud-Aletheia would take advantage of those emotions immediately.

"No," Kara whispered. She didn't bother to expand on her answer. She glanced at Alex and J'onn. "Tell me why Sud-Aletheia is coming for you."

He stepped forward with a sigh. "Kara, you won't remember this, but two years ago, you started having nightmares."

Kara stared at him and attempted to recall what he was talking about, but he was right—she had no memory of any nightmares. She hadn't experienced those since she lost Mon-El four years—six years—ago. And those had been wasted tears.

She shook her head. "Why don't I recall, J'onn?"

He took a breath. "You had the same nightmare for months. One night, you and Alex showed up here. You were more panicked than I'd ever seen you."

Kara glanced at her sister and Alex gave a curt nod.

J'onn crossed his arms and continued. "You asked me to make you forget."

"What?"

"To this day, I don't know what you asked me to lock away. You never told me. All you said was that it was to protect me."

"That sounds familiar," Lena mumbled, giving Kara a sarcastic eye roll.

"Love you too," Kara said.

Then Lena's attitude shifted and she stood straighter. She gaped at Kara. "Is that why you came home that one night with no memory of why you were at the DEO?"

"I what?"

"I woke up without you," Lena said, "and I freaked. I checked your location and found it at the DEO, and it wasn't until around two in the morning that you returned. You were so out of it, like that past hour was a fog."

Kara could hardly remember returning home. She hadn't been able to string a thought together.

J'onn answered when Kara didn't. "Yes. She pleaded with me to lock away any memories pertaining to the dreams. She doesn't remember the dreams, let alone coming to see me."

Kara swallowed the lump in her throat. "What the hell, J'onn?"

He ignored her. "It was only two days later that Sud-Aletheia showed up."

"That can't be a coincidence," Lena muttered.

Kara's stomach dropped. "That's what he's been looking for all this time," she breathed. "All these months, he's been trying to get information on whatever you locked away." She looked at J'onn. "I must have known something."

He nodded. "He must have known you did. That's why he took you. He knew you hid away whatever secret you had—"

"And he went to great lengths to get it back," Kara said.

"He must have realized you truly didn't know anything," J'onn said. "He must have finally found the locked memories and knew he couldn't open them without either killing you or destroying the memories entirely."

"That's why he let me go." Suddenly it all made sense. Kara glanced around the circle of people. "He knew I'd return to you all and to the person who kept the memories safe."

J'onn nodded. "I'm the key. The only way to get to those memories is with me; only I can unlock them."

Kara shook her head and waved her hands. "No," she said to J'onn. "No way. If I came to you to hide these memories, then I had a damn good reason to. I knew it would mean my suffering for your safety." She pointed to the door. "You need to get far away from here. You cannot be forced to open my mind and I won't be the reason Sud-Aletheia harms you."

J'onn didn't budge. "Whatever I do will be my choice, Kara."

Though tears burned behind her eyes, she understood wanting that agency to fight for those she loved. But a broken, "No," is what came out of her mouth. "I can handle pain. I've endured it. But he will make me watch as he tears you apart," she whispered, "and that's something I won't be able to endure."

Lena intertwined her fingers with Kara's. "You fought for us for eighteen months. Let us fight for you."

"I can't—" Kara sobbed. "Some part of me could endure watching you all die thousands of times because I knew it wasn't real to some extent, but this—" she hiccupped "—is more real than anything I've survived. If I lose any of you here, I won't get you back."

Alex placed a hand on her shoulder, drawing Kara's eyes. "This is no different than any other day. I risked my life every day to protect you, and I'll do it again."

"That's exactly why I'm worried."

Nia spoke up. "And why can't J'onn unlock the memories so no one gets hurt?"

Kara sighed and rolled her shoulders. "Because I have a feeling whatever I'm protecting is far too important to let Sud-Aletheia have. That's why I went to J'onn in the first place. Why I was so freaked out about it for months. I knew I had valuable information and I wasn't going to risk that falling into his hands so easily." She glanced at J'onn. "I feel like whatever it is, it's bigger than me."

"I'm inclined to agree."

"Why didn't you look at the memories you locked away?"

"You demanded I not," J'onn said quietly. "You said that if I knew anything about it, then I'd be in danger too. You'd already put all relevant memories into a "box" within your mind. All I had to do was shove into a dark corner and lock the door."

Kara slowly sat into the nearest swivel chair by the computers. It would be really helpful if she knew what information she was protecting. Perhaps it would give some insight into Sud-Aletheia's motives and what his plans were. She placed her face in her hands and took a deep breath.

Lena rubbed Kara's back. "We'll figure this out, my love.'

Kara sighed but placed a hand on Lena's arm. "We're basically stuck with two awful choices: have J'onn unlock the memories and serve them up to Sud-Aletheia on a silver platter, or keep them locked away and run the risk of Sud-Aletheia torturing every single one of you until I break and then he gets the information anyway."

"For now," Lena said, "we can protect ourselves."

Kara looked over her shoulder at her wife. "What do you mean?"

"Since you disappeared, I've improved the telepathy blockers," she said. "They weren't strong enough during the stand-off, so I made them better. They are now inserted directly into the brain stem which has tripled the level of power they're able to withstand."

Kara nodded. "That's good. That's a start."

J'onn looked at Alex. "Let's get everyone equipped with a neuro-telepathy blockers and then we'll figure out a plan from there." Alex nodded.

Kara stood. "I'm going to Midvale to see Eliza. I'll be back in a few hours." She kissed Lena and said softly, "I'll be home soon."

Lena handed Kara her cell phone. "Please call when you're on your way back."

Kara pocketed the phone and managed a small smile. "I will. I promise."

She didn't let herself fear that she may never see her wife or family again as Kara put on a beanie, a pair of sunglasses, and blasted off in her civilian clothes.