Brainy's ring may not have been functioning, but his quantum teleporter worked just fine. The jump landed them back in New York, in the very same industrial complex where Kara had tracked Jason's sword. She thought it was a mistake until giant neon arrows lit up around one of the buildings' entrances. Sighing, she waved Brainiac toward the door and took point. The building in question looked like cold storage for unused equipment. It was barely lit by a dirty skylight in the center. The real lighting came from the psychedelic trail of Christmas lights leading the duo further inside, toward a passage that led far down.

Kara exchanged an exasperated look with Brainy, striding down the steps and distantly admiring the uncharacteristic symmetry of the lights. Chaos was Mxy's stock and trade. Strange that he'd be so meticulous about this. Unless he was being deliberately paradoxical…

"Does this seem a little odd to you?" Brainiac asked suddenly.

She arched an eyebrow. "This is Mxyzptlk, Querl. The oddness starts with his name."

"I mean for him."

Kara frowned. "Yeah. He doesn't usually fixate on a specific line of thinking like this…and if he does, it's usually something ridiculous like lost kittens, not…"

"Massively traumatic events that left permanent scars on you."

"Yeah."

"It's a puzzle for sure." Dox smirked and nudged her arm. "Lucky for you, I'm good with puzzles."

She almost smiled.

"Y'know, you're right."

They both froze on the landing, looking around for the source of the voice.

"But this ain't a team game, Brainy."

Dox's eyes widened. He immediately went for his gauntlet, executing an emergency teleport. A faint shimmer of light formed around his body for the briefest moment, then nothing.

Mxyzptlk popped into existence between them, tsking and wagging his finger. "Quantum teleports—that's so third-dimensional."

Supergirl reached for Brainiac.

Mxy snapped his fingers, and with that, he and Querl vanished.

"Damn it," Kara muttered. "Then what was the point of bringing him here?!"

His reply came from nowhere. "Makin' a point, sweetheart—and givin' youse two a minute to catch up before I do. Now chop chop! Time's a'wastin'!"

Scowling, Kara sighed and followed the lights. They led her on a merry chase throughout the complex, from one unfinished building to another, and at last to a massive atrium of steel and concrete. Her path took her atop a platform overlooking a rectangular C-shaped courtyard with ceilings four stories up. The whole room was a patchwork mess of girders and unfinished windows.

And right there, front and center just above her, was a particularly thick girder hollowed out lengthwise in the shape of big capital letters: MXYZPTLK.

Kara's left eyebrow shot skyward. The other joined it shortly when confetti cannons started going off, spewing rainbow-colored ribbons everywhere. And then the spotlights came on, lighting up her platform like the center ring in a circus.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome!"

The imp himself popped into existence like a bubble bursting, reclining lazily on the girder bearing his name. He twirled a cane in circles over the side, then hopped up and spun around, flaring the flaps of his blue blazer.

"Give it up for our amazingly talented—and very handsome special guests!"

Mxyzptlk snapped his fingers, and two more spotlights came on, lighting up the far wall opposite Kara. On it were Jason and Querl, hanging from the ceiling, hands shackled above them. They each appeared to be surrounded by some kind of bubble or forcefield, and given Mxy's chaotic nature, Kara wasn't about to test the rules of those barriers—irritating him would only make things worse. Instead, she smirked and gave him the softest, most sarcastic golf clap.

Mxyzptlk grinned. "Thank you, thank you, appreciate the enthusiasm."

"My only enthusiasm is to get this over with." Her arms crossed. "So come on. What's your game this time?"

"Truth or dare, little Ms. Super. You tell the truth, or I give ya a dare."

She stared at him. It was…annoyingly on-brand for him, but something seemed off. "Okay, I'll bite. Truth."

"Why'd ya really start datin' Jason?"

Kara froze and stared at him. "What?"

"C'mon, spill the beans, toots." He inclined his head toward her. "You said truth."

She took a deep breath, looking from Mxy to Jason, then off into the distance. "I…I went out with him the first time because…from the day we met again in Metropolis, he was a really good friend to me." She smiled and looked up at him. "He still is." Her smile widened a touch. "Maybe my best friend."

Jason blinked rapidly, staring at her with this softness in his eyes.

Her head shook. "I didn't know if I wanted something more than that when I said yes to dinner. I knew there was…something there, but…" she swallowed, eyes flickering to Dox, "I didn't know if I was ready to move on."

Brainiac frowned a bit.

Kara shifted uncomfortably. "And-and when I kissed him…I guess…" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I know I meant it, I just…I think it was more for his sake than mine."

Jason frowned a little.

She flinched. "Because our friendship went both ways, I knew what he'd been going through. There was so much…uncertainty and pain in his life right then." Her eyebrows furrowed. "And…the way he looked in that ambulance, like he was responsible for how horribly wrong it all went…" Kara swallowed and looked up at him. "I knew there was nothing I could say to convince him otherwise, and I needed him to know it didn't matter. That I was still going to be there, that I still…enjoyed being with him," she chuckled, "kidnapping and all."

Jason glanced away.

Kara smiled. "After everything he'd been through, he deserved a win." Her gaze shifted to Mxyzptlk. "And I haven't regretted it once."

The imp nodded slowly, his expression unreadable. "So, sounds like you took that first leap for him, to make him feel better in the moment."

Kara frowned. She didn't like his tone.

He started pacing atop the girder bearing his name, twirling the cane in his hand. "Knowin' that somewhere down the line, you might realize you made a mistake, that you ain't gettin' what you want outta this relationship—"

She took a step forward. "What? No, that's not what I—"

"—and keep buildin' him up 'til you couldn't take it anymore."

"That's not true. I—" Kara frowned and thought for a bit. "Maybe I did jump the gun. Maybe it was a little premature." She looked to Jason, met his suddenly uncertain eyes, and swallowed hard. "But the longer I'm with him, the more I realize I still would've taken the leap, sooner or later."

Mxy was silent for a moment. "Still seems pretty irresponsible."

She opened her mouth, stopped, and shrugged with a sigh. "Yeah? Maybe you have a point."

He blinked and froze for a second.

Her eyes rolled. "I'm seventeen—what'd you expect?"

"Hm." Mxy continued pacing. "Which brings us to the other matter." He pointed his cane at Brainiac-5. "Good ol' Brainy here. Seems pretty clear you two don't get along anymore." He shrugged. "Breakups are tough, I get it. But don'tcha think you're bein' a little unfair?"

Kara stared at him. "About what?"

Mxyzptlk threw his hands up. "The guy has a job to do; hella lot more to worry about than even you, especially when time travel's involved." He leaned on his cane, bracing it against the girder. "Breakin' up with someone from a thousand years past is just part of the gig, the responsible thing to do. Even you crazy kids gotta listen to sense eventually." He started floating and put his hands out straight. "Some people can balance that—just look at big blue and his dame." He turned back to her. "But this?" He waved between Kara and Querl. "This just wudn't sustainable."

Kara tensed up and looked Querl in the eye. The Coluan cyborg's lips were pursed tight. Her mind raced like lightning, trying to find the words to express what she was feeling, what she'd felt from the moment he left. Then her gaze flickered to Jason, and she remembered the necklace he'd given her at Christmas.

Kara swallowed hard and took a deep breath, just a hint of anger spilling into her voice. "And if that were all this was about…I could let it go." Her head shook slowly. "But it was never about what he did. It was how." Her jaw clenched. "And it was when." She looked to Mxy. "There's never a good time for a breakup, but you can choose a bad one. Most relationships, it's hard to tell, because you can't know everything that's going on in someone else's life." Her glare shifted to Dox. "He could. He knew…exactly what was going to happen, and he chose that moment to leave me." Her voice rose, more anger leaking out. "Minutes before my cousin, my family, breathed his last breath…" her voice shook with a mix of grief and rage, "he broke my heart."

"From what I remember," Mxy said, "that event is what finally gave him the resolve to cut the cord."

"Yeah, and for anyone else, that would mean something." Her head shook. "He could've chosen any other time." Her voice cracked, eyes welling. "A month. A week." Her spilling eyes flashed with fury. "A day later. Just a day, to let me grapple with that loss, to let me—let me come to terms with my new reality." She snarled and glared at him. "But he just brought the hammer down."

"It's one thing to read about tragedy in a history book, blondie. Maybe he needed to see it."

Kara looked down, breathing heavily. "If he really needed to see my pain—in person—to do the 'right thing,' that doesn't make him responsible." She looked up, glared at Querl. "It makes him weak. It makes him a coward."

Dox stiffened in his bubble and looked away, unable to meet her eyes.

"And what are you, eh?" Mxy asked testily. "You always got a justification for everything, don'tcha?"

Kara blinked and frowned at him confusedly.

He waved his arms around. "Always got some painful scar to show off, to curry sympathy, uh?"

"Sympathy?" Kara stared at him in disbelief. "Is that what you think this is about?"

"From the moment you landed on this planet, you've been a victim, Kara. Ya landed in Gotham, a god among men, and broke down cryin' after you put two of 'em in the hospital."

"I was scared! I didn't know what was happening!"

"You stood behind an army of Amazons, lettin' them take the hit from Darkseid for ya."

"That was their choice, and I wanted to fight, but they wouldn't let me!"

Mxyzptlk leaned in over his cane. "As if that could stop ya. You coulda blown through the whole Amazon army by yourself with strength left over, but you stayed in the back where it was 'safe.'"

Her teeth gritted. "That was not my fault."

A flicker of movement in her peripherals drew her attention to Jason and Querl, who were both shouting at Mxy—at least it looked that way. Apparently, the forcefields containing them only allowed sound in one direction.

"Even Brainy here," Mxy said, "tryin' to do the right thing for both'a ya. Even if his timin' was pretty crap, ya really think he deserves all that resentment?" He leaned in with a taunting lilt in his voice. "Because he hurt ya feelings?"

Kara threw her hands up. "It's not like I want him dead, but yes, he hurt me, and I have a right to be pissed off about it!"

"Of course, of course." He waved dismissively, straightening up. "So you could rope Jason in too."

She blinked hard. "Excuse me?"

"Y'know exactly what I'm talkin' about. He even told you. The whole reason he got to know you in the first place is 'cause of what you went through with Brainy." He smiled sardonically. "Because of that sad, puppy dog look in ya eyes."

Kara felt a pit in her stomach as she slowly looked to Jason.

"That's not true!" he mouthed, uselessly banging on the barrier with both legs.

He tugged on his restraints with everything he had. Nothing even made a dent.

Kara gulped and looked away. "I didn't know he knew." Her head shook. "Not until we were already together."

"You still used him."

"No."

"You used 'em both."

"No!" she screamed at him. "They could've walked away at any time." She waved at Dox. "One of them did."

"And you begged him to stay."

"I said, 'Not now.' That is not the same thing."

Mxy nodded slowly, lips pursed. "Okay. Okay." He sighed hard. "Since it seems like we're not really gettin' anywhere with truth, maybe I'm goin' about this all wrong. Maybe ya need a little more pressure."

"Wha—"

He snapped his fingers, and suddenly there were two roiling balls of energy suspended above each barrier.

Kara stared at them, fear surging through her. "What are you doing? What is that?"

"Surprised ya don't recognize it. That, my dear blondie, is antimatter."

Her eyes widened.

"So you know what happens when it interacts with matter, right?"

Kara whipped her head to him. "Please don't."

"I drop these glowy balloons, and uh—"

Mxy snapped his fingers, and the bubbles dropped toward Jason and Querl.

"No!" she screamed.

They stopped halfway as she started hyperventilating.

Kara snapped back to Mxyzptlk. "What do you want from me?!"

"The truth: that you play the victim 'cause it's easy, 'cause you can't stand the thought of havin' to stand up on ya own two feet."

"That's not true!"

"Sure it is! You ever see Superman cryin' to everyone in earshot about how bad his day went, or how unfair someone was to him? No, he takes it and shrugs it off, 'cause he's above that victim crap and doesn't need someone holdin' his hand all the time."

Kara stared at him, shaking her head. "Shows what you know." She smiled sardonically. "Guess there was one memory you overlooked. Or rather, you cut it off too early." Her eyes welled up. "The day Kon-El died, Kal…" Her voice shook. "I've never seen him cry like that before." Kara took a deep breath to steady herself. "I hope I never do again. You don't know what it was like, back at the farm. It was like he was…hollow, a completely different person. He didn't smile for weeks. Even Lois could barely get ten words out of him.

"But even when he didn't speak, even when he didn't smile, she was there for him. We all were." Her jaw tightened. "Because he needed us. Because before Jon, there was Conner." Her face crumpled even as her voice intensified. "He lost a son that day…and he didn't have any more to give because he couldn't, because he wasn't strong enough anymore, and that's okay." Her head shook. "Nobody can be strong all the time…not even Superman." She glared. "And how dare you try to force that burden on anyone."

She swiped tears away even as more came down. Yet when her vision cleared, Mxyzptlk looked unmoved.

His head shook slowly. "Another deflection."

She sighed and shook her head incredulously.

Mxy shrugged. "Guess I shoulda expected that."

"Just…let them go."

His head shook. "Nah, we're past that. Now you gotta choose."

Her blood went cold.

Mxy waved at Jason. "The new guy, all bright eyed and starstruck?" He pointed his cane at Brainiac. "Or the old flame protectin' your future?"

"They've done nothing, damn it! Let them go!"

"Tell the truth, Kara, and I will."

"I just did! It's not my fault you're too stupid and narrow-minded to recognize it." She waved at him. "You're too busy putting Superman on a pedestal to see how human he is, for all that power."

"Are you really gonna kill them, two innocent boys, to keep this mask up?" He raised his hand, ready to snap his fingers. "'Cause if you don't and you refuse to make a choice, Imma just kill 'em both."

"It's not a mask!"

His fingers pressed together.

Kara whipped her head to the captured pair, desperation flooding her veins as she threw her hands up. "Wait-wait-wait!"

"Choose!"

She scrambled for something, anything. Looked around the warehouse for something that could throw him off-balance. Jason's Nth-metal sword sat on her hip, but Mxy's power wasn't magic per se. It wouldn't help in the least, and her own powers might as well have been slapping him with a rubber glove. Not to mention those barriers. She might be able to withstand getting hit with antimatter, but only one—which she guessed was the whole point. She had to choose. And it would kill whoever was hit.

If Brainiac's quantum teleporter could be disabled so easily, she had no doubt Mxy could render his forcefield inoperable. And Jason…well, he had no such advantages. Even if he had his Promethium gauntlets, they'd be useless if he couldn't move his arms. She was out of options—and out of time.

Until she looked back at Mxyzptlk—and the girder he was standing on gave her an idea.

Kara hid her face in her hands, completely blocking it from sight. And then she laughed—a small, quiet chuckle at first, swiftly turning into full-blown cackles. All three of them stared at her like she'd lost it.

Seconds later, she finally calmed enough to speak. "Sweet Rao, you're insane. I mean, you are actually out of your mind."

Mxy stared in confusion.

"If I really did tell you the truth, it wouldn't be me killing them. That's all you. Your choice. Your responsibility." She chuckled. "And if I am lying, and I'm using them, what makes you think I'd even care?"

Mxyzptlk stiffened, hesitating. "But Superman—"

"I'm—not—Superman, you insane groupie." Her eyes rolled as she looked toward Jason and Dox. "I mean, seriously, you'd think the shortness and the boobs would give that away, but some people…" Her head shook slowly.

Jason went bright red.

Kara looked back to Mxy and intentionally glanced at the girder long enough for him to notice. Then she laughed again and crossed her fingers. "I mean, your head is so inside out, you couldn't even spell your own name right."

Mxy's brows furrowed. "What are you—" He glanced down, unable to get a good look. "No."

Kara waved at the beam with wide eyes. "Look! It's right there!"

Mxyzptlk hovered just above the beam—

This is it, fifty-fifty chance…

—and moved behind it to see from the other side.

"No, no, no, I was very particular about this part," he ranted. Mxy huffed and waved at the hollow etching. "See? It's right there, in plain letters: Kltpzyxm." He immediately went stiff.

Kara smirked.

Mxy's eyes closed as he sighed, chuckling incredulously. "Ohhh…" His eyes opened as he wagged a finger at her. "You. You're good."

She cocked her head and smirked wider. "Better than you."

He smiled sardonically a split-second before he popped out of existence—along with the string lights, restraints, and most importantly the antimatter. Kara heaved a massive sigh of relief, leaning over on her knees.

There was a presence at her side in seconds.

"Hey," Jason whispered, grabbing her shoulders. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay." He gently rubbed her back, gradually coaxing her back to normal. "We're okay."

Kara nodded and held his hand, a bit lightheaded. "Sorry it took me so long."

He chuckled and shrugged. "I've had worse kidnappings."

She grinned for half a second. Then a flash of pale green in her peripheral vision drew her attention to Brainiac-5, and they stared at each other until she licked her lips and spoke. "Jason, can you uh…give us a minute?"

He blinked and glanced between them. Jason frowned but nodded and headed for the exit, though not before Kara returned his sword. Dox slowly approached her, standing a few arms' length away. They stood there in tense silence for a good while before Kara cleared her throat and forced her voice out.

"Is your ring working now?"

Querl nodded. "It is."

"Good."

More silence.

He swallowed and frowned at the ground. "So, Jason."

"Yeah."

His eyes flickered to hers. "He treats you well?"

Kara blinked suspiciously. "He does."

His lips pursed. "And are you really sure you've thought this through?"

A ferocious stab of irritation lanced right through her chest. Her jaw worked as she glared at him, thinking of something to say.

Her head shook slowly. "I moved on, Querl." Her voice intensified with every word. "I found someone who appreciates me for who I am, who isn't so obsessed with his job that he's always in a hurry to get rid of me, or afraid to sit down and talk about our relationship instead of blindsiding me on the worst day imaginable!"

He gulped. "I don't think I realized how much I hurt you. That was never my intent." He met her eyes, brows furrowed. "But Kara…there are things you don't know about that day, context you don't have."

Her jaw tightened.

"It's…something I couldn't tell you then," he continued hesitantly.

"I know," she said sharply.

He blinked.

"I could hear your heartbeat, the way your voice shook. I knew even then you were holding something back." She swallowed, lips trembling. "It just didn't matter then." Her gaze hardened. "And it doesn't matter now."

Dox's eyes widened. "Kara—"

Kara seethed and took a step in, jabbing a finger into his chest. "You had a year, Querl—a year to come back and tell me the truth." She snapped her hand toward the previously-etched girder. "And a year later, it took Mxyzptlk ripping you from the future just to get you here!"

His lips pursed tightly.

"Well, in that time, I already found the closure I needed." She snarled into his face. "So anything you say to me now isn't for my sake. It's for yours, to make you feel better about what you did." Her head shook as she fought back angry tears. "And you don't get to do that." She jabbed a finger into his chest. "You left me. So don't think for a second that you're allowed to stand there and question my taste in company." Kara took a deep breath and stepped back, calming a bit. "I moved on."

His eyes flickered to hers. "I can see that." Querl stared at the ground for a while before taking a deep breath and meeting her gaze. "I'm so sorry, Kara."

Her gut twinged as her voice softened a bit. "I know." Her head shook. "I just don't care."

He blinked.

Kara took a deep breath and sighed, bowing her head. "The truth is, I forgave you a long time ago. At least…" a chuckle, "I thought I did. After Jason and I talked about it at Christmas, I made it a priority to let all that go." She smirked and shrugged. "Call it a New Years' resolution." She took another deep breath and straightened up, meeting his eyes. "I forgive you." Her head shook slowly. "But that doesn't mean I have to deal with you."

His eyes flickered across hers uncertainly.

Kara smiled. "I hope you live your best life. I really do." Her smile faded. "But from now on, you can live it far away from me."

She saw the flicker of pain behind his eyes, thought for a moment that her vindictive side would relish the sight. It didn't. All she felt was even more pain—bittersweet, she knew. This had to happen, for both of them. Nevertheless, she fought to keep her face from twisting up. There had been enough tears today.

"Goodbye, Querl Dox," she croaked.

Then promptly spun on her heel and walked out into the cold to the sound of a whisper at her back.

"Goodbye, Kara Zor-El."

…

Jason was starting to tap his foot impatiently when he heard the faintest sniffle come from the warehouse. His head whipped toward it to see Kara on the verge of tears. Immediately, he straightened up and strode toward her.

She waved a dismissive hand and croaked, "I'll see you at home."

Then took off back toward the city, a sonic boom sounding in her wake.

He frowned and watched her contrail fade as she vanished into the night sky, feeling a presence approach at his side.

A sigh came from the other man. "She always was too good for me."

Jason blinked and huffed, not even bothering to look at him.

"Too good for us both, I think."

Jason moved only his eyes to glare at him sideways. "Speak for yourself, Dox."

He fell silent.

Jason was just about to leave when he spoke again.

"Kara has her issues with me, this much I know. But you…you despise me. Why?"

Then he turned to Dox and stared at him incredulously. "You actually have to ask?"

He blinked.

Jason huffed. "You lied to her. You made a promise and then immediately broke it."

"And what would that be?"

He got up in Dox's face and growled. "'I—love—you.' You don't just say that to someone and then abandon them. That's not love."

"I had my reasons."

"Reasons you refused to share."

Brainiac's eyes narrowed. "And what about you?"

Jason blinked. "What about me?"

"You think you can build a relationship on a foundation of lies?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "I've never lied to her."

"A lie of omission is still a lie."

Jason nodded slowly. "Right. Because you just told her everything about you and your future right out the gate, yeah? No?"

He took a breath, and Jason's hair stood on end at the mercurial look in his alien eyes. "I had some time during the search to look you up, Jason Thomas Wayne. I know who you really are." He leaned in, eyes narrowed. "What you really are." He nodded toward the city. "Does she?"

Jason stared back at him in confusion, trying not to show it. "What she doesn't know about me, she can find out gradually." He tilted his head tauntingly. "Y'know, like a normal person, instead of time-stalking me. Because that's how you build a relationship." He smiled nastily. "But then, I wouldn't expect you to know anything about that." Jason sneered and looked him up and down. "Y'know, you may be a twelfth-level intellect, but clearly that doesn't translate to emotional intelligence. If it did, maybe you would've made a different choice, and she wouldn't have told you to piss off."

His eyes narrowed. "Were you spying on us?"

Jason shrugged. "Didn't have to. I know her, I know we've talked about you, and I know what her sad cry looks like vs her angry cry."

Querl nodded slowly. "Right, because you didn't 'time-stalk' her at all."

He bristled. "I grew up with her. There's a difference."

"You seem awfully quick to judge me for ending our relationship when yours is built on the same flimsy foundation."

Jason looked up and away obnoxiously. "Uhhh, how do you figure?"

Brainiac leaned in. "You're living like you're on borrowed time."

A shiver passed through his body.

"I know about your mission, your real mission. And I know you believe, layers deeper than what you show to her or anyone else, that it's a just a matter of time before you vanish. Just a matter of time before you do something—or don't do something—that causes you to be erased."

Jason swallowed, feeling the blood rushing from his face.

"Because if you don't," Brainiac shrugged, "then you'll have failed. You'll lose them all over again. And you would rather die." His head cocked a bit. "But you never even talked about it, did you? Not with your parents, and not with her."

Jason looked away, jaw tight.

"So you see, you and I aren't so different. I'm just a little more honest about our future."

Jason took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts, and met Dox's gaze with a fierce glare. "Right, yeah, you've got a point." A shrug. "Because who wouldn't want to discuss the impending death of someone they care about?" He glared. "Yeah, I could vanish at any time, kick it because of a decision I made." His head shook. "But that has very little to do with being a time traveler and everything to do with being a hero. That's—the job." He waved around vaguely. "Any one of us could drop dead, but that's the risk we all accepted when we decided to join the fight. Odds are, none of us will die of old age surrounded by people we love.

"The best we can hope for is a meaningful life, not a long one." His upper lip twitched. "And it is exactly your fatalistic mentality that almost killed my dad. That kept him alone and isolated. That is what kept him away from Mom for as long as it did." He shrugged. "But you don't see that stopping him now. You don't see that keeping Uncle Clark from loving Lois or Jon." His voice sharpened. "So I refuse to let it stop me from giving her everything I've got for as long as I have to give."

Dox stared at him for a good while, lips parted in fascination. "You…actually think you're better than me."

Jason snarled and got up in his face. "You're goddamn right I am." His head shook slightly. "Not because of who I am or where I'm from, no." He bared his teeth and hissed. "Because I'm still here. Because I never gave up. Because I'm still trying."

Brainiac didn't flinch or look away. "You don't know the whole story."

"I know her story, which is enough for me." Jason raised his eyebrows goadingly. "Unless of course you'd like to enlighten me? Y'know, one future man to another?"

Dox stiffened.

Jason's head cocked slowly. "No, even someone as emotionally stunted as you isn't that stupid. You knew how she would react. Maybe not the extent, but you knew it would hurt her." His gaze narrowed suspiciously. "You were counting on it. Why?"

His lips pressed together tightly.

Jason smirked and stepped back. "Then I guess I have no choice but to draw my conclusion from the evidence I have." He splayed his hands out toward Dox. "You're just an insensitive asshole with a really crappy sense of timing."

Querl blinked slowly. "Believe what you must. But you and I both know what has to be said. If you're going to do this, you need to be honest with her—you can't promise anything."

He flinched and glared at the ground. "What I can promise…" he looked up at Brainiac, "is that if I leave her, it won't be my choice."

Dox sighed and shook his head. "As I said, believe what you must."

"Okay," Jason grinned. "What I believe is you've overstayed your welcome. So on the off-chance I'm wrong and Kara didn't tell you to kick rocks, I'm telling you that. She doesn't need the drama you bring into her life." His head shook slowly. "So for her sake, go home…and don't ever come back."

He stared at Brainiac for another second or two, then turned around and made to fly.

"Or what?"

The question was so quiet, he almost didn't hear it over the wind. But he did.

Jason froze in his tracks. He let his jaw hang out partway, a surge of fire building in his gut, stirring up a volatile cocktail of emotions he couldn't name. Then he turned back toward Brainiac and slowly strode up to him.

"Y'know, I have just one strict rule—" he held up a finger, "—with one exception." Jason got up in his face, threat lacing his every word. "But if you ever come back and darken her life again…"

Jason smiled, just a little, so focused on the way his vision tunneled around the Coluan's face he didn't even notice the wind currents disrupted around his body, or the faint silvery glow that entered his eyes for just a moment.

Then his smile warped into a snarl, and he growled, "I will gladly make another." He glared at Brainiac for another second or two as his field of view stabilized. "Good night." Jason turned, giving him one last snarl. "And goodbye."

Then he walked away, giving himself no time to change his mind. A mind that was nevertheless weighed down by the implications of Brainiac's observations even as he took to the skies.

…

As soon as she landed back at the apartment, Kara took a quick shower and changed into something more comfortable. Jason hadn't returned yet, so she kept herself busy setting up some of the apartment's decorations while she sat on the balcony. That included a whole box filled with photographs. She was sorting through them, smiling nostalgically at the memories that came with each picture. Kara's first job. Lois' third Pulitzer. Jon and Conner arm-wrestling. Kal grinning obliviously as she put bunny ears on him at the last second.

Kara chuckled and laid them all down. Then she saw it. A creased picture tucked under a bunch of others, the paper backing partially warped by dried tears. She swallowed as she stared at it: a selfie of her and Querl on the roof of the Daily Planet, with her holding the camera while he ambushed her from behind with an attack hug. She took a shuddering breath, squeezing her eyes shut. Then they opened, and the photo burst into flames, crinkling and blackening until it was just ash in her hands, quickly waved into the passing wind.

…

Jason touched down on the balcony, finding the door cracked a bit. He looked through as he opened it, seeing her sitting on the couch reading a thick binder open on the coffee table in front of her.

"Hey," he called softly.

Kara looked up at him and smiled. "Hey."

Jason slowly approached her. "Rough day."

She took a breath. "Yeah."

He sat down next to her, staring blankly at the floor. "I can't…begin to imagine…all those memories, the pain it dredged up."

His eyes flickered to Kara to see her giving the table a hundred-yard stare.

Jason looked away, head spinning with a maelstrom of thoughts. "I just want you to know I'm here." He swallowed hard. "Even if there's nothing I can do to take away that pain."

There was silence for all of a second before he felt a touch and looked down to see her hand on his knee. Jason looked up and saw her bright blue eyes staring back at him, lips parted just so.

Her mouth twitched with a hint of a smile, and she whispered, "There is."

Her thumb rubbed the side of his knee as her body turned toward him. Her eyes never left his, even as they began to smolder and her breathing got heavy. His eyes widened a split-second before she cupped his face. He closed the last ten percent of distance before her lips smashed against his and she was climbing into his lap. Jason didn't know what to do with his hands, so he just held her hip and back, idly rubbing in circles. He kissed her, again and again until the air was filled with little more than the creaking of the sofa and their heavy breathing.

She pulled away just enough for him to feel her breath on his face. Then there was pressure on his chest, and a series of loud pops as she effortlessly tore his dress shirt open. Jason's eyes goggled as he saw the look in hers, hands trembling around her.

"Kara—I can't," he choked out in half a panic.

His feelings were so alarmingly intense, he couldn't even vocalize everything. Couldn't tell her that he didn't want to take advantage of her vulnerability in this moment. That he'd dreamt of this so many times growing up. That if this escalated much further, he wouldn't be able to stop. Then, as if reading his thoughts, she spoke.

"I know," she whispered. Her hands gently pressed on his bare chest, gaze roving from it to his eyes. "Trust me?"

Jason bit his lip and hesitated barely a moment before nodding. Then he closed his eyes and sighed as she kissed him again, just holding her as she traced the curve of his torso with her fingertips, ruffled his hair, flicked the tip of her nose back and forth across his. He didn't even notice when they started floating, or when she set them down on her bed. He just held her and kissed her and cupped her face like something precious, rolling over to cover her like a protective canopy.

And always, she was there, strong and firm and keeping him grounded. Nudging him toward what she needed, away from what neither of them wanted to regret tomorrow. Fiercely embraced, as much as both of them could stand.

They stayed that way for a long time, until their frenzied breathing calmed enough to lay quietly in each other's arms. Kara was the first to break the silence.

"You know…back in that warehouse…there was no choice to make."

Jason blinked and looked down at her earnest eyes. "I know." He grinned. "You had that well in hand."

Kara frowned and shook her head, sitting up a bit. "No, I mean…" She sighed and smiled, meeting his eyes. "Brainiac is my past. I already chose you." She leaned in just enough for him to feel her breath. "You're mine."

Jason stared at her for a long moment, uncertainty flashing behind his eyes. Then he pushed it away and grinned and kissed her again.

…

Back outside the warehouse, Querl Dox configured his Legion ring to take him home, waiting for the calculations by accessing records of this time—or rather a few months from now. He pulled up records of Gotham City, of Metropolis—of the Waynes. Pulled up a document scanned to public record, though even now its edges fizzled faintly, as if there and yet not. Dox frowned as his eyes scanned across the stamped text.

Certificate of Death: April 1st, 2018.

His jaw tightened.

Name: Jason Thomas Wayne.

His ring beeped, the preparations complete. So he closed the projection and activated the portal, stepping back into the 31st century without a single glance back.

…

Jason ended up as the body pillow with Kara laying atop his side, using his chest as a headrest. She was already breathing deeply, halfway asleep and smiling contentedly. He frowned at the ceiling, unable to shut his mind off, to push away the worry without the immediacy of her affection keeping him grounded. Then he took a breath and heard her voice in his head.

"You're mine."

His jaw tightened just a little, throwing another slow blink at the ceiling before his heavy eyelids slid shut. One last word flashed through his head before the blissful haze of sleep finally took him.

Always.

AN: That went about as well as anyone could expect. Drew a little from my own experiences with this arc, just to be able to get in the right emotional headspace to write Kara's point of view. Not as drastic, mind you, but a girlfriend breaking up with you with over text on your birthday still sucks. Kara did nothing wrong, and his timing really couldn't have been worse—from her position, at least.

So naturally, she does have a right to be angry about it, especially since he bailed before he had to deal with the consequences of that decision. Letting something like that go is not an easy task, and it's often a recurring battle that has to be won over and over. The alternative is letting crap like that fester and poison other areas of your life, and for someone with that much power, that's unacceptable.

As for Jason…well, he is fifteen and spent a good portion of his childhood seeing how Kara was still grieving that relationship. Not saying he's right, and there's definitely a lot for him to unpack, but he's not ready—or mature enough—to face that yet.

Not sure when I'll be releasing more. I still haven't fully ironed out the structure of the story and its events, not to mention I'm going back to school soon and working part-time. I've been so emotionally drained lately, it's hard for me to write anything. Here's hoping I can get over this hump, because this is one story I need to tell.

Hope you enjoyed this one. If you want to know when the next chapter is out, follow this story or me as an author and you should be sent an email notification. See you next time.

Drake out.

Formatting notes:

– Internal Thoughts/Flashback
– "Super-Hearing/Surveillance"
– Telepathy/Divine Speech
– "{Foreign Language}"
– [Text Message]