Chapter Summary: Prompt from WritersBlock039: "what if Oliver was by Kara's side in "Nevertheless She Persisted," or him comforting her in the aftermath."

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10. Nevertheless, she persisted

National City never looked as beautiful as it was that afternoon. Kara was standing in the balcony of the DEO, looking around and thinking about how it all looked so calm. It looked calm but a war was about to go down, she knew it. She tried to avoid it, tried to reach for Rhea, but it was all for nothing. The woman killed her own husband, for Rao's sake. And how she used silver kryptonite on Clark to make him see his worst enemy in Kara, make him fight her. She loved her cousin so much; it pained her to beat him like she did.

- Are you ok? – Kara heard Clark's voice near her and turned around, smiling to see him.

- Kind of… I was just thinking about how it was all for nothing… This thing with Rhea…

- I know you feel bad about it, but you can't beat yourself over this, Kara. It will consume you.

- I know but… I failed!

- No, you did your best. You tried. This is what matters. Unfortunately, there are some people in this world beyond salvation… It was really hard for me to accept this about Lex, so I know what you are feeling now.

- You two were friends, right?

- Like brothers, in a very distant past. What happened to him, was beyond anything I could ever imagine. And there was nothing I could do to change that, and I tried so hard…

- I know… I'm just in the process of accepting things…

- You challenged her, right? To solve this?

- Yes. They have this tradition, so I'm trying to use it on my favor…

- I know it's a big challenge.

- A huge one! How do you do it?

- I just remember I have someone to come back to. Love moves me, inspires me in everything I do. This gives me strength to do what is right, to fight the good fight. I know Mon El is a great guy, and I know you love him… Just find that strength inside you, the love that moves you and you will be able to do it as well.

Kara smiled at Clark as she thought about what he said. Yes, she loved Mon El. The love she felt gave her inspiration to fight and keep going… But something about battling his mom made her uneasy. It was his mom after all. She knew he wanted all of this over just as much as she did, but there was a lot to be worried about. Lena gave her an option and it could affect him directly, affect her. She was trying anything so she wouldn't have to use this option. She could only pray Rao everything to work out.

Clark excused himself to go talk to J'onn while Kara walked towards the main room of the DEO. Mon El came walking towards her with a deeply worried look in his face.

- It's everything ok? – She asked as he came closer.

- You challenged my mom by combat? Kara, what were you thinking?

- That I could find a way to end this without poisoning you.

- I appreciate that, I truly do. But Kara… The risk is not worth it. I'm not worth it.

- Yes, you are!

- Kara… If you lose, you will need to let her rule this world. Are you really ready for this?

Kara stopped abruptly hearing those words and looked at him. Where he doubting her? Assuming she would lose? Had he met her? She tried to take deep breaths so she wouldn't scream right now.

- Clark believes I can do this… And so do I.

- I'm not saying you can't, it's just… It's dangerous.

- If I can try this, then I will. I refuse to lose you too in the middle of all of this. I'm doing this, Mon El!

- Kara…

- I gotta go!

Kara turned around and left in super speed to her apartment. She was so tired, worried, frustrated, and mad. She knew what she needed.

Once she got back to her place, she went to her bedroom and grabbed her extrapolator inside her drawer. She looked at it smiling.

Cisco Ramon from another Earth gave her this device so she could contact them in case she needed it. He had one of those as well and besides opening breaches, it could allow them to talk like a phone that reached another worlds and dimensions. It was really cool. Once, Kara reached for Barry but Oliver answered instead. They started talking while Barry and Cisco where doing something at Star Labs and since then, unexpectedly, they became friends. Oliver ended up with one device as well and sometimes they called each other to talk about their day, about the crisis they were going through. Kara helped Oliver when he was kidnapped by Prometheus and believed he was a killer that enjoyed it, Oliver helped her when she found out Mon El lied to her, according to him some people lied to protect others, or because they were afraid of others reactions. Kara learned Oliver had his share of lies when he was with Felicity, so he could give her his opinion from a different perspective. Talk to him always helped Kara have some clarity, he was a really good listener and had a lot of experience so he could give her great advice, and she desperately needed one right now.

- Hey Kara, how are you? – Oliver's voice echoed in her room.

- I'm ok… Actually… I needed to talk to you.

- You sound worried… What happened?

- It's complicated… But I will explain.

Kara spent a long time telling Oliver all that happened: her fight with her cousin, Rhea's plans, Lena's idea, the risk Mon El wanted to take, and lastly, the biggest fight she was about to go in.

- First of all, just say the word and I will be there in a few seconds if you need me.

- Thank you, but I got this!

- I know you do. It's just… Sometimes a friend's shoulder comes in handy.

Kara smirked as she heard him. It was tempting, to call for help, but she had to do this alone. She needed to.

- You challenged her by combat?

- Yes. If I win, she has to leave with her troops. If she wins, I have to let her take over my Earth.

- Are you sure you can trust her? If she will keep her word and leave?

- I don't trust her. But it's a law of her planet, her culture. She wouldn't disrespect it.

- It doesn't hurt to be careful. We can't trust the bad guys; most of them never keep their word. I know you can take her; you just need to make sure she does as she said.

Kara smiled to herself. It was the second person today that talked to her as she had already won. It meant a lot her family and friends had faith in her. She wished someone else had the same faith, and she knew deep down he had. She just wanted a bit of a vote of confidence.

- I know you did the same once with that lunatic guy you told me it was from some league of assassins or something… Do you have any advice?

- Don't let anger dominate you. I think this is the main thing. I did this mistake, thinking I could just go for it and attack blindly. It almost got me killed. Element of surprise it's always a good thing to use on those moments, never let them anticipate your moves. Does she have the same powers you have?

- Yes. They are similar actually.

- This is a good thing; you have an idea of what she can do. You can use this as an advantage to hit her where she is not expecting, exploring her weakness.

- The only problem is her weakness can kill my boyfriend…

- Oh… What?

- Yes… Daxamites are allergic to lead. So if we let lead out in the atmosphere, he can die. They all would die.

- Try to find her weakness in fighting and use that in your favor then… Everyone has it, we just need to find out what it is and focus on that.

- Hum…

Kara thought about what Oliver was telling her. He had a point, she was so mad but she would never be able to win this if she let this anger take over her. She tried her best to stay calm and analyze her options.

- Thank you for listening.

- I'm always here if you need me. – Oliver smiled while he was at the bunker, alone.

- Same here – She smiled as she listened his words. – I have to go now.

- You got this, Supergirl!

- Thanks for believing in me.

- Always.

Kara smiled turning off her device. Oliver became someone really important in her life, the only ones who knew she kept in touch with him was Alex, and Mon El.

A few hours later, Kara went to the fight in the highest roof of National City. She was nervous deep down and knew she had a job to do: defeat Rhea. It was now or never. Mon El was by her side the whole time and she felt her heart warmer to know she could count on him, even if he was worried as hell deep inside.

Rhea had some guy along with her, a soldier maybe, for moral support. Kara remembered Oliver's words about trusting Rhea would keep her word and looked suspicious at her.

- I have your word if I win, your invasion ends, and you leave once and for all?

- Sure – Rhea smiled. – And if I win, your forces will back down, your nation; your planet will be surrendered?

- With my honor!

Kara took a deep breath and nodded to Mon El. Him and the guy with Rhea stepped away, leaving Kara and Rhea at the center of the roof.

Kara gave the first punch and blocked a few moves Rhea tried to do with her, but Rhea managed to turn around and grab Kara by her cape, throwing her against a wall. Kara raised her head, looking determined at Rhea and advanced at her, throwing punch after punch. She gave one last big punch, knocking Rhea down and the woman started laughing, looking at her in a maniacal way.

Something was off.

Kara looked up and saw a lot of Daxamite ships flying around and attacking buildings. Kara looked back at Rhea.

- You agreed to leave! Send them back!

- You will dishonor yourself before the Gods! – Mon El walked closer to his mom with an incredulous look in his face.

Rhea just got up, smiling.

- My Gods are only concerned with my victory!

Kara looked alarmed to all the buildings on fire and nodded for Mon El to go help them. She stood alone with Rhea and gave her one more punch that created a cut in her face. Instead of bleeding, green kryptonite started to drop on the floor.

- Thanks to your people, kryptonite is part of me now!

Kara looked at her feeling really weak. She wasn't going to win this fight now if she was weak and hurt. She was going to have to find another way to stop Rhea. She felt like she was going to pass out by any minute now.

She felt a weird sensation, of someone carrying here like they were flying through the city. She tried to see who grabbed her so out of sudden and looked at the person in shock.

- OLIVER?

- Nice to see you, Kara. – He smiled while as he grabbed Kara with one hand and the other held the wire on his hands.

- How?

- Tricky arrows. This one is perfect for traveling through buildings.

They reached the building across the street and Kara felt better, her strength coming back already.

- I wanted to surprise you and visit but they told me you were in trouble…

- Thanks for the help! I wasn't expecting Rhea bleeding kryptonite.

Oliver looked at Kara trying to figure out how someone could bleed the substance of a green rock, but it was Kara's Earth, anything was possible here.

They went to LCorp, to look for Lena. Mon El, J'onn and Clark followed her there. They talked a lot trying to find another solution, but it all seemed impossible. Kara refused to believe this was happening, but it was. She was going to lose the love of her life forever, and there was nothing she could do about it.

- What if… - J'onn started – We can send Mon El away? We still have a pod in the DEO.

- Send him where? – Kara looked worried at them.

- The space… Another planet… He will die if he stays here – J'onn told Kara in a sad voice. He understood what that meant for her and as not happy about it.

How can he survive out there in space? – Oliver asked while trying to understand the situation. This was worse than Kara has told him. He was still not used to this kind of thing like sending aliens to space because they can die on Earth. This was all so crazy.

- The pod will protect him and have everything he needs to survive the trip. We have no way of knowing where he would be, but it's this or him dying here, which I'm completely against.

- I… I can't believe this… - Kara looked to Mon El, holding his hand with hers.

Oliver could see the pain in Kara's eyes. He knew that pain way too much and his heart broke for her. He looked at Kara and when their eyes met, he nodded subtly with his head, and Kara understood only by looking into his eyes what he meant. She looked at Mon El, with tears in her eyes.

- Kara It's the best choice we have… - Mon El said, also with tears in his eyes.

- This is not fair!

- I know! But the world is way more important than me. You need to do it. You need to stop them.

- You will never be able to come back.

- I know. And I'm willing to sacrifice it for the good of the people of Earth. – He looked at Oliver and gave him a brief smile – I know the Green Arrow will help if you need him…

- Just say the word – Oliver nodded at Mon El.

Oliver had to admit, he wasn't expecting this from him. The guy was ready to sacrifice everything for others. Oliver also knew this feeling; he knew it was not easy. He sacrificed himself constantly for his city and loved ones, he knew it was the hardest thing anyone could ever do.

- You are a true hero! – Oliver said reaching for Mon El's hand and shaking it. – It's not easy to do this kind of sacrifice.

- I have to man… My mom is not listening to me and killing everyone. I just want everyone safe. – He looked at Kara – Please, do it!

Kara nodded to Lena and she opened the box, activating the lead to reach Earth's atmosphere. Kara flew with Mon El outside, where the pod was. She wasn't strong enough for this, she thought. It hurt so much, it was like torture. Tears fell down from her eyes, nonstop as she reached for Mon El's arms, hugging him and giving him one last kiss.

- I need to go – Mon El said having difficulty in breathing

- I know… - Kara cried as she hugged him one more time, helping him stand up

- I wish we had more time…

- Me too. I want you to take this. – Kara took her necklace from her neck and gave it to him – It's for protection.

- I will keep it safe.

Kara gave Mon El one small kiss before helping him inside the pod, and closing it. Her vision was clouded because tears filled her eyes. She started trembling as she sad the pod starting to fly high on the sky. Kara felt like her world was falling apart now. She felt a hand grabbing hers and looked to her side. Oliver Queen was standing by her side, his hand holding hers strongly. She couldn't take the pain anymore and went to hug him. Oliver embraced her, caressing her head.

- I know it hurts now – He told her as his fingers got lost between Kara's golden locks – And it's ok to cry…

- I feel like my world is falling apart…

It broke his heart Kara felt that way, to see her like this. He wanted to take her pain away in seconds and make her smile but he knew he couldn't. He was glad they were friends but he wanted to do so much more for her. Kara didn't deserve to suffer like this, he thought. He knew this kind of thing was part of the job, he knew sometimes heroes had to make sacrifices for the good of others. But he wished he could make things better for her.

- Daxamites all over the city are dying – Oliver said – You helped save millions of people, Mon El's sacrifice did it too. I know it won't make the pain go away, but I know you are strong enough to survive this. – Oliver touched Kara's shoulders and she looked back at him. – I'll help you stopping your world from falling. Alex, J'onn, your friends, your cousin… We all will. You are not alone!

Kara couldn't say anything and just cry for a few minutes. She let go of Oliver, trying to clean her face from tears and looked at him, smiling sweetly.

- Thanks for being here for me. I don't know if I could have done this without you.

- I'm always here for you, Supergirl.

- I'm glad to know it, Green Arrow.

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NOTES:

Spoiler alert: Evil Kara under the influence of red kryptonite and Oliver gets on a mission together when Oliver has to go back to his old days and Kara helps him.