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As Kara looked down at the baby she held in her arms she thought this is the only person I could ever love more than Lena. She looked up from the baby to see her wife of two years staring at her with a slight smile on her face. Even after just giving birth Lena still looked beautiful. Her pale skin was slightly tinged pink, and her green eyes shined in the fluorescent light. "She's beautiful" Lena said staring at the baby in Kara's arms. Kara looked down. Their daughter was sleeping soundly in her arms. Their daughter. The thought made Kara's heart swell. Her and Lena had been through so much together. The threat of Lena's family trying to kill them, the whole Reign situation. Lena finding out that Kara was Supergirl. That was a really rough patch in their relationship. However, no matter the challenges or bumps in the road along the way they still made it. They still had each other. With this new little addition to their family, Kara knew that they could get through anything that life threw at them. 

The nurse came over with a clipboard in hand. "Did the two of you finally decide on what to name her?" Kara and Lena looked at each other. They had been thinking about what to name their child for weeks now. Nothing they could come up with felt right. They came up with names like Sophia, and Kaitlin, and Aurora. It wasn't until they were picking up breakfast at Noonan's that they found the perfect name. While they were waiting to pay for their order they overheard a conversation about a woman who had saved people from a small burning apartment building in Gotham. Despite being injured she kept going back inside to help more people. Inspired by her story both Kara and Lena agreed that they loved the woman's name and decided to name their daughter after her. Turning back to the nurse Lena said "Yes, we've decided. Her name is Cassandra." The nurse smiled and wrote down the name.

A few hours later all three of them were asleep. Kara and Lena were snuggled up together on the hospital bed and little Cassie was in the hospital crib next to them. Across the city the sounds of sirens wailed, waking Kara from her sleep. She was reluctant to go and help out. She didn't want to leave her wife and their new child alone, but her responsibility as Supergirl made her slowly get up from the bed. Lena stirred and turned towards her wife. "Where are you going?" she said sleepily. Kara smiled and bent down, kissing Lena's forehead. "There's a robbery happening at National City bank. I shouldn't be gone for long. Go back to sleep." Lena, eyes closed said. "Be safe" Kissing Lena one more time she said "Always" She quickly changed into her Supergirl attire and flew out the window towards the bank. 

Arriving at the bank she could see several police cars in the front. Spotting a familiar face she landed. Detective Maggie Sawyer, and Kara's sister in law, was talking angrily into her phone. "I don't care what time it is, get the bomb squad down here pronto."  Kara made her way to Maggie. "Detective Sawyer" Maggie turned as if just noticing her. Her face showing a flush of relief. "Supergirl, I'm glad your here. We have at least three people confirmed inside, all armed and threatening that if we don't let them go then they are going to blow up half the block" Turning towards the bank Kara used her x-ray vision to see inside. She could see that there were actually four people inside, three men and one woman. The woman was holding a device that looked like a trigger to a bomb. Turning back to Maggie she said "I see what looks like a trigger, but I can't find the bomb. Get the entire block evacuated just in case and get your people out of here." Maggie scoffed, her voice low "I'm not leaving you little Danvers. Plus this is my job just as much as it is yours." Seeing the determination in Maggie's eyes Kara knew that she wouldn't be able to argue with the woman. "Ok, let me see if Winn can pin point where the bomb is." Turning on her comms Kara tried to get a hold of Winn. "Um...Hello?" a sleepy voice answered. "Winn, I need you to locate a bomb near National City bank." Groaning came from the other side. "Kara it's three in the morning... wait! Did you say a bomb!?! Ok, I'm on it!" Kara heard nothing but the faint sound of fingers typing on a keyboard. "Ok, I'm getting signals of a bomb inside the banks vault, considering that it's a lead vault, that's probably why you couldn't find it before. Be careful Supergirl, this isn't just your ordinary bomb. I'm detecting some alien tech." Great She internally groaned. Of all the nights someone wanted to rob a bank, it had to be the night my daughter was born. "Maggie, Winn found the bomb, it's inside the banks vault. I'm gonna go in and try to disable it, just get everyone evacuated just in case." As Kara started walking towards the bank Maggie said "What about the robbers?" Kara stopped and looked over her shoulder. "I'll take care of them, just get everyone to safety." With a nod Maggie went to help with the evacuation. 

Entering the bank through the back Kara made her way to the main lobby where the robbers were. Peeking behind the wall she could see them. There were two men by the front door with guns in their hands. The other man and the woman had large backpacks on and Kara didn't need to use her x-ray vision to know that they were stuffed with money. The woman was holding a pistol in one hand and the trigger the other. Her short blonde hair was pulled back into a bun and Kara could see her hands shaking slightly. Kara took a moment to plan out her next move. OK first thing is to take out the woman without setting off the trigger, and then the rest should be easy.  Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath she found the heartbeat that got her through almost everything. Lena's heartbeat had been a constant for Kara since the early parts of their relationship. Whenever she was feeling stressed out, or was having a bad day she would listen in on the steady beat of Lena's heart and she would almost instantly feel calm. Opening her eyes Kara used her super speed to charge into the room. The robbers barley had time to turn their heads and register what was happening before Kara carefully took the trigger away from the woman, and took her down, knocking her unconscious. The dark haired men at the front pointed their guns at her and started shooting. Will they ever learn that those don't work. Walking towards them she caught a glimpse of the third man out of the corner of her eye. Lifting his arms above his head getting ready to hit the hero with a crowbar. Kara swiftly dodged and knocked the man out. He landed with a thump next to woman. Two down, two more to go.  That's when she hears it. Across the city she hears Lena's heartbeat pickup. She knew Lena better than anyone. She could always tell what her wife was feeling just by listening to way her heart beat. She knew the different ways that Lena's heart would pick up. Whenever Lena was excited about a new project at L-Corp, or she was getting to a good part in one of her books, or whenever she saw Kara. But the way her heart had picked up now. It was out of fear. Lena wasn't just scared she was terrified. Another barrage of bullets finally breaks Kara out of her daze. Now in a hurry to get back to her wife and child, Kara wastes no time taking out the remaining robbers and disarming the bomb. Without an explanation to Maggie or Winn she bursts out of the bank and into the sky towards the hospital, hoping that she isn't too late. 

On the other side of town Lena is sleeping peacefully on the hospital bed. She is exhausted after almost twelve hours of labor. The other side of the small hospital bed is already growing cold in the absence of Kara's body heat. Lena knows that her wife hasn't been gone for long, but she still misses her. Even now, two years after they got married she still can't believe that she has someone as amazing as Kara in her life. Before she met Kara she never saw herself being happy with someone. Usually people only saw her for her last name, and judged her based on her families actions. Not Kara though. Kara saw Lena for who was. She looked passed all the darkness that came with the Luthor name, and never once thought Lena to be evil like the rest of her family. Lena was so incredibly happy to have Kara in her life, and with the addition of Cassie, she only saw room for more happiness to blossom. In the dark room she heard the hospital door open. Assuming it was Kara coming back from her superhero duties Lena turned over to face her. Only the figure that entered the room was most definitely not Kara. Lena sat up on the bed and turned on the light. Standing by the door was a man she had never seen before. "Who are you?" She demanded. The man walked further into the room and Lena felt her heart pick up in fear. "Stay quiet and no one gets hurt" he said. His deep rugged voice sending chills down Lena's spine, and not in a good way. She looked around the room tying to find a way for her and Cassie to get out of this. Both the button to summon the nurse, and her phone were on the table to her right. The man walked further into the room and his eyes landed on her still sleeping daughter. Lena's fear picked up. No, I will not let him hurt her. Standing from the bed Lena tried to steady her voice. "What do you want? Is it money, I can give it to you. As much as you want, just leave us alone." The man laughed quietly to himself. "No, I don't want your money. What I want isn't something that you will give to me willingly." As the man continued to talk Lena slowly, inch by inch made her way to Cassie. "Whatever it is you want I'm sure we can find a way for you to get it without anyone getting hurt" Lena wishes that she would have asked Kara to stay with them. To have the police handle whatever criminal situation there was tonight and stay with them. God why didn't I ask her to stay?  Before she can react the man pulls out a gun and shoots Lena in the shoulder.

She doesn't feel any pain. Only a slight pinch as she turns to look at her shoulder. It wasn't a bullet that hit her but a tranquilizer dart. She looks back to the man who is now hovering over Cassie. Lena rushes forward to protect her daughter, but the effects of the dart are starting to set in. She stumbles to the crib as the man takes her child, and leaves the room. Sheer panic rushes through Lena's veins as she races out the door as best she can trying to catch up with the man. She enters the hallway and finds it empty. Where the hell is everyone?!?  She looks to her right and sees the man turning down the corner with Cassie screaming in his arms. Lena takes off and follows him, struggling to fight off the growing darkness in her vision. I won't let him take you Cassie, I won't. The man goes down the stairwell and Lena follows. She is going as fast as she can but doesn't seem to be fast enough. In her groggy state Lena misses a step and falls the rest of the way down the stairs. She lays on the floor a few moments groaning in pain. Struggling to stand she see the man only a few feet away. He is looking back at Lena with a smug look on his face. "I told you that I wanted something you wouldn't give willingly" Trying to make her way to her crying daughter Lena winces at the pain in her ankle and her ribs. "Please! Please don't do this, don't take her from me!" Lena doesn't care that she is begging at this point. "Supergirl! Supergirl help!" She is desperate for Kara to hear her. The pain and panic in her heart is becoming unbearable. Her eyes and limbs are becoming increasingly heavy, and she is losing all hope. "I'm sorry but your cities savior is currently handling a bomb situation and won't be able to get here in time." Lena stops breathing for a few moments trying to process the fact that Kara won't be able to save the day. The man suddenly pulls out a small object from his pocket. Lena can't make out what it is, but knows nothing good will come of it. In one last effort to save her daughter Lena stands with tears in her eyes and charges towards the man. A portal opens up and the man starts walking towards it. No, no please!!  Is all Lena can think as her daughter disappears through the portal with the man, and the portal closes. A deafening scream erupts from Lena as she falls to her knees. She is shaking with uncontrollable sobs as something thuds behind her. 

Kara is already tearing up when she lands behind he wife. She is lying on the floor sobbing like Kara has never seen before. Something is poking out of her shoulder and she bleeding from many scrapes on her body. Her face is in utter pain behind her messy hair. Carefully Kara cradles her wife in her arms. She slowly removes what looks to be tranquilizer dart out of her shoulder. Lena 's heart is in so much pain, that Kara can physically feel it. Lena is crying into her chest mumbling something so soft that Kara, even with her enhanced hearing can barley make it out. "All my fault" is what she finally hears from her. Holding Lena closer to her Kara says "What happened Lena? Whats wrong? Where's Cassandra?" Lena is starting to go unconscious from the dart. "She's gone. H-He he took her from u-us. I-I couldn't sstop him." She feels Lena go limp in her arms. She's gone? Cassandra is gone?!  Kara's heart breaks at the understanding of Lena's words. The blue light she saw must have been from the person who took their little girl. Sobs rack through Kara's body as she hold her wife closer. How could I let this happen. How could I let someone take our daughter from us?!  Kara and Lena stay like that. on the  floor of the back alley of the hospital. Crying over the loss of their daughter.     

Chapter Text

Kara flew Lena to the DEO. Her wife was bleeding all over the place, had many broken bones and, who knows what she was injected with. The first person she saw when she landed on the balcony was Alex. Her face had worry written all over it. "Kara, what happened? Maggie said you bolted from the bank without a word." Seeing Lena in her sisters arms she knew that whatever happened wasn't good. "Kara" Alex took a step towards her sister who stepped back clutching Lena protectively in her arms. She took in her sisters appeareance. Kara's face was wet with fresh tears, her eyes would't meet her and they looked distant, like she just witnessed something horrible. She was visibly shaking. Lena didn't look any better. In fact she looked worse. She was bleeding from so many scrapes, and Alex could tell just by looking at it that her ankle was broken. In a quiet voice she said "Kara, I'm not going to hurt her. I just want to get her to med-bay so we can get her all fixed up. Ok?" Two people were already bringing a streacher for Lena, their startling movement caused Kara to move back even more, turning her back to them as if to shield Lena from any threat. Alex held her hand up motioning for them to back away. Taking a tentative step towards her sister she said. "Kara, we need to get Lena to med-bay. We need to bandage up her cuts and see if she has any other injuries. Please Kar, let us help." Kara finally met her eyes and Alex's heart almost broke at the sadness she saw in them. With a slight nod Kara started walking toward the streatcher, and set Lena down. She rested her forehead on Lena's and whispered "I'm so sorry". She stepped back and Lena was whisked away. Kara felt numb. She couldn't stop shaking. Placing a hand on Kara's shoulder Alex said "Kara?" Kara slowly turned to face her sister. How could she look her in the eyes and tell her that she lost Cassandra. That Alex lost her niece. She wouldn't be an aunt. Alex could never teach her how to fight like she wanted to. Maggie would never be able to show her, her knife collection. Finally meeting her sisters worried gaze Kara let loose the tears she was still trying to control. Alex embraced her sister in a warm hug. Voice trembling Kara said "We lost her Alex. She's gone." Not yet fully understanding her sisters words Alex said "Who's gone Kar? What are talking about?" Kara shook her head in sorrow. "Cassandra, someone took her from us. How could I let someone take her Alex? How?!?" For a moment everything around Alex stopped as she proccesed what she just heard. Cassandra, the niece she just saw hours ago. The beautiful addition to their family just gone. As much as she wanted to curl up into a ball and cry, she needed to be strong for her sister. We will get her back Kara. I promise. 

Lena woke up panicked. Where am I? What happened?  She took in her surroundings seeing Kara sleeping curled up on a couch. She took deep breaths trying to remember what happened That man! He took Cassandra! We need to find him, now! Trying to get up from the bed she winced at the pain her body was in. Upon hearing Lena struggle, Kara woke up and tried to get her wife to lay back down. "Hey, lie back Lena. You need to rest." Lena was slightly annoyed as she was forced back into bed. She wanted to track down the person who took their daughter. Her brain was still fuzzy from the dart, so she didn't exactly remember what he looked like. All she could remember right now were his eyes. His eyes were as black as obsidian. They looked almost soul less, but Lena guessed you'd have to be to steal a child from their home. "Kara, we need to find her. Whatever needs to be done, we have to find her." Kara sat down on the bed next to her. "And we will." She embraced Lena with her strong arms. For a moment they both felt safe, as they always did when they held each other. Lena breathed in the smell of Kara. Sun and freshly cut grass. "We will find her Lena, but you need rest. Neither of us will be any good for Cassie if we can barley move." Shifting away from Lena, Kara cupped her face in her hands. "I will not stop until we find her and bring her home again. I promise" 

I promise. Those two words were Lena's favorite. Kara had first said them to her when Jack had died. She had promised that she would always protect her and she did. Even when faced with the choice of saving the city from Edge's chemicals and her, Kara had chosen to not drop Lena. She didn't let her go, even when Lena begged Kara to drop her. She said those words again at their wedding as part of her vows. Now she was promising to find the daughter that Lena had lost. God, I lost our daughter. Kara must hate me. She has every right too. Lena pulled her face away from Kara's gentle hands, unable to look at her anymore. "I, I'm so sorry Kara" Tears started making their way down her bruised face. "I lost, her. I couldn't... I couldn't save her." Her words coming out in broken sobs. "I don't even know how you can, can look at me or stand, stand to be near me right now."  Kara's hand lifted to Lena's chin turning her head towards her. Lena still refused to look her in the eyes. "Lena, sweetheart look at me." Reluctantly Lena lifter her eyes to Kara's. "This is not your fault. You did everything you could to save our little girl. Honestly if anyone is to blame it's me. I should have never left. I should have put my family before my responsibility as Supergirl. The police could have handled the situation, it may have taken a little longer, but they could have handled it." Lena shook her head. "No, being Supergirl is so important to you, and you had no idea that anything was going to happen." Kara started to cry as well. "Lena, you are the most important thing in my life, as well as Cassie. She was only just born, I should have stayed. If I had then I would have been able to stop him from taking her. I would have been able to save her".

They collapsed into each others arms, and cried together on the med-bay bed. A few minuets passed before Lena spoke. "We will find her. He have too." Kara nodded and layed them down comfortably, being mindful of Lena's injuries. They stayed like that until their crying subsided and the emotional exhaustion of the day set in. Tangled up in each others arms, they slowly drifted off to sleep, holding onto the hope that tomorrow would bring. 

Two Months Later

Lena was staring at the computer screen on her desk at L-Corp, not able to focus on the work in front of her. She had fallen behind on some projects that she needed to oversee, and the files on her desk seemed to get higher everyday. What would mother think of me slacking?  She found herself thinking. She would probaly scold me for not getting anything done. She'd say "Losing a child is no excuse to let your work pile up"  But Lena could't help it. She saw Cassie everywhere she looked. For the first few weeks, her and Kara had tried to figure out what kind of portal it was that the man had gone through. Winn found out that it gave off the same readings as a breach, which meant that Cassie was on another Earth. That was a headache all in itself. There were fifty-one Earth's that she could be on, plus the horrible Earth-X that Kara had mentioned. God I hope she's not there Lena thought. They had no idea how they could track her down without knowing which one she was on. Two months had passed and they were no closer to finding Cassie. Kara had thrown herself into her job both as ace reporter Kara Danvers, and as Supergirl. She was out late most nights, later than Lena had ever stayed at L-Corp, and was out the door before dawn. Lena tried to get Kara to relax and take a break, but she just said that she needed to focus on finding Cassie. Lena had suggested that they at least go for walks in the local park twice a week, and after a couple days of asking Kara finally gave in. The walks help both of them. They had been spending so much time a part recently, that it was nice to just hold each others hands and walk. It had gone well for a couple of weeks, but then they saw a family of three. A mother and father playing with their baby in the sandbox. They left soon after, and silently agreeded to stop their walks. Lena knew that Kara was hurting and as much as she wanted to help, people were telling her to give her space. But she missed her wife. She missed Kara's warmth, and waking up next to her in the mornings, and her smile. God I miss her smile. She could feel Kara drifting away every week and no matter how hard she tried, Lena couldn't get through to her.

Looking at the clock hanging on the wall opposite her she decided that two in the morning was late enough to go home. She packed up her things and started for the door when a familiar thud on her balcony made her stop. She slowly turned to see her wife standing on the other side of the glass doors. She looked at Lena, her eyes asking Can I come in?  Lena nodded and walked back to her desk setting her bag down. "Supergirl. What brings you here so late?" Kara walked over to Lena and kissed her. The action catching Lena by surprise. Kara wrapped her arms around her wife and deepened the kiss. Lena fell into it, consuming the warmth that was radiating off Kara, the warmth she had missed so much. After sometime, Kara pulled away still holding Lena. Her eyes cast down to the floor. Lena could feel the girl of steel trembling in her arms, and her crinkle was in full effect. Softly Lena said "Kara, what is it. What's wrong?" She scoffed. "What's wrong? Lena our child is still missing." Kara pulled away and Lena instantly missed the feeling. Kara began pacing. "It's been two months and we still haven't found a way of tracking where she went. We have no idea which Earth she is on, or what that awful man is doing to her. Hell we don't even know if she's alive!" Anger rose in Lena. The last few words that Kara said ringing in her mind. Kara stopped pacing realizing what she said. She looked at Lena with an apologetic face. "Lena, I'm sorry. I should'nt have said that I-" "Stop." Lena set her jaw straining not to cry. She had cried in front of Kara before, but not now. She couldn't cry now. "How dare you." Her voice cold and calm. "How dare you say that." Lena straitened her spine. "You have no right to say that Kara. You the personification of hope. You of all people should know that you can't give up, even when all seems lost" Lena grabbed her bag and headed for the door. Kara reached out and stopped her by her wrist. "Lena, wait please. You know I still have hope that we are going to find her. But, it's been two months and we have figured out nothing. Just because I'm the personification of hope doesn't mean that I always have to be hopeful Lena. I am allowed to loose hope every once and a while." Lena pulled her arm free of Kara's grasp. "Do you not think I know that Kara? I know that you are more than just the symbol you wear on your chest, but this is our daughter that were talking about. Out of all the things you could loose hope over, this shouldn't be one of them." She took a deep breath. "I know this has been hard on you Kara, it's been hard on both of us. I know that we haven't gotten anywhere in our search, but I still know that we will find her." She moved away from Kara and opened the door. Before leaving she looked back at her distraught wife. "Now, I am going to go home and to get some rest, and tomorrow and I am going to continue looking for Cassie." A few moments of silence passed. Kara kept her eyes to the floor. "I haven't given up on our daughter Kara. You shouldn't either." With that she was out the door.

Kara didn't come home that night. 

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When Lena woke up in the morning she felt someone pressed up behind her. Looking over her shoulder she saw that it was Kara. The soft morning light coming in from behind her made her look even more beautiful. She missed this feeling. The feeling of Kara's body flush against hers. Of Kara's arm wrapped around her, as if promising to never let her go. Lena laid her head back down and let the feeling of pure bliss overtake her. She felt Kara stir behind her. Soft lips pressed against her neck and Lena arched her head to the side to give Kara better access. "Good morning" Kara said sleepily. Turning over to face her wife Lena kissed her. "Good morning". Looking into Kara's deep blue eyes she remembered the argument they had last night. "I'm sorry Kara" She said in a hushed tone. Confusion etched itself on Kara's face. "What are you sorry for?" Lena took a deep breath. She knew she was too hard on Kara. She should have stayed until things were better between them. "Last night. I'm sorry for last night" The confusion stayed on Kara's face. "Lena what are you talking about? Last night was amazing. We haven't had a game night in a while." Now it was Lena's turn to be confused. "Um... Kara. What are you talking about? We had an argument last night about Cassie. Why are you acting like it didn't happen?" Kara sat up and shook her head. "Lena what argument are you talking about? I thought we both agreed to let her stay up an extra hour to watch a Disney movie with us. Are you upset about that?"

Lena sat up next to Kara, not believing the words coming out of her mouth. "If you didn't want her to stay up so late, then you could have said something. I'm sorry Lena I thought it was ok with you" Kara made her signature pout, but Lena was too confused to fall for it. She continued to blankly stare at Kara. Seeing Lena looking shell-shocked Kara got worried that her wife was in fact upset that they let their daughter stay up past bed time. "Lena is this upsetting you that much?" Shaking her head Lena finally spoke. "Kara what are you talking about. Cassie is missing? That man took her, it's been two months" Was Kara going into denial about losing Cassandra? Why is she acting like this?  Kara sped out of the room as if it was on fire. A moment later she came back into their bedroom. "Lena Cassie is fine, she was sleeping. No one took her" Getting up from the bed Lena was worried about Kara. How was she acting as if Cassie was in the next room sleeping. "Kara sweetheart, Cassie is gone. The night she was born someone took her from us. It's been two months and we haven't been able-" "Mommy"

Lena's heart stopped beating and her eyes went wide. Mommy?  Had she heard that right? She looked down and in came a little girl no more than six or seven. She had dark hair and her blue eyes were surrounded by freckles. She was rubbing away the sleep from her eyes with her tiny little hand. Lena sank to her knees not understanding what was happening. She started shaking and tears were threatening to escape her eyes. No, this isn't Cassie. She was taken wasn't she?!? The girl looked at Lena and smiled. She thought that Kara's smile was cutest thing she had ever seen. Boy was she wrong. Because the smile this little girl was giving her was melting Lena's heart. Kara bent down and kissed the little girl on the head. "Cassie why don't you give mommy a hug, I think she had a bad dream." The next thing Lena knew the little girl was running towards her and leapt into her arms. She was hugging Lena with all her might and she found it endearing. Slowly she hugged her back. Tears started falling down her face. Cassandra. She's here. She safe. Lena hugged her tighter scared that if she let go that Cassie would disappear. Maybe Kara was right. Maybe it was all just a bad dream. "I love you Cassie. I love you so much" She pulled back enough to kiss her head and then pulled her back into a hug.

"No you don't" Lena's eyebrows creased. "What do you mean? Of course I love you" Why does she think I don't love her?  "If you really loved me, you wouldn't have let the bad man take me." Lena pulled back from Cassie breathless. "What?" Cassie wasn't smiling any more. She looked sad and a pout, one more effective than Kara's, formed on her face. "Why did you let the bad man take me mommy? Why don't you love me?" Lena was terrified and tears were streaming down her face. "I do love you. I promise I do. You are right here no one took you." As much as Lena wanted to believe Cassandra was in front of her, a part of knew that she wasn't. Cassie's eyes changed colors. The same color as the man who took her. The darkness of her eyes spread across her face and started it way down to the rest of her body. Lena frantically looked at Kara who was smiling through the whole thing. "No! No! Not again! I won't lose you again. “Panicked she reached out to Cassie, but as soon as she touched her hand she began to crumble into dust. Lena screamed so loud that she swore the room shook. She was losing Cassie all over again.

"Kara! Kara, help! Please!" When she looked up her wife was no longer smiling at her. She was angrily glaring at her. There was so much anger and disgust in her once kind eyes. "How could you lose her Lena!?! How could you do this!! What is wrong with you! You can't do anything right!" Lena was shaking down to her bones. This was so unlike Kara. She had never seen so much hatred coming from her. But it was true. It was all true. Everything Kara was saying. She had lost Cassie, she couldn't do anything right, even when she tried so hard to be good. Kara continued yelling at her. "You are worse than Lex and you mother combined. They didn't lose their daughter." Kara's eyes turned black as well. "You lost Cassie, and now you are going to lose me!" The darkness took over Kara, and Lena struggled to her feet. No! Not Kara, I can't lose Kara!! Kara started to crumble just like Cassie did. Only she was screaming in agonizing pain.

The scream woke Lena from her nightmare. She soon realized that I was her own terrified cry. She tried to calm herself down. It was a dream. It was all just a horrible, horrible dream. She was still shaking, her body soaked with sweat. She looked to her left hoping to find Kara but, she wasn't there. Taking multiple deep breaths Lena reached for her phone. She dialed Kara's number, needing to hear her wife's voice. "Hey this is Kara! Leave a message!" Lena hung up and dialed again. "Hey this is Kara! Leave a message!" Lena sighed. "Kara hey, please call me as soon as you get this." She called once more. "Hey this is Kar-” Hanging up the phone Lena got worried. Images from her dream flashed in her mind. She's ok Kara is ok. She called again, but got the voicemail. Getting up from bed she started pacing. She text Kara.

6:45 am:

Lena: Hey Kara, please call me. I had an awful dream and I need to know that you are ok

She waited fifteen minuets and then tried again.

7:00 am:

Lena: Kara please, if you are upset with me about last night, that's fine we don't have to get into it right now. Just please let me know you're ok.

Putting her phone down on the bed she continued pacing. Finally after what seemed like forever her phone rang. Picking it up she saw not Kara but Alex's name pop up on the screen. "Hello?" "Lena?" She steadied her breathing. "Alex what is going on? I can't get a hold of Kara." Silence. "Alex?" She heard the other woman sigh. "Lena, we can't find Kara. She's missing." Lena dropped the phone. Kara was missing. And for the second time in Lena's life she was absolutely and completely terrified.

Chapter Text

Lena stormed into the DEO, feeling a mixture of fear and anger. If someone took Kara she was going to find them, and when she did they were going to regret taking her wife. What if the same person who took Cassie took Kara. She had to find them. Walking up to the main control consul she saw the backs of Alex, Winn and J'onn. They were looking at different particle readings on the main screen. "It's the same type of reading that we got from when we were first looking for Cassie." Winn said. Alex sighed and shook her head. "So, she's on another Earth" They all turned around at the sound of Lena's voice. "Mrs. Danvers" J'onn nodded his head towards her. "J'onn please it's Lena." He nodded his head again. She turned to Alex. "So, not only did my daughter disappear into a portal to another Earth, my wife is now missing, and by the looks of it she is also on another Earth." Winn showed her the tablet he was holding. It was a map of National City. "These are Supergirl's movements from the night she disappeared." With a flick of his hand he transferred the data to the big screen. "She was on patrol for a few hours, then headed to L-Corp. She was there with you for a couple of minutes and then she left. She continued to patrol the city, then she headed home."

So, Kara had come home that night. Winn continued. "She was there for barley a minuet and then she headed to the outskirts of National City. That's when the portal opened and she was gone" Different ideas on how they could find Kara racked her brain. However, just like Cassandra she had no idea which Earth to look on. After some time Alex spoke. "Winn have you tried using the tracker in Kara's suit?" He nodded his head "Of course, that was the first thing I did" Lena started pacing. There has to be a way to find Kara. An idea formed in Lena's head. "What if we contact team Flash? Do you think they would be able to help us?" "It's worth a shot" J'onn left the room and returned a few minutes later with a confused look on his face. "I went to get the device that Mr. Ramon gave us, but it seems to be missing". Alex's head snapped up. "What do you mean it's missing? I just did inventory two days ago and it was there." 

Winn sat down in his chair. "Let's see who took it" He pulled up the security footage for the past two days. He sped us the video looking for anything out of the ordinary. "Wait, what was that?" Lena headed over to the computer Winn was at. She went back a few minutes and started the video again. There was a slight blur. She rewound it again and played it frame by frame. "There" Sure enough there was a streak of red, blue, and yellow. Kara. "Why would Kara use her super speed to get the Earth hopper?" They all looked at Alex. "Don't look at me like that Winn named it" Winn smiled pridefully. Lena shook her head "This doesn't make any sense. Why would she take a device to go to other Earths, but not tell us where she is going" Wait! "What if she went to look for Cassandra!" Alex look at Lena contemplatively. "And what not tell you. Wouldn't you think that she would want you there if and when she found Cassie?" Lena honestly didn't know. After their fight, Kara might have left to find Cassie. She sat down in one of the chairs taking a deep breath. "I don't know" she sighed. 

Alex placed a comforting hand on Lena's shoulder. "Did something happen?" Lena replayed their fight over in her head. She was too hard on Kara, she shouldn't have said those things to her. Lena looked up at Alex's concerned eyes. She remembers how these same eyes were always full of suspicion, and fear. Like she already made up her mind about how she felt towards Lena before even getting to know her. As time went on though Alex saw that Lena was nothing like her family, that she would fight for Kara, and willingly lay down her life for the girl of steel. "We had an argument" She told them about what happened. How Kara had been distant lately and how she said that Cassandra could be dead. When she was finished no one spoke. Finally, Alex said "So she could be looking for Cassie" Images of Lena's nightmare entered her mind. Kara's eyes black and soul less, Lena reaching out to her, only to have her crumble into dust. The words of the nightmare Kara on a constant replay "You lost Cassie, and now you are going to lose me!" Lena stood and started pacing.

"We need to find her. If she did go looking for Cassandra, then she might need help. What if she runs into an enemy that she can't fight on her own? Or what if she solar flares? What if she's on an Earth that she doesn't have her powers what if-" "Whoa, whoa, whoa" Alex stopped Lena's frantic pacing. "Breath Lena, breath. That's a lot of what if's." Lena shook her head. "But Alex what if she ends up finding Cassie and the man who took her has the ability to hurt Kara? I can't do nothing while my wife finds our daughter alone" Winn piped into the conversation. "I don't think he can take on Kara. If he could I don't think he would have waited until you and Cassie were alone." Lena guessed that was true, but she still didn't like the idea of Kara being alone. "Even though we may not like it, I feel like the only thing we can do is wait." J'onn said. Lena hated waiting.

The Night Before 

"I haven't given up on our daughter Kara. You shouldn't either." With that she was out the door. Watching Lena walk away was one of the most painful things Kara had felt. Kryptonite had nothing on the look Lena just gave her. Wiping the tears that threatened to spill Kara took a few deep breaths before heading back out on patrol. Rao I shouldn't have said that. Even if it is true. As much as Kara tried not to she did find herself thinking of the possibility of their daughter being dead. Hell, she had lost everything else she had loved. First Krypton had died. Everything she ever knew. All her friends, her family. Even with Kal-El on Earth she still felt alone. He didn't need her anymore, and it's not like he made an effort to see her all that often. Even when the Danvers took her in, Jeremiah was whisked away by the DEO. Just when she found her aunt Astra, she was taken from her too. It was an endless cycle of loss. 

However, one day, she met Lena. Lena, who made her alien heart beat so fast that she was afraid it might explode. Lena didn't see Supergirl when she looked at Kara, she didn't even see Kara Danvers. She saw Kara Zor-El. She saw Kara for who she was, not what she could do. When they started getting closer she wanted nothing more than to tell Lena her secret, wanted to tell her best friend that she loved her. But she always had Lillian's word in the back of her mind whenever she tried to tell her. "Eventually she'll find out on her own. And when she does. She'll hate you for it."  So, Kara was content to just being her best friend. When Lena was poisoned, she was terrified that history was going to repeat itself. That she was going to lose another person that she loved. The only thing she thought the entire time she flew Lena to the DEO was I should have told Lena the truth. Thankfully Lena got better, and soon after Kara told her everything. 

The five years they dated and the two they were married have been the best years of Kara's life. She thought that with Cassie they could only get happier. She was wrong. Losing Cassie was like losing her whole world all over again. She hated not knowing what was happening to her. She didn't expect to snap her fingers and they would find Cassie in a flash, but she at least thought that they would have something. Wait! That's it!! She stopped in her tracks. The answer was right in front of us all along! Cisco could vibe where Cassandra was. Even if he couldn't find where she was specifically he could at least see which Earth she was on. Kara sped home. 

 She quietly landed on the balcony and went inside. It was completely dark, but Kara easily made her way to their bedroom. When she opened the door, she saw that her wife was fast asleep. She's so beautiful Kara thought. Guilt hit Kara like a train as Lena rolled over in her sleep facing her. Her face was wet with tears. She went to sleep crying? Oh, Lena I am so sorry. Kara stretched out her arm, but stopped short before waking Lena. What if Cisco can’t find her? I don't want to get her hopes up. Instead she softly kissed her wife's forehead and left the room. She made her way down the hall, and stopped in front of the white door. She took a deep breath preparing herself. She opened the door to what was going to be Cassie's room. She flicked on the light and tried not to cry, thinking about what could have been. She approached the crib that their daughter was going to sleep in. Inside was the blanket that she had been wrapped in the night she was born, as well as the white dog stuffed animal she was sleeping with.

Picking up the toy she smiled slightly to herself. Alex had gotten it for Cassie, and thought it would be funny if it had a red cape with the house of El crest on it. Kara thought it was the cutest thing. She took both the toy and the blanket with her and left the apartment. If there was any hope that Cisco could find her little girl, he needed things that belonged to her. Since was only on this Earth of barely a day, this was the best Kara could do. She only hoped that it was enough.   

 Waking up in the morning had become Lena's least favorite thing in the world. Every morning she woke up with the hope that Kara had returned, only to be utterly disappointed when she felt the cold sheets on Kara's side of the bed. It had been almost a week since Kara had disappeared, and with it came the never-ending nightmares. She had dreams of Kara and Cassandra being taken from her in the worst ways possible. In one dream Lex got free and killed Kara, in another he was the man who took Cassie and raised her to be a killing machine to take out Kara. Despite J'onn telling her to be patient and just wait for Kara to come back, Lena worked in the L-Corp labs trying to figure out a way not only to find her daughter, but her wife as well. She had an idea on how they could track Cassie. Flying microbots that had both her and Kara's DNA on file. If she made enough, she could release them all in every single Earth. They would scan everyone until they found the perfect match to their DNA. Of course, she had to account for the fact that there could be doppelgangers of her and Kara on the other Earths, but she would find a way around it. 

After brushing her teeth, she made her way to the kitchen to make some breakfast. She grabbed the ingredients for pancakes from the fridge and took the bowl out of the cupboard. She stopped her movements as she felt something watching her from behind. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Getting a firm grip on the bowl in case she needed to hit whoever was behind her, Lena quickly turned only to be overtaken by shock. Standing on the other side of kitchen island was Kara in her Supergirl suit holding a bouquet of white plumerias. "Hey" the blonde said in a quiet voice. Guilt etched across her face. Lena's brain couldn't process what was happening. Her heart was beating insanely fast. Is that really Kara or is this just another nightmare?! Kara's faced turned from guilt to concern. "Lena? Are you ok? What's wrong?" Lena's eyes started tearing up, and at the same moment she started to cry she lost her grip on the bowl she was holding, and it shattered on the ground. 

Using her super speed, Kara swept Lena up in her arms to prevent her from stepping on any glass. The flowers forgotten on the floor. Pressed up against Kara's warmth, Lena let herself come undone. Her tears were flowing freely down her face and she was shaking with each intake of breath. "Shhh Lena it's ok, it's ok. I'm here I've got you. I've got you". Kara walked them over to the couch and sat them down. Lena was holding onto Kara's suit for dear life, like she was afraid that if she let go, Kara would disappear.  She's here. She is actually here. Lena thought to herself. After finally realizing that this wasn't a dream Lena felt anger rise up inside her. She lifted her head and glared at Kara. "Why did you leave me Kara?!?" She stood from Kara's lap suddenly furious with her. "How could you leave and not tell me anything? Do you know how worried I have been?!" Looking up at her wife's blazing eyes Kara said "Lena, I'm sorry. I know that I shouldn't have left without saying anything to you, but-" "No" Lena cut her off. "There is no excuse Kara. It takes five seconds to send a text or leave a note telling me where you were going. I have been worried sick."

Kara could tell that Lena hadn't been sleeping or eating properly. Guilt made its way through her body. She sighed in defeat and looked down at the floor. "I know, I should have said something. I'm sorry." Lena took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She’s safe. That’s the important thing. She bent down to be on the same level as her wife. Some of her golden hair was covering her face, and when Lena moved away the strands she saw that Kara was now crying too. It was Lena’s turn to feel guilty. In the past two times she’s seen Kara she’d done nothing but yell at Kara and take out her frustrations on her. “Kara, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have yelled at you.” She took Kara’s hands in hers.

They were so warm. Lena hadn’t realized how much she actually missed Kara. Her laugh, her smile, her warmth. She missed waking up with her and staying up late watching yet another Disney movie. She missed having someone to come home too. Kara looked into Lena’s eyes. “Lena you were right. I shouldn’t have started to lose hope. I should have had faith that we could find her, and I should have told you were I was going”. Kara kissed Lena’s hands. “I went to go find Cassie. I had an idea about asking Cisco to vibe where she could be” Hope started filtering through Lena. “Did he do it did he find out where she is?!” Kara’s face dropped. “No, he couldn’t get a reading. But I am not giving up. The day she was taken, I promised you that we would find her, and we will.” She pulled Lena into a kiss. It was everything to Lena. After being distant from each other for so long and then with Kara gone that week, this is exactly what she needed. After sometime they broke the kiss. “I love you so much Kara” “I love you too Lena.” They spent the rest if the day together and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Together where they belonged.

Chapter Text

Down in the L-Corp labs, Lena let out a long sigh as she typed a new code into the microbots programming. It had taken her eight months to get them to work. She finally made a design that could scan anyone alien or human, and she figured out how to get a signal to pass through the other Earth's so that it would alert them when it found their daughter. The first time they tested the bots they got a response four days later. It came from Earth twenty. She and Kara were so extremely excited and immediately went to bring their daughter home.  When they arrived, they were a little more than disappointed. The bot had tracked down one of Lena’s doppelgangers and not Cassie. Lena decided to put camera’s in the microbots so that they could see if it was a doppelganger or not. That had taken another two months. She was trying to figure out a way to get them to realize that the other Earth doppelgangers were not Cassie. No matter how many times she tried she couldn't figure out a way to fix it. Winn and Alex were trying to help but they had gotten nowhere.

She was so consumed in coding that she didn't notice the lab doors opening. Kara gently wrapped her arms around Lena’s waist. Surprised by the action, Lena turned to face her wife. “Kara” she said with a smile on her face. “What are you doing here?” Kara bent down and kissed Lena. “I came to take you home silly. Do you know how late it is?” She in fact did not know how late it was. There were no windows down in the labs, and she had turned her phone off. Looking at her computer for the time, she saw that it was a little past one in the morning. She started to collect her things. “I’m sorry, I must have lost track of time” “It’s ok, I know you’re working hard to find Cassie. I just don’t want you to overwork yourself”

Lena collected the blonde in her arms. Kara’s warm embrace was enough to ease her stressed out mind. “I still haven’t figured out a way to get the microbots to scan for Cassie and not our twins from the other Earths.” Kara kissed the top of Lena’s head. “I may not know that much about this kinda stuff, but I do know that if anyone can figure this out, you can.” Kara’s smile was contagious as Lena couldn’t help but smile herself. I could look at that smile forever. She found herself thinking. Lena gathered the rest of her things and they headed home.

“We did it!!!” Winn cheered from one of the DEO lab rooms. Over the past four years they perfected the microbots. They finally got the system to scan and register people who had a combination of Kara and Lena’s DNA. They had asked their doppelgangers for help, so that they could test the bots and make sure they didn’t register. It was, interesting, to say the least. They saw all types of different versions of themselves. On one Earth Lena’s mother is still alive, and Lex never goes mad with power. In another version they don’t even know each other. They held each other extra close that night, the thought of not knowing each other didn’t sit well with either of them.

“Thank you so much for your help” Lena said to Earth five Kara. “It was no problem at all. I know that my Lena and I, would do anything to get our son back if he was taken. If you guys ever need anything, you know where to find us.” With that she went through the breech, back to her own Earth. Alex hugged her sister “We did it Kar. We can finally look for Cassie. Who knows. Maybe we’ll find her by the end of the week” Kara smiled at her sister, eyes beaming. With the microbots officially working they had a really good chance of finding Cassie. She looked at Lena who was talking to Winn about mass producing the bots so they could start sending them out right away. She looked so happy. In the four almost five years that Cassie’s been missing Kara hadn’t see Lena this happy. As she watched her wife walk towards her Kara felt in her heart with absolute certainty that they would find Cassie. That their family would be whole again.

Rao Lena’s gonna kill me! I’m so late! Kara Danvers had never flown so fast in her entire life. She was recently promoted to editor and chief, since Snapper had officially retired. He stayed on for a couple of days to make sure she could run everything correctly and he would not let her go today until he covered everything. She landed in front of the bakery and went inside, not even noticing the looks people gave her.

Supergirl was standing in line waiting to pick up a cake. People were staring at her, and some asked if they could take a picture. When she finally reached the front, she gave the elderly woman behind the counter the paper Lena handed her this morning. “Running an errand for Mrs. Danvers I see. You know she’s taken right Supergirl?” The baker winked at her. Kara let out a little laugh. “I know, Lena and I are good friends but, I would never do anything to ruin her marriage to Kara”. “I would hope not. That certainly wouldn’t be so super of you now would it? I’ll get the cake from the back”. Kara watched as the woman disappeared behind the double doors. A few moments later she emerged with a small cake that said “Happy Birthday” written in frosting. She paid the kind woman and was racing back home, careful not to mess up the cake she held.

Landing on their balcony she quickly made her way inside. “Lena? Lena?” Kara saw her beautiful wife asleep on the couch. After placing the cake down on the table, she made her way over. Lena was curled up, cuddling Cassie’s toy dog. Kara knew that they just needed to wait until the microbots found her, and they had already crossed off ten Earth’s, but it was still hard. Especially on today of all days. Putting a gentle hand on Lena’s shoulder, Kara tried to wake her wife. “Lena. Lee. Sweetie wake up” Lena slowly opened her eyes, and smiled at Kara. “Hey” She sat up on the couch. “You’re finally home” Kara took a seat next to Lena. “Yeah, I am so sorry I’m late. I got held up at CatCo, Snapper wasn’t letting me leave” She pointed in the direction of the table, and Lena’s eyes followed. “I did get the cake though”

They made their way over to the table, and Lena took the cake out of the box while Kara grabbed some forks and three plates. The cake was big enough to feed two adults and small child. The letters were written in a light green color. Today was always bittersweet. They celebrated Cassandras birthday every year. Kara had always wished that they would find her on her birthday, that way they could celebrate as a family.

“She’s twelve years old today. It still seems like we lost her only yesterday. I can’t believe it’s been twelve years” Lena sighed. She wrapped her arms around Kara’s waist, needing something to keep her stable. Kara kissed the top of Lena’s head. “I miss her too” They stayed like that for a while longer, until Kara spoke. “Come on. Help me with the candles” They set up twelve candles on the cake, and Kara took a second to light them with her heat vision. “Happy Birthday Cassie. I hope that wherever you are, that you are safe.” Tears started forming in Lena eyes and threatened to spill. Kara caught Lena’s first tear just as her own started to spill. “Cassie please just know that you are loved. You are loved, and we will find you.” They blew out the candles and cut three slices of cake. One for Kara, one for Lena, and one for Cassandra.

The sky was clear and the stars were shining bright over National City. The streets were bustling around with the movements of the late night, early morning crowd. In an apartment above the city slept National Cities power couple. Kara was sleeping on her back with Lena sleeping on her chest, her arm draped over Kara’s stomach. The two were so comfortable, peacefully resting against each other. Suddenly an alarm blared throughout the apartment. Kara and Lena both bolted upright, startled by the sound. Kara scanned for any intruders but found none.

She saw Lena sprint out of the bedroom and quickly followed after. “Lena what is it?! What’s wrong?!” She wasn’t giving Kara an answer as she entered the home office and began typing rapidly. What is happening? Kara had no idea why her wife was acting this was. That is until Lena pulled up the microbot program. The screen read “Objective Found”. Lena had the mouse hovering over the video link button. “Kara, I I can’t do it. What if it’s not Cassie?” Kara placed her hand over Lena’s and looked into her emerald green eyes. “But what if it is?” Kara could tell Lena was still anxious. “Here, we’ll do it like we do everything else. Together” After a slight nod from Lena they clicked the video link.

The screen was black for a few moments, then suddenly popped to life. They both gasped, and their eyes widened. On the screen was a girl no older than nineteen. She had raven hair, and deep blue eyes. She was laughing with another girl. The freckles that dotted her face bunching up when she smiled.

They were both speechless. They had done it. After nineteen long years they finally found their missing piece.

Their little Cassandra.

Chapter Text

Earth forty-eight. That’s where Cassie was taken. The microbots found her four days ago, and as much as Kara and Lena wanted to go there straight away and bring her home they couldn’t. She was nineteen years old and probably had a life of her own. She had grown up on that Earth, it was all she knew. Then there was the matter of dealing with the man who took her. If he raised her all these years he might have a plan in case they came looking for her. If they wanted to bring her home, they needed to be careful with how they approached the situation. So, they began planning. They visited Earth forty-eight to try and see how different it was from their own Earth. For the most part it was the same with a few minor differences. There were no superheroes or vigilantes on this Earth, and National City didn’t exist. Cassie was in this world’s version of Central City. Thanks to the microbots they found where she lived. The plan was to follow her around for a few days to get a better understanding on how to approach her. They needed to see what her relationship was to the man. Although if it turned out that he was hurting her, they would step in. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the best they could come up with.

Kara was packing a bag that she would be taking during their stay in Earth forty-eight. She put on a facade of confidence, but in reality, she was scarred. All the doubts and worries she had when she first found out Lena was pregnant came rushing back the moment they decided on what to do. What if she doesn’t like me. What if I won’t be a good mother. Cassie was already grown up. Would she even believe them when they told her she was kidnapped? She was so caught up in her whirlwind of thoughts that she didn’t hear when Lena called her name. “Kara? Kara honey?” Zipping up her bag Lena made her way over to her wife whose crinkle was in full effect. She placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, which seemed to bring Kara out of her daze. Kara blinked a few times. “Lena, hey” Lena gently poked the crinkle. “What’s the matter sweetie?” Damn that crinkle! Kara thought. She took a deep breath. “I’m nervous. What if she hates us? What if the guy who took her tries to stop us?” Lena sat down on the bed and motioned for Kara to sit next to her. She looked into her wife’s worried eyes. The blue a darker shade than their normal crystal-like color.

 “Kara everything will be ok. We found her. We know where she is. All that’s left to do is bring her home.” She took Kara’s hand in her own. “Do you remember how hard it was to finally get through to Sam when she was possessed by Reign?” Kara nodded. “Yeah, it took forever to finally set her free” When they found out that their friend was being controlled by a psychopathic worldkiller, it was a shock to say the least. Lena was the first one who figured out that the cause of Sam’s blackouts was her transitioning into Reign. “It did take forever, but in the end we did it. We helped our friend and we brought her back home. The same will happen with our daughter.” She embraced the girl of steel in a warm hug, holding her tightly. “The man who took her can try and stand in our way. I’ve already let him take her once, I will not let him take her again.” Kara felt the conviction and determination in Lena’s voice. They would bring Cassie home. No mater what.

“Are you guys ready to go?” Alex asked. The whole gang was at the DEO to see off Kara and Lena. Alex was nervous for them to go without any backup. Maggie had been comforting her all night, telling her that they would be ok. Now that Lena had figured out how to communicate across Earths, they could call for backup anytime. It made Alex feel a little better, but not by much. Her biggest worry wasn’t even about the guy who took her niece but, Cassie herself. If she rejected her mothers when she found out the truth, if she hated them even, she knew it would break them both. She knew it would break her if her own kids rejected or hated her and Maggie. She loved them so much, she couldn’t bare to see hate in their eyes. “We are all set. Are you guys sure you got things covered here?” Alex could tell that as much as Kara wanted to go get Cassie, she was worried that this Earth would need her while they were away. “We’ve got it all covered Kara. The only thing you need to worry about is bringing your little girl home.” J’onn had promised that they if they needed help, he would send word. They began saying their goodbyes. “Bye aunt Kara, bye aunt Lena!” The boy said giving them both hugs. “Goodbye Johnathan. We’ll see you soon” The little girl jumped into Kara’s arms for a firm hug. “When you come back am I gonna have someone else to play with?” Kya was Alex and Maggie’s youngest. She was only six, and was the sweetest little girl. Johnathan was twelve and loved his sister to death. Kara and Lena would miss them while they were away, but they were excited to introduce their own daughter to them. Finally, it was Alex’s turn to receive a hug. She hugged her sister tightly. She was never a fan of the unknown. She didn’t like not knowing what her sister was going to face, especially if she couldn’t be there to help. “Stay safe ok. Both of you.” Lena smiled at Alex. “We will. And yes. Before you say anything, we promise to call for backup if we need it” “Yeah, you better” She hugged Lena. “Bring her home” With that they stepped through the breech and on to Earth forty-eight.

It had been three days since they arrived on Earth forty-eight. This is what they knew so far. Cassandra was a sophomore at Central City University and was getting a degree in biomedical science with a minor in business. She was captain of the school’s track team, the CCU Strikers, and she lived with a woman, who they could only assume was her “mom”. The biggest thing was her name. It wasn’t Cassandra on this Earth. Here, her name was Dakota Anderson. Finding that out was strange. It wasn’t something they had thought of, but looking back it was something they should have considered. The good news was, the man who took her was no where to be found. This meant that they could talk to her without be recognized, he couldn’t take her away again. Tonight, presented the perfect opportunity. She had a track meet tonight at the university, and they were going to approach her after she was done running.

Lena pulled into the parking lot, but was having trouble finding a space. “I got it babe” Kara used her x-ray vision and found them a spot within a few seconds. They headed to the track where a crowd of people had already started gathering on the bleachers. Kara went to the concession to get them some snacks while Lena found them seats. The teams were warming up on the field and Lena could see Cassie helping out another girl stretch out her leg. It was the same girl she was laughing with when the microbot found her. After a minuet or two she helped the girl up and they continued with their own stretches. They seemed to be laughing at something, and Lena wished Kara would hurry so she could know what it was. Cassie was tall, and she had Kara’s broad shoulders and blue eyes, with tiny freckles surrounding them. She had Lena’s hair color and jawline. The girl next to her was significantly shorter, had brownish red hair, and green eyes, her entire body covered with tiny freckles.

Kara sat down next to Lena. “Did you find Cassie? Or um Dakota. Geez that’s gonna take some getting used to.” Lena pointed to where the two girls were. “What are they saying?” Kara gave Lena a sly smile. “Lena Luthor-Danvers. Are you asking me to eavesdrop on our daughter?” Lena let out a small giggle that Kara couldn’t help but find adorable. “Yes, I want to know what they are saying.” She knew she hadn’t mastered the pout quiet as good as Kara did, but she came close. After a little more teasing Kara gave in. “Oh, all right. Give me a second” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to focus. With the large crowd she heard many voices, and since she had never heard her daughter speak it took a while to determine which voice belonged to her. Finally, after nineteen years, she heard her daughter’s voice. “So, I was thinking we could go to Jitters after the meet. What do you think?” Her daughters voice reminded her of Lena, only it was different in a way that Kara couldn’t explain. She heard the other girl laugh. “I don’t know. Let me check my schedule.” Dakota let out a soft sigh. “Well I just thought we could get some coffee and pastries to-go, head to your place. Maybe watch a movie. But ya know I get it, you’re a busy girl Ellie.” Kara heard the sound of grass crunching beneath shoes and opened eyes to see the shorter girl known as Ellie, walking closer to Dakota. “I think I can clear some space in my busy schedule for you.” Dakota took a small step back. She playfully said. “No, no if you’re too busy, hey, I get it” Ellie took another step forward and wrapped her arms around their daughter’s neck. Dakota had a mischievous smile on her face. The girl tilted her head up slightly. “Oh, shut up”. She pulled their daughter into a kiss. Lena was shaking Kara’s arm. “Kara, what just happened? What did you hear?” Kara was so shocked, her mouth hung open and her eyes were wide. “Kara, tell me. I can not take it anymore” Finally breaking free from her shock she responded. “Oh. My. Rao. Our daughter has a girlfriend.” Kara turned to face her wife. Lena looked just as shocked as she did. Whenever they thought of Dakota, they always thought of her as their little baby. Damn, Maggie was right. There really is no straight Danvers. “Well. That was an exciting revelation” “Kara what happened?” She explained what she heard to her wife. A smile formed on Lena’s face. “Aww that’s cute” It was cute. It was comforting to know that even though she was taken from them that she had found happiness here. It’s going to be hard telling her the truth. Kara thought. She knew that if it was her in Dakota’s situation, and Ellie was Lena, she couldn’t just leave her. A loud booming voice came from speakers. “Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Regional qualifiers. We have ten teams that are competing to move forward to Regionals. Only the top five teams will move forward in todays meet. Let’s get started with the first event” It was the 4x8 relay. Lena saw as their daughter gave Ellie a hug. “She is just telling her good luck. I guess this is her event” Kara said, knowing that Lena wanted to know what was happening.

They watched as Ellie along with three other girls from CCU made their way to the starting line. By the looks of it Ellie was the third runner in the relay. A man went over the rules with the girls and then moved to the side raising a gun. “All right ladies. On your mark. Get set. Go!” He shot the blank and the girls surged forward. The CCU strikers uniform had the same color scheme as Barry’s suit, which Kara found ironic. They watched as the girl from CCU tried to get ahead of the pack, but a girl from Metropolis U cut her off. They passed the baton to the second group of runners. The runner from CCU fell behind and was now second to last. After the second lap, the baton was finally handed to Ellie who burst from the line at incredible speed. She swiftly made her way to the front of the pack. She was now in second place. Dakota cheered on her girlfriend, this time loud enough for Lena to hear. “Go Ellie! You got this! Pass her, you got this!” As Ellie tried to get in front of the girl currently in the lead, the girl in front of her shifted so that there was no way for her to pass. Ellie, tried again and again to pass her, but she kept getting cut off. Finally, Ellie side-stepped and passed the girl. She got an enormous lead on everyone else that when she passed the baton to the final runner, it took a while for the other girls to finally catch up. The last runner from CCU crossed the finish line and the crowd, including Kara and Lena cheered. “And in first place we have the Central City Strikers!” the announcers cheered. Dakota ran up to Ellie and easily picked her up and swung in a little circle. “You guys did it! I knew you would” She put down the shorter girl. Ellie laughed “You shouldn’t carry me. You need to save your strength for the two mile”

Lena hadn’t realized how long track meets could last. When they had arrived, the sun was still shining. Now it was night time and the sun had set. Lena was grateful that Kara was practically a heater. It was so cold and they hadn’t brought a blanket. They made an announcement that the last event of the night would be starting soon, the two mile. Lena watched as Dakota was warming up for her event. All throughout the day she was showing leadership. Cheering on her teammates, helping them if they needed something. She kept reminding Lena of Kara. She was kind to everyone, but there was one point during the day when she saw a little of herself in her daughter. A group of girls from Metropolis U started harassing some members of CCU. When Dakota saw what was happening she stepped in and handled it just like Lena would have. She kept calm and dealt with them gracefully with just a little bit of sass.  She watched as the girls made their way to the starting line. Just like with every other event the man went over the rules and stepped off to the side. Kara could hear the heart beats of all the runners. All beating fast from nerves, except one. Dakota was completely calm, her heart beating steady. Kara watched as her daughter readied herself on the line, her eyes closed. “On your mark” Dakota’s eyes opened. “Get set” Kara could have sworn she just saw a slight smirk form on her face. “Go”

As the gun fired, Dakota burst from the starting line with such speed that she was ahead of the pack in no time. Kara heard Lena comment beside her. “Wow, she’s fast. Hopefully she doesn’t run herself out”. Much to their surprise Dakota kept up her pace and when it came down to the last lap she went into a full out sprint. The announcer chimed in. “Will she do it folks? Will Dakota Anderson be able to make a new school record!?” She crossed the finish line and the crowd roared with applause. “She did it folks!! She broke the school record by a full minuet!!” Ellie sprinted toward Dakota and knocked her to the ground. Both girls rolled around laughing. “You did it! You broke the record! I am so proud of you” They kissed. Even though they hadn’t been a part of their daughter’s life, they were so proud of her.

After the awards ceremony, where CCU took first overall. Kara and Lena made their way down the bleachers and looked for Dakota. “Do you see her anywhere Kara?” There were so many people, that they lost track of her when they left the bleachers. “Hold on” Using her x-ray vision she quickly located her. She was holding hands with Ellie making her way towards them. Kara grabbed Lena’s hand. “She’s here” They finally made it out of the crowd of people and spotted her. Just as they were about to approach her, a voice called out her name. “Dakota” A chill ran down Lena’s spine just as it did the day Cassie was taken. She stopped dead in her tracks. Oh no. No, no, no. Not here, please.  Kara turned to look at her wife. “Lena what is it? What’s wrong?” He emerged from the crowd. His obsidian eyes as black as they were that day. Her voice came out as a soft whisper.

“He’s here. The man who took our daughter. He’s here”     

Chapter Text

“Dakota” She turned at the sound of her name. Her dad was making his way through the crowd. “Dad!” She let go of Ellie’s hand and rushed over to hug him. She hadn’t see him for a few weeks due to his job, and she missed him very much. “What are you doing here? I thought you said that you wouldn’t be back for another week.” With him being a member of the FBI, he was away for long periods of time. “The case wrapped up early. Plus, I wanted to see you run today. You guys were amazing” Ellie appeared at her side. As Dakota looked down at her girlfriend, a smile appeared on her face. They had been together since freshman year of high school, and she knew that there was nobody else in the world for her. “Hey Mr. Anderson, It’s nice to see you again” Her dad had always approved of her relationship with Ellie. When she told him that she was gay he took it extremely well. Her mother on the other hand, was very disappointed in her. “Ellie, it’s always nice to see you. You had a good run today.” Ellie laughed a little. “Yeah, well your daughter is the best training buddy. I couldn’t have done it without her” Dakota blushed. “Oh yes, you totally could have.” Her dad’s phone chimed and he pulled it from his pocket. A sense of dread and disappointment made its way through Dakota. She knew what that chime meant.  “Sorry kiddo, I’ve got to get to a debriefing.” He hugged her and she didn’t want to let him go. He had only just got there, and she missed spending time with him. He whispered in her ear, just low enough for her to hear him. “There’s something we have to talk about when I get back ok.” He pulled away, said good bye to Ellie, and was gone just as fast as he appeared.

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. “Hey, are you ok?” Ellie knew how much her girlfriend hated that her dad was barley around, and whenever he had to leave she, always tried to comfort her. A sad smile appeared on the taller girls face as she looked at Ellie. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. How about we head over to Jitters before they close?” Ellie nodded. With entwined fingers they made their way through the crowd and towards the parking lot. She understood why her dad was away all the time. He couldn’t help it. But, she understood where her mother came from when she filed for divorce. He was almost never around. Lost in her thoughts she suddenly bumped right into someone. “Oh, my goodness, I am so sorry” She looked at the person she ran into and her brain short circuited. Staring back at her was a woman who could have been her twin. Save for her eyes and height. “No, it’s alright, it’s my fault.” That voice. I know that voice. Where do I know that voice? The woman looked as if she had seen a ghost. A blonde woman appeared at her side. “Lena sweetie we need to go.” She also looked like she’d seen a ghost and was trying to run from it. She knew these women. She had no idea how, but she knew them. “I’m sorry but, have we met before?” The blonde quickly shook her head. “No, I’m sorry you must have us mistaken for someone else.” She shook her head “Are you sure?” Once again, the blonde spoke. “Yes, we are quite sure. It was nice meeting you.” Then they were gone. Lost in the crowd. 

Lena felt like she couldn’t breathe. He’s here. Oh God he’s here. Seeing the man who had taken their daughter away was a terrible experience. She had always imagined that if she ever saw him again, she would punch him in the face for taking Cassie away. However, when she saw those eyes, she froze up. All of the nightmares she’d had since losing Cassie came rushing into the forefront of her mind. She went into panic mode. He can’t see us. If he sees us he’ll take her away again!! She felt warm strong hands on both her shoulders and a voice was speaking to her. “Lena, sweetie it’s going to be ok. You need to breathe for me though.” It was Kara. No, he’s going to take her away to!! “Lena look at me. I need you to take deep breaths ok. Look at me sweetie.” Kara pulled her wife close and held her tightly. She was shaking uncontrollably. “Lena listen to my heartbeat. Everything is ok.” With her ear pressed against Kara’s chest she could hear the steady heartbeat of her wife. She’s ok. She’s ok.  She closed her eyes, taking deep breathes trying to calm herself down. Once she felt that she was calm enough she reluctantly pulled away from Kara. “I’m ok. I’m good now” Kara had worry written all over her face. “Are you sure?” She nodded her head. “Yes, I am sure” Kara hugged her once more. She wanted nothing more than to confront the man and fling him into space, but Lena needed to get out of here. They could talk to Dakota another day. Right now, she needed to take Lena home. She took her wife’s hand in her own. “Let’s get back to the hotel ok. We’ll try again tomorrow.” Lena simply nodded. Kara led them through the crowd. She could see the car, all she needed to do was get Lena away from here as soon as possible. Lena was following closely behind her eyes to the floor. Kara felt Lena run into something behind her and her heart dropped. It was Dakota and Ellie. “Oh, my goodness, I am so sorry” Lena’s heart was pounding. Her daughter was right in front of her. After all these years, she was face to face with her daughter. “No, it’s alright, it’s my fault.” A confused look came across her face. Kara placed a hand on Lena’s back. Lena can’t do this right now. “Lena sweetie we need to go.” Lena was speechless. Dakota spoke again. “I’m sorry but, have we met before?” Hope sprang in Lena’s chest. She remembers us? She tried to speak, but no words came out. Thankfully Kara was there. “No, I’m sorry you must have us mistaken for someone else.” Dakota’s confusion only deepened. She had inherited Kara’s crinkle. “Are you sure?” Kara heard Lena’s heart rate pick up again. “Yes, we are quite sure. It was nice meeting you.” They both hurried away. It was only in the car that they both could finally breathe again.

Kara was in the driver’s seat. Lena was in no position to drive. “She was right there Kara. We spoke with her.” She looked at her wife. “He’s here Kara. What do we do?” Kara took Lena’s hands in her own. “I know. We will get through this. We will find a way to bring her home.” Tears started to well in Lena’s eyes. “What if he saw us here tonight? What if he takes her away again?” Kara caught the tears that fell from her wife’s eyes. “Hey, we found her once. If he takes her again, which he won’t, we will find her” Kara could see how much Lena was hurting.

 Lena had a problem with nightmares throughout the years and with them came panic attacks. Kara was always there to help and calm her down, and she hadn’t had a major attack in three years. When they first got to Earth forty-eight they had come to the conclusion that he wasn’t around anymore. Lena had let her guard down. Seeing him had triggered every nightmare that she had. She saw the worst parts of them and she couldn’t take it.  Kara kissed her wife’s forehead as she cried. “Everything is going to be ok Lena. It’s going to be ok.” When Lena’s shaking subsided, Kara drove them back to the hotel and they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

They were snuggled up on the couch watching a horror film. Dakota had barley said anything all night. Ellie could tell that something was wrong, she just wasn’t sure if it was about her dad having to leave again, or if was about the two women they saw. Dakota claimed that she knew them, but when she asked, they said that they had never met. She had suggested a horror film to try and get her girlfriends mind off of things but she could tell it wasn’t working. Ellie paused the movie and turned to face Dakota. “What’s bothering you?” Dakota feigned a smile. “I’m fine” Ellie scooted closer. “I know you’re not, so please don’t try and say that you are.” There were a few moments of silence before Ellie spoke again. “Is it about your dad?” Dakota shook her head. “I can’t figure out where I know those people from. I know that I know them, but I just can’t figure it out.” While Ellie didn’t understand herself why it was so important to figure out who these people were, she knew it was important to her girlfriend. “Ok, we will figure it out then.” Dakota’s eyebrows rose in shock. “What?” She giggled. “I said we will figure it out. You said that you know them from somewhere. I will help you find out where. We know one of their names, and although it’s not really a lot to go on, we’ll find them.”

Dakota couldn’t believe what she was hearing. God, I love her. Was all she thought as she kissed the other girl. Suddenly her phone rang. She kissed Ellie a few more times, and then reached over to grab it from it’s place on the coffee table. That caller ID said “Dadinator” A smile appeared on her face as she answered the phone. “Hey dad” There was silence on the other line. “Dad?” There were some rustling sounds, and then she finally heard his voice. “Hey kiddo, I was just wondering if you could meet me tomorrow and we could talk.” Tomorrow was a Saturday so she didn’t have any classes. “Yup I can meet up. Where do you want me to meet you?” “I’m going to pick you up tomorrow. Say around ten thirty?” It was strange that her dad wanted to pick her up. Ever since the divorce, he tried everything to avoid her mother unless absolutely necessary. Her high school graduation was one of the most awkward situations she had ever been in. “Yeah, sure ten thirty is great” They said good bye, and she hung up the phone. “That’s so weird. My dad wants to pick me up tomorrow, instead of me meeting him.” Ellies eyebrows creased. “That is weird. What are you guys doing tomorrow?” Dakota shook her head. “I have no idea. All is said it that he wants to talk” Ellie scooted closer to Dakota cuddling into the taller girl. “Maybe he’s been missing you and wants know what you’ve been up too” Dakota wrapped her arms around the smaller girl. “Yeah, maybe”

As the night went on they finished the movie and went through two bags of popcorn. It was around one in the morning when Dakota decided that she should head home. There was just one problem. Ellie had fallen asleep on top of her. She didn’t want to have to wake her up, but if she didn’t go home soon, her mom would have her head. She gently rubbed her girlfriends back. “Ellie, honey” She received a mumble in return. “Ellie, honey, I need you to wake up” Ellie looked at her through squinted eyes. “What time is it?” She looked at her phone. “It’s gonna be one fifteen.” Ellie suddenly sat up and a gasp escaped her lips. “You need to go home. Your moms going to kill you” Dakota let out a small laugh. “I’m sure it will be fine” Dakota collected her things and headed for the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow ok” She leaned down to kiss Ellie. “See you tomorrow. Let me know when you get home safe” After one more kiss, Dakota got in her car, and headed home.

When she finally got to her house it was one forty. The lights were off and she could only hope that her mother was asleep. She quietly unlocked and opened the front door. In the darkness she made her way to her room. Just as she was about to open her bedroom door the hallway lights turned on, and she tried to suppress a sigh. She turned around to see her mother glaring at her. If looks could kill, Dakota was pretty sure she would be dead. Her mother’s dark red hair was tied up in a tight bun. She was wearing a rode over her pajama’s. “Where have you been?” Her voice was icy and emotionless. She started taking slow steps towards Dakota. “I was just at Ellie’s” Her mother scoffed. “Ah yes, the girl who corrupted you” Dakota tried not to show her emotions. She wouldn’t give her mother the satisfaction of seeing how it was affecting her. It was hard though, Ellie was the most important person in her life. Her mother stopped walking when she was right in front of Dakota. She was only a few inches shorter than the girl. “You know the latest you are allowed to stay out is one fifteen on the dot. So please tell me why you are walking in when it’s almost two.” Her mother’s cold stare sent chills down her spine, but she refused to look away. “We lost track of time. I’m sorry” Her mother let out a small laugh. “Oh, your sorry? You know the consequences of disobeying me.” Her mother raised her hand, and Dakota braced herself for the impact, and for the long night ahead.

Lena woke up in Kara’s arms.  When she opened her eyes, she was blinded by the light streaming in through the window. With what happened last night, they had forgotten to close the curtains. The memories of the night before came back to her. I can’t believe I had another attack. I was doing so well. Before they came to Earth forty-eight, she told Kara that even if the man was here, they would find a way to bring their daughter home. She was the one who was comforting Kara. Being strong for Kara, but when it came down to it, it was Kara who needed to be there for her. Kara had saved her, and had been there for her countless of times. She was tired of feeling useless. She felt Kara move beneath her. Her beautiful wife was stretching. When she was done she looked at Lena. She only saw love in the blonde’s eyes. “Good morning” Kara kissed the top of Lena’s head. “How are you feeling?”

Honestly, even though she just woke up, she was exhausted. She had cried so much last night. There was so much that they needed to do. Now that the man who took their daughter was actually here, it took them back to square one. They needed to figure out what their relationship was like. It would be easier to bring her home if they didn’t have a good relationship. “I’m ok. A little tired, but ok” Kara sat up in the bed. “Do you want me to make us something to eat or do you want to order room service” Lena pulled Kara back down on the bed and snuggled close to her. “Room service. After last night, I want to spend the morning in bed with you.” They kissed and it was exactly what Lena needed. Soon, their breakfast arrived. After staying at the hotel for a couple of days, the staff had gotten used to their room ordering insane amounts of food, only to come back and see that it was all gone. As they ate they thought about how they were going to approach Dakota without the man seeing them. “What if we talk to her after one of her classes?” Kara asked. It seemed like the best option. As far as they knew he had no reason to be there and they needed to talk to her soon. They weren’t sure if he had seen them last night, so they didn’t know if they were on a time crunch or not. “Ok, I can hack into the school’s system to see when and where her classes are.” Lean had helped the DEO with hacking into systems on multiple occasions, a college wouldn’t be hard. With their new plan set, they finished up breakfast and went to work.

The moment Dakota woke up this morning, she felt sore. Her side was aching, and she could taste blood in her mouth. She tried getting up and immediately regretted it. Her whole torso felt like it was hit multiple times with a truck. She slowly made her way to the bathroom and turned the light on. She saw herself in the reflection of the mirror, and she didn’t look so good. Her hair was a mess, she had dried blood on her lower lip that spread down under her shirt and eyes were bloodshot. She took a deep breath and then lifted her shirt over her head, leaving her in her sports bra and black jeans. With the shirt gone she could see why her side was so sore. She saw the outlines of a bruise starting to form right above the waistline of her jeans. Ok, not too bad. Just need to ice for a couple of days. Ever since she was young she was a fast healer, she knew the bruise would be gone in less than a week. She took off the rest of her clothes and jumped in the shower. The cool water felt nice on her skin. She washed off all the blood on her face and chest. After her shower she saw the cut that the blood came from. It stretched from the corner of her mouth down until bottom curve of her chin. Great. Usually her mother stayed away from her face to not attract any unwanted attention, but this time she needed to be ready with something to say incase someone asked her about it. Oh no. I’m seeing dad today. She looked at the clock hanging in her room. It read eight fifty. Ok, I still have time before he comes to get me. She put on something comfortable to wear and grabbed the hydrogen peroxide and the antibiotic crème from the cabinet in the bathroom. Angling her face over the sink she poured on some of the hydrogen peroxide to get out any infection. The cut started to sting and she clenched her jaw at the pain. After the stinging subsided she dried her face and applied the crème. Her phone chimed a happy tune, and she knew it could only mean one person. She had a text message from Ellie.

Saturday, 9:15am

Ellie: Good morning beautiful! I hope your mom wasn’t too mad at you for going home late last night. Enjoy your time with your dad! I love you!!!

What did I do to have this amazing person in my life? Dakota loved Ellie more than anything in this world. She knew that one day she wanted to marry her, and have kids with her. Maybe then she’ll finally tell her about her mother’s “punishments”. It was the one secret she had kept from Ellie in all the years they were together. She knew that if Ellie ever found out, there would be nothing stopping her from confronting her mother. That was the last thing Dakota wanted.

Saturday, 9:17am

Dakota: Good morning love! She wasn’t too upset about it, I just have to do some extra chores around the house this week. I’ll let you know when I’m done with my dad, and we can do something later if you want. I love you too!!

Soon enough ten thirty rolled around and she watched as her dad’s pickup truck pulled into the driveway. She left the house and made her way to his window.  “Hey kiddo. What happened to your chin?” She could tell he was worried. “Nothing, I just tripped last night and hit my chin on a table.” His eyes widened. “Are you ok? Do you need stiches?” She let out a small laugh. “No, I’m fine. I promise. Do you want to say hi to mom?” He shook his head and frowned. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.” She nodded her head and got in his truck. “So where are we going?” He hadn’t told her last night and she was curious. “Don’t worry you’ll see when we get there”

 After about thirty minuets they crossed the city line. Wherever they were going it wasn’t in Central City. “Dad, seriously where are we going?” She couldn’t think of any reason for them to be leaving the city. “Like I said. You’ll see when we get there.” Why isn’t he telling me. This is so unlike him. They drove for what seemed like hours until finally they approached a warehouse. It looked to be about two stories. Her dad turned off the car and got out, not saying a word. She followed him unsure of what was going on. On the door was a lock that needed a code in order to open. Ok, this is really weird she thought. “The first thing you need to know kiddo is that I don’t really work for the FBI. It’s just a cover.” What!?! She was shocked to say the least. What does he mean he doesn’t work for the FBI!?! They entered another set of doors and the lights flicked on. She stopped in her tracks, and her eyes went wide and her mouth hung open.

All around the room there were weapons of every kind. High tech computers were set up to one side of the room, and there was what looked to be a training area. “Dad, what’s going on?” He took a deep breath. “I am not an FBI agent Dakota. I’m an assassin hired by the government.” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her loving dad who made lame jokes and made her pancakes when she was little was an assassin. That means he’s killed people. Oh God my dad’s a killer. He took a step towards her, but she took a step back. “Dakota, before you say anything I need you to hear me out. I never wanted to involve you in this, but recent events forced my hand.” He went over to one of the computers and brought up two images. It’s them! On the screen were pictures of the two women she’s seen the night before. She walked over to the computer her dad was at. “I know these people. Who are they?”

Her dad faced her, and she’d never seen him so serious. “I’ll explain everything, but long story short, these two women are very dangerous. They want to take you away with them.” Take me away. “What do they want with me? Where do they want to take me?” Her dad pulled up a diagram of fifty-three Earths.

“Have you ever heard about the theory of multiple Earths?”

Chapter Text

          Earth Forty-eight: Nineteen Years ago

It had been two weeks since his wife had given birth. Their child, their sweet little girl was born with heart problems. When she died the doctors said there was nothing they could have done. Screw the doctors. They didn’t try hard enough, he thought as he paced around his hide out.  Trevor Anderson and his wife Martha had always dreamed of having a child. He was so angry at the doctors, he wanted to make them pay for not saving his little girl. Being an assassin, meant he could take them all out and make it seem like just a horrible accident. His phone rang and he answered it angrily. “What do you want Cooper? I’m not in the mood to do a job right now.” His partners voice came in through the line. “Listen man, I know you’re hurting right now, but I think I know of a way to fix it.” Trevor let out a harsh laugh. “Fix it? My kid is dead Cooper! How are you going to fix that?!” The doors to the hide out swung open as Cooper walked in. “This job we’ve been given is on another Earth. I went there already to scope the place out and there’s this couple that is supposed to have a kid in a couple of days. A girl.” He walked right up to Trevor. “I’m thinking that after the job, I help you take this kid and you can bring her home to Martha.” Take a kid. He had never thought about doing that. He shook his head. “I don’t know man.” Cooper put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Think about it. You and Martha could finally have the kid you’ve both wanted. I know that it’s dangerous for you guys to try and have another kid, it was hard enough for her to get pregnant this time around. This could be your only chance.” He took a moment to think about it. Every time him and his wife had tried having a baby, it lead to a miscarriage. All they wanted was a kid of their own. They could always adopt, but on this Earth, it was a long and hard process. He took a long deep breath and said “I’m in.”

When they got to Earth thirty-eight, they spent most of their time planning out how they were going to go about taking the child. It didn’t take them long to realize that the blonde woman known as Kara Danvers was the cities resident hero. Does she really think that the glasses are a good disguise? With this information they knew that they needed a distraction, so Cooper hired some people to rob a bank. With the hero gone, Trevor was able to take the child and bring her to his Earth. Unfortunately for    Cooper, he knew too much and Trevor killed him when they got back. He couldn’t have someone knowing about this and use it against him. When he brought her home to Martha he said that he had found her and they took her in. Ever since then they raised her as their own.

Of course, that’s not what he told Dakota. No, he told her the story of two dangerous women who stole children from other Earth’s. He told her how they did terrible things to the ones they took, and that when she was taken, he did everything in his power to get her back. He told her that she was the one that got away, and that they wanted her back. Not knowing any better, she believed him.

Present Day

She was sitting down on a chair by the main computers. She was still trying to process what her dad had just told her. Him really being an assassin was a hard-enough pill to swallow, but to then find out that there are other Earths, and that she was taken to one. Her head was spinning. It had been a full five minutes before she spoke. “Is that why you taught me how to fight growing up? Incase they came back and you weren’t here?” He nodded his head. Her dad had taught her a bunch of different fighting styles, but back then he said that “It was always a good thing to know how to fight”. Now she knew his true intentions. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner? Why keep it a secret?” He took the seat across from her. “I wanted you to have a normal childhood growing up, instead of having to look over your shoulder because you were afraid they would come back for you.” While she understands why he kept quiet, she still wishes he would have told her. “If you told me I could have helped in stopping them from coming here. I get that you wanted me to have a normal life, but you can’t live in fear.” That was something she had learned when her mother’s “punishments” had started. She used to be afraid of her mother and the pain she would bring. Every morning she would tell herself “I will not be afraid” and eventually as time went on she became used to it and wasn’t afraid anymore. When she graduated, she would finally be free of her. 

 When she was talking to Ellie about finding out who the two women were she didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t kidnappers. Last night when she met them she remembered how shaken they had both looked. The one named Lena looked equally scared and shocked. Kara had looked a little more put together, but there was something definitely off about her. She looked at her dad with hopeful eyes. “Is there anyway of reasoning with them?” He took a deep breath. “No, they will stop at nothing to get you back” She stood up and began pacing. “Ok, then how do we stop them?” He turned around in the chair and began typing away at the computer. He brought up a bunch of charts and graphs. “Kara isn’t human. She is an alien from a planet called Krypton. The yellow sun gives her special powers.” Wait. “I’m sorry, did you say the sun gives her powers?” She only thought that people with super powers existed in comic books. Her dad continued. “Yes. Super speed and strength. Enhanced senses along with heat vision, x-ray vision, and freeze breath.” It was a lot to take in. How are we going to beat them if she has all of these abilities? “There is one thing working for us. Our sun is different than the one that gives her power. Our sun is made of different components than the one on her Earth. This means that her cells don’t absorb our sun’s rays in the same way, and she is powerless. We just have to wait till her powers run out” If Kara didn’t have her powers then they could catch them and send them back to their Earth. It would give Dakota and her father enough time to figure out how to stop them from ever coming back.

Jitters was packed with people. Some were coming in to grab a pick me up coffee while others were college students studying for an upcoming exam. Most people were like Dakota and Ellie just hanging out while they sipped on whatever drink they ordered. Dakota was currently staring at her black coffee. She barely had any and it was long since cold. Ellie was talking about an upcoming project in her Education 101 class, not that Dakota was paying any attention to what was being said. She was still trying to process everything that her and her dad talked about that morning. She almost text Ellie that she didn’t feel good just so she could go home and process everything. The only reason she didn’t was because she knew that seeing her girlfriend would calm her nerves. “-here I go, about to drink some poison” Dakota’s head shot up. Ellie was looking at her with a concerned look on her face. I must have heard her wrong. Dakota shook her head a little. “Did you just say that you drank poison?!” Ellie just shook her head and placed her hand gently on Dakotas. “I had to say something to snap you out of your daze. What’s wrong?” Dakota couldn’t tell Ellie. How could she. How do you tell your girlfriend that your dad’s an assassin and that people are trying to take you away? She just smiled “I’m fine. I promise. You don’t have to worry about anything” Ellie didn’t believe that for a second. “Yeah sure. That’s why your crinkle is in full force. What is it sweetie?” Dakota hated that crinkle, it always gave her away.

 She let out a sigh before saying “It’s just my dad. He told me some stuff about his job this morning.” Ellie leaned forward. “What kind of stuff? Do you want to talk about it?” Dakota knew that Ellie was worried about her. She also knew that if she didn’t talk about what happened her girlfriend would just worry more. “He’s been working on this case. There are these people who, a long time ago kidnapped this little girl. The parents got her back in the end, but they never caught the people who took her.” She stopped for a moment to let Ellie process before she continued. “Now it seems that they are back. They want to take her away again. God only knows why they want her so bad.” She could see the wheels turning in the red heads mind. “Ok, so your dad is trying to figure out a way to stop them before they take this girl again?” She nodded. Ellie’s face scrunched up in thought. “Why doesn’t your dad just put her in witness protection until they find the kidnappers?” Dakota shook her head. “He already thought about it. They would just find her again. Plus, the girl doesn’t want to run and leave her whole life behind.” That was the last thing she wanted. Sure, she could get into another school and just continue her education there. However, she could never leave Ellie. She loved her too much to just leave her. She needed to figure out a way to catch them, send them back, and then figure out a way of stopping them from returning. Before she left, her dad gave her a small box and told her to only open it in case they came after her and she couldn’t get away. He said it was something that could hurt Kara, and that if she was hurt, Lena would stand down. She could feel the weight of it in her pocket. I still can’t believe that they are kidnappers she thought. She knows that she should be afraid of them or hate them for taking her when she was little, but she couldn’t. She had no way of explaining it, but a part of her felt sorry for them. Ellie spoke again tracing soothing circles on Dakota’s hand. “You’re really worried for this girl, aren’t you?” You could say that again. “Yeah I guess so. I just don’t know what I would do in her situation. I’m kinda stressing about it.” Ellie’s hand traveled up Dakota’s arm as she said “Well, I can think of a few ways to help you with that stress” Dakota smirked as she leaned towards her girlfriend. “Oh? And what did you have in mind.” They kissed. “Let’s get outta here and I’ll show you.” They stood and made their way out of Jitters.

Thankfully Ellie’s parents were both away on trips for work because they barely made it in the front door before their lips met in a passionate kiss. Ellie pinned Dakota against the door as it closed behind them. All of the worries about kidnappings and assassins faded away from her mind as Ellie kissed down her neck. A soft moan escaped her lips. She picked up her girlfriend wincing a little as her legs wrapped around her waist making contact with the bruise she’d received yesterday. She knew where the situation was going. She knew that eventually Ellie would see the bruise that was forming, but she didn’t care. She would explain why she had it later. Right now, all she wanted was Ellie. She kissed her girlfriend once again and lead them to the bedroom.

It was Monday morning and Kara’s nerves were eating away at her. They had spent the whole weekend planning out how to go about talking to Dakota, since the last time didn’t turn out so well. Lena was able to hack into the school’s system and find Dakota’s schedule. Her first class ended at eleven thirty, that’s when they would talk to her. Friday night she caught a glimpse of the man who took Cassie away, of the man who haunted her wife’s dreams. He wasn’t very tall, and his face was a little round. His hair was jet black and his eyes. Well, let’s just say that Lena wasn’t kidding when she said they were as black as obsidian. They don’t think he saw them that night, so they had the element of surprise. She was just worried that he would show up again. Logically she had nothing to worry about, there was no reason for him to be at the university. But she was still nervous he would be there. On top of that she was feeling a little less than super. She noticed that she didn’t need to try as hard to block out background noise. This morning she almost had a heart attack because she couldn’t hear Lena’s heart beating. She had to really try and concentrate in order to hear the familiar sound. She should have told Lena when they got ready this morning, but she knew that her wife was worried enough without Kara losing her powers. She didn’t want to add any stress.

Lena walked in through the door with breakfast from a local diner. She smiled and said “Hey. They had sticky buns today so I got you a bunch of them.” She placed the bag down on the small table and kissed her wife. “It smells amazing, I’m starving” Lena giggled as she took a seat. “You’re always starving.” They sat in comfortable silence content by just being in each other’s company. Finally, Kara spoke. “Are you nervous about today?” Lena put down the cup of coffee she was drinking and took a deep breath. “Yes, but I’m hopeful. She asked if we had met before, which means somehow, she remembers us. Maybe not exactly who we are, but she remembers us. What about you?” Kara nodded. “A little but I know that with you by my side anything is possible.” They shared a warm smile. “If things go well today we will have our daughter back.” Kara said. Lena nodded. “I must say that I am excited to get to know her. And that girlfriend of hers.” The two of them couldn’t stop obsessing over the fact that Dakota has a girlfriend. Watching them interact with each other at the track meet was one of the cutest things Kara had seen in her life. She was happy that Dakota had found someone. “She might not want to come back with us because of her though.” Lena looked at her wife processing her words. “We will just have to cross that bridge when we get to it.” She sighed. “I know.” It was getting close to eleven, so the two of them finished up eating and put everything away. Soon they were on their way to CCU.

The drive to CCU wasn’t very long, and by the time they got there it was eleven fifteen. They parked and made their way over to building ten. They were walking hand in hand across the campus. Both nervous about the result of this talk with their daughter. The building came into view and they found some benches to sit and wait. Lena was nervously checking her watch every five seconds. She felt her heart beating out of her chest. Something is going to go wrong. I can feel it. She looked over to Kara, whose steel gaze was on the doors of the building. She was in Supergirl mode, calm and focused. She looked at her watch for the hundredth time and saw that it read eleven twenty-five. The doors to the building opened and students started pouring out. Lena squeezed Kara’s hand as they both looked for Dakota. However, she was nowhere to be seen. “Do you think that maybe she skipped class today?” Kara asked. Lena shook her head. “No, according to the files she never missed a class in the two years she’s been here. What if.” Oh no. Fear took hold of Lena. “Kara, what if he saw us last night!?! What if he took her?!” Kara looked at her wife. “No, there’s no way he saw us.” She pointed a second later towards the building. “There she is.” Dakota walked out of the building. She was wearing a grey CCU hoodie, blue jeans, and brown boots. She was completely focused on the papers she held in her hands that she walked right passed them. Breaking out their daze from seeing her again they shared one last look that said It’s now or never.

They walked toward their daughter who had stopped to put the papers away in her backpack. Kara took a deep breath and said “Excuse me Dakota? I’m not sure if you remember us, but we meet at your track meet.” Kara wasn’t sure what reaction she was expecting from her daughter. Confusion maybe, or even disbelief. But not terrified. That’s the look Dakota was giving them. She shook her head and started backing away from them. “No, get away from me” Kara took a step closer. “It’s ok we are not going to hurt you.” Taking that step towards Dakota had been a mistake. She ran from them taking off so fast it took a second for them to realize what happened. They stared shocked as they watched her running. “I’m going after her” Kara said letting go of Lena’s hand. “Kara, no wait!” But it was too late Kara was already running after Dakota.

Running had never been Lena’s strong suit, in fact she hated it. But what else was she supposed to do when both her wife and her daughter took off. Why is she scared of us? Was all Lena could think as she followed the blur that was Kara. She followed them as best she could, her lungs burning, hoping that every turn she made was the right one. Finally, she saw Kara turn down an alley way that she knew was a dead end, the chase could finally stop. When she turned the corner what she saw made her gasp with horror.

Dakota walked out of the science building looking over the last test she took. She got a 95%. It was still a good grade, but it wasn’t 100. She stayed after class to ask her professor where she went wrong, and when she was satisfied with the answer she left. I won’t make the same mistake next class she thought to herself. Putting her papers away in her bag she saw two people approaching her from the corner of her eye. “Excuse me Dakota? I’m not sure if you remember us, but we met at your track meet” Her heart dropped down to the pit of her stomach. That voice. She looked up and saw Kara and Lena walking towards her. Oh my God. There here to take me! “No, get away from me” She stepped back wanting to put distance between herself and them. Kara look confused and Lena look shocked. Then Kara took a step closer to her and she bolted. She didn’t even hear what the blonde woman had said. I need to get out of here. She made her way through campus weaving through buildings and cutting through courtyards. She dared to look back and saw Kara hot on her tail. Damn it she has super speed. Feeling the box that her dad had given her in her pocket, an idea struck her and she made her way towards an alley that she knew was a dead end. If I can hurt Kara, then Lena will leave me alone. I can get out, and then call dad.

She turned the corner and ran all the way down to the wall at the far end. Turning around she took the small box out of her pocket. A few seconds later Kara came running down after her, stopping a few feet away. Dakota was shaking and breathing hard, she had never run that fast in her entire life. “Listen Dakota we aren’t going to hurt you” Yeah right. She didn’t believe that for a second. “You shouldn't have come back here.” She said as she opened the box and bright green light flooded out and into the alley way.

Pain. Worse than any kind her mother had given her hit her like a truck. Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground dropping the box. A small crystal slid out as the box hit the floor. What the hell is that!!? It felt like her veins were on fire. She screamed as tremors made their way through her whole body. She looked at Kara through her squinted eyes and saw that she was on her knees trying to fight the effects of the green crystal but was losing. She heard a voice call out. “Kara!” She opened her eyes a little to see Lena rushing to Kara’s side. She looked at the crystal and made her way over to it. The last thing Dakota saw was Lena putting the crystal back into the box before her vison blurred and everything went black.    

Chapter Text

She slowly opened her eyes and groaned. Her head was pounding and her body ached. Bright lights blinded her, so she brought her hand up to cover her face. When her eyes had adjusted she saw a big rectangular lamp that was shining bright yellow light down on her. Confused she closed her eyes again and pinched the bridge of her nose. The last thing she remembered was getting her test back, talking with her professor, she left class and then… Her eyes shot open and she sat up. Her head spun. Too fast. She closed her eyes again until she felt a little better. They had found her at school. Kara chased her, and then she’d opened the box. God what was that? Why did dad give that to me? She didn’t understand why her father would give her something that would hurt her. It had hurt Kara too though. She looked around and took in her surroundings. She was in a small room that kinda looked like a lab. There were monitors showing vital signs. Her vital signs. She looked down at her other arm and saw that she was attached to a machine. She considered taking it out of her arm, but then they would know she was awake.

She was laying on a hard steel table where the only form of comfort came from a small pillow for her head. She spotted a small table where her backpack was resting on top of it. Getting up from the table she made her way over, careful not to detach herself from the monitor. Once she got a hold of her bag she searched for her phone. There it is. The first person she wanted to call was Ellie. They had a lunch date at twelve and her phone currently said it was six at night. While she searched for her girlfriend’s number she was surprised to see that she had no calls or texts from her. Normally she would have over a hundred messages from the girl. All about how worried she is. Hoping that she was ok. Finding the number, she hit call. It didn’t even ring once when she heard a loud beeping sound. She looked down at her phone. No service? Ok, don’t freak out. Maybe they hadn’t taken her, maybe this was another room in her dad’s warehouse and she was safe. She heard a muffled voice through the door, a female voice. That is not my dad. Grabbing a pen from her bag she made her way to the door. Looks like I’m going to have to fight my way out. She carefully ripped out the tube that connected her to the monitor. It made a loud, long, beeping sound. The door handle began to move, and she took a deep breath.

As soon as the person walked in the room Dakota rushed at her with the pen. She raised her arm in an attempt to stab the woman but it was blocked by a lean strong arm. “What are you doing?” The voice said. She attacked again this time trying to punch her. The woman just continued to block and dodge every hit and kick she threw at her.  Exhaustion was getting the best of her. With the next punch she threw she started to fall forward with its momentum. The woman caught her before she fell on the hard ground. She was breathing heavy. I didn’t land a single hit she thought to herself. The woman spoke again. “Are you done? Or am I going to have to restrain you?” When she didn’t answer the woman hauled her to her feet. Done? Her thoughts drifted to Ellie. To her dad. She had to get out of here. She had to see them again. It would kill her if she couldn’t see Ellie again. Never hear her laugh or make her smile. So, no. She was certainly not done. She would let this woman lead her back over to the steel bed. Would let her hook her back up to the monitor. She would play whatever game they wanted until she had her chance to escape. Then she would go back home to Ellie.

The woman in front of her was a little shorter than she was. Where she was 5’9” this woman looked to be about 5’6”. She had short brown hair and dark brown eyes. She was lean and all muscle. She clearly knew how to handle herself in a fight, not that Dakota was the best fighter.  “How are you feeling?” the woman asked, the concern clear in her voice. Dakota kept her eyes to the ground and tried to steady her breathing. The woman let out a soft sigh. “My name is Alex by the way. In case you were wondering.” She wasn’t. Frankly she couldn’t care less who these people were. “I’m Dakota” She looked right at Alex fixing her with a hard glare. “But you already knew that” Alex just let out a small laugh. “Your mother does that too. She tries to look intimidating but she’s not.” Her eyes narrowed at the woman. My mother? She’s here? Maybe they hadn’t taken her. Maybe this woman, Alex, knew her dad and was just helping out while he was tracking Kara and Lena. “What happened? What was that crystal?” Alex didn’t say anything as she walked over to one of the computers. “I’ll let your parents explain when they get here. For now, let’s make sure you get better.” Dakota watched as she looked at her vitals on the screen. “Looks like you’re almost all healed up. You should feel one hundred percent better in about an hour or so.” She had been asleep for about four and a half hours. She didn’t know what that crystal was, or why it hurt her, but she knew that she never wanted to get near it again. “So, where are we?” she asked. Her curiosity getting the better of her. “Or is that a question for when my parents get here?”

Again, Alex just laughed. “You’re a bit of a smartass, aren’t you?” She shrugged “I have my moments” Alex rolled her eyes and stepped away from the computer. “I’ll go let them know that you’re awake.” And she was out the door closing it behind her, but not before Dakota caught a glimpse of a logo with three big letters. D.E.O? What the hell is that? Maybe it was the name of the government organization her dad belonged too. She let herself relax a little knowing that she would see him soon. Hopefully he was ok. She wasn’t entirely sure why her mother was here though. It’s not like she cared before. She decided to lay back down on the steel table thankful for the pillow. She didn’t know why there was a huge lamp over her, but she welcomed its warmth. After she talked to her parents she would ask to borrow a phone. Preferably one that had service. She wanted to call Ellie. Wanted to hear her voice. Needed to hear her voice. Then after she would sit down with her and they would have a long talk. She would tell her everything and hope that she wouldn’t run away. Maybe it’s better if she does run. If they found her then they could find Ellie. They might use her, might hurt her, just so they could get to Dakota. No. I won’t let them hurt her. She would do whatever needed to be done if it meant keeping her girlfriend safe.

It had been about thirty minutes before the door opened and she sat up. Alex came into the room first, and behind her. The people behind her weren’t her parents. It was the people she had been trying to get away from. Kara and Lena.

She got up from the table and backed away. They took me!? But Alex said… She fixed her gaze on the brunette. “You said that my parents were here! You lied to me!” she roared. Alex slowly took a step forward trying not to seem like a threat. She calmly said “I didn’t lie to you.” She was pleading. “Just let them explain.” No. “I don’t want to hear what they have to say. I know the truth. Just let me go!” Lena stepped next to Alex. “Sweetheart, ple-“ “Don’t call me that” Lena looked crushed. The pain clear in her eyes as if a piece of her heart broke. She watched Lena take a deep breath. “Dakota. What do you mean you know the truth? What truth?” Dakota shook her head. “Why? So, you can use the information I give you to twist it into a story that paints you in a better light? No thanks.” Kara put a reassuring hand on Lena’s shoulder. “Dakota, if you would just let us explain you would see that we aren’t the bad guys here” Through the open door a man with brown hair came in and they turned to look at him. “Guys, you have to see this.” While their attention was on the man Dakota took the opportunity and ran. She got passed them and the door cracked as she shoved the man into it to get past him.  She ran. She didn’t know where she was going, she was just looking for any exit. She had to get out. Had to find some way to contact her dad.  Suddenly a man was in front of her, as if he had just appeared from thin air. He grabbed her arm trying to stop her. “Get off me” She shoved him and he went flying into the wall. What? She looked down at her shaking hands. Did I just? He started getting up from the floor. Someone said her name. “Dakota” She turned to see Kara. “What did you do to me” she demanded. “Nothing, we did nothing.” She could see the worry and concern in Kara’s eyes but she didn’t understand why it was there. It made no sense. Someone touched her arm and she swung sending them flying. Kara acted instantly, catching the person she threw. It was Lena.

She was breathing hard, scared and confused. Then everything was loud. Everything was so loud that it felt like her head might explode. Talking, she could hear people talking. Multiple conversations were happening at once. She heard birds chirping and dogs barking. She could hear peoples heart beats. It was too much. It was all too much. She put her hands to her ears and shut her eyes trying to block everything out. She sank to her knees screaming. A voice cut through the noise. “Dakota concentrate for me. Focus on my voice.” It was Alex. “I need you to trust me just a little bit. I have something that will help, but you have to trust me ok?” Trusting any one of these people was the last thing she wanted to do, but if it made the noise go away, then she would. She nodded and let Alex remove her hands from her head. She felt something slip over her ears and just like that, all the voices were gone. She breathed a sigh of relief. 

A disaster. It was a complete disaster. Why can’t anything be easy? Alex thought to herself. Everything had gone wrong. When her sister and Lena came back she imagined they would have Cassie with them. She expected her to be shy at first, but then eventually warm up to them. She didn’t expect a crying Kara to be carrying an unconscious Dakota in her arms, with Lena holding a box that had some pretty powerful kryptonite.  They put her under the sun lamp straight away. In the four hours that her niece was asleep, Kara and Lena had caught her up on everything that happened. She was excited to hear how they had found her. However, it wasn’t the heartwarming story she was expecting. The day they decided to talk to Dakota the man had shown up, and Lena had a small panic attack. The next time they decided to talk with her she ran scared from them and then tried to hurt Kara with kryptonite. Not to mention the power loss Kara had mentioned. After they set Dakota down on the steel bed Alex took a long look at her niece. She could see the parts that were Kara, and the parts that were Lena. She was the perfect blend of both of them. She couldn’t wait to get to know her. The problem was she seemed to not want anything to do with them. They had no idea why, but if Alex had to guess it had something to do with the man who took her in the first place. Who knows what lies he probably told about them.

Now she was in a soundproofed room with Dakota who was sitting on the couch. She was hunched, curled into herself as if trying to disappear from the world. Her powers had finally kicked in. She had a sensory overload just like the ones Kara used to have as a kid. Her and Winn had developed special ear aids that dampened her powers and blocked out unnecessary sound. They made them when Lena was six months pregnant for this very reason. It wasn’t a guarantee that she would develop powers, but these would help in case she did. They were the only two people in the room. Her sister and Lena wanted to stay, but it seemed like the only person who Dakota was comfortable with right now was Alex. She felt so bad for them. When she was told about the chase at the university, when she was told how Dakota looked at them, she knew they were crushed. All they wanted was to take care of and love Dakota. To make up for all the lost time.

“I want to go home” came a quiet voice from across the room. Alex looked at her niece. She was wearing lead lined glasses incase her x-ray vision developed. Alex let out a long sigh. “I know you do. But this won’t go away just because you go back.” Dakota looked away from her. From this angle Alex was amazed at how much Dakota looked like Lena. They had the same defined jawline, and the same raven hair. “Why should I hear them out?” she said, still not meeting Alex’s gaze. “There are always two sides to every story. Now I’m not sure what your…” She took a deep breath. “Dad has told you about them, but they are really not the bad people you seem to think they are.” There was a long silence. “And these abilities. How do I control them?” Alex felt bad for her niece. To suddenly get all these powers? She couldn’t even imagine how scary it must be. At least with Kara her powers came gradually. As difficult as it was sometimes to deal with it, this had to be harder. “If you stick around Kara could show you” Dakota scoffed. Then she looked directly at Alex. “What if we make a deal?” Alex narrowed her eyes. “What kind of deal?” She watched as Dakota slowly uncoiled herself and sat up straight. “You let me go home. Give me a couple of days to process everything. Let me think about hearing them out instead of forcing me. If I decide yes, I’ll come back and listen to what they have to say” Alex was silent, thinking about the deal. I shouldn’t be the one to decide this, she thought. She stood up from the chair. “Let me talk about it with my sister and Lena” She headed towards the door. “No” Alex stopped in her tracks and turned around. “The deal I’m making is with you, not them. If you don’t decide right now I’m taking back my offer.” She has a little bit of a backbone. She gets it from Lena. “And how do I know that you won’t just tell your dad about this?” Dakota stood. “You’ll just have to trust me”

Alex thought about it for a second weighing her options. If she said no then Dakota might never come around. She also remembered being told that she has a girlfriend back on her Earth, Ellie. She knew her niece was smart, she would eventually figure out a way to get back just to see her again. However, if she said yes then she runs the risk of Dakota telling her “dad”. She thought about it a little more before coming to a decision. She would have to take the risk. She walked over to Dakota holding out her hand. “Ok, I’ll take you home.” When Dakota didn’t reach out to shake on the deal she said “What’s wrong?” Dakota looked down at the floor her brows creased. Huh, she has a crinkle too. “These abilities. I don’t want to hurt you by shaking your hand too hard.” Alex felt bad for her. She’s afraid of herself. While Dakota wasn’t too fond where she was or who she was with at the moment, she didn’t want to hurt anyone. Alex found it endearing. “You were exposed to this yellow sun for a short period of time, when you go back your powers should fade.” Dakota just nodded. “Ok. Now can you please take me home?” Alex opened the door after Dakota grabbed her things and put the ear aids back on and lead her back to the lobby.

When they opened the door, they found Kara and Lena sitting outside. Dakota immediately tensed.  Alex explained what was happening and said they could talk about it later. When they got to the lobby J’onn and Winn were there and looked at them expectantly. She grabbed the “Earth Hopper” and turned to Dakota. “Three days. You have three days to decide what you want to do, then we come back and you tell us.” Dakota nodded her head. Alex pushed the button and a blue portal appeared. “Just walk through and you’ll be home” Dakota took off the glasses but Alex waved her hand. “Keep them. We have plenty extra” After a short goodbye she walked through and for the second time Kara and Lena watched as their daughter disappeared through a breech.

Stepping out of the portal she found herself in a wooded area. She hadn’t been under the sun lamp for an hour and she was curious to see if her abilities were still there. She slid off the ear aids and held her breath. Oh, thank God. She could still hear fragments of things, and if she really concentrated she could hear them more clearly. It was not as bad as before which is all that mattered. She walked towards what she could only assume were street lights. When she reached them, she realized she was by CUU and started walking to her car. As she did her phone suddenly started going crazy with chimes indicating text messages and missed calls. Ellie. She had to call her girlfriend. With how late it was she probably sent out a search party. She tried unlocking her phone to call Ellie but it kept blowing up with messages that she had to wait until it they all came through. It took the entire way back to her car but the chiming had finally stopped. She had seventy-six missed calls and one hundred twenty-three texts from Ellie, all about how she is worried.

She hit the call button and waited for an answer. “Hello!” she heard from the other line. “Hey babe it’s me. I’m sorry for not answering I just. I don’t even know how to explain, but we need to talk.” She heard sniffling. “Babe, what’s wrong? Are you ok?” More sniffling. “Yeah, I’m ok. I was just so worried. You’ve always called if you couldn’t make it to one of dates, and when you didn’t answer your phone I expected the worst. Are you hurt?” She felt so bad for worrying Ellie. Ever since her brother died she’d become fiercely protective of the people she cared about. “No, I’m ok I’m safe, but we do need to talk” They made plans for Ellie to come over and spend the night. Her mother had an all-night shift at the hospital so she wouldn’t be home. They said that they loved one another and hung up.

When she pulled up to her house another car was outside. Her dad’s car. She parked and got out. As soon as she closed the door he embraced her in a hug. “Kiddo where have you been. Ellie called me and said she couldn’t find you. I thought that maybe they took you” She remembered the deal she made with Alex. And how do I know that you won’t just tell your dad about this? You’ll just have to trust me. She could just tell her dad what happened. Tell him that they took her and that they were back on their Earth. That they had three days to figure out how to stop them from coming back. She almost did. However, she thought back to the crystal. How he gave her something that could hurt her. The box was currently in her bag, and she hated being so close to it. “I got upset after class so I decided to go for a run in the woods. I ended up getting lost and my phone died so I couldn’t call anyone.” He broke the hug and looked at her strangely. “You went running?” She nodded. “In jeans and boots?” Crap. “Yeah I was pretty upset and just took off. You can ask people around campus if you don’t believe me.”  He hugged her again. “No, I believe you. I’m just glad you are safe kiddo” They made plans for him to pick her up after school the next day so that he could show her some new fighting techniques. He gave her one last hug and he was gone.

She decided to shower before Ellie came over wanting to relax under the warm water. She took off her boots and headed to the bathroom. When she got there, she went to take off her hoodie but felt something in the pocket. It was the glasses Alex gave her. She put them on and looked in the mirror. Whoa. I kind of look like… Her eyes went wide. She looked at herself. Really looked, as if for the first time. She thought she looked like Lena. There were even bits of Kara that she saw. Then she remembered what Alex said.  Your mother does that. I’ll let your parents explain. She quickly took off the glasses and shut her eyes, shaking her head. No. There’s no way. She couldn’t be their daughter. She didn’t know why Alex would say that. She had to be lying. She heard the brunettes voice in her head. I didn’t lie to you. She couldn’t believe it, she refused to believe it. But the evidence was overwhelming. She looked more like them than she did her own parents. Were he mother had red hair she had dark raven hair. Were her dad had dark almost black eyes, hers were a deep blue. She was taller than both of them and when it came to resemblance she looked nothing like them. If she really was their daughter then that would mean she was half alien. It would explain the powers. It would also explain why the crystal hurt both her and Kara. Another reason she refused to believe it was that if it was true, then her dad lied to her. About everything. He would be the one who took her, and she didn’t think she could handle it. She took a deep breath trying to clear her mind. Shower first, everything else later. She removed her hoodie and was about to take off her jeans when she stopped short. Her bruise from last week was gone. Completely healed. Realizing it must have something to do with her abilities she thought well I guess that’s pretty cool.

She got out of the shower and changed into something comfy just as the doorbell rang. When she opened the door, she was attacked by a barrage of kisses and a hug so tight she almost couldn’t breathe. She kissed the top of her girlfriend’s head and hugged her back. Softly though, she wasn’t sure if her strength was gone yet. She felt Ellie take a deep breath. “I am so happy that you’re ok” She smiled. When she first woke up under the sun lamp she wasn’t sure how long it would be until she saw Ellie again. “Yeah, I’m happy too” They separated. “So, what did you want to talk about” the shorter said curiously. Dakota’s stomach rumbled. They had offered her some food at the D.E.O, which she later found out stood for Department of Extranormal Operations, but she refused it. Ellie giggled. “Let’s eat first, then we’ll talk. What are you in the mood for?” Ellie went into her overnight bag. “Well you seemed stressed over the phone so I picked something up on way here.” She pulled out a bag that smelled like chicken. The “Chicken Shack” logo on its side. Dakota kissed her girlfriend. “You got my favorite.” Ellie hugged her side. “Yup, all the chicken and mashed potatoes you can eat.” They set up in front of the t.v wanting to watch a movie while they ate. When they finished eating they cuddled up together until the movie was over.

When the credits started to roll they threw out their trash and make their way to Dakota’s room. Sitting across from each other Ellie nervously asked “So, what did you want to talk about?” She took a deep breath, staring at her sheets. “Well, it’s something important, and it affects the both of us.” Please let telling her be the right decision she thought. The fear of losing Ellie rising in her chest. She looked back at her. She saw tears starting to form in her girlfriend’s eyes. She put a comforting hand on the shorter girl’s knee. “What’s wrong?” Ellie let out a small sob. In a broken voice she asked “Are you breaking up with me?” Dakota’s eyes went wide and she embraced Ellie in a tight hug. “Sweetheart no. No, why would you think that. I would never break up with you.” Try as she might Ellie still couldn’t stop the tears from falling. “Well, you missed our date, then you wouldn’t answer your phone, and when you called you said we needed to talk. When people say that they need to have a talk, they usually mean that they are gonna break up with them” She just held her girlfriend. I can’t believe she thought that. I would die without her. “No, I would never, not in a million, billion years. Honey I wanna marry you one day and have kids with you. I want to grow old with you and always make you happy.” Ellie pulled herself away to look at Dakota. “I want those things too” Dakota wiped away the tears that had fallen cupping her girlfriend’s cheek in her hand. Ellie leaned into the touch. “I love you so much Ellie. From now until my dying day.” Ellie kissed the inside of Dakota’s wrist. “From now until my dying day” Dakota brought Ellie into her lap holding her. They stayed like that for a few moments before Dakota spoke again. “We really do need to talk though.” Ellie nodded and got up to sit across from her girlfriend again. “Ok, what is it?”

Dakota took a deep breath and said. “Ok, the first thing you need to know is. My dad doesn’t work for the FBI. He’s really a government assassin”

Ellie’s eyes went wide.        

Chapter Text

When she woke up in the morning it took her a few moments to remember where she was. She had gotten so used to being at the hotel that she didn’t realize she was home. Yesterday had completely crushed her. Seeing the way Dakota ran from them. Seeing the fear in her eyes. When she’d hurt Kara, Lena couldn’t breathe. How did she even get her hands on kryptonite? Her best guess was that she got it from the man with the obsidian eyes. Lena knew something was wrong when it took Kara fifteen minutes to fully recover from the kryptonite, when usually it takes her between three to five. That’s when Kara told her about her power loss. She was so upset with her and wanted to talk about it but they needed to make sure that their daughter was ok. It was most likely the first time she was fully exposed to the harsh crystal, and she didn’t have any powers to help lessen its effects. Kara used her x-ray vision to make sure that internally she was ok. It took her a couple of times because tears started forming in her eyes. All Lena wanted when she found out she was pregnant was to love and protect her daughter. She failed nineteen years ago and she was currently failing now. Dakota seemed to want nothing to do with them. She remembered how Dakota yelled at her. How her powers kicked in and she lost control. She hated seeing her in pain. It killed her. It was as if someone stuck a knife through her and was twisting it around. If it wasn’t for Kara’s comforting presence she would have broken down into tears right there.

She sat up on the bed and turned to look at her still sleeping wife. Kara looked so peaceful when she slept. Her features soft with no sign of tension. She knew that her wife was sleeping deeply because she was slightly floating over the bed. Lena kissed her forehead and got up. After brushing her teeth, she made herself some coffee. Cup in hand she decided to sit out on the balcony. The sun was still rising above the city giving the sky a light orange glow. They hadn’t been gone long but she missed National City. When she first came here from Metropolis all those years ago, all she was looking for was a fresh start. If someone had told her that she would be happily married with a child she wouldn’t have believed them. She had made National City her home. She made a home with Kara. The only thing that was missing was Dakota. Please. Please let us get her back. She heard the shuffling of footsteps behind her. Looking over her shoulder she saw Kara sleepily rubbing her eyes. The sight bringing a small smile to her face. Kara mumbled a good morning and made her way over to Lena. She climbed into the chair curling up on Lena’s lap and snuggling into her chest. Lena kissed the top of her head. “Good morning sweethe-“ She stopped midsentence remembering how Dakota yelled at her yesterday when she tried to call her sweetheart. Kara looked up at her, sensing her distress. “Hey. It’s going to be ok” She just stared at Kara trying to smile. She didn’t know how she felt about the deal Alex made with her daughter. She was paranoid that she would tell her “father”. God, I hate calling him that she thought. However, if there was any chance that Dakota would hear them out she would gladly take it.

In a quiet voice she asked “What lies do you think he told her about us growing up?” Kara snuggled back into her wife’s warm chest. “I’m sure he painted us as some psychotic power couple that does horrible things to people.” Whatever it was, it had made Dakota run from them. She remembered the first time they saw her. Walking hand in hand with Ellie. When she saw them that first time there was no fear, no assumptions about who they were. She must have just been recently told. Which means… He knows. He saw us. “Kara” Hearing the serious tone of her wife’s voice she sat up. “What is it?” Lena took a deep breath. “He knows Kara. He knows that we were there. What if” her voice cracked as tears started welling in her eyes. “What if she tells him she was here and they run?” Kara brought her hand up to her wife’s cheek, her own set of tears starting to fall. “If they run, or if he takes her, we will find them and try again. No matter what we can’t lose hope” Lena was suddenly brought back to when their daughter was first taken. When she yelled at Kara in her office for losing hope about finding Dakota. We were so young then. When Kara had come back from Earth one they both had a renewed sense of hope that only continued to grow over the years. She nodded her head. “You’re right” She leaned into Kara and hugged her. “Hopefully they won’t run, but if they do we will find her again” They stayed like that for a moment as the city below was starting to wake.

 She slowly sat up and faced the blonde. “She’s going to agree to hear us out. When she does, we can only hope that she believes us.” Kara leaned forward and kissed her. It was gentle and tender. They slightly pulled away resting their foreheads against each other. “She will believe us. Even if it takes a lifetime to convince her, she’ll believe us.” Suddenly Kara’s stomach roared. They both giggled. “How about we make you some breakfast?” Lena said rising to her feet. She held out her hand. Kara gently took it and said “Yes please” They had two days until they would ask Dakota what her answer was. Two days of waiting. God, she thought, I hate waiting.

It was seven in the morning and Dakota was wide awake. She was lying on her back while Ellie was sleeping on her chest, an arm around her waist. As she gently played with the brownish red locks of her girlfriend’s hair she replayed the conversation they had the night before over in her head.  When she told her that her dad was really an assassin she’d never seen Ellie’s eyes go so wide.

“I’m sorry. Did you just say that your dad is an assassin?” She slowly nodded her head. Ellie was silent for a few moments, her eyes narrowing and her brow creasing in thought. I must sound crazy. She’s never going to believe me. Ellie took a deep breath and said “Ok. What else” Dakota just blinked dumbfounded. “What?” Ellie raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “You said that the first thing I needed to know was that your dad was an assassin. I’m assuming there’s more to the story.” Dakota shook her head still not understanding her girlfriend’s words. “Wait. You believe me?” Ellies eye’s softened as she took Dakota’s hands in her own. “Honey, you have never lied to me before unless it had something to do with a surprise. Why would you start now?” Guilt twisted in her gut as she remembered last week when Ellie asked about the bruise on her side. I have lied to you she thought. “So please” her girlfriend continued. “Tell me what’s going on” And so she did. She told her about Kara and Lena. About the story her dad told her about being kidnapped. She told her about the deal she made. She even told her how she was starting to think that maybe her dad had lied to her. When she was finished she gave Ellie a few minutes to process everything. A couple of minutes had turned into a few, and then five, and then ten full minutes had passed. Dakota was too scared to say anything. Oh God. I scared her off. It was too much. She’s going to leave. Finally, after what seemed like forever Ellie spoke. “Maybe your dad is telling a half truth. Maybe he hooked up with one of them, and when you were born whichever one he hooked up with tried to take you. That’s why your dad said they kidnapped you, but then he got you back.” Dakota shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. I look exactly like them. I have parts of both Lena and Kara. If he was really my dad then I would look like some of them and some of him.” She knew that if Ellie saw her with them that she would see the resemblance. “But biologically that makes no sense. Two females can’t reproduce on their own.” Dakota just shrugged. “Maybe that’s why my dad didn’t think the crystal would hurt me. He thinks I’m all human. The crystal only effects people with Kryptonian DNA” Dakota watched the wheels turning in Ellie’s head. Trying to figure out how Dakota had been born if she really was their daughter. Then she gasped. “Do you think it’s an alien thing. Like they can reproduce on their own?” She hadn’t really thought about it. “It could be that but I don’t think so” If it was a different Earth than maybe technology was more advanced there. Maybe they found a way to take the genetic material of Kara and Lena and use it to create a child. To create her. “So, what are you going to do?” She heard Ellie ask. While she wanted to answer, she had no idea. Who does she trust? The dad that raised her? The one who told corny dad jokes and went to almost all of her sports events. The one who encouraged her when she was feeling down. Or does she trust two people that she just met. People who could be telling the truth. No matter how much I hate it.  “I don’t know. Do you think I should hear them out?” Ellie put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I think you should do whatever feels right to you” Dakota sighed and put her head in her hands. “That is not the answer I was looking for” Ellie softly giggled. “I know sweetie, but this is a decision you need to make on your own. You have three days to decide, but I want you to know that whatever decision you make I’ll support you” She lifted her head to see her girlfriend smiling at her sweetly. “What did I ever do to deserve you?” Ellie had a mischievous smile on her face. “I’m not sure, but I am quite the catch, aren’t I?” Dakota just rolled her eyes. “Oh, shut up”’ She said, as she leaned forward and kissed her girlfriend.

She still didn’t’ know what to do, she was up half the night thinking about it. She felt Ellie move next to her. She was snuggling into her side. After a few moments she heard a muffled “Good morning” She wrapped both arms around her sleepy girlfriend and kissed the top of her head. “Good morning” They stayed like that for a while, happy just to be near each other. “Are you sure that you’re ok with all of this?” she asked. Ellie shifted and sat up so that she could see her girlfriends face. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” Dakota bit her bottom lip. “It’s a lot to take in. What if I really am half alien?” Ellie shook her head. “Sweetheart just because you could be half alien doesn’t mean that you’re a completely different person. You are still you” She leaned forward and kissed the top of Dakota’s head. “You are still the same Kota that I fell in love with” Dakota smiled at the beautiful girl in front of her wondering how she got so lucky.

Suddenly the front door opened and slammed shut and they both turned their heads to the sound. Oh no she thought. Her mother had come home early. Through her shut bedroom door, she heard her mother’s stern voice call her name. “Dakota Anderson” She looked back to Ellie who looked a little nervous. She knew her mother would never try anything while Ellie was here, and even if she did. Well, Dakota hoped it wouldn’t come to that. She heard Ellie take a deep breath. “I’ll start packing up my stuff” Dakota just nodded. She got up from the bed and started walking towards the door, until Ellie stopped her. “Wait, put some pants on first” She looked down. She hadn’t even realized she was only wearing a baggy shirt and her underwear. Oh, yeah pants would be good. She thanked Ellie while putting on a pair of sweats.

She walked out to the living room where her mother still stood by the door. Though her face was void of any emotion, Dakota could see the fury in her cold eyes. “Yes mother” She said quietly. Her mother took a step forward. “Please do not tell me that you allowed that girl to spend the night. Please tell me that she just got here.” There was no point in lying. She had tried in the past, but no matter what answer she gave it always ended the same. She steeled herself. “Yes. She did spend the night. It’s what girlfriends do.” Another step forward. “And where is she now.” She had seen her mother angry before, but not like this. For the first time in years, Dakota was scared of what her mother would do. She started saying I will not be afraid in her head. Over and over. I will not be afraid. I will not be afraid. “She’s in my room, packing her things.” No sooner did the words leave her mouth, did her mother slap her across the face. Dakota clenched her jaw as her eyes welled from the pain.

They heard her bedroom door open and she quickly blinked away any tears. Ellie was soon in the living room. “Hello Ms. Anderson.” Her mother just nodded. Ellie stood there awkwardly, unaware of what happened. Dakota put a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder. “I’ll walk you to your car.” They were out the front door and at Ellie’s car without another word to her mother. Ellie put her bag in the backseat of her car and turned to look at Dakota. She could see the worry in the shorter girl’s green eyes. “Are you going to be ok? She looked pretty mad.” Dakota let out a small laugh. “Yeah, everything is going to be fine. She’ll probably just give me a lecture about having you over without permission.” Another lie. She heard Ellie’s voice in her head. You have never lied to me before. She would have to tell her the truth soon. All these lies were killing her. “If you need anything, call me.” They shared a soft kiss and Ellie was on her way. Dakota stood there until Ellie’s car disappeared in the distance. Her face still stung from were her mother slapped her. She didn’t want to go back inside, but she knew she had to. She slowly made her way back into the house where her mother stood, her hands clenched into fists by her sides. Waiting for her.

It felt good being back at CatCo. It gave her a sense of normalcy amongst all the chaos currently going on in her life. She was currently reading an article one of her newest recruits had written. For the most part, it was a good article, Kara just found it to be a little biased. It reminded her of when she wrote that first article about Lena. Her first draft was definitely biased, and she was happy that Snapper made her redo it. Someone knocked at her open office door and when she looked up she was happy to see a familiar face. “James, what can I do for you?” He walked into her office and sat down in the chair in front of her desk. “I just wanted to see how you were doing” Behind Alex and Winn, James was one of her closest friends. At one point she thought that they could be more, but they just worked better as friends. Ironically the same thing happened with Lena. Thankfully for her their relationship was short lived. “I’m doing ok.” He gave her skeptical look. “Don’t do that” he said. She shook her head and gave him an innocent smile. “Do what?” “That thing you do when you say you’re ok when you’re really not.” She took a deep breath. “Alright, fine. I'm not doing ok. Things are really crazy and I’m worried about the decision Dakota is going to make tomorrow.” She started to ramble. “What if she says that she doesn’t want to hear us out? What do we do then? Do we just let her go?” James tried to calm her “Kara” But she continued to ramble. “Do we force her to stay until she hears us out? That would make us into the horrible people she already thinks we are. And what happens if she hears us out and believes us” “Kara” “We can’t just expect her to uproot her whole life and move here can we” She was so caught up in her rambling that she didn’t notice when James stood from his chair and walked around her desk.

 It wasn’t until he put a hand on her shoulder that she stopped. “Kara, take a breath, just breathe.” She did. “I’m sorry, I’m just a little stressed” He let out a small laugh. “Yeah, I could tell.” She looked up at him. “What are we going to do James” He knelt until he was level with her. “Kara, we’ve been friends for years now. Do you know what I’ve always admired about you?” She took a second to think about it. “My impressive skill to eat an immense amount of pot stickers?” They both laughed. “While that is true, no that’s not it. It’s that you always do the right thing. No matter what” He smiled softly. “I know that when it comes to Dakota, you and Lena will do the right thing.” She wanted to believe him. She wanted to trust that when it came to her daughter she would always do the right thing. But in her experience, every choice she made since Dakota was born had been the wrong one. It was the wrong choice to leave her and Lena at the hospital to deal with a bomb, it was the wrong choice to chase her at the campus, and it was the wrong choice to bring her to the D.E.O. It probably only made her believe what her “dad” said even more. Despite her own doubts she smiled at him. “Thanks, that helped a little” He hugged her and then started for the door. Just before he left he said. “If you need anything, I’m here” She nodded her thanks and he was gone.

The rest of the day was pretty slow, she mostly just reviewed articles and made some edits. She had a couple of calls as Supergirl, but nothing too crazy. At the end of the day, she was happy to head back home. As she pushed open the door to their apartment the most amazing smells filled her nose. She looked up to see the dinner table filled with all of her favorite foods. Off to the side she saw Lena. Beautiful didn’t come close to describing her wife. She was wearing a black dress that hugged her curves in all the right places, her raven hair pulled up in an elegant bun showing off her neck. “Welcome home” her wife giggled. She started to slowly make her way to Kara. “You know, I’ve only seen you get that flustered look on your face three other times” She came to a stop in front of Kara. She was close enough that Kara could smell her perfume. Rao, she smells so good. “The first” She said as she leaned in to kiss the spot were Kara’s jaw and neck met. “Was when you were in my office with your cousin, and I told you that I hoped to work with you in the future. The second” She kissed lower down on the blonde’s neck causing Kara to physically gulp. “When I told Jack that you were the best reporter in National City.” She lifted her hands and undid the first couple of buttons on Kara’s shirt, the suit underneath starting to peak out. “And the third” she whispered kissing the base of her wife’s neck getting a small moan in response. “Was on our wedding night” Kara took in a shaky breath. “As good as all the food looks, right now all I want is you” Lena looked up at her she was staring at her with what Kara liked to call her sexy eyes. “You can have me” She said as she leaned up to kiss Kara.

Just as their lips were about to meet Lena quickly pulled away and started making her way to the table. “After we eat of course” Kara was left standing speechless. “But, but” She took a deep breath. “You little tease” she said shaking her head and smiling at her wife. Lena just laughed as she sat down at the table. “Well I can’t always give you what you want now can I?” Kara took the seat next to her. “You know I could always just force you” Lena smile mischievously. “Is that a promise?” Heat rose in her cheeks as she stumbled for a response but failed. Even after all these years Lena still managed to make her blush. “Let’s just eat before the food is cold.” As they ate they talked about how their days went. In Lena’s absence Sam had run L-Corp smoothly and they talked about new ideas to share with the board at the next meeting. Kara loved when Lena would be at CatCo, but she knew that L-Corp is where she belonged. “So, what’s the occasion for all the food?” Lena set down her fork. “Well, the both of us have been so stressed lately that I thought we could use a night to ourselves. To pig out, and relax, and maybe some other things” Kara left her chair and took Lena’s hand in her own guiding her to stand. “Well, we pigged out, and I’m feeling pretty relaxed. Seems like there’s just one more thing to check off.” She kissed her wife with such intensity and passion that Lena moaned right away. She heard her voice in a hoarse whisper. “Then maybe we should check that off the list” They continued to kiss, their hands starting to roam over each other’s bodies. Everything might be descending into chaos around them. Dakota might not agree to hear them out tomorrow, but right here in this moment when they met each other touch for touch, everything was perfect.

She hit the blue mat with a hard thud. Dakota lost count of how many times her dad bested her while they sparred. “You need to guard your center more kiddo and watch out for when your opponent tries to sweep your legs” As much as it hurt her to do so, she pushed herself up and got ready to go again. Her whole left side hurt like crazy. Her mother didn’t hold back after Ellie left. After her class yesterday, she spent the rest of the day in bed icing her side. She had told both her dad and Ellie that she needed to study in order to avoid seeing them. Today however, her father insisted on training saying she was a little rusty. He wanted her to be ready incase Kara and Lena showed up. If only he knew she thought. Tomorrow was when she was supposed to give them an answer, but she still had no idea what to do. She didn’t have a problem with the possibility of being half alien, in fact she wished she had her abilities so her wounds would heal. She had a problem with the possibility that her father had lied to her. In her opinion one of the worst things a person could do is steal a child from their home. The thought of her father doing something like that made her sick.

She got into a ready position as her dad attacked again. She blocked his first couple of hits before she decided to strike. Her first punch missed him, but that’s what she wanted. She brought her knee up hitting him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. While his footing was unstable she took the opportunity and shoved him, hard. He was down on the mat. After catching his breath, he said “Nice, that was great kiddo.” She heard pride in his voice. Usually him being proud of her would fill her with joy, but this time she felt nothing. Her thoughts roaming to Kara, Lena, and even Alex. If she was really Kara’s daughter, then that would make Alex her aunt. Would Alex have been the one to teach me how to fight if I grew up on the other Earth? Her phone played a happy tune from its place on a table. She walked over to it and answered the phone. “Hey babe, what’s up?” Over the line she heard her girlfriends cheery voice. “Hey, my class got out early and I wanted to know if you wanted to grab some dinner at the diner?” Her stomach growled at the mention of food. “Hold on a sec” She turned to her father. “Hey, Ellie wants to grab dinner? Can we please be done for the day?” Her father took a few moments to answer, and for a second she thought he might say no. “Yeah sure go ahead. You did good today” She smiled at him and said thank you. “Yeah, just give me like an hour to get back and I’ll meet you there” she said good bye and started collecting her things.

“Seems like you have a big decision to make” Her heart stopped at her father’s words. No, there is no way he knows. She turned to look at him taking in a shaky breath. “What?” He looked at her as if he was keeping a secret. “You know, for food. You have to have some protein after a long workout.”  She let out a small sigh of relief. “Oh, yeah, don’t worry. I’ll be sure to eat some protein” With a short goodbye she got in her car and drove home.

The next day she was stressing. Her heart was beating out of her chest as she waited for Alex to come through a breech. They had decided to meet in the woods by CCU. With how late it was, no one would be around to notice the blue portal opening, and Dakota could leave her car in the parking lot if she decided to hear their story. A decision she had yet to make. Her head was spinning with what to do. She looked down at her watch. Five more minutes. Ellie squeezed her hand grounding her. She looked down, their eyes meeting. “No matter what you choose, it’s gonna be ok.” Ellie gave her a reassuring smile. Seconds later the portal opened up and Alex stepped out. Only she wasn’t alone. As Kara and Lena stepped out she heard Ellie gasp beside her. “Wow, you do look like them” I told you. The portal closed and there was a tense silence. Finally, Alex spoke. “Hi. How are you?” Dakota’s voice came out as a whisper at first. “Hi” she cleared her throat. “I’m ok, and you?” “Pretty good.” Alex’s gaze shifted to Ellie. “And you are?” Dakota tensed. She didn’t want Ellie there in case things went wrong, but her girlfriend wouldn’t take no for an answer. “My name’s Ellie. I’m Dakota’s girlfriend” The brunette smiled. “I’m Alex” Dakota looked over at the two women her dad claimed had kidnapped her. They look just as nervous as her, but there was something else. It was small and if you didn’t know what it was you would have never seen it. It was hope. She saw hope in their eyes. The same kind of hope she saw every time she looked at Ellie. “So, have you made a decision?” Alex asked. She could see that Lena was shaking, holding on to Kara to keep her steady. This was it. Her moment to choose. It wasn’t just about agreeing to listen to them, it was so much more than that. She was deciding who to believe. Her father, or them. Her family or two strangers. She knew what she had to do. She knew the choice she had to make. “Yes, I have” She looked down at Ellie who’s smile gave her strength. Looking back at Alex she said “My decision is-“

Chapter Text

Tears started forming in Lena’s eyes. She couldn’t believe it. She felt her knees starting to give, but Kara kept her up right. When Alex opened the portal again, she moved through it not hearing anyone or anything. She was in shock. She couldn’t believe what happened. It wasn’t until they walked back through the portal and were at the D.E.O that she fully realized what was going on. She looked up through her tear-filled eyes. There standing in front of her looking around the D.E.O with nervous glances was Dakota. She said yes. She couldn’t believe it. As much as she’d hoped that her daughter would say yes, she didn’t think she would. But here she was. She was going to hear them out. She heard Kara’s voice. “We’ll be back in a second.” She felt Kara lead her to a room and heard her close the door behind them. She felt warm hands wiping away her tears. She looked into her wife’s crystal blue eyes, finding that they were also filled with tears. “She said yes Lena” She had never felt more relieved in her entire life. Kara’s voice was coming out in quiet sobs. “She’s going to hear us out” Lena hugged her wife, holding her firmly as if she was afraid she would disappear if she let go. They stayed like that for a few minutes shedding tears of joy and relief. Finally, Lena reluctantly pulled away and kissed Kara’s forehead. “We should get back out there in case she changes her mind” Her wife nodded wiping her face on the sleeve of her shirt. She heard Kara take a deep breath before saying “Ok, let’s do this” 

When they walked back out to the main lobby she was surprised to see that Ellie was laughing at something that Alex said. She was even more surprised to see that Dakota was smiling. It disappeared as soon as Dakota noticed them walking towards her. Alex turned to them her face full of concern. “You guys ok?” Kara nodded and Lena said “Yes, we’re good now” Kara stepped forward and held her hand out to Dakota. “Thank you, for agreeing to listen to us.” When Dakota’s body tensed, it didn’t go unnoticed. Lena watched as Ellie reflexively looked up at her daughter. How she was rubbing her thumb in soothing circles on the hand she was holding. Dakota relaxed just a fraction of an inch and went to shake Kara’s hand. “Yeah well” She looked at Alex, giving her a knowing look. “I figured that there are two sides to every story.” J’onn walked in and Lena saw the guilt stretch across Dakota’s face. The last time Dakota had seen him she threw him across the room and into a wall. He just looked at her and smiled. “My name is J’onn J’onzz. It is very nice to meet you” In an apologetic voice Dakota said. “I am so sorry for what happened last time. Honestly, I didn’t mean to hurt you” His face softened. “It is quite alright. I barely even felt it” She gave him a nod and said “It’s not as busy as the last time I was here.” J’onn crossed his arms over his chest. “That would be because I sent everyone home for the night. We have the place to ourselves." 

Dakota looked at Lena. “So, are you guys going to tell me your side, or are we just gonna stand here the whole time?” Kara let out a small laugh. “We figured that instead of just telling you, we could also show you.” Lena motioned to J’onn. “J’onn is from Mars, and he has telepathic abilities. Through my memories as well as Kara’s, he can show you what happened through our eyes.” Dakota’s eyes narrowed at her. “And how do I know that it’s not a trick. That what I see won’t really be an illusion?” J’onn spoke. “I don’t have the ability to create illusions. I can shapeshift and see into people’s memories, but I can’t create illusions” It didn’t seem like Dakota was buying it. “I’m not some expert of Mars. How do I know you’re telling the truth about your abilities” Alex let out a small laugh. “You just have to trust us.” That seemed to be enough because she saw her daughter nodding her head. J’onn came over and was about to put his hand on Lena’s shoulder when Kara stopped him. “Lena wait. Are you sure this is how you want to tell her? Are you sure you want to experience that night again?” She took a second to think about it. She had relived that night over in her head for the last nineteen years, she could bear it just once more. “Yes, this is how it needs to be” Kara kissed her forehead. “Ok” J’onn put his hand on their shoulders and focused. He linked all their minds together so that they could all see into the memories.

The room around them shifted from the D.E.O. lobby to a hospital room. There was Kara and Lena sleeping on the bed together, a small child in a crib next to them. They watched as Kara got up and she told Lena about a robbery. Soon after she was gone, the hospital door opened and a man stepped through. Lena looked at her daughter to gage her reaction. As memory Lena turned on the lights revealing the man’s face, Lena saw all the color drain from Dakota. Her eyes were wide in shock. The scene changed to Lena chasing the man trying to get to Cassie, then to Lena telling Kara that their daughter was gone. J’onn showed them all the times Kara and Lena looked for Cassie, how throughout the years, they never stopped trying to find her. J’onn also showed them Kara going to Earth one trying to enlist the help of team Flash. How hopeless she felt. Being inside her wife’s head she could feel Kara’s guilt as well as her own. She looked at Kara. Her eyes were closed as if she was trying to keep everything together. She put an arm around her waist and Kara looked down at her. A small smile appeared, and her wife kissed the top of her head. As the memories continued forming around them she turned her attention back over to Dakota and Ellie. The shorter girl was hugging Dakota’s side now, trying to comfort the girl. Lena could only imagine what was going through her daughter’s head. She thought about how she felt when Lex started to go mad. He was always such a caring person until his obsession with Superman. After the last memory played out, the area around them shifted back to the D.E.O. No one spoke for several moments. Lena was holding her breath, hoping that their daughter would trust them enough to know that what they showed her was the truth. Dakota looked about ready to cry, as she kept her eyes on the floor.

She finally spoke, looking at the both of them. “So, you guys really are my parents.”

She believed them. 

When she agreed to go back with them to their Earth, she didn’t think everything would be perfect, but there was no way in hell that she was ready for this. After Kara and Lena came back from the room they were in, she was completely open to hearing their side of the story. She had to admit though, that being able to see Lena’s memories was kinda cool. At least, it was until she saw her dad take baby her away from Lena at the hospital. So, it was true then. Her dad really did take her. She felt betrayed. She couldn’t believe it, refused to believe it. But it was happening right in front of her. She watched as Lena tried to chase after her father and get her back. The heart wrenching scream that ripped out of Lena as the portal closed made her knees feel weak, and she was sure that if Ellie wasn’t hugging her she would have fallen to the floor right there. It was terrible seeing all the pain Kara and Lena had gone through. She watched as year after year, they got a cake for her birthday, how they reached out to other Earth’s for help in finding her. They never stopped looking for me. Her gaze turned towards the two women who stood close together, looking as if they could take on the world so long as they had each other. A warm feeling made its way throughout Dakota as she stared at them. As she stared at her two mom’s. It was hard to watch herself run from them at CCU, and then use the kryptonite on Kara. God, what was I thinking. She had hurt them. Of course, this could all be an illusion but. The guilt. She didn’t know how she felt it, but she could feel the guilt of them losing her. She felt it within both of their memories. The people that her father described seemed cruel and void of any compassion. However, the people in front of her, the people who never stopped looking for her not because they wanted to hurt her, but because they wanted their daughter back. She knew that what she was feeling was real. That the emotions coursing through her body were all genuine. She didn’t notice when the memories stopped, all she knew was that she was back in the D.E.O. She looked up at them trying not to cry. “So, you guys really are my parents.”

She watched as Kara nodded and took a step forward. “Yes. We have been looking for you for a really long time.” Yeah, nineteen years. “We just want to get to know you. We don’t expect you to come live with us or leave the life you have on your Earth.” She felt relieved. She thought that maybe they would force her to come back with them. She didn’t want to leave Ellie. “We just want to be apart of your life.” She wiped away the few tears that slipped down her face. “I think that right now, I need to go home and process everything.” She took a deep breath. “This is a lot to take in.” Lena looked worried. “It’s pretty late, are you sure that you don’t want to stay the night?” She looked at her watch. It was ten fifteen at night. Dear lord, we were here for almost two and a half hours! She didn’t realize that seeing someone else’s memories took so long. Then again, it was nineteen years’ worth of memory. “No, I have to go back to make my father believe that everything is ok. I’ll comeback, but right now I need to go home” Lena looked like she understood, but Dakota could see the sliver of disappointment in her eyes. “You promise you’ll come back?” She nodded. “I promise”

Lena agreed and walked over to one of the tables. “At least take this with you” She handed Dakota a burner phone. “It will allow you to contact us between Earths. That way when you want to come back you can just let us know” She nodded her thanks and turned to look at Alex. “Please open the portal so we can go home.” Alex nodded and pulled out the portal thingy.  Ellie took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. When Alex opened the portal, Ellie stepped through first. Dakota looked back at Kara and Lena. At the small smile they had on their faces. She felt something growing inside of her, something that she only associated with Ellie. Hope. Hope for a better life. Hope for a life without an abusive mother. To not wake up wondering or worrying what mood her mother was in. She gave them a small wave good bye and walked into the blue breech.

She wasn’t sure what she was feeling while she watched Dakota walk through the portal. She was happy that their daughter believed them, that she promised to come back. But apart of her was scared. What if she didn’t believe us? What if she was only pretending and is going to tell her “father” what happened. “Kara” she heard her wife call her name. She looked down to see Lena. Her beautiful wife, face filled with tears. “She believes us. She knows the truth now, and we are going to be apart of her life.” Lena wrapped her in a tight hug. “I know.” She kissed Lena’s head. Everything was starting to come together, even though she still felt doubt in the back of her mind. She looked up at J’onn. “Thank you for doing this. It means a lot” He smiled at them. “It was no problem at all. I just wanted to help bring your family back together.” Lena let go of Kara and walked over to him, giving him a hug. When she pulled away she said. “Our family.” It was a tear fest at the D.E.O. but good tears, tears of relief. “Oh, God J’onn. Don’t you start crying, because then I’m going to start crying.” Kara looked at her sister, she could see tears welling in the older woman’s eyes. She walked over and pulled everyone into a group hug. While their family extended to Winn, James, Maggie, Sam, and Ruby, the people here, the people who have been with her through everything. These were the core members of her family and she loved them with everything she had.

After saying teary goodbyes to her sister and J’onn, she flew back home with Lena safely in her arms. By the time she landed on the balcony her wife was asleep from the emotional exhaustion of the day. She remembers the first time that she took Lena flying. Her wife was so nervous since she hated flying. As time passed and Kara took them flying more often, Lena was much more comfortable, and knew that Kara would never drop her. And even if she did she knew that the girl of steel would save her. She walked into their bedroom and changed Lena into her pj’s. She turned off any and all alarms, neither would be going into work tomorrow. She was going to spend the day with her wife and they were going to relax. She finished up in the bathroom and was just about to snuggle into bed next to Lena when her wife’s phone chimed with a message. Curious as to who it was Kara picked it up from its place on the nightstand and was surprised to see that it was a message from their daughter.

Thursday 11:27 pm

Dakota: Thank you for showing me what really happened tonight. I promise that I won’t tell him about seeing you guys. I did also promise that I would be back, so how does Saturday sound?

Dakota wanted to see them so soon. Kara’s heart fill with joy and excitement. There were so many things that Kara wanted to ask her, nothing too major, but she wanted to know the small things. What her favorite color was, what kind of food she liked, if they had Disney movies on her Earth. She responded knowing that Lena would agree to meet up. She didn’t have any major projects at L-Corp going on at the moment.

Thursday 11:32 pm

Lena: Hello, this is Kara. Lena is sleeping right now, but I know that we would both love to meet up with you on Saturday. We’ll pick you up at the same spot.

It took all of two seconds for Dakota to answer.

Thursday 11:32 pm

Dakota: Ok, cool! I’ll see you guys then, good night :) 

Kara stared at the smiley face emoji. She knows that it’s just a silly smiley face, but to her it means everything. It means that her and Lena are going to finally get to know their daughter after so many years of waiting. She sent Dakota a quick good night with a smiley face of her own and put the phone back on the night stand. She snuggled into her beautiful wife’s side and let sleep take her.

The whole way back to her car neither of them said a word. She was still trying to process everything that went down. Her father wasn’t really her father. He took her from Kara and Lena, who seemed to be really nice people. He lied to her, about everything. He even went through the trouble of making a fake birth certificate, with a name that wasn’t even hers. What was the name they gave me? Cassandra? It was weird knowing that her real name wasn’t Dakota Anderson. It was Cassandra Danvers, Cassie for short. She felt so betrayed. She knows she should hate him, and a part of her does. However, there is still apart of her that looks at him and sees her loving dad not the thief who stole her away. What the hell am I going to do. She looked at Ellie while they walked the last few feet to her car. She needed to tell her about the “punishments”. It had to come from her. Ellie trusted her just like she had trusted her father. If anyone else told her, or she found out on her own it wouldn’t be good. They got into her car and there was a long silence. They both spoke at the same time. “Are you ok?” “I have to tell you something” Ellie just gave a small laugh and looked at her lovingly. “You first” She took a deep breath. “Do you remember last week when we” a blush made its way up her neck. “Ya know” Ellie just laughed. “You mean when we had sex at my house? Yes, I definitely remember that. Multiple times a day even.” She tried not to laugh. “I’m being serious” Ellie held her hand. “Ok, ok. Yes, I do remember” Her heart was beating so fast she was afraid that it would burst out of her chest. Ok, you got this. Just tell her. She took another long deep breath. “And you remember the bruise I had” She watched as concern stretched across Ellie’s face. “Yeah” This is it. “I lied about how I got it.” Her girlfriend blinked a few times as if not understanding what she said. “What? What do you mean you lied about it?” her voice a soft whisper. Everything came rushing out of her. A secret she’d kept hidden for so long finally bursting free. She told Ellie about her mother, and what she does when she was angry or when Dakota disobeys her. As she told her story, she watched as Ellie slowly pulled her hand away and turned in her seat facing forward. When she was done she was heavily breathing and her head was spinning.

 Her secret was out. Ellie knew about her mother. She knew the one secret that Dakota had been keeping from her their entire relationship. The silence in her car was deafening. She looked over at the girl she loved with everything she had. Ellie was sitting straight up, her jaw clenched and her shoulders tense. Her eyes were closed, but Dakota could tell that her girlfriend was trying to think of something to say. Dakota couldn’t take the silence anymore. “Please say something” The only response she got were Ellie’s eyes opening. Dakota took a deep breath. “Please Ellie. Just say something” But her girlfriend just continued to stare out the front window as if not hearing Dakota at all. She could see tears starting to form in her green eyes as Ellie finally spoke. “How long?” It was a question that Dakota didn’t want to answer. “It started after my parents got divorced.” A single tear streaked down Ellie's face. She sighed heavily as she said “Thirteen years” Ellie looked at her. “She’s been doing that to you for thirteen years and you didn’t tell me?” Dakota looked down unable to meet her girlfriend’s eyes. “I couldn’t tell you” Ellie snapped. “Couldn’t or wouldn’t?” Ellie was crying now. “Did you not trust me enough to tell me? Did you think I would have told someone? Did you think that I would just leave?” She shook her head, her own tears falling. “No, it’s not that. I trust you with my life. It’s just” She tried wiping away her tears. “I’m so ashamed. I didn’t want to be the girl whose mother beats her. I didn’t want you to think that I was pathetic.” Ellie took her hand in her own. “You are not pathetic, and you have nothing to be ashamed of.” Ellie’s warm lips kissed her hand. “You are allowed to have secrets of your own, you don’t have to tell me everything. I just wish you would have told me this sooner, that way you wouldn’t have had to go through it alone.” Dakota finally looked up and was met with Ellie’s soft caring eyes. Eyes that she was captivated by the moment they met.

She watched as those same green eyes began to harden. “I am going to kill your mother” She brought her free hand up to cup her overprotective girlfriends face. “That’s another reason I didn’t tell you. I knew you would want to do something.” “Damn straight I want to do something. She hurt you Kota.” Ellie looked down. “God, she hurt you, and I had no idea. I should have known from all the bruises you’ve had. No one is that clumsy” She wiped away some of Ellie’s tears. “It’s ok Ellie. You weren’t supposed to know.” Ellie continued crying. “Has she hurt you recently?” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she slowly nodded. “Where?” She let go of Ellie’s hand to lift her shirt up. She heard a gasp and looked to see that her girlfriend’s hands were covering her mouth. On her side were at least three big bruises. “Dakota, I, I am so sorry.” She let go of her shirt and looked at Ellie. “Don’t be sorry, you didn’t do this” She leaned forward and kissed her girlfriend on the top of her head. “Do you want to come live with me? My parents love you and I know that they wouldn’t mind you staying with us.” Dakota took a moment to think about it. She would love that, but she just couldn’t do it. She couldn’t burden them. “No, it’s ok. Honestly, it might make things worse” There were a few moments of silence before Ellie spoke again. “I love you so much. You know, that right? Until my dying day” There wasn’t even a single doubt in her mind. She loved Ellie more than anything. She would destroy the world if meant keeping her safe. “I know. I love you too” She kissed her. Her lips were a little salty from the tears that she shed, but the love behind it was overpowering. Dakota pulled away “Until my dying day”

When Dakota pulled up to Ellie’s house they stayed in the car for about thirty more minutes before they kissed and said goodbye. On the drive home, she was alone with her thoughts. She replayed everything that happened wondering how she was going to be able to see her father again and not scream at him. It was hard to see the man who helped raise her and said he loved her and match him with the man who had soulless eyes and stole a child from its home. Her home. When she got back she found herself thinking about how her life would be different if he never took her, or if they stopped him. She guessed that she wouldn’t have an abusive mother, and she would have super powers which seemed pretty cool. However, if she could go back and change things, she wouldn’t. No matter how messed up the whole situation was, no matter how much pain she’s gone through in her life. She wouldn’t change what happened. It’s because he took her that she met Ellie. Ellie was the reason she believed in soul mates, the reason she believed in true love. Sure, she might have found someone to love on the other Earth had she’d grown up there, but it wouldn’t have been the same. They wouldn’t have been Ellie.  Before going to bed she decided to use the burner phone to text Lena. While looking for her name she realized that there were four numbers in the phone. Kara, Lena, Alex and Maggie. Who’s Maggie? Maybe it was a friend of theirs that they trusted. Maybe she would meet them later. After texting Lena asking if she wanted to meet up on Saturday she was surprised to see that she got a response, seeing how late it was. It was Kara. They were going to get together Saturday. She was nervous about getting to know them. What if after all this time looking for me, they are disappointed in who they see. She could practically hear Ellie’s voice in her head. What are you talking about? They are going to love you. Maybe Ellie could go with her. It would make things so much better. She sent a good night text to Kara and put her phone on the nightstand next to her bed and let sleep wash over her. She hadn’t even realized how normal it felt to put a smiley face at the end of her message.

She couldn’t sleep. All she could think about was what Dakota told her. How could I have been so blind? She hated herself for not putting the pieces together sooner. If she had then maybe there was something she could have done to help Dakota. Her girlfriend was the most amazing person Ellie had ever met and she didn’t know anyone else with a heart as big as the one Dakota had. When they met in seventh grade she never thought that they would fall in love, but when Dakota asked her out freshman year she couldn’t say yes fast enough. She loved Dakota more than she could possibly say, and it killed her to find out that the woman she loves has been going through this alone. She promised her girlfriend before she left that she wouldn’t do anything or tell anyone, but she couldn’t promise that the next time she saw Dakota’s mother that she would be civil. She’s not even her real mom. Somehow that made Ellie feel better. To know that there were two people who even in the short time she met them, seemed to really care about Dakota. Maybe it would be better if she lived with them. She would be away from that devil of a woman and be with people who care about her. I could go visit her all the time. Or we could get a place together on the other Earth. She stopped herself. Was she really thinking about leaving her life behind to live with Dakota on another Earth. Yes, I am. She would give up everything and start over with Dakota on this new Earth if it meant she would be safe and loved. She could always visit her parents and she could see if there was another one of those multi Earth phones. She loved her parents so much, and she was extremely grateful that they were such loving people. However, she could survive without seeing them every single day of her life. She couldn’t survive without Dakota.

Suddenly there was crashing sound coming from her parent’s room. Against her better judgment she went to go investigate. She didn’t go unarmed though, as she grabbed the metal bat she always had by the side of her bed. She slowly opened her door and made her way to the room. The door was opened a little so she pushed it the rest of the way until she could see clearly. She quickly turned on the light to their room and gasped at what she saw. Her parents were lying unconscious on the floor. “Mom, Dad!” She ran to them, checking that they were breathing. Ok, they are still alive. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she swung the bat hard as she turned. Dark sunglasses clattered to the floor as she hit the intruder. Looking at him she saw that he was wearing all black, a mask covering every inch of his face, except his eyes. He came for her and she swung again aiming for his head. Her mom always said that if anyone came into the house to hit first and ask question later. She missed him, and in those two seconds it took her to try and hit him again he was already upon her. She tried screaming as the intruder jammed a needle into her neck. The last thing she remembered before the world went black was the man saying “You’re going to help me with something”

She couldn’t shake the feeling that she recognized his eyes. That she knew him.

Chapter Text

Everything was dark. Her mind felt fuzzy, and her body was heavy, so heavy. Two days she had been in the darkness. Two days since the man implanted something into the base of her head. Whatever it was, it was trying to control her. It was trying to take her memories from her. Every hour it took more and more. She doesn’t remember who she is at this point. She doesn’t remember her life outside of the small fragments of memory that are left. She does remember something though. A face filled with the tiniest of freckles, surrounding the most beautiful blue eyes. A laugh that filled her heart with hope, and a smile that was impossible not to love. She doesn’t know why she is holding onto to it or why it is so important to her. All she knows is that she will fight with everything she has to keep this memory. A voice cut through the silence. “Soon you will stop fighting. It’s too hard to fight. Just give in” Give in? “It would be so much easier to just let go” Easier. It might be easier, but somehow, she knew that somethings were worth fighting for. That the person she was seeing in her mind was worth fighting for. So, she would not give in. Even if she was currently losing.

She was nervous to say the least. Waking up to find that Dakota had messaged her about wanting to meet up filled her with joy. She couldn’t wait to get to know her daughter. She only wished that Kara could be there to get Dakota with her. Kara had some last minute Supergirl duties this morning and would meet them later. So here she was standing in the woods by CCU waiting for her daughter. They were going to spend the day together and Lena couldn’t wait. She had everything all planed out. She was just afraid of what her daughter might think of her. Despite Kara’s encouraging “She’ll love you. How could she not?” she was still scared that she wouldn’t be what Dakota wanted.

She heard the crunching sound of footsteps on leaves coming from behind her. Turning she saw her daughter walking towards her. She was wearing a red flannel over a black tank top, with black jeans and red converse. Lena was surprised to see that she was also wearing the glasses Alex had given her. “Good Morning” Dakota said giving her a small smile. “Good morning, have you eaten?” Her daughter shook her head. “Nope, but I brought a granola bar incase you didn’t wanna get breakfast” Lena just smiled at her. “I haven’t eaten either so we will definitely be getting breakfast. How does Noonan’s sound?” Dakota gave her a confused look. “I don’t think we have that here, but I’m up for anything” Lena promised that it was a good place for breakfast and opened the breech. She decided to have them portal into her apartment simply because it was closer to Noonan’s.

She watched for a moment as Dakota took a look around with curious eyes. “This where you guys live right? I recognize it from the memories” Lena started making her way to the front door as she said. “Yes, this is where Kara and I live.” Feeling bold she said. “You are always welcome to come and live with us if you want. There is already a room for you, and we would love to have you here.” Dakota didn’t give her an answer beyond a small nod.

They made their way to the first floor of the building, and Lena went to open the door to leave when she realized that Dakota had stopped short. “What’s wrong?” Her daughter looked nervous, like she didn’t want to go outside. “The last time I was in the sun here it didn’t go so well. I’m just getting ready incase it’s as bad as last time” Lena watched her slip on the ear aids and shift the setting so she could hear Lena. So that’s why she wore the glasses. With the ear aids on, Dakota slowly made her way outside. The morning couldn’t be more perfect. The sky was a clear blue, and there was a slight breeze that Lena could just lose herself in. “Do you mind if we walk there? It’s not far” Dakota let out a small laugh. “I can run about twelve miles without stopping, I think I can handle a few blocks” Twelve miles. “You certainly didn’t get your love for running from me that’s for sure” She wasn’t so sure she got it from Kara either. “So how did you get into running?” Dakota took a second to answer as if trying to figure out what to say. “Honestly, it’s a way for me escape” Oh? Her daughter continued. “When I’m running it doesn’t matter what else is going on in the world. It’s just me and the road, or the grass. I don’t have to think about.” She paused. “Certain things. I can just be free” Hearing Dakota talk about running made her think about the way Kara talks about flying. Good. I’m happy she has an outlet.

 They arrived at Noonan’s a short while later. When they ordered their food at the counter Dakota had tried to pay for herself, but Lena wasn’t having it. They found a spot to sit near some windows in the back. While they waited they talked about simple things. Lena now knew that her daughter’s favorite color was green, but a dark green. She knew that she loved dogs of all kind, and that she loved to read. When their food finally arrived, everything looked delicious. She got some eggs with turkey bacon, while her daughter got sticky buns. “Oh, no” Dakota said. Lena did a once over of her daughter to make sure she was ok. Nothing looks out of order. “What’s wrong? Are you ok?” Dakota shook her head, a frown forming on her face. “I have to tell Ellie that she doesn’t make the best sticky buns anymore. These are amazing!” Lena just watched as Dakota started scarfing down sticky bun, after sticky bun, before finally laughing to herself. Well she definitely has Kara’s appetite. “So, how did you an Ellie meet?” She watched as a sweet smile grew on her daughter’s face. Just the mention of Ellie seemed to brighten up her day. “We met in seventh grade.” Dakota looked out the window, recalling the memory. “We were both on the track team at school, but we were in different groups because she was short distance and I was long distance, so we didn’t really see each other. But one day this girl in Ellie’s training group sprained her ankle so they asked me to step in to take her place.” Her smile only grew, and her eyes were soft. “When she said hi to me, I instantly fell for her. I don’t know why it was so instant but I knew from the moment I saw her that she was it for me.” Lena loved knowing that her daughter had someone like Ellie. Someone who loved her immensely. She could tell by the way they acted around each other. The way Ellie was comforting her at the D.E.O. There was so much love there.

There was a loud explosion across the street that made the windows near them shatter. Lena braced herself as best she could but found that no glass touched her skin. She looked up, surprised to see that Dakota was shielding her. She was even more surprised to see that they were across the room. Her daughter had a concerned expression on her face as she asked. “Are you ok? Are you hurt?” She protected me. Dakota only knew her for a very short period of time, but still she protected her. “Yes, yes I’m fine.” She looked passed her daughter to see what happened. Chaos. Everything was in utter chaos as an angry purple alien was tearing apart the city street. Lena watched as Dakota grabbed a metal chair and squeezed it, as if testing her strength, the material bending easily like soft clay. Her powers came back faster this time. Her daughter looked at her with determination in her eyes as she took off the glasses and handed them to Lena. “Get somewhere safe.” Wait, what? Lena grabbed her wrist stopping her. “Where do you think you’re going?” As Dakota looked back at her she thought wow, she looks so much like Kara. “I have to help.” She’ll get hurt. Lena didn’t let go of her wrist. “No, you don’t know how to use your powers. He could hurt you” Dakota’s face softened. “I’ll be fine. I’m a quick study” Tears started welling in her eyes. “No, I just got you back. I won’t lose you again.” Then something totally unexpected happened. She was wrapped in a warm hug. She’s hugging me. After nineteen years, my daughter is hugging me. It was everything Lena imagined. It was warm and comforting. She cried even more, happy just to be holding her little girl again. Then all to quickly it ended. “You’re not gonna lose me, ok. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere” She really is our daughter. Kara had said the same thing to her once. Dakota started walking away and this time Lena didn’t stop her. She watched as her daughter, the daughter of Supergirl ran off to try and protect a city she knew nothing about. She knew right then and there that she had been born with it. Born with the heart of a hero.

She didn’t mean to hug Lena. She normally didn’t hug people that she barely knew, but in the moment, it felt like the right thing to do. She was surprised at how normal it felt. Like she’d been hugging the woman her entire life. Something else that was surprisingly normal was her running head first into danger. She had no idea what she was going to do when she caught up with the alien destroying the street, she wasn’t even sure if she would be strong enough to stop him. He blasted a car with a laser gun that was attached to his wrist. The car went flying and Dakota ran with everything she had. Just as the car was about to land on top of a man she caught it, her knees almost buckling under the pressure. “Go” she breathed out. The man just looked at her in awe. “Go!” she screamed. He rushed out from under the car. Every muscle in her body was aching under the weight of it. She gently put in down trying not crush any people running by. “What’s this?” The alien turned to her. “And who are you supposed to be?”  Dakota stood up straight trying not to look as nervous as she was feeling. “I just want know why you’re doing this. Why are trying to hurt all these people?” The alien just laughed. “I am Draku, and I am sick of being treated poorly by the humans of this Earth” He pointed his laser gun at her and shot. Crap.

The wind was knocked out of her as she went flying into the wall behind her. The bruises on her side hadn’t fully healed and hurt like hell as she fell to the ground. Get up she told herself. She was surprised that the blast hadn’t killed her. “Still standing little hero” He laughed. “You won’t be for long” Another blast was sent her way but she dodged it, charging for him. She got close enough to punch him but he swiftly moved out of the way. She threw punch after punch at him, trying to land a single hit. His rough purple hand punched her face. She staggered but regained her footing. She had to go on the defensive as he punched and kicked at her. His strong leg kicked her, sending her flying a few feet away. The wail of sirens filled the air. She looked up to see that the NCPD showed up. He’s gonna hurt them! She quickly stood up. A woman got out of one of the cars and called out to her. “Get out of there!” She could hear Draku laughing. Tuning she saw him lift his gun at the woman. Dakota ran at him getting in the way of the gun. She knew she was fast but the sun was giving her powers making her faster than she could possibly imagine. She got right in front of him and hit his arm down just as he fired. The both of them were thrown back as the ground beneath them exploded. She shakily got up from the ground and made her way to Draku. He came at her with a vengeance. She waited for an opening.

Finally, she spotted one. As he kicked up at her she grabbed his leg and threw him to the ground. “So, you do have some fight in you little hero.” He changed the setting on his gun. “But not enough” He blasted her again, and she did her best to dodge it but the width of it was larger. She went flying, the blast was more powerful this time. She felt warm liquid making its way down the side of her face. Lifting her hand to wipe it away, she saw that it was a deep red. She was bleeding. Oh great. She tried getting up, but her body was shaking at the pain she was in. Draku was laughing as he stalked towards her, his own blue blood coating his purple face. “You don’t seem to be as strong as Supergirl little hero” Supergirl? “That’s to bad. For you anyway” He pointed his gun at her, the setting on high. He suddenly screamed as his gun was blasted off his wrist. Dakota heard a voice above her. “She may not be as strong as me yet, but she sure is braver.”

Above her was Kara wearing a red, blue and yellow costume. The letter S proudly embedded on her chest. Draku hissed at her and started to make a break for it. Kara was too fast though. She landed in front of him and punched him with so much force he flew across the street. He was unconscious. It took one punch from the clearly enraged hero to end the fight. Lena made her way over, the streaks of tears visible on her pale face. “I should have never let you go after him. You’re bleeding.” Lena went to stop the bleeding with a white cloth but Dakota grabbed her hand. “Hey, I’m fine. I’m ok” Lena looked so worried. Black vans surrounded the area and agents came rushing out of them. A few handcuffed Draku and took him away, others made sure that the civilians were ok. She saw Alex rushing over to the woman she saw earlier, wrapping her in a hug.

Kara landed next to them a second later. “I need to get you to the D.E.O. You need to be under the sun lamp.” She went to stand but her legs wobbled from the blood loss and she fell back down. Kara took a step forward and Dakota resisted the urge to flinch. “Please let me take you to the D.E.O.” She looked into the blonde’s eyes and Dakota knew that she would be safe, that even though she didn’t know her very long, she would be ok. She nodded and Kara went to carry her being mindful of her injuries. She could tell that Lena didn’t want to let her go as she was still holding onto her hand. Kara gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s going to be ok Mrs. Danvers. I’ve got her” Dakota watched as Lena wiped away some of her tears. “Thank you Supergirl”

Soon she they were airborne. The wind felt amazing against her skin, and a small smile made its way across her face as they flew to the D.E.O. She loved running, so much, but this. Being high above the clouds, being away from everything. It was peaceful, it was heart pounding. It was freeing.

They got back to the D.E.O and Kara hadn’t put her down. “Uh, I can walk ya know” Kara raised an eyebrow at her. “Yeah, ok. You could barely stand when I got there, but you can totally walk.” She just sighed. Only when they got to the sun bed did Kara finally put her down. The heat from the lamp felt amazing, and she felt like she could curl up and take a nap. Kara got some towels from a cabinet and made her way over the sink. After soaking them, she went to Dakota. “Do you want me to help you wipe the blood from your face or do you want to do it yourself?” She was practically a pro when it came to cleaning blood off of herself, thanks to who she grew up with. “Is there a mirror I could use?” Kara shook her head. “Not in this room no” She sighed a little. “Ok, then yes, could you please help me?” Kara tried to hide it, but Dakota could see that helping her made Kara really happy.

The blonde approached her and lifted her hand to wipe the blood. It wasn’t a fast motion, but it was fast enough to make Dakota reflexively flinch away from Kara, a small feeling of fear making its way through her. Kara’s eyes softened. “It’s ok. I’m not going to hurt you.” Get a hold of yourself Dakota she thought. She hadn’t meant to flinch from her, but she wasn’t used to seeing a hand raised at her without it being used to then hurt her. “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry. I guess I’m still a little shaken up from the fight.” Kara beamed at her. “You did amazing!” She just laughed. “Are you kidding me? I got my butt kicked” Kara continued to clean the blood on her head as she said. “Ok, yes you did. But did you see how many people you saved? How many people that didn’t get hurt because you were there?” She hadn’t really thought about it. She’d been more focused on her fight with Draku, but she did save the man from being crushed by the car. “I guess, but you took him out with a single hit” Kara winced a little. “Yeah, that might have been a little over kill, but when I saw you bleeding I was so mad. I hate that he hurt you” Dakota felt like she was going to cry. She wasn’t used to anyone other than Ellie really caring about her. Sure, her father would take care of her and make sure she was ok, but he was barely around. It was nice.

Kara finished wiping her face and went back over to the sink. “The cut on your head is already starting to close up. It seems like your cells are getting used to this suns effects on you.” Kara turned towards her. “And it seems like you are getting used to having powers” She gave Kara a confused look. “What do you mean?” Kara simply pointed to her ears, and Dakota reached up to touch her own. The ear aids were gone. They must have fallen off during the fight. Tried to concentrate and found herself hearing things no regular person should be able to. She focused again, and she blocked it out. “I told Lena that I was quick study, but I didn’t think I would learn to control my abilities this fast” Kara walked over and sat down on a chair in the room. “It could be because you’re only half Kryptonian. Maybe you’re able to control your powers more” Good. When I go back home later today, it won’t be as bad. She looked over at Kara, still wearing her Supergirl attire. “So, you’re a superhero huh?” Kara let out a small laugh. “Yup. Ace reporter by day, superhero by night. Or well, whenever there’s trouble.” She thought it was pretty cool to be related to a superhero, and a thought crossed her mind. Maybe I could be a hero too.

“So, Ellie seems nice” She perked up at the mention of her girlfriend. “She’s amazing” Kara just smiled at her sweetly. “You could have invited her to come today of you wanted too” She sadly shook her head. “I did, but she told me that her parents surprised her with a last-minute trip to Star City. They’re visiting her grandma.” She did find it weird though that Ellie didn’t say good bye to her before leaving, but just figured that her parents wanted to get out on the road early in the morning. “We should all have dinner sometime, I would like to get to know the both of you more.” Dakota agreed.

Lena came rushing into the room a few minutes later, fussing over Dakota’s well-being. She insisted that she was fine, but Lena was still worried. “When he blasted you, I was so scared. I wasn’t sure what it would do to you.” Kara stood and hugged her wife. “She’s fine Lena” She gestured to Dakota. “See. The sun bed is helping her heal. She’ll be fixed up in no time” Lena still didn’t seem convinced but agreed to stop worrying. “Once I’m all healed up, what’s the plan for the day?” A smile grew on Kara and Lena’s faces. “Well” Kara said. “We were thinking about going to the aquarium today, and then having dinner with Alex and Maggie. Does that sound good or would you want to do something else?”

The last time she went to the aquarium she was probably in middle school. She’d actually been wanting to go for some time. “Sounds fun. Just one question. Who’s Maggie?” She remembered seeing the name on burner phone they had given her, but she had no idea who it was. “Maggie is Alex’s wife. She’s the detective you saw today.” The brunette Alex was hugging. “Cool, I can’t wait to heal up so I can meet her” She meant it too. Everything about this Earth so far had been nice. The sticky buns were amazing, she’d helped people today, and Kara and Lena were like a breath of fresh air. She only wished that Ellie was here.

It won. It had won, and she had lost. She couldn’t remember anything now, her mind wiped clean. She would get upset about not being able to remember, and then forget why she was upset. It scared her being so blank and empty. She needed something to remember, something to fill her head, something to- “Open your eyes” She followed the voice’s command. The harsh light hurt her eyes a little, but she didn’t close them. “Do you know who you are?” She thought about it. “No” He held up a photo of a girl with the bluest eyes. “And, do you know who this is?” She tried to remember who it was. She’s too beautiful to forget. However, she found herself answering “No” A mischievous smile appeared on the mans face. “Good. We can move on to phase two.”

There had never been a more perfect day. The National City Aquarium had four floors of amazing animals. Everything they saw seemed to fascinate her daughter. This was a good choice. Kara Danvers had never felt so happy in her entire life. She had the worlds most amazing wife. Lena was the light of her life. In her darkest moments, there was Lena to show her the way. And now that they had their daughter back, for once in her life everything was perfect.

While Dakota had been asking one of the workers questions about moray eels, Lena told her about breakfast. How Dakota didn’t hesitate when people were in trouble. Apart of her was so proud that her daughter wanted to help people, that she saw danger and ran towards it not away. Another part of her, the more mom side of her was scared for that same reason. She new first hand the dangers of becoming a hero, she knew the risks. There have been countless times over the years where she was afraid that she wouldn’t make it home to Lena, and she didn’t want her daughter putting herself at risk. If Dakota wanted to become a hero though, she wasn’t going to stop her. Instead, she would offer all the help she needed to stay as safe as possible.

 They had decided to get some lunch at the small café on the third floor before exploring what the rest of the aquarium had to offer. As per usual Kara ordered a ton of food, but to her surprise, so did Dakota. Her daughter seemed to be a little embarrassed at the amount of food she ordered. “I have no idea why I’m so hungry,” Kara let out a small laugh knowing the exact reason. “Its because your Kryptonian DNA. We need to consume about ten thousand calories a day in order stay healthy,” Dakota’s eyes popped out of her head and her mouth hung open. “Ten thousand calories a day?! That is so many” Lena chimed in “Your mom can eat anyone under the table.” She tilted her head “Well, Barry might be the only person who can out eat you” They sat down in a booth as her daughter asked. “Who’s Barry?” Kara told her the story of Barry, and how he’d gotten his powers, how they met and how he was married to Iris. “That’s pretty cool to be the fastest man alive” She guessed that since Dakota was a runner she would find it interesting to know someone who can run that fast.

They finished eating and began to make their way to the other exhibits. “So, you guys have been asking me questions all day. Would it be ok if I asked some questions of my own?” This was amazing. Dakota wanting to know more about them meant that she liked them, liked hanging out with them. She smiled as she said, “Of course, ask away” Dakota took a moment to think of what to ask. “How did you guys meet?” Both her and Lena looked at each other, smiling fondly at the memory. “I wasn’t even a reporter yet. I had gone with my cousin to investigate Lena about where she was when a space shuttle called the venture had an engine explode,” Dakota looked confused. “Why were you investigating her?” Kara saw her wife flinch a little. She knew that Lena didn't want Dakota knowing about her families past, at least not yet. She was about to answer when Lena spoke. “My brother Lex was a very bad man who hurt a lot of good people. He gave the Luthor name a bad reputation, so with him in jail and the part of the engine that exploded being created by Luthor Corp I was the prime suspect.” Kara was ready for the judgment from her daughter. Most people after finding out about Lex would start thinking of Lena in the same way, and Kara was always there ready to defend her, even against Dakota. Judgment is not what she found when she looked at Dakota. She saw understanding, and empathy. Like she knew what it was like to be judged based on who you were related too.

 “You said was. Forgive me for asking, but is he?” Lena nodded casting her eyes to the ground. “He was testing an experiment but miscalculated. There was nothing left of him to bury.” Kara knew that Lena missed her brother. She missed the man he used to be, the brother who taught her to play chess, and made her feel at home in the Luthor mansion. Dakota looked at Lena and Kara knew instantly that she regretted bring it up. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to- ““No, no it’s ok. It happened a long time ago.” They went back to looking at the exhibits, Dakota seemed too nervous to ask another question.  When they were done looking at the last exhibit, they made their way down to the first floor. Just as they were about to head out the front doors Dakota asked them to wait, heading into the gift shop. She returned a short while later with a bag in her hand. “What did you get?” Lena asked Dakota pulled out a cute narwhal plushie out of the bag. With a laugh she said “Ellie loves narwhals. She calls them real life unicorns” She put the plushie back in the bag and they headed out.

She had no idea what was going on. All she knew was that no matter what the man asked of her, she did it without question, without resistance. She didn’t know why she followed his orders, but it seemed to be the only thing she could do. He kept going on about a girl named Dakota who had betrayed him. How he was going to force her to do something. Some small part of her felt like whatever he was planning was wrong, but whenever she tried to stop him from doing something, or tried to leave, she felt pressure in the base of her head and then she forgot why she was resisting in the first place. The man said it was easier to follow, easier to let him command her. And he was right. It was easier to let him tell her what to do. It was easier to just let someone else tell her what to do.

And so, she did what he told her.

They were standing outside the door of Alex and Maggie’s apartment. She was happy to see Alex again. Alex was the first person who she felt comfortable enough with to let her help when her powers went all crazy. She liked her as a person and was excited to get to know Maggie as well. Maggie was one who answered the door. She smiled at them as she said hello and Dakota couldn’t help but notice the dimples on her face. She followed behind Kara and Lena but didn’t make it very far. Her only warning were the sounds of small feet running at her before she was knocked over, her back hitting the ground so hard that she felt like she couldn’t breathe for a moment. What the!

She looked up to see two kids laughing at her talking a mile a minute. “Johnathan, Kya, get off of her right now. That is no way to greet a guest.” Alex said. They soon got off of her saying sorry as she rose to her feet. “It’s ok really, I’m fine.” Kya looked at her with big brown eyes. “You’re aunt Kara and aunt Lena’s daughter, right? That means you’re our cousin!” Dakota had never seen anyone so excited. “Does that mean that you’ll play with us?” She looked so happy at the idea of having someone to play with, and with those big doe eyes how could she say no. “Of course, I’ll play with you guys” She was tugged away as they grabbed both of her hands. They took her to chest filled with toys. They showed her everything from actions figures to ponies, to a toy soldier wearing tutu riding a pony. She played with them until dinner was ready. Apparently, Alex wasn’t the greatest chef so they ordered chines food.

As they ate she got to know Maggie a little more. She was head detective of the NCPD and was going out for captain soon. She also had an extensive knife collection that she wanted to show Dakota. She took a look around the table and was smiling fondly at what she saw. Everyone looked happy as they talked and laughed with one another. She found herself thinking this is the life I’ve dreamed about. A life with a family where no matter where you looked, there was love. She hadn’t noticed the tears forming in her eyes until Lena, who was seated next to her, place a gentle hand on her own. “Are you ok?” she said in a quiet voice. Dakota wiped the few tears that managed to slip down her face. She took another look around before facing Lena, a smile on her face. “Yeah. Everything is” she took a deep breath. “Perfect” Lena looked lovingly at her daughter. “Good, I’m happy” Me too. The only thing she thought that could make this better, was if Ellie was here.

She stepped out of the portal with a huge smile on her face. She was always happiest when she was with Ellie, but today came pretty close to that same feeling. Kara and Lena turned out to be amazing people, and she found that a part of her wished they had found her sooner, just so she could have known them longer. She looked up at the night sky, with her enhanced senses she could see past the light pollution of the city and see the stars. They were beautiful. She closed her eyes remembering the feeling of flying with Kara, how free she felt.

She started the trek back to her car when her phone chimed with a message.  A frown formed on her face when she saw who it was from. Ever since finding out the truth she changed the contact name from Dadinator to father.

Saturday 10:22 pm

Father: Hey, we need to talk ASAP. Meet me at the warehouse.

Her brow creased in confusion. What does he want to talk about? Her heart dropped down to the pit of her stomach. He knows.

Saturday 10:25 pm

Dakota: It’s really late, can it wait till morning?

She got a response in an instant.

Saturday 10:25 pm

Father: No. I think I found a way to stop them from coming back here. Get to the warehouse ASAP.

She sighed. Ok, so maybe he doesn’t know. She debated saying no, and then finding out what it was tomorrow but. This could be a great way to try and stop him from hurting Kara and Lena.

Saturday 10: 32 pm

Dakota: Ok, I’m on my way

She got into her car and drove to meet her father. At a stop light she sent out a quick text to Ellie letting her know that she was safe and sound. Ellie never responded to the good morning message Dakota had sent, which was very unlike her. I hope she’s ok.

She pulled up to the warehouse and entered the code to unlock the door. The main room was covered in darkness. “Hello?” she called out. The lights near the computers turned on illuminating her father sitting in one of the chairs. “Hey” he said his deep voice reverberating through the room. She resisted the urge to scream at him. “Why are you sitting in the dark?” He turned to look at her and she froze. He didn’t look like the loving father she loved growing up, he looked like the man who stole her away nineteen years ago. He stood up, casting his gaze at her. “Because of this” He tapped a button on the control consul, causing pictures to pop up. Pictures of her talking with and going into the breech with Kara and Lena. Her breath quickened just a little. “I know that you willingly went with them” She straightened her spine before saying. “So. You’re the one who lied about them. They are actually really nice people.” He screamed at her. “How could you go with them! They want to take you from me!” Anger was welling up inside of her as she said “You’re the one who took me in the first place! You’re the one who took an innocent child from her home, and you’re the one who lied to me about it!” She was breathing heavy. He just started laughing at her. “It doesn’t matter because you’re going to help me destroy them.” Turning on her heel to leave she said “Like hell I am” The door in front of her locked before she could open it. I still have my powers, I can just break the door down. “You will help me Dakota.” She wasn’t listening to him still making her way to the door. “You’ll help me, if you even want a chance at saving Ellie”

She stopped dead in her tracks. Ellie? She turned to face him, a cruel smile on his face. “What did you say?” her voice a harsh whisper. “I said you’ll help me if you want a chance at saving Ellie.” A rage like she’s never felt before overcame her as she started making her way towards him. “If you’ve done anything to Ellie- ““Why don’t you take a look at exactly what I’ve done to your precious girlfriend.” A light in another part of the room flashed on. There were two figures tied to chairs with hoods over their faces. “Come join us my dear” A door opened and Ellie stepped out still wearing the same clothes she had on the last time Dakota saw her. She looked ok, except she wasn’t. Her eyes seemed unfocused and glazed over. She started walking to her girlfriend wanting to hold her. “Ellie?” No response. “Remove the hoods from their heads my dear.” Ellie did as her father instructed. She looked back at him for only a second. “What did you do to her?!” She froze upon seeing who was under the hoods. No… It was Ellie parents. They had tape over their mouths and looked scared out of their minds. Dakota started running for them only to fall to her knees in pain as her father, no, her kidnapper flipped another switch. The entire room was surrounded in green light. Pain coursed through her body, and she let loose a scream. He walked passed her standing right in front of Ellie, holding something out to her. It was a knife. “Kill them” he ordered. Dakota tried everything to get to them, but she couldn’t get up, so she started crawling. No, I can’t let this happen she thought. But she watched helplessly as Ellie took the knife and slit her parent’s throats. Dakota let loose screams and sobs as she watched the love of her life drag the knife across their skin.

She punched the ground, shaking with rage. “How could you do this!!!” she screamed. He made his way to her crouching down in front of her. “You brought this upon yourself. I didn’t want to use a control chip on your girlfriend and I didn’t want to make her kill her parents.” Bastard she thought. “I needed to show you just how fast I could make her take her own life.” He grabbed her chin and lifted her face to meet his. “It’s like I said before. You are going to help me destroy Kara and Lena, or else I command Ellie to take her own life” She would never let that happen. Ellie was her entire world, she couldn’t bear to lose her. She would do whatever it took to keep her safe. She looked passed him at Ellie’s parents. They were good people. They didn’t deserve this. Still crying she said “Fine, I’ll help you”

And just like that, a day that had been so perfect had ended as a nightmare.

Chapter Text

There were two things she was absolutely sure of. First, the man she once called father was possibly the worst human being on the planet. Second, he was controlling the love of her life with a chip implanted into the base of her head. She replayed the events of last night in her mind trying to separate what was real and what was a lie. Ellie being controlled, that was real. Her killing her parents, had been a lie. She doesn’t know how he did it, but he made their deaths seem so life like. Soon after she agreed to help him, he told her the truth, saying he needed her to see how serious he was about his threat. That if or when he commanded Ellie to take her own life, it would be the real thing. After he told her, she demanded proof that they were ok. He showed her security footage of them in a cell under the warehouse. They looked a little shaken up, but at least they were alive. Thank God she thought. Ellie didn’t kill them. When she saves her girlfriend, and she will save her, she doesn’t know what she would have told her had she actually killed them. Ellie already lost a brother, Dakota doesn’t think that she could stand to lose her parents as well. 

Right now, she was sitting at a table across from the both of them. Her once always smiling girlfriend now looked down at the table, not focused at anything in particular. Her vibrant green eyes now dull and glazed over, her expression blank. She hated him for doing this to Ellie. Hates how powerless she was to stop her from obeying any command he gave her. Her second encounter with kryptonite was awful, but the pain coursing through her body was nothing compared to seeing Ellie slit the throats of her parents. Even if it wasn’t real, she couldn’t get the image out of her mind. “I know what you must be thinking” he grumbled at her. She arched an eyebrow at him. “You have no idea what I’m thinking, Trevor.” She had never called him by his first name before, but she couldn’t call him father anymore. Not after what he did to Ellie. Any chance he had of redeeming himself for lying to her vanished the moment he decided to put Ellie’s life in danger. 

He took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes at her. “I know that you think what I’m doing is wrong, but with Kara and Lena out of the way things can go back to normal” She scoffed. “Do you honestly expect me to believe that we could ever be the same? That our relationship can be saved just because you get rid of them?” He kept his face neutral. “With them gone you have no other family but me.” He gestured to Ellie. “There is her of course, but I control her now” Her jaw clenched and she resisted the urge to lunge at him. “Where did you even find a chip like that anyway? I know you’re an assassin, but when it comes to advanced technology, you’re pretty lost” He let out a low laugh. “There is an Earth where gorilla Grod is a human.” Gorilla Grod? “He created these wonderful little chips that takes the memories of those its implanted into” Her eyes widened a little as he continued on. “It takes their memory until they stop resisting. After, they follow whatever orders the person who implanted the chip gives them.” It takes her memories! Does that mean… “So, when you finally let her go, she won’t remember me at all?”  He leaned forward a little. “If I decide to let her go. And no, she will remember you. The chip doesn’t really erase the memories, more like it suppresses them.” Maybe I can use that. If there was any way that Dakota could reach Ellie, then maybe they could both get out and contact Kara and Lena. She had the burner phone they gave her in her car. It was in the same bag as the narwhal she’d gotten for Ellie. If I could just get to my car. He hadn’t let her go home at all. She missed her classes, but the thought of missing school didn’t bother. Not now at least. Trevor had apparently text her mother that he was surprising her and taking her to see Ellie in Star city, but honestly, he could have said anything and Dakota was positive that she wouldn’t care. 

He stood up and made his way to a secret panel in the wall by the computers. He entered a six-digit code and Dakota leaned to the side so she could see it. 122924 Wow, my birthday, really? He reached into the small opening and pulled out a small black box, much like the one with the kryptonite. She tensed a little, not knowing what was in there. “This is how we are going to destroy them.” He placed the box down on the table and opened it. Inside was a red crystal within a glass box. “What is it?” she asked. A cruel smile grew on his round face. “This is something, that when the glass is broken, it will create chaos. Kara will go on a rampage.” She didn’t like the crystal one bit. She felt weird around it, almost angry. “The plan is. You go meet them, stay a little while to not cause suspicion, and then right before you are about to jump through the portal to return here you smash it on the ground.” He leaned towards her. “You cannot be in the same room when this glass is broken, or else it will effect you as well.” She hated this plan, but at least when she got there she could just tell them what’s going on and they could help her. “Now, I’m sure you’re thinking that when you get there you can ask them for help. However, I am sending you with a wire that can transmit through Earths.” Damn it. “This way I can hear whatever you guys are saying.” Ok, I still have the burner phone I can just text them. “I have also bugged the burner phone so I will know of you warn them that way too.” She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. “When do you even have time to bug the phone?” He laughed a little. “I’m an assassin, it’s kinda part of my job.” 

She hated this, hated him. She had just met her birth parents, and they were such amazing people. This was the last thing she wanted to do but… She looked over at Ellie. I have to save her. If she didn’t do this. If she didn’t go along with his plan, he would kill her. “When do you want me to do this ridiculous plan of yours?” He closed the box and slid it over to her. “Tomorrow, so get your phone and let them know you want to meet.” She didn’t get up for a moment, just staring at the box. Every bone in her body was telling her not to do this. “I don’t want to ask you again.” Still she didn’t move. She tried, but it was like something was holding her down telling her to stay. He pulled out a knife, the same one Ellie used yesterday. “Take this” He told her girlfriend. “And hold up to your throat” Ellie did as he ordered. Dakota stared for a second. Ellie looked so vulnerable. She jolted out of the chair and yelled “Stop! I’m going ok, I’m going” He commanded Ellie to put the knife down as she walked out the door. 

After unlocking her car and opening the bag, she went still. The blue little narwhal plushie was staring up at her. She took it out of the bag as she felt tears starting to sting her eyes. It had this red heart on its belly that she knew Ellie would find adorable. Her knees wobbled and she sank to the ground. Now that she was alone, she let her feeling overtake her. Sobs raked through her entire body. Her heart felt like someone ripped it out. How could I let this happen? She thought. How could I let him do this to her? Ellie was her entire world. If Dakota lost her, she would feel empty. Like a part of her was gone. She stayed like that for a while holding the blue plushie close to her chest as she cried. 

When she was felt like she couldn’t cry anymore, she stood up and wiped her face on the sleeve of her shirt. She put the narwhal back in the bag grabbing her burner phone. Making her way back into the warehouse she had a new sense of determination. I will find a way to save them. To save all of them.

 The crisp night air felt nice on her face. Supergirl flew high above the buildings of National City, as she thought about the time her and Lena had spent with Dakota. The day had been perfect and she couldn't wait to see her again. She learned so much about Dakota in just one day, and she was imagining what else she could find out if she saw her every day. Kara wanted to know everything she could about her daughter. She wanted to know what made her laugh and what she wanted to do with her life and- The hero stopped flying. Was that? Closing her eyes, she focused on what she thought she was hearing. Lena. She was crying and her heart was pounding against her chest. Kara opened her eyes and raced home. 

She landed on the balcony and burst through the doors. “Lena” she called out. She heard whimpering coming from their bedroom. She quickly made her way over and pushed open the door. She let out a sigh of relief. Lena was ok, she was just having a nightmare. And while Kara hated when Lena had them, she would it take it over her life being in danger. Slowly, Kara sat on the side of the bed. Lena was curled up under the sheets, and she was clutching the blankets tightly. They both had been having nightmares since they lost Dakota all those years ago, and while Kara had her fair share of bad dreams, it was nothing compared to Lena. Kara spoke in a soothing tone, trying to wake her wife. “Lena? Lee it’s ok” Her wife’s breath quickened and her shaking was growing. She placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she Lena’s eyes opened as she gasped. “Hey, it’s ok. It’s ok. It was just a dream” Her shaken wife slowly sat up. “Kara” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “I’m right here” She watched as Lena closed her eyes trying to steady herself. 

For a few moments there was nothing but silence. “Please tell me that we found her Kara” She took a deep breath. This wasn’t the first time that Lena had woken from a bad dream and asked her a question like this. Lena’s mind tended to play tricks on her with dreams so vivid that Lena doesn’t know what is real when she wakes up. “We found her. Don’t worry, she’s fine and we found her” She watched as her wife let out a sigh of relief as she placed her head in her hands. Kara hated seeing Lena like this. They had tried everything to help with the nightmares, but they still came. “Do you want to talk about it?” Her wife shook her head. Looking up she said “Just hold me please” And so she did. She swiftly changed out of her suit and into something more suited for snuggling. Kara laid on her back and Lena snuggled into her side.

 Lena always felt safest when she was with Kara. She loved laying on Kara’s chest and listening to the steady beat of her heart. Its constant sound made her feel as if nothing bad could happen. She heard her phone go off on the nightstand next to the bed. “Do you want me to see who it is?” Kara asked in a quiet voice. If Lena was being honest, no. She didn’t want Kara to check her phone. Whoever it was could wait until tomorrow, or until they got up from bed. There was just a thought nagging at her in the back of her head. What if it’s Dakota? She didn’t want to ignore a text from her daughter, so she nodded her head and Kara shifted over to grab it. Sure, enough there was a text from Dakota. Kara brought the phone over to her so they could both read the message. 

Monday 9:30 pm  

Dakota: Hi! I had such an amazing time with you guys the other day! Let’s meet up again. How does tomorrow sound? 

Lena frowned at her phone. Some of the letters were bolded. It could have been a mistake, but Lena couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. She sat up in bed and took the phone from Kara. “What is it?” The bolded letters were h-e-l-p. Help? “Somethings wrong Kara. She’s trying to tell us something” Her wife looked at the text again. “Are you sure? You did just wake up from a bad dream” She looked at her wife whose blue eyes had concern written all over them. “Kara it can’t be a coincidence that the bolded letters spell help.” She started typing a message hoping that Dakota knew what she was trying to say. 

Monday 9:35 pm  

Lena: We had an awesome time with you as well. I know that it made us supper happy. We would always love to see you. What time would you like to meet? 

Her coded message said o-n o-u-r w-a-y. She started getting up from the bed. “Kara, we need to go now” Her wife was already on the phone with Alex letting her know that something was wrong. “Meet at the D.E.O and we’ll go from there” Lena’s phone chimed with another message. 

Monday 9:42 pm  

Dakota: That’s great! Honestly whatever time is good with you guys. I know that both of you have your own lives and that you guys probably have jobs you need to go to. Just let me know mom when and where you guys want to meet and I will be there. Right now, my schedule is clear. My classes are cancelled so I am free until Wednesday.

 She quickly decoded the message. N-o s-e-e t-o-m-o-r-r-o-w. “Wait, she doesn’t want us to go to her. She wants to meet tomorrow. Something is definitely wrong” 

Monday 9:50 pm  

Lena: How about we meet in the morning? We could grab take out at Noonan’s and have breakfast in our apartment. Would that be ok with you? We could also see if Alex and Maggie want to join. We could find a good movie to watch after too. How does that sound? 

Dakota replied instantly. 

Monday 9:50 pm  

Dakota: Sounds perfect 

A million thoughts were running through her head. There was only one reason she could think of that her daughter needed help. Her father found out. She started pacing back and forth across the bedroom floor, her mind going a million miles and hour. “Lena, it’s going to be ok” Kara was still standing by the side of the bed. She knew that she needed to let her wife pace. “There is nothing ok about this situation Kara. Dakota asks for help and we can’t even go to her.” Tears started welling in her eyes. “Our daughter needs us and we can’t be there for her. It’s just like nineteen years ago.” Her legs gave out and she fell to the floor, but not before Kara caught her. Lena was crying into her wife’s shoulder, and she could hear Kara’s voice trying to soothe her. “She said that she will see us tomorrow. That has to mean that she is ok, at least for now.” The arms around her tightened. “This isn’t going to be like nineteen years ago. We will not lose her again. I promise.” 

They stayed like that for a little while longer. Being in Kara’s arms helped her feel a little better, it always did but… She still couldn't get her anxiety under control. She was so scared that they were going to lose Dakota again. That whatever trouble she told them about tomorrow they wouldn’t be able to save her. That she won’t be able to save her daughter. They couldn’t lose her again. She wouldn’t survive losing Dakota a second time. If they lost her again, that would be it for her. She would completely break down, and Kara wouldn’t be able to pick up the pieces this time. She would be completely broken. 

She was so scared about what would happen that she didn’t even notice that Dakota, had called her mom.

Looking at her refection in the mirror she felt disgusted. Today was the day that she was supposed to help Trevor destroy Kara and Lena. Her mom’s. The people who were supposed to raise her. The people who never stopped looking for her because they cared about her. Lena understood the code in her message yesterday, and Trevor was too excited about her helping him to notice it. If she couldn’t figure out a way to tell them what happened without the wire hearing it, then she was going to have to go through with the plan. It was the only way to save Ellie, and she hated it. Hated that if it came down to it, she would have to choose. At the end of the day though, she would choose Ellie. No matter what, she would always choose her girlfriend over everyone else. She just didn’t want to have to make that choice. 

There was a knock on the bathroom door. She opened it and inhaled sharply. Ellie. She was standing at the door her eyes void of their usual warmth. “The master would like you to report to him. It is time for phase three.” Her voice was so robotic, and the fact that Ellie referred to him as master made things about a thousand times worse. She stepped closer to her girlfriend staring into her eyes. “Ellie, you need to fight this. I need you to remember.” Without blinking, Ellie just walked away from her, turning down the hall and back to the main room. Dakota took a deep breath and then followed after her. 

Trevor was standing by the computers, watching camera feeds of the main roads. He turned to her when she got close enough to him. “Good, you’re here.” Like I have a choice she thought. “I’ll be watching you the entire time you drive to meet them. Make any stops and I will take it as you trying to warn them” She honestly didn’t know why he was so afraid of her stopping somewhere. She didn’t have anyone on this Earth that she could go to for help. He walked over and gave her the black box which held the red crystal. “Here. You should get going, or you might be late” Taking the box she pocketed it in the leather jacket he’d picked up from her room yesterday. As she started walking out he cleared his throat. “What? No, goodbye hug for your dear old dad?” Her jaw clenched. She didn’t want to hug him or be anywhere near him really. However, he did control the love of her life. So, she turned around and gave him a quick hug. His hugs used to be something she cherished. With him always gone she had always loved getting hugs when she could. Apart of her still loved his hugs, and she hated herself for it. Hated that apart of her still cared about him, no matter what he’s done. When they separated there was a smile in his face. Not the cruel one she was starting to get accustomed to, but the soft warm smile he would give her when he finally saw her after being away for so long. She turned away from him and started for the door. He called out to her one last time. “Remember, you warn them I kill her” She looked at her girlfriend. “I know” and she was out the door.

Chapter Text

As far as she knew there weren’t any camera’s set up in the forest where she was meeting Kara and Lena, which was a good thing. She was going to have to “play” charades to get them to understand her. Doubt filled her mind. What if I can’t do this? What if I screw up? She was so worried. If it was her own life that was on the line then she honestly wouldn’t care, but it wasn’t her life. It was Ellie’s. The blue portal appeared, and her parents stepped out. She quickly spoke before they could say something about the message she sent them. “Hey guys. It’s so great seeing you again” She lifted her finger to her lips, shook her head and pointed to her shirt and the wire she wore underneath. Please understand. There was a moment of confusion before Kara’s eyes squinted as she looked through Dakota’s shirt. After a second or two, understanding showed in her blue eyes. She made a gesture telling Lena to keep quiet. “It’s always a pleasure seeing you Dakota. Should we head over?” They made their way through the portal and ended up in the D.E.O.

Alex was waiting for them with J’onn and Winn, concern etched on each of their faces. “Hey, you good?” Alex asked stepping closer to her. “Yup, I’m ok. Just not used to traveling like that yet” as she spoke she signaled for a pen and paper, Kara used her superspeed to retrieve the items. She wrote down what she hoped would help. I am wearing a wire that can transmit to other Earth’s. J’onn read my mind. Everyone else talk like normal. She held it up for them to read. J’onn gave her a firm nod and after a second or two, his eyes glowed red. “So, what are we doing today?” she asked trying to seem as normal as possible. Still looking nervous Lena spoke “Let’s start with breakfast and go from there. How does that sound?” She nodded her head “Sounds perfect” As they continued talking, J’onn went up to each one of them to share what he had seen in her memories. After Kara was informed, Dakota thought that their cover was going to be blown. The kryptonian’s eyes filled with rage like she was about to storm back to the other Earth and give Trevor a piece of her mind. Instead Lena placed a hand on her wife’s shoulder trying to calm her down. “Why don’t you guys head over to Noonan’s and grab us a seat. Alex and I need to fill out some paperwork real fast.” Lena said. Dakota and Kara made their way out of the D.E.O.

Lena had seen a lot of awful things in her life. All of the horrors that came with being a Luthor, all the enemies that came to National City. She’d seen monsters and aliens tear the city apart and tear up Kara right along with it. After losing Dakota she thought she could handle anything, but this… To see what Dakota had just witnessed only a few days ago, feeling how hopeless she felt when Ellie slit the throats of her parents. It was a feeling she knew well. She had felt it many times over the years, watching Kara face off against all types of villains, each one seemingly stronger than the last. She wanted nothing more than to comfort her daughter, tell her how she knew exactly what she was going through. And if it wasn’t for that damned wire she was wearing she would.

“What do we know about chips that can control minds?” she asked. Winn started tapping away on the computer trying to find information. “It’s gonna be hard to try and see how it works given that we’ve never seen anything like it” he said. He pulled up all of the information they had gathered through the years trying to find Dakota. “The only earth where Gorilla Grod is human is Earth forty-three.” Alex started dialing a number on her phone. “I’ll get in touch with the Kara and Lena there to see if they can help us. Lena, go spend the day with your daughter and try to act normal. Winn and I will text you with updates.” She wanted to do more than just act like everything was normal. She wanted to go with Alex and help figure out how to disable the control chip. Once they did that, then they could go after him once and for all. “But-” she started to say. Alex turned to look at her, her eyes showing that she wasn’t going to let Lena help. “No, go be with your daughter. She needs you” She knew that Alex was right. Even if she couldn’t comfort her daughter in the way she wanted, she could at least be there for her. Reluctantly, she nodded her head and went off to Noonan’s.

She walked in with a heavy heart. Her wife and daughter were seated in the back of the restaurant. Her heart clenched at the sight of her clearly upset daughter, though to most people it might seem like nothing was wrong. Lena was a master when it came to hiding her feelings, it was something she had to work on when she and Kara started seeing one another. Lena could see her daughter’s hands underneath the table, clenched so tightly that they were slightly shaking. Her shoulders as well as her jaw were tense. It reminded her of when Kara had been taken a few years ago by her mother and CADMUS. She had tried to stay calm in order to focus on finding her, but after so many weeks of nothing she had become unhinged. She wanted to destroy every known CADMUS lab for taking Kara.

Seeing her daughter like this, seeing her so upset but having to act like everything was perfect, she wanted nothing more than to free Ellie from the control of that horrible, horrible man. Hasn’t he taken enough from us? she thought to herself. He took Dakota away from her and Kara, and while that act alone was sinister, it was everything that resulted in him taking her that was awful. They had missed out on all the little milestones in Dakota’s life. Her first steps, her first words. Taking her to school for the first time and trying to be strong only to cry her eyes out as soon as she got in the car. They missed it all. Now he took Ellie away from Dakota. Someone who her daughter really cared for. She could see in it her blue eyes when they talked about her at breakfast only a few days ago. The way her eyes lit up and how a bright smile grew on her face. She got the same way whenever someone asked her about Kara.

Her wife had gotten them some food, the sticky buns Dakota had devoured the last time she was here were left untouched on her plate. She could only hope that Alex and Winn could find someway to disable the chip.

It was always a weird experience when Alex saw a doppelganger of someone she knew. They of course looked the same, but they often acted very differently. Take the Earth forty-three version of her sister and Lena. It was as if someone pulled a freaky Friday on them and they switch bodies. Kara was the scientist with the multiple PHD’s, she was the one with the billion-dollar company to run. Not only that but here, she was human.  It was Lena who was the Kryptonian and had the powers on this planet. Alex had no idea how that was possible, but it was.

When she got there, she skipped over the pleasantries and told them everything right away. Right now, there was nothing more important than finding a way to free Ellie. Not only did she want to save her niece’s girlfriend, but she kept thinking about the red Kryptonite that Dakota had in her leather jacket. She automatically loved her niece the moment she met her, but Lena’s blood ran through her veins. Whenever faced with a tough decision Lena always did what was right despite her personal feelings. Alex had seen it multiple times before. Lena sacrificed Jack to save Kara, she was willing to sacrifice herself to save the city from poisonous chemicals and she was even willing to sacrifice Sam to save the world, something Alex knew broke her heart. There was only one person that Lena wasn’t willing to sacrifice for the greater good. Kara. If Dakota loved Ellie as much as Lena loved her sister than Alex was almost one hundred percent positive that she would go through with Trevor’s plan to use the red kryptonite on Kara if they couldn’t come up with a plan. Which meant she only had a day to figure out how to disable the chip and free Ellie.

She was currently in the main lobby of this Earth’s version of the D.E.O. Apparently, they had a few run ins with the human version of gorilla Grod, or as he’s known here, Dr. Grod. They had a surplus of information about the control chip, different versions of it, different ways to stop it. “So, there is a way to stop the chip and free the person it’s controlling.” she asked. The Kara of this Earth turned to look at her. “Yes. We have found a number of ways that the chip can be stopped.” She began typing away at the computer, a code that Alex had never seen before was being written before her very eyes. “We’ve created viruses before to infiltrate the main system of the chips and disable it from the inside out.” She continued working, typing faster than anyone Alex had ever seen. “Since we don’t know what version of the chip it is I have to make a few adjustments to the one we already have” Alex said “How long do you think it will take? And what if it is a different version of the chips and the virus doesn’t work?” This Earth’s Lena shook her head and stood up from the chair she was in. “My wife is extremely smart, she’ll create a new code so that it evolves and adapts along with the chips. It won’t matter what version of chip it is, it will still work” The blush that spread across Kara’s face didn’t go unnoticed by Alex. Even here they make each other blush she thought, quietly laughing to herself. “I should be able to have it ready in a few hours” Alex was grateful for the help, she could only hope they would make it in time.

She could hear talking but didn’t fully understand where it was coming from. The voices she heard were more of a background noise than anything else. It didn’t matter though, if it did then the man would tell her. He was currently pacing back and forth across the room, something was bothering him but she didn’t know what. So, she just stayed sitting in the chair like he commanded her, staring at the table where a knife lay, and waited. “I just miss Ellie” Something in her changed. It was slight and barely there, but it happened. She had felt the change before when the girl with the blue eyes spoke with her before going on a mission for the man. Her mind of course pushed down that feeling until she no longer felt it but… “Ellie” she heard the name again and started to listen to the voices instead of just hearing them. “She’s still visiting her grandma in Star City. I’m not really sure when she’ll be back but, I just miss her so much”

Her heart was beating out of control and she had no idea why. She found herself wanting to comfort the voice, to help her. It sounded so broken and vulnerable that she found herself wondering who the voice belonged to, and who this Ellie person was. It sounded so familiar to her, like she should know what the name means. She closed her eyes for a brief moment trying to focus. Pressure started building at the base of her head but she fought threw it as a face was starting to form in her mind. The blue eyes of the girl that was there earlier. For the longest time that was the only thing she remembered of the girl. Those piercing blue eyes. Now though, a face was beginning to form from the eyes. Freckles, and a cute nose, a smile that made her feel warm inside. Hair so dark, that it was like a night sky framing the face she tried to remember.

Who are you? she found herself thinking. It was hard to focus with all the pressure pressing on the base of her skull, she felt liquid falling from her nose making its way down her face and into her lap. A name, she could almost remember a name. Dallas? No. Dana? No. Dako- “What are you doing?” the man’s voice startled her and in those few seconds, she lost everything. She was back to square one, forgetting everything she just tried to remember. She looked at him with a confused expression on her face. “What did you do to your face?” he asked her. She had no idea what he was talking about. “Sir?” He gestured to his nose and she lifted her hand to touch her own. She was met with warm red liquid. How did that happen? “Go clean yourself up and come right back.”

She stood to complete the task he assigned her, leaving the room with no recollection that she was on the brink of remembering something important.

The day was nearing its end and Dakota was starting to feel nauseous. Winn still couldn’t figure anything out and Alex wasn’t back yet from the Earth she’d visited. The small box that held the kryptonite felt heavy in her jacket pocket. She had been torn the entire day, trying to figure out what to do. What if they can’t find a way to disable the chip? What do I do then? She wanted nothing more than to save her girlfriend, and she would do whatever it took to do that. Even if it meant going through with the plan. They believed that she wasn’t going to go through with it, they had told her as much in the written messages they had been writing to each other the entire day.

She looked at them from her place on the couch in their apartment. They had decided to watch a movie to try and get her mind off of what was happening, but it wasn’t working. She didn’t want to make this decision.

Going through with the plan didn’t just mean that she would ultimately lose the parents she was growing fond of, the ones she wanted to know more about. It would mean betraying their trust and letting them deal with whatever chaos that would transpire after she left.

The worst part about it was, she would do it, without hesitation. It was the only way that guaranteed Ellie’s safety. She felt disgusted with herself. Knowing what the red kryptonite does to people like her, knowing what it did to Kara the last time she was infected with it, she felt like a monster. Like a selfish, worthless monster. Maybe mom was right. Maybe I deserve everything she did to me. She shook her head trying to expel the negative thoughts invading her mind. She thought about what Ellie would say if she heard her right now. She’d probably say something like You didn’t deserve any of that. No one does. It’s just hard when it’s how you grew up. It was the same thing when Ellie first started calling her beautiful. She would deny that she was even remotely pretty when Ellie gave her a compliment, not because she loved hearing it over again, but because when you grow up with someone constantly telling you you’re not worth anything, it’s hard to believe that someone actually thinks that you are.

She was brought out of her thoughts by Kara showing her a text that Alex sent.

Tuesday 8:26 pm

Alex: Hey, I’ve got something that will most likely work to disable the chip. Meet me at the D.E.O

Hope made its way into her heart. Maybe we can do this. “You guys keep watching, an emergency came up with an alien downtown.” Kara said giving Lena a kiss on the top of her head. “Do you want some help?” she chimed in, hoping to go with Kara to see what Alex had found on the other Earth. Kara came over to her and place comforting hand on her shoulder. “No, it’s ok. Everything will be fine” Dakota knew that the hero was trying to make her feel better with her reassuring smile, but it wasn’t working. She just said ok and watched as Kara left.

Please let what Alex found be the answer.

“There all done” Back on Earth forty-three this Kara stood from her place in front of the computer and turned to look at Alex. She gracefully walked over to a safe hidden in one of the walls. After putting in the code she grabbed a flash drive from one of the shelves. “Here. This contains the new virus that you can use to disable the chip.” Alex took it and tucked it into her pocket. “Thank you so much. If there is anything you guys ever need, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

She said her goodbye’s and opened the breech, only to be pulled aside by Lena. “I just wanted to warn you. The virus isn’t a guarantee. There have been some cases where the chip can’t be disabled.” Her heart dropped. “The person who is under the control of the chip doesn’t want to fight it.” Lena took a deep breath. “If the virus doesn’t work, you need to try and get through to the person the chip is controlling. Give them a reason to fight back.” A reason to fight back. Ellie had a reason to fight back. God forbid the virus didn’t work, maybe Dakota could be the key to get through to Ellie. She nodded her head and passed through the breech.

When she got back to the D.E.O she sent her sister a text message letting her know that she was back. It took all of five seconds for Kara to come flying in.

“What did you find?” she asked letting her mask of normalcy down. She had been so angry and worried all day. She had a hard time not showing how she truly felt, she was always one to wear her heart on her sleeve. Today however, she needed to keep her feelings in check. If she started freaking out it would only make Dakota feel worse than she already did. Her sister pulled out a flash drive from her back pocket. “This should help us disable the chip” She handed it to Winn who plugged it into the computer. He went over the code and figured out how to use it against the effects of the chip. While he was going over the virus again, the rest of them started to come up with a plan to save Ellie and take down Trevor.

Kara knew immediately that something was off with her sister. She had been acting strange ever since she got back. “Hey, what’s wrong?” she asked cautiously. Alex was never the best when it came to lying to Kara. Her words stumbled out of her mouth. “Wrong? No, nothing is wrong” Kara was becoming increasingly concerned. “Alex” she said, her voice stern. After a few moments she finally relented. “Ok. There might be a chance that this won’t work” Her eyes widened in shock as Alex told her what Earth forty-three Lena had said. This was the only way they knew how to disable the chip, there wasn’t a plan B.

The doors to the main lobby opened and she watched as her wife and daughter came into view. “I have to tell her Alex” She started making her way to them until Alex grabbed hold of her arm causing her to stop. “You can’t Kar. If you tell her that then she might go through with the red kryptonite plan.” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Dakota would never do that. “I have to tell her. She won’t go through with the plan.” She was trying to convince her sister that Dakota was apart of this family and that she would never do anything to hurt them, but Alex was not letting this go. “Kara, if she doesn’t believe that there is a one hundred percent chance that we can save Ellie, you better believe that she’ll go through with it. Imagine if it were Lena”

She took a deep breath. If it were Lena, I would do anything to make sure she was safe. She hated it. Hated that she needed to keep something from her daughter in order to keep not only Lena, but everyone around them safe. There was no telling what she would do if she was infected with red kryptonite again. “Ok, fine I won’t say anything” Alex let go of her arm and let out a sigh of relief. “Good”

Kara just hoped that when it came down to it, that they would be able to save everyone.

Chapter Text

It was as if she were under water. The world around her was getting darker with every second, she was cold and numb. She could swear that someone was calling her name, but everything was muffled. If she focused she could barely make out the words. Words like don’t leave me and this is all my fault. She knew this was the end, knew that there was no saving her.

                                                                                                      Hours Before

It could work. The plan that Alex and J’onn came up with might actually work. Step one: She heads back to the warehouse while being followed by a cloaked J’onn and she makes sure that Trevor releases Ellie and her parents. Step two: Kara, Alex, and J’onn barge in and take down Trevor while Dakota and Lena get everyone out of there.  While the plan seemed solid enough for everyone, Dakota was still nervous. When she walked back into the D.E.O with Lena, she couldn’t help but overhear the end of a conversation Kara was having with Alex, thanks to her new powers. If she doesn’t believe there is a one hundred percent chance that we can save Ellie, you better believe she’ll go through with it.  She didn’t know which part of the plan might not work but if she had to guess it would be about the virus. What if we really can’t save Ellie. She shook the thought out of her head and tried to focus on being positive.

Currently she was at Alex and Maggie’s apartment along with her mom’s having dinner. They wanted to eat together before going through with the plan to save Ellie. They were all talking as if nothing was going on, as if in a few hours everything wasn’t about to change. Dakota tried not to think about it, she tried to be positive but she couldn’t. As much as they had all tried reassuring her through their thoughts she still felt a sense of unease. She knew that she would only be rid of this feeling once Ellie was safe in her arms and away from any danger.

She looked out the window trying to think of happier times when she didn’t have to worry about whether or not someone could get hurt tonight, or whether she would be able to save the love of her life. She longs for the days when her and Ellie would just spend the day together curled up on her couch. She would have her bad days of course. Days where what her mother would say cut too deep, when the bruises were just too much to handle and everything around her seemed to be coated with darkness. There was always Ellie though. She was the light that kept Dakota from descending deeper into the darkest corners of her mind. Ellie was the reason she hoped at all. She couldn’t lose Ellie, it would tear her apart.

The rest of dinner went by in a blur. They all said their goodbyes and headed back to the D.E.O.

“Dakota as always it has been a pleasure seeing you” Lena said. It was all show for the wire of course. In reality she had everything she needed to upload the virus into the chip should they need to use it.  “I love spending time with you guys, and I hope we can do it more in the future.” She meant every word. She had come to really enjoy spending time with them. She wanted to see them and get to know them, she was just so afraid that she would lose them too. If Trevor had red kryptonite there’s no telling what other dangerous things he has up his sleeve if this went south. Alex opened up the portal and Dakota stepped up to it, her heart pounding in her chest.

 She was going to step through the portal, she was going to go through with the plan, but a wave of overwhelming fear washed over her. She couldn’t do it. There was no guarantee that the plan would work. What if we can’t disable the chip in time. She couldn’t risk it, she couldn’t risk losing Ellie.

Just as she was about to step through the portal she turned back to look at them. “I’m so sorry” she whispered as she took out the box from her pocket and smashed it to the ground.

The man was laughing at something that the voices had said. She didn’t really understand it, but that was ok. He seemed happy which meant that everything was fine. He got a call a few moments later. “Hey kiddo, good job. This is for the best I promise.”

After a while, the girl with the blue eyes came back. She walked in with a tear stained face, like she had witnessed some horror that couldn’t be explained. She found herself thinking She looks so sad. However, the man had asked her to go on a mission and the man was always right so she assumed that they must be tears of joy.  

The man made his way over to the blue-eyed girl and tried hugging her but she just shrugged him away. “No. Not until you release Ellie” There was that name again. She wondered who this Ellie person was and if she would ever get the chance to meet them. She found that the girl with the blue eyes was looking at her with a desperate expression on her face. The man just stood there his face a picture of seriousness. “About that” he said keeping his voice stern. The girl stopped staring at her and yelled at the man, rage clearly detected in her voice. “You are going to let her go, that was our deal!” He simply just stared at her. “I said that if you go through with the plan that I might let her go, not that I would.” She watched as the girl with the blue eyes started to slowly shake with an oncoming rage that she had never seen before.

She watched horrified as the girl’s eyes began to glow with a searing heat that she could feel on her skin. With a scream the girl let lose a blinding flash of light, missing the man by a few inches.

“Let her go, NOW!!”

Traitor, killer, monster. Those words echoed in her mind on an endless loop. What have I done. She was driving to the warehouse without really paying attention to where she was going, her thoughts replaying the last few minutes in the forefront of her mind. The horrified faces of all the people who had trusted her will forever haunt her dreams. Kara, Lena, Alex, J’onn. They had all trusted her to not use the red kryptonite, but when faced with the decision she let them down.

She doesn’t remember when she started crying, just that she felt her lip tremble and her chest tighten, she couldn’t breathe. So many horrible things could be happening over there right now. Kara could be rampaging and tearing up the D.E.O, hurting or even killing agents by the dozens. J’onn might have a chance to stop her, but if the story they told her about what happened last time was any indication he probably wouldn’t last long. Would Kara kill him? Would she kill Lena? The guilt that she felt was starting to tear at her already fragile heart. While she may come off as strong, she wasn’t. She was a coward who was too afraid to go along with the plan Alex had made and now… Now, she probably lost the only people in any version of Earth that truly cared for her besides Ellie.

Kara and Lena were practically a ray of sunshine. With their giant hearts and what seemed like an endless supply for love and compassion, they were everything Dakota had ever wanted in a family and more. Still, she threw it all away. Even if by some miracle they manage to survive what she had to assume to be something terrifying, why would they want her back after she betrayed them like that. After letting her into their lives and being nothing but honest and incredible to her, why would they ever let her go back to them. Why would they forgive her or trust her again. They couldn’t, they wouldn’t. She couldn’t live with it, didn’t want to live with it. Never before had she felt so guilty about something in her life. Once she saved Ellie, how could she possibly tell her that in order to save her that Dakota needed to sacrifice Kara and Lena. Her moms.

So lost in her own whirlwind of emotions she almost drove straight into the warehouse. She swerved just in time, the side mirror of her car being the only casualty. Taking deep ragged breaths, she turned her attention to the doors of the building. The more she stared at them, the more her guilt subsided, only to be replaced with an anger like she’d never felt before. Her jaw clenched as determination filled her. I have to save Ellie. She had done her part in his plan, now he was going to let her girlfriend go or pay the price. Determined to save the love of her life she got out of her car, not bothering to close the door and barged into the warehouse.

He was waiting for her.

The more she looked at him, the more she hated everything about him. His black eyes, his smug smile, everything about his stupid round face. She had no love left for him, not after what she’d been forced to do. Not after the way Ellie and her parents have had to suffer. He came closer to her and tried giving her a hug, but the second his arms were around her a feeling of disgust made its way through her and she took a step back shrugging him off. “No. We can do that after you release Ellie” she was surprised at how calm her voice sounded when every part of her was shaking. She looked over at Ellie who met her with glazed green eyes. I’m coming Ellie. A small spark of hope ignited in her chest. She was going to get her girlfriend back, and whether or not Ellie would leave her for what she did, at least she would be alive. That same spark was soon snuffed out when she heard Trevor say “About that”

She fixed him with a fiery glare as she felt heat building behind her eyes. “You are going to let her go, that was our deal!” He just looked at her, unamused at her outburst. “I said that if you go through with the plan that I might let her go, not that I would.” No. This couldn’t be happening. She wasn’t going to lose Ellie on a technicality. She was freeing her girlfriend one way or another otherwise… Otherwise it meant she betrayed her parents for nothing. She felt her anger rise up and flare out of her as she screamed like never before, bright light emanating from her eyes. “Let her go, NOW!!”

Her breathing was heavy, and she could hear her heart pounding in her ears. Just as she was about to charge at him with her powers, the entire room turned green and she crashed to her knees. Damn it! “You don’t get it do you.” He said with amusement. “We are family.” She took a deep breath as she said “We have very different definitions about what a family is.” He just laughed at her. “You’re one to talk. Aren’t you the one who used the red kryptonite on her own mothers?” Her guilt slammed back into her like a truck. “I imagine that Kara is probably terrorizing the city right about now. You know, if she hasn’t already killed Lena” She couldn’t do it. The rest of her body fell to the floor as tears welled in her eyes again. The realization dawning on her. She couldn’t do it. She wasn’t enough.

 Years of trauma that she had tried so desperately to shove down into the deepest parts of her were brought to the surface. Suddenly she was a little girl again, hiding from a woman who was always supposed to love and protect her. To help build her up, not tear her down.

I can’t do it. I can’t save Ellie, I couldn’t save my parents, I can’t even save myself. Guilt and regret coursed through her body as she stopped fighting, as she closed her eyes and gave into her darkest emotions, just letting everything go. It didn’t matter anymore. Not the fact that he would probably never release Ellie. Not the immense pain that was coursing through her body, causing her to spasm. Nothing mattered. All she could do now was whatever he wanted. Be the daughter she didn’t want to be. At least maybe this way Ellie would survive. The world around her was starting to fade to black as she gave into her pain, but suddenly it stopped.

There were loud noises and yelling happening all around her. She was being shaken as someone tried to get her attention. “Dakota, sweetie I need you to open your eyes” It can’t be. The voice sounded like Lena’s, but she was on another Earth dealing with a red kryptonite infected Kara. “Dakota, please open your eyes” She could hear the desperation in the voice, could feel the love and worry behind it. Slowly she began to open her eyes again. The blurred image that awaited her started to clear, and she felt her heart skip a beat. Mom?

There was Lena, decked out in a D.E.O issued uniform with her hair up in a pony tail braid. The world was in slow motion for the next couple of seconds as Dakota tried to determine whether or not her mind was playing tricks on her. She watched wide-eyed as Kara held Trevor up against a wall, as Alex and multiple D.E.O agents made their way down to the cells where Ellie’s parents were being held captive. They’re alive?! She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Some how they managed to take care of the red kryptonite problem. Kara look fine and Lena didn’t have a scratch on her. There was only one question that remained.  Why did they come back for me? She couldn’t understand it. They should hate me, why are they here?

Her voice came out as a soft whisper “Mom?” Tears streaked down Lena’s cheeks.  “We came to help you” Dakota just shook her head. “No, you shouldn’t have come here. Not after what I did not after I- “Her throat closed up as she tried to say the word out loud. Betrayed. That’s what she did. She smashed the box containing the red kryptonite, and she left them there to deal with the problem. She shut her eyes unable to look at Lena. Warm hands cupped her cheek and wiped away her tears. “Sweetheart, we understand why you did what you did.” Opening her eyes, she was met with her mother’s soft, loving gaze. A gaze she wasn’t used to. “We can talk about it more later, but all you need to know right now is that we love you.” While her guilt wasn’t anywhere near gone, she tried to regain her composure by taking a few deep breaths. After a second or two she nodded her head letting Lena know she was ok.

It was somewhat of a struggle to get to her feet, she was emotionally exhausted and the pain from the green kryptonite left her weak. She looked over at Ellie who hadn’t moved a muscle since the D.E.O burst through the doors. Making her way over to her mom and Trevor she could feel determination rising in her chest. Trevor looked at her void of any emotion, the same way he looked at Lena the night he took Dakota away. “You are going to release Ellie, now” Dakota tried to keep her voice calm and steady.

When he didn’t answer Kara slammed him against the wall again. “Do as she says” He let out a grunt before saying “Well, I guess you’ve left me with no choice.” Everything happened so fast as Trevor reached into his pants pocket and pulled out thin stick with a red button. He fixed Dakota with a wicked grin before pushing the button and letting everything go to hell.

Lena just stood there unmoving. She had always known that Dakota using the red kryptonite was a possibility but didn’t want to believe she could actually do it. The look on her daughter’s face was one she knew well. An emotion that she had felt when she sacrificed Jack in order to save Kara. She knew how Dakota must be feeling, having to choose over the people you love is one of the worst things in the world.

Looking over at Kara she could see her wife was as easily shocked. The tears were already streaming down her face as the realization of what just happened hit her. Lena placed a hand on Kara’s shoulder, finding that the hero was shaking. “Kara. We always knew this could happen.” She watched as her wife just shook her head, wiping away at the falling tears. “I know, it’s just” she took a shaky deep breath. “I never actually thought she would do it”

Alex bent down and started to pick up the shattered pieces of the red kryptonite. “It’s a good thing we switched the lethal version for a decoy or else it would be mad chaos right now.” Switching the kryptonites was the smart thing to do, and with the help of J’onn, Dakota hadn’t even noticed. Now all that was left to do was wait a little until Dakota was far enough away from the forest to not see the breech when they opened it again.

They headed down to the garage to open the breech. They needed a way to follow J’onn when he tracked Dakota. The entire way down Lena held her wife’s hand, knowing that Kara needed an anchor right now. This wasn’t the first time that Kara had put her trust in someone only to have it broken. Lena herself had broken her wife’s trust in the early part of their relationship, even if she didn’t mean too. Kara of course knew why Dakota did what she did, so did Lena, but it doesn’t mean that it hurts any less.

The ride to the warehouse was mostly quiet, the only talking coming from the Alex, Winn, and the other agents going over the plan. Kara was braiding back the dark strands of Lena’s hair. The hero’s gentle touch calming Lena’s rising nerves.

Looking out the window Lena could see a building coming into view up ahead. There wasn’t anything special about it, at least from the outside. If she was simply just passing through she would have never given it a second glance. Something else came into view the closer they got. It was her daughter’s car. There were tire marks leading up to it, the door was open and one of the side windows was completely broken off. Just as Lena was going to comment about the state of Dakota’s car, Kara gasped and sped out of the armored vehicle.

When Lena was finally out she noticed a Supergirl sized hole in the side of the building. The plan was to sneak in, scope out the situation and then take action, but Lena guessed that her wife heard something making her act outside the plan. Alex insisted her and her agents head in first as they broke down the steel door. The outside was nothing compared to the inside of the building. With the outside being old and run down, the inside was new and modern.

As she was taking in her surroundings her attention focused on a figure convulsing in pain on the floor. Dakota! In an instant she was by her daughter’s side. She could only assume that she was exposed to kryptonite, which meant that he didn’t keep his end of the deal to free Ellie. She ran her hand up and down Dakota’s arm trying to soothe whatever pain she was currently in. “Dakota, sweetie I need you to open your eyes” She got no response, but at least her body had stopped twitching from the pain. “Dakota, please open your eyes” She watched as her daughter’s eyes slowly began to open.

Upon realizing who she was looking at, Lena saw as Dakota took in what was happening around them. She could see the disbelief in the crystal blue of her wide eyes. Dakota whispered something so quietly that if Lena wasn’t so close to her she would have missed it. “Mom?” Lena couldn’t help the tears that threatened to spill. However, these tears were not because she was scared. No, these tears were caused by what Dakota just called her. Mom. It was the first time she heard her say that word. It made her feel so many different things. She was happy because she was finally called mom after all these years, but she was also sad as she was reminded of all the years she lost with her daughter. “We came to help you” she said, watching the guilt spread over her daughters tear stained face. “No, you shouldn’t have come here. Not after what I did, not after I- “Her daughter didn’t finish her sentence, closing her eyes as tears of her own made their way down her sun-kissed face.

Lena could see how much what she did was eating away at her, how she hated what she did with every fiber of her being. She brought her hands up to Dakota’s face wiping away at her tears. “Sweetheart, we understand why you did what you did.” Lena was met with surprise when Dakota opened up her eyes again. Like she didn’t believe that Lena wasn’t mad with her, but it was true. Lena wasn’t mad at her daughter, she wasn’t even disappointed. She understood exactly why she did it.

Lena gently brought their foreheads together trying to comfort her daughter any way she could. “We can talk about it more later, but all you need to know right now is that we love you.” After a few moments Lena could feel her daughter finally start to relax a little. After taking some deep breaths she helped Dakota get to her feet. She watched as her daughter’s eyes instantly focused on her girlfriend. Ellie was seated at a table unmoving, just looking at them. The girl who Lena had seen being so loving an affectionate to her daughter, now seemed hollow and empty.

They approached where Kara had Trevor pinned up against a wall, staring at him like she wanted to snap his neck. He didn’t struggle under the tight grip of Supergirl, he didn’t even try talking his way out of the situation. He just had his soulless eyes trained on her daughter. The same soulless eyes that haunted Lena’s dreams. “You are going to release Ellie, now” Dakota said, a slight tremble in her voice. When he didn’t say anything, Kara slammed him against the wall letting out a grunt as small cracks formed behind him. “Do as she says” He scoffed at them, an evil smile forming in his face. Lena’s gut twisted like it was trying to tell her something, like it was trying to warn her.  “Well, I guess you’ve left me with no choice.”

She was suddenly thrown back as multiple explosions erupted all around them. Her ears were ringing as she tried to figure out what was going on. Trying to get to her feet her head spun and she stumbled back to the ground. She tried closing her eyes hoping it would make the throbbing in her head stop. Screaming forced her to open them again. Kara struggling to get to her feet and Dakota holding Ellie in her arms. “Ellie wake up! Please wake up!” Oh no…

Kara, finally up on her feet made a beeline for Trevor who only looked at her at laughed as he pressed another button causing hidden doors to open. “You didn’t think that I wouldn’t have a back-up plan, did you?” He continued laughing as hundreds of robots made their way out of the doors. Large metal men with glowing green eyes. “You see, whenever I go on a job I always take a few souvenirs.” The robot men raised their arms in perfect sync. “These little toys should be enough to destroy you all” And just like that, the robots started firing on them.

There were so many of them.

Kara wasn’t sure how long they would be able to keep it up. Alex and some of the other agents had gotten out Ellie’s parents and were leading them away from the chaos. She had tried to get Dakota and Lena to go with them, but they refused to leave. Instead Dakota carefully handed her unconscious girlfriend over to J’onn. “Keep her safe, please” J’onn nodded his head and took her away to the truck. The three of them stood together as one, as a family. Ready to take on whatever threatened to destroy them, together.

For the most part they were holding their own against the hoard of laser firing robots. It reminded Kara of the time she fought the Red tornado. “Winn, do you think you can stop these things?” Kars said through the comms. Winn was typing away at the computer located in one of the trucks they came in. “I’m trying, I just need a little time.”

All throughout the fight, Trevor just watched them, his face turned in a wicked sneer. Kara watched as her daughter hurled a robot in his direction, forcing him to dodge it. “I’m going to make you regret going after my family” the rage in her daughter’s voice taking over. She stalked her way over to the man who had taken so much from them. Fear made its way through Kara’s body as she looked at Dakota’s face. She knew that look. The anger taking hold of her daughter reminded her of a time when she herself wanted to hurt someone for fatally hurting Lena. She wanted to kill them, and she would have too, had Alex not been there to stop her.

She tried making her way over to her rage filled daughter, she couldn’t let her make that mistake. She saw how upset Dakota was when she thought Kara had been infected with the red K. Killing someone, even a person a horrible as Trevor, would haunt her for the rest of her life.

She was so busy trying to get to Dakota, that she lost sight of Lena for just a moment. It wasn’t until she heard a pained yell from her wife that she found her. “Lena!” She made her way over, fighting off as many of the robots as she could. Lena was clutching her shoulder as blood made its way down her arm. “I’m getting you out of here” she moved to pick up Lena, only to have her wife step back from her. “No, go help our daughter Kara.” The hero shook her head. “I won’t lose you” She quickly picked up and started for the armored car. They ran into Alex, who was making her way back in to help. “What happened?” she asked clearly worried about them. “Lena got hurt I need to get her out of here” “Kara, I’m fine. You need to go help Dakota” Alex holstered her alien gun and reached for Lena. “I’ve got her Kar, you go” After a moment Kara softly put down her wife and left her in the care of her sister. “Oh, Kara wait. We can’t find Ellie” The blondes brain short circuited. “What?” How did we lose an unconscious person! “After J’onn went back to help, we started taking care of Ellie’s parents and the other injured agents. When I turned back to take a look at the chip she was gone” She nodded her head and started to head back to help her daughter. “Ok, I’ll keep an eye out, right now I have to help Dakota” 

Heading back into the fight Kara quickly helped J’onn who was being bombarded by at least ten robots. “J’onn if Winn can’t find a way to shut them down, then we need to get the remote Trevor has. It might be the only way” Finding Trevor was easy. There was a protective circle of robots all around him, with Dakota trying to break through the line. Together Kara and J’onn started making their way to them.

Out of the corner of the hero’s eyes Kara saw something else moving slowing through all the chaos. The robots seemed to be moving out of the way for someone. Kara tried to see who it was but the metal men kept getting in the way. Then suddenly all at once the robots stopped and collapsed to the floor. She could hear Winn cheering through the comms.

 “Supergirl!” J’onn screamed, causing Kara to look forward again. A robot, one bigger than the rest was heading right for them. “Winn, we got one more” Supergirl and the Martian man hunter worked together as they tried taking down the last of Trevor’s metal army. With a bone cracking blow the robot hit J’onn sending him crashing through the nearest wall. With a few well-placed kicks, Kara pushed back the metal man. She kept pounding into the machine making dents in it’s hard surface. It seemed as if she was going to win this fight until…

A scream so loud rattled her bones and send a chill up her spine. The source of the horrific sound was Lena, her shoulder wrapped up. Kara could hear her wife’s heart beating a mile a minute and Kara could see her physically shaking. In the second it took Kara to look at Lena, the robot she was fighting took advantage blasting her with a green ray. She yelped in pain and clutched at her torso. Kryptonite?! Unlike the other robots who shot red lasers, this one shot green kryptonite. The robot hit her again and again with the painful ray. “Kara!” Lena’s pained cry ripping Kara’s heart in two.

Supergirl was on the floor trying and failing to get back to her feet. She could see the robot stalking towards her, getting ready to land the final blow. Something got in between them though. Standing in front of Kara was the woman she loved with everything she had. “Lena, no!” she tried getting up but her knees gave out as she crashed back to the ground. The robot’s green eyes glowed brighter signaling that they were going to fire again. She watched horrified as her wife looked over her shoulder at her, tears streaking down her face. “I love you Kara. Please take care of our daughter”

Out of nowhere the metal man exploded. Lena let out a sign of relief as she sank to knees. “What just happened? Did it work?” Kara had never been to grateful to hear Winn’s voice before. The two wives made their way over to the other, wanting to be close. They were both shaking out of pain, but mostly out of fear of losing each other. “Guys?” Winn asked. Kara nodded her head as she held Lena. “Yeah Winn, you did it. We’re good”

After a few moments of just being with each other, Lena gasped. “Dakota!” Lena got up and raced over to their daughter. When Kara looked over, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

There was Dakota lying on the ground taking shallow breaths, and standing over her, with blood dripping from the kryptonite knife in her hand…

 Was Ellie.

There was absolutely nothing she hated more in this world right now than the man she once called father. She was ripping through the robots one after another trying to get to the man who had caused so much pain to the people she loved. After seeing Ellie lying unconscious on the floor all she wanted to do was tear Trevor apart limb from limb. She wanted to make him suffer, just like he made so many. After destroying one of the many robots he threw at them, they all suddenly turned off, giving her a clear path to her target. “You should have never come after my family, after Ellie.” She bared her teeth at him in an angry snarl. For the first time he looked scared, like things weren’t going according to plan. “Dakota, why won’t you just accept that I am the only family you need” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “When will you get it through your thick skull that I want nothing to do with you! You are not my father, you are not my family” He glanced behind her, but she was to angry to notice. He simply straightened his back and said. “Fine. If I can’t have you, no one can. Initiate K2 sequence”

Confusion made its way across her face. “What?” K2 sequence? He just shook his head at her. “It didn’t have to be like this,” She heard what seemed to be like a blade being unsheathed and turned around only to be stabbed in the shoulder. Crying out in pain she pushed the attacker back, only to see that the person who just stabbed her was Ellie. Her breath hitched as her lip started to tremble. “Ellie?” she whispered. The girl standing in front of her held a knife with a green blade made from kryptonite. Her glassy eyes looked more focused than usual as she was carrying out the order Trevor gave her. “The perfect enemy for you Dakota. One that you would never hurt no matter what.” She turned to look at him but he was already gone, escaping through a door that hadn’t been there a second ago.

Ellie came for her again and Dakota did her best to dodge, the throbbing in her shoulder was growing. “Ellie, stop! This isn’t you!” Dakota was shouting, trying desperately to get through to her girlfriend. Ellie took another jab at her and Dakota raised her hand to block it, getting her arm sliced in the process. “Ellie it’s me, it’s Dakota! Your Kota.” Still nothing. “Ellie please” She kept backing up not wanting to make contact with the knife again. It didn’t hurt as much as the actual crystal, but when it touched her skin it felt like someone had set it on fire. Her Back hit the wall sending pain shooting through her shoulder. Ellie rushed at her and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She wouldn’t hurt the woman she loved. “Ellie no, sto-“ The knife sunk deep into her torso and she grabbed at Ellie’s shoulder trying not to fall to the ground. She was shaking as she gasped for air, the pain of the knife making it incredibly hard to breath. She looked into the green hollow eyes of her girlfriend and let the tears freely flow down her face. “It’s ok, it’s ok” the words trembled out of her mouth. She knew that deep down Ellie was still in there, knew that she would blame herself for what happened. Dakota wanted to make sure that Ellie knew that she still loved her. “I will always love you Ellie. Until my dying day” With that she sank to the ground, closing her eyes as a puddle of blood formed around her.

It was as if she were under water. The world around her was getting darker with every second, she was cold and numb. She could swear that someone was calling her name, but everything was muffled. If she focused she could barely make out the words. Words like don’t leave me and this is all my fault. She knew this was the end, knew that there was no saving her.

She didn’t think twice when the man said the K2 sequence, she instinctively knew what that meant. So, she took out the knife he had given her and started to attack the girl with the blue eyes. It was strange the girl kept saying that name again, Ellie, like that person was going to show up and save her. It didn’t matter though, she had a job to do. She was to destroy the blue-eyed girl by any means necessary. After backing the girl up against the wall, she plunged the knife deep into her stomach. The weight of the girl leaning on her felt familiar. Like she had hugged the girl before, but she couldn’t bring herself to remember why. The girl kept saying things like it’s ok and it’s not your fault. Of course it wasn’t her fault, if the man told her to do it, then it had to be right. Just before the girl slumped to the floor she said something that changed everything. “Until my dying day” She felt the usual pressure on the back of her head release, as memories came flooding back in her mind. She was Ellie Prescott. She was a college student, had two parents whom she loved, and a girlfriend named Dakota. Her thoughts stopped short as what she did caught up with her. Looking down she saw Dakota’s lifeless body on the floor. Immediately she dropped the knife and found that there was blood on her hands, Dakota’s blood. Her breathing quickened as she started hyperventilating. Getting down on her knees she cupped her girlfriend’s face with shaking hands.   

There was blood. So much blood. Ellie pressed her hands to the open wound where she had stabbed Dakota trying to stop the bleeding, but nothing was working. She stabbed Dakota. The person that she oved with every fiber of her being, the person she promised she would never hurt.  “Don’t leave me Kota, please!” As the blood seeped through her fingers, she couldn’t help but think,

What have I done

Chapter Text

She slowly opened her eyes, the bright lights above her stinging slightly. What happened? Every muscle in her body was sore, but the left side of her torso definitely won on the pain factor. When she was finally able to open her eyes the first thing she realized was that she was at the D.E.O. in a room that looked similar to the one with the sun lamps. Unlike the room with the sun lamps though, she actually had a bed to lie down on, opposed to the metal table she was used to. The room was quiet, the only sound coming from the monitor keeping track of her vitals and the sound of her breathing. She looked over to her right side and saw the most beautiful person in the world lying on the couch. Her reddish-brown hair was tied in a loose braid, the soft features of her sleeping face bringing a smile to Dakota’s. Doing a quick once over of her girlfriend, she was thankful that not one freckle was harmed. She closed her eyes again trying to recall what happened once she confronted Trevor. Images of Ellie with the kryptonite knife filled her head. It was horrible seeing her girlfriend like that, seeing her completely void of any will of her own. She could only assume that they got the virus to work since she fell unconscious after crashing to the floor.

The door quietly opened and Kara walked in holding multiple boxes of pizza with a brown paper bag placed on top of it. After quietly closing the door she placed the items on the table. Dakota couldn’t help the smile that grew on her face as she watched her mom. Kara didn’t seem to notice that she was awake as she continued with what she was doing. It seemed like she was setting up for multiple people to eat in the room, as she pulled out plates from one of the many cabinets in the room. It wasn’t until Dakota finally spoke that Kara realized she was up. “Are you having a party or something?” her voice was hoarse, like she hadn’t used it for some time. Kara immediately made her way over to Dakota, blue eyes brimming with tears as she hugged her daughter just a little too tightly.

“Ok. I can’t breathe” she husked out. The blonde quickly pulled back and apologized. “Sometimes I get a little carried away” Dakota let out a small laugh, just happy to see that her mom was ok. Her smile soon faded as she remembered what she did the day before. How she went along with Trevor’s plan to infect Kara with the red k so she would cause chaos all throughout National City. “Kara, I…” Her mother looked at her with soft eyes encouraging her to go on. “I just wanted to say that I am so sorry for what I did” Kara’s eyes took on a sad hue. “You don’t have to apologize” She shook her head, casting her eyes to the ground. “Yes, I do. I told you that I wasn’t going to use the kryptonite, but I did anyways.” Her eyes started stinging and her bottom lip trembled. “I can’t imagine how awful it must have been for you to go through being infected again.” Kara brought her hand up to Dakota’s chin, softly lifting it so their eyes met. “Sweetie, we switched out the red k for a decoy. Nothing bad happened after you left.”

Her eyes slightly widened at her disbelief. “You, you did?” Kara nodded her head. “Yeah, Alex thought it was the smartest thing to do” A single tear fell down her cheek. “She was right not to trust me” She lifted her hand to her face trying to stop the tears she could feel coming. Kara scooted closer to her on the bed placing both hands on her daughter’s shoulders. “It’s not that she didn’t trust you, she does. If it were Lena or myself in your position Alex would have done the same thing” Her eyebrows creased together with confusion. “Really?” Kara nodded, a small smile forming on her face. “If I was in your situation and Lena was in Ellie’s place, I would have done anything to get her back safe.” Somehow that made her feel a little better. Knowing that Kara would have done the same thing gave her hope that they would eventually forgive her. “We still need to talk about what happened after you fell unconscious, but right now I think someone wants to talk with you” Kara said turning to look over at Ellie. “Its ok, you can stop pretending to sleep”

One eye peaked open, then the other. Ellie slowly sat up, her face growing red from being caught feigning sleep. “I didn’t wanna interrupt you guys” Kara got up from the bed making her way to the door. “I’ll give you guys some time to talk, but I’m gonna be back soon for that pizza on the table” Dakota let out a small laugh as she watched her mom leave the room. She looked back at Ellie, only to find that her girlfriend wasn’t looking at her. She was looking at the floor, her shoulders arched forwards like she was trying to hide herself. The guilt was clear on her freckled face. There were a few tense moments before Ellie said anything. “Dakota I- ““Stop” Ellie winced at Dakota’s interruption. Dakota stretched her hand out to her. “C’mere” Ellie made her way over to the bed and sat down. Dakota was just staring at her, not believing that she was sitting right in front of her. Finally, Ellie’s eyes met her own and she felt all the air leave her lungs as she was struck by the beauty of them. Her eyes had been so cold and empty for so long, that seeing them right now so bright and with so much emotion behind them made it seem as if she was looking into them for the first time. “I love you so much Ellie” Ellie shook her head. “You shouldn’t, not after what I did” Dakota sat further up, wincing at the pain in her side. “Ellie, it wasn’t you. You were being controlled by someone else.” She watched as her girlfriend’s face scrunched up in pain and she began to cry. Her words came out in broken sobs. “I It doesn’t ma matter. I should have b been able to fight it.” Dakota took Ellie’s hands in her own trying to comfort her girlfriend. “Ellie, everything is ok. We are ok.” Ellie just kept shaking her head no. “You don’t understand Dakota, I remember what I did. I remember n not feeling anything when I slit my fake parent’s throats and I felt nothing when I- “She couldn’t continue, the guilt of the horrible things she’d done taking over her.

The sight of her girlfriend breaking down in front of her was enough to split her heart in two. Moving forward she collected her distraught girlfriend in her arms. Dakota held her tight trying to reassure her that it was ok, that what she did wasn’t her fault. She took her sobbing girlfriends hand and placed it just above her heart. “Do you feel that? Can you feel my heart beating?” She felt Ellie nod her head against her chest. “I am still alive because of you.” Ellie pulled back from her “No, you’re in here because of me” Dakota shook her head, trying to get her to understand. “Ellie, do you remember what the K2 order was?” Ellie visibly shook as she was reminded about what it was. “When I heard it, I was supposed to kill you.” Dakota kissed the top of Ellie’s hand. “Exactly. But you didn’t. You know why?” Ellie tried wiping away her tears, her voice coming out as a whisper. “Because they saved you” “No. If you really wanted to kill me you would have aimed the knife at my heart.” Her brow creased, not quite understanding Dakota. “You purposely missed my heart and aimed lower so that I would have a chance to survive.” The green-eyed girl shook her head slightly. “You saved me Ellie. More than once.” Dakota pulled her back into another hug. “You saved me even before all this happened” She heard Ellie’s quiet voice “What do you mean?” She motioned for Ellie to look at the inside of her left wrist.

At a glance there’s nothing but tan skin, but the longer Ellie stared she started to notice thin white lines going across the skin. What? Moving to look into the blue eyes of the girl she loved so much Ellie said “Kota, you…” She was at a loss for words. Dakota took a deep breath, looking down before explaining. “I used to. There were days were what my mother said would stick with me. Days where I couldn’t feel anything, I was numb and I wanted to feel something… Even if it was pain.” Dakota’s breathing was shaky as she tried not to cry. “I was bad for a really long time Ellie. I just wanted what my mother was doing to stop. I didn’t see any reason to keep going. Then you happened.” She lifted her eyes to meet Ellie’s again. “I was going to end things, but just as I was about to do it, my phone starts ringing.” She laughed a little. “When I looked to see who could be calling me, it was you” They both started crying again. “You saved me that night Ellie, its because of you that I hoped again. It was because of you that I stopped hurting myself” Dakota lifted her hand, cupping Ellie’s face. Her girlfriend leaned into the touch. “Nothing can accurately describe how much I love you Ellie. I always will.” She laughed a little before saying “Until my dying day”

Until my dying day. It was their own little promise that they made to one another. A promise that they would always be there, that they would always love and protect each other. It’s what broke the chips hold on Ellie.

“I love you too Kota, so much” she said before pulling Dakota in for a heartfelt kiss. It wasn’t their first kiss and it certainly wasn’t their most heated one. However, there was something about it that made it seem special. Like this kiss was more important than all the others they shared together. All the love they felt for one another, how much they missed the other, how much they desperately needed each other, was charged into that one simple kiss.

There was a knock at the door which made them finally pull away. In came Kara and Lena hands over their eyes. “Is it safe to come in yet?” Lena said, trying and failing to hide a giggle. Ellie’s face turned red at Lena’s implication while Dakota creased her eyebrows not understanding. “Um, yes. Why wouldn’t it be safe?” Ellie whispered into her ear explaining what Lena meant. Uncovering their eyes, they watched as their daughter’s face burned. “Ohhhh….” She let out a nervous laugh “Yeah no, it’s safe”

Lena made her way to the hospital bed and hugged Dakota. “You have no idea how happy I am that you’re ok.” She took a deep breath relieved that her daughter was finally awake. “You took so long to wake up, we weren’t sure if you would become comatose” Dakota pulled away from Lena. “I couldn’t have been out that long. What was it a day?” They all exchanged knowing glances. “Kara stepped forward resting her hands on her wife’s shoulders. “Dakota, you were out for almost two weeks” Her eyes popped out of her head. “Two weeks!?!” How could I have been out that long? Her thoughts drifted to everything she might have missed in those two weeks. “Where is he? I saw him get away through a hidden door.” She moved to get up from the bed, only taking one step before her legs failed her and she started to fall. Ellie quickly caught her and placed her back on the bed. “Whoa, slow down babe, it’s ok”

I have to find him, I have to stop him. Her thoughts raced as she thought of different ways they could track him.  “It’s not ok. We have to find him!” Ellie ran her hand up and down Dakota’s arms trying to soothe her. “We did catch him. He’s here.” Dakota blinked a few times. “What? He’s here?” Kara took a seat in one of the chairs by the table. “Yes, but you should eat first and relax before you decide to do anything.” Just as Dakota was about to protest Kara flipped open the box, the smell of fresh pizza making her stomach growl. She wanted nothing more than to see him and give him a piece of her mind, but the growl in her stomach had other ideas. She sighed, giving in to her growing hunger. “Ok, eat first, do everything else later”

She tried getting up again wanting to walk, but Lena insisted she stay in bed to take things easy. “I’ve been out for two weeks, I think I’m well rested” she giggled. Her mom just raised an eyebrow at her. “Ok then, lets see if you can make it to the table” The challenging tone in Lena’s voice fueled her determination. She definitely had a competitive nature, not that she would ever admit to it. She maneuvered her legs to one side of the bed and got ready to step down. I got this she thought, as she began tumbling down to the floor. For she did not got this.

Thankfully Ellie was still by the bed, ready to catch her again. She felt a mix of embarrassment and anger make its way through her as she saw the smug expression on her mother’s face. “Don’t be too upset” Lena made her way over to Dakota. “You’ve been out for so long that your legs are just a little weak.” She didn’t understand why she wasn’t even strong enough to stand. “Shouldn’t I be all healed up from the sun lamps.” At that moment Alex came in. “Even with the help of the lamps you haven’t used your body. It’s still weak, but with some physical therapy we’ll get you back in tip-top shape” Dakota couldn’t help the smile that formed when she saw the brunette. Alex was the first person she really trusted when all of this started.

“Hi Alex.” She said as she was being pulled into a hug. “Hey. How you feeling?” Honestly, despite the pain in her side she felt fine. “I’m good.” With that, they dug into their food, Dakota eating more than anyone even Kara. While they ate they talked about normal things. Dakota was still surprised at how natural it all felt. She didn’t feel awkward or like she wasn’t wanted, and everyone seemed to like Ellie. They shared some inside jokes with her and Ellie promised to tell her everything later. She noticed how Kara and Lena would keep glancing in her direction when they thought she wasn’t looking. Almost like they wanted to make sure she was still there. They talked all through the night, and when it was finally time to settle down and get ready for bed Dakota found herself not wanting to let them go. “We’ll see you tomorrow, and if you need us for any reason we’re right down the hall.” Kara said, reassuring her that they weren’t going to leave her. “What about Trevor? I want to see him” Her mothers shared a worried look. “Tomorrow. Right now, you need to rest.” Even though Dakota was significantly taller than her, while she was on the bed Lena was able to kiss the top of her head. “Good night Dakota” Taking a deep breath she said good night to both of them. I guess I’ve technically waited two weeks. I can wait one more day.  

After everybody was gone it was just her and Ellie left in the room. “Do you wanna take a shower before bed? Or a bath maybe?” Nothing sounded better to Dakota. With Ellie’s help, the two of them headed into the surprisingly spacious bathroom. “You might need to help me though” she said as she started removing the clothes she’d been wearing. Ellie helped her remove the blue shirt but stopped short, staring at Dakota like she was going to be sick. Dakota followed her girlfriends line of vision to find a large scar spread across her skin. Dakota sighed. “Ellie, it’s ok. It doesn’t even hurt.” Her girlfriend shook her head. “It shouldn’t be there at all” Dakota knew how hard Ellie was taking this, so she was going to make sure that Ellie knew she loved her. “On the plus side chicks dig scars, right?” This earned a small laugh from the shorter girl who knew exactly what she was referencing. “Did you seriously just make a Wynonna Earp joke?” Dakota just shrugged her shoulders. “What can I say? I can’t help it. I’m a lesbian not a unicorn.” It filled her heart with joy seeing Ellie smile again, hearing her laugh again.

After they both bathed they got into their pajama’s and started settling in for the night. “Do you need anything before bed?” She nodded her head. “Yeah. I need snuggles from my girlfriend” That seemed to bring a small smile to Ellie’s face as she made her way over to the bed. Dakota scooted over so she had room. They settled into their usual snuggling position with Dakota on her back and Ellie snuggling into her side. Dakota breathed in the familiar smell of her girlfriend, like fresh pine trees and snow. She didn’t realize how tired she actually was until her breathing slowed and she started to feel sleep overtake her. She barely hears when Ellie says that she loves her.

The next day Dakota is very adamant about seeing Trevor. Lena doesn’t believe it to be a good idea where Kara finds herself thinking that their daughter deserves closure after everything that’s happened. “This is a bad idea.” She can hear the worry in her wife’s voice. She knows that Lena has every right to be worried. It was true that he was in the deepest darkest cell located in the D.E.O. and that his cell in particular had the most security measures, so there was no way of him getting out but… Words could hurt just as much as a physical blow, sometimes more. Trevor hadn’t said a word to anyone since they had caught him. Probably waiting for Dakota.

As much as she wanted to be by her daughter’s side, Dakota wanted to see him alone. Ellie had pushed her in a wheelchair all the way up to the first of his many security doors, and when Dakota tried standing upon reaching the final door everyone held their breath. She wavered for a second or two but was able to stand on her own. “Please don’t try to push yourself. It’s ok if you still need to use the chair.” Kara had learned that her daughter could be just as stubborn as Lena, maybe even worse. “I’ll be fine.” Dakota took a deep breath. “I don’t want him to think he got me that badly” Kara understood what she was saying. She didn’t want Trevor to see her struggling, didn’t want him to see that she was weak.

So, they let her go in by herself, without them or Ellie to offer any kind of support. “She’s not alone Lena” Kara said, placing an arm around her wife in an attempt to soothe her rising nerves. “We are right here watching in case anything happens.” The deep breath that Lena took did nothing to calm her rapidly beating heart, but at least she’d stopped shaking for the most part.

They watched as Dakota took slow steady steps up to where Trevor was sitting behind the glass. Kara’s own skin crawled as she saw the predatory glare that formed on the man’s face. She wished that she could hear what was being said, but they had promised Dakota that they wouldn’t listen in on the conversation, muting the microphones that were around his cell. All they could do was watch. The conversation didn’t last long, maybe a total of five minutes, but Kara could tell that it didn’t go well.

When they came out of the observation room to meet Dakota by the door, she was surprised to see that her daughter had collapsed onto the floor. Not only that but she was crying as well. Tears were making their way down Dakota’s face, and Ellie was at her side in seconds. She was furious. Hasn’t he caused enough pain! Her jaw clenched at her anger and her brow creased. She was just about to storm in there and rough him up a bit when the quiet voice of her daughter stopped her. “Just leave him alone.” Her voice was soft and broken. “Don’t give him the satisfaction” She had to take multiple deep breaths before she was finally calm enough. After another moment, she kneeled down next to Dakota, looking for any way to comfort the girl. “What did he say to you?”

The warning look Ellie gave her didn’t go unnoticed, and she assumed that maybe it was too soon to ask. Dakota just shook her head. “Not right now, please. Can we just head back up stairs and watch a movie or something?” Lena had retrieved the wheelchair from its place by the wall. “Of course, sweetie” With the help of Ellie she managed to get Dakota back in the chair with little problems.  

The three of them started making their way back up while Kara lagged behind, staring through the door at the monster behind it. It could take her two seconds to just rough him up a bit. She was about to ignore her daughter’s words and burst through the doors when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. “Kara” She turned to see Lena’s pleading eyes. “Don’t go in. Nothing good can come of it” She knew of course that her wife was right, but she hated how Trevor was still hurting her family.  Taking one last look through the door, she took a deep breath and heading back up with Lena’s hand in her own.

The movie had gotten to the part where the mermaid princess makes the deal with the sea witch, not that Lena was paying any attention. She was more focused on the glazed expression her daughter wore and how much it scared her. She herself has worn that same expression, when the world around her seemed to implode. More often than not she would push people away, cutting them off completely. At least until she’d met Kara. The ever-sunny reporter broke through the walls that Lena built around herself and she was so happy that she did. She knew that Dakota had Ellie and if she had the same wall building defense system, Lena had no doubt that Ellie could break through.

In the three days since Dakota went to talk to Trevor, Alex finally broke and let her leave the D.E.O. It turns out that her daughter’s puppy dog face was immensely more effective than her wife’s, Lena only hoped that she would never fall victim to it. They had done nothing but relax and watch Disney movies, much to Kara’s excitement. It turned out that they did have Disney movies on the other Earth and Kara was determined to show her daughter and Ellie all her favorites. Dakota had been mostly quiet the past couple of days, she hadn’t spoken to anyone about her conversation with Trevor and her and Kara didn’t want to push her into talking about it. While Lena wanted to know what he’d said to upset her so much, a part of her felt relieved to finally have some down time and really get to know her daughter as well as her extremely sunny girlfriend.

From what Lena could tell Ellie was just as bubbly as Kara, especially when it came to certain things she loved, like musicals. She knew that Kara was ecstatic to finally have someone to gush about them with. She herself had never really understood the point of all the singing in a musical but had taken an interest in them simply because Kara loved them. Ellie’s love for musicals wasn’t the only thing that reminded her of Kara. Much like her superpowered wife, Ellie seemed to wear her heart on her sleeve and cared deeply about those around her. Dakota was definitely the calmer of the two, able to hide what she was really feeling for the most part. Lena isn’t sure how or why she learned to do this, but she has her suspicions.

Growing up in the Luthor household, Lena was subject to all forms of mental abuse. She constantly felt like she wasn’t good enough no matter how hard she tried. There were times where she felt pathetic to want not only Lionel’s, but Lillian’s approval as well. Lena knew what abuse looked like and with everything being so hectic and crazy the past couple of weeks she hadn’t stopped to take notice. However, now that she was around her daughter everyday she started to see the little things she used to do before Kara helped her. The way Dakota would apologize for every little thing even though it wasn’t her fault, the way she jumped a little when something was put down too hard or the way Lena saw her flinch when someone moved just a little too fast. She didn’t want to believe that Dakota was going through something as horrible as that and she didn’t want to ask her for fear of pushing her away but… She knew that she could help. If something really was going on, maybe Ellie could help, but being abused is a completely different lifestyle, one that Kara no matter how hard she might try could never understand.

Lena could help her daughter and be there for her, letting her know that it does get better. Then she would go to whoever was abusing her and make them regret being born.

Before Lena knew it, the movie was over and Dakota was getting up from the couch. “I think were gonna head to bed” she whispered, picking up a sleeping Ellie. They had been sleeping in the room that had always meant to be Dakota’s. It was nice to finally have her living with them, even if it was only a temporary thing. Thanks to super speed and strength, it had only taken Kara and Dakota a few hours to move out some of the baby stuff that had gone untouched for the past nineteen years. One of the items was the white stuffed dog with the red cape that Alex had given Dakota the day she was born. Much to everyone’s surprise, Dakota seemed to remember the stuffed animal and it warmed Lena’s heart that even though they weren’t around for the majority of her life, she still remembered them in some way.

After they said goodnight and Lena heard the door close, Kara spoke as if sensing Lena’s uneasiness. “She’ll be ok Lena. We just need to give her some time” She leaned into the warm embrace that Kara offered and sighed. “I know, but I still worry. There’s so much about her that we still don’t know.” They knew basic things yes, but it was the history of what Dakota had been through that Lena really wanted to know. “We have her back Lee” Kara kissed the top of her head. “We have all the time in the world to get to know her better, and for her to trust us enough to truly be herself” As much as Lena wanted to agree with her optimistic wife, she knew the dangers that they faced on a weekly basis. She knew that one day there might be an enemy that Kara and the D.E.O. won’t be able to take down. Nothing is guaranteed she thought.

“She asked me if I could teach her about Krypton” Lena turned to see the small smile that spread across Kara’s face. “She wants me to teach her how to speak Kryptonese, and she wants to learn all about our culture” Lena knew how important it was for Kara to teach “Cassie” all about Krypton as she was growing up, so when she was taken from them it was like Kara’s last chance to “save” Krypton was taken with her. However, now that they had Dakota back Kara could pass on the knowledge of her planet. Lena knew how important this was to Kara and couldn’t be happier for her.

Helping out Dakota with whatever she was feeling was important and of course Lena wanted to help her anyway she could, especially if her suspicions turned out to be right. However, Dakota was safe for now so she would let Kara have this. Let her have a few days to share what she knew about Krypton, but after Lena was going to find out what was going on with Dakota and whether or not she was right.

Just because I’m in here doesn’t mean you’re safe. As long as I am alive, you and your so-called family are in danger. No one is safe! She sat up gasping for air trying to escape the suffocating hold of her nightmare. It was just a dream she tried telling herself. She felt movement to her left, her heart skipping a beat as she forgot that Ellie was in the room with her. “Hey. Another bad dream?” The soothing tone of her girlfriend’s voice helped to calm her rapidly beating heart, but it did nothing to tame her ever growing anxiety and paranoia. “Yeah I’m ok” she took a deep breath trying to stop her body from shaking. Ever since she’d talked to her former father she had been having the same nightmare whenever she went to sleep. When she thought about it, it wasn’t that scary and when she described it to Ellie she could tell that she didn’t understand the full extent of her fear. No one is safe! His words kept echoing in her mind, reminding her of the constant threat he posed to the ones she loved. She hated when he had Ellie, if Trevor managed to get out and take her again, Dakota doesn’t think she could handle it.

Ellie started to massage her shoulders hoping to relieve the tension there. “It’s just a dream Kota. He can’t hurt us anymore.” Dakota wanted so desperately to believe that, but deep down she knew that what he said was true.

She took another deep breath and laid back down, taking Ellie into her arms. “I’ll be ok, just please let me hold you for a bit.” Ellie kissed her cheek and settled down. “Whatever you need Kota. I’ll always be here for you” Of course Dakota knew that, she never doubted it. She just hoped that if he ever did escape, that she would be able to protect the ones she loved.

Six Months Later

Mornings in National City were her favorite. The sun would beam through the clouds creating a warm orange glow, the soft sounds of the city waking up felt like a perfectly conducted orchestra. She couldn’t feel happier anywhere besides where she was at this moment. So much had happened. Her and Ellie had gotten their first apartment together, they successfully transferred to National City University and she had officially become Supergirl’s protégé. During their fights her and Kara would speak only Kryptonese. It helped her get better at learning the language and it helped in the fights since who they fought had no clue what they were saying. She had also told them about the “punishments” she used to receive. It was a very tear-filled conversation but it was a good thing, she was happy she told them.

Not everything was good though as they had their run ins with more than a few major villains. She understood the risks of helping out her mom, but she still wanted to help out and be a hero. There was also that one time when the prisoners at the D.E.O. escaped. She had been terrified that Trevor would get away, but after they rounded all of them up she learned that he’d been killed by a rampaging alien. Good riddance was all she could think when Lena had told her.

She was currently outside on the balcony, resting on the metal bar overlooking the city with a cup of coffee warming her hands. She heard the balcony door slide open and a smile appeared on her face when she felt warm arms wrap around her. “Good morning” the soft sound of her girlfriend’s voice filling her with so much love. Dakota turned around and was taken aback by the beauty of her girlfriend.

At this angle, the sun was causing her hair to glow into a fiery red and her emerald green eyes beamed. When she kissed Ellie, all of her thoughts melted away, everything completely forgotten. Including the cup of coffee she held, its contents spilling to the floor. Ellie hissed as the hot liquid splashed her legs and feet. In an instant Dakota picked her up and took her over to the kitchen counter next to the sink while apologizing. “It’s ok, I’m fine” she said as the cool water ran over her feet. “I just got so distracted by how pretty you looked and I totally forgot I was holding something and- “her ramblings were cut off by an intense kiss.

 When they broke apart, Dakota was panting. “I know how you can make it up to me” the huskiness of Ellie’s voice was unmistakable and Dakota was all too eager to give into it. “Do you now?” she arched a perfectly sculpted brow. “I thought today was my birthday, not yours” Ellie turned off the water and faced her whole body towards Dakota, wrapping her legs around the taller girl. “Who says I don’t have a present for you to unwrap?” she said kissing Dakota’s neck. That’s all it took to break her resolve. In no time Dakota took them to the bedroom and pinned Ellie gently against the mattress. “Where should I start?” she said trailing kisses down to the top of the tank-top Ellie slept in. Her girlfriend looked up at her through hooded eyes “It’s your birthday. You pick” 

Hours of love-making later, she got a text from Alex.

Saturday 11:47 am

Director Bad@ss: Hey, Happy Birthday! Don’t come around your parents place until at least 6:30 tonight. They want to make sure everything is perfect before you get there.

She honestly didn’t feel the need to have a party.

Saturday 11:48 am

Dakota: I told them that I don’t need a big ole party. I’d be fine just hanging out with everyone and playing games or even watching a movie.

Saturday 11:48 am

Director Bad@ss: Listen, they have missed out on nineteen of your birthdays. Now that they finally have you back, they are going to take advantage of it.

Dakota understood what Alex was saying. She didn’t take into consideration how much they would want to do this for her. How many times they wished they could, but she wasn’t here. She thought back to when they first found her and they showed her their memories. In one of them they were by themselves with a cake they had gotten for her.

Saturday 11:51 am

Dakota: Ok, we’ll be there

Lena Luthor-Danvers had never been so stressed in her entire life. She’d planned events before for L-Corp and she’s helped Kara in the past when planning others, but this time was different. For the first time she was planning a party for her daughter’s birthday. Ok, what’s next? She had Kara flying all over the city grabbing last minute supplies that she had forgotten about. She had the decorations set up, the food was ordered, and she already had the cake in the oven, but she couldn’t help but feel like she was missing something major. She gasped as she realized what it was and immediately called Kara. “Hello?” there was a crashing sound on the other line. “Kara are you ok?” She heard the hero grunt as if she got punched. “Yeah, I’m good, just fighting some crazed alien. Ya know the usual. What’s up?” She made her way over to  the couch grabbing the t.v remote to turn in on. Sure enough, there was Kara fighting a hairy monster. “I just forgot about Dakota’s gift. I can pick it up though if your busy.” She sharply inhaled as the hairy alien tossed a car at Supergirl. “It’s fine I can get it. Back-up’s about to arrive.” At that moment Dakota decked out in her very own super suit landed. For the most part they looked the same with the only major differences being that instead of a skirt, Dakota wore pants and also a mask.  

They quickly took down the alien and carted it off to the D.E.O.

Lena, even after all these months, couldn’t believe that she had her daughter back. Looking over at the dining room table she thought back to all the years when her and Kara would by a cake and set up three plates. At least this year her plate will actually have something on it she thought to herself. Since it was the first birthday they would be spending with Dakota, they wanted to make sure that what they got her was something amazing. The idea came to her two weeks ago and the both of them took their time finding the perfect fit for their daughter.

Kara opened the door about ten minutes later. “Hey, I got her.” Trailing timidly behind her was a white three-year-old, German Shepard. They had found her at a local shelter four days ago and instantly fell in love. She was absolutely the cutest thing that Lena had ever seen and she was surprised that no one had adopted her. When she asked the volunteers why, it broke her heart. Apparently, she was abused as a puppy and that caused her to become afraid of almost everything. When people would come to the shelter in the past, they would be attracted by her cuteness but when they realized how terrified of everything she was, they were instantly turned off. It reminded her of Dakota and what she told them about what she’s been through. It was in that moment she knew this was the dog for Dakota. Ever since then, they visited the shelter everyday to get her to trust them.

Lena knelt down to the dog’s level so she would seem less intimidating. Her previous owner didn’t give her a name and Kara and Lena thought that it would be best to let Dakota decide on one. “Come here girl” she cooed. The German Shepard made her way over to Lena and licked her outstretched hand. “Don’t worry, you’re safe” she said keeping her voice steady. The dog nuzzled into her hand. I can't wait for Dakota to meet you.

With the dog hidden away in Dakota's old room, Lena had just enough time to put the finishing touches on the cake and get dressed. She was putting on a necklace when Kara came up behind her, wrapping Lena up in her arms. “Are you excited?” her wife asked. She let out a small giggle. “Of course I am.” She turned around kissing Kara. “I am a little nervous too. What if she doesn't like the party?” Kara gave her one if her signature sunny smiles. “She's going to love it Lee. I know she will” She still had her doubts but Kara’s reassuring presence helped ease her nerves. Looking into her wife's crystal blue eyes, Lena knew that no matter what, everything would be ok. She leaned in to kiss Kara again, the action sparking her passion for the hero. “I love you so much Kara” she said between kisses. The taller woman kissed down the CEO’s neck. “I love you too”

A sudden knock at the front door earned a disappointed sigh from Kara. “We’d better go get that” They opened the door to Alex, Maggie and their two children. “Aunt Kara! Aunt Lena!” little Kya cried out, giving them both hugs before letting Alex and Maggie through the door. “Everything looks great guys. Dakota is going to love it.” Alex said giving the two of them a hug. A short while later the rest of the super friends showed up, all of them bustling with excitement to finally celebrate Dakota’s birthday. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, the only thing missing was the birthday girl. Lena turned her attention to the stoves clock and started to get worried seeing that it was already seven o’clock. She should have been here by now.

Finally, the door bell rang and everyone gathered around to greet the guest of honor.

“Come on, how bad can it be?” Ellie told her. She knew that going along with the party would make her parents happy, but she just wasn’t a party person. She was raised to believe she wasn’t worthy of celebrating her birth, that she was a nuisance. While birthdays were supposed to be full of happy memories hers were filled of blood and bruises. Of course, she knew that Kara and Lena would never hurt her like that and of course she knew that thanks to them finding her, she would never have to go back to that woman ever again. Old habits die hard I guess. Lena was the first one to open the door and Dakota hugged her. “Happy Birthday Dakota” Lena told her, hugging her a little tighter. As they pulled away she said “Thanks Mom” It never ceased to surprise her the way Kara and Lena’s eyes would light up, or how they would smile a little brighter whenever she called them mom. Next was Kara, who hugged her with her full strength. Dakota is sure that if she wasn’t half Kryptonian, she would have snapped in two. “Threvzeht jevia is’kah” (Happy Birthday little one) Dakota instantly answers her mother in her native language. “Nahkluv eh Yeyu” (Thank you mom). Kara starts to tear up after that, and it takes a group hug from both Lena and Dakota for her to finally stop them.

As the night went on, they all laughed and shared stories with each other, eventually playing a game of charades. It brought out the competitive spirit in both Lena and Dakota, so it was no surprise that they won when they got paired together.

“Ok, we have a surprise for you. Something that we hope you’ll like” Kara said as she was walking over to the door of her old room. “Everyone has to be a little quiet though” She opened the door and Dakota felt the tears start to well up in her eyes. The cutest dog she had ever seen timidly walked out of the room. Her white fur shining under the lights of the apartment. Dakota sank to the ground and waited for the dog to come to her, not wanting to approach and scare the little thing.

Unlike with everyone else though, the German Shepard immediately walked over to Dakota and started giving her doggie kisses. Kara and Lena were both wide eyed as they watched the interaction. “She must like you. She’s afraid of almost anything, and it took a few days to get her to warm up to us.” Dakota laughed a little. “Maybe were kindred spirits” She meant it as joke, not at all expecting Kara to tell her about the dog’s sad history. This time when Dakota felt the tears forming, she couldn’t hold them back. We really are kindred spirits, aren’t we girl she thought, looking into the blue eyes of the dog. “She’s perfect. What’s her name?” Lena smiled “She doesn’t have one yet, so it’s up to you” I have the perfect name. “How about Krypto?” Kara knelt down, her mother’s eyes filling with hot tears of her own. “I love it”

They spent a little more time playing with Krypto before Lena decided to start cutting and passing out the cake.

Dakota took a look around her, at the people who in a few short months became her family. J’onn was talking to M’gann, James and Lucy were holding each other and laughing quietly on the couch. Even Winn was playing with her new cousins. As for Alex and Maggie, they were talking with her moms and Ellie. About what, she had no clue, all that mattered was that this was her family. These were the people she loved more than anything in the entire world, and she would do anything to protect them. Looking around at all these people she loved so much, remembering all of the things they’ve been through, all she could think was…

I was once lost, now I am found.