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Chapter Text

Sentinel, Supergirl, and Lena came through the purple portal, walking into the main room of the Fortress of Solitude. The panel was in front of them, some weapons behind them as the cave gave off a crystal blue glow.

"Alex, there's a part of the armory that's just artifacts from the Andromeda Galaxy." She points over to the right. "The Jarhanpurium weaponry should be in there." Alex nods and heads off, leaving Supergirl and Lena alone as the latter goes to the panel, typing fast as she spoke.

"I can reinforce the anti-Luthor protocol. It won't kill Lex since the fucker is immortal, but it can slow him down."

"Lena—"

"Kara!" Lena turns around to look at her getting closer to her with every word. "He's gonna try and kill you. The least I can do is slow him down, I can't let you turn this into a Suicide Squad mission."

"We don't have any other choice—"

"Kara, you of all people have shown me there is always at least one other choice." Lena gestures at her with a hand up and down. "You're Supergirl, you're the Paragon of Hope, we have to hope that there's another way."

"Lena, it's okay." Kara grabs her by the elbows to ground her. "Knowing that I might have to sacrifice myself for half of this population, for my family and friends. For you." She smiles small and Lena knows she means it. "I've come to terms with it."

"Well I haven't." Lena scoffs, holding her arms as well. "Kara, I just got you back from months of hell of not having you by my side. Not having you to ground me, to remind me who I really am." She shook her head and looked at their feet, loosening her grip when she realized she had a strong grip on her.

"I know this may seem like a stupid, selfish movie trope, but I can't—" She inhaled shakily, still slowly shaking her head. "I can't lose you. Not again."

Kara's mouth goes into a straight line as she sighs. She gently tugs her closer so that their fronts were touching and she could finally wrap her arms around her.

Lena, shocked by this action, stood there for a few seconds before she registered what was happening. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around her too, underneath her cape and held her tight, burying her head into her chest. She missed this.

Both of them did.

The way they melted into their embrace, into one another's arms. The way both of them smelled, committing their scents to memory. The way their height difference gave them all the more reason to hug perfectly like this. The comfort that it brought them, the way neither of them has had this for a while... It made them feel at peace, even if it was just for the moment. 

Kara rested her chin on top of Lena's head, staring into nothing. "I know," she whispers. I can't lose you either. But no matter what..." She gently kisses the top of her hair, pulling back so she could look into her tearful eyes. "I'm always going to be with you. I promise.”

Lena gaze over her facial features one last time, just in case—No. She couldn’t think like that.

“Lex is going to take the high ground. Either you do the same or take him down from it. Expect the worse of the worse from him.”

Kara somewhat smirks. “I had to relive seeing my planet’s destruction for nearly a decade in a place in space where time doesn’t pass. Whatever he has, I’ll be ready.” Lena nods as they slowly pull away, squeezing her hands as a final ‘good luck.’

Kara gestures towards the armory, slowly walking towards it. “We should probably...” She trails off, going in the direction she was pointing at.

”Kara.” Simply her name being spoken out of Lena’s mouth made her stop in her tracks and look back, seeing the woman fidgeting with her fingers.

”I know it wasn’t and still isn’t easy for you to trust me after everything but—“

”You’re the only person in the galaxy I know who would do right by it.” She smiled at her. “And that’s coming from someone who’s been to 12 different planets—“ The abrupt hands on her cheeks and the feeling of Lena’s lips on hers shuts her up quite effectively. She kisses her back softly, holding onto her waist.

This is all the two ever wanted. Not only to be on good terms with each other, but getting to feel each other’s lips for the first time.

They slowly pull apart, Kara quickly wiping off the tears that fall down Lena’s face. “It’s okay, Lena,” she whispers, gently touching their foreheads together. “I’m ready.”

”You know damn well I’m not.” Lena has a bit of playfulness but also seriousness in her voice as she looks up at her with watery eyes. “Don’t you get it? I love you. I always have. And I always will.”

”I feel like an idiot for asking,” Kara starts, “but you love me?”

”Pure definition of idiot right there.” Lena smiles, tucking a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear. She stood there, just admiring her, thumbing her temple. 

“I hate to interrupt...” Both slightly jump at Alex’s voice, who holds up the device she was looking for. “But Lena and I gotta go.”

Kara nods. “Give us a minute?” Her sister nods and walks past them into the next room, leaving them alone once more.

“Kara.” She meets her green eyes that were full of sadness even though she smiled small. “Do me a favor.”

”Anything.”

Lena smiles bittersweetly, brushing her thumb over her cheek. “Try not to die.”

”I’ll do my best, Lena.” The brunette nods at her promise, knowing she’s being honest.

Kara gently cradles her face, kissing her sweetly once more. “And I love you too. Always.”

”Always.” Lena holds her hand and rubs the back of it, slowly walking away from her, letting their grasp on one another fall from their fingertips. She smiles one more time at her before following into the room where Alex went.

Alex just stood there with a smug smirk, her arms crossed as she leaned against a pillar. She opened her mouth to say a snarky remark, but Lena beat her to it.

”Your sister is an idiot in love and she’s in love with a useless lesbian so shut up.”

”I-I wasn’t gonna say anything.” Lena chuckled, knowing that wasn’t true as she pressed on the watch once more, opening the portal to take them back.

She knew Kara would be okay.

Because she had her back.

She always has, and always will.

Dreamer flies over thanks to the borrowed Legion Ring and knocks the Phantom Zone projector out of Lex’s hands. “Not so fast, Baldy.” A tap on his shoulder made him turn around to face his sister.

”Son of a—“

Lena delivers a quick right hook to Lex’s jaw, shutting him up and sending him down to the ground. “Piece of shit.” Dreamer scoffed in astonishment while Brainy, M’gann, J’onn, and Supergirl were all smiling. Next to her, Sentinel is shocked, stuttering.

Lena looks at her then at her brother on the ground. “Sorry, did you want to do that?”

”No no, family first.” Sentinel looks at her with impressed eyes. “Good punch.”

”Thanks.” J’onn and M’gann pick him up, quickly explaining they’ll get him to the authorities and meet back up at the tower. They fly off up and away through the ceiling.

“Kara.” Alex and Lena run over to her, kneeling down on either side of her. “Kara, can you hear me?”

Her eyes slowly blinked open, faint green underneath her skin as she weakly grins over at Lena. “Heard that helluva punch.” Lena does something between a scoff and a happy sob, holding on to her hand tight. “Did that favor you asked.”

”I knew you would.”

”I wouldn’t have if it weren’t for you.” Kara notices they have an audience, Brainy and Dreamer hovering a little bit away. “Lena reversed the Anti-Luthor protocol in the Fortress.”

“I remember my birth mother telling me what my name meant in Greek. Light, sunlight, sun-ray, bright, et cetra.” She smiled bashfully, rubbing her thumb over Kara’s hand. “Figure I’d name it the Lena Luthor Protocol. It sent over a drone that projected sun-rays and transformed into her anti-kryptonite suit.”

”Without you, I’d be a goner. Literally and figuratively.” As if she couldn’t smile more, she did. “Thank you, Lena.”

”Always.”

”Alright lovebirds, let’s get Kara back to the Tower.” Sentinel and Dreamer help her up, supporting her weight on either side. “Hey Lena, if you acted more like Kara, you could literally be her battery.”

Lena playfully glares at her as she presses on the watch to open the purple portal. “Don’t push your new role as the sister-in-law that hard on your first day, Alex.”

Chapter Text

“KARA!” Lena stood there in shock as she watched the Super’s life form disintegrated in front of her, being sent off away in deep space. The entire Fortress fell silent as they all looked at the spot where Supergirl cowered before being gone in an instant.

Lex scoffed, impressed with himself as he smiled. "I did it. I got rid of Supergirl." Lena almost fell to the floor if it wasn't for the console she was leaning against. 

Sentinel's eyes quickly snapped over to Lex as he maniacally laughed. Her jaw tightened and in her hand, a knife formed as she stormed up to him.

His laughter turned into a small shriek as she held him by the front of his shirt, pressing the blade against his neck. "You are going to rot in fucking hell."

He smiles, nodding his head to the side. "That's what you think."

She pushes him against the crystal wall, pressing the knife deeper. Hard enough to be threatening, but not enough to break the skin. "Bring her back or I swear to you, you're going to wish you were in her position right now."

"Sentinel!" J'onn yelled. Rolling her eyes, she looks over at his stern look. "Settle down."

Sentinel looks back and forth between the two, obviously steaming with anger. She then sees herself in the reflection of the wall. This wasn't her.

Donning a sneer, she lets him go with a shove, making the knife disappear.

Lex inhaled air dramatically, fixing his tie. "That's better." 

"Not getting off that easily." To his right, Lena stood next to him for a blink of the eye before her fist came in contact with his jaw.

He groaned, tumbling down as she stared down at him with tears in her eyes. "I can't believe we're related."

"We with siblings and relatives often wonder that." Everyone looks over to the rebuffed Brainy, who was kneeling down in front of the Phantom Zone projector. "It's broken. We'll have to fix it."

"Can't we just use a portal watch and go get her?" Alex asked.

"It's not that simple." He stands up, lacing his fingers together. "She could be anywhere in the Phantom Zone. Floating around, on the prison rock itself... It would be running in blind, as they say."

"How long could it take to fix it?" Dreamer asks.

Brainy stumbles over his words, trying to find a way to say it. Considering he normally had the answers and the calculations, it wasn't easy for him. "I don't know. Depends on how fractured it is and if we require more materials."

"Well, we better get started." Sentinel looks at J'onn and nods her head to the evil Luthor. "Get him to custody. We'll meet you back at the Tower." He nods and grabs him before flying out.

"Alex?" She looks around, trying to find Dreamer's voice. "Next room over!" Sentinel looks at Lena questioningly, but they follow her directions and find Dreamer with crystals in her hands.

"I think they're—"

"Cache crystals." Alex shakes her head slowly. "No. We're not watching those."

"But—"

"Nia, I love you and your concern," she says, gripping her by the shoulders, "but Kara is not dead. When we find her and if she wants us to watch them, then we will. Okay?" The young apprentice nods and puts them back down in their place on the crystal-ice platform they were on. "C'mon. Let's go back to Brainy and National City." They go back the way they came, Lena hovering a bit over the console that was near where Nia put the crystals.

"Hey." Alex looks back, motioning for her to follow. "Come on."

"In a minute. I'm going to register the Fortress to alert us if we have an unexpected life force here. Just in case Kara finds her way back to us before we find her." Alex nods, leaving her to it. 

Lena waves her hand over the console, bringing it to life. "Ms. Luthor," Kalex says. "What can I do for you?"

"Send an alert to the tower if there's a life force present detected here."

"Affirmative." She waves her hand back over the console, shutting it down. 

The CEO grips the sides of the board and sighs, dropping her head down. What the hell was she supposed to do without Kara?

She looked up at the crystals at the edge of the surface. There were six in total. One for each of them was Lena's guess.

"Fuck it," she muttered. She grabbed them one by one, gently putting them in the pockets of her pants, two on each side. She was then able to fit the rest of them on the inside of her blazer. She just hoped Alex wouldn't see through her.

They all split their ways from the Tower, considering it was already late and they had a day's, maybe even week's work ahead of them.

Lena made it back to her lab, refusing to go home. Knowing Kara was somewhere, out there in space, all alone where—and she just learned this—she spent almost two and a half decades trapped in. 

There was no way she was getting sleep tonight.

Once at the lab, she takes out the crystals and looks at them all. She slightly wondered why they looked like glowing dildos, but that wasn't important.

She took a stab at it and picked the fourth one, furrowing her brow at it. Lena knew a bit her way around Kryptonian technology but wasn't the best at it. But nevertheless, she persisted.

Lena held it up to the light, turning it slowly in her hands to try and find a button. No dice. 

Seams? Vertically, that could be a challenge since it was a crystal and already had some cut indents from the Fortress. 

The Fortress.

She grabbed her watch and pressed twice on it, bringing her to the second-to-last coordinates she was at. Once again, she was inside the icy hideout.

It was quiet, unlike earlier when Lex was around. The lights reflected off the ice and crystals, giving it a glow, but it wasn't like before. 

It wasn't the same because Kara wasn't here. It was darker, the same glow that the Kryptonian gave off was gone.

Because she was gone.

Lena made her way to the panel where she found the out-of-this-earth crystals. Scanning the panel, there was a squared hole at the top. That was her only guess.

Delicately, she placed it inside, watching it being held in place. The crystal flickered and it came to life, projecting a hologram of Supergirl above it.

"Kara," Lena gasped.

Kara softly smiled. "Hey, Lena." The recording paused, Kara, rubbing her arm across her super suit. "If you're watching this, I... I might not have made it. And that you were right." She chuckles to herself, shaking her head with a small smile. "You always are.

"Lena, I want to apologize before I say anything else. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner rather than later. For lying to you repeatedly for the past four, five years." Hologram Kara looks up at the ceiling and sighs. "I'm not sure if you've come to terms that I did it all—"

"To protect me," Lena finishes in a whisper over Kara's similar words. I know, Kara.

"—you. I've wanted you to know since I stepped into your office." She shakes her head, rubbing at her nose. "Seeing my cousin be so biased towards you, even though he's never met you..." She scoffs, rolling her eyes. "I know he had his differences with your brother, but he's an ass sometimes. But at that moment, I wanted to tell you who I was just to spite him, and I knew already from a pretty good judge of character that you were gonna take it well. 

"Lena, I could never imagine my life without you." Kara smiles. "Every time I look at you, I feel regret and sadness at myself for not telling you. And I see the pain in your eyes even if you don't show it often. But then when I see you smile at something small or science, and in the past when I hung out with you every week, I saw you were happy. That's all I ever want for you." Lena stood there, trying to keep her breathing steady.

Kara recorded this in case she died. Lena knows, she knows Kara isn't dead... But as her eyes teared up, it felt like it anyway.

She probably should have listened to Alex. She knew better. Alex had the faith, the confidence that they would save Kara and they wouldn't watch those. 

But Lena never got to tell Kara how she felt. How long she's been waiting to get another hug from her, to smell her scent... To kiss her, hopefully. 

The recording of Kara sniffled, looking up at nothing before sighing and looking back at the crystal. "And I hope that I get the chance to continue to be in your life to see you happy. Hell, I'll give anything to be one of the reasons to make you happy."

Kara smiles, a single tear dropping from her eyes when she blinks. "I love you, Lena. So much. There's no other person in the galaxy I would give my life for."

"Aw, that's cute." Lex. "Unfortunately, you're gonna have to give up that life right about now."

In the recording, Kara's eyes went wide as she turned around and braced her stance. "Not if I have anything to say about that." Supergirl steps to go off-screen but a green blast hits her straight in the chest. Kryptonite. It sends her flying back into the panel and the recording goes silent and black.

Lena watched as the hologram disappeared from the air, truly shocked. The cold air around her made her realize a few tears had dropped. She didn't even notice her legs were shaking and she was unbalanced before she fell to her knees. She felt her chest clench as she tried to grab at her heart, but came up empty, fisting her shirt instead.

Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed, feeling suffocated as she tried to breathe through her mouth, too congested.

Before she knew it, she let out an ear-piercing wail, arching her head back as if she were releasing all her pain. If the Fortress were more like a deadly cave, the stalactites would've come crashing down on top of her. 

She curled back up, letting more tears fall as she clutched her shirt harder with both fists. Lena felt broken, felt the darkness. As if her sun were just wiped out of her universe. 

After she had just gotten her back, she lost her just like that. And just like before, she felt alone. 

There was no one like Kara.

No one in the galaxy.

"Where's Lena?" Alex asked as soon as she came through the elevator of the Tower. It was late, almost midnight. Of course Brainy was here. Not yet fully trusted by Nia yet, knowing he messed up and has to earn that back, he would do everything he can. "I couldn't sleep, so went to her penthouse to check on her. Front desk told me no one was home."

Brainy types away as she comes up behind him. "Pulling up her location now." Onscreen, the map of the entire world pops up, everyone's picture showing up with a small line pointing to their location.

Supergirl's picture blinked onscreen, letting them know her whereabouts were unknown. Alex frowned at that, vowing in her head to get her back no matter what.

Everyone that was active but one was in California.

Lena's location showed to be in the Arctic.

"Shit," Alex muttered, going to her wrist to set in the coordinates, disappearing with a purple flash.

Now in the Fortress, she looks around for her friend, finding nothing. She quickly jogs over to the next room where Nia found the crystals and stops at the sight in front of her. "Oh, honey..."

Lena was curled into a ball, laying down on her side. She was lightly trembling, from the cold or from the hiccups or the mass emotions she was feeling, Alex had no idea.

She also didn't know why she was here. Maybe to get a feeling of Kara since she was gone? To look for clues or anything that could help the Superfriends? Alex walked over and kneeled down, touching her shoulder. "Lena."

She sniffed and rolled over to look at her. "Alex?" Her eyes were red from all the weeping she'd done over the lost Danvers. A bit of mascara had run down, but not massively. 

Alex felt so bad for her as she rubbed her shoulder. "What happened?" 

Lena shook her head, looking off out into nowhere. "I shouldn't have watched it," she whispered.

"Watched wh—" The Danvers' voice trailed off as she looked to the panel, finding a crystal propped up inside of it. "Oh."

Lena sat up, wiping at her eyes gently. "She loved me, Alex," she murmured, looking at her. All Alex could find in her eyes was true sadness and pain. She can't recall any other times she saw this from the Luthor, but it truly pained her to see her like this. She's never seen her so broken

"And I never got to tell her."

"Hey." Alex pulled her in gently, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. "I think she knew, one way or another."

Lena relaxes in her hold, melting into her. it wasn't Kara, but she needed the comfort right now. "We gotta get her back."

"And we will. I promise you, Lena." She wrapped her other arm around her, gently kissing the top of her head. "We're getting her back."

Chapter Text

A month. A month is what it took for them to get Kara back home.

And that month was hell in all its forms.

Brainy and Lena overworked themselves daily, only going home per the requests of Nia and Alex when instructed, or would be forced to go home with them so they could get rest. Nia was mainly handling crime as Dreamer with J'onn, Sentinel, and Brainy, as well as covering for Kara. William would annoyingly ask her about once a week where she was, whining about how she never called her until Nia finally snapped the second week before they found her.

"Kara doesn't care about you!" she hisses to him in a whisper. "She doesn't. She's busy with Cat Grant in an undisclosed location that I don't even know and even if I did, why would I tell you? She's also uninterested in you. I can't tell you exactly how she feels because she's not here, but that needs to get through your thick skull." Absolutely fuming, she leaves the bullpen to go back to her desk across the room, finally glad that she got that out of her system.

Kelly was pretty much everyone's therapist throughout this all. Just reassuring everyone that this, unfortunately, will take time to find their friend. She offered coping mechanisms to the team and had them all do some team exercises to build their communication and trust skills. Surprisingly, to everyone, it worked. Brainy and Sentinel worked better on the field together while Lena talked to Kelly more about her problems including self-doubt and blaming herself. Kelly quickly shut that down. 

"Lena. You're not to blame. I know it can take a while for you to realize that, but it's not. Your brother did this to her, to us. Not you."

"Even so, I reacted terribly to her telling me," Lena admits in a whisper. "If I had just understood from the beginning, none of this would've happened."

"That's true," Kelly agrees, nodding sympathetically. "However, you couldn't have predicted this. Every action has its consequence. And with Kara withholding this from you—but for good reason, as we've said—it sent you in a spiral. And you couldn't help it until you realized your actions. What matters is that you saw what you were doing and that it was wrong and that you came back to us."

Kelly reaches over and puts her hand on top of Lena's, squeezing to get her to look at her. And the therapist is nothing but kind with her soft smile and eyes. "And this team—this family, is nothing but grateful to have you back on our side. You're a part of us. You always have been and will always belong."

Lena smiles, letting her tears fall. "I'm such a mess now; imagine how I'll be when Kara comes home."

"I have no doubt that all of us will be the same amount of messy."

Unfortunately, they did have to go into space to retrieve their fellow Kryptonian, but there wasn't anything that they wouldn't do for her. 

So that's how Lena finds herself at a panel of the Martian spaceship-slash-Tower, whatever the hell it was. Stupid weirdly cool Martian tech was complciated.

Lena reclines back in her chair, looking over at Nia, who was maskless but in her suit. "Do you know how your gloves work? They're truly fascinating." 

Nia gives her a half-hearted smile. "I... don't know. Brainy made them. And my mom, who had all the answers, is gone. And my sister—" she laughs mirthlessly "—I don't even know if she wants to talk to me, much less help me."

The scientist frowns, turning in her chair to look at her companion. "I'm sorry, Nia. I truly am. But all we can do right now is just do our best. Was there anything in the Fortress that has information on Naltorians?"

"Very little. And future boy can't tell me anything otherwise the space-time-continum would be ruined even though it's fucked up to the max already."

Lena gives her a small laugh. "I know learning about yourself and your family when there's no one left is very hard. But that's why we have our chosen and new family. Even if they can't help us with everything, they can help us as much as they can with us being ourselves and bring out the best of us."

Nia cracks a tiny grateful smile. "Since when were you so wise?"

"I learned from the best here," she says, looking around the area, watching her friends do their tasks around the ship. She couldn't help but be so glad that they were her friends, through and through. 

"Everyone, listen up!" Lena and Nia share one last smile and nods of reassurance before turning around to pay attention to J'onn as he debriefed. They didn't have that much time to be in the Phantom Zone and get Kara, so they had to move quickly. This was also the phantoms' home, so naturally, they would be stronger here. So they had to be careful and efficient. 

Brainy brought up the fact and praised Lena for making a sun bomb when they found Kara, which had her blushing and being modest. Of course, he did nothing but blabber on, saying that they had a better chance with the bomb than not. 

The Phantom Zone was fucking shit.

It gave them mass turbulence, throwing everyone around on the ship. Alex seemed more aggravated than usual, subtly being calmed down by Kelly. J'onn, being J'onn, was the calmest of them all, keeping everyone on track of what they were focusing on.

Lena, at the moment, was keeping an eye on the shield percentage of the ship. Currently at 78 and slowly decreasing as a couple of phantoms trying to latch on. She glanced around her for a quick second to look at Nia, but she was gone. The chair was just swiveling, empty.

"Nia?" Looking to her other side, she was surprised to see herself encased in an ice prison that seemed too familiar.

It was the one she trapped Kara in months ago.

She was back in the Fortress, the cold air suddenly chilling her down to the bone. She gripped her arms to huddle closer for warmth, trying to see out of the prison.

All she could see was her brother's figure standing in front of her, bodies on the ground. Oh god, she prayed that those weren't her friends. She couldn't handle it.

"Lex, what are you doing?" she yells out at him, getting him to turn around.

"Don't you see, Lena?" He comes over and punches a hole in the ice, shocking her and forcing her to jump back to not be part of the impact.

He leans down with a psychotic grin on his face. "I've fuckin' won. You are alone. Your friends?" He steps aside so she can see out. "Are on their dying breaths. And you are going to watch them die."

Lena's eyes fell to Supergirl's first, who was leaning against a wall of ice. Her veins were green, her nose bloody as she could barely keep her eyes open. Fuck fuck fuck, this wasn't good.

Seeing him walk away out of the corner of her eye, she turns her attention back to him. "Lex, no you can't!"

"Why not?" He turns around with his palms face-up in a what are you gonna do? motion. "I'm a Luthor." He grabs a body off the floor by the neck, Brainiac Five's to be precise, and lets him hang in the air. "No more Supers," he whispers manically. "No more heroes. Only me." His grip on the intellectual's neck tightens and Brainy's legs flail in the air, his hands grasping at the arm suspending him in the air.

"BRAINY!" His eyes met Lena's call of despair and tears fell out of his eyes. He tried reaching out towards her, as if trying to free her, but his eyes soon rolled into the back of his head and his arm fell against his side. His body went limp, crashing to the ground with a thump when Lex lets him go.

Lena's tears well in her eyes as she watches her madman of a brother walk around J'onn's form, his body already lifeless. He heads to Sentinel next, who looks over at Lena.

"Lena," Alex croaks out, blood sputtering out of her mouth as she spoke, her suit dissipating as her willpower fell away. "Don't turn into this scumbag." Lex scowled and picked her up by her collar and she only spits her blood in his face.

She grins over his shoulder at her. "Give 'em hell, Luthor." With a roar, Lex slams her into the ice wall and her eyes widen in shock of her spine cracking, her life visibly leaving her body.

"No," she whispers, her willpower to stand diminishing as she leans against the hole of ice. "Lex, please!"

The man ignores her, kicking Nia's body aside and towards the trapped Luthor as she takes her final breath. The hero's mask had fallen off, her face pummeled and bruised badly, bleeding from the eyebrow.

"Nia—" A sob caught in her throat as her friend gave her a sad smile.

Her arm reaches out, her palm up towards her. "Dream on, Lena," she says in a whisper. A small flicker of dream energy flows out of her fingertips and up towards her friend, shaping into a heart. 

Lena goes to touch it and when she does, it fizzles out and slowly disappears alongside the light in Nia's eyes. The tears wouldn't stop by now. The pain in her heart, her mind... It was unbearable. 

"Gotta save the best for last." Kara was still on the ground, leaning up against the wall as she held her body in massive pain.

"Kill me if you want Lex," Supergirl groaned. "But for the love of Rao, don't touch Lena."

He squats down in front of her, poking at her leg. "And what are you gonna do about it if I do? You'll be too weak, too powerless, too helpless to save your damsel in distress." Lex pushes on her leg to stand up and he dusts off the imaginary dust on his suit. "But I'll consider." Making a fist, a green ray projects from his watch and it hits Supergirl right in the chest, making her cry out in pain. 

And Lena couldn't take that sound that came out of her. It was almost as if her soul were breaking into a million pieces.

She banged on the ice repeatedly, trying to break out as she yelled, "LEX STOP IT! DON'T YOU SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!"

"IT'S NOT ENOUGH, LENA!" he yells back, blasting even more kryptonite at the Kryptonian, who's now writhing in pain with her screams. The Kryptosuit that was on her had fallen into minuscule pieces, completely torn apart from the overload of kryptonite.

"NO!" Pounding on the ice again relentlessly, trying to gain her brother's attention. "LEX, PLEASE!"

"DON'T YOU SEE, LENA?" he continues to scream, looking back at her with an insane look in his eyes and a smile to match with it. "I'VE FUCKIN' WON. I AM THE MAN OF TOMORROW. I AM THE MAN THAT WILL SAVE THIS PLANET AND HAVE ITS PEOPLE BOW DOWN TO ME. NOT THESE STUPID KRYPTONIANS WITH THEIR GOD-LIKE POWERS."

He stops the ray and turns his attention fully back to his sister. "And the best thing of it all? This is your fault. If you hadn't gone psycho at Kara's little secret," Lex hisses as he gets closer to the ice, "then we wouldn't be here. If you hadn't hated them for so long, then I would've stayed dead. Their deaths are on you, and you know it.

"They never loved you," he spat at her, his face right in her line of sight so she had no other choice but to look at him. "They never believed in you. Why would they? You're a Luthor. You were never their family."

Lena closed her eyes, curling her hands into fists at his words that stabbed at her heart. The fact that he would've been right if she went down the dark path one-hundred percent of the way. 

Wait.

She didn't go down that road.

She was still here. Alive and breathing. A part of the team. 

What Lex was saying? Those were just her insecurities talking back to her.

This was her greatest fear. 

"You're wrong," she whispers.

"What?" 

Lena hears the disgust in her brother's voice and she opens her eyes with a set jaw. "You're wrong. They treated me better than you and Lillian ever would. They've given me what I never thought I'd have; a family. Kara and the others always made me feel like family, no matter how deep I've fallen. And I will pick them up too. They're my family and you can't take that away from me. Ever."

With those words, the ice around her shattered into a thousand pieces, Lex disappeared in a flash of light. The bodies of her friends around her started breathing again, everyone gasping for breath as their injuries magically went away.

"Kara!" Lena ran over to her, kneeling down next to her, scanning her face. "Are you alright?"

The hero grinned, flexing her fingers. "Better than ever. Thanks to you. Shows you that you can't listen to Lex."

"Or your insecurities and anxious thoughts," Alex chimed in, her suit forming back over her body. "Luthor, you're as much as a hero as we are. Don't you ever think yourself as less."

Nia claps a hand on her back, smiling hard at her. "Now go save the damn world with all of us."

A flash of white comes over her and soon Lena's gasping for air as her eyes open wide, scanning around her. She's at her control panel in the ship, the warmth returning to her body as someone's shaking her shoulder, making her jump.

"Hey, hey! It's me." Looking up, Nia's smiling at her. "You alright? Brainy said we all passed out and... the phantoms got in our heads."

Lena nodded, putting her own hand on top of her friend's to reassure her. "Yeah. I... I got out as soon as I woke back up. Realized it wasn't real."

"Good on you." 

"We're nearing Kara's location!!" Brainy exclaims, a yelp coming out of them as the Towership rumbles, making everyone stumble from turbulence. "But the shields won't last much longer." Lena looks at the percentage and grimaces as it's at twenty percent and slowly declining. Looking at the map, they're about a minute out from Kara's location. They were going to bring her home

"Make it quick!" J'onn orders. "And get that yellow sun bomb ready!"

"On it!" Grabbing the sun bomb, Lena gently pushes it into its tube, watching it get pulled down. "Ready for launch."

"Approximately one thousand feet away from Supergirl's location," Brainy reports. "Lena, drop the bomb." 

Nodding, she presses the button next to the tube, which set off the detonator that gave them ten seconds. Five seconds in and she presses the release button for the bomb right as they hover her presumed location. 

Dreamer and Alex run to a window, the sun bomb activating and blinding them for a quick minute as they look for signs of life. Phantoms below faded into dust from the harsh lights, but nothing showed up.

"C'mon, sis," Alex murmurs, scanning back and forth. "You've gotta be out there."

Everyone was holding their breath, especially Lena. Maybe she deployed the bomb too soon. What if her, Brainy, and Alex's calculations were wrong? What if she was on the complete other side of the Phantom Zone?

No. She had to shut those fears and insecurities out. This was the best shot they had, and the only one. It has to work.

Fidgeting with her sleeve, Lena steadies herself on her panel to ease her nerves. "Come on, Kara," she mutters to herself. "Come find us. Come home."

As if the universe could hear her, a figure comes flying up from the crumbling grounds of the Phantom Zone and past the window at the speed of light. And everyone couldn't help but tense, not knowing if that was their true Kryptonian or a stranger that lived here.

"No fuckin' way," Nia mutters with a grin as they look on the panels and see that the airlock is being opened from the outside. 

"Did you dream something?" Kelly asks.

The dreamer shakes her head with the same smile. "I just have a good feeling."

Alex is the first one to step towards the doors that opened, her fists clenched in worry but also in preparation. "Kara?" Before anyone can register, a blue and red blur crashes into Alex's arms tightly, almost sending her down if she didn't hold back just as tightly. "Hey, hey, I got you." Kara closed her eyes and buried her head into her sister's shoulder, holding her as tight as she could without hurting her with the bit of strength she had back. Her sister held her by the back of her head, reassuring her with small whispers. 

J'onn nodded at Brainy. "Get us out of here." Pushing forward the accelerator, the ship turns around and blasts off away from the wretched Phantom Zone. 

Kara was there. 

She was real.

They got her.

She was home.

Brainy's voice brought Lena back to life, who couldn't stop looking at Kara. "Home here we come," he says. "Lena, I need you to push the coordinates back in and make sure we have a smooth landing."

And at Lena's name, blue eyes shot open and found her across the room. Lena could see the despair, the sadness in them, but also the hope that she always had. It took everything she had not to cry right then and there. Instead, she swallowed down the lump in her throat and said, "Got it." She gets back in her seat, tapping away on the keyboard.

Soon enough, they're out of the dark ends of space and back into the light of National City. Kara hasn't let go of her sister, just clinging onto her as they experienced a small bit of turbulence before they landed. 

"Hey, we're home," Alex whispers in her ear. "It's okay." Gently, Kara raises her head and sees the faces of her friends who are smiling at her, all grateful at her return.

"Thank you guys," Kara whispers. "I would go into a whole speech but I'm tired and hungry."

Alex and Nia couldn't help but laugh, Kelly shaking her head fondly. "We'll get you to a sunbed and make sure to order you a good amount of takeout."

"Potstickers included?"

"Always." When they landed back on the top of the building, the ship's tech turned back into the regular Tower's decor, which shocks the hell out of Kara.

Her mouth is agape as she looks around with a smile. "Holy Rao. J'onn—"

"Later, I'll explain. Promise." J'onn took her head and kissed her forehead gently. "For now, rest. Welcome home, Kara."

"C'mon, let's get you to a sunbed." Wrapping an arm around her sister, Alex motions for Kelly to follow them for assistance as they go inside the elevator.

Brainy stood up from his chair and came over to Lena, who's still sitting down and just staring at what was now the computer. He crouches down beside her, gaining her attention. "Are you alright, comrade?"

Lena shrugged, turning a bit in her chair to look at him. "I... don't know how to feel. I had my nightmare, my greatest fear, in my head right before we found her. And there are so many things I want to say to her, I just don't know how or when to say it—"

"Lena." The softness of her name that came out of his mouth made her close her eyes to prevent her from crying. She feels him grab her hand with both of his. "Lena, look at me, please." Slowly, she did as he asked and Brainy is giving her the most understanding look. "I know how you feel. But we have them back now. And if there's something I learned from all of this... It's better to do it sooner rather than later. Because we don't know when one thing will simply change everything. As long as you're sure of your feelings, you tell Kara Zor-El how you feel and what you want to do." 

She nods timidly, putting her hand on top of his. "Thank you, Querl," she whispers and he smiles small with an accompanied blush of his true name. God, she doesn't know what she would've done if she didn't have him throughout this process. Or, hell, any of them.

As Lena dried her tears, the elevator dings and out come Alex and Kelly, the former out of her Sentinel gear. She and Brainy stand up, crossing her arms defensively as she asks, "How is she?"

"A little shaken up, but she's gonna be fine physically." Alex looks over at her girlfriend with a small grimace. "We're all gonna have to help together with the emotional and mental processing of all of this."

Kelly nods. "She's been asking for you. Lena." 

At the sound of her name, the woman looks up, confused. "I..." 

Kelly gives her an eyebrow raise, making her rethink her words to say something acceptable rather than a self-deprecating joke. "And she doesn't wanna be left alone right now. So better to go quickly." 

With a nod, she whispers, "Okay." Brainy gives her another squeeze of her hand and she smiles small at him before going to the elevator, looking up at the ceiling as the door closes.

A million thoughts were going through her mind but she couldn't focus on a single one. She just wanted to see Kara and make sure this was really real.

But there's also the small piece of anxiety that she's been pushing down ever since she deployed that sun bomb. She doesn't know if Kara truly forgave her, nor does she know if Kara feels differently or the same since they last saw each other, which probably felt like forever to the Kryptonian.

Alas, the ding of the elevator brought her mind back to the present as she enters the med bay, finding the Kryptonian sitting up on the sunbed with water in her hand. Her head was down as she was nitpicking at her suit, probably out of nervous habit. Or just not wanting to be alone right now since she's been alone for... forever to her. 

The small click of her heels gave her away and Kara's head snapped up and a smile graced her face, beaming wide. "Lena." 

"Kara, if you get out of that bed, I swear to—" Lena couldn't finish that sentence as Kara disobeyed her anyway, speeding to hug her tight around her waist, slightly picking her up off the ground. And Lena couldn't even be mad as she hugged her back, burying her head in her neck as if Kara could shield her from the entire world.

"I missed you so much," Kara whispered in her ear. 

"I missed you, too," Lena quietly cried into her skin, tickling her neck. "God, I'm so glad you're home."

"Me too." The two stood there, reveling in the embrace, not loosening their hold on each other. They melted together as they both felt whole again, being with one another. Neither of them could remember when their last hug was, but it didn't matter. This was making up for lost time and they had the rest of their futures to hug and bond more.

"As much as I love hugging you," Lena murmurs, "you need to rest. Or Alex would kill me." 

Kara laughed and Lena's heart warmed at the sound she's missed for ages. "Very true. C'mon." She loosened her hold and took Lena's hand, leading them to the sunbed. Lena helped her back up before sitting at the foot of it with her legs crisscrossed under her. The warmth from the artificial sun rays bringing her comfort as her fingers loosely hung onto Kara's.

She took a moment to just observe the woman in front of her, as if she were a ghost story. Her eye bags were more prominent than before, a couple of wrinkles around her lips which were slowly going away thanks to the artificial sun underneath them. She saw how her suit hung a bit loosely around her, probably from the lack of physical activity she had.

Her eyes, though... They looked like they have more pain in them than they did a month ago. Lena knew that the Phantom Zone was a true hell, but she'd never seen so much pain in Kara's eyes other than... She doesn't want to think about it.

Other than that, she looked like the same woman she knew. 

"I don't know where to start," Lena says with a small strangled laugh, looking at her feet. "God, there's so much to go through."

"I think I should start with thank you." She looks up and Kara's smiling so purely at her. "If it weren't for you... I'd be dead. I never got to thank you at the Fortress since I..."

"Disappeared thanks to the egomaniac of a brother I have."

Kara gives her a crooked grin. "Yeah," she whispers. "But not just there, but just now in the Zone."

"Kara, it was nothing—"

"Please don't sell yourself short." Both of her hands are held by the Kryptonian, getting her to look down at them. "Lena, you're such a goddamn genius; you're the smartest person I know."

"Tell that to Brainiac."

"Kindly shut up so I can keep complimenting you." Lena smiled bashfully with a blush, nodding at her to continue. God, she missed their small playful banters. 

"If it weren't for you on multiple occasions, I'd be dead. But none of them amount to these times. I am forever grateful for you."

When Lena was already smiling, Kara Zor-El always seemed to bring more of a smile out of her. Always. "I'm glad I could help."

"There's also... a couple other things that I have to tell you."

She raised her eyebrow a bit. "If it's about the Phantom Zone, Kara, you don't have to do this now—"

"I need to otherwise I'm going to go more insane than I was when I was in that hell of a place." The small tightening of the hold on Lena's hands made her realize that the blonde was insistent, regardless of how much pleading she'd have to do.

"Okay," Lena whispered. "Take it at whatever speed you need."

Kara took a deep breath, gently fidgeting with Lena's fingers, which warmed her heart. "The Zone shows you your greatest fear, as you know. Sometimes you hallucinate other things, as well." She licks her lips, blinking hard, trying to get the flashes of her fears out from her head. "My... greatest fear is losing you. And I couldn't stop thinking about you the entire time I was stuck in that hellhole."

Lena's heart dropped at the confession, confused as to why Kara—especially after the last year—would deeply fear losing Lena. "Why?" she asked in a hushed voice. "Why me?"

Kara gives her a small smile. "I'll get to that. I... also hallucinated my father."

"From Krypton?"

She nodded. "He said he had some secret base on the Phantom Zone and has been there since Krypton died. And, it sounds silly, but he helped me get some sanity and clarity on some things. As well as just... trying to survive until you guys found me.

"I knew he wasn't real when I tried to touch him. He recoiled every time. At first, I thought it was because he didn't trust me, but he knew it was me." Kara shook her head gently, looking down at the floor. "I didn't know it wasn't him until then. 

"There was a point where I was completely hopeless. The phantoms had gotten to me and I didn't want to go on. I knew you guys would figure out some way to save me but at that time... I was just so afraid and scared that you all were going to die because of me since the Phantom Zone was dying. 

"But my father reminded me of who I am and how I got to be here. As in the person I am. He asked me to list off everyone who helped me to be me, who changed my life for the better. And the first name out of my mouth was you."

Kara finally looks up at the brunette with tears in her eyes. "In the beginning when the phantoms got to me, all I saw was you dying in my arms. Over and over because I couldn't save you from whatever predicament happened. And I was heartbroken. I couldn't stand to... live it over and over. And when I started hallucinating Father, he helped me to ward off the phantoms and helped me get through my nightmares.

"You dying because I couldn't protect you was my greatest fear because I always fear not being able to protect the ones I love most." Lena's breathing almost stopped at the second-to-last word, but continued to listen with tears prickling at the corners of her eyes while Kara went on. "I feared that you knowing who I am would get you killed. I would get you killed."

Her brow furrowed at the past tense. "Feared? Do you not still fear that?"

"Of course I fear you dying, but not because of me. Over the time I was there and with the hallucination of Father, I learned that I could protect you more than ever now. Because you know and you can help me and the team in all your wonderful days. Before, I would do anything to save and protect you. Now? I know I can protect you more than ever since you know." She leaned forward and wiped a tear off of Lena's cheek, who was admiring her with such respect. "And I will do everything in my power to make sure you stay safe. I won't let myself be the reason why you get hurt."

"Thank you, Kara," Lena whispered, leaning into her hand that was now caressing her cheek. "I have a feeling you're not done, though."

She laughed small. "No. Because I haven't confessed everything. Let me finish, please."

Lena nods, rubbing her hand in encouragement before Kara sighs. "In a way, talking to Father was somewhat therapeutic, even in the irony of the Phantom Zone. He asked all about my family so I told him. I told him about you, our friends, then Alex and Kelly, Brainy and Nia. And when I got to you and talked all about you... He asked me if you were my partner. I was confused at first, but then he listed off so many things I said about you like a grocery list that was ridiculously long," she says with a laugh, not yet looking back at Lena. "But... he made me realize that you're not just my best friend to me.

"Some strange thing that I've heard within my time on earth is that couples call each other their kryptonite. But realistically, it doesn't make sense. Kryptonite is my weakness. The red sun dampens my powers depending on the strength. And yellow makes me... super. It makes me feel warm, safe, in control. It makes me feel so strong as if I could do anything I wanted to." Her hand went back to Lena's and the woman finds herself missing the touch on her face, leaning slightly closer as Kara stares at her with her soft eyes.

"When I was dying in the Fortress and I felt that little ray of light on me before your suit encased me, I knew it was you. When I felt that sun bomb go off, I knew it was you. Not because you're an incredibly genius scientist, but because you're my sun. My strength. My center of the universe. My everything. I'm so hopelessly in love with you that I don't think I could survive without you, by my side as a friend or more. I can't see my life without you in any way, shape, or form. So regardless of what you say, I—"

"Kara."

"Yeah?" Her voice was quiet as she observed Lena's face for any hint of emotion and-or reciprocation. Kara just confessed everything to her, pouring out her entire heart and soul to the woman she loved. And it made her tears well up again, afraid of the response to come.

Meanwhile, Lena's tears are still slowly falling but regardless, she smiles small. "I couldn't stop thinking of you, either," she whispered, taking a hand to tuck a blonde piece of hair behind her ear. "I was so worried for you, but also for our friends and myself. Because I wouldn't know what to do without you. And I wouldn't know what I would've done with myself if I never got the opportunity to tell you I love you, too. And I'm so glad you're in my life. I hope you're in it forever."

Kara's lips slowly turned into a smile, drops of tears falling onto their conjoined hands. "I'm glad we're on the same page."

"Me too." They stayed there, rubbing the backs of each other's hands, exchanging small shy glances, blushing whenever they caught each other. 

Until Lena couldn't take it anymore.

"Kara—"

"Please." Her one quiet word and her pleading eyes told Lena all she needed to know.

So she leaned forward and gently pressed their lips together, melding against hers so perfectly.

And Lena felt warm inside, like Kara's description of the sun giving her the powers she has. She feels complete and utter bliss as Kara holds onto her hands tighter as they kiss again. And Lena has to do all in her power to not moan and immediately take Kara home, knowing the state of the Kryptonian was nowhere near ready to go home.

They pulled their lips apart, noses still rubbing against each other as they looked up to each other, seeing the other smile hard.

"I love you," Kara whispers. "Till my dying breath."

"I'll hold you to that." They chuckle and Lena cuts it short with another soft kiss, bringing a hand to caress her cheek this time. "I love you, too. Please never leave."

"I promise." Kara takes her hand and kisses the back of it and Lena knows she means it by the look in her eyes. "Now lie down with me before Alex comes in here and goes berserk."

Lena laughs as Kara adjusts herself on the right side. "Wouldn't want that when you just got here." Once Kara got situated, she shifted to lay down next to her, her head in the crook of the Kryptonian's arm and chest, smiling when Kara's protective arm went around her waist.

"Did you have any nightmares before you guys found me?" Kara asked in a hushed tone as if she were worried said nightmares would come true.

She nodded into her suit. "Yeah. We'll talk about it later, I promise. For now, rest darling."

"Stay with me?" Kara yawns, putting her chin on top of Lena's head.

"Always."