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I’ve noticed you. I see you always standing around the corner of the hallway, sneaking glances whenever you think it is safe. I’ve been waiting for you to work up the nerve to speak to me but I’ve waited long enough. Being sentenced to life in prison is not the most entertaining thing to happen to a person. I know what the other guards say about me. They call me the “Kryptonian Killer.” That’s just talk. I’m not as cruel as they say and there’s nothing I can do to harm you from inside this cell anyway.
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It’s been three days since you received my first note. I know you have it, I can see it poking out of the pocket of your uniform. If you are worried about people noticing, hide a note underneath my food tray when you deliver it.
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They say you are immortal
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Is that really what you’ve been waiting this long to ask me? It’s no secret, I’ve been alive for 124 years. I’m sure you know that already so what is it you really want to ask?
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Why? What is so great about living forever that you had to kill someone to do it? Surely you must have known that you would be sentenced to life in prison. What’s the point of having an endless life if you can’t be free to use it?
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I didn’t mean for it to happen this way. I didn’t mean to kill her. She was a part of me, I loved her more than life itself. She was the only reason I had to live. I would have never done anything to harm Kara Danvers.
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She’s was killed and you’re in prison for it. What are people supposed to think?
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I didn’t mean to hurt her but it’s my fault it happened. I plead guilty because I deserve to be here. There is nothing I could ever to do make up for her death but spending eternity in prison is the best I can do.
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So you didn’t kill her but it was your fault she died? That doesn’t make sense
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I was greedy and selfish and blinded by the idea of immortality. I rushed the experiment and skipped important steps. When the day came that I decided to make myself immortal, I didn’t tell Kara. I knew she would try to stop me. Somehow, she found out anyway and had Alex Danvers check over my work. They found a fatal flaw in my invention, it was too powerful and would kill anyone who tried to use it. Just as I flipped the switch to turn on the machine, Kara burst into the room and threw herself between me and the device I had built.
Her Kryptonian abilities helped her soak up most of what was blasted towards us but it was too much for even Supergirl. She died in my arms a few minutes later. The world was furious, they needed somebody to blame and I was the only logical choice. It helped them continue their lives and move on so I accepted the culpability.
I thought the experiment hadn’t succeeded and that I was still mortal until thirty years passed in prison. Despite being in my late fifties I looked no different than the day Kara died. I started to suspect that maybe it hadn’t failed after all. After the sixtieth year, I was certain. Kara had soaked up just enough from the device that I wouldn’t die but I would still live forever.
Kara gave her life so that mine would never end.
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I’ve heard stories about you, you were one of the strongest women in history. Why didn’t you fight this? Why didn’t you try to prove your innocence?
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Because I did it! It’s my fault, I killed her. I was power-hungry and self-centered. I am the only reason Kara Danvers is dead. I’m the reason the world lost their Supergirl. I deserve to spend eternity in a cage and young, inexperienced prison guards shouldn’t question that.
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It’s been a week. I see my last note must have scared you off. I apologize for that. I didn’t realize how lonely I was until our correspondence began. I miss it.
You know I only ever wanted to be good. I tried time after time to accomplish great things, to save innocent people but the world only ever saw me as a Luthor, nothing more. I should have just accepted it and moved on but I couldn’t. That is truly why I wanted to become immortal. I thought having the key to living forever was the only way for people to see me for who I truly was. I was wrong
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You didn’t scare me off. I’ve just been thinking
You say you want to help people but all you do is sit here when you could be out in the world, saving lives. It doesn’t make any sense
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You didn’t see Alex and Nia’s faces when they heard what had happened. You didn’t have to read newspapers and tv headlines saying that you had murdered Earth’s beloved hero. You didn’t have to explain over and over again how you had killed the one person who had ever truly believed in you. Those last few seconds before she stopped breathing in my arms still haunt me over a hundred years later.
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I’m sorry, that sounds horrible and I can’t imagine what that would feel like, but you can’t keep punishing yourself for a mistake you made lifetimes ago. The stories say that you were fiercely loyal to the few friends you had and you would always fight for them. Why can’t you give yourself the same respect?
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What are these stories you speak of? I can’t imagine many people would have anything good to say about me. Who did you hear things from?
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I’m not stupid, I can tell when you are dodging a question, but yes my great-grandmothers had plenty of good stories about you.
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What did you say your name was again?
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Morgan Alex Danvers
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Did you read my last note from a few days ago? You must have, I saw you grab it from under the food tray.
Yes, I have heard some bad things about you but my great-grandmothers always insisted that there must have been some misunderstanding. They told stories of your heroic deeds to anyone who would listen. They tried to change how the world saw you
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Did Alex and Kelly really still speak good of me after what I did?
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They did. They never knew what had really happened that night but they were certain you weren’t guilty. They believed in you. You should as well. Please give the world another chance. You’d be surprised by how much it’s changed
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I’ll think about it