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“Kara?” Alex closed her front door, her heart rate slowing after spiking at the sight of a shadowy figure sitting on her couch. “You okay?”
Her sister’s head was down, and as Alex came closer she heard Kara swallow roughly. “I just… I needed to talk to you.” Kara finally looked at Alex, although the darkness hid most of her features. “Is this… is this a bad time?”
“There’s never a bad time to talk to my little sister.” Alex smiled encouragingly. She dumped her bag on the floor and slid her concealed holster off before setting the weapon next to the door. “You hungry?”
“Not really,” Kara admitted.
Alex’s stomach knotted with worry. Kara had been different since returning from the other Earth two days ago. She hadn’t said much about the experience, but there had been a shadow in her eyes, something weighing on that already overburdened soul.
Settling next to Kara on the couch, Alex studied her sister in the low light. Tears were drying on Kara’s cheeks, and Alex wondered how long her sister had been sitting there, alone in the dark, hurting. Reaching out, Alex gripped Kara’s hand, tangling their fingers. “Talk to me,” she urged.
“That’s the problem,” Kara said quietly. “We always say we’re going to do that and we don’t.”
Alex frowned. Kara didn’t sound mad, but the words suggested she was. “Did I do something wrong?”
Kara shook her head. “It’s… I’ve been thinking lately. Of the things I said to you while I was under the influence of red kryptonite…”
“Kara…” Alex started to protest.
“We said we were going to work on that stuff and we never did,” Kara cut her off. “What if… what if something happens and I turn again? If I turn on you again? I don’t want those things still between us, Alex. I want you to know that I...”
“I do know. I knew then and I know now. I meant what I said. I’m your sister and I love you. No matter what.”
Kara stared at her for a long moment. “But…”
“And we have worked on it. Maybe we didn’t sit down and have some long, exhausting conversation about it, but we’ve learned from what happened, tried to be better. We’re stronger than ever now, aren’t we?”
The faintest trace of a smile formed on Kara’s lips.
Swallowing, Alex ran her thumb over Kara’s knuckles. “What happened over there? On Barry’s Earth? You’ve geeked Winn out with your descriptions of all those superheroes, but you came back with something, Kara. Some more sadness than you left with.”
Kara drew in a slow breath. “The Dominators… they controlled me. Got in my head.”
“Mind control? Like Myriad?” Alex’s grip tightened on Kara’s hand.
“I hurt some people, Alex. I tried so hard to kill Barry. If he weren’t the Flash, if he weren’t so damn fast…”
Shifting, Alex slipped her arm around her sister’s shoulders and pulled her closer. She knew what that felt like, being forced to hurt someone you loved with your own hands and not being able to stop it.
“It just… it stirred it all up again. The thought of someone or something turning me against the city… against you.” Kara turned her head and met Alex’s gaze, fresh tears brimming in her eyes. “I need to talk to Clark. I want him to give the kryptonite back to the DEO. Some of it, at least. You need to be able to stop me, to kill me…”
“Kara…” Alex’s voice quivered with emotion at the very thought. “I am never going to choose any option that doesn’t end with you still very much alive.” She reached out, brushing Kara’s hair away from her cheek. “You are my sister, and I love you…”
“That’s why I need you to promise me that you will, Alex. If I ever turn again and you can stop me, I need you to promise me you’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Kara,” Alex said again, more pain lacing her tone this time and making her stomach ache. “No.”
“I know what I’m asking of you…”
“You don’t,” Alex fired back, “or you would never ask it. I couldn’t live with that choice.”
Kara took a ragged breath. “You’re not listening to me…”
“I’m hearing every word,” Alex promised. “And I understand the frightened place this is all coming from. Remember what Non did to me? How I nearly killed you?”
“Alex…”
“So if it happens to me again and you can’t fix me, will you kill me?”
Kara’s jaw clenched. “It’s not the same thing. You can’t burn the world to the ground.”
“Maybe not with my strength, and I might not have heat vision, but do you know the things I could do to this world with my mind if I wanted to? The viruses I could unleash? The genetic mutations I could cause? And that’s just the beginning, Kara. You’re not the only one who could wipe out the planet. I could do it without getting my hands dirty.”
Kara stared at her, and Alex tried not to feel unnerved at her sister seeing her in that kind of light. “You would never…”
“No. I wouldn’t,” Alex agreed. “But what if the Dominators come to our Earth? Maybe they’re on their way here now. What if they control me and use my knowledge of alien biology to rid the world of humans? Would you stop me then? Even if I wanted you to?”
“Alex…” Kara pleaded in a whisper.
“Would you?” Alex insisted.
Slowly, Kara shook her head.
“I know I’m supposed to say I love you enough that I would do whatever it took to stop you, but that’s crap, Kara. I love you too much to let you go, to not fight until my dying breath to save my sister. That will never change. And if all my options are exhausted and all that’s left is death…” Alex swallowed, her own hot tears spilling down her cheeks. “Then I’ll die before I take your life. Call me crazy, but I suspect you’d do the same.”
“I would,” Kara whispered into the darkness.
“But… that’s why the DEO exists. That’s why J’onn does what he does. There are safety measures in place for you. For all of us.”
Kara nodded. “Still, I’d feel better with you having kryptonite. It’s the fastest way to stop me, and despite what happened with Cadmus, I trust you and J’onn to use it responsibly. I get why Clark wanted it gone, but… but he’s wrong about this. I should have stopped him.”
Alex pulled Kara close again. “One of these nights you need to show up at my apartment to talk about something happier.”
Chuckling softly, Kara laid her head on Alex’s shoulder. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.”
They sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying the warmth and security of their relationship. An air of sadness still clung to Kara, however, and Alex seized on a topic that might cheer her up, at least a little.
“So… I haven’t had the chance to tell you my news.”
Frowning, Kara lifted her head and looked at her sister again. “News?”
“Maggie came by the night before you left.”
Kara blinked, her eyes brightening with curiosity. “Yeah? Why?”
“Apparently, getting shot made her think.”
“About you?”
Alex nodded deliberately, barely containing a smile at the memory, but Kara noticed.
“What happened?” Kara breathed.
“She said that life was short… and… we should kiss the girls we want to kiss.”
Reaching over, Kara gripped Alex’s arm. “You better tell me she kissed you. If this story doesn’t end with her kissing you, I’m going to scream.”
“She totally kissed me.”
Kara squealed and Alex winced at the volume, but she grinned.
“So… like… you’re dating now?” Kara asked hopefully.
“Um… we haven’t really talked about what we’re doing, but… we have plans for dinner tomorrow.”
“How do you do that?” Kara shook her head.
“What? Makes plans for dinner?” Alex grunted when Kara nudged her in the stomach with an elbow.
“Always find a way to make me feel better?”
Alex smiled. “You’ve got your superpowers and I’ve got mine.”
Cuddling closer, Kara sighed, happily this time. “It’s good to be home.”
“It’s good to have you home. Barry can borrow you from time to time, but he better always give you back.”
“I’m happy for you and Maggie,” Kara murmured after a moment, “but it’s kind of too bad.”
“Too bad?” Alex wondered if she should feel offended.
“I met this kickass woman over there. I think you would have liked her.”
“Oh yeah?” Alex asked on a chuckle.
Kara pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Would it be cheating on Maggie if you looked at a picture?”
“I’m not dating Maggie. Yet.” Alex winked, hoping she would be able to revise that statement after tomorrow night.
Snuggling back against Alex’s side, Kara brought her photos up. “This is Barry by the way.”
“Oh my god. Does he really wear that outfit to fight crime?”
Receiving a light slap on the arm for the comment, Alex smiled as Kara swiped through the photos, telling Alex who each of the heroes were and what kinds of powers or skills they possessed. “And this is Sara Lance. White Canary.”
Alex’s eyebrows hiked as she took the phone, studying the picture with interest. “Huh.”
“She’s hot, right?” Kara teased knowingly.
Alex responded with a playful shrug, amused that her sister was trying to set her up. She had to admit, Kara had nice taste. “Maybe if things don’t work out with Maggie you can introduce us sometime.”
Kara grinned from ear to ear, her eyes sparkling with gratitude. “Thanks, Alex.”
“For what?”
“You know for what.” Kara leaned over and kissed her sister’s cheek. “I’ve got the best sister in 38 earths.”
“Yeah you do.” Alex smirked. “Got any more pictures of White Canary?”
“Well, since you asked…” Kara reached up and swiped left.