Archive of Our Own

It is frustratingly difficult to defeat a fifth dimensional imp. Kara is well aware of this, seeing as she already had to do that with Mister Mxyzptlk. So when Nyxly shows her face in National City, and then Kara accidentally - and stupidly - gives her power, Kara knows that they are in big trouble.

And it’s entirely her fault.

Nia might have played a role in unleashing Nyxly upon their Earth, but when it all comes down to it, Kara is the only one who can be blamed. She is the one who betrayed Nyxly back in the Phantom Zone. She is the one who abandoned Nyxly to die in the explosion.

Nyxly wants revenge. She wants to ruin Kara’s life. And, unfortunately, she knows that the best way to take Kara down is to target everyone and everything that Kara wants to protect. The Earth, National City – her friends.

Nyxly already targeted Nia. She kept her trapped in a dream for twenty-four hours, manipulated her into doing so, and now she is even more powerful than before.

Kara needs to stop Nyxly. She needs to protect her friends. She needs to do something, because if she doesn’t, Nyxly will ruin everything she has ever cared about.

There is nothing Kara can do to stop Nyxly, though. Not personally. She isn’t immune to magic. As Nyxly said, the only way to fight magic is with magic. That is where Mxy comes in.

The destruction of the Ormfell building caused a lot of injuries. Injuries that Kara could have prevented if she hadn’t been so outspoken about supporting it. It’s her fault that Nyxly brought that building down. It’s her fault that children were harmed, that there are people now out of homes.

It’s only a matter of time before Nyxly uses her magic to hurt more people. It’s only a matter of time before she closes in on those who Kara loves. Kara, the paragon of hope, once again feels hopeless.

If she wants to protect her loved ones, there is something she can do. It’s an idea that has been rolling around in her mind for a long time, ever since Alex was first mindwiped of Kara’s existence as an alien. It’s a last ditch effort, something she has never wanted to do, but as Nyxly continues to terrorize and bring pain to the people of National City, it seems like it might be the only option left.

“Mxy,” Kara murmurs, arms crossed over the balcony railing, “your magic is strong.”

Mxy puffs out his chest, straightens the lapels of his jacket. “Well, if you say so.”

“If I asked you to do me a huge favour,” Kara says, “would you?”

Mxy mimics tipping a hat. “Why, of course!”

Kara breathes out a breath, slow and calm despite her pounding heart. “Nyxly has been targeting things she knows I care about because she wants to get under my skin. She wants to hurt me.” Mxy, confused, nods his head. “But if I didn’t have anything or anyone attached to me, she wouldn’t be able to do as much damage.”

“Yes,” Mxy slowly agrees.

“Be honest, Mxy: my friends are in danger because of me, right?”

Mxy grimaces, but he nods nonetheless. “Nyxly is aiming to hurt you the same way you have hurt her, so she will want to destroy the things and the people you hold dear. As soon as she catches wind of your affection for your friends, they will be put on her radar.”

“And she’s dangerous. You – you stood on trial against her for something, right?”

“Yes. She attempted to throw a coup, and she killed many in the process.”

Kara nods. Her throat is dry. “So if I made it so Nyxly couldn’t connect my friends to me, they would be out of harm's way.”

Mxy blinks. “I suppose, yes. But I can’t use my magic on Nyxly. She would be entirely unaffected by anything I do.”

“I know,” Kara nods, slow and hesitant. “But if you cast a spell on everyone else, you could.”

Mxy straightens up. “What do you mean?”

“Just keeping my distance from my friends wouldn’t be enough. The entire world knows about the ‘Superfriends’. There are publications and videos of all of us together. Nyxly would still be able to piece together who my friends are. And she knows me as both Supergirl and Kara Danvers – she’ll be able to find out who my friends and family are simply by searching my name online. Kara Danvers is known as a reporter, she’s connected to Alex Danvers and Lena Luthor, to all of my coworkers and my family.” She shuts her eyes, runs a hand through her face. “But if I made it so I never existed, so no one but Nyxly remembered who I am, she wouldn’t be able to connect the dots.”

It’s a desperate plan. A last-ditch effort. But Kara would do anything if it meant that her family would be safe. Kara’s entire existence, her very reason for being, is to protect.

Mxy’s face grows pale. “That – that seems quite drastic, don’t you think?”

“Every second, Nyxly is growing closer to figuring out what I hold dear. She won’t hesitate to bring them harm. I can’t let them get hurt because of me. Not after everything they did to bring me back from the Phantom Zone.”

“They rescued you from the Phantom Zone because they want to be with you,” Mxy points out.

“They saved me, and now they’re going to get killed because of me,” Kara shakes her head. “I can’t let that happen. I don’t know what Nyxly is capable of, but she’s already shown that she doesn’t care who has to die for her to get her revenge. I can’t let anyone else get hurt because of me.”

Mxy frowns. He bites his lip. His eyes ping-pong between Kara and the rest of her team, oblivious to their conversation as they happily chat inside the Tower. “You would rather have everyone forget who you are than risk your friends getting a little scrape?”

“It will be more than a scrape.”

Mxy’s frown deepens. His brows furrow. He closes his eyes, mutters to himself, before throwing his head back and heaving a loud sigh. “Just for the record, I think this is a horrible idea.”

Relief floods Kara’s body. She breathes out a small sigh. “So you’ll do it?”

Mxy puffs his cheeks out. He hums in frustration. “Yes, fine. I’ll do it. Of course I’ll do it. I would do anything for you, Kara Zor-El.”

“Thank you,” Kara says, as sincere as she can be. Mxy softens up a bit. She spares one last glance towards her family, their smiling faces, and she does everything she can to memorize them. When she turns to face Mxy, she sets her shoulders straight. “Mxy. I need you to make everyone forget about me: Kara Danvers, Kara Zor-El, Supergirl – all of them. At least until it’s safe.”

Mxy straightens up as well, rolling his shoulders. He hesitates, one last time. “You know, if I do this, I will also forget. Nyxly is the only person my magic doesn’t work on. Once this is done, you will not be able to undo it.”

“I know.”

Mxy nods. His eyes shift towards the group inside, and Kara refuses to follow his gaze. “You don’t want to say goodbye?”

“No,” Kara refuses. If she says goodbye, she’ll fall apart. If she goes in there now, they will know something is wrong and they will do everything in their power to stop her. They will try to convince her otherwise, but Kara knows this is the only way to get through this situation without anyone she cares about coming into harm.

“Okay. Kara Danvers,” Mxy holds out a hand, “it was a pleasure knowing you.”

Kara smiles. It feels weak, wavering on the edges, but it holds. She shakes his hand. “You too.”

“Well then,” Mxy presses his hand over his heart, “I wish you the best.”

With a snap of his fingers, the world goes dark.

When the world forgets about Kara Danvers, Kara loses everything.

It isn’t a surprise. She knew she was effectively signing her life away. She just hadn’t entirely processed how much she would need to start anew.

Her apartment no longer belongs to her. Her job at CatCo is taken by someone else. Her school records have disappeared into thin air. By all accounts, Kara Danvers never existed. Kara Danvers is nobody.

All memories of Supergirl are gone too. Every article ever written was never printed or posted. Every bad guy she ever brought in was brought in by someone else. The things that Supergirl has done still stick, but they were done by other people entirely.

The Superfriends still exist, though they no longer go by that name. They don’t go by any name as far as Kara is aware, still relatively new but quite well-known. And Lena is part of their little group now, a permanent fixture. Kara is glad to see that they still have each other. 

In the end, all Kara has to her name is her Supergirl suit. No money, no clothes, no record of existence, no place to call home. This had been her life once, a decade and a half ago, so she isn’t unfamiliar with it. This time, however, she is completely and utterly alone.

Kryptonians do not need as much sleep as humans do. Kara can go days without rest without any severe damage to her body or mind, and so she spends her first few days flying around National City as Supergirl. The world may have forgotten about her, but her duty to protect didn’t disappear along with her memory. She still owes it to National City - to Earth, truly - for everything they’ve done to accept her once upon a time.

It seems that Nyxly is laying low for now, which is perfectly fine with Kara. She isn’t looking forward to their next confrontation. In all honesty, Nyxly scares her, maybe more than any of their other enemies have.

And so Kara passes through the first week of being forgotten like a leaf drifting in the wind, pulled along without any input, without anybody noticing. She puts out fires and stops robberies. She saves a cat from a tree and helps a lost little boy find his mom. She teaches a crying girl how to tie her shoes and happily accepts an offered churro when she helps an older woman cross the street.

She also runs away as fast as she can when any of the Superfriends head towards the scene she’s on. It’s both out of fear of Nyxly catching them interacting and making assumptions, as well as desperately not wanting to see them lest she begin to fall apart at the mere sight of them.

It’s only natural that, in true Kara fashion, her luck runs out. It’s right after she finishes pummeling an alien that stole an old lady’s purse that her interaction happens:

“Who are you?”

Kara feels her heart drop as she spins and her eyes land on Nia Nal, whose arms are raised and poised to attack.

“Dreamer!” Kara exclaims, her voice strangely high and breaking halfway through. “Hi! It’s – it’s good to see you. To meet you! It’s good. Yeah.”

Nia’s eyebrows furrow, her eyes slitting into a glare. “Who are you?”

“Right! I, uh. I’m Supergirl,” Kara says a tad pathetically with a small wave to the crest on her chest.

“Supergirl,” Nia repeats, cut and dry. “Like Superman?”

“Nope!” Kara quickly shakes her head. “No, not at all. I don’t know him. At all. Just – y’know, we’re from the same planet, so we’re a bit similar, but I’m not like Superman at all.”

Nia stares at her for a long moment, eyes full of suspicion. Slowly, she raises her hand to the comm in her ear. “Martian Manhunter, Sentinel. We might have a problem.”

“What? No! No problem,” Kara exclaims, taking a few steps back. “I’m not a problem! I’m the opposite of a problem!”

“Yeah… She calls herself Supergirl,” Nia reports, eyes glued to Kara’s face. There’s a small pause. “Well, she just shot lasers out of her eyes to take someone down, so maybe.”

“You know what?” Kara jabs a thumb over her shoulder. “I think I should go. I have, uh– yeah. You know how it is, right?”

“Wait–”

“Okay bye!”

Kara shoots off into the air and flies away, Nia’s muttered curses growing fainter the further she goes. That… could’ve gone better. It could have gone much better. Now Kara’s gone and put herself on the Superfriends-minus-Supergirl’s watchlist.

Once she thinks she’s an appropriate amount of distance away, she lands herself on the roof of the tallest building nearby and heaves out a sigh.

This sucks.

Kara finds something of a home in the Fortress of Solitude. With Kal being off Earth, she doesn’t have to worry about him stumbling upon her and whatever interaction that might result in.

She doesn’t do much there other than sleep when she really needs it. She likes to be in or at least close to National City in case anything happens, but she still doesn’t exactly have a job or a place to rest at night.

Kara is immune to the cold, to the heat, to any of the temperatures that Earth brings. Her biology allows her to remain at a comfortable temperature no matter what the Earth decides it is.

Still, as Kara curls up alone in the Fortress, she thinks she might be a bit cold.

Kara’s first mistake was thinking she would be safe at Al’s, but it’s not like she knows any other local alien bars that are capable of getting her tipsy. She just wanted a drink, something to take her mind off of the everything going on in her life.

But then Lena Luthor walks in, and Kara accidentally inhales her rum and coughs it up on the counter, and she figures, sure, why not?

Lena looks around, sticking out like a sore thumb, and she seems to shrink in on herself when she doesn’t find whoever she’s looking for – the rest of the Superfriends, Kara supposes

Kara’s a bit surprised they managed to lure Lena out to Al’s of all places. Lena rarely goes to bars – she rarely goes out – and Kara knows it’s because Lena carries her family’s legacy like shackles. She’s always been afraid that if she goes out somewhere, she will ruin the fun for others.

To have Lena accepting to go to an alien bar must mean that she feels more confident in herself. Kara is glad.

Lena lowers her head and makes her way directly towards the bar. Kara can do nothing but watch as Lena takes the open stool just a seat away from her, and she tries not to freak out. Lena glances over, making direct eye contact, and Kara jolts. She clears her throat, fiddles with her glasses nervously.

“I’m used to people staring,” Lena says, posture tense and voice cold. It’s been awhile since she’s spoken to Kara in that tone of voice. Then again, it’s been awhile since she’s spoken to Kara at all.

“Sorry,” Kara stutters, hesitantly glancing back up at Lena. “I just – I’m new here. First-timer. Didn’t expect to see a celebrity at some dive bar.”

Some of the tension seems to leak from Lena after she says that. “Celebrity, huh?” She smiles, but it’s more of a wince. “This is my first time here, too.”

“Well,” Kara shrugs a shoulder, offers a weak smile, “once you get a drink in your hand, you’ll look like a natural.”

“Right,” Lena says, huffing out a small laugh. She flags down the bartender and orders a scotch.

A silence permeates the air around them. Kara so desperately wants to talk, to ask Lena how she is, but she knows she shouldn’t. She needs to keep her distance, for both their sakes.

“I’m supposed to be meeting some friends here, but I suppose I’m the only punctual one,” Lena explains after a moment. She eyes Kara. “Are you waiting for anyone?”

Kara laughs at the question without meaning to. When Lena arches an eyebrow, she flusters a bit. “No. I’m, uh – it’s just me.”

Lena hums. “You should be careful. It’s not safe for a pretty girl to be all alone at a bar.”

Kara doesn’t know whether to laugh or to be embarrassed. She snorts into her cup. “I can take care of myself.”

The bartender returns with a glass and a bottle of scotch. They fill the cup, and Lena quietly requests they leave the bottle. They turn to Kara and raise an eyebrow, and she nods in approval. They pull out a bottle of rum labelled in one of the few alien languages Kara doesn’t know how to decipher and gives her a heavy pour.

“You’re an alien?” Lena asks after the bartender has walked away. Kara glances at her to find a look of curiosity on Lena’s face, a flicker of guilt hidden in her eyes. She flushes a bit with embarrassment. “Sorry to be nosey. My friend just told me that the alien alcohol here can be quite lethal to humans, so…”

“Yep,” Kara nods, popping the ‘p’ at the end.

“And you know who I am.” Kara nods once more. “You… aren’t afraid? Or upset?”

Kara tilts her head, watches as Lena’s pretty face is washed over with guilt. She hates when Lena looks like this. “Why would I be?” Kara asks, meeting Lena’s eyes. “Your family sucks, but you’re not them. Lena Luthor’s done far more good than bad.”

Lena stares at Kara with a faint look of awe, as if Kara has just said something worthwhile. As if Kara has said something that isn’t entirely true. “That’s… incredibly kind of you to say.”

“It’s the truth,” Kara shrugs. “I think you’re pretty great, all things considered.”

Lena smiles, and it’s small but it’s genuine. Kara smiles back as best as she can.

"You have me at a bit of a disadvantage," Lena says after a stretch of silence. Kara blinks, tilts her head.

"I do?"

Lena laughs, small and light. "You know me, but I don't know you."

"Oh," Kara says. Her throat is suddenly dry. She doesn't know how she can get used to reintroducing herself to the people she's known and loved for years. "Kara."

"Kara...?"

Kara's smile tastes bitter. "Just Kara."

Lena nods her head in acceptance. She would understand, Kara thinks. Far more than anyone else could.

“Lena!” Nia’s voice calls from across the bar. Lena straightens up, head whirling towards the door. Nia, Brainy, Alex and Kelly are headed towards a table, Nia excitedly waving Lena over. Kara’s heart grows warm at the sight.

“Guess I should go,” Lena says as she stands, grabbing her cup and the bottle as she does. She smiles kindly, and Kara misses her already. “It was nice meeting you, Kara.”

“Yeah,” Kara murmurs as Lena turns her back, already walking away, “you too.”

Kara watches as Lena smiles at Kelly, as she leans into Nia’s side, as Alex wraps an arm around Lena’s shoulders the way she always did with Kara, and she smiles. Her fingers twitch, yearning to reach out and grasp this picturesque moment and make it hers, but she fights back the urge. Instead, she lifts her glass and swallows down the remainder of her rum.

She pushes back from the counter, places a twenty down, and she leaves.

Nyxly is calling for her. Kara can hear it from across the city clear as day.

“Supergirl! Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

Kara really doesn’t want to, but she knows that if she ignores her, things will turn violent. She leaps from the rooftop she was perched on and takes to the skies, following the taunting sound of Nyxly’s voice.

She’s standing in the middle of a park. Blue magic dances between her fingers as she paces along the grass. Across from her, a dozen feet away, Dreamer and Sentinel stand ready to attack. Kara lands in the middle, keeping her eyes glued to Nyxly.

“There she is,” Nyxly grins. “The Girl of Steel.”

Kara feels her shoulders tense, curl in on herself. “What do you want, Nyxly?”

“I’ve been looking for you,” Nyxly says, entirely bypassing Kara’s question. “Asking all the aliens and these so-called ‘heroes’ that protect this city about Supergirl. Imagine my surprise when all of them looked at me like I was crazy.”

“Well, I’m sure you’re used to that,” Kara bites, and Nyxly’s eyes harden.

“I sensed Mxy using his magic a few weeks ago; that’s how I found him, after all. But I couldn’t figure out just what he did,” Nyxly takes a look around the field, at the crowd that is distantly forming around them. “I suppose I’ve figured that out now. How heroic of you.”

“This fight is between us,” Kara says, puffing out her chest with a confidence she doesn’t quite feel. “There’s no point in getting anyone else involved.”

Nyxly laughs, cold and hard. “I’ve met many Kryptonians before you. I must say, you are by far the softest. Earth and its humans have made you weak.”

Kara grits her teeth and once more asks, “What do you want, Nyxly?”

“I want to make you suffer,” Nyxly easily replies, “the same way you made me.”

“I tried to help you!”

“You tried to abandon me.”

Kara lets out a shaky breath. Her hands tremble at her sides. She can sense Alex and Nia behind her, can hear their steady heartbeats, and she wants to get them as far away from here as possible. But if she shows a bias towards them, she knows Nyxly will pick up on it and her sacrifice would have been for naught.

“We don’t have to fight,” she says, and Nyxly laughs. “Just go home.”

“We don’t have to fight,” Nyxly agrees. “I want to.”

She snaps her fingers, and ice is crawling up Kara’s legs. No matter how much she twists and turns, she is unable to break out of it. She tries to fly, but it’s as if the ice is pulling her back to the ground. Slowly, steadily, the ice crawls up her skin. She can feel the chill, and it reminds her of the Phantom Zone.

She hates it.

“Hey!” Nia calls, and suddenly there’s a blue light shooting towards Nyxly. It doesn’t hurt her, but it’s enough to startle her; the ice around Kara’s legs shatters to pieces. “You’re an imp, yeah? We have a strict ‘no magic’ rule here.”

“Dreamer!” Nyxly greets, delight in her tone. “It’s wonderful to see you again. How are you, dear?”

“Could be better,” Dreamer scowls. She sculpts her dream energy into a whip and lashes it. Nyxly only laughs, sharp and entertained. Kara throws herself towards Nyxly at full speed just as Nyxly dodges the whip, sending the two of them tumbling to the ground. As Kara swings a fist down, Nyxly disappears from underneath her. A sharp kick to her back sends her falling flat on her face.

Kara is quick to roll on her back, sending a beam of heatvision towards Nyxly’s face. With a wave of her hand, Nyxly deflects it. A gunshot rings out, but before it can hit her Nyxly raised a hand and the bullet disappears into blue smoke. While she’s distracted, Kara blows her freeze breath at Nyxly’s feet in an attempt to keep her in place.

“Are you trying to copy me?” Nyxly laughs, and she breaks the ice with ease. “Cute.”

Frustrated, Kara swipes out with one of her legs. That, at least, Nyxly didn’t seem to expect. She falls backwards and Kara can’t help but grin. Nia tries to tie Nyxly’s wrists up, but Nyxly simply snaps the dream-cuffs in half like it’s nothing. Alex and Nia charge towards the two of them, and Nyxly rolls her eyes.

“This has been fun, but I’ve got to go,” Nyxly says. She waggles her fingers tauntingly, and with a snap, she disappears. Kara breathes out a sigh of relief.

“You two know each other.”

It isn’t a question. It’s more of an accusation than anything. Kara turns to face Nia and Alex. While Nia looks a bit awed after seeing Kara’s abilities, Alex watches her with suspicion.

“Yes,” Kara confirms. “What, uh. What were you doing here?”

“We got a report of a big cat terrorizing the park,” Nia says. “She was here when we arrived. Got mad that you didn’t show up. She snapped it away and started calling for you.”

“Nyxly is dangerous,” Kara says. “You need to stay away from her.”

Alex scoffs, her eyebrows shooting up to her forehead. “Excuse me?”

Kara winces. She forgot how – combative Alex can be. She was the same when her mind had been wiped, always distrusting of Supergirl. “I don’t mean anything by it. It’s just, her magic is dangerous. She’s on this Earth for a reason. She wants something, and she’s willing to cause a whole lot of trouble to get it.”

“We can handle it, Supergirl,” Alex snarks, scowling now. “You’ve barely been here a month. We’ve been protecting National City for a long time. We know what we’re doing.”

“I know! And I trust you. Of course I trust you. It’s just – I don’t want anyone getting hurt. This is my problem to deal with.”

“If she keeps causing problems for National City, then it’s our problem too,” Alex says. Her comm buzzes, and Kara can hear J’onn calling them back to base through the earpiece. Alex spares Kara one last withering glare before grabbing Nia’s arm. “Come on, Dreamer. Martian Manhunter needs to talk with us.”

Kara watches them go with a heavy heart.

Days pass. Nyxly keeps quiet. Kara throws herself into her Supergirl duties because she has nothing else to do.

It’s lonely.

As Kara floats among the clouds and stares up at the night sky, at the stars flickering so many lightyears away, she tunes in on the familiar sound of her family. They’re together, she knows, because it’s a Friday night – game night. Gathered in Kelly and Alex’s new apartment, Kara listens to their steady heartbeats and the sound of them laughing.

She smiles as she hears what must be Lena and J’onn playing charades, the two odd ones out having to form a team against the other two couples. Lena calls out words and J’onn laughs and huffs with exertion at whatever he’s doing, while Alex and Nia’s laughter fills Kara’s ears and heart, Kelly and Brainy’s quiet conversation the backdrop.

They’re happy together. Kara is so, so grateful that they still get to be happy. Her heart aches and her eyes sting and she yearns to be sitting in that room with them, but she pushes that all aside. It doesn’t matter what she wants anymore. What matters is that they are happy.

That’s all that matters. And Kara may be lonely, she may be missing half her heart, but she would do it all again if it meant she got to keep this laughter flowing.

She should have expected something like this would happen. Kara can’t entirely blame them for being so untrusting of her. To them, she came out of nowhere and proceeded to avoid them like the plague. It’s only natural that they would want answers.

Kara just didn’t expect it would involve Kryptonite. How Alex got her hands on some, Kara has no clue, but she isn’t afraid to use it.

Maybe she should have known something was up when she heard Alex calling for her. But even if she did, Kara would have responded. She would respond to Alex’s calls no matter what.

Now, though, Alex has Kara cornered in an empty parking garage with a lead-lined box holding a glowing chunk of Kryptonite in her hands. Kara can already feel the strength sapping from her, can feel the ache in her bones and the burn in her blood.

“Sentinel,” she greets. “You called?”

Alex eyes her with distaste. “I did.”

Kara spreads her trembling arms, smiles as best as she can. “Here I am.”

“Here you are,” Alex echoes. She steps closer and a fresh wave of pain washes over Kara. “I have some questions for you.”

“Go ahead. I won’t lie to you.”

Alex’s mouth twitches at Kara’s easy obedience. “Who are you? Where are you from?”

“I’m Supergirl. I’m from Krypton.”

“Krypton,” Alex repeats. “You wear the same emblem as Superman. What’s your relation to him?”

Kara shakes her head. “I don’t have one,” she says, and it’s the truth. Kal doesn’t know who she is anymore. The two of them are nothing more than strangers anymore, just like everyone else. “He doesn’t know me.”

Alex clicks her tongue. “What are you doing in National City?”

“I’m just trying to protect the people,” Kara honestly replies. “All I want to do is help.”

Alex steps closer. Her eyes are cold underneath her hood. Kara’s pulse pounds in her neck, and Kara wonders if the yellow sun makes her heart strong enough to shatter her ribcage. It feels like it’s about to.

“I’m not a threat,” she says, her hands trembling as she raises them in a show of harmlessness. “I just want to help.”

“That Nyxly woman seems to think you’re a problem,” Alex points out.

“Nyxly wants to tear this Earth apart,” Kara retorts. “That’s all she’s here for. I’m just trying to stop her.”

“What is your history with her?”

Kara swallows. “I hurt her. It was an accident, but I still hurt her. And now she wants to hurt me.”

“So you’re the reason she’s causing problems for us,” Alex says.

It’s the truth, but to hear it come so accusingly from Alex’s lips stings. “Yes.”

“Then leave,” Alex sneers. She closes the last of the distance between them until they are barely two feet apart.

The Kryptonite brings Kara to her knees. Alex stands over her, cold and dark and cruel.

“I’m just trying to help,” Kara croaks out. Her lungs stutter in her chest, her skin crawling and burning and aching. “I don’t – want to hurt anyone.”

“Well, you are,” Alex growls. Her free hand reaches out, grasps the front of Kara’s suit. All she can do is be tugged along like a doll, spots dancing in her vision as the Kryptonite continues to take effect.

“Alex,” Kara rasps, her entire body aching, “please…”

And Alex pauses for a moment, her eyes widening. For a moment she hesitates, her posture loosening, and Kara knows that’s the only chance she’ll get. She weakly twists out of Alex’s grip, shoots up to her feet and ignores the pulsing headache it brings, and she runs as fast as her weakened body allows.

She stumbles as she goes, but as soon as she hits a patch of sunlight she can feel her body growing stronger. Before Alex can catch up to her, Kara throws herself over the edge of the building and flies away.

Kara doesn’t realize until she is curled up alone in the Fortress that she called Alex by her real name.

It’s becoming increasingly more obvious that Kara does not stand much of a chance against Nyxly on her own. Kara is not immune to magic, after all, and Nyxly has magic to spare – all thanks to Kara, of course.

Kara has superstrength and superspeed, she has heat vision and freeze breath. She can hit harder than a tank and crush bones with her pinkie finger. But she cannot fight against magic.

Each encounter she has with Nyxly is worse. At this point, it just seems like Nyxly is toying with her. She has had every chance to end Kara’s life, but she hasn’t yet. She simply just torments her.

It seems, though, that Nyxly is also growing more and more frustrated as time goes on and Kara continues to remain on her lonesome.

So frustrated, in fact, that the next time Kara reacts to one of Nyxly’s little magic attacks - a Kryptonite-breathing dragon this time - Nyxly barely even gives her the time of day.

“I’m growing sick of this,” Nyxly snarls, and with a snap of her fingers Kara’s airway is completely blocked. Her hands reach for her throat but there is nothing tangible, nothing she can do except stand there and choke on nothing. “If you don’t want to play fair, then fine. I will just have to deal with you in the boring way.”

The dragon above screeches, its green fire raining down around them. Kara’s knees buckle, her arms going slack at her sides.

“I wish I could say it was a pleasure,” Nyxly leans over her, face creased with annoyance, “but I’m not a liar.”

She turns on her heel. Kara still cannot breathe. The shadow of the dragon blocks out the sun, and spots begin to dot Kara’s vision.

“Supergirl!” a voice cries, but Kara can’t tell if it’s real or just her imagination. “Just hang on a second!”

Kara’s vision goes black.

*

Kara stirs to the steady sound of something beeping. It’s an easy rhythm, one she finds herself counting along to. There are sheets under her skin, soft and smooth. She feels oddly relaxed, for the first time in a long while.

She opens her eyes slowly. The white walls and ceiling momentarily blind her, as do the sunlamps beaming down on her skin, but she blinks through it. She turns her head and examines the room to find that she’s in the medbay of the Tower.

She lets out a small sigh, eyes fluttering shut as she burrows further into the bed beneath her. It’s comfy. She can’t recall the last time she’s slept on an actual bed.

Because she — she doesn’t have one.

And then her eyes shoot open. She’s jumping out of the bed in seconds, tripping and taking the sunlamps with her down to the floor with possibly the loudest crash known to man.

“What was that!?” a voice distantly shouts, and all Kara can think is runrunrunrunrun before Lena Luthor steps into the room with Alex following close on her heels. They both pause in the doorway when they spot her, and then Alex rolls her eyes.

“If you broke those, you’re paying,” Alex says. Kara winces. She absolutely cannot pay for them.

“They’re fine!” she dismissively says as she crawls back to her feet, quite possibly lying. “Um. Thanks for the help, and for - y’know, making sure I don’t die, haha, but I have to go. Urgent matters to attend to.”

Alex rolls her eyes again, this time much harder. “Sit back down. At least let us look you over one last time.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Kara laughs with a wave of her hand, inching towards the door. “The sunlamps healed me right up. Good thinking, by the way! But, uh, I’m good now. Perfect, even.” She does a little spin as if that will prove anything.

“A friend of a friend knows Superman. Figured you’d heal the same way he does,” Alex shrugs. “And apparently we had some sunlamps in storage.”

Kara hums and nods her head. “What a coincidence!”

Alex eyes her. “Do you have a concussion, or something? Did you hit your head? We didn’t see anything in the scans.”

“No,” Kara deflates a bit. “I’m just – like this. As a person.”

Alex looks her up and down one last time. “Unfortunate,” she says, before spinning on her heel and leaving. “Lena, take a look at her. Make sure she’s not dying.”

The room falls silent as Kara stares at Alex’s back. Once she leaves the room, she glances at Lena, who offers a grimace of a smile.

“Sorry about her,” Lena says. “She’s – she’s a wonderful person, really. Just a bit closed off, and a lot protective.”

I know, Kara thinks, but she keeps her lips sealed. Alex is one of Kara’s favourite people; she loves so fiercely and intensely, loves with her entire being, and those who she gives her heart to are the luckiest people in the world. She’s only stand-offish because of her desire to protect those she loves, and Kara is no longer one of those people.

Kara may never be one of those people again, she may never get to be inside Alex’s closest circle, but she remembers how wonderful it was. She always will.

“It’s okay,” she says instead. “I’m sure she has her reasons.”

Lena hums. “That she does.”

They continue standing, and Kara nervously shifts on her feet. She wants to leave. She needs to leave. It feels like every second she spends with these people is a second closer to Nyxly discovering her weakness. That and it hurts to look into the eyes of those she loves and see nothing but apathy in return.

“You really don’t need to check me over,” Kara insists. “I promise I’m feeling fine. Nyxly’s magic hurts me, but I can heal up just fine with some sun.”

Lena eyes Kara curiously. The corner of her lips turn up into an almost familiar teasing smirk. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think you don’t like me.”

“What?” the word bursts from Kara’s lips before she can prevent it. “That’s not true! That’s definitely not true. I think you’re great.”

“Really?” Lena tilts her head. “You always seem like you’re in such a rush to get away from me.”

That – that part is true, but it’s definitely not for the reasons Lena thinks.

“It’s nothing personal,” Kara says. “I just – I’m the problem,” she laughs nervously. “I admire you a lot, Lena. I think you’re great. Awesome, really! I love you,” she pauses, realises this is absolutely not something she should say to someone she has only met a handful of times, “–r brain. Everything you’ve done with L Corp, for National City, everything you’re doing for the Superfr - um. For your friends, it’s incredible. I promise you’re not the problem here.”

“Are you pulling an ‘it’s not you, it’s me’?” Lena asks, amused. There’s mirth dancing in her eyes, the same kind that always used to be there whenever Kara rambled on for too long or said something particularly stupid. The familiarity, once more, makes Kara ache.

“Yeah. But it’s true.”

“Well,” Lena drawls, eyeing Kara up and down. Kara tries not to flush. “You seem fine. And your vitals seemed fine before you ripped off your heart monitor. I suppose you are free to go.”

“Cool,” Kara nods. She offers a thumbs up. Lena arches an eyebrow, and Kara flusters. Is she stupid? Why would she do that? “I’m just – I’m gonna go.”

She leaves as fast as she can. As she flies away from the Tower, she tries to ignore the sound of Lena’s chuckling, and the way it makes her chest feel warm.

Kara feels like something of a stalker. Can she really be blamed, though? She’s just trying to look out for her family. She just wants to make sure that they’re safe. And so if she listens in while they’re having a celebratory meal at Noonan’s and circles the cafe a few times to make sure there are no Nyxlys lurking about, that doesn’t make her a stalker per se. She’s just looking out for them, like a distant guardian angel.

She’s dressed as Kara Danvers for once, because it’s easier to pass under Nyxly’s radar when she’s not flying around the city in a bright blue and red costume, and also because she simply misses the normalcy of being a person.

It’s on one of her extremely casual laps around the block that she finds Lena standing outside scowling down at her phone. Her brain stops working, as it tends to do around Lena, and her shoes make a loud noise as she trips over a crack in the sidewalk. It immediately garners Lena’s attention, and Kara freezes.

“Lena,” she greets, before realizing that’s probably way too casual for someone she’s only spoken to once. “Miss Luthor,” she corrects. Lena’s lips quirk upwards, so extremely subtle, but Kara is always looking at every detail of Lena’s face.

“Kara, right?” Lena asks, and Kara tries not to think too deeply about the fact that Lena remembered.

“Yeah,” Kara replies, awkward and stilted. “Hi. Funny seeing you here.”

Lena hums. “Small world, I suppose.”

Kara tucks her hands into her pockets, eyes darting anywhere but the woman in front of her. “...Are you okay?”

Lena tilts her head, so Kara motions towards the phone tightly gripped in her hand. “Oh. Yes, I’m quite alright. Just a message from my mother.”

“Oh,” Kara echoes. She doesn’t know what she’s supposed to say – she shouldn’t know Lena well enough to know about the tension between her and her mother, to know about her relationship with Lex, to know that they have been out to get her for years. “I’m sorry?”

Lena huffs out a laugh. “Me too.” Her eyes rake up and down Kara, and Kara tries not to revel in it. “What are you doing?”

“Me?” Kara asks, stupidly. “I’m just. Here to get food. Yeah. Love Noonan’s. Can’t get enough of it.”

“I see,” Lena says. Her eyes shift to the window. Kara follows her gaze. The rest of their friends – Lena’s friends – are sitting inside, all gathered around one table and happily chatting away. “Well, my friends and I are inside. Why don’t I walk you to the counter?”

Kara doesn’t really know how she can turn that down, so she offers a tight smile and nods her head. “Sounds great!”

As she walks up to the register and orders two sticky buns, she thanks Rao for the kind man who gave her a ten dollar bill after she stopped his bicycle from being stolen. It would be so incredibly embarrassing if she walked herself into this lie and then didn’t have any money to follow it through. Lena would definitely think she was a stalker then.

Kara can feel eyes burning on her back as she and Lena idly wait by the counter, Kara asking awkward questions about her work to keep the conversation off of herself. She spares a glance over her shoulder to find Alex staring directly at her, and her shoulders hike up. She isn’t look at her like she looks at Supergirl, all dark and calculating and cautious, but she still doesn’t seem entirely friendly.

Kara hears Alex murmur an “excuse me” to the group before there are two steps of footsteps heading their way, and Kara’s heart jumps to her throat. When they arrive, Alex clears her throat, and Lena rolls her eyes. It looks more fond than anything, and Kara aches. She wishes she could have watched their relationship grow into whatever it is now – something sisterly, she thinks.

“Hello, Alex,” Lena greets, spinning on her heel. Softer, kinder, she adds, “Kelly.”

“Hello, Lena,” Alex returns. There’s a smug look on her face. “Who’s this?”

“This is Kara,” Lena says. “Kara, this is Alex and Kelly. They’re… close friends of mine.”

Kara sticks her hand out almost robotically. “Hi. Pleasure to meet you.”

“How do you two know each other?” Kelly asks with a pleasant smile.

What a difficult question to answer. Kara must take a bit too long to answer, because Lena steps in.

“We actually met at Al’s,” she replies. “We just chatted for a bit while I waited for all of you to arrive. She was very kind.” Kara laughs, a bit strained. “We ran into each other outside, and she said she was stopping in. I thought I might as well keep her company while she waits for her order.”

“Very kind,” Kara manages to say, her eyes staring pointedly between Alex and Kelly. She doesn’t want to look at either of them, can’t bring herself to. “But, uh, my food will probably be ready pretty soon, so you guys can go back to your meal, if you want. I wouldn’t want to interrupt.”

“Nonsense,” Lena dismissively says. “You’re not interrupting at all. If anyone interrupted, it was my mother.” Her phone buzzes again, and her smile drops into a scowl when she looks down at the screen. “Speak of the devil. It was wonderful to see you again, Kara. If you’ll excuse me.”

She taps her phone and brings it to her ear, answering with cold words as she walks back towards the front door. Kara stiffens as she feels Alex and Kelly’s eyes fall solely onto her.

“Two sticky buns for Kara!”

“Oh thank Rao,” Kara whispers under her breath, snatching her bag up from the counter with perhaps a bit too enthusiastic of thanks, seeing as the barista flinches a little. Her eyes turn back to Alex and Kelly and she offers a shaky grin. “You two seem very lovely.”

Kelly laughs. “I don’t know if I would say that about my fiancee, but we appreciate it.” Alex laughs, playfully swatting at Kelly, and Kara feels her heart drop. Fiancee. Fiancee. One of them proposed. Alex is getting married to Kelly, and Kara had no idea. Alex and Kelly are going to get married, and Kara would have been none the wiser if it weren’t for this run-in. Alex and Kelly are going to get married, and Kara won’t be there.

She won’t be able to help Alex pick out a wedding dress, won’t be asked to be Alex’s maid of honour. She won’t be able to organize the bachelorette party or hold Alex’s hands while she gets in her dress or watch her sister walk down the aisle, standing by her side as she exchanges vows.

Kara won’t be there for any of it. Because even though Alex plays such a major role in Kara’s life, she is essentially nobody to Alex. By the time they get married, Kara will be nothing more than a distant memory, a blurry face that Alex had a brief conversation with once upon a time.

“Hey,” Kelly’s voice is soft, laden with concern, “are you alright?”

Kara blinks, and she finds Alex and Kelly staring at her in worry. Alex looks a bit out of her depth, eyes darting between her fiancee – Rao, her fiancee – and Kara.

“What?” Kara asks, and she’s surprised by how warbly her voice sounds, how broken it is.

“You’re crying,” Kelly murmurs. Kara’s hands fly to her face to find her cheeks wet, and she takes off her glasses and roughly scrubs at her face with her sleeves.

“Oh, gosh,” she forces out a laugh, rubbing her face until it hurts, “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I just – um. Wow! Congrats! That’s – you two make a lovely couple.”

“Thank you,” Alex nods, but she still looks spooked and Kelly still looks vastly concerned. Her heart was always so big.

“If you’d like to talk about anything…” Kelly offers, as if Kara isn’t a complete stranger to them.

Kara dismissively waves a hand as she puts her glasses back on. “No, no, I’m fine. I just,” she swallows past the lump in her throat, shakes her head, “I lost my sister recently. And, I don’t know. You remind me of her. And now all I can think about is – is everything I’ll never get to experience with her.”

Kelly’s face falls, sympathy crawling across her face. “I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, it’s not your fault,” Kara laughs. “If anything, it’s mine.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Alex frowns.

It is, though, Kara wants to scream. It’s all my fault, and I can’t even be upset about it because it was for the greater good. To be upset about what I lost would be selfish.

Kara only shrugs. Her skin crawls and her eyes burn and her stomach churns with guilt and nausea. She sniffles, wiping her fast one last time before feigning a look at her watch. “Oh, look at the time. I, uh. I’ve got to go. It was really nice meeting both of you. I’m sure your wedding will be beautiful.”

And then, because Kara is stupid and pathetic and, above all, weak, she wraps Alex up in a quick hug. Alex is stiff beneath her touch – understandably so, considering Kara is nothing more than a stranger who just started crying and trauma dumped on her, but as Kara pulls away, she fools herself into believing that Alex leaned into it just the tiniest bit.

“Sorry. And thank you. Have a wonderful night.”

She rushes out of the cafe at a regular human speed, and tries not to think about every other major part of Alex’s life that she will miss.

Kara and Nia successfully - and accidentally - take down a galaxy-wide drug ring.

It’s a long story. Nia and Brainy had been following some rumours about the trade of some sketchy off-planet drugs that had been resulting in deaths, and Kara was beating up a group of guys who were chasing down some poor sap who was trying to escape the ring. They accidentally stumbled upon each other, asked the guy Kara rescued a few questions, and then they had somehow busted a drug cartel.

“We’re definitely celebrating this!” Nia had grinned as the cops took over the scene, shoving the perpetrators into the backs of their cars. “You should come!”

“Oh, no,” Kara immediately refused. “I didn’t do anything. This is your case. You should have fun.”

And that, somehow, resulted in this: Kara standing on the Tower’s balcony, a cup of soda in her hand as she wonders about when it’s socially acceptable to leave a party you had been coerced into attending.

Lena isn’t here. Kara briefly wishes she was, but then she remembers how Lena had smiled at her back in the medbay and immediately thinks otherwise. They’re getting too close. Alex hadn’t been too happy to see her when Nia dragged her in, but she had offered a brief nod, so Kara hopes that means she doesn’t hate her guts anymore.

She kind of disappears into the background while the others chat amongst themselves. Nia is regaling Alex and Kelly with the story of their fight, and Brainy is solemnly nodding along while acting it out. Kara finds herself smiling as she watches, but then it feels too personal, so she turns her back and settles for just listening.

It isn’t a surprise when J’onn comes to find her, his heavy footfalls signalling his approach.

“You look pretty sad for someone who just saved a lot of innocent lives.”

Kara doesn’t look. If she looks at J’onn, if she looks into his eyes, she’ll want to tell him everything. She musters up a smile as he stands beside her. “I think that’s just my face.”

J’onn hums. “Is that so? I’ve heard quite a lot of things about you online: ‘the Girl of Steel, or the Girl of Smiles?’” Kara snorts despite herself. “You don’t seem like you want to be here. Do you have someone else you’d rather be celebrating with?”

Kara almost laughs. “No. Not at all.”

“Nobody?” J’onn asks, so kindly curious.

“I don’t have many friends,” Kara says. “Or any friends. 

She can see J’onn frown from the corner of her eyes. “That seems lonely.”

Kara shrugs. “It’s safe.”

“Safe for who?” J’onn questions. 

“…Everyone.”

They stand in silence for a long moment, before J’onn hums once more.

“It may seem safer for everyone,” he says, “but is it truly safer for you?”

With that, he leaves. Kara stares out at the city, and she wonders.

It almost feels like Kara is in the Phantom Zone again. Or perhaps, a dream.

When Kara got lost in the Phantom Zone for the first time, when she spent twenty-four years drifting in and out of sleep thinking that she was the very last Kryptonian alive, she thought she knew loneliness.

This, Kara thinks, is worse. To be surrounded by people but still be alone, to see the people that you love but know that to them you are nothing, it is far worse.

Kara has always been a social creature. As a child she loved following her father to work, chatting with him and his coworkers in the science guild as she worked. She loved to talk to Astra, to hear about her life. She would tell little Kal made-up stories for hours on end. Once she arrived on Earth, she latched herself onto Alex, much to her sister’s dismay. Eventually, though, Alex grew to accept Kara, and the two of them were glued at the hip.

Kara has never been very independent. She has always hated being alone – and she thinks she is quite justified in that after her first encounter with the Phantom Zone. And now, she is alone once more. She is nothing more than an outsider looking in.

She cannot befriend the people she loves because they will be put in danger. She cannot make any new friends for the same reason. And so Kara exists somewhere in the middle, completely alone.

It’s for the best, she knows. Her family is safe because of her. At least, safer than they would be if they remembered. It was her choice, and she doesn’t regret it – not even a little bit.

Still, though – Kara is alone. She always will be.

Kara cannot fight Nyxly by herself, as much as she wishes otherwise. She has come to the grim acceptance of that. There is only so much she can do when Nyxly is capable of strangling the oxygen out of her with a snap of her fingers.

Kara needs help. Despite everything she has sacrificed, despite the careful distance she has kept between the others, Kara knows she needs their help.

If Kara wants to truly defeat Nyxly, she can no longer just stand around. Trying to reason with Nyxly evidently didn’t work. Words cannot get through to her. Her only choice is to fight back – but Kara can only fight magic with magic, and Mxy is long out of the picture.

The Phantom Zone projector has been collecting dust in the Fortress of Solitude ever since Lex used it on her. Kara… doesn’t want to use it. Even just thinking about it makes her hair stand on end. The idea of sending Nyxly back to that prison makes her feel sick with guilt, but it is rapidly becoming obvious that it may be the only option.

The projector can get rid of Nyxly once and for all. All Kara needs is a distraction.

But if Kara turns to her friends for help, Nyxly will notice. Nyxly isn’t stupid – she will probably put two and two together. She will realize that the people Kara goes to for help are the same people Kara is trying to protect, and there are so many things she could do to them in a matter of seconds that Kara won’t be able to prevent.

There’s no one else, though. She can’t turn to Barry or Sara or any of the others because they most likely don’t even know that Supergirl exists. Kara will either have to ask her friends for help, or she will have to risk the lives of innocent civilians and hope that they distract her well enough for Kara to get a clear shot off.

And so Kara gathers up her courage - all the little scraps of it she has left - and she goes to the Tower. She lands on the balcony with a thud, and there are immediately six sets of eyes falling on her.

“Supergirl,” Lena is the first to greet her, confused but with a pleasant smile on her face nonetheless, “what are you doing here?”

Kara swallows down her pride, swallows down the guilt, and she says, “I need your help.”

*

“I still don’t think this is a good idea,” Alex relays through the comms for the nth time. “I don’t understand why Supergirl can’t be the bait. This is her fight.”

If Kara was able to, she would gladly be both the bait and the attacker. As it is, she can only be one, and she doesn’t want any of her friends carrying the guilt of what she’s about to do to Nyxly. Truthfully, she doesn’t even want any of her friends to be near the projector at all.

“I want to do this,” Nia states, so full of courage and confidence that it makes Kara’s chest fill with pride. “She used me. It’s time I got my revenge.”

“I just need you to distract her,” Kara says. “I’ll — I’ll send her away, and then this will all be finished. Once Nyxly’s gone, you’ll never have to see me again, if that’s what you want. Just… please.”

Alex mutters under her breath, and if Kara truly wanted to hear it she could, but she offers Alex that privacy. She probably doesn’t want to hear what she’s saying anyways.

“Dreamer and I are in position,” J’onn reports. They’re standing in the same field Kara and Nyxly had that first confrontation. Some civilians stroll about, but they keep their distance from the two heroes, obviously suspecting something is occurring.

“Sentinel and I, too,” Kelly says. Her and Alex are in civilian clothes and sitting on a bench nearby, trying to blend in but ready to attack if needed.

“Lena and I are set up. We’re watching her ship and we have access to all the nearby cameras,” Brainy says.

Kara closes her eyes, and she lets out a small breath. “Okay,” she says. She holds the projector close to her chest with trembling hands, and she ducks out of sight. “I’m ready when you are.”

“Cool,” Nia grins. She cups her hands around her mouth, takes in a deep breath, and shouts, “Nyxly! Hey, I wanna talk to you!”

Kara listens carefully, focusing in on the sounds of the city around them. She hears a snap!, heart jumping into her throat despite knowing this was coming.

“Her heat signature is no longer in the ship,” Lena says, just as Nyxly flashes into sight.

“Dreamer,” Nyxly greets with false platitudes. “Can I help you? Who’s your little friend?”

“Why did you choose me?” Nia asks, not bothering to respond to any of Nyxly’s questions. “You came to me to let you out. Why?”

Nyxly arches an eyebrow. “This is what you called me here for? Some boring questions?” She rolls her eyes. “I needed a physical body, and you could give me one. You have a bleeding heart and you are too naive for your own good; you made an easy target.”

Nia glares. “I’m not naive.”

“Oh, you are, dear,” Nyxly laughs. “And apparently you think me the same.” She spins on her heel, “Supergirl! I know you’re here. Whatever you are trying, I’m not falling for it. I am not a fool.”

Kara grits her teeth. She knew that Nyxly would most likely figure it out – it’s not exactly a well-thought plan – but she had still hoped that maybe Nyxly would be too distracted to notice anything.

“Plan B,” Kara murmurs.

“Plan B?” Alex repeats. “What the fuck is Plan B?”

“Wing it,” Kara replies. She speeds in front of Nyxly in a flash, gripping the projector tightly in her hands. “Nyxly. We don’t have to do this.”

“You’re always saying that,” Nyxly rolls her eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you that I want to do this?” Then, her lips quirk up. “Are these the friends you’ve been trying so hard to protect, Kara? The friends you gave up your life for?”

“Just go home,” Kara pleads. “I know I hurt you, but you gave me no choice! Your desire for revenge, for power, it’s pointless. You don’t have to hurt the people of this planet just because I wronged you. I’m sorry that your family betrayed you, that I betrayed you, but that isn’t anyone here’s fault. It’s just mine.”

Nyxly glares, bares her teeth. “You will suffer the same way I have,” she barks out. “You are weak, Kara Zor-El. You are a coward. You are a child playing pretend who thinks you are so much better than you truly are.” She motions towards Nia and J’onn, towards the people walking through the park without sparing them any mind. “These people do not care for you. They don’t even know you, not anymore, yet you will defend them to your last breath. You should have worked with me when you had the chance. You didn’t, and now you and everyone else will pay the price.”

Nyxly snaps, and Kara cannot breathe once more. Nyxly throws herself at Kara, taking them both to the ground. The Phantom Zone projector drops to the grass as Nyxly rears up, hand forming a fist. Just as she swings it down, a blue light circles her wrist and keeps her in place.

“Forgetting someone?” Nia asks. With a tug, Nyxly falls off of Kara. She snaps her fingers once more and a tiger spawns, immediately pouncing on Nia and J’onn. Kara can breathe once more and she clambers to her feet, grabbing Nyxly’s wrist and twisting before she can get too far.

“You are such a nuisance!” Nyxly snarls. That familiar ice begins to crawl up Kara’s legs, keeping her locked in place as Nyxly stalks towards Nia and J’onn. Kara uses her heat vision, but with another snap of Nyxly’s fingers the world goes dark, a sudden chill creeping across Kara’s face and down her throat.

“Shit,” Alex mutters. There are a few gunshots and a lot of shouting, before the ice is pried away from her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Kelly asks as she unfurls her shield. She attempts to bash the ice around Kara’s legs, but it’s futile.

“Fine,” Kara grunts. “Thanks.”

In the distance, Nyxly narrowly avoids attacks from J’onn, Nia and Alex all at once. Her tiger circles them with hungry eyes, taking a swipe at one of them every now and then. With another snap of her fingers Nyxly summons a bo staff, and the ice around Kara’s legs slowly begins to chip into pieces.

The more magic she uses, the weaker her creations get.

Kara twists in the ice, kicks her legs out, and Kelly continues to chip at the ice with her shield. The realization is useful, but it won’t mean anything in the end if Nyxly manages to hurt her friends.

As soon as Kara gets one leg free, she kicks off the ground with all her strength and slams into Nyxly once more. They stumble but do not fall, and Nyxly is quick to swing at her with the staff. Kara catches it in her hand and pulls with all her might. It falls from Nyxly’s grasp and Kara snaps it in half, watching as blue magic seeps out of its cracks. Nyxly groans in frustration.

“Just leave,” Kara begs. “I don’t want to have to hurt you.”

“You cannot hurt me,” Nyxly says. “You are nothing. I am a god.” She pulls her orb out of her pocket and uses it as a blunt weapon, swinging it at Kara’s head.

“Hey!”

A bullet ricochets off of Nyxly’s jacket and she spins, burning eyes landing on Alex. With her back turned, Kara slams her fist into where one of Nyxly’s kidneys should be, desperately hoping that fifth-dimensional imps have those. It effectively winds Nyxly, and she turns back to Kara.

“Enough!” she shouts, and a shockwave sends everyone except Kara flying back. “I have had enough of you.”

Nyxly snaps her fingers, and her hands are suddenly covered in glowing green gloves. Kryptonite, Kara belatedly realizes, just before Nyxly delivers a blow to her cheekbone that turns her vision white. She falls to the ground and Nyxly climbs on top of her, delivering another blow. Kara feels blood begin to drop down her face, feels the bruises that form with each hit.

“I despise you,” Nyxly growls. Her hands climb down to Kara’s throat, squeezing her larynx tight. “I wish I could make you suffer more, but you’ve proven to be too much of a problem. It’s alright. Your death will be boring and forgettable, just like you. And when you are gone, you will have no one to mourn you.”

Black spots dance across Kara’s vision. She gasps for breath but cannot get any.

“Supergirl!” Alex’s familiar voice calls. Kara tries to turn her head but can’t. She looks at her sister from the corner of her eyes, hoping to catch one last glance at one of the people she loves, and she watches as Alex throws the Phantom Zone projector her way. It tumbles to the grass just beside Kara and weakly, desperately, she stretches her arm out. Her fingers wrap around its cool metal and she pulls it closer.

“I’m sorry, Nyxly,” Kara chokes out. The projector rumbles to life, and within seconds, Nyxly is gone, leaving behind nothing but her crystal ball.

Oxygen rushes into her lungs, and Kara drops the projector back to the ground. Each breath makes her throat ache. She remains on the ground, on her back, staring up at the sky. The sun shines brightly and Kara can already feel it working on her cuts and bruises.

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs. There was a look on Nyxly’s face, just milliseconds before she disappeared, and it was once of sheer horror. She knew where she was going. She knew where Kara was sending her.

Her stomach churns. She rolls onto her side and coughs up bile as guilt swarms and wriggles around her insides like maggots.

“Oh, Rao,” she murmurs, squeezing her eyes shut, “I’m sorry, Nyxly. I’m so sorry…”

The crystal ball on the ground shakes, and Kara’s heart jumps into her throat. Small, miniscule shakes rattle it, and Kara feels like the world is going to end as she hesitantly sits up. The crystal ball shatters, and suddenly Mxyptlkz is standing in front of her, stretching his arms above his head as he yawns.

“Wow! I haven’t slept that good in years,” he says. Kara stares up at him, eyes wide. He looks down at her and smiles. “Oh! Kara. Hi.”

Kara blinks. “What?”

“What?” Mxy returns, a confused grin on his face. “Do I have something on my face?”

“Kara!”

Kara is knocked flat on her back once more, the oxygen forced out of her lungs.

“I swear to god, I’m actually going to kill you,” Alex growls, and Kara wholeheartedly believes her as her sister continues to squeeze all of the air from her body. “What did you do? Fuck, Kara, what the hell did you do?”

“...You remember?”

“Ah! Yes,” Mxy nods his head. “It was part of your wish.”

Kara tries to look at him, but Alex continues to essentially lay on top of her. “What?”

“You said, and I quote,” Mxy clears his throat, snaps a piece of paper into existence and holds it out in front of his face, “‘I need you to make everyone forget about me: Kara Danvers, Kara Zor-El, Supergirl – all of them. At least until it’s safe.’” He makes a show of looking around the park. “It seems pretty safe to me.”

Kara’s breath catches. She looks down at Alex, who glares up at her. She looks over her shoulder to find the rest of her friends approaching, Brainy and Lena now a part of their group, and there’s a lump in her throat. “...It’s over?” She sits up. Looks at her friends once more, who stare back at her with surprise and sympathy. “You all remember?”

“Of course we do,” Nia says thickly. “Dumbass.”

Her eyes burn, and Kara chokes on a sob. She buries her face in Alex’s neck, hugs her sister as tight as she can without causing harm, and she cries.

“If you ever do something like that again,” Alex threateningly says, though the tears in her eyes make her a bit less intimidating, “I will actually kill you.”

Kara nods so intensely she grows dizzy. “Okay. That’s okay.”

Alex punches her shoulder hard. It doesn’t hurt, of course. “I’m so mad at you.”

“That’s okay,” Kara repeats.

“You’re so annoying. And frustrating.”

“I’m sorry.”

Alex wraps Kara up in another hug. It’s warm and firm – not desperate like their hug earlier was, but solid and comforting. “I love you, Kara. So much.”

Kara nods, relishes in the fact that she can hug her sister once more after months of being unable to. “I love you too.”

“Good,” Alex mumbles. When they pull away, Alex smiles – it’s small and weak, a little pained, but it’s real. “I have a question for you.”

“Anything.”

Alex waves Kelly over. Kelly, who was chatting with J’onn, Nia and Brainy, immediately comes to Alex’s side. She pulls Kara into a quick hug of her own, just as sisterly as the last, and smiles.

“We were wondering if you would be our maid of honour,” Alex says. Kara blinks. “That night at Noonan’s… God, Kara, thinking about it now makes me feel sick. I could never imagine myself getting married without you by my side.” She smiles again, watery and wavering but real. “You’re, like, my favourite person.”

Kara knows she’s crying again. She doesn’t wipe them away; this time, Alex’s hands gingerly brush them off her cheeks, and Kara leans into the comforting touch. “You’re my favourite person too,” she says. “Of course I’ll be your maid of honour.”

Alex nods, brushing away a few tears of her own. She pulls Kara in for one more hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Mind if I interrupt?” the familiar lilt of Lena’s voice sounds. “I’d like a moment to lecture the woman of the hour as well.”

“Oh, by all means,” Alex grins. She pats Kara on the shoulder, presses another kiss to her forehead, before she walks towards the rest of the group. Just a few steps away, Kara sees as Alex hesitates, as she glances back at Kara as if to make sure she’s still there. Kara offers a smile and a nod, and Alex allows Kelly to pull her away.

“Can we talk?” Lena asks, motioning towards the balcony. Kara smiles and nods, allowing Lena to lead her away.

“I think I’ve been reprimanded enough for a lifetime,” Kara says once they’re under the night sky.

“Oh, I know,” Lena says, a teasing grin on her face. “I don’t think your sister will ever stop bringing this up.”

Kara laughs, light and easy. It feels like a weight off her chest. “Definitely not.”

Lena’s smile softens, her eyes looking over Kara’s face. Her smile turns downwards, her eyes growing sad. She steps towards the railing, leans against it and still looks so incredibly elegant. “I can’t believe I forgot you.”

“It’s not your fault,” Kara shrugs.

“If you hadn’t made that small stipulation in your wish, we never would have remembered,” Lena says. Her brows furrow. “How could you be okay with that?”

In all honesty, she wasn’t. She wasn’t okay with any of it. But it was what needed to be done, so Kara accepted it. “I just wanted you to be okay.”

“Without you,” Lena hesitantly starts, “it felt like there was… a hole. Like something was missing. I’m sure the others felt it too. Even when all of us were together, it felt like there was a gap that we couldn’t fill.” She swallows. Her eyes shine. “It was you, of course. You’re the one who makes us whole. But all of me missed you, even when I didn’t know you were gone.”

Kara laughs at that. It’s a bit choked and a lot watery. “That’s poetic.”

“It’s true,” Lena says. She takes a step closer to Kara, and Kara doesn’t know how she was able to spend so much time apart from her. She is so incredibly beautiful. “I care about you, Kara. Quite a lot. Even when I barely knew who you were, I was still fascinated by you. It felt like fate that we continued to run into each other.”

“I was kind of stalking all of you,” Kara confesses, and Lena laughs. It’s loud and bright and it makes that deep sadness in her eyes disappear.

“Well, you weren’t the first,” Lena jokes, “and you were by far my favourite.”

Kara laughs again, breathless. “I love you, Lena.”

“I love you too,” Lena says, like it’s easy. “I must say, it takes quite some skill to make me form a crush on you twice.”

“Crush?” Kara repeats, because she thought that’s what they were implying but she wasn’t entirely sure. Then: “Twice?”

“Well, I suppose it was four times,” Lena says. “Kara Danvers, and then Supergirl. Then Kara again, and then Supergirl.”

“Oh,” Kara breathes out. “Wow.”

Lena giggles, and it’s so cute and endearing that Kara feels herself swoon. “Can I kiss you, Kara?”

“Such a gentleman,” Kara teases, her heart pounding in her throat. “Yes. Please.”

It’s short and it’s sweet, and Kara has to bend down a little. Their noses bump together and their teeth clack when Kara laughs, and it’s wonderful. It’s everything Kara has imagined it would be.

“I’m so glad you remember me,” Kara whispers, and Lena smiles.

“Even if we didn’t, I know you would win us all over again. It’s just part of who you are.”