Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kara inhaled the fresh morning air as she glided over National City. It was only 8:00am, yet she had already put out one house fire and rescued a cat from a tree. It was a nice, easy start to the day and Kara even had time to pick up some donuts before returning home.

She landed softly on her apartment balcony, then carefully opened the door. She didn’t want to wake her still sleeping girlfriend who had stayed the night. Kara allowed her super-hearing to pick up on Lena’s steady heartbeat and shallow breaths; the rhythms were so calming that they almost lulled Kara back to sleep. She made her way over to the bedroom and smiled down at the slumbering brunette with tangled hair strewn about the pillows.

“Hey love, time to wake up,” Kara gently spoke, stroking loose strands of hair off Lena’s face.

Lena opened one eye to look up at Kara, and grumbled before shoving her face back into her pillow.

“Oh come on, Lena,” Kara cooed. “I brought donuts!”

After another groan, Lena rolled over and sat up, “Fine. But only because you’re so cute when you eat those things.” Kara giggled, placed a quick kiss on Lena’s cheek, and climbed into bed with her. “Hmmm, I think you’ve done enough superheroing for one day. Wanna call in sick?” Lena asked, cuddling up to Supergirl, tracing her fingers along the ‘S’ crest.

“But everyone knows I don’t get sick.”

“It was worth a shot, darling.” Lena winked.

“Well...we still have an hour before work,” Kara prompted as she wrapped an arm around Lena’s waist, pulling her closer.

Lena raised an eyebrow and replied, in that low voice capable of making Kara’s knees go weak, “I like the way you think, Supergirl.”

Yet, just as their lips were about to meet, an unfamiliar ringing noise echoed through the apartment.

Kara jerked back. “What is that?”

“I don’t know, but it sounds like it’s coming from your spare supersuit drawer.”

“OH! Wait, no way!” Kara leapt out of bed in excitement. “Remember when I told you about the Flash and the multiverse? Well, Barry’s friend Cisco gave me my own device thingy that lets me cross universes and communicate with him! Something must be wrong on Earth 1; he hasn’t called until now.”

Kara pressed the glowing blue button on the device and a recording of Barry’s voice played from the tiny speaker. “Hi Supergirl, hope everything’s good on Earth 38. We might have a minor alien problem down on Earth 1, so if you’re not busy right now, we’d love the extra help. Hope to see you soon, thanks!”

Kara shrugged. “Doesn’t sound too serious, I should be back by dinner--”

“Wait, let me come with this time! You don’t know what you’re about to face, so maybe my brain can come in handy? Even if I can’t help, I’m incredibly intrigued by the multiverse and would love to learn more about it. Please?”

Kara was surprised with Lena’s request; she loved spending time with her girlfriend but they usually keep these parts of their lives separate. Although Lena’s last name didn’t mean anything to Kara, the judgement Lena faced from the rest of the world discouraged them from ever publicly working together. Yet, if they were on a different Earth, a Luthor and a Super could work together without any prejudice involved.

“You’d really want to come with me?”

Lena looked at her earnestly. “I really, really do. But only if it’s alright with you, of course.”

Kara’s face lit up, as she gushed, “I would absolutely love for you to come.” Then Kara bit her lip and lowered her voice to a sultry tone, “But only on one condition…”

Lena grinned seductively, humming, “Yes?”

A goofy grin spread across Kara’s face as she replied, “You have to promise to try Earth 1 potstickers with me!”

“Anything for my hero,” Lena happily agreed, rolling her eyes and laughing at her ridiculous Kryptonian. “We should probably tell your boss what we’ll be up to today.”

“J’onn won’t mind.”

“No, darling, I meant your overprotective sister.”

“Right. Alex.” Kara chuckled. “I’ll just fly down to the DEO to check out with everyone. Now hurry up and get ready if you wanna come!”

“Alright, alright. We all weren’t gifted with super-speed, you know.”

…

“Thank you for actually informing us, instead of just jumping dimensions without a word, like last time.”

“Uh, technically it’s just another universe, not dimension,” Winn stated, correcting Alex.

“You’re all such nerds,” Maggie joked. “Have fun on your first ‘gay-cation.’”

“It’s not a couples vacation, I’m going as Supergirl and Lena is coming for science!”

Maggie snorted, “Whatever you say.”

“Just be safe, Kara,” Alex said, hugging her blushing sister.

Then Kara hugged James and Winn goodbye, addressing them, “Guardian can handle everything while I’m gone, right?”

James smiled down at Kara and replied, “No one protects this city as well as Supergirl does, but Guardian will do whatever he can to help.”

“And so will the DEO,” J’onn added, as Kara moved to hug her space dad. “Go, Supergirl. Go help your friend.”

...

“Ready, Lena?” Kara asked, as she entered through the balcony for the second time that morning.

“I’m all set! I’m so excited, Kara,” Lena answered giddily. She was casually dressed in black jeans and a simple green blouse that brought out the color of her shining eyes. Compared to Lena’s outfit, Kara felt somewhat overdressed in her super suit.

“Okay, Cisco didn’t really teach me how to work this thing, but I should be able to figure it out. It can’t possibly be more complicated than the alien tech I know from Krypton, right?” Lena just shook her head and chuckled in response, so Kara activated the portal with Cisco’s device. A swirling hole of brilliant blues and blacks materialized in the middle of Kara’s apartment and she explained, “I have to fly us through the portal and make sure I pick the right universe to land in, but expect the flight to be a little turbulent and hold tight. Sound alright, love?”

Lena gave a nervous nod, so Kara swept her off her feet, firmly holding Lena bridal style and entered the swirling portal. Once inside, Kara immediately spotted Earth 1’s entrance and made a beeline towards it…

Yet, Kara couldn’t explain what happened next as she moved through the portal. Maybe it was a random gust of portal wind. Maybe she just misaimed. Or maybe, Kara’s instincts took control and fate allowed Barry’s world to fly right past her. Then before she had the chance to think or try to turn backwards, Kara crashed straight through an unrecognizable world’s portal hole.

Kara and Lena were tossed into a random clearing in a world that Kara did not recognize or expect to see. She hastily set Lena down and looked at Cisco’s device. The bright blue button started to smoke and different numbers kept erratically flashing across the surface. Kara gawked at the malfunctioning gadget as the numbers settled on ‘307’ for about five seconds, before it proceeded to explode.

“Kara… Are you sure we’re in the right place?”

Kara crinkled her brow, sharing Lena’s confusion, because no, this universe didn’t seem right at all. The sky was less blue, the air felt strange, almost heavy, and there was a slightly revolting scent of sulfur and decay in the atmosphere. And now, with the multiverse device destroyed, the couple was trapped here… Wherever they were.

“Hold on, I’m going to scan the area and see what’s going on,” Kara declared before jumping up, in an attempt to fly, only to immediately fall flat on her face. She grunted and turned to look up at her girlfriend. When Kara’s shocked eyes met Lena’s, they both realized what was wrong: radiation.

Kara shot up from the ground, starting to understand what that meant for Lena’s squishy, fragile human body. Panicked, she grabbed hold of her girlfriend’s hands and whimpered, “Oh Rao, Lena.”

“Kara, I’m alright. I think.”

“There’s so much radiation, how are you not dead? I mean, I’m glad obviously, but it’s a little concerning, and this whole situation is a little concerning and––”

Lena cut off her skittish ramblings, “Kara. Relax. Please. You do know I’m a Bio-chem engineer, right? I work with strange, unpredictable substances on a daily basis in my lab. A couple years ago, I developed and injected myself with a serum that would protect me against prolonged exposure to lethal chemicals and radiation.”

Kara sighed in relief. “Have I ever mentioned how much I appreciate having a crazy genius as a girlfriend?”

“No, but you can tell me all about it when we get home.” Then Lena’s face dropped. “Which we should do as soon as possible. The serum is working for now… But honestly, this radiation must be incredibly intense, since it stripped you of your powers. There’s no telling how long it can protect me here.”

“So it’s a race against time? Oh Rao, I-I should’ve never brought you here. It’s all my fault.” Kara’s heart sank down to her gut. “You’re g-going to die and it’s all my fault,” Kara trembled as tears began streaming down her flushed face.

Lena cupped Kara’s cheeks, hushing her, trying to calm her frightened girlfriend, “Kara, no, I didn’t mean to scare you. We’ll figure this out. Let’s try and find some help, okay?” Lena pulled Kara into a firm embrace, letting Kara bury her face in the crook of Lena’s neck. “There, Kara, look; there’s a city. We’ll just walk to that tower, see who’s in charge, and explain the situation.”

Kara sniffled and took Lena’s hand in her own and managed to croak, “Okay.” And as they began walking towards the tower, Kara later mumbled, “Is it just me, or does the tower look like a giant candle?”

…

When they entered what appeared to be the city square, Kara realized just how out of place they seemed. Everyone around them was clad in fur, leather, ragged clothing, or a mixture of those three materials. Another thing Kara took careful note of, was how almost everyone carried a sword or a dagger, even some of the children running around carried a weapon. This universe seriously reminded her of a post-apocalyptic movie that Alex once made her watch during a Danvers sisters’ night.

As Kara and Lena made their way closer towards the candle-shaped tower, they noticed a bald man, wearing what appeared to be monk robes, standing at the entrance. A small group of particularly gruff looking men holding spears began to close in on them, looking at the Kryptonian and Luthor in pure disgust.

“Uh, hi? My name is Supergirl and this is Lena and, well, we were wondering if someone could take us to your leader? We’re sorta lost and--”

Kara’s rambling was cut off when bald-monk-man began yelling commands in a language Kara couldn’t recognize; it didn’t sound alien (and Kara knew many alien languages), yet didn’t resemble any human language from her Earth, either. More people joined in the yelling, and the only words that Kara could pick out, due to the amount of times repeated, were “Heda” and “Skaikru.” Lena looked to Kara in speechless disorientation, then turned to speechless terror, as four of the gruff men made their way towards the lost and powerless couple.

Kara frantically spoke up once again, “Do you speak English? We just want to speak to the person in charge. We mean no harm, honestly, we're just lost.”

Unfortunately, Kara’s words had no effect. Without her powers, she could do nothing to stop the men from converging on Lena and herself. And Kara couldn’t protest when the men bound Lena’s and her own hands behind their backs, and gagged their mouths.

Bald-monk-man approached Kara and said, “Yes. We speak English, but you already knew that didn’t you, Skaikru spies? Now you may see the Commander, and she will decide what to do with you two.”

Kara and Lena were swiftly pushed into the tower and up Rao knows how many flights of stairs, until they were halted outside a large, closed double door. As bald-monk-man took in a deep breath and flung open the door, Kara noticed a bump on one side of his robe. She’d been around enough DEO agents to recognize its shape: a handgun. Kara briefly wondered why he didn’t have a sword or spear like the other guards, but that train of thought was cut short by the sound of bald-monk-man yelling again.

As he barged into the room, he announced “Heda!” but abruptly paused, as if taken aback, adding with a low grumble, “And...Wanheda…”

Kara and Lena’s facial expressions mimicked each other, eyes wide and jaw dropped, as the scene through the doorway was revealed to them. There’s nothing in the large, grandiose room but hundreds of lit candles and a giant bed that two women were in, under the sheets. The blonde woman was on top of the brunette, and Kara didn’t need her X-ray vision to know that they were both definitely naked.

The brunette snapped upward, holding the covers over her chest, and yelled, so sternly that the room and all four guards shuddered, “What is the meaning of this?”

Bald-monk-man cleared his throat and replied, “I am sorry, but this could not wait.”

“It can wait for us to get dressed, Titus,” she responded angrily. “Leave us, and return in five minutes.”

“My apologies, Heda,” bald-monk-man (apparently named Titus) said as he bowed out of the room and walked back towards Kara, Lena, and the guards, closing the door behind him.

After a couple minutes of awkward silence, during which Kara and Lena shared multiple concerned glances with one another, Titus finally opened the great doors once again, announcing to the two women in the room, “Skaikru has sent spies, but we captured them and have brought them to you.”

Kara could hear the irritation in the blonde woman’s voice as she spoke. “Spies? Dammit Bellamy! What did Pike convince you to do this time?”

Immediately, the guards roughly dragged Kara and Lena before the two women, shoved them to their knees, and, thankfully, removed their gags. Now Kara was finally able to get a good look at the powerful women standing before her.

The blonde woman was dressed somewhat familiar. Kara could recognize most aspects of her clothing; she was wearing black pants, a low-cut brown shirt, and only some leather straps and braces. The brunette, the one called ‘Heda,’ on the other hand… Kara didn’t even know where to start… This woman, in the short span of five minutes, had managed to put on the most dramatic outfit Kara had ever seen. This woman, clad only in jet black, was wearing leather pants under a… a dress, or tunic, or coat? Kara quite honestly wasn’t sure what to call this particular outfit. All she knew was that this ‘Heda’ in front of her was covered in leather armor, straps, and harnesses; wore some sort of theatrical cape; and had striking war-paint across her eyes, matched with a copper headpiece placed above the bridge of her nose. Kara was in utter awe, and a side glance towards Lena informed her that Lena was equally astonished.

Perplexed, the blonde woman looked down at Kara and Lena claiming, “Those aren’t my people. They aren’t Skaikru.”

Then, without hesitation, Heda whipped out an extremely sharp sword. Holding the weapon only centimeters from Kara’s nose, she glared intently into Kara’s eyes and fiercely commanded, “I demand to know where you came from. Who are you?”

Chapter Text

Kara gulped as the unwavering blade inched closer to her nose. Looking into Heda’s eyes, she began a shaky explanation. “Umm. Well, you see, we have this device and it malfunctioned and it broke and we were sent here--Like you’re in a different universe, umm Earth 307 I think it read? Erm, so--”

“Kara, darling, let me help explain,” Lena calmly interrupted. At the word ‘darling,’ Kara could swear she saw Heda’s eyes soften for a moment. As the intense woman shifted focus, Lena softly exhaled. “My name is Lena, and she’s Kara. I think it’s clear that we aren’t from your world. We were trying to travel to a different universe to help some friends, but on the way there, something went wrong. We ended up stranded a mile, or so, away from your city. We saw your tower and came here looking for help. We just want to return home.”

Both women standing in front of Kara and Lena looked at each other in deep confusion. So, Kara attempted to speak up again. “Look, I know this sounds super crazy, and it would totally make sense for you not to believe us. But I really need you to trust us, because your world is killing my girlfriend.”

Heda slowly lowered her sword. “What do you mean? She looks fine.”

“Right now she does, only because she did some sciency thing to herself before we landed here. But we don’t know how long it will last against this much radiation.” Kara eyes began to water as she pleaded, “Please…”

The blonde woman leaned in closer to Heda and tentatively spoke, “Lexa, I think they’re telling the truth. It sounds insane, but maybe--”

“No! This must be a trap, Heda,” Titus rigidly began. “I warned you not to trust Skaikru and Clarke, but you--”

Heda, or Lexa, whatever her name was, theatrically raised her left hand, her slender fingers extending to demand silence and Titus fell mute. “Enough,” she spoke coolly.

“Heda, I beg you. Listen to me.”

“Titus, take the guards and leave us,” she directed, with increasing frustration. Titus bowed his head once again, and exited the room, guards following him. Once the doors closed behind the five men, Lexa turned back to Kara. “I will need some proof.”

“Proof?” Kara asked, confused. What could they use for proof of their identities and universe? Lena and Kara had both left their ID’s and passports back home.

“Yes. The so called device. Where is it now?”

Oh, right. The device. Great. “Well, it sort of, umm, exploded so--”

“How convenient.”

“Not quite the word I’d use,” Kara heard Lena mumble under her breath. Lexa shot Lena a dark look; clearly, sassing this woman was not a good idea.

“Lexa,” the blonde started, attempting to reign in the dramatic brunette by lightly grabbing onto her arm. There was a tenderness to the movement that Kara recognized well; it was the same tenderness that Kara and Lena used with each other. The unmistakable affection helped Kara realize that the two women were undoubtably a couple.

“Clarke. We must be skeptical. We don’t know who they are or what they can do.”

Kara thought the way they seemed so comfortable challenging each other was cute and used it as an opportunity to check in with her own girlfriend. “How are you feeling? You’ve been kind of quiet.”

“Well, darling, I was gagged for a little while,” Lena quipped. When Kara didn’t laugh, she continued, “Honestly, I still feel fine, don’t worry. And if I’m quiet right now, it’s because you’re the hero, Kara. I trust you, and I just want to follow your lead.”

Kara’s heart swelled and sank at the same time. The fact that Lena placed all her confidence and faith in Kara, meant the world to her. Yet, safety-wise they weren’t doing so hot at the moment and Kara didn’t want to waste any more time. When she overheard Lexa say something about Kara’s suit having hidden abilities, she lightheartedly interjected, “Well, if it helps, can I just say that my suit doesn’t do anything? On my world I had superpowers, like flying and heat vision, but here I've got nothing. You’re wearing a cape, too, can you fly?”

Lexa squinted her eyes and Clarke’s face looked half perplexed and half befuddled. So, Lena nudged Kara saying, “Kara, I don’t think they have superheroes on this Earth.”

Shocked, Kara responded, “No superheroes? Who protects everyone then?”

All of a sudden, the doors to Lexa’s room flung open again, and two angry, blood-covered men charged into the room, swords ablaze. They both screamed a phrase, in the same language Kara couldn’t understand, and lunged at Lexa. Sword already in hand, she killed the shorter man almost instantly, with one smooth jab to the gut. The larger man was almost twice Lexa’s size and wielded a much larger sword, so Kara couldn’t fathom why Clarke didn’t try to jump in and help. In fact, the blonde had just backed away from the fight and was watching with her arms crossed and a smirk of admiration strewn across her face.

Shifting her focus back to Lexa, Kara was simply amazed at the small woman’s skill with her blade. Lexa was calculating, agile, and smart; Lexa was the most adept warrior Kara had ever seen, and she’d seen the way Alex wielded a kryptonite sword. After easily blocking and dodging several attacks, Lexa slid through the larger man’s legs, cutting him down. As he fell forward in pain, Lexa nimbly pivoted on her heel and drove her sword into his skull. Lexa attempted a casual shrug at Clarke before using her swishy coat to wipe down her sword, but Kara could see how Lexa’s eyes gleamed in delight from being able to show off in front of her girlfriend.

“That was unbelievable!” Kara declared, after she finally found the words. Evidently, this Earth didn’t need superheroes for protection; Earth 307 civilians had Lexa to fight for them.

“You should have seen her a few days ago during a fight to the death,” Clarke said, winking at Kara.

Lena cleared her throat. “While it was fabulously entertaining to watch you completely gut your assailants from this position, I was wondering if perhaps you could untie Kara and myself now?”

In response, the two women nodded in agreement with each other and began untying Kara and Lena’s bindings. As Clarke nearly finished with Kara’s wrists, Kara asked her, “So what where those two men yelling? I don’t recognize your native language.”

It was Lexa who answered first, “Wamplei gon Heda. It means ‘Death to the Commander.’” Okay, so ‘Heda’ meant ‘Commander,’ at least that made sense to Kara now. “And the language we usually speak here is called Trigedasleng.”

“Why would anyone want to kill you?”

“Some of my subjects disagree with my attempt at peace with Skaikru,” Lexa replied flatly.

“Skaikru are my people,” Clarke offered as an explanation. “It translates to ‘Sky People’ because we landed here on Earth after spending 97 years in a space station. Lexa’s people, the Grounders, never left Earth and Trigedasleng is really their language.”

“Well back in my universe, I actually came from space too,” Kara said, trying to relate to Clarke. “I’m from another planet that was called Krypton. So I guess that sort of makes me a Skaikru too, right?”

Clarke looked slightly astonished, then slowly dipped her head in acceptance of the information received. “So you’re an alien in your universe? I think I know what that feels like… And I guess that explains the flying and anything else you can do.” Then, shaking her head, she added, “But trust me, you don’t want to be a part of Skaikru. They’re all acting like morons now.”

The was a heavy undertone in Clarke’s last words. Clearly Kara and Lena had crash-landed in a world in the midst of a very complicated war. Seeking to alleviate some of the tension in the room, Kara forced a small smile and joked, “So, I guess you could say that we both fell for our girlfriends?”

The most uncomfortable awkward silence ensued. Lena raised her eyebrow, Lexa just looked plain confused, and if Clarke didn’t look judgmental before, she sure as Rao did now.

Lexa turned to Lena. “Is this how one flirts on your Earth?”

Lena rolled her eyes. “It most certainly is not.”

Kara felt the heat rising to her cheeks as another embarrassing silence was gratefully cut short when Clarke spoke up, “Okay, can we please just get back to the plan?”

“The plan?” Lena asked.

“Yes, you need to leave, right? I think I should take you both back to Arkadia with me. My friend Raven is a genius with mechanics and engineering; she’s your best shot at getting home.”

Lexa swallowed hard. “I will escort you.”

“No, Lexa,” Clarke started, gesturing towards the two dead men the Commander had previously killed. “Your own people are turning on you, it’s too dangerous for you to come with us.”

“It’s too dangerous for me not to come with you, Clarke. Trikru would more readily see your blood spilled than mine.”

“Fine. Then we wait till dusk and slip away.”

…

For the past hour or so, Kara and Lena had been standing on the balcony, talking while overlooking the city, while Clarke and Lexa had been sitting on the bed, conversing while holding hands. Lena wrapped her arms around Kara as they watched the sun begin to set.

Lena mused, “I find it intriguing...”

“What?”

“I find it intriguing how they are both from such separate cultures, cultures at war, and yet they still managed to find each other and fall in love.”

Kara smiled and looked back at her girlfriend. “You know, their story sounds a little familiar.”

Lena returned the smile and hummed, “Does it?”

“A girl who fell from the sky, falling for a green-eyed Grounder, while their surrounding loved ones tried to kill one another…Sounds like us. A Super and a Luthor...” Maybe their universes were more similar than Kara had previously thought.

Lena nodded slowly. After a few more minutes of watching the sunset and holding each other, she said, “Let’s try and talk to them. They seem nice and I’m still curious about their culture.” She led them towards the bed. “Kara may be the superhero, but I’m kind of a leader where I come from, too.”

“And do you have to deal with arrogant subordinates as well?” Lexa inquired. Kara wondered if Lexa only liked talking about serious issues.

Lena chuckled, “Ohhh yes, all the time during business meetings. Those entitled old rich men just see me as an incompetent, pretty face.”

Lexa snorted and gestured towards the balcony. “The last time a man questioned my competence as a leader, I kicked him off my tower.”

Lena’s eyes widened. “Wait, what?”

“You have your own tower too, yes?”

“Well, I guess, but--”

“You should try that next time.”

“No Lexa, Kara would be pissed. And, that’s illegal, so I can’t do that.”

Kara couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. She looked to Clarke and asked, “Does she really do that? It’s not okay to just kick people out of candle-shaped towers and watch them fall to their death.”

Clarke casually shrugged. “Eh, it’s kind of hot…”

“I swear to Rao, if I get my powers back and Lexa ever does that again, I’m gonna save the guy,” Kara grumbled under her breath.

Clarke gave her a humorously condescending look. “Just because you can fly, doesn’t mean you should save annoying men.”

Kara was not amused. “It’s what heroes do! If I didn’t at least try to save everyone, I wouldn’t deserve the gratitude of National City.”

Now Clarke looked genuinely annoyed. “Wait, your people actually thank you for saving their lives? That’s something I could get used to…”

Kara was about to respond, but suddenly something happened that reminded her of the severity of their situation. Maybe if she still had her super hearing, Kara would’ve heard the faltering heartbeat. Maybe if she still had her super speed, Kara could’ve caught her. Maybe if she still had her flight and strength, Kara could’ve flown everyone straight to Arkadia.

But Kara didn’t have her powers.

And Lena’s body hit the ground with a quiet thud, as she fainted.

Chapter Text

Kara felt the blood drain from her face. For a moment, shock and panic paralyzed her. Then, despair allowed her to fall to her knees beside Lena. Kara’s hands hovered over Lena’s body, unsure what to do.

Clarke was suddenly beside her, taking Kara’s hands in her own. “Hey, hey. Kara, right? It’s going to be fine. I have a good amount of medical experience, so can I take a look at her?”

Kara sucked in a shaky breath, but couldn’t form any words on the exhale. So she just closed her eyes and nodded.

Clarke began feeling around Lena’s neck and under her nose. Then she spoke again, even more calmly than before, “She has a pulse and she’s breathing. That’s good. Now, I’m going to check her other vitals and examine her for any visible radiation poisoning.” Clarke’s eyes soften compassionately as she added, “You can hold her hand if you want.”

Kara cautiously took Lena’s closest hand in both of hers, but looked away. Kara had lost her parents and her world. She had watched her Aunt Astra die in her arms. Kara could not bear to watch Lena die. Not her, not Lena. So she searched the room for something else to focus on, something that could lend her strength; and Kara’s eyes fell on Lexa.

She was standing with her chin tilted up, watching Clarke attend to Lena. Kara saw Lexa swallow uneasily as she held her sword firmly, knuckles clenched white. Why would Lexa care if Lena died? What did it matter to her? But then Kara looked up into Lexa’s eyes. They were almost the same shade of green as Lena’s, which would have been comforting, if not for the fact that Kara saw something in them. While the warrior attempted to look stoic and unfeeling, she could see, what could only be described as painful nostalgia; and Kara was a pretty good judge of character. Kara wondered if Lexa had lost someone she loved before Clarke came into her life. The universe, no matter which one you’re in, often has a cruel way of ripping away the people we love. Yes, there was undeniably something tragic hidden deep in Lexa’s guarded eyes.

Kara snapped back to the present when Clarke announced, “Her heart rate is slow and her breathing is shallow, but everything else looks fine for now. I think she’s unconscious because of how hard her body is working to fight the radiation. I don’t know what chemicals or medicine she used earlier, but we need to leave now in case it stops working.”

Kara finally allowed herself to look down at Lena’s pale face. Despite the supposed war going on within her body, she looked incredibly peaceful. Kara inhaled deeply and gingerly stroked Lena’s cheek, in a failed attempt to calm herself. Her shaking intensified and hot tears began streaming down Kara’s face. She moved to pick Lena up, but Clarke reached out to stop her.

“Why don’t you let Lexa carry her, okay? She’s small, but she’s really strong. I’d trust her with my own life,” Clarke said, holding onto Kara’s shoulders, trying to steady her.

Without waiting for Kara’s response, Lexa sheathed her sword and swiftly made her way towards Lena. Lexa delicately picked her up, placing Lena over her shoulder, fireman style.

“Be careful,” Kara managed to choke out. She didn’t know what hurt more: the fact that Lena was in danger or how she didn’t have the emotional or physical human strength to help this time.

Lexa gave Kara a solid nod. “Let’s move.”

…

Clarke was right, Lexa was astonishingly strong; and as someone who usually had superhuman strength, Kara knew true strength when she saw it. The three women, plus an unconscious Lena, were in a forest about half a mile away from Polis, and Lexa never needed a break. When her shoulder tired, all Lexa did was switch to carrying Lena bridal style. In fact, Lexa was at the head of the triangle formation they were all walking in. Kara was flanking her right, while Clarke was on Lexa’s left. 

The walk was silent, with all three women alert and ready. Luckily, the sunset had coincided with Lena’s fainting, so slipping out of Polis was much easier than expected. The trio had only run into one group of four hostile individuals: Clarke killed one man with a sword borrowed from Lexa; Lexa killed two men, impressively with Lena still over her shoulder, with a dagger thrown to the first man’s throat and a sword gash to the second man’s stomach; and Kara knocked a woman out. Although she was on a different Earth and Lexa had tossed Kara a dagger, she still did not want to kill anyone. Yet, clearly Clarke and Lexa did not share Kara’s merciful qualities. However, she was not surprised, given the amount of hidden daggers Lexa seemed to have strapped all over her body. For Kara, it was hard to see these two women, obviously heroes of Earth 307, actually kill their foes, but she had to remember that no one in this universe was impenetrable or safe. Here it seemed like they had no other choice; this universe was about survival.  

Kara thanked Rao for the darkness around them. Not only did it aid their escape, but it gave Kara a chance to pull herself together. She permitted a few more tears to stream down her face, then steeled herself; she needed to focus on the mission.

Get to Clarke’s Arkadia place.

Hope they don’t kill us/lock us up?

Find Raven.

Figure out a way ho--

“Heda! You must return to Polis,” a familiar voice yelled from behind the women. Kara spun around to see… What was his name again? Titsy? Titty-us?

Whatever his name was, bald-monk-man had managed to track them down. Kara uneasily looked to her far 3:00 to see Clarke, looking just as troubled. Then Kara’s eyes shifted to her 6:00 to see an angry Lexa, still holding Lena with both arms.

“How dare you follow and pursue me outside of Polis. How dare you defy me, Titus!”

“I warned you,” Titus sighed, pulling out the gun that Kara had previously spotted in his robe. “I warned you that your feelings for Clarke put both of you in danger.” Kara’s eyes widened in shock as Titus aimed the gun at Clarke. “Heda, I am doing this for you. Love is weakness.”

Forgetting that she is not bulletproof in this universe, Kara took a step forward to intervene. “Okay, hold on a second can--”

Kara froze when Titus switched his aim to Kara. With the barrel of a gun directed at her, she remembered her mortality. And if Kara was killed, who would protect Lena? Kara didn’t know what to do and her eyes automatically darted to Lena’s limp, unconscious body in Lexa’s arms.

Kara saw how Lexa’s eyes were calculating the situation. Maybe if she wasn’t holding Lena, she could have thrown a well-aimed dagger into Titus. Lexa was the only woman skilled enough to pull off such a quick attack. For a moment, it looked as though she considered dropping Lena to attempt something, but mentally ruled out the idea.

The click of the safety being switched off echoed in the silent forest, and Kara turned her attention back to Titus, who now aimed his gun in Lexa’s/Lena’s direction. He flatly stated, “This needs to end and blood must have blood. I will start with the unconscious girl.”

Kara was prepared to jump in front of Lena and take that bullet, but first she looked to Clarke. Maybe she had an idea?

But Clarke didn’t say anything; Clarke just looked at Lexa. She was harder to read for Kara. Clarke looked determined, but there was a good amount of fear under her tough exterior. She looked brave, but scared--probably worried that Titus would miss and hit Lexa instead of Lena.

Then Kara’s heart broke a little when she saw Lexa look back at Clarke and simply whisper, “Don’t be afraid.”

Suddenly, Kara was blinded by a flash of bright blue as a blast went off. Eyes tightly shut, she screamed “LENA” while Clarke screamed “LEXA.” After a few blinks, Kara’s eyes readjusted and she saw Lexa was still standing, holding Lena, and neither of them were hurt. Then Kara followed Lexa’s confused gaze to see Titus sprawled on the ground. He laid unmoving and a billow of smoke emanated from a hole in his chest.

Clarke cautiously walked over to his body to feel his pulse. “He’s definitely dead.”

Then Kara heard a familiar voice coming from the trees behind Lexa. “Can I just say, that I still really love my new gun?”

“Alex!” Kara exclaimed, as two figures emerged from the trees. Alex and Maggie were clad in full black body suits with the DEO logo on their chests. Both women were wearing protective helmets with oxygen backpacks and it looked like Maggie was carrying a spare suit.

“When are you gonna get me a sick gun like that, Danvers?” Maggie prodded, as she affectionately bumped Alex’s shoulder. “Hey Kara, looks like we got here just in time.”

Kara beamed and ran to hug her sister and Maggie. “Rao am I glad to see you! I have a million questions, but first, we need to help Lena.” She turned back around to a very bewildered looking Lexa, with her jaw hanging open. “Oh, right, umm, Clarke and Lexa, this is my older sister Alex and her girlfriend Maggie!”

Clarke cleared her throat and offered, “Nice to meet you,” then gestured towards Titus’ still-smoking form. “Thanks for...that.”

“No problem.” Alex shrugged as she, Kara, and Maggie made their way over to the dumbstruck Commander holding Lena. Maggie and Lexa held Lena upright, while the Danvers sisters pulled the body suit onto Lena. “Alright, Kara, when we put the helmet on, it should not only release Oxygen, but Calcium and Magnesium ions as well, to counteract any nuclear radiation. When we get back to the DEO we can help more thoroughly, but the suit should keep her stable.”

Kara placed a quick kiss on Lena’s lips, and then attached the helmet to the suit. Kara chuckled to herself, knowing that if Lena had been awake, her geeky girlfriend would have said that she felt like Darth Vader at the end of Episode III.

Kara lovingly held Lena against herself as she asked Alex, “How did you know to come find us?”

“Well,” Alex started, “When you didn’t show up to Earth 1, Barry got nervous and popped by the DEO to make sure everything was fine on our Earth. We were surprised to see him--actually it scared me, because I thought something had happened to you--which I guess something did, but not the thing I thought--” 

Maggie jumped in, cutting off Alex’s tangent. “Basically, your fast friend told us that you didn’t make it to his universe, so we all worked together to figure out where you two ended up. Once we realized you were on Earth 307, Winn did some research, learned about the radiation, and helped us plan accordingly.”

Alex explained further, “Cisco realized that your multiverse device must have broken after being used in a world with this much radiation, so that explains why you were trapped. To prevent that from happening to Maggie and me, Barry brought us here himself and we brought over a spare, unused multiverse device. We’ve been here for about half an hour.”

“Wow, you found us so quickly!”

“Kara, It’s my job. I’m a DEO agent.”

“And I’m a detective, I detect,” Maggie chimed, with a wink. “We just need to charge up the device somehow, and then we can use it. But we’ve only got one shot at it.”

“OH! Speaking of charges, how could I forget?” Alex pulled out a small device. “I brought yellow sun grenades. Feel like flying again?”

“YES,” Kara squealed as she gently handed Lena to Maggie and stepped away from the small crowd of women.

Alex threw the golden capsule at Kara and it exploded on impact. Brilliant oranges, yellows, and golds swirled around her as a pleasant heat flowed through Kara’s skin. She could feel herself strengthening back to steel as she absorbed the last of the yellow sun vapor. Finally. Kara leapt into the air, this time able to shoot towards the sky.

She hovered above the trees for a minute, scanning the area, and then flew back down to her family and friends. “Thanks again for the recharge,” she said to Alex, then continued to the rest of the group. “There’s a small group of your Grounder people a little West from here, but everywhere else looks clear.”

Finally Lexa spoke up, “So you really can fly.”

“Of course she can, she’s Supergirl,” Maggie said with a short laugh. “Love the make up by the way.”

“Make up? That’s warpaint of the Commander,” Clarke interjected defensively.

Maggie held up her arm. “Whoa, hey sorry, didn’t mean to offend. Some gals dig the whole raccoon look back on our Earth.”

“You think I look like a raccoon?” Lexa questioned, frustrated.

Clarke rolled her eyes. “No Lexa, you don’t look like a raccoon, you look like a fierce warrior, okay? Let’s all just continue on to Arkadia.” Turning to Kara, she added, “We still need to get to Raven; she’ll help you figure out how to power your new multi-Earth-thing device.”

Kara nodded. “Thank you. Why don’t you and Lexa lead the way, and I can follow from the sky.”

“Good idea. You can warn us if you see anything. I don’t want any more surprises…”

“Neither do I,” Kara sighed, then turned to Maggie. “I can carry Lena, now that I have my strength back.”

Maggie smiled and shifted Lena’s body into Kara’s arms. Kara gingerly scooped her girlfriend up, bridal style. It was the second time Kara had to carry an unconscious Lena out of a dangerous situation. Kara shook her head, remembering the time she flew to a near Kryptonite-level suicide mission to rescue Lena from Lillian and Metallo. They’d come so far in their relationship.

“Just call if anyone needs anything,” Kara said before leaping back into the sky, cradling Lena to her chest.

With her super hearing back, she allowed herself to listen to Lena’s heartbeat and breathing. Thankfully, both sounded like they were returning to normal. Kara exhaled in relief, knowing that Lena would probably wake up soon.

The air on Earth 307 wasn’t exactly fresh, but Kara let herself enjoy the air she soared through. Below the trees, Clarke and Lexa walked side by side, as Alex and Maggie trailed a few meters behind. The night was quiet and calm, so Kara let her nosiness get the better of her, and trained her ears on Clarke and Lexa’s conversation.

“Lexa, you surprised me tonight.”

“How so?”

“You’re different. Only months ago, you wouldn’t have helped these people. You probably wouldn’t even escort me back to Arkadia. You would have stayed in Polis with your people.”

“Clarke, you are my people now,” Lexa replied.

Clarke tilted her head slightly. “You know what I mean.”

There was a pause before Lexa responded. “You changed me, Clarke. You taught me that life should be about more than just surviving. When we helped Kara and Lena today, our hearts showed no signs of weakness, because love isn’t weakness. Love is strength.”

Kara saw Clarke reach out to take Lexa’s hand as they continued walking. She smiled and made a mental note to share the meaning of “El Mayarah” with Lexa next time they spoke. “Stronger Together” would serve as a good replacement to Lexa’s old mottos, “love is weakness” and “blood must have blood.”

Although Kara wanted to give Alex and Maggie privacy, she couldn’t help but see Maggie gesture towards Clarke and Lexa, and overhear her joke, “Are you seeing this? Our two little gays found another pair of little gays. God, you Danvers sisters are like freakin' lesbian magnets, what the hell?”

Chapter Text

Kara sat atop the mossy cave keeping her ears and eyes alert for any movement in the forest. Alex, Maggie, Lexa, and Clarke were all fast asleep inside. They had walked for hours to reach this cave; it was perfectly hidden in Grounder territory, yet it was only a short walk to Arkadia. Both Alex and Maggie had offered to take first watch, but they looked so tired and flying had taken Kara only a little effort, so she told them to rest with Clarke and Lexa. And anyway, Kara wanted to be awake for when Lena finally woke up.

Kara sat with her legs apart and Lena lying in between. Kara had propped Lena’s body against her own and protectively wrapped her arms around her still unconscious girlfriend. Kara had only been sitting there like that, keeping watch for about fifteen minutes when Lena finally began to stir as the radiation effects wore off.

Lena let out a soft groan and lazily opened her eyes. Kara leaned forward to kiss her shoulder and mumbled, “Good morning, beautiful.”

Lena smiled, then looked back at Kara in confusion when she noticed the helmet around her head. “What's on my head? What am I wearing?”

“Don't worry, babe, it’s part of a specialized DEO suit that's protecting you from the radiation. We’re kinda still stuck on Earth 307, but it's okay because Alex and Maggie are here now and once the sun rises, we’re going to find a girl named Raven to help, too!”

“How did Alex and Maggie get here? How long was I out? I must have missed quite an adventure,” Lena said, with a touch of disappointment in her voice.

“To keep a long story short, Barry figured out we were missing so he brought them here to help. You've been out since around sunset, so I don't know, maybe six hours? And don't worry, I have a feeling that the adventure is far from over,” Kara replied with a soft smile.

Lena sighed, “When this is all over and we get home, I could really go for that fermentation place we went to once.”

Kara scrunched her face in disgust. “Ew, no!”

“What? I thought you liked it?”

“Rao, no! I only pretended to because you seemed so excited and loved it.”

“But Kara...You drank five glasses of Kombucha and ate three wraps?”

“Well, you know how much I eat. If I didn’t eat that much, it would be suspicious.”

Lena shook her head laughing, “Have I ever told you, I absolutely adore you?”

Kara beamed down at her doting girlfriend. “I think so, but repetition can’t hurt.”

“In that case, Kara Zor-El, know that I am so, so in love with you, my darling.”

Kara pressed her forehead against Lena’s helmet. Oh, how she wished she could kiss Lena right here, right now. Looking into Lena’s eyes, Kara replied, “And I am so, so in love with you, Lena Luthor.”

The pair stayed cuddled in silence, until Lena asked to hear the long story of what transpired while she wasn’t conscious. So Kara recounted the past six-ish hours in as much detail as possible. How Lexa heroically carried Lena out of Polis and through the forest. How bald-monk-man turned out to be a trigger-happy-homophobe. How Alex showed up just in time to BBQ him with her alien gun. And how Alex and Maggie happened to bring yellow sun grenades with them.

When Kara finished her detailed report of the past events, Lena reached up to brush a loose strand of hair behind Kara’s left ear and said, “I’m glad you have your powers back, but remember that you don’t need to be Supergirl to be my hero.”

“I know, I know. But I definitely appreciate them. Especially when your life’s in danger,” Kara replied with a small frown.

Lena then poked the crinkle forming in Kara’s brow. “I think we both know that it’s going to take a lot more than a little radiation to kill me.”

“You are one tough cupcake, Lena Luthor.”

Lena chuckled, “Cookie. The phrase is ‘one tough cookie.’”

“I know. But I like cupcakes more, so you’re a cupcake.”

“I always did say, you have a natural gift with words.”

“Shut up, I was trying to be cute.” Rao, this whole helmet thing where she couldn't kiss her girlfriend was really bumming Kara out.

Before Lena had the chance to make another witty remark, Kara’s ears perked up to the sound of movement in the cave beneath them. Lexa stepped out and Kara waved down at the Commander, who just nodded in response before making her way to join the couple.

“I am glad to see you awake, Lena,” Lexa started, then turned to Kara. “I can start my watch now. You need rest.”

“Isn't Clarke supposed to have this shift, too?” Kara asked.

“Yes, but Clarke deserves some peace. She rarely allows herself to relax, so I wanted to let her sleep. And I am the Commander of thirteen clans, I think I can handle keeping watch alone.”

Lena shifted in Kara’s lap to sit more upright and offered, “Well, you don’t have to be alone. I feel quite rested from my apparent six hour nap, so I can stay up with you.” Before Kara had the chance to protest, Lena turned to her, and said, “Let me do my part, Kara. I want to be useful. Besides, you could really use the rest; you’ve been awake and worried ever since we landed here. That kind of stress isn’t good on the body, human or Kryptonian.” Then Lena gingerly cupped Kara’s cheek with her right hand. “Go. Sleep, love.”

Kara knew that Lena was right, she was absolutely exhausted. Kara sighed and stood up. “Okay, but promise you’ll wake me immediately if anything happens?”

“You have my word,” Lexa said as she sat next to Lena, who nodded in agreement.

“Thank you,” Kara said, unhooking her cape and laying it across Lena’s lap. “Here, this will keep you warm while I’m gone.”

Lena smiled appreciatively. “Sleep well, I love you.”

Kara smiled back and kissed the top of Lena’s helmet. “I love you, too.”

Then Kara jumped down to the forest ground and made her way into the cave. She curled up on the ground near her sister and let her eyes drift shut. Yet, when she picked up on Lexa mentioning her name, Kara let her curiosity take over and she honed in on Lexa and Lena’s conversation.

“Your Kara is strong.”

“Yes, her arms are quite chiseled.”

Lexa cleared her throat. “I meant her heart. Her heart is strong.”

“I know Lexa, I was just joking,” Lena responded. Kara chuckled to herself; she could only imagine the awkward look on the fierce warrior’s face. Then Lena continued, “But you’re right. Kara is one of the strongest people I know. At only 12, she lost her whole world. Yet, despite the pain, she shines brighter than the all suns in the multiverse combined. She is truly a hero, and I don't know how she does it. I don't know if I could ever–- We’ve both lost our families, just in...different...ways.” Kara could hear Lena’s careful word choice. It’s true, although Lillian and Lex are still alive, they’ve all but abandoned Lena and made her feel unloved and worthless. Kara couldn’t even imagine what that must feel like. At least she knew that her deceased Kryptonian parents and Aunt Astra always loved her. Lena took in a sharp inhale. “Sorry, I’m rambling–”

“I understand you, Lena. I have lost people very dear to me, as well.”

“I’m so sorry, Lexa. Were they your family, too?”

“Not through blood, but they were family nonetheless. Gustus, my closest friend. Anya, I was her second; she was like an older sister to me. And...Costia. Before Clarke, I was Costia’s and she was mine.” After a short pause, Lexa continued, “Until the queen of the ice nation kidnapped her, tortured her, and sent her head to my bedside.”

Kara’s jaw dropped and her heart wrenched. The forest was dead quiet as she heard Lena let out a shocked, barely audible breath. Kara had known of many atrocities across the galaxy, but nothing seemed as personal or horrifying as what Lexa had just recounted. A sickening thought accidentally crept into her imagination: what if someone had done that to Lena? Kara squeezed her eyes shut and raised her right hand to her mouth and bit down on the index finger to keep from crying out. Just the idea in her mind was enough to bring out the most painful emotions.

Lena began to speak again. “I–I honestly–I don’t know what to say, other than you deserve to live in a world far better than this one. You deserve better, Lexa.”

Kara agreed with Lena; the brave Heda had been through so much, yet she still had such a good soul. Suddenly, it occurred to her how incredibly personal this conversation was and felt guilty for listening in. So Kara rolled over, trying to focus on the silence of the woods and let herself fall asleep, knowing that the very capable Commander Lexa would protect Lena if anything happened.

…

“Morning, Supergirl,” Alex said, waking Kara with a little nudge.

“Mmm I'm starving, Alex. Yellow sun grenades are great and all, but did you happen to bring breakfast in that bag, too?” Kara asked groggily, as her stomach rumbled.

“You think I'd travel to a different universe to rescue you, and not bring food?! Of course I bought water bottles, trail mix, and box of granola bars. Help yourself, but make sure to save some for the rest of us.”

Kara jumped up and super-sped over to Alex's travel bag. After locating the box of nature valley granola bars, she giddily smiled and ripped it open. Granola bars went flying.

“Whoa, chill out!” Maggie laughed.

Kara blushed, embarrassed, and attempted a mumbled an apology as her mouth was already stuffed with an entire bar. Looking around the cave, she noticed that everyone else was awake and staring at her, holding back laughs. Well, except Lexa, but Kara had a feeling that the Commander was much too serious to laugh often.

After managing to swallow all the contents in her mouth, Kara asked, “So, what’s the plan for today?”

Clarke responded, “As soon as you’re ready, you’ll fly to Arkadia and get Raven for us.”

Alex looked puzzled and turned to Clarke. “Wait. We all aren’t going to your home?”

“Well, no, we aren’t but she is,” Clarke explained, gesturing to Kara. “You said you’re bulletproof, so if they shoot you’ll be fine, right?”

Skeptical, Maggie interjected, “But I don’t understand why your people would shoot at us. Aren’t they your family and friends?”

Recognizing the mixed look of agitation and sadness on Clarke’s face, Kara jumped in to her defense. “It’s...it’s complicated, Maggie. Their world is really complicated.”

Maggie nodded, understanding that her question upset her new friend. “Okay. Got it, I won’t press for details. I just want us all to get back home without anyone getting hurt.”

“Which is why Kara, the invincible one, is collecting Raven,” Lexa said.

Lena snorted. “Collecting? You make it sound as if Kara’s going to kidnap her.”

Clarke shared a look with Lexa before stating, “Pike might call it kidnapping. I think a more accurate description would be offering her an opportunity to leave safely.”

…

This plan was weird. As Kara flew towards Arkadia, she remembered how Clarke instructed her to act: completely confident and commanding, because Skaikru leaders didn’t negotiate anymore. The problem was that Supergirl was used to attempting negotiations and peace first. And she’s certainly never tried to convince a complete stranger to leave her home and fly away with her... But, Supergirl needed to do her job so she could return home with her family.

As she neared Arkadia, she could hear the alarmed shouts coming from the people gathered outside. Hovering above the crowd in her power pose, Supergirl was about to speak, when she heard a man’s voice bellow, “Fire!”

Dozens of bullets flew towards Supergirl and then danced off her chest. Kara relished in how great it felt to be bulletproof once again, then yelled to the gunmen, “Put down your weapons, they won’t affect me anyway.” The bullets kept raining on her, so Kara muttered to herself, “Why do people never learn?” and proceeded to destroy the guns with her heat vision. “Where is Raven the mechanic?” she commanded as best she could.

The crowd looked up at Supergirl in confused silence. Clearly Kara wasn’t as scary as she thought she could be. Rolling her eyes, she decided to just use her X-ray vision to explore the spacecraft and find Raven inside. Clarke had described Raven as a woman close to her age with brown eyes, dark brown hair, and an olive complexion. Apparently she wears a red jacket and a leg brace, and usually hangs out in the rooms with the most technology. So first, Supergirl searched the spaceship for the main engine room, then looked for anyone who matched that description.

Luckily for Supergirl, there was only one person in the engine room, and she certainly looked like Raven. She ignored the crowd still staring at her, and lunged forward, flying above the spaceship. Once she was above the engine room, Supergirl smashed through the ceiling and immediately made eye contact with Raven.

Kara felt kinda bad once she saw the panicked look in Raven’s eyes as the frightened woman held a wrench out like a sword and ordered, “Nooo, no, no, no. You stay back.”

Kara held up her arms, trying to look as harmless as possible. “Hi Raven, sorry to burst in like this. I promise I’m not here to hurt you, my family and I need your mechanical-engineering help.”

Raven let down her guard and put her hands on her hips. “Who are you? And what kind of weird get up are you wearing?”

“I’m Supergirl, and I know it’s a lot to ask right now, but I need you to trust me and–wait, what’s wrong with my suit?”

“I mean, it looks like some weird ballet outfit with a terrible color scheme and an unnecessary cape.”

Ballet outfit?! The last person to insult Supergirl’s suit was Livewire, so Kara wasn’t used to the amount of sass, especially so suddenly after meeting someone. “Hey the cape is completely necess–you know what, we don’t have time for this. Can you please come with me before your people storm the room? I’ll explain everything when we get to where we’re going.”

Raven rolled her eyes. “Hopefully someone else there will do the explaining, ‘cause you’re not so good with details, Supergal. But alright, I’m really starting to hate Arkadia. For some odd reason I feel like I can trust you and well, I could use a little adventure. Take me wherever.”

“It’s Supergirl,” Kara muttered as Raven picked up her toolkit.

When Kara moved to pick Raven up bridal style, she contested, “Yeah, no. I’m not some damsel. You can hold me around the waist at your side, but be careful with my left leg, alright?”

“Alright.” Kara nodded, carefully pulling Raven to her right side, so that Raven’s injured leg would be safely next to her body during their flight. “Thank you for trusting me,” Kara added.

Then Supergirl jumped back through the ceiling and into the air. She could hear a few voices yelling Raven’s name as she soared through the sky. Smoke was still rising from the guns she had melted with her heat vision only moments ago.

“Did you do that?” Raven asked.

Kara shrugged. “Yeah, with heat vision. I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”

To prevent anyone from trying to follow her, she flew in the opposite direction of the cave. Once she was high enough above the clouds and out of sight, she turned around and flew back in the right direction.

“Ah, I get it: you need the cape for aerodynamics! That’s actually kinda cool,” Raven commented as they soared through the air. Kara noticed how Raven seemed completely relaxed in her arms, and even reached out with her right hand to run her fingers through the clouds. But as Supergirl began to descend towards the cave, Raven looked down and tensed up, whispering in surprise, “Clarke?”

Kara landed and slowly set Raven on the ground, taking extra care for her braced leg. Once Raven’s feet were firmly planted, she whacked Kara’s arms off her and stomped up to Clarke. “Griffin what the hell is going on?! I should’ve know this charade was just one of your plans.”

“I know it's a lot right now, but you need to calm down for second,” Clarke said, holding up her hands, just as Kara did in Arkadia.

Then Raven’s focus shifted to Lexa. "What is SHE doing here? Was this, whatever THIS is, her idea? Octavia came back and said we had a kill order..."

“No, Raven, just listen! Lexa has nothing to do with the situation at hand, and forget about the boundaries for now,” Clarke appealed, gesturing towards the Supercrew. “These women aren't from our world, as you could probably tell by the flying–”

“Oh she did a lot more than fly,” Raven countered, crossing her arms.

“Right…”

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. Honestly I didn't wanna go all out and freak people out but you know–” Kara started, but cut herself off when Alex cleared her throat and put her hands on her hips. Kara took that as a hint to stop blubbering and maintain a power pose. Lowering her voice to her commanding Supergirl voice, Kara corrected, “What I meant, was that we are in a very tight time frame and we need your mechanical-engineering expertise to help us return home.”

Raven huffed in frustration, but then began to size up the Supercrew. “Nice suits,” she said to Alex and Maggie. Then, looking at Lena, asked, “Yours looks different... What extra components are they pumping through your helmet?”

Lena raised her eyebrows, shocked at the astute observation. “Calcium and Magnesium ions.”

“Hmm, I would have added Dimethylsulfoxide, too.”

Alex insisted, “But DMSO is a sulphur compound–”

“Exactly, it’s a natural antioxidant that can actively detoxify a human body from radiation,” Raven interrupted.

Impressed, Lena said, “She’s right Alex.”

Alex silently gawked at Raven, who playfully smirked and shrugged. “What? It’s not rocket science.”

Clarke cut the getting-to-know-Raven short by interjecting, “So will you help them, Raven?”

“I’ve got nothing better to do in Arkadia, so sure. You’ve got yourself a mechanic.”

Lena leaned in to Kara and whispered, “I like her!”

“So, what am I working with here? Some kind of portal?” Raven asked.

“Close,” Alex replied, handing her the multiverse device. “It’s a tachyon device that creates a portal.”

Raven’s eyes widened. “Tachyon? Like, the hypothetical particle that travels faster than light? That tachyon?”

“You’re familiar with it?” Lena asked, taken aback.

“Well, I know the hypothetical mechanics behind it, but I’ve never worked with it, so I can’t say I’m familiar…”

“That’s already a good enough start,” Alex encouraged.

“The amount of advanced science you know is remarkable,” Lena said, evidently amazed.

Raven winked confidently at Lena. “My brain’s all kinds of awesome.”

“Clearly. Well, let’s put that awesome brain of yours to work and get started,” Lena retorted.

Kara wasn’t thrilled that an apparent genius winked at her girlfriend, but she was happy that Raven agreed to help. The three sci-tech proficient women made their way to a corner of the cave and began discussing the mechanics of the the tachyon device.

“That was...easy?” Maggie said, turning to Kara, Lexa, and Clarke.

Clarke blinked a few times before saying, “Yeah, I’m, umm, surprised. Sometimes Raven can be pretty stubborn.”

“She went from wanting to stab me with a wrench, to happily working with my girlfriend and sister,” Kara added.

Clarke shook her head. “Raven has always loved a challenge, especially when impressive technology is involved, so I figured she’d agree eventually. I just thought it would take a little more persuasion.” She took a small breath, “Anyway, Lexa I think we should talk.”

“Clarke, if this is about my kill order–”

“It is, and it isn’t. Please just hear me out.”

After a pause, Lexa agreed, “Fine.”

The coupled stepped towards the cave exit to speak privately. So Kara stood next to Maggie, watching their girlfriends work with Raven from afar. Alex explained to Raven how the device was in perfect working condition, but it needed a powerful charge to be activated.

Lena added, “Certain types of heat or a concentrated explosion should do the trick.”

“Explosion? Making things go boom is kind of my speciality,” Raven claimed, clearly delighted.

Alex suggested, “Well if heat works, can't Kara just use her heat vision?”

Yet Raven contended, “I'm not sure what alloys this device is made out of, but I've seen what her heat vision does to guns. It's not pretty, and I don't think you all want to risk destroying the device.” Kara agreed with Raven, and if her heat vision melted the tachyon device...Who knows how and when they’d get back to Earth 38...

Lena nodded. "Good point. Now just what were you saying about making things go boom?"

“If I can find a non-destructive explosive substance or compound, we'd be in good shape. Then, together we could build a contraption that manipulates the explosion, so the force goes directly into the tachyon device. Activation without destruction, that's your ticket home, nerds.”

Alex tapped her chin. “But we still need to figure out a substance.”

Then Lena proposed, “What about your yellow sun grenades?”

“Your what now?” Raven asked.

“Of course. That's brilliant, Lena!” Alex exclaimed, pulling out a couple grenades to show Raven. “They're non-destructive grenades made to power up Supergirl when she's in a world that strips her powers. It's basically an explosion of synthetic yellow sun radiation energy from our world.”

Kara smiled proudly; she loved watching her ‘brilliant’ girlfriend and sister work together. Kara had a warm feeling in her chest that she could only be attributed to the sense of familial love she felt towards her sister, her girlfriend, and Maggie, standing beside her.

“I’m intrigued...And I’m the youngest zero-G mechanic in fifty-two years, so it’s hard to get my attention. Congrats,” Raven said, smirking and winked once again.

Maggie nudged Kara’s shoulder. “Is that mechanic flirting with our gals?”

Kara scrunched her face. “If she brags about her brain one more time, I might just fling her into space. How’d she like her zero-gravity then?” Maggie cocked her head and raised her eyebrows in amusement, so Kara added, “I was kidding, Maggie.”

“Oh, sure,” Maggie jested as she began walking towards Alex, Lena, and Raven. Then she mischievously grinned at Kara. “Who would’ve thought that your true weakness would be a little green monster, and I’m not talking about kryptonite.”

“Hey! I said I was–” Kara pouted as Maggie just laughed and slid her hand into Alex’s when she got to the nerdy trio.

Before Kara had the chance to follow Maggie, Clarke got her attention. “Hey Supergirl, you up for one more kidnapping?”

“Uhh, sure?”

“Good. There’s someone I need to speak with: Pike. He’s now the leader of my people and he sort of caused the mess Lexa and I are in. As long as we have you here, I want to try and talk some sense into him.”

Without hesitation, Kara responded, “Okay. You’re right, you’re completely safe under my protection. He can’t hurt you while I’m here.”

“Thank you,” Clarke said earnestly, and then began describing him. “He’s a tall, bald Black man.”

“When I flew there before, two men matched that description: one had cool tattoos and the other was shooting at me.”

“The man with tattoos is Lincoln, he’s my friend’s boyfriend and probably the best man I know. Pike was definitely the one shooting at you, and I’m not surprised.”

“Alright, I’ll be back in a jiffy then. Up, up and away,” Kara said, leaping back into the air, with an uneasy feeling. This man sounded dangerous, and definitely not as friendly as Raven turned out to be.

…

Retrieving Pike took minimal effort. Kara remembered exactly what he looked like (it's hard to forget the face of someone who's shooting at you) and he hadn't moved from his post outside. So, Supergirl used her super-speed to swoop in and nab him without anyone noticing her in the air. She held him the same way she carried Raven, except more firmly, and their flight was brief. Supergirl landed with a soft thud and set Pike down facing Clarke and Lexa, with his back towards the cave, cornering him.

“Pike.” Clarke greeted, with a calm indignation.

He squinted. “That’s Chancellor Pike, to you. Why hide behind your flying menace? Why not just come to Arkadia yourself?”

“I couldn’t trust that you wouldn’t open fire on me,” Clarke retorted.

“A fair assumption.” Pike shifted to Lexa and uttered, “You.” as he reached for his sidearm.

Supergirl stepped in between Pike and Lexa. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, Buddy! I’m much faster, and did you already forget how bulletproof I am?”

Then Clarke also stepped forward and declared, “Attack Commander Lexa and you attack me.”

Lexa looked taken aback, but her eyes were soft and filled with adoration as Clarke glanced over to give a subtle smile. Kara wondered what the context of those words were. Clarke and Lexa clearly shared a romance of epic proportions and the phrase Clarke just spoke obviously had a deeper meaning to them. But Kara had no time to ponder about their relationship while the hostile “chancellor” Pike was here.

Pike held up his hands in surrender. “Fine. But if we’re going to talk, I’d like to do so privately.”

Clarke tilted her chin upwards. “Fine. Lexa will go, but Supergirl will stay. I still don’t trust you.”

Lexa looked warily at Clarke. “Are you sure?”

Kara put a hand on Lexa’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to her. You protected Lena, now let me protect Clarke.”

Lexa gave one of her signature stoic nods and walked past Pike, entering the cave.

Once Lexa was out of sight, Clarke glared into Pikes eyes. “You need to put a stop to this.”

“I do? I’m not the one with a kill order in place.”

“And who’s fault is that? You won’t even speak with Lexa. Try negotiation, or reinstate Kaine. You have to see reason–”

“I was elected chancellor, Clarke. And while you may have missed my post election speech, let me give you a little taste of what I said and why my people chose me. Every action I’ve taken since, and every action I will continue to take, will be to achieve my one sacred goal: the creation of a self-sustaining, prosperous, and safe Arkadia.”

“Our people, Pike. And you could have had all that, but instead you chose to slaughter three hundred innocent Trikru who were sent to protect you. Without even talking to them.”

“All Grounders are the same. They are all the enemy, and anger and violence can be our only policy towards them.”

Kara couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Sure Earth 307 was scary and brutal, but how could anyone speak with such prejudice? Yet, it sort of reminded her of the way Lillian Luthor talked about aliens back on Earth 38. Kara wondered if Lena would think the same thing, glad that she was busy working with Raven and Alex in the cave and wasn’t hearing Pike speak.

Clarke argued, “No! Why can’t you see the difference between the good Grounders and the bad? Azgeda were following the orders of Queen Nia, who Lexa executed for you. We were on our way here with her body for you, when we saw your unjust massacre.”

“We have the guns and might to do whatever we want. We didn’t need a commander of savages to execute some queen of savages for us.”

“You’re the only savage here,” Clarke stated through gritted teeth, attempting to hide the anger in her voice.

“I see you’ve chosen to side against your home,” Pike darkly countered.

“You’re right. I’m on the side that isn’t threatening to commit genocide,” Clarke replied venomously.

“This land belongs to Arkadia and any Grounders or people within Arkadia who oppose me will be executed. That includes Kaine and Lincoln and Octavia and you, Clarke Griffin. If the Grounders won’t fully surrender, they will be exterminated. They will be–”

Instead of more cruel words, blood spat out of Pike’s mouth. Kara’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped when she realized what had happened. Two swords were protruding from Pike’s chest, one through his heart and one through his solar plexus.

“No!” Kara shrieked. She was so focused on Pike’s abhorrent speech that she let her guard down; Kara couldn’t help but feel guilty. She brought him here. She let him die here. Pike was undoubtedly an awful man who was planning awful acts, but did he really deserve to be surprise-killed? And to think, Kara compared him to Lillian just moments ago...

When the blades slid back out of Pike's body, he fell to his knees. With his last bit of energy, he glared up at Clarke, eyes burning in hatred.

Clarke looked shocked for half a second, then composed herself and simply uttered, “May we never meet again.”

Pike's eyes rolled back and he collapsed into the mud, now an empty shell. Kara looked above Pike's corpse to see Lexa standing over him, her dual swords drenched in blood. Her green eyes blazed and there was even some splattered blood mixed in with her war paint. She looked terrifying. When Lexa turned to Kara, she must have noticed the horrified confusion on her face, yet all Lexa did was menacingly snarl something in Trigedasleng that Kara couldn't understand: “Jus drein, jus daun.”

Chapter Text

As Lexa’s dark expression faded, Kara looked back down to Pike’s lifeless body. She couldn’t help but feel a familiarity with the way he was killed. Upsetting memories of Alex killing her Aunt Astra with the kryptonite sword flashed through Kara’s mind. Of course she forgave Alex. Her older sister didn’t have a choice; Astra was going to murder J’onn. Yet despite everything, Kara had always loved Astra and it stung to think about her death. She sorely wondered if Pike had a family. Was he someone’s uncle? Father or brother? The fate of Krypton brought Astra to her antagonistic state, and Kara wondered what tragedy brought Pike to his own state of mind.  

Much to Kara’s surprise, Clarke didn’t even seem too upset. She just threw one arm in the air, gesturing towards Pike’s fallen body and, with a slightly annoyed tone, groaned, “Lexa…”

Lexa cocked her head. “What, Clarke? You have seen me kick people off towers and throw spears into queens. Did you really think I was not going to execute this man, who talked of slaughtering the entire population of my people?”

“Well, no. I just thought you’d at least give some warning.”

In response, Lexa casually shrugged and began cleaning her dual blades. When neither of them pressed the other, Kara was extremely confused. “Wait, you’re seriously OK with this, Clarke?”

“Look Kara, people kill or get killed here all the time. Sometimes we have to make the hard decisions,” Clarke nonchalantly responded.

“No, no that’s a terrible way to deal with problems. Even the worst people still deserve the chance to live.” Then turning to Lexa, Kara stated, “All life is so precious and you didn’t need to kill him.”

“I am a ‘commander of savages,’ Kara,” Lexa began, using Pike’s words for emphasis, and looked up from her swords. “I am not a Supergirl. I am not bulletproof. Neither are Clarke or our people. Everything comes down to life or death for us.” There was a level of disdain in the way Lexa said ‘Supergirl,’ as if her Kryptonian powers were just a simple convenience.

That really set Kara off. “Do either of you even know what a life or death situation is like?”

Kara was still glaring at Lexa when Clarke responded, “Believe me when I say I do.”

What a lie! Pike was just talking to Clarke, he wasn’t attacking her. Sure he spoke threats, but he was just standing there with his gun holstered. Unlike Astra who was about to kill J’onn right in front of Alex. No. From Kara’s point of view, Clarke had no idea. And that belittling of life or death enraged her. “Really? Because you weren’t even in danger, you were just–”

“Enough!” Lexa yelled as she stabbed one of her swords into the dirt.

Kara angrily inhaled, but composed herself after seeing the distraught look buried within Clarke’s glassy eyes. Admittedly, she had gotten so wrapped up in her own moral compass that she hadn’t even noticed how upset Clarke had become. Reflecting on her last words, Clarke didn’t sound argumentative, she sounded remorseful, almost exposed. Suddenly, Kara was actually glad Lexa cut her off, preventing her from hurting Clarke’s feelings more. She didn’t mean to bring up grim memories of who-knows-what.

Kara apologetically bowed her head, then looked back at Clarke. “I’m sorry. You're right, I don't really know what either of you have been through.”

Clarke didn’t look up. She just stared forward with her eyes glazed over, as if she hadn’t even heard Kara. Lexa placed a comforting hand on her girlfriend’s back. Once Lexa touched her, it was as if Clarke was brought back to reality. The blonde shook her head and her eyes reawakened, blinking rapidly for a second. She breathed in through her nose and then moved in closer to Lexa so she could rest her head on her shoulder.

Lexa brushed some hair behind Clarke’s ear and gave her head a brief nuzzle before turning back to Kara and calmly said, “Look Kara, we know our world is not perfect. It took Clarke some time to get used to it and accept that this world is black and white, with little compromise. Here, a leader with gray morality is one who leads more of their people to death. Every decision we make is about survival. You do not have to approve, but you do have to understand.”

“Yeah, again, I am really, really sorry. I didn’t mean to get so,” Kara paused and rubbed her forehead, “So angry. I, uh, I have a hard time dealing with death. I always try not to kill my enemies, because I’ve lost so many people I loved. Death is just so...permanent. But I realize I can only do that because, you’re right, I’m basically invincible. And neither of you have that luxury.”

“I did not mean to disparage your powers, Kara. I only meant to remind you the difference between our worlds. You are a beloved hero on your Earth for a reason.”

Kara was about to sincerely apologize again, but she didn’t have the chance when Alex, Lena, Maggie, and Raven all ran out of the cave.

Maggie frantically asked, “What happened?”

“We heard yelling,” Alex added.

As the four of them took in the scene, noticing Pike’s fallen body and Lexa’s still bloody swords, they looked shocked. Understanding what just happened, Maggie was quick to react. She whipped out her gun and shakily pointed it at Lexa.

“Whoa,” Raven said, patting Maggie’s arm down. “Easy there Agent 007.”

“Maggie, it's fine, just put the gun down,” Lena jumped in, also attempting to pacify the detective.

“Fine? Raccoon girl just went feral and killed a guy!”

Raven shrugged. “To be fair, that ‘guy’ slaughtered 300 of her people. Lexa sent them to Arkadia to protect us. Then Pike led a small group of our people in the middle of the night to shoot them all in their sleep.” Looking down she added, “It was horrible.”

Maggie stared at Raven, dumbfounded. “Okay, but there's different ways to handle crimes.”

Finally, Kara decided to step in. “Not in this world Maggie,” she said shaking her head, “Not in this world.”

This world was so frustrating to her. Kara’s moral compass seemed to be spinning all out of whack, and all she wanted was to get home and crawl into her cozy bed with her warm, soft Lena. But Lexa was right, Kara didn’t have approve, she just had to understand. When Kara looked to Lexa, she received a supportive nod.

Maggie grumbled in acceptance and re-holstered her weapon. Alex took her girlfriend’s disgruntled resignation as a sign that they were all getting along again. So of course, Alex made a point to compliment Lexa’s dual blades.

“Those are some pretty badass swords, Commander,” Alex said, with a glint of admiration in her eyes.

“I see you have a liking for more refined weapons, Agent Danvers?” Lexa replied, with a coy smile.

Clarke snorted. “Oh god, don’t get her started.”

“Does she have more?” Alex eagerly asked.

Kara suppressed a giggle, as Lexa, without a moment’s hesitation, dramatically threw off her coat. Without Lexa’s heavy covering, her braided brunette hair fell casually against her shoulders and Kara noticed just how lean the warrior was. She also noticed the extensive amount of leather Lexa wore. Lexa’s full body armor was an impressive combination of leather garments, belts, and straps, with two medium-sized daggers holstered in her waist belts and five small throwing daggers strapped to her legs.

Alex leaned into Maggie and murmured, “Okay, she is WAY cool!” And Kara couldn’t help but mentally agree.

Maggie crossed her arms. “I’m still watching you Commander Raccoon. Don’t try anything funny with my family.” Then she squinted and made the ‘I’m-watching-you’ motion with her right hand, while dragging Alex back into the cave with her left.

“Maggie didn’t mean the raccoon thing, she just likes giving nicknames,” Lena chuckled at the pouting warrior, then turned to Raven. “We should get back to work.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice,” Raven replied. Then, mimicking Maggie, she grabbed Lena’s hand and dragged her back into the cave too. Lena blushed and mouthed ‘sorry?’ to Kara as she disappeared with the enthusiastic mechanic. Kara just scratched the back of her head in acceptance of her girlfriend being tugged away by a different brilliant, beautiful girl, trying her hardest not to be jealous. Admittedly it was a tad hard; Raven was pretty amazing and wore her red jacket as well as Kara wore her red cape.

As Clarke and Lexa walked past Kara, following the others into the cave, Clarke gave an amused pat to Kara’s back. “Raven’s not gonna steal your girl, she’s just playful.”

Kara grinned to herself for a moment, but before she joined her family and friends inside, she steeled herself and gingerly picked up Pike’s stiff body. Kara carried him and laid Pike down against a boulder near the cave. Then, she used her heat vision to carve a makeshift grave marker and whispered, “I’m so sorry.” Kara felt a small pang of guilt over Pike’s death and didn’t think it was right to just leave him lying crumpled outside the cave, no matter how awful he was. He was still a person, and he still deserved respect.

...

“Okay, my awesome brain needs a break,” Raven said as she rubbed her eyes.

“I could use a break, too,” Alex agreed as she wandered over to sit with Maggie.

Alex, Lena, and Raven had been working with the tachyon device and yellow sun grenades for a couple hours now. There were so many blueprints and equations drawn across the cave wall that it made Kara’s head spin.

“Getting the correct hypothetical calculations without much knowledge of hypothetical particles is indeed slightly more difficult than anticipated. But we shouldn’t waste any more time,” Lena said.

“Hmm,” Raven tapped her chin. “Maybe we don’t have to waste time...You all need to travel through this thing and stick together right?”

“Yes, that would be preferable,” Lena quipped, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, how do you plan on accomplishing that?”

Kara stood up from the rock she was sitting on and brushed off her skirt. “Well I figured I’d just carry everyone?”

Raven tilted her head, “See that’s a good plan in theory, but the environment inside the tachyon portal is turbulent, yes?”

“Yeah, definitely.”

“So carrying three other people might make flying difficult.”

Kara could see where Raven’s train of thought was going and she liked it. “So we should probably build some sort of harness to keep us all together."

Raven nodded. “Nailed it, Supergal.”

“Supergirl,” Kara mumbled under breath for the second time that day.

Lena made her way over to Kara and held her by the waist. “I’ll start with your measurements, darling, if that’s alright.”

“Of course, babe. Measure away,” Kara responded.

Lena’s hands only innocently grazed across Kara’s body while taking measurements, but Kara couldn’t help her yearning to touch Lena. The real Lena, not the protective DEO suit. All Kara wanted was to just get home, throw away the suit, and kiss every inch of Lena. Her lips. Her back. Her fingertips. That one ticklish, little spot on her hip that always makes Lena giggle. Kara wanted to feel her girlfriend again…Unexpectedly, Kara’s stomach audibly grumbled. Clearly she wanted food, in addition to properly holding her girlfriend.

Lena laughed, “I think someone’s hungry.”

Kara clutched her stomach. “Honestly, I could kill for some pizza right now.”

At the word ‘kill,’ Lexa looked up from where she sat, sharpening one of her daggers. “Earlier you judged me for killing a murderer. Now you say you will kill for food?”

Raven snorted in amusement while Clarke shook her head and explained, “Lexa, it’s just an expression. Supergirl’s not gonna kill anyone. Especially over a slice of bread with tomato sauce and cheese.”

“Griffin, you really need to catch your girl up on how real people talk,” Raven said, obviously entertained by the Commander’s confusion.

“Agreed,” Clarke responded. “Speaking of catching up, how’ve you been? How’s your leg?”

Kara decided to focus on Clarke and Raven’s conversation. Anything was better than paying attention to the tingling in her hands, craving contact with Lena’s familiar skin.

Raven shifted awkwardly. “To be honest, there’s been no improvements whatsoever. And that’s fine, Abby said there might not be. It sucks but I’m dealing with it.”

Apparently Lena was listening to their conversation too. “Raven, if you don’t mind me asking, what exactly happened to your leg?”

Raven turned away and began drawing harness designs on the cave wall. “I don’t mind. Some asshole shot me and now I have permanent nerve damage.”

“Someone shot you? Did you get the bullet out?” Alex asked.

“Maybe if you remove the bullet, you could alleviate some of the damage,” Lena offered.

Raven, with her back still facing the rest of the group shrugged. “The bullet’s already out. There’s nothing more to do.”

Kara didn’t know what to say; no one did. There was a brief silence until Clarke spoke up.

“You know, Raven was really brave. She let my mom, our medic, cut into her back and surgically remove the bullet from her spine. We didn’t have a lot of medical equipment, so Raven had the surgery without any anesthesia.”

Lena looked horrified. “How–how is that even possible? The pain you must have–”

Raven finally pivoted to look at everyone. “Commander Lexa isn’t the only badass on Earth 307.”

Raven’s eyes shone with such a fierce determination, and Kara had never been more impressed. She’s had some nasty battle scars from protecting National City, but any damage Supergirl sustained had always healed perfectly. Kara sincerely admired how resilient the women from this Earth were.

“I don’t want to overstep, Raven,” Lena slowly began, “But I want to at least give you the option: you could come back with us. There’s so much medical technology and research on our Earth. I can’t promise we’d be able to completely heal you, but our facilities could help.”

“We deal with bullet wound injuries and nerve damage all the time at the DEO,” Alex added.

Honestly, Kara loved Lena’s idea. She wanted to be able to take all her new friends away from this awful world. Clearly Lena thought the same, because she then looked to Lexa and extended the invitation.

“I meant it earlier when I said you deserved better, Lexa. You and Clarke can both come with us and thrive in a kinder world.”

Before either Lexa or Raven could respond, Clarke stubbornly answered, “No, that’s insane. We can’t just leave our people.”

“Stop trying to always make decisions for everyone, Clarke,” Raven snapped. “Maybe I want to go; maybe I want the chance to heal and find a better life.”

Taken aback, Clarke indignantly asked, “Seriously? You’d really just leave everyone? Leave Arkadia?”

Raven bowed her head and furrowed her brow. After a few moments contemplation she answered, “Yeah.” Then Raven looked up to make unwavering eye contact with Clarke and crossed her arms. “Yeah, I would.” As Clarke’s jaw hung agape in shock, Raven walked over to stand closer with Kara and Lena. “I want to come to Earth 38 with you.”

Kara placed a reassuring hand on Raven’s shoulder. “We’ll be happy to have you join us.”

Clarke put her hands on her hips. “Well, then I wish you the best, Raven. But Lexa and I can't join you. We can't leave our people.”

Kara shot Clarke a perplexed look. “Why not? I mean, I definitely don’t want to push you into leaving your home, because trust me, I know what that’s like...But it seems like a lot of your own people, respectively, want you both dead.”

Clarke glanced towards the outside of the cave, towards Arkadia. “You don’t think I know that, Kara? But Lexa is Heda and I am Wanheda. We have to do what’s right.” Clarke exhaled and turned to Lexa. “Why haven’t you said anything yet?”

Kara thought that Clarke was rightfully amazed at Lexa’s silence. The Commander of thirteen clans seemed to be the most dutiful woman Kara had ever met. Yet, Lexa chewed her lower lip as her gaze danced across the faces of Kara, Raven, and the rest of the supercrew. When her forest green eyes met Clarke’s sky blue, they seemed to silently say something that only Clarke could understand.

Clarke veered away. “No. No, we can’t even consider it.”

Lexa’s jaw shifted in hesitation before she spoke. “Clarke, everything you have ever done has been for your people. And everything I have ever done has been for my own people. Until I met you.” Then, the warrior softly held Clarke’s left hand in both of her own. “You preach to me that our lives should be about more than just surviving. Now we have an opportunity to do that, to live our lives together. Away from all this. Are we not allowed to be selfish for once?”

“Lexa you can’t–”

“Why not? Anya and Gustus are gone. My own people want me dead. Azgeda and Skaikru want me dead. Whether I leave here today or die tomorrow, my legacy will live on in the next Natblida who ascends.”

Basically speechless, Clarke stuttered, “I...I’m surprised, to say the least.”

“Pike is dead, your people will follow Kane again. You can leave your guilt and burdens from this world behind. I know you, Clarke. Everywhere you turn in this world, you remember Mount Weather and Finn, what you had to do when I left you no choice. But you can start over.” Lexa swallowed. “We can start over. Our ‘maybe someday’ could be today, Clarke. But only if that is what you wish.”

The blonde shook her head, eye’s searching Lexa’s once again. “I–I don’t know–I don’t know what I should do.”

Lexa released her girlfriend’s hand. “I will accompany Raven. Not because it is what I should do, but because it is now what I want to do.”

“I don’t know if leaving is what I want,” Clarke stated apologetically. And Kara wondered if everyone else in the cave could feel how hard Lexa’s heart fell in that moment. Maybe she was only imagining things, but her super hearing picked up on a momentary lapse in Lexa’s heartbeat. As if, for that moment, it physically broke.

“Then this is goodbye for now,” Lexa said and swiftly walked away towards the cave entrance, passively announcing, “I should be keeping watch.”

Clarke rubbed her temple and yelled after her, “Oh my god, Lexa stop being so dramatic! Just give me a few minutes to think.”

Kara was about to offer some insight on what it’s like to leave a world and family behind, but Raven jumped in before she had the chance.

“Will you just get over yourself already? You have this one chance, this one chance to just run away and start over with the person you love. You do love her right?”

“Yes, but–”

Raven cut her off, “Trust me, Arkadia will survive without the all powerful wisdom of Clarke Griffin.” Clarke simply rolled her eyes in response, so Raven added in a softer tone, “Look. All I’m saying, is that if I had this option with Finn, I’d take it in a heartbeat.”

A guilty expression crept across Clarke’s face. “Raven–”

Raven stepped in closer to Clarke. “No. You don’t owe me anything. You don’t owe anyone anything. But you do owe yourself a chance at happiness, so take it. Arkadia will be fine, please prioritize yourself for once in your altruistic life. You and Lexa deserve it.” When Raven realized how sympathetic she sounded, she flattened her expression and gave Clarke a light punch to the arm. “Now go get your girl, Griffin.”

Clarke gave Raven a grateful smile, then walked to the mouth of the cave to speak with Lexa. Kara and the rest of the gang silently followed.

Lexa stood from the rock she was perched on as Clarke hastily approached her. “I understand your decision, Clarke. I promise the next Commander will honor the thirteenth clan and–”

“I don’t want the next Commander. I want you,” Clarke wholeheartedly declared. When Lexa tilted her head and her brow furrowed in slight astonishment, Clarke took her face gently in both hands and pressed their foreheads together. “I’m coming with you. Our ‘maybe someday’ is today.”

Kara felt a recognizable warmth in her chest as she interlaced her own hand with Lena’s. She was so moved by how even in this dark world, pure love found a way to fight to exist. Clarke and Lexa’s love was a light that deserved to break free of Earth 307, to stop struggling. As Supergirl looked upon the couple holding each other, all she saw was undeniable desperate hope radiating from the pair; hope for a better future that her world could finally provide for them.

Kara was shocked as tears slowly streamed down the normally stoic Commander’s face. Clarke sweetly brushed them away with her thumbs and turned to Raven. “So. When do we leave?”

Chapter Text

“So. When do we leave?”

Clarke’s question echoed through the cave and filled Kara’s heart with unbelievable joy. Fate had led Lena and herself to this Earth, and now fate will allow Clarke, Lexa, and Raven to leave it together.

Maggie cleared her throat. "Not to be a buzzkill, but Lexa, you’re still the leader of the Grounders and you just killed the leader of Skaikru. I’m not so sure you can just leave your world without doing something.”

Lexa glared at Maggie. “I am well aware of my responsibility.”

“We’ll make a plan. We won’t just leave our people in chaos,” Clarke calmly affirmed.

Raven sighed, “Well, it’ll be dark soon. Come up with a plan tonight, then tomorrow we’ll get the hell out of here.”

Lexa nodded. “Clarke and I will take first watch. Raven, why don’t you finish the harness?”

“Good idea. Looks like I need to expand it to six passengers.”

As Kara, Lena, Raven, Alex, and Maggie made their way back into the cave, Alex and Maggie both offered to take the next watch shift. While the couple curled up together to fit in a quick nap, Lena and Raven began drawing out a new harness design. Originally, Kara was going to fly them in diamond formation, with her sister and girlfriend at the sides and Maggie, the smallest woman, in the back. However, now that they have six passengers, Kara would have to lead them in a dual line arrangement.

“Where will each of you strap in?” Kara asked.

“I’m thinking for the line to your left, Alex, me, then Maggie. And for the line to your right, Lena, Clarke, then Lexa. Keep the most petite women in the back so that it doesn’t hinder your flying,” Raven answered, chewing on her pencil.

Obviously Kara cared about every member of the group, but her mind was slightly eased by Raven’s position decisions. Alex and Lena, the two most important women in her life, were closely flanking her. If anything went wrong again, at least Kara could keep them out of immediate danger.

Lena raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure Lexa is smaller than you?”

“Oh, definitely,” Raven laughed. “The Commander may seem all strong and tall, but that girl is seriously a toothpick.”

Kara scowled at Raven’s characterization of Lexa, but couldn’t help agreeing. Lexa was all lean muscle; she was pretty darn skinny. When Raven picked up her tools to broaden the harness gage, Kara noticed her struggling to adjust the metal portion. Raven’s face flushed dark red as she tried her best to force the metal to conform to the diagram’s shape, but it wouldn’t budge. After a few more humorous seconds of some semi-pitiful attempts, Kara wordlessly took the harness from Raven’s hands and effortlessly bent it.

Kara and Lena giggled as Raven huffed, “Yeah, okay, that works too.”

When the laughter died down, Lena quietly asked, “Raven, may I ask a personal question?”

“Sure, I’m an open book.” Raven shrugged.

“You have no obligation to answer, but I’m wondering why you didn’t even hesitate to accept our offer to come home with us?”

“That’s a fair question,” Raven responded. “All this world has ever done is hurt me, emotionally and physically, so yeah I want out. I’ve been in space, I’ve been on the ground, and you know what? They both suck.” Looking Lena straight in the eye, Raven confidently added, “This universe can kiss my ass.”

Lena nodded. “That’s a fair answer.”

“Also,” Raven smirked. “You guys are alright and this Earth will be even more unbearable without all the Heda-Wanheda gay drama.”

Lena smiled at Raven again, pleasantly surprised by the lighthearted remark.

The three women worked in comfortable silence until Clarke and Lexa returned to wake up Alex and Maggie, who then groggily made their way to the cave entrance.

Clarke yawned, “How’s the harness coming along?”

“We’re almost finished,” Lena said. “How’s the peaceful departure plan?”

“Solid,” Clarke flatly responded.

“Great,” Kara started. “Why don’t you two get some sleep now? Lena, Raven, and I can take the watch shift after Alex and Maggie.”

Lexa shook her head, “Raven and Lena can take the watch on their own. You must rest, Supergirl. You are the key to executing our plan tomorrow.”

Curious, Kara asked, “What exactly is the plan?”

…

Kara awoke to the sound of muffled sniffling. She discreetly opened one eye to examine her surroundings. Sunlight shone into the cave and Kara had a clear view of everyone. Lena and Raven were passed out on top of a finished Supergirl-plus-six-passenger harness. Alex was cuddled up snoring on Maggie’s chest. Everyone was asleep except for Clarke and Lexa, who were sitting together against the wall. Lexa held Clarke’s left hand in a comforting manner as a couple tears trailed down the blonde’s face. Kara wanted to intervene and help, but she knew it wasn’t her place, so she remained silent and unmoving.

“Clarke, it’s alright,” Lexa sweetly cooed. “You do have the freedom to change your mind. You can stay here.”

Shaking her head, Clarke responded, “No, no. I want to leave and be with you. I-I don’t know why I’m crying.”

“I do. Right now, you are in liminal space. You have decided to leave, yet we are still stalled here. You are feeling all the fear and pain that comes with moments of transition. Try to allow yourself to focus on the positive feelings also associated with such a time. Focus on your hope and excitement for a new life.” Lexa gently kissed away the few tears that fell from Clarke’s eyes. “Can you do that for me?”

Clarke closed her eyes and inhaled a slow, deep breath through her nose. When she opened her eyes again, she looked back at Lexa. “Thank you. I needed that.” Giving a small smile, she added, “I really am so excited to have a free and relaxed, simple life with you.”

Kara was glad that Clarke’s nerves were eased, but that didn’t stop her own heart from slightly sinking when she remembered what the plan for today entailed. She didn’t mind being Clarke and Lexa’s errand girl in Earth 307. Honestly, she was happy to help, but the tasks set before Kara seemed almost impossible to complete. For Lexa’s people, Kara had to convince them that she was some sort of deity and to change an aphorism of their culture. For Clarke’s people, Kara had to tell a mother that her daughter was safe, but would not be returning. Kara couldn’t decide which challenge was more daunting and shifted restlessly.

“Oh, you’re awake,” Clarke exclaimed, startled. “Good morning, Kara.”

“Good morning.” Kara sat up. “Ready for today?”

Clarke assuredly furrowed her brow. “I believe so. I just have to finish my letter.”

That was completely understandable. Kara couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for Clarke to write a goodbye letter to her mom, explaining why she chose to leave, but that Clarke would always miss and love her. When Kara had asked why they couldn’t take Clarke’s mom too, she had somberly explained that if either Abby or Kane left, Skaikru would have no chance of making peace with the Grounders. Leaving her own mother was Clarke’s final selfless act for her people.

“Take all the time you need,” Kara said as she began waking up the rest of the team.

Alex complained, “Mmm, what time is it?”

“Hopefully time to go home,” Lena responded. “This DEO suit just keeps decreasing in comfort.”

“Home sounds great, but I think we need breakfast first,” Alex mumbled.

Rubbing her eyes, Raven stood up. “I second Alex’s sentiment. I’ll go to the river and refill our water bottles.”

“I’ll come with you; none of us should wander around alone,” Maggie said.

“Seven full water bottles is a lot for just two of you to carry. I’ll come help, too,” Lena offered.

As the three women exited the cave, Clarke gathered her pencil and half written letter, found herself a secluded corner, and began writing again. While Kara made a beeline for the pile of granola bars, Alex got up and walked over to Lexa. Munching on her food, Kara tried to distract herself from the day ahead by snooping on her sister’s conversation.

“So Commander, how are you feeling about today?”

Lexa stoically raised her chin. “I am fine. How are you, Alex?” Typical Lexa.

Alex scooted closer. “You know, it’s a good thing to open up to the people you care about; it’s healthy and feels amazing. I know you’re a Commander here in this universe, but where we’re going, if you’re serious about coming with us, you don’t have to always be so strong. You’re allowed to have emotions and you’re allowed to open up to the people who love you.” Lexa finally turned to Alex and gave her a small smile. Alex cautiously placed a hand on Lexa’s shoulder. “I’m proud of you, Lexa.”

Lexa’s green eyes shown with tacit appreciation and the cave fell silent once more. The only sounds heard were Kara’s chewing and Clarke’s pencil scratches. By the time Lena, Maggie, Raven returned with the water, Clarke slowly rose from her little area and walked towards Kara, her right hand extended, holding out the folded letter.

“Are you sure you’re finished?” Kara asked, noticing the minor shaking in Clarke’s hand.

Clarke bit her lower lip and nodded, so Kara took the letter. The folded paper was pinned together by the chancellor pin that Clarke had retrieved from Pike’s jacket, only out of necessity. The only piece of the plan left, was something Lexa hadn’t fully explained yet. Apparently, Lexa was going to give Kara the “spirit of the Commander” to bring to her people in Polis, but Kara had no idea what that meant.

Lexa stepped up so close to Kara that they were merely inches apart. Then, with an incredibly serious tone, Lexa said, “You must protect the Spirit of the Commander with your life. Once I remove it, I am trusting you with the leadership, culture, and religion of my people. I am trusting you with everything that makes our community remain at peace. I am trusting you with the future of Trikru.”

Kara swallowed hard. “I understand.” Although, Kara still didn’t quite understand what this spirit thingy was…

But then Lexa pulled her braided hair over her right shoulder, exposing an infinity tattoo on the back of her neck. She slowly exhaled as she brought both hands to the tattoo.

Noticing Lexa’s undeniable nervousness, Clarke worriedly exclaimed, “Wait, stop! What are you doing?”

Lexa held her hands out towards Clarke, showing how they were completely empty, “Everything is alright, Clarke.” When Clarke relaxed, Lexa raised her hands to the back of her neck once again and spoke in Trigedasleng. “Quia nunc vale.”

At first, nothing happened. Then a strange wire-like substance began to protrude from the infinity tattoo. The blue tendrils reached out, wrapping around Lexa’s fingers as if it were alive.

“What the hell?” Alex whispered.

Lexa winced as a slightly larger piece finally broke through. It was about the size of a computer microchip and had the same sky blue coloring as the tendrils, except for a navy blue infinity symbol carved into the center. Smooth, black liquid started to drip from the incision on Lexa’s neck. The tendrils on the chip retreated into the main body of whatever that thing was and Lexa held it out towards Kara.

"This is the Flame; it holds the spirit of the first Commander. You must bring it back to my people as a sign of faith and goodwill.” When Kara hesitated to touch the Flame, Lexa explained, “It won’t hurt you; you can hold it.”

Still reluctant, Kara used her X-ray vision to check out the interior. The Flame was a mass of living circuitry. The Flame was an AI. Kara was shocked that a world contaminated with mass amounts of radiation and little technology, could have something so advanced in its possession, or in the neck of its leader. A million questions ran through Kara’s mind, but she had a time-sensitive mission to complete and there would be plenty of time for answers once the group returned to Earth 38.

Kara slowly accepted the Flame from Lexa. “What did the Trigedasleng mean?”

“Goodbye for now,” Lexa answered, bowing her head.

Clarke tenderly rubbed Lexa’s arm. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Lexa turned her body to fully face her girlfriend with conviction. “I have never been more sure of anything in my life.”

Not wanting to ruin the moment, yet sorely aware of their tight schedule, Kara adjusted her cape and asked, “Arkadia first, right?”

Clarke refocused on Kara and their mission. “Arkadia first. If phase one runs smoothly, continue to Polis.”

With Clarke’s letter in one hand and the Flame in the other, Kara leapt into the air and flew towards Arkadia for the third time. As Kara approached the gated camp, a woman with long dark hair charged out. Oddly enough, it seemed she was dressed in Grounder garb and pointed a sword into the air in Kara’s direction. Almost immediately, the man whom Kara recognized as Lincoln came running after the woman.

“Octavia, wait,” he yelled, attempting to hold her back and gestured towards Kara. “She’s dangerous.”

The woman, Octavia, wriggled out of Lincoln’s protective arms. “I don’t care!” Then continued marching towards Kara and demanded, “Where’s Raven?”

Although it seemed harsh, Clarke had specifically instructed Kara to hand deliver the letter to her mother before answering any questions. Despite Clarke’s strong suggestion, Kara didn’t have the heart to keep silent.

“Raven is safe,” Kara reassured. “Where is Abby Griffin? I need to speak with her.”

“Oh hell no, you’re not kidnapping her, too!” Octavia fired back.

Kara shook her head. “I promise, I’m just here to talk.” When Octavia moved to argue again, Kara held out the letter. “I have to give Clarke’s letter to her mother, so can you please bring her outside? Truly, I mean no harm.”

At the mention of Clarke’s name, Octavia and Lincoln’s eyes widened. Then Octavia’s eyes narrowed once more. “Lincoln, go get Abby and Kane.”

Lincoln’s fingers skeptically fidgeted at his sides, but then he turned around and briskly walked back into Arkadia’s structure. After a few minutes of Octavia silently staring down Kara, he returned with two middle-aged adults, who Kara could only assume were Kane and Clarke’s mom.

Abby placed a hand on Octavia’s shoulder. “We’ll take it from here, Octavia. Marcus and I need you and Lincoln to keep everyone calm inside.”

Octavia chewed the inside of her cheeks defiantly, but one tempering look from Lincoln caused her to agree. She sheathed her sword behind her back, then grabbed Lincoln’s hand.

“Fine. But call for us if you need anything,” Octavia called as she and Lincoln disappeared into Arkadia.

Once the door shut behind the couple, Abby snapped to Kara, “Where are Clarke and Raven?”

“They are both safe and happy. Any other questions can be answered in your daughter’s letter.”

Examining the letter, Abby said, “This really is Clarke’s handwriting… Why can’t I just see her?”

“Please, just read the letter, Mrs. Griffin,” Kara answered, not knowing how else to respond.

Abby’s hands trembled as she opened the letter, so Kane placed his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her.

“Do you want me to read with you?” he asked softly.

“Please do.”

Kara didn’t know why she was so nervous watching the pair read Clarke’s letter. She had no real emotional stake in this situation...Except, she did. A daughter was saying goodbye to her mother; a circumstance Kara remained painfully familiar with.

Kane’s brow furrowed. “So Pike is dead?”

“Yes,” Kara solemnly answered.

“What are we supposed to tell Arkadia?”

“We tell them what Clarke said to say.” Abby finally lifted her glassy eyes from the letter. 

Kane scratched his beard. “So we lie?”

Abby pursed her lips. “Technically, it’s not lying. Pike is dead; Lexa is gone. And now we have one last shot to make peace with the Grounders.”

“And you’re just accepting Clarke and Raven’s choice to abandon us?”

“Of course I do,” Abby said, blinking away tears. “They aren’t children anymore. They’re free to make their own decisions.”

Abby’s response surprised Kara as much it did Kane. Clarke was leaving, probably permanently. How could Abby give such a diplomatic answer about her own daughter?

Kane crossed his arms, “But–”

Abby cut him off, “Back on the Ark, I sent Clarke down to Earth for a chance to survive. Now, I want her to travel to a new Earth for a chance to live.”

Now Kara understood; Abby was making the same choice that Alura made for Kara right before Krypton exploded.

Yet, Kane still couldn't wrap his mind around Abby’s calmness. “She didn't even say goodbye, Abby.”

“No. She wrote this letter, and we said goodbye last time I left Polis. Clarke has said enough goodbyes in her life, she didn't need to endure another.”

After a moment of melancholy silence, Kara quietly asked, "Do you want to write something back to Clarke?"

"A letter would be too difficult to write. And I know you're on a tight schedule," Abby began, then pulled a folded picture out of her pocket. "Marcus, do you have a pen?"

When Kane handed Abby a pen, she unfolded the picture, revealing it to be one of Clarke and herself back in the Ark (at least, that's what Kara could infer from the spaceship-like background). Abby uncapped the pen and wrote in blue ink on the back:

Clarke--I am glad that your, Lexa's, and Raven's fights are over. In peace may you leave this Earth. In love, may you find the next. Safe passage on your travels. May we meet again.--Love, Mom

"Just so she remembers..." Abby handed the picture to Kara, as a few tears finally fell from her eyes. Eyes that shone with as much determination as Clarke's; Kara could see the clear resemblance now.

"A daughter never forgets her mother," Kara responded, knowing that to be the infallible truth. “Are you alright, Mrs. Griffin?”

“Not right now. But I will be,” Abby took a full breath. “Go finish your job, Supergirl. Just promise me that you will look out for Clarke. Promise me that she will be happy in your world.”

Kara nodded resolutely. “I promise.”

Then Kara took a small step backwards, gave Abby one last consoling look, and leapt into the air. As she soared above the clouds, processing the finished exchange, a part of Kara felt as though she was leaving her own parents once again. Painful memories of unfulfilling goodbyes with Alura In-Ze and Zor-El replayed in her mind and, for a moment, she wondered whether Krypton existed on this Earth… Remembering how truly messed up Earth 307 was, Kara decided that ignorance was bliss and she didn’t really want an answer. Pushing down her disheartening emotions, Kara refocused on part two of Clarke and Lexa’s plan.

Before Polis even neared Kara’s line of vision, she could hear all the commotion coming from the city. Shouts of anger, fear, and confusion roared through the streets. Kara recognized the language as Trigedasleng, but could only understand one word, repeatedly yelled with a myriad range of emotions: “Heda.” It made sense, their leader had disappeared without a word for over a day. Lexa’s people were rightfully upset. As Kara approached the candle-shaped tower in the center of Polis, the ruckus died down to mere gasps and murmurs. Kara hovered above the crowd in from of Lexa's tower, cape billowing in the wind for dramatic effect.

She bellowed in her most commanding voice, “I call upon Indra kom Trikru.”

A fierce woman with short hair and a beautifully intimidating facial tattoo stepped out of Lexa’s tower, with small group of young Grounders flanking her. Everything about the woman’s clothing, physical appearance, and the way she held herself, brandishing her sword in an eerily identical way that Octavia had wielded her own sword, proved evident she was the Indra that Lexa had described.

“What Skaikru trick is this?” Indra asked furiously.

“I am not Skaikru, nor Grounder. I bring a message from Heda Lexa,” Kara answered.

“Lies,” Indra spat. “Where is our Commander?”

Before Kara had the chance to respond, a young, blonde-haired boy to the right of Indra, threw a dagger straight at Kara’s face. In spun through the air in a very Lexa-like fashion and hit Kara square between the eyes. The Grounders reacted with a mix of awe and utter horror as the sharp metal smashed against her bulletproof skin and harmlessly bounced off.

“Aden!” Indra scolded, throwing a protective arm in front of the blonde-haired boy.

Clutching the hidden Spirit of the Commander in her left hand, Kara held up her empty right hand in a pacifying manner. “I come in peace, only to relay a message for your people.”

Aden stepped out once again. “If you come in peace, then tell us where Lexa is!”

Kara subtly shifted her jaw; here came the hard part. “Both Commander Lexa and Chancellor Pike are gone.”

Polis became so quiet, Kara could hear a pin drop, even without using her super hearing. Hundreds of Lexa’s people looked up at her with visible mixtures of confusion, shock, and heartbreak. She had expected more cries of uproar, yet the Grounders stayed silent, waiting for Kara to explain. It was a stark contrast from the actions of Arkadia’s people. When Kara had merely flown near Clarke’s people, they opened fire. Now that Kara had done something as egregious as announcing the loss of a leader, the Grounders remained respectful. The distinct difference between the two peoples’ actions made Kara briefly think back to Pike’s words...He had called the Grounders savages, while it appeared that although Skaikru was more modernly "civilized," they were the real monsters in this war.

With Polis’ full attention, Kara steeled her face to imitate Lexa’s stoic expression and began their well-practiced monologue, “Both Skaikru and Kyongedon leaders have left this Earth, not with abdication, but out of sacrifice. They offered their lives, so that I may foment an era of peace among your peoples. With Pike gone, Skaikru was free to implement their ceasefire. Honor Commander Lexa’s life by doing the same.” Then Kara held out the AI chip for the city to see. “As a sign of good will and faith, I bestow the Spirit of the Commander onto Indra and the next Natblida.”

Aden grabbed Indra’s arm and whispered, “The Flame?”

In an exasperated, rather than accusing tone, Indra asked Kara, “Who are you?”

Kara searched for an opening in the crowd, then used her heat vision to carve an infinity symbol into the ground. The symbol of the Grounder’s Commander. As Indra and Aden’s eyes widened in awe, Kara proclaimed, “Ai laik Skaiheda, ogonzuanlinda. Nau, jus nou drein jus daun.” I am Commander of the Sky, Bringer of Peace. Now, blood must not have blood.

Lexa had taught Kara all the Trigedasleng she needed for this mission. At least, that’s what she thought, until Aden yelled, “Wigod oso kru op, Skaiheda. Gonplei kom Heda kigon feva.”

Kara couldn’t understand the words, but as Aden reverently kneeled and looked back up with earnest eyes, she knew that whatever he stated was in acceptance. Indra raised her chin, then kneeled down next to Aden. Then, in a show of solidarity, each Polis civilian slowly bent the knee. Aden and Indra led the Grounders in united compliance.

Kara sighed in relief and glided down to Indra. “Lexa wished for you to advise the next Commander.”

When Kara extended the Spirit of the Commander to Indra, the warrior bowed her head. “I will serve as Shouna, as I served Heda Lexa.” When Indra looked back at Kara, her eyes shone with an adamant fire. Carefully taking the AI from Kara’s hand, she whispered, “Yu gonplei ste odon, Leksa kom Trikru.”

“Farewell, Indra kom Trikru,” Kara said, before shooting back into the sky.

Above the clouds, Kara exhaled in placid satisfaction. Earth 307’s people, both Skaikru and Grounders, were left in good, kind hands. As she mindlessly drifted back to the cave, Kara finally allowed her tense body to relax. The plan worked and she could finally return home with her family and new friends.

Landing next to her sister, she smiled as she watched Lena, Raven, Clarke and Lexa all sitting together eating lunch, which was some sort of small cooked animal.

“How’d it go?” Alex asked.

“Everyone is safe, we can leave,” Kara responded.

When Alex smiled back in relief, Maggie came up behind the Danvers sisters, wrapping her arms around them. “You know, for some reason I’ve got a weird feeling that our crew’s intervention in this timeline just prevented a bunch of stupid shit from happening.”

Chapter Text

When everyone finished up lunch, they split into three groups. The Nerd Squad (Lena, Alex, and Raven) estimated that it would take around half an hour to complete the yellow sun grenade transfusion cord connecting to the tachyon energy core. Once they bent the metal wire to slow the energy current and fully wrapped it in a layer of nylon to control the explosion, the tachyon device would be ready to fire. Maggie and Lexa, presently getting along much better, decided to keep watch together outside the cave. Apparently while Kara covered her Supergirl duties in Arkadia and Polis, Maggie confided in Lexa about her past and her parents. Afterwards, Lexa gained more respect for the detective and even opened up about Costia, Queen Nia, and Titus. It amused Kara that a little bit of lesbian-campfire-bonding helped the pair settle their differences. Clarke offered to finish packing everyone’s bags, since there wasn’t much else left to do and Kara’s only job before departing Earth 307 was to relax and save her energy.

Normally, carrying six people stood as an easy task for a Kryptonian, yet the turbulent tachyon portal definitely presented some challenges. So Kara sat back against the cave wall as Clarke packed up Maggie’s bag and watched the nerdy trio continue discussing their advanced gadget.

“Maybe we should wrap two layers of nylon,” Alex suggested, “The thermal conductivity is 0.25 W/(m · K). That might be too fast.”

Lena tapped the base of her helmet, where she’d normally tap her chin. “Since we’re using a synthetic polyamide, the density will make up for it. 1.15 g/cm^3 is thin enough.”

“Not to mention the electrical conductivity is only 10−12 S/m,” Raven pointed to the equations covering the cave wall.

Lena frowned. “If we slowed the current further, we risk allowing the explosion to stagnate and breach the melting point of 428 °F. Working with Nylon 6 is a little different than what you’re used to, Alex. The DEO exclusively uses Nylon 66, which has the higher melting point of 509 °F.”

“You’re right, we would permanently fry the circuitry,” Alex admitted.

Raven joked, “Device would go boom in a bad way.”

“And we’d be stuck here for who knows how long,” Lena joined in.

Alex held up her hands in comical surrender. “Alright, alright I get it. Just one layer.”

Kara grinned, finding Lena's brilliance incredibly adorable. She looked around, expecting to see a very perplexed Clarke, yet she was nowhere to be seen. Clearly Lena’s dorkiness completely distracted Kara from noticing when Clarke left the cave. Kara remained unconcerned, yet curious as to where she had wandered off. Using her X-ray vision, Kara scanned the area outside and around the cave and found Clarke sitting calmly sitting atop it. Wanting to make sure she felt alright, Kara walked outside, waved to Maggie and Lexa, and then flew up to Clarke.

“Nervous about leaving?” Kara asked, softly landing beside her.

“Not anymore. Just taking it all in one last time,” Clarke sighed. “Most of me wants to forget everything here. Completely wipe all the misery from my mind.” She cynically chuckled, “But to do that, would be to erase the people I loved.”

“Like your mother?”

“My mom, my dad, my friends. The living. The dead.” Clarke wistfully looked to the sky. “I can’t just pretend they didn’t exist.”

“You don’t have to. Here,” Kara held out the photograph that Abby wrote her message. “Your mom told me to give this to you after she read your letter.”

Clarke furrowed her brow, just like Abby had, and gingerly accepted the photograph. Glancing at the picture, she flipped it over to read the inscription. With a conflicted expression, Clarke turned it back over to the image. Clarke ran her thumb over the area where she and Abby lovingly held each other. “Thank you, Kara.”

“Of course.” Kara placed a comforting hand on Clarke’s shoulder. “You’re allowed to miss her. There are always going to be mixed feelings, trust me, I would know. Krypton wasn’t perfect. In fact, my own family was far from perfect.” Tilting her head, Kara continued, “My mom actually betrayed her own sister. She had my aunt arrested and sent off to a prison in the Phantom Zone. I loved them so much, but they both made so many terrible mistakes.”

“I’m sorry that happened...I can relate. My mom made the exact same mistake. Except her lapse in judgment sentenced my father to death.”

After a somber moment of silence, Kara attempted to lighten the mood. “I have to say, it’s pretty darn weird how similar we are.”

Clarke shook her head in amusement. “Yeah. It is pretty darn weird, Kara.” After a moment of more placid, comfortable silence, she asked, “So no one on your Earth really knows who you are?”

“They do. First and foremost, I am Kara Danvers. Supergirl is my secret identity.”

“You know what I meant.”

Kara exhaled. “To protect the people I love from being targeted, I keep my powers hidden. But also so I can have my own normal life.” When Clarke simply responded with a hum, Kara added,“Yeah, I actually have a job as a reporter back home. I write about the news and stuff.”

“Sounds like a lot for one person to balance. How do you have time for all of that?”

“It took a while to figure out how to balance my job, being Supergirl, my family and friends, and then Lena. But once I got the hang of it, it’s been so worth it.”

“Sometimes I wish I could just put on a disguise and be anyone else. Just for a day.” Clarke picked at the moss next to her boots. “I tried running away once. I dyed my hair red, but I was still recognized.”

Kara snorted. “I mean, was that really the best disguise you could think of?”

“Oh shut up, what’s yours? A pair of glasses?” Clarke jovially fired back, throwing some moss at Kara.

“Touché,” Kara giggled. “Well, now you have a clean slate. When we get to Earth 38, you can be whoever you want to be. Whether it’s a doctor, an agent, a reporter, a–”

“An artist. I think I just want a calm, peaceful life as an artist.”

“Then that’s who you’ll be.”

…

“We’re ready!” Alex called from inside the cave.

“Hey Supergirl, come use your handy super-strength and help us move all the machinery outside,” Raven yelled up to the blondes.

Kara extended a hand to Clarke. “Want a lift down? Or do you want a few more minutes up here?”

“No, I’m ready. Thanks,” Clarke answered, taking Kara’s hand and stood up.

Kara wrapped her arm around Clarke’s waist and smoothly leapt down to where Alex, Maggie, Lexa, and Raven stood.

Raven nodded her head at the cave. “Your girlfriend’s inside. She’ll show you how to carry the device carefully. Emphasis on carefully.”

Kara scowled. “I’m not gonna break it, Raven!”

“It’s a delicate system, okay?” Raven huffed.

Alex stepped in. “Hey, don’t worry. Kara’s got this. If you can trust her to carry you through the tachyon portal, you can trust her to deftly carry a tiny device.”

“Sorry, you’re right,” Raven rubbed her forehead. “I’m anxious.”

Maggie pulled Raven into a somewhat awkward side-hug. “I thought your brain was all kinds of awesome? Have a some faith in your Nerd Squad.”

Raven wiggled out of Maggie’s arm and jabbed her impishly. “You’re just jealous of our geniusness.” Then glancing at Kara, she said, “What are you staring at, Supergal? Go get the portal!”

Laughing at their strange interaction, Kara made her way towards Lena. “We all set, love?”

Lena’s gorgeous smile shone through her DEO helmet. “We are indeed.”

Kara affectionately embraced the brunette. “I can’t wait to get home. All I want is a cozy night in our bed, wrapped in your arms and ten blankets.”

“Ten blankets?”

“Yes, ten,” Kara declared, nuzzling into Lena’s shoulder. “I’m sick of this scratchy suit.”

“You’re sick of it?! I’m the one trapped in this uncomfortable confinement,” Lena chuckled.

“Fine, you can be sick of the suit and I can be sick of not being able to touch you. Is that fair?”

Lena pulled out of the embrace to press her helmet against Kara’s forehead. “Not exactly, my darling.”

“Can you two bezzie mates hurry up?” Maggie called from outside. “I do wanna be home by dinner!”

Kara and Lena separated, giggling. “Sorry, we’re coming,” Kara shouted back. “Okay, so how do I carry this thing?”

Lena showed Kara precisely how to carry the harness and the tachyon device connected to the yellow sun grenades so that the fragile wiring remained stable. Strolling beside her, Lena said, “It really would be nice to return in time for dinner.”

“Yeah, I’m starving!”

“You’re always starving,” Lena snorted with a cheesy smile.

When Kara set down the device and the harness, Raven checked the setup to make sure everything stayed intact. Taking a deep breath, she announced, “Everyone strap in.” Once all the women fastened themselves into the dual line arrangement, with Alex, Raven, then Maggie on the left and Lena, Clarke, and Lexa on the right, Kara bent the front piece on the harness around her own body. Raven explained, “You’ll only have about 90 seconds to get into the portal. The high level of radiation in the atmosphere will cause the tachyon particles to fizzle out faster than usual. But you’ve got this, Supergirl.” And Kara knew Raven meant it, because that was the first time she had ever referred to Kara as Supergirl.

“Ready?” Alex asked, preparing to pull the strings connected to the grenade pins.

With nothing but solid confidence, Kara affirmed, “Ready.”

Alex swiftly tugged the strings, releasing each pin from the grenades. When they detonated, the explosion was heard, but not seen. Instead, the nylon-wrapped metal wire connecting to the tachyon device glowed an iridescent gold. The wire grew brighter and brighter until the heat level rose so high that smoke began to emanate from the chord. Kara’s eyes widened in concern, but her worries were promptly eased as the golden glow began to fade and the energy current flooded into the tachyon device’s power center. The multiverse portal erupted from the the core, completely destroying the device itself. A familiar swirling hole of brilliant blues and blacks materialized in front of the seven women.

Clarke muttered, “Holy–”

“It’s beautiful!” Raven gushed.

Kara agreed with Raven’s awestruck assessment of the tachyon portal, but there was no time to stare. She lunged forward with all her strength and––––––Crack! The metal bar connecting her to the harness snapped in half and Kara somersaulted forward, leaving the others attached to the harness behind. Luckily, she stopped tumbling right at the foot of the portal, so she still remained in Earth 307. Clearly the metal was too soft to contain a Kryptonian moving at full speed, so unfortunately, Kara broke through the front of the harness. Within seconds she realized that to safely fly through the multiverse portal, she needed to find a more durable alloy to fix the front belt and re-attach herself.

But Kara didn’t have time to spare.

She had less than 90 seconds.

Kara’s ears burned crimson with frustration and fear as she sat helplessly staring into the dark vortex. She trepidatiously stuttered full of panic and shock. “I-I-uh–”

“Kara. Kara! Look at me,” Alex immediately brought Kara’s tear-filling eyes to focus on her own determined gaze. “Remember when you stopped Cadmus’ alien ship from sending me into the Phantom Zone? And afterward you told it me that it was the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do, but you were able to because I believed in you?” Kara nodded, lower lip trembling, and Alex continued, “Well, Kara, getting back home is a really difficult task, too. But now you have six people who all believe in you.”

Kara scanned the encouraging expressions of the six women strapped into the harness. Everyone remained silent for a moment, except Lexa. She tilted her chin upwards and evenly spoke, “Kara. Yu gada uf, jova, en hodnes in. You have strength, courage, and love.” Lexa’s gesture of confidence inspired a new level of conviction in Kara.

“You can do this, and you have to do it now,” Alex implored.

Kara bit her lower lip, letting her sister’s and Lexa’s words sink in. “I can do this.”

She stood up and rushed back to her family and friends, checking each of their harness belts to make sure they stayed secure. Knowing the rest of the team was safe, Kara instinctively thought up a solution. Her brain clicked into autodrive, compelled by Kara’s desire to protect her loved ones, her superhero intuition taking the reins. She grabbed the two broken metal bars sticking out from the front of the harness and individually bent them in upside-down ‘U’ shapes. Kara turned her back to the team and hoisted the harness onto her shoulders; the broken front belt now functioning similarly to backpack straps. She took one last, deep breath and relaxed every muscle in her body.

“I believe in you and I trust you. No matter what happens in that portal, Kara, I love you,” Lena whispered too quietly for a normal human to hear.

Lena’s few words gave Kara the courage she needed to lunge forward once again. She charged straight into the swirling vortex, white knuckles clenching the metal straps, desperate to hold tight. Gusts of portal wind roiled around Kara, threatening to disrupt her flight, or worse, batter the harness from her grasp. Yet, Kara grunted and screamed, steadying herself against the unyielding environment. She refused to lose. Calling upon every last ounce of strength, she surged towards the Earth 38 entrance and skillfully glided through it. In a flash of bright light, the group burst into the center of the DEO. Kara gently released her grip on the harness, yet inertia caused her to faceplant into the floor.

“Oof,” Kara groaned.

“Welcome back,” J’onn’s familiar voice echoed through the room.

Kara felt the clean atmosphere and healthy yellow sun rejuvenate her Kryptonian cells. Easily pushing herself off the floor, familiar arms embraced her fully. The purple shirt and scent of Creed cologne could only mean one man. “James!”

“It’s nice to have you home, Kara,” James gave a light squeeze. “Did everyone make it back alright?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Kara sighed, relieved as she glanced back at the six women attempting to wiggle out of the harness.

“Kara!” Winn exclaimed from his desk, running over to greet the crew. When Alex cleared her throat, he added, “Aaaaand Alex, Maggie, Lena, and wha-uh-who are you three?”

“Ai laik Heda Leksa kom Trigedakru, en–” Lexa began.

Clarke nudged her. “Stop being so extra, you know they don’t speak Trigedasleng and we don’t want to scare our new friends.”

Lexa rolled her eyes and began again, “I am Commander Lexa of–”

“How ‘bout I do the intros?” Raven interrupted. “I’m Raven, the dramatic one is Lexa, and the embarrassed blonde is Clarke. We helped your four lost puppies get home, and our world sucked so they brought us back with them. Everyone caught up?”

Winn opened and closed his mouth a few times before deciding to simply say, “Okay. Sure. I accept it.”

J’onn raised a hand, about to begin interrogating Kara’s Earth 307 friends, but a large blast from outside shook the DEO building. “We’ll discuss this later,” he said, then walked over to Agent Vasquez’s desk.

“What’s going on outside?” Alex asked.

Winn explained, “Last night we had a minor prison break in the Sector D holding cells.”

“What?!”

“Nothing too major!” he reassured, waving his hands frantically.

Kara’s brow crinkled. “Then James what are you doing here? The city needs Guardian and–”

“Hey whoa, slow down,” James chuckled. “I told J’onn that I wanted to be here when you returned home, so M’gann and a DEO squad are handling the aliens for now.”

“I should help.” Kara marched towards the door.

J’onn called out, “No, Supergirl.”

Kara huffed, “No? I–”

“You need to rest,” he asserted. “You all do. In fact, Lena needs to report to medical immediately.”

James grabbed his coat and walked towards the DEO vehicle area. “Guardian will lend an extra hand. Don’t worry, everything will be fine. I’m glad I got to see you.”

Winn whipped out his Guardian van keys and ran after James. “Kara and Alex, please look at the current Sector D files to update yourself while Lena is in medical.”

“Fine,” Kara mumbled, walking over to Agent Vasquez while J’onn walked Lena to the medical center. She didn’t like waiting even longer to really be with her girlfriend again, but Kara knew how important the radiation detox check was for Lena’s body.

“Here, Supergirl,” Agent Vasquez explained, pulling up a master file on her computer that projected a 3D hologram into the middle of the command center, “I compiled a separate file solely containing our Sector D criminals. Each prisoner’s file is marked in red, green, or blue at the top. The red indicates that they are still out of their cell and in National City, the green indicates that they escaped and were already recaptured, and blue indicates those who never fled custody.”  

“Now that is some cool tech.” Raven gawked at the dazzling hologram.

“Oh, umm you can come see how it works if you want,” Kara offered, cheeks flushing red. She had been so wrapped up in her own world that she had completely forgotten about her new friends. Raven looked around the DEO in wonder, Lexa fidgeted as she slowly analyzed every detail of her new world, and Clarke stared towards the door, as if she couldn’t wait to explore Earth 38. Kara added, “And once we’re done with all the formal report stuff, I can show you guys around National City and we can grab some dinner. How do you feel about potstickers?” Clarke raised a questioning eyebrow. Kara scratched the back of her head, “Okay we can start easy with like pizza tonight…” Clarke raised both eyebrows. “Don’t worry Clarke, I have a feeling you’re gonna love Earth 38 cuisine.”

“Kara, focus,” Alex reprimanded. “We need to see who and what escaped so we can plan for tomorrow.”

“Right, yes, let’s check it out,” Kara said, shifting into her Supergirl pose as Alex began scrolling through the files.

The blue marked files only consisted of Draaga, Queen Maxima of Almerac, and one Maaldorian. The rest of the files were marked in either green or red.

Alex furrowed her brow, “Do we know who was behind the breakout? This was bad…”

Agent Vasquez shook her head, “No. But we have our suspicions.”

“Cadmus,” Kara sighed.

“Yep.”

Lexa finally stepped forward to speak, “So these are our enemies?”

Kara mumbled, “Well technically they aren’t your enemies, but–”

Lexa held out her arm. “An enemy of yours, is an enemy of mine. I will always stand with you, Kara Zor-El. As a friend, first and foremost, but also as an ally.”

When Kara held out her arm expecting a handshake, Lexa’s hand moved past her own and grasped onto Kara’s forearm. Kara assumed that was Grounder culture and grasped Lexa’s arm in return, acknowledging the deep respect the Commander displayed. “Alright, well, let’s see who Guardian already rounded up.”

The 3D hologram that compiled the criminal list flipped through green files of two Hellgramites, one K’hund, Jemm the Saturnian, and three Gibbles. “Wow, James caught so many already,” Kara remarked, impressed.

“He’s been working his ass off for you,” Agent Vasquez laughed. “James wanted to make sure that when you came home you didn’t feel guilty about leaving. He wants you to know that Supergirl can take some occasional, well-deserved vacations and National City will stay safe.” Kara smiled appreciatively and made a mental note to thank James again later.

When Alex flipped to the last green file, Lexa ordered, “STOP!”

“Oh my god,” Raven’s jaw dropped as Clarke gasped, “Anya?”

“Who? This is Veronica Sinclair, also known as Roulette,” Alex said.

Lexa’s jaw clenched then shifted, “No...no it’s...it looks like–”

“Lexa,” Clarke spoke softly, “It’s not her. It’s not possible. Anya died in my arms.”

Clarke reached out to comfort Lexa, but the warrior dodged the affection and moved closer to the hologram. The faint blue light of the three dimensional image reflected in Lexa’s watery forest green eyes. She skeptically examined the physique of Roulette, gaze pausing every so often to linger on the snake tattoos dispersed across Roulette’s neck, legs, arms and stomach. Lexa shakily lifted a hand to the hologram’s cheek, as Kara had once done with Alura’s hologram. Kara looked down, not wanting to see the Commander so vulnerable, and remembered the conversation she had overheard between Lexa and Lena back on Earth 307. Apparently, Anya was a mentor, almost like an older sister to Lexa, and she had been ripped away by their harsh world. Kara could only imagine what it must feel like to see this hologram. The experience was clearly so personal and powerful for Lexa, that no one dared to interrupt.

“I do not understand,” Lexa subsequently whispered, slender fingers dancing through the blue image.

“She might be a doppelgänger.” Kara delicately explained, “Because of the Multiverse, an incalculable number of copies of every individual exists. They look the same, but usually act completely different.”

Lexa glared fiercely into Kara’s eyes. “You said usually. Could this ‘Veronica’ have any part of Anya within her?”

Kara’s stomach dropped as she glanced from Lexa’s stormy expression to the cunning expression that Roulette’s hologram wore. If Lexa sought a caring, good heart, Kara knew the reality of Veronica Sinclair would only hurt the warrior. “Lexa I’m so, so sorry. But Roulette isn’t Anya. Maybe she’d exhibit some similar characteristics or mannerisms, but she doesn’t have Anya’s memories. Roulette is...difficult. And a criminal.”

“Difficult?” Clarke grunted, “Sounds exactly like Anya.”

“Where is she?” Lexa’s gaze remained unwavering.

Maggie attempted to intervene. “Kara can’t break protocol–”

“WHERE IS SHE?” Lexa swallowed hard. “I must to speak to her. See her in person, at least.” Lexa’s eyes shifted from determined to pleading, piercing Kara’s sensitive soul. “Please, Kara? If there is any part of her that vaguely resembles Anya, I...I need closure. I need to know.”

Alex bit her bottom lip. “To hell with protocol. I don’t think we’d ever have to worry about her overpowering you, Commander. As long as you promise not release Roulette from her cell, then sure, you may speak with her. Just not today ‘cause the DEO is on high alert, okay?” Lexa blinked and nodded gratefully. Alex turned her attention back to the Sector D files. “Great. So now that that’s settled, let’s find out who’s still on the loose.”

The first red marked file popped up, belonging to Scorcher, the Infernian who once attacked the President. “Yeah, she’s who M’gann, Guardian, and the DEO are dealing with right now,” Agent Vasquez remarked. “I should probably go help since you’re all set here.”

Agent Vasquez suited up and jogged towards the door, so Raven called out, “Hey, cool secret agent lady. I expect a full technological tour of your unbelievable facilities when you get back.”

“That would be breaking protocol, but apparently that’s what you Earth 307 women are good at,” Agent Vasquez responded with a wink.

“Ooookay moving on,” Kara giggled at Raven’s taken aback face as Agent Vasquez disappeared into the streets.

Alex flipped to the next red file, which contained a hologram of a Black Mercy. “Shit. We’re gonna have to track this thing first tomorrow.”

“Agreed,” Kara concurred; she never wanted anyone else to experience the emotional pain a Black Mercy generates.

“I’ve never seen that nasty plant before.” Maggie wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“It’s a long story, Mags. I’ll tell you some other time,” Alex promised. “Only two more red files on here.”

Kara started, “I really hope one isn’t–” Livewire’s hologram materialized. “Dang it,” Kara pouted.

“Whoa, you’ve got some hot enemies Supergal,” Raven smirked.

“First of all, she’s my archnemesis,” Kara huffed. “And second, she’s less hot and more all-charged-up-and-ready-to-zap-you-to-death.”

“Just because she’s evil, doesn’t mean she’s not sexy when she’s frying people.”

“Ew.” Kara much preferred the sapphic vibes between Raven and Agent Vasquez. She definitely didn’t need her new friend lusting over Livewire. “Okay moving on again.”

“I think we know who that last one is, since Cadmus freed the prisoners,” Alex prefaced before sliding to the last red file.

“Are you KIDDING me?!” Clarke fumed as the hologram of Lillian Luthor sneered down at the six women.

Lexa’s eyes narrowed. “I do not think I enjoy your world, Supergirl.”

“Please don’t tell me that Lillian also has a doppelgänger,” Kara grimaced.

Lexa scowled. “Only Queen Nia of the Ice Nation, herself. The woman who conspired against me and beheaded my first love.”

“Unsurprisingly, she’s an evil bitch in more than one universe,” Lena announced, entering the room with J’onn. Lena looked freshly showered and wore a pair of Kara’s spare sweatpants and NSYNC t-shirt that she kept in the DEO for lounging around in between Supergirl rescues. Her emerald eyes shone with a new liveliness and her skin glowed back to its natural pale color.

“Lena!” Kara sped to her girlfriend and swept Lena off her feet. Normally Kara wasn’t a fan of PDA, but it had been much too long since she was able to kiss her soulmate. So with one hand trailing through Lena’s raven hair and one hand firmly around her waist, pulling her close, Kara allowed her feet to drift upwards off the floor. Hovering above the floor with her cape wrapping around Lena’s body, their lips drew together like magnets. Lena attempted to start gently, but Kara immediately sunk into the kiss, craving the familiar taste of her mouth.

Alex pretended to gag. “Ugh, get a room.”

“I’ll go call Jess and let her know that Lena’s back,” Maggie chuckled.

J’onn muttered something about Supergirl having to talk to Pam in HR, but Kara couldn’t care less. Because Lena was here and healthy and in her arms. And nothing else in this universe, or any universe, mattered.

Their lips broke apart only when Lena needed air. Kara’s eyes watered slightly and a tear ran down her left cheek. Lena tenderly brushed it away. “It’s alright, darling. We’re home now.”

“I know,” Kara laughed. “I’m not sad, I’m relieved.” She sniffed and pressed her forehead against Lena’s. “And I just love you so much.”

Lena kissed the tip of Kara’s nose. “I love you, too.”

Chapter Text

Kara wobbled through her balcony door and collapsed onto the living room couch. She groaned, kicking off her shiny, red boots and removing her cape. She had spent all day fighting some weird humanoid experiment named Appex; a nasty, giant grey-skinned dude that Lex Luthor had modified and sent after Supergirl. Apparently, Lena’s older brother had grown tired of the Super always meddling in his family affairs. Appex wasn’t a threat to National City, but considering his sole focus was to use Supergirl as a personal punching bag, Kara had a pretty rough day.

Kara sighed and reached for the television remote, yet the calendar on the far wall caught her eye. Because of her incredibly hectic day, Kara had forgotten today’s date: March 3, 2017. Exactly a year since she and Lena had traveled to Earth 307 and brought back Clarke, Lexa, and Raven. And boy, what a year had transpired…

It felt like only yesterday that Lena opened a new L Corp branch to center on helping people with physical disabilities. Raven’s strength and motivation inspired Lena to focus on individuals, not just the big picture. She helped Lena realize that being a force for good doesn’t always mean only solving the world’s most crucial problems, because helping others interpersonally holds equal, if not more, importance. She hired Raven as chief architect and director for the new branch, with a goal to create better technology to reduce pain and help make lives easier for people with disabilities. Lena knew Raven would be perfect for the job, not just from personal experience, but because of Raven’s ingenuity with Earth 38 technology from the moment she arrived.

Only a week after settling into the new Earth, Raven quickly acclimated herself to all the advanced computer systems and bio-mechanics their world possessed. She drew up a basic blueprint of a new pain reducing, nerve-adjustable leg brace for herself and showed it to Lena, asking if she could borrow L Corp’s facilities. Lena not only granted the young mechanic full access to the L Corp bio-med lab, but also offered to personally assist in creating the final product. When the two geniuses finished building the prototype, they had Winn spunk it up a bit. He painted the brace in a cool steampunk design using black, gold and a shade of red that perfectly matched Raven’s leather jacket. On one of the golden gears, Winn had even imprinted her last name “Reyes” with a little gold wrench underneath. Raven had teared up and practically pounced on Winn, hugging him tightly. “Thanks gadget-guy, it’s beautiful!”

Of course Raven kept her last name Reyes, as Clarke kept her last name Griffin. Yet, because “kom Trikru” wasn’t exactly a last name and sounded more like a botched French phrase, Commander Lexa became Lexa Griffin. Apparently Lexa already swore fealty to Clarke, or something, so they’re basically married? Kara didn’t fully understand and she knew that sometimes it’s better to not ask that couple too many questions and just accept things that somehow made perfect sense to the two of them.

While Raven worked at L Corp, Lexa worked at the DEO (although she liked to refer it as ‘Supeirkru’). Lexa routinely worked as a strategist since Clarke didn’t want her out fighting and risking her life as much anymore. But occasionally, when a threat stood only slightly perilous, Lexa joined Supergirl on missions. Clarke’s convinced that it’s just an excuse to wear her old outfit, of which Winn reproduced an identical replica, except he used a protective mesh material. Lexa’s new Commander outfit was completely bulletproof and her warpaint now contained anti-heat minerals.

Evidently, when Lexa received her new suit, that’s exactly when she decided it was time to meet Roulette. Lexa had marched down to the Sector D holding cells and nearly scared the daylights out of Veronica Sinclair. She quickly realized that black jeans, a forest green t-shirt and a leather jacket proved to be less terrifying attire to the Earth 38 criminal.

At first, their meetings were brief and somewhat hostile, with Roulette extremely confused and annoyed while Lexa seemed incredibly frustrated. Yet Lexa remained determined to analyze and familiarize herself with Anya’s doppelgänger. Beyond looking identical, Lexa instinctually felt Anya’s presence deep down in this woman. She knew that it wasn’t just wishful thinking and the time spent trying to connect with Roulette would not be wasted. After nearly five weeks of turbulent visits, Roulette finally caved and opened herself up to the resolute warrior. Kara never knew what the unlikely pair discussed together, but she trusted Lexa’s judgment.

After a couple months of Lexa breaking through to Roulette and prodding out the Anya-like characteristics, Kara noticed a distinct change in the typically cunning and apathetic woman’s demeanor. Roulette started to make lighthearted, sassy jokes towards Lexa when she challenged her and even treated Supergirl with an increased amount of respect. When Lexa came down with the stomach flu and didn’t visit for a week, Roulette had inquired where she was, genuinely curious about Lexa’s wellbeing. The most salient change in Roulette’s behavior was when she requested a single phone call. Alex had been skeptical of Roulette’s intentions, yet a few days later all of Roulette’s stolen and smuggled alien technology showed up in a U-Haul truck outside L-Corp; clearly a deliberate olive branch and a step towards making amends. A card attached to one of the boxes in the truck read: Lena. I hope one day we can work together for National City’s benefit, not solely our own. Best, Veronica Sinclair.

Within eight months, the DEO released Veronica on probation. Kara and even Lena were fully convinced that through spending time with Lexa, Roulette had officially transformed into a more agreeable version of her pre-villainous self.

Although Lexa thoroughly enjoyed visiting Veronica, she preferred spending her time on the battlefield with Supergirl. And James happened to capture the first gorgeous picture of the two heroes fighting side by side against Cyborg Superman and Lillian Luthor. Cat, obviously thrilled about a new female hero, wanted to name Lexa “Warrior Raccoon” after seeing her warpaint. A very long argument ensued between Cat and James, because of his determination to have Lexa’s hero identity named “The Commander.” Eventually Kara had to fly in as Supergirl and threaten that if CatCo branded The Commander with any other name, she would only interview with The Daily Planet for a whole year. Finally Cat caved and when that month’s issue of CatCo magazine came out, Kara had it framed for Lexa to hang in her and Clarke’s apartment.

Since the couple lived in the same apartment building as Kara, just a few floors down, they regularly spent time together. Often times, Kara would drop by with hot cocoa while Clarke and Lena were at work on Saturdays. She and Lexa would teach each other little bits of their native languages: Kryptonian and Trigedasleng. Kara always remembered to call Lexa “Heda,” and one day, the Commander had asked Kara if there was a word for “commander” in Kryptonian. The closest translation Kara came up with was “Drygur,” which loosely translated to “leader.” Albeit Kara insisted that she didn’t deserve the Kryptonian title, Lexa argued that Kara’s special, like Clarke and herself; Kara was truly a born leader and a hero to countless people from multiple worlds.

“You were born for this, Drygur Kara Zor-El,” Lexa had confidently declared.

Kara had bashfully smiled, dried hot cocoa coating her upper lip. “Mochof, Heda Leksa kom Trikru.”

Kara’s visits with Clarke weren’t as intellectually intense as those with Lexa. Clarke refrained from talking about Earth 307 with anyone besides Lexa, so Kara never prodded her. When Kara and Clarke spent quality time together, they usually set up easels on the balcony to paint or draw together for hours. Clarke painted luscious green forests and star filled skies and she drew the faces of people Kara vaguely remembered meeting in the apocalyptic world. Sometimes Kara could tell from Clarke’s art that she missed her mom, but she knew Clarke wanted and deserved this new beginning. Her art rarely held an evident darkness or deep sorrow, most of the masterpieces appeared hopeful. While Clarke painted scenes from her past world, Kara finally gained the courage to paint what images, landscapes, and people she remembered from Krypton. Both women would acknowledge the beauty and talent in the other’s work, yet neither asked questions; their time together used for therapeutic silence.

Although Clarke found the time to relax with Kara, her life ventured far from unoccupied. Clarke’s usage of strokes and colors prevailed unmatchable in skill, so incredible that she gained a massive following and opened her own art gallery after only four months on Earth 38. She opened the gallery in an open lot a few blocks away from the CatCo building, where she also worked part time as an illustrator and digital editor––a job offer that came accidentally.

Cat Grant had stormed into Kara’s office about some reporter business, when she noticed a particular framed photo on her desk. It was a gorgeous colored pencil and watercolor sketch of Kara and Lena together that Clarke had given as a gift to the two of them. Cat did a double take when she saw it and then questioned Kara on who created it. Kara told Cat that her friend Clarke had drawn it up and asked why she wanted to know. Cat, with a dumbfounded expression, explained, “A large part of media is visuals, Kiera. I don’t want any more simple-minded, ill-thought out cartoons from Jason Rothenberg. He’s fired. I want real art, I want real talent. Get me in touch with this Claire. I’ll hire her on the spot.”

Clarke also volunteered at Luthor Children’s Memorial Hospital when she had a spare moment. Obviously J’onn offered her a position at the DEO medical labs, but she turned it down. Clarke really just wanted a calm, quiet life as an artist, and that’s exactly what she earned.

To grant Clarke and Lexa complete peace of mind, Barry offered to check up on Earth 307 every few months. He would stealthily meet up with Clarke’s mom and take note of every change in their universe. Apparently, Marcus Kane and Abby Griffin led Skaikru once again, while Indra continued to advise and serve the next commander, Aden. King Roan pulled Azgeda, the Ice Nation, back in line and re-pledged loyalty to the Commander and other clans. Lincoln and Octavia helped bridge the peace between the Grounders and Skaikru permanently. Together they had a one month old daughter named Anya, in honor of one of the first Grounder leaders who wanted to work towards peace with Skaikru. The war ended and everyone seemed united, or as close to it as one could get in any society...

Kara snapped out of her reflective thoughts when her super hearing picked up on familiar footsteps and a heartbeat outside the apartment door. A key turned in the lock and Lena walked into the room.

“Why Supergirl, don’t you have a city to protect? What are you doing lounging about on my living room couch?” Lena playfully asked.

“Just waiting for you to come home, silly,” Kara smiled and stood up to greet her girlfriend, placing a soft kiss on the brunette’s cheek.

Lena raised an eyebrow. “What were you thinking about?”

Kara bit her lower lip; Lena knew her much too well. “Nothing really. Just reflecting.”

“Well,” Lena chuckled, “If you’re done ruminating, how about we get everything set up for tonight?”

…

“Alright, just be safe James...Yeah, you too...Bye!” Kara placed her phone on the table. “Guardian is officially out on patrol, J’onn and M’gann are having a night out,” Kara wrapped her arms around Lena’s waist, pulling her close, “And Supergirl is officially off the clock.”

Lena gently rubbed the tip of her nose against Kara’s. “Mmm right on time for movie night.”

The smell of three boxes of freshly baked pizza wafted around the room; enough pizza to fill the stomachs of five adult humans and one Kryptonian. Kara couldn’t wait for Alex, Maggie, Clarke, and Lexa to arrive. Of course Raven had also been invited, but the mechanic found an Earth 307/38 anniversary celebration way too cheesy for her taste. And anyway, Raven was currently out on a date with her mystery girlfriend, who she’d been seeing for a couple weeks now.

Alex and Maggie never wasted an opportunity to bet on something, so they didn’t mind the secrecy. Alex thought Lucy Lane and Raven would be a great match, while Maggie was convinced that it’s Livewire, based on a comment Raven made, describing the woman in question as having an “electric personality.” Lena joined in the bet for fun, suggesting that it could even be Veronica Sinclair. Normally, Kara didn’t like betting on friends’ personal lives, but she was secretly hoping that Raven was dating Agent Vasquez.

“Sounds like Clarke and Lexa are here,” Kara announced, pulling away from Lena and walking towards the door to greet the couple. Before Clarke could raise her hand to knock, Kara swung open the door, grinning ear to ear. “Welcome to movie night!”

Lexa wore a black tank top and dark red plaid boxers; even in this universe, that girl still only wore the same dark earthy tones. Clarke showed up with an impish smirk across her face wearing Supergirl pajama pants, per usual. Kara always pretended to be annoyed, but she secretly got a kick out of it.

Then Kara cocked her head in confusion. “Wait, where’s the beer?”

Clarke rolled her eyes and marched into the room. “Lexa, care to explain?”

“I am aware that providing the fermented grain beverage was our responsibility, yet Raven informed me of a more important custom called ‘bringing a housewarming gift.’” Lexa held out two scented candles, “And nothing delivers more warmth than candlelight.”

Kara began, “Umm, I’m not sure–”

But Lena cut her off, “Thank you, Lexa, they smell lovely.” She walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon. “Tonight is a special occasion anyway, so commonly brewed beer simply wouldn’t do.”

“Ah, Luthor’s brought out the fancy-shmancy wine, huh?” Maggie laughed as she and Alex let themselves in. They wore dorky matching pajama sets that Kara just knew Alex made Maggie buy.

“What happened to the beer?” Alex asked, lugging in four pints of chunky monkey ice cream.

Clarke simply groaned in response, “Can we just watch the movie?”

“Yeah, it’s Lena’s turn to pick,” Kara said, loading up two separate plates of pizza for herself.

Then it was Maggie’s turn to groan, “Ugh, I know exactly what we’re watching.”

“Imagine Me and You,” Lena and Maggie said in sync, although Lena’s voice definitely sounded more enthusiastic.

Alex laughed, “Seriously, again?”

“Yes it’s my favorite,” Lena squinted her eyes. “If you’re that against the movie, we could always try Star Wars again.”

“NO!” Kara and Clarke yelled in unison.

The group had once tried to binge watch the sci fi series before, but something about wars, space, and blown up planets just didn’t sit right with the two blondes.

Lena triumphantly beamed. “Then Imagine Me and You it is!”

Kara set up the DVD player while everyone else grabbed their food. Once everything was ready, she dimmed the lights and each woman cuddled up to their respective girlfriend. Tonight was probably the trillionth time Kara and Lena had watched this movie together, but they never grew tired of it. Not to mention, Kara’s convinced Imagine Me and You caused Lena’s affinity for flowers. And despite Alex and Maggie’s protest, they seemed to be enjoying the movie as well. Unsurprisingly, Lexa and Lena sniffled at the sappy scenes and Maggie lightly teased them, even though Alex also teared up in her arms.

By the end of the film, as the credits rolled and the song “Happy Together” played in the background, half of the women were fast asleep. Alex and Maggie passed out holding hands, their engagement rings glittered from the tv light reflecting off of them, creating a myriad of tiny rainbow spots that danced around the ceiling. Clarke barely kept her eyes open as she sleepily traced Lexa’s arm tattoo while the fearsome warrior lightly snored against her chest.

Kara watched Lena blithely smile in Clarke and Lexa’s direction. Lena nuzzled closer into the crook of Kara’s neck and whispered, “When you think you’ve seen it all… First a post-apocalyptic world with AI’s, what’s next? A western world with gunslinging demons?”

Kara lovingly stroked Lena’s cheek and giggled, “Ha, don’t be ridiculous!”