Chapter Text
It had been over a decade now. More than ten years of proudly weaning her family's crest on her chest to portray hope as she fought against all odds, foes, and herself. But now, Kara Danvers, Supergirl, had earned the title of being National City's hero in her own right. And the best part was that she was no longer alone to uphold such responsibility.
"On your six, Supergirl!" Alex shouted as her wife covered both of them from the incoming lasers.
"Brainy, how are we looking?" The Girl of Steel asked as she blasted her heat vision over the arsenal stored in the apparently not-so-abandoned warehouse.
"I've detected three more abnormal signatures," he answered through the com, being back at the Tower, "Dreamer is on her way, with backup."
"Are you sure this is the right mission?" Kara asked, covering behind her cape as fire blasts were aimed her way.
"We've discussed it," Alex began, engaging in hand-to-hand combat against a rough alien.
"And we think that she'll be safer if her first fight is with us watching her back," Kelly added, "besides, she's not getting anywhere near the action, we agreed on solely coping powers to help us evaluate the weakness of our enemies."
"And she should be arriving right about now," they heard Lena's voice on their frequency.
"I'll make sure to cloak her," J'onn assured, flying to meet Esme and Nia. The little girl had grown up to be a determined and valiant teen who had been stubbornly determined to also join in the family tradition of becoming a superhero.
"Ready?" J'onn asked his granddaughter as she fixed her mask.
"Ready." She said adamantly as J'onn merged them both to phase through the ground and sneak behind enemy lines to ambush the gang.
Even though Esme was surrounded by National City's mightiest heroes, that didn't stop Kelly or Alex from sharing a worried look.
"This is too soon, isn't it? Maybe we jumped the gun on this?" Alex asked, her voice ringing with concern as they took cover to regroup as Nia distracted the criminals to give Esme an opening.
"I'm pretty sure that's the same reaction you had when you saw me wear the suit for the first time," Kara answered, blowing her frosty breath to create an ice barricade with the remains of the wall.
"Well, yeah, you are my baby sister and you decided to dive headfirst into danger."
"A family trait, I might add." Kelly jabbed jokingly, trying to ease her own nerves as she adjusted her gear.
"Don't worry, I made sure to equip Esme's suit with everything I could think of. It's basically an indestructible exoskeleton, made with fire-resistant material, and bulletproof armor, too." the CEO said reassuringly, "With a protection spell added for good measure."
Kelly huffed amusedly as her wife smirked, "Thanks, Lena."
"Anything for that little girl." The youngest Luthor replied heartedly.
"More like 'rebellious teen' now, but yeah." Alex chuckled a bit more relieved, looking back at her sister, who was grinning in her signature adorkable way at the sound of Lena's voice in her ear.
The oldest Danvers patted her sister's arm to get her attention, "Hey, coms out for a second," she asked, taking off her own as the super complied as well.
"What's up?"
"Are you sure you have time for this?" Alex asked, "Kelly and I can easily take over if you need to go."
Guardian closed in, "Yeah, Kara. If you still need to set up some last-minute arrangements we can cover for you."
Kara smiled with adoration at both of them, "Thank you, guys. But it's under control, I promise. I just need to take a quick flight to Paris, but the bakery won't open for another hour anyway. And dinner is ready, all I have to do is use my heat vision and voilà! Everything will be set!"
"Okay, we'll try to wrap it up quickly, just in case. You do need to shower."
"Rude!" Kara's laughter was cut short by her barricade being blown to pieces, "Well, recess is over." She put her com back online, "Beta team, how are we looking on that copy-cat plan?"
"They have a fire-breather, and also an alien with unbreakable skin, it's going to be tough to take him down." Esme explained, "A psyche attack is the best option."
"Copy that," Kara said, "You two get rid of their arsenal, I'll take down the powered-up aliens." She instructed before rushing back to the arena.
After facing bigger foes for so many years, taking down gangs of underground and intergalactic arm dealers was just considerably easier. They didn't have a strategy or laid out plans, just pure brute force, and their brawls were nothing compared to hers. And their organization was no match for the incredible team backing her up every step of the way. Her Superfriends. Her family.
Before the battle could really escalate, it was basically over. Guardian and Sentinel had already handcuffed the goons as Nia recollected all the guns that would be confiscated and dismantled under Lena's supervision back in the Tower.
"Well done, team," J'onn appeared next to Esme.
"You did it!" Both proud parents smothered their daughter as the teen shrugged in a mix of embarrassment and pride.
"I'd say this mission was a complete success!" Kara said, smiling grandly as she posed in her usual hero stance. The only difference was that now her aura carried something else in it. A kind of security and confidence that exuberated the way she carried herself. She was no longer a Kryptonian trying to find her place on Earth, she knew where she belonged and whom she belonged to. She had a family, a home, a purpose. She was Supergirl.
Alex Danvers wrapped an arm around Kara's shoulders, "Come here little sister,"
"I'm not that little anymore," the super rolled her eyes.
"You'll always be my little sister." Alex shrugged carefree as both turned around to see the scene before them. All of them together, knowing that Lena and Brainy were celebrating through the coms as well. The real victory was that this picture-perfect moment was everything both had worked so hard to achieve.
"It really makes you look back, doesn't it?" the oldest sibling asked, "How it started, how we kept on pushing obstacle after obstacle, but finally...how we are here. After everything we've lived through."
"Yeah," Kara mumbled, her hands fidgeting with the small cold metal that fitted so perfectly into one of her fingers. "I guess today it's really the day to look back at it all, isn't it?" the super turned to her sister.
"For the first time in a long while, looking back doesn't hurt," she nodded, "I'd say we've earned ourselves this happiness, don't you agree?"
Kara embraced her sister in a side hug, "Indeed."
"So!" Nia clapped loudly, getting everyone's attention, "Should we go for some dumplings to celebrate?!"
"Here- here!" Alex raised her hand, going to Kelly's side as the other woman enveloped her in arms to kiss her.
"That sounds like a great plan," J'onn smiled, I'll call M'gann."
"Are you coming with us, Aunt Kara?!" Esme turned to look at the hero with hopeful eyes.
The super laid a hand over her shoulder, smiling softly, "Sorry, little one. I'll come next time, but I have somewhere to be."
"I'd say." A voice echoed from the back of the warehouse as a figure limped towards them, his sight fixed on the red and blue hero, "You should really haven't messed with our operation, Kryptonian. You put a serious dent on our plans for the future. But don't worry, I'm sure I can fix that." his eyes sparkled a deep shade of orange.
"Restrain him!" J'onn ordered, feeling that his attack was beyond the physical realm.
"Don't!" Esme jumped in, copping his powers and turning them back on himself, unaware of what his abilities might be.
"Get out of my head you little brat!" he shouted, his tone raw and desperate. "You are going to ruin everything!"
Supergirl flew right up to him, ready to apprehend him, but in the explosion of his eyes, she saw fragments of her own life on them, and suddenly her mind wandered to pieces of the past, and then... everything turned white.
"Okay, that did not go as expected!" Mxyzptlk shook it off as the shiver went up to his spine, "Okay, so let's try another one! We are getting close, I can feel it!" he turned to Kara...finding her on her supersuit, "Hold on, how did you-? Someone got a wardrobe change."
"Mxy?" Kara frowned looking at the fifth-dimensional creature, "What are you doing here? Did you come to help us with the aliens?" She urged, before taking in her surroundings, no one from her team was with them. "What are we doing at my old apartment?" Her eyes traveled throughout the room. The scene was scarily akin to the time he had shown up to...
"Kara?" Mxy eyed her closely, meticulously. He could see it, he could feel it. He gawked at her suit, scrutinizing it, "Is your...is your clothing emanating magic?"
Kara gazed down at her attire, at the symbol on her chest, "Yes, Lena put a protection spell on it." She answered slowly.
"Lena?" He repeated, pointing at the vintage TV screen, "As in the same Lena we are currently trying to get on her good side?" By the way her eyes widened, that comment was the very last confirmation she needed to know that something was terribly wrong, and the last clue Mxy required to put the pieces of the puzzle together. The way she carried herself alone was a dead giveaway, "You are not...you are not from around here, are you?" he gestured to the room, "not from...this time period?"
Kara's eyes crystalized as reality slowly dawned on her, "What did I get myself into?"
"Can we talk? Alone?" Kara barely registered Alex's words as she looked around with no Lena to be found to complete her task of fixing her friendship with the youngest Luthor. Instead, she was in front of Mon-el as Alex peeked through the door of the training room at the old DEO base of operations.
"Wrong one Mxy!" Kara shouted to the ceiling, "How am I supposed to reveal my identity here?"
"Kara?" Alex called confused.
The kryptonian didn't pay her much mind as she gazed at her attire, "You even missed the clothes! I'm in the same ones as in my apartment!"
"Hold it? How did you change so fast?" Mon-el interrupted, "I didn't even see you move with your super speed. You couldn't have made it back and forward like that."
"Okay, so clearly you had a fluke!" Kara kept on shouting in the general direction.
"Kara, who are you talking to?" Alex walked closer to her sister, looking at her worriedly.
Kara felt her palms sweating and her heart hammering down hard. Something was off, like really, really wrong, "Mxyzptlk, I want out." she snapped her fingers, "Not funny!" she started panicking as nothing changed. "This better not be one of your games!"
"Kara, what's going on with you?!" Alex demanded, grabbing her shoulders and looking into her eyes. When the blue skies gazed back at her, she could see how they looked...more mature; wiser. They carried experience in them. Her face even looked slightly older. How her baby sister seemed...not so little anymore.
"Alex...what year is it?"
Kara punched the air. If Mon-el had actually avoided that hit, she was mighty impressed... except Mon-el wasn't there. Instead, she was at an abandoned warehouse, where clearly a battle had taken place.
"Hello?" she called, looking around. How had she gotten there? She was practicing with Mon-el, she was scolding him...had he done this as payback? "Mon-el, you are not getting anywhere if you keep avoiding responsibilities!" she demanded when suddenly a woman in a blue suit rushed in at the sound of her voice.
"Guys! I found her!" She shouted and Kara rapidly opened her stance wider, ready for a fight. Behind the woman with long brown hair and a mask, appeared two more people wearing costumes of their own. One with a golden helmet and another one hiding under a deep blue hood.
"Supergirl!" the one with a shield said as the hooded one sighed with relief, "We have her, Brainy." She announced over through her com and that comment alone pushed her to the edge.
Kara was not about to find out what they wanted to do with her, but if they had been able to abduct her from the DEO, then she couldn't underestimate them. She flew right past them to reach the open skies, talking into her com, "J'onn, I have someone following me, they infiltered into the DEO, I don't know how, but they took me out from there." The static buzzed in her ear, offering no reply, "J'onn, Alex?" she called again, "They jammed my signal!" she scoffed, flying towards the DEO base of operations and...finding it was no longer there, "What the-?" she used her x-ray vision, but there was no trace of what it used to be there just a minute ago.
"J'onn, Alex?!" she cried into her device, "Please, answer me! Where are you? Are you hurt?!" but the only answer she had was the distant echo of her own voice, and panic began to take over.
"Come on, Kara, think." She scolded herself, flying in circles around the city for what felt like hours, looking at her surroundings for something, -anything- to give her a sign. And a sign is what caught her eye. A poster of herself pulled in all of her attention, mainly because she didn't remember it being there or even taking that picture in the first place. Her suit wasn't even remotely alike to the one she was currently wearing.
"What is this?" She frowned in confusion, nothing looked like it should. It was like her city but...not quite. This wasn't her home..."Home!" The thought of having somewhere to go filled her with relief as she immediately flew into her apartment... only to find it completely unrecognizable as to how it should be. None of her things were there; her couch, her furniture, all of it gone! Her pictures were replaced by those of a young couple that apparently lived there now.
"No, no, no, no." Kara backed away, hearing people in the other room- her room. Using her x-ray vision, she saw the couple being startled by her presence, because to them, she was the intruder in her own house! She bolted out of there, flying aimlessly. "This has to be another dimension, it has to be another Earth!" But why was there another Supergirl on this Earth?
Her next instinct was to fly as fast as she could to maybe tear the fabric of reality and slip back into her original Earth. That could do the trick, but her attempts didn't result in anything. She couldn't accumulate enough energy to make a rift. Not on her own, not like that. Perhaps finding this world's Supergirl and asking for her help could get her enough energy for a jump start. But as much as she looked for her, there was no other Kara Danvers soaring through the sky... It was hopeless, and the symbol on her chest could do nothing to convince her otherwise...
Was there any place that still looked slightly familiar? Or resembled something she could identify as her home?
Without knowing or questioning herself as to why, she landed behind CatCo's building, but even that place looked so different from the one she knew. And no picture or even mention of Cat Grant was in sight. This really wasn't her city...
She stumbled backward, leaning on the wall and sliding to the cold ground, hugging her knees to her chest, "Where am I?" She asked the stars, feeling overwhelming homesickness that she hadn't felt since Krypton exploded...and that thought sparked an idea, "The Fortress!" It was a last resort, a long shot, but it was a piece of home, nonetheless! She could go there!
"Supergirl! There you are! We've been looking everywhere for you!" A bright blue portal appeared next to her as the same three figures from earlier emerged from it. Had they been the reason she was taken to this place?
"Stay away from me!" Kara warned, standing up with newfound resolve, already charging into battle. If there were no places left to run to in this city, might as well stand her ground and face the unknown threat. And so, she threw the first punch that missed by less than an inch.
"Wow, hey!" The youngest woman complained, dodging her attacks, "What's wrong? Why are you attacking us?" she asked, truly confused. "Were you exposed to red kryptonite?"
The mention of the rock only managed to upset her further, "I don't know who you are, or how you abducted me, but you are going to take me back home!"
The woman in the blue hood stepped into the brawl, moving with far more combat experience than the other two. Her technique was flawless and determined and...it felt oddly similar to her own. This person could predict her movements and read her punches with scarily impeccable skill. Not even with her super-strength Kara could even the match between them, so it came as no surprise when the hooded woman managed to subdue her in a lock, forcing Kara to for the first time, be still and even listen to her own accelerated heartbeat, that only raced faster when the woman spoke next, "Kara, please stop!"
The fact that she had said her name was nothing short of alarming, but when her voice registered, Kara's world stopped.
"Al-Alex?"
The woman slowly let go, taking her hood down to reveal her face. Her short red hair was now a darker shade and completed by a buzz cut from one side. Under the dramatic makeup, a pair of brown eyes gazed worriedly at her, with such softness and reassurance that Kara couldn't mistake them. That was her sister.
"Alex!" She jumped into her arms, hugging her tightly, "What's- what's going on? What dimension are we in? Why do you look older?!" Tears were roaming out of her eyes as the redheaded cuddled her close to her chest. She hadn't held Kara like this in the longest time...
"Older?" Kelly repeated cautiously what Kara had said.
Nia leaned in next to Guardian to mumble, "Is- is she wearing her original costume?"
It was so obvious and yet...no one was ready to say it first.
Alex let go despite Kara's arms still urging her to hug her tightly. The oldest Danvers slightly pushed back to look into her face; her innocent, scared, and almost child-like face. She hadn't seen that doubt and that fear in her sister's eyes in years.
"Kara...what is the last thing you remember?" Alex asked softly, but somehow, the caution in Alex's tone and her well-concealed grimace was the scariest sensation in the world. Because if Alex was worried, then something was truly wrong.