The Rescue
Minute: 38,897: The Rescue
“She’s what?” She’s sure she has heard incorrectly and her niece did not just state that Alex was…
“Mis—sing” Her heart sinks to her feet when she hears the break in her Little One’s voice.
“Kara.” “Kara.” Her voice is soft and soothing and it takes her back to a place when Krypton still existed and Kara’s biggest problem was whether or not the son of one of her father’s friends liked her back.
She finally gets to look into blue eyes. “Alex, Alex is brave and strong and smart. She can take care of herself until we find her.”
“We?”
“Do you really believe that I wouldn’t help you, Little One?”
Her heart slowly makes its way back up from her feet when she sees Kara crack a small smile.
“Just get me out of here Kara. Let me help you.” Her niece nods and opens the door. Not a moment later Astra has her arms wrapped tightly around the woman she’s always considered her daughter.
“Why would you help, Aunt Astra?” Astra simply states, “She’s your sister, Kara.”
“So what does that make you and her?” Astra hesitates. She lifts her head from where it was resting on Kara’s shoulder.
“I don’t know, Kara. I don’t know.” It’s the first time she has acknowledged to someone other than herself that there may be something more to her relationship with Alex. What it is, she still is not sure, but she knows something is there. How could there not be? They are bound together by their love and fierce protection of the Last Daughter of the House of El.
Kara seems to accept that answer or rather file it away for another time.
“Come on, Little One. We have a stubborn human to find.” Astra smiles when Kara snorts.
They make their way to the control room. Everyone freezes when they see the General standing before them unrestrained. Hank is the first one to approach them and guide them off to the side.
“What do you think you’re doing, Supergirl? You can’t just release a prisoner because you want to.” His voice is hushed but sharp. Kara doesn’t flinch.
“She can help, Hank.” Her voice is strong and confident and so sure that Astra wants to jump for joy. The Martian turns his gaze to the General.
“You put one toe out of line, and you will not live to regret it for more than a few seconds. If I even think that you are leading us astray— “
“I understand, Martian. I have no intention of causing harm to anyone other than the being that thought it was a good idea to kidnap Kara’s sister. That alone makes them my enemy.” Her eyes are fire, her voice is ice, and her heart, well, it’s set on murder.
Hank nods.
They stand watching the screens. They scroll through the prisoners of Fort Rozz that escaped from the battle.
“There! That one. He is the one that is most likely to pull this off.” The scrolling comes to a stop on one file.
“Who is he?”
“He was one of my followers. He was part of Krypton’s Navy and a damn good sailor. No one could navigate a vessel through the stars like he could. He had more honor than most.” She gets this faraway look on her face. “But, you see, Director Henshaw, Fort Rozz changes a person. It is a living hell. It is a fate that I would not wish upon even my greatest of enemies. He is, well, different now. He is definitely behind this.”
“Aunt Astra?” She shakes her head clear of the memories.
“I imagine he will want a trade, me for your Agent.”
“Then why has there been no contact?” It is a valid question.
“But there has been. The kidnapping itself. That was the first move. The ball is in our court now, as you humans say.” She looks pointedly at Hank. A small smirk finds its way onto her face.
“What do we do, Aunt Astra? It’s not like we know where they are hiding.”
“But we can find out. We just have to listen.”
“I’ve tried. I can’t hear her heartbeat or her voice.”
“Exactly, Little One. What is the one thing that weakens our hearing and sight?”
“Lead! Of course.” She smacks herself on the forehead.
“Vasquez—” The small woman is already typing away at the computer.
“There’s a structure that seems to be made entirely of lead just off the— “
Both Kryptonians are gone by the time Vasquez finishes her sentence.
Kara swerves around her aunt who has come to a full stop mid-air.
“Do you hear that, Little One?” Lub, dub. Lub, dub. Alex.
Two booms echo across the city as they take off toward the sound. The beach, how nice…Seriously what is everyone’s fixation with being around sand? She is still finding grains of sand from just walking through the desert weeks ago.
They both land leaving craters in the sand. Alex is on her knees bound by rope and gagged with, well, Astra doesn’t really want to know. All she knows is that the woman is not moving and her head is lolled forward. Kara doesn’t scan Alex for more than a second before she moves.
“Gener—” The man does not get to finish his statement before he finds himself pressed up against the lead wall of the building and a firm grip closing around his neck. He looks over the cape clad shoulder to shoot a pleading look toward his commander. She is busy tending to the human.
“Traitor!” the word falls from his mouth like poison.
“You took my sister.” She punches him in his side. She can feel the bones cracking under her fist.
“You hurt her.” She punches him in his mouth. His head bounces off of the wall. He stops moving.
“You saw what I did to your fellow soldiers at the Battle and yet you did this.” Her eyes turn red. Her face heats up.
“Kara!”
Astra does not warn her in time. A small squad of soldiers fly out of the structure and surround them. Kara moves back toward her sister and aunt.
“Kara, get her out of here.” Astra does not take her eyes off of the soldiers.
“I’m not leaving you here. You won’t survive this alone” Kara raises her fists. The squad descends.
They fight and fight. Seconds turn into minutes. 3 of the six have fallen. Whether they are dead or not, neither Kara nor Astra know, and at the moment, they do not care.
“Kara, Go!” Astra takes another blow to the face before taking another one out. Scratch 4. “She’s more important, Kara. Get her out of here!”
Kara hesitates for a moment before scooping Alex up and flying away. She flies as fast as she dares with such precious cargo in her hands.
The moment she is sure Alex is safe in the doctor’s hands she is back out the door. She pushes herself faster than ever before. Only 2 minutes have passed since she has left her Aunt’s side. A lot has happened in those 120 seconds.
Her aunt is lying on the sand with a small black handle sticking out of her chest. Kara can just make out the sickeningly green tint of the blade.
There is only one soldier left. He is no match for her. She is not Kara Danvers in this moment. She is not even Supergirl. She is Kara Zor-El and she is fury personified. She is a blur of blue and red as she moves. The soldier is blind-sided. She dives into his side with all of her force. Alex would be pound of the hit.
They both fall to the ground. They grapple and roll in the sand until Kara comes out on top. She punches and punches. Steel hits steel. She screams and hits. Rage fuels her and she continues her assault. Finally, he stops moving. He stops breathing. He stops living.
She makes her way back to her Aunt.
“No, no, no.” She grabs the small knife. With a sharp tug she pulls the knife out and tosses it toward the opening of the lead structure. Kara winces at the scream.
“Come on, Aunt Astra. Don’t leave me.”
“K-Kara.” Astra coughs.
Kara takes off heavenward with her aunt. “Come on. Hang in there.” She breaks through the clouds. The sun is beating down them.
Astra coughs again.
“A-Alex, is she—” another cough.
“She’s fine, Aunt Astra. You know her, she can survive anything.”
“Right.” It is the last word Astra says before her world goes black…again.
“Astra.”
“Non? What are you doing here?”
He looks a lot younger. He looks like the man she married. She smiles for a moment. She looks around.
“This cannot be.”
“I assure you, Astra, that this is happening. You are standing at a crossroads. I am here to either guide you into Rao’s light or back to the world of the living.”
“Kara is alive and well. She has family that will care for her. She does not need me. She is already grown into a fine woman. I am ready.” She takes a step forward. He places a hand on her chest to stop her progress.
“Are you sure?” He looks deeply into her eyes.
“I—I—Yes. I can be with you again. Just like we were before…everything.”
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself, my love?”
She looks down at her feet. She only looks back up when he takes her chin in his hand and lifts her head to look in her eyes.
“You have found love again.”
“Alexandra.” The name falls from her lips like a whisper, like a prayer, like salvation.
“You love her?” His eyes are sad.
“I do not know, Non. What I feel for her is something I cannot explain. I do not know if it is love. It is not the same as the love I had for you.”
“Then find out, my dear. You almost died to protect her. She means something to you.” She turns her head toward the hand that rose up to catch a tear on her cheek.
“I did love you, Non. A part of me always will. I hope you know that.”
“I do. And I know that somewhere along the line I changed.”
“So did I.”
“Go, Astra. Live the life we were meant to, even if it is with a human.” She laughs or sobs, she’s not quite sure. She turns her back to him and starts walking away. Their grasp on each other’s hands loosens and finally falls apart.
“Love again, Astra” are the last words she hears fall from his lips.
Minute 39,917
Astra wakes to the sound of soft whimpering and a head of golden curls on the bed next to her. She runs her hands through Kara’s hair. Her movements are stiff and slow but the girl calms down. The wrinkle in her brow disappears and she looks peaceful.
Astra lets the warmth of the artificial sun light and steady breath of her niece lull her back to sleep. And if she adds the sound of a beating heart to the mix, well, she sleeps peacefully. She dares to dream of a life where she can live without the fear of attack. She dreams of a life that does not have iron bars or glass cages. She dreams of chestnut hair and mocha eyes. She dreams of vanilla and of gunpowder.
The next time Astra wakes up she is alone in the room. The lamps are still on and she revels in the warmth. She closes her eyes and opens her ears. She makes out boots hitting cement, and fingers clacking on keys. She makes out pens scratching on paper and hushed voices. She recognizes one but not the other, although the distortion of hearing the other voice over a phone would make it almost impossible to recognize anyway.
“I’ll be home soon.”
“Yours or mine?”
“Yours. I really need to hold you. I almost lost both of them, Cat. I—I”
“I know, sweetheart. Take your time. I’ll be here waiting for you with ice cream, pot stickers, a hot bath and a comfy bed.”
“I—Thank you, Cat. I should go. Doc said Alex would be waking up soon.”
“Anything for you, Kara. Go. Be with your family. You know where to find me.”
Astra smiles softly. Cat Grant may not be getting the shovel talk from after all. Well, she’ll get the talk, Astra just won’t hang her from the tallest building to do it. She is glad her Little One has someone like Cat Grant. Remembering Kara’s words, her turn her hearing toward, well she doesn’t really know where but she finds the sound anyway.
The steady lub, dub of Alex heartbeat is reassuring but in Astra’s mind, it’s not enough. She moves to sit up and almost immediately Kara is at her side. Her hair moves with the amount of breeze Kara carried in with her speed.
“Aunt Astra!”
The amount of joy and happiness in Kara’s voice is almost enough to cure Astra of any pain. She smiles back.
“Little One.” She holds out her arms and Kara tentatively steps into them. Astra squeezes with all the force that she can without her chest being in searing pain. Her smile falters when she realizes that her grip isn’t as strong as she’d like. Kara melts into the embrace regardless.
“Thank you, Kara. For saving me.” That’s when the tears start and Kara shakes like a leaf in a storm. Astra runs her hands through golden hair again and hums a melody from lifetimes ago. Eventually, Kara calms down enough for Astra to lift her head and wipe the tears from her cheeks.
“I am alive and well, Kara. A little weak, but I am still here.” Kara just nods.
“Come, Little One. Let us check on our stubborn human.” Astra sighs internally at the slip, but Kara either misses it or ignores it. She is grateful, for she does not yet have the words to explain why she thinks Alex, in some way or another, belongs to her.
They slowly make their way to the other side of the medical wing. While Astra’s legs work just fine, her chest is having trouble expanding enough to let her breathe properly. Kara leaves her hand hovering just inches from her Aunt’s back, knowing full well that Astra does not want to seem weak in the presence of others. They would understand, of course. After all, she is recovering from a knife to the heart.
They make it just in time to see Alex open her eyes. Astra thinks that she’s never been more glad to see those beautiful brown eyes.
Kara is the first to make it to Alex’s side, quickly gabbing her hand and sitting down in the stool by the bed. Kara is talking a mile a minute making sure that Alex is as “fine” as she claims she is. Both Kara and Astra soon find out that the bruises on her torso tell a different story.
“What happened, Lex? It’s not like you to get careless like that.” Astra notices the skip of a heartbeat.
“I’m running in the park and next thing I know I’m in some box by the beach being questioned on the whereabouts and status of the General.” Astra stiffens. Such venom, and hatred in one word.
So this, too, was her fault. The miniscule movement is enough to alert Alex to her presence and for Kara to remember that she did not go to see Alex alone. Astra turns on her heel and starts walking away.
“Astra, wait.” Alex goes to move but Kara’s hand is enough to still her movements.
“Aunt Astra.” She shrugs off Kara’s hand.
“Not now, Little One. Not now.” She continues her trek, because it does feel like a miles long trek, back to the room with the lamps. She leaves a torn Kara standing in the hallway. She lays back on the bed and shuts her eyes. She tries to focus on any other sound than that. Anything besides that heartbeat. She tries to focus on some nameless agent clacking away on the computer, or some agent in the firing range. She tries to focus on anything else but her traitorous heart and traitorous mind still seek out Alex. Then she picks out Kara’s voice and for the life of her she can’t shut it out. Then Alex’s joins hers.
“Alex?” Is tentative and soft, as if she were approaching a scared animal. Astra can hear the slight rustle of the sheets, telling her Alex has turned her head. She clamps her hands over her ears and screws her eyes shut. The voices come anyway.
“Do you care about her, Lex?”
“She’s your aunt, Kara. ‘Course I care.” She can hear Kara’s jaw clicking shut.
“Try again.”
“What?”
“That answer isn’t going to fly with me. She gave the same answer when I asked why she wanted to help. So try again. Do you care about her?”
“Yes.” It’s said in a whisper and only two people hear it.
“Why?”
“I just do, Kara.” Astra can hear the frantic beating of her heart and her own starts to match the pace.
“Alex.”
“Drop it, Kara, please.”
Yes, Kara drop it. Astra does not want to hear anymore. She has heard more than enough. So please, Kara, for the love of Rao, stop prodding. No dice.
“Al—“
“Because she’s more than just a prisoner. To me she never really was. Not here anyway. Okay, Kara?! She has always been more than just the enemy, and I don’t know why! Maybe because I spent years building an AI that looks so much like yet is so different.”
Astra can’t breathe.
“Maybe it’s because I’ve read her file so many times that I can recite it my sleep. And I know that reading about her and actually talking to her are two separate things. Maybe I care because to me she is more than her rank and no one sees that.”
Astra gasps.
“Maybe I care because she and I share the most important thing in this world and any other; you. And I know that if I were to lose you, I would never be the same. I wouldn’t be able to live in a world where all I feel is pain, because you aren’t here. She’s been through that hell before and I will make damn sure that she will never experience that, because, damn it, Kara, she deserves a hell of a lot better. She deserves a hell of a lot better than me, but here we are.”
Astra tries and tries to stop what’s coming next, but the tears come anyway. She does not know if they are sad, angry, hopeful, or overwhelmed tears. All she knows is she hates herself for crying regardless.
“I care because even though she’s done wrong in some pretty bad ways, her heart is starting to fix itself, and she deserves to see that transformation through.” Everything is quiet. She can no longer hear Alex or Kara or anything. For a few moments, Astra knows bliss. Then it ends.
“So if you’re done interrogating me about this, I need to rest.” There’s a slight hitch in her voice and it softens. “but if you could, uh, make sure she’s ok. She’s probably heard everything and is trying to escape rather than to face her feelings.”
Astra lays still on her bed. She will not give Alex the satisfaction of being right, no matter how badly she wants to run. She lays there, still and barely breathing waiting for the inevitable; Kara’s visit.