Death Is A Familiar Face
“Lena.” Kara bolts upright, head pounding, eyes burning, and muscles aching. As her eyes adjust to her surroundings, she realizes she can’t see anything past her face. Complete darkness. She tries to use her X-ray vision to scan the area, but it doesn’t work. Her heart sinks as she realizes that she doesn’t have her powers because there’s no yellow sun. “Hello?” She calls out. Or tries to. Her throat is scratchy and sore. Gingerly, she pulls herself to her feet, unsure of which direction to start walking in. Looking left and right, she decides heading straight would be the best bet. After what feels like several minutes, Kara stops, muscles groaning from the exercise. She forces herself to continue. There has to be a way out of this perpetual darkness.
After what feels like hours upon hours of walking, Kara stops. Her feet ache and her legs are crying out from the soreness. A small speck of white in the distance catches her periphery. “Hello? Is someone there?” She calls out again. Her voice sounds foreign and loud in such a quiet, dark space. She moves toward the only thing that isn’t engulfed by the utter blackness that surrounds her. It grows larger as she gets closer. Eventually, she comes upon it, the light that shatters the darkness. She squints, the sudden brightness burning her eyes. Blinking slowly and adjusting to the light, she notices a figure standing in it.
“Hello? Please, you have to help me. My name is Kara. I think I’m trapped here.” The figure makes no indication that they have heard her. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Kara’s voice quivers as she tries not to panic. She walks into the light, it’s heat warming the chill that attached itself to her bones. The figure has their back turned, but as Kara circles them, a small gasp leaves her lips. “M-mom?” The person in front of her resembles her mother exactly. Kara bites her lip, trying to hold back the tears threatening to spill.
“Hi darling,” her mother says, smiling. Kara finally breaks, the tears falling steadily now, as she rushes forward to embrace the woman. She relishes the warmth of her mother’s arms around her. “Shhh, I’m here, Kara. My daughter, I’m here.” Kara allows her mother to soothe her for a moment longer before stepping back.
“How are you here? I-I mean, you died when Krypton exploded…” Kara’s thoughts race as she tries to understand what is happening. “I don’t understand…” A terrifying thought crosses her mind. She shakes her head. That’s impossible.
“What’s wrong, my love?” Allura asks, softly stroking Kara’s hair. Kara stares into her mother’s eyes, the cerulean blue glistening wet.
“I-I…” Kara trails off, not wanting to ask the words out loud. “I can’t be. I-I have people who need me.” Kara shakes her head again, closing her eyes and clenching her fists. When she opens her eyes again, there’s a determination behind them. “People on Earth need me. They need Supergirl.”
“It’s okay, my daughter. I have you now. We can be together again,” Allura says. “We can be a family again.”
“No. No. I am not dead. I can’t be. I’m not coming with you.” Kara backs away from her mother, searching around wildly for a way out of this darkness. “I miss you and father, but I cannot just abandon my friends. I cannot abandon…” Kara stops abruptly. “I cannot abandon Lena…” she whispers, her heart squeezing at the thought of how they left things.
“My child.” Allura takes Kara’s face in her hands. Kara looks at her mother, trying to memorize every aspect of her features. “Please. Come with me. I want us to be a family again. I miss you, Kara. Your father misses you.”
“I’m sorry, Mother. I cannot.” Kara turns away from her mother, her heart squeezing painfully as she begins to walk away back into the darkness. “I need to come back to Lena.”