Ok ok. So while I'm still very angry about this while "cold Brainy" plot... it does open up some interesting doorways, fanfiction wise.

For example: Episode 11, anyone?! Man, they still aren't together but some of those scenes were like... knives to the heart but also beautiful. Episode 11 as a whole was just AWESOME. WINNN I LOVED WINNNN Winn was my whole world a few years ago :')

Or- or episode 15! The little things they're putting in, like when Brainy was watching Nia stopping the Dominator and got that little smile on his face oh my heartttttt...

Anyway, here is my gift to you all on Supergirl Sunday because we're not going to be getting a new episode for a longggg time. Enjoy!

Brainy walked into the DEO to find it practically thrumming with nervous energy.

"She hasn't been at work for two days," Kara, who was dressed as Supergirl and standing at the central table, said worriedly. Brainy felt his first tingle of misgiving and strained his ears to hear more. "Man, at first I thought it was just because she was healing from her break up, but after two days I went to her apartment to check in and she wasn't there. Somethings wrong, Alex, I can feel it."

Brainy felt as though a sheath of frost had coated his skin from head to foot. "You are talking about Nia?" he demanded, his voice cracking awkwardly on her name as he strode closer to the center table. "Tell me she is alright."

Kara and Alex looked at him in astonishment, before exchanging very significant looks. Brainy didn't exactly blame them. He knew that everyone thought he was being cold due to taking off his inhibitors, but in reality it was all an act. The inhibitors hadn't changed much about him, just made him... well, better at lying to the people he loved, apparently.

"Ummm..." Alex, the first to recover out of the two sisters, hedged uncomfortably. "We're... not positive. But no one has seen Nia in a few days and we're... concerned that something may have happened."

"I think she's been kidnapped," Kara declared bluntly. "I mean, it makes perfect sense. Lex wants to get to me, and what better way to do that than to kidnap someone who's not only a reporter and a superhero, but also one of my best friends?" She shook her head. "It was either going to be her or William, and I think Lex realized that Nia would be the lower blow."

Brainy frowned, dubious. His friends obviously weren't aware, but he knew most of Lex's plans. Kidnapping Nia hadn't been one of them. He wouldn't have let it be one of them.

"Are you... positive that it is Lex Luthor who is responsible for Nia's kidnapping?" Brainy asked, as casually as possible.

Kara gave him a weird look. "It's Lex Luthor. Why wouldn't he kidnap Nia? And besides, who else could it be?"

"Plenty of people. She's a superhero and has enemies," Alex reminded her sister. "But I'm with you on this one. I'll go see what I can get out of Lex."

She strode off, leaving Kara to stand uselessly by the center table. Brainy walked up to her, leaning his forearms on the table. "Kara... I really do not believe that Lex Luthor is responsible for this."

She looked at him, confused. "Why not?"

Brainy could have easily turned the question around and asked her 'why?', but he knew she would just give a reason that didn't actually prove anything. He paused, floundering for a reason for his own opinion. "What would he gain for it?" he asked finally. "What would he gain for kidnapping Nia? I don't believe that, at this moment, Lex Luthor wants to be committing any crimes that we could legally arrest him for. He got a clean restart after Crisis, and I do not believe he's going to blow it by... unexpectedly kidnapping a member of our group."

Kara considered. "Okay, I see what you're saying, but Lex is so careful. If he wanted to kidnap Nia and not have us find out, I don't think that fearing the law or being arrested would stop him."

"It is more his style just to kill," Brainy argued with a rough shake of his head. "If he wants her out of the way for some reason, he would get her out of the way permanently."

Kara's face fell a little and she swallowed, chin dipping. "Brainy..." she said softly. "He might have. We have to prepare ourselves for the fact that he might have killed her."

Somehow, even with all of this uninhibited brains... Brainy hadn't gotten to that conclusion yet. The shock was enough to send him taking a few steps backward and Kara looked at him in concern. "You're shaking all over," she said, taking his arm and helping him towards a chair. "Sit down for a sec, okay?"

Brainy nodded, collapsing into a seated position and trying not to let his brain run any simulations or give him any statistics because Kara could not be right. He couldn't lose Nia. He just couldn't.

"Brainy, we don't know anything for sure yet," Kara said quietly, putting her hand on his knee as she crouched down next to his chair. "We can't lose hope just yet, okay? We're not giving up on Nia. I just... I need you to be prepared."

Brainy let the mask fall down. It was easier than dealing with everything. His face closed off and he got to his feet, nodding stiffly. "Understood," he said, and walked briskly away from Kara to see what he could do to help computer-wise.

Alex walked back into the main room of the DEO about twenty minutes later. By that point, Brainy was sitting and staring at his computer screen, which had fallen asleep, as he tried to formulate more ideas. Kara approached her sister. "What did he say?"

"Lex wasn't there," Alex said, shaking her head in frustration. "I searched everywhere that he might have been but no one's seen him all day."

"It's him," Kara declared. "I know it's him."

Thankfully, Alex spoke up again before Brainy had to. "I agree with you," she said. "But the fact that he's not at the DEO isn't why. I think Lex did it just because it makes sense, but we can't stake our opinions on the facts we've discovered so far; they aren't concrete enough."

"Fine," Kara sighed. "So what's our next step?"

Brainy spun his chair around and was going to start helping them brainstorm when all of the monitors in the DEO flickered to life. An unfamiliar face loomed in the camera, and everyone could see the sinewy muscles in his neck. This man was big, and he looked angry.

"Supergirl," he growled. "I have something of yours." The camera shifted and Brainy rocketed to his feet at the sight of Nia a couple yards away, tied to a chair with blood coating the side of her face, unconscious.

The camera returned to the man's face. "My name is the Hunter, and if you do not come to 12 Orando Street I will kill this woman and her blood will be on your hands. You have twenty minutes."

The camera feed shut off and there was complete silence for a full five seconds before Alex leapt into action. "It's a trap," she said, looking seriously at Kara.

"I don't care!" Kara cried, already heading for the exit. "He has Nia and we're going to rescue her."

"Though I agree with Alex," Brainy spoke up. "I'm with Kara on this one. Give me approximately five minutes to change into my superhero suit and I will join you in going to rescue Nia."

Alex said about the same and the two of them hurried off to change.

W / T \ Y

"If we show up early do we have the element of surprise?" Kara asked as they glanced around the street, trying to figure out where Nia could be help.

"There's three of us and only one of him," Alex replied. "We don't need the element of surprise."

"Supergirl, check the basements," Brainy advised. The area seemed fairly residential, and Nia had been somewhere cold and stony. "I believe that's where she's being held."

Kara squinted and scanned the street. A second later she had put on a burst of speed and broke through the door a few houses to the left. Alex and Brainy exchanged glances and sprinted after her, up the steps of the innocuous looking porch and into the house.

By the time they made it inside, Kara was hovering by a group of three people, a man, a woman, and a little girl, who were tired to their couch. She quickly broke through the ropes. "Go. Get out of here."

The woman grabbed the kid and the three of them ran out of their house, looks of absolute terror on their faces. "Where's the basement?" Alex asked Kara, not wanting to waste any more time.

"Come on," Kara urged, leading the three of them towards a white door in the wall. She opened it and they walked cautiously down the stairs.

Almost immediately, a rain of bullets bit into the wall above their heads. Alex threw herself backwards and would have fallen down the steps if Kara hadn't caught her and Brainy and dragged them to cover. They were now the belly of the basement, hidden behind a wooden work-bench with a few tools scattered across it. Risking the bullets for a second, Brainy peeked over the edge of the table. His heart clenched at the sight of Nia only a few yards away, and it took every single logical bone in his body for him not to run out into danger.

"Do you see her?" Alex breathed, shifting on the ground and getting her gun ready.

Brainy nodded, sliding down to crouch beside them again. "She's tied up. I do not see the Hunter. He-"

The sound of more gunshots split the air and Kara dove in front of them, acting as a human shield. The Hunter had managed to come around the side of the room in complete silence and was now standing in front of them, watching them with dark, angry eyes.

"You don't have to do this," Kara said, getting to her feet and holding out her hands. "I don't know how Dreamer wronged you, but-"

The Hunter fired again and Kara grit her teeth in annoyance, running forward and snapping the neck of the gun. The Hunter grinned sickeningly and his hand shot out, closing around her neck.

For a moment Kara looked at him in shock. And then she began to struggle as his fingers tightened around her skin, squeezing the air from her lungs. "He has super strength," Alex realized with dawning horror.

"We need a plan," Brainy muttered.

Alex shook her head, jumping to her feet and reaching for a saw that was lying behind them on the work bench. She hurtled forward and slashed the saw against the Hunter's forearm.

The blade bit deep and Brainy let out a breath of relief as Kara was dropped. At the very least, the Hunter wasn't invulnerable.

Kara recovered quickly and pushed herself upright, jabbing a punch at the Hunter's face. Brainy realized he was just standing and staring and quickly turned to where Nia had been tied up. He sprinting towards her, hearing the grunts of the fight behind him, and was completely unprepared when a rope lassoed around his chest and dragged him down, backwards, to the ground.

Brainy tilted his head back, struggling to free himself, and saw the Hunter holding the rope in one hand and fending off Kara's attacks with the other. Alex was unconscious on the floor a few feet away.

"Nice try," the Hunter said, and it was the first thing that had come out of his mouth since they'd walked down into the basement. He backhanded Kara across the face and she caught herself with her flight, frowning in concentration. Two beams of heat-vision seared out of her eyes and the rope attaching Brainy to the Hunter smoked and broke. The Hunter growled angrily as Brainy was set free, and turned towards Kara again.

Her eyes were heating up again, and Brainy watched as the Hunter dove to the side to avoid a blast of heat-vision, then grabbed a large hammer from the wall and flung it at her like some evil-Thor.

The hammer caught Kara across the face and she slammed backward into the wall, crumpling to the ground.

Shaking his head, the Hunter took four large steps and crossed the entire room, coming to a stop beside Nia. She let out a faint groan as he grasped her head by her hair and dragged her face back.

Brainy got to his feet, holding out his hands. Part of him was embarrassed that the Hunter hadn't seen him as a big enough threat to try and take out before going to Nia, but maybe he just wanted an audience for what he was about to do.

Then again... Brainy had been pretty useless for the entirety of this fight. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him, but something about seeing Nia in that chair caused every piece of superhero tactic to leave his brain.

"Any last words?" the Hunter asked Nia, his voice low and gravelly.

Nia's eyelids were fluttering. "Brainy?" she whispered, and her voice cracked.

Brainy collapsed to his knees. "Please," he said, staring at the Hunter with wide, terrified eyes. "Please please please, don't kill her. Take me. I- I deserve to die- she deserves to live. Please don't kill her."

"You will all die," the Hunter said emotionlessly. "I will pick each of you off until there's no one left."

Brainy bowed his head, tears slipping from underneath his eyelids. "Please," he whispered again, his voice cracking. "I cannot lose her. You do not understand- I love her."

"Brainy," Nia said again, her voice stronger. He lifted his head to find to staring at him, her eyes very round and filled with fear.

The Hunter tilted her head back further and unsheathed an ax from his belt. He raised the blade and suddenly, Brainy's mind was completely clear. He picked up the rope lying next to him, calculated the velocity and the distance and the fall of the ax in a matter of milliseconds. Then, just as the blade was about to reach Nia's throat and she was squeezing her eyes shut, waiting for death... Brainy flicked his wrist. The rope shot out, wrapping around the ax's handle and Brainy yanked it off course with a perfectly timed pull.

Instead of coming down on Nia's neck, the ax smashed into the arm of her chair, centimeters from her fingertips. Nia let out a choked gasp and Brainy gave another tug on the rope. The ax un-embedded itself from the chair, flew from the Hunter's grip, and skittered across the cement floor to rest at Brainy's feet.

With almost-perfect timing, Kara forced herself to her feet to stand with him and face off against the Hunter. Brainy was about to attack when Kara let loose a breath of frost. In mere moments, the Hunter was encased in a block of ice.

The room fell silent, and then Alex let out a groan. "Seriously?" she said, struggling to push herself to her feet. "You couldn't have done that to start with?"

"I didn't think of it!" Kara cried defensively, striding over to help her up. Brainy, on the other hand, stumbled forward and wrapped himself around Nia, his face in her shoulder and his knees cracking against the floor.

"Brainy," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "Untie me."

He nodded, glad to have orders, and pulled away to undo her bonds with violently trembling fingers. The clearness in his head had left him, and now he was just a mess of remorse and relief and lingering terror.

Once Nia's hands were free, she reached over and cupped his face. "You have some explaining to do."

"I'm sorry," Brainy whispered, covering her hands with his own and tears starting to roll down his cheeks. "I am so, so sorry and if you had died I never would have forgiven myself. Nia, you have to believe me, I love you and I never wanted to hurt you and I cannot- if you had-"

He let out a sob and bent his head to press into Nia's thigh. "I was so scared," he whispered.

"Me too," Nia said, her fingers making their way into his hair and gently running through it. "I really thought he was going to kill me."

Brainy's entire body shuddered and Nia bent over, putting her arms around him as best she could. "It's okay now," she whispered. "It's all okay now."

W / T \ Y

Brainy didn't feel like he should be allowed into Nia's hospital room.

Granted, he didn't even been like he should be allowed into her life, but that was another matter.

"What're you doing down here?" Alex asked as she found him pacing rapidly in one of the training rooms, a few wooden bo staffs lying on the ground next to him, cracked into splinters.

"Working- off-" Brainy waved a vague hand in the direction of the bow staffs and the dummy he'd just been waling on. "I had some... aggression I needed to take care of."

Alex raised her eyebrows. "Right," she said slowly. "Brainy, the woman you love was just kidnapped and is now home and safe and two flights of stairs away from you. What are you doing down here?"

Brainy gaped at her, his mouth opening fine but no words making their way out.

Alex sighed and walked forward, putting a hand on his arm. "You've screwed up," she admitted. "There's no denying that. I don't know what kind of motivation you've had or what the heck you've been dealing with lately, but you screwed way the heck up."

Brainy looked at her, hurt scrawled across his features. "If you were intending for this to be a... pep talk you have failed, Director Danvers," he muttered, somewhat coldly.

"I'm not finished," Alex said, giving him a look. "You screwed up, but we all do. Every single one of us as messed up at some point during this superhero business we call our lives. Kara didn't tell Lena she was Supergirl. I was completely insensitive to Kelly having recently lost a loved one on the front lines. J'onn banished his own brother. That's just a- a fraction of the things we've done over the course of our lives. So, yeah. You broke Nia's heart. You walked out on her without a good reason. But you still saved her life today. And she is jittery and hanging on by a thread up there in that examination room, and she needs you, Brainy. So I'm going to ask you one more time: What are you doing down here?"

Brainy blinked a few times. Then he broke away from Alex and raced up the stairs.

He found Nia still in the med bay, a shock blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She was staring blankly at the wall in front of her and for the first time he saw the fingerprints of bruising on her neck and a few newly-cleaned cuts on her face.

"Nia?" he spoke up, his voice coming out so soft, so incredibly faint, that he worried she wouldn't hear him.

Nia flinched and her head jolted around to face him, eyes wide for a second before she saw who was there. "Brainy," she murmured, relaxing a little. Then a more guarded look crept into her expression and she hugged the shock blanket tighter around her. "What are you doing here?"

"I was struck with the fact that the woman I love is here and safe and yet, I was not with her," Brainy said, fiddling anxiously with his Legion ring. "And I was also struck with the fact that I pulled a complete and utter 360 on you in the past few days with zero explanation and that was so very unfair."

Nia sighed, reaching up to rub her face. "Would you just come over here and hold me?" she asked, her tone and face almost completely expressionless.

Brainy blinked at her for a moment, startled. "You would... like me to go over there and hold you?" he said hesitantly.

"I haven't been able to stop shaking since that man grabbed me by the hair and tried to cut off my head," Nia said, her voice trembling just a bit. "Brainy I just need a hug."

Something almost unbearably painful squeezed in Brainy's chest and he crossed the room in two strides, sitting down next to Nia. His weight shifted the mattress enough that she listed sideways into his chest and he wrapped his arm tentatively around her. She put her opposite hand on top of his, and he frowned a little. "You're shaking and you're freezing," he murmured. "I believe you're in shock."

"Nah, I'm just wearing this blanket because it's my color," Nia snarked, the faintest of smiles quirking her lips.

Brainy, who hadn't been expecting the joke, let out a surprised laugh. "While I wouldn't disagree," he said. "I have a feeling you are making a joke."

Nia's chin dipped into a nod and she pushed her face into Brainy's neck. He felt a shudder go up his spine, his stomach clenching as he took in how amazing it felt just to be allowed so close to Nia again. He had missed her warmth and the press of her body against his and the way her hair smelled as it tickled his nose. He had missed her, more than he'd honestly thought was possible.

"I'm cold," Nia murmured, moving away from him and towards the head of the bed. She pushed her legs underneath the covers stretched tight against the gurney and Brainy was quick to follow her, though he stayed on top of the sheets.

Nia curled herself under the blankets and rested her head back on Brainy's shoulder, letting out a deep sigh. "We should probably talk," she said. "About this. About what's going on with us right now. About why you..."

She trailed off and Brainy nodded, swallowing. "I- I've been dealing with... my new self," he said. "I can see so much farther now than I used to be able to. I know exactly what I need to do to get the outcome that's the best for the world at large, but it comes at the cost of losing what is best for me. You, Nia, you are what's best for me."

"So you're saying..." Nia shook her head a little. "You're saying that to save the world, you can't have me? And that's why you broke up with me?"

Brainy's bowed his head, chest tightening. "Yes," he whispered.

Nia swallowed and pulled away from him, wrapping her arms around herself instead of his waist. "Then what are you doing here?" she asked, somewhat harshly. "If you can't be with me and save the world, why are you with me? I don't want to be holding you back, Brainy, especially if I'm holding you back from being a hero."

Brainy watched her, releasing a deep breath a letting his head fall backward to thunk against the wall. "Nia," he said, his voice soft. "Why can't I just be normal for a little while? If I didn't have these- these precognitive abilities, I wouldn't know the most effective courses of action. I would be able to take every day one step at a time, like the rest of you. You, Kara, Alex... you manage to save the world while still looking out for your own happiness, at least some of the time. Why can't I do that, too? I need to do that, too. Not being with you, it's- it's killing me."

Nia's head swiveled and she looked at him with large brown eyes. "So we decide to try again," she said. "And then what if you suddenly realize that you can't handle knowing that you would be doing better for the world if you weren't with me? I know how you are, Brainy. If you think that you're not acting to your full potential, it'll make you resentful to anything holding you back. That'd be me."

"That would never- I'd never-" Brainy stopped speaking as Nia gave him a slightly more annoyed look. He shook his head and tried again, his voice weak. "So what do we do?"

Nia mirrored his movement from a few moments ago, letting her head fall back against the wall and sighing deeply. "I don't know, Brainy," she whispered helplessly. "I want to be with you but I can't- not like this."

W / T \ Y

After a restless sleep plagued with nightmares, Brainy got up at around 2 in the morning and went for a walk.

It was true that walking in National City in the wee hours of the morning wasn't the safest idea in the world. But Brainy knew he could handle himself. Besides, he had been here before, just in-suit and on patrol.

And he needed to think. He felt a deep loathing for Lex Luthor simmering just underneath his skin. Not only was the man just awful and manipulated everyone in his vicinity, but he was forcing Brainy to let go of everyone he loved.

Brainy missed Nia. Sure, they had been together just that afternoon, but it didn't matter. He missed spending nights together and bantering their way through superhero patrol and he missed the soft feeling of her fingertips slipping through his hair when he woke up in the middle of the night with a nightmare. Without Nia, there was a nearly-unbearable hole in his life, one that had been there for awhile but he'd never really noticed until she filled it.

So, what was he going to do? Brainy tucked his hands into his pockets and stared up at the sky, a few faint stars managing to break through the light pollution. He had a decision to make: ignore his obsessive tendency to need to perform at his upmost and to listen to every single precognitive piece of knowledge he had, or to accept that he could never have Nia and the resulting true happiness again.

He knew, of course, what he wanted to pick. Nia was everything to him; his entire world basically revolved around her. But he also knew she was right: No matter how much he loved her and wanted to be with her, the moment he felt in his gut that she was stoping him from saving the world to the fullest of his capabilities, he would start acting differently about her.

There was no good solution, and Brainy hated it. He hated that he couldn't have just this one thing. All he asked for- all he needed- was Nia. That was all.

"And you couldn't give me that, could you?!" Brainy yelled up at the sky, anger and frustration suddenly coming to a boiling point. "You could give me just one good thing in my life?!"

Brainy let out a groan and kicked a street lamp, wincing at the pain in caused his foot. He didn't even know who he was talking to. He was going in circles with no end in sight, and he didn't know what to do.

After a couple more blocks, Brainy stopped and looked around. He was outside of an apartment building, and Brainy glared down at his feet. "You just had to bring me here, didn't you?" he muttered.

There was no way he was going inside. Nia needed rest after the trying day she'd had, and besides, he could picture himself knocking on the door only to be attacked by Yvette in defense of her roommate.

So, though it was a little creepy, Brainy used his Legion ring to lift into the air and flew around the side of the building. He knew which balcony was Nia's, having come in by that entrance just for the fun of surprising her a few times.

When he turned the corner of the building, he was surprised to see a figure standing with her elbows propped up on the railing, staring blindly out at the view. Brainy slowed, moving a little closer to the wall so he wouldn't be seen. As he got closer, he could hear the sound of faint sobs and a voice, and a realized that Nia was on the phone.

"I don't know what to do," she said, and the wind must have been just right because Brainy could hear every word. "He apologized and he wants to be with me again but he said that he- ugh, I don't even understand it, Kara. He had this whole spiel about not being able to save the world and be with me."

She was quiet for a second, listening. "He still wants to be with me. But you know how he is- and that's what I told him! If he thinks I'm holding him back he's going to hate me for it." Another pause. "I know. It's a chance! I'm just scared, I guess. I don't- I don't want to hold him back. And what if the fate of world really does depend on us not being together? I don't know... I don't understand how that would work, but what if it does?"

Brainy, so intent on hearing every word of the conversation, had drifted too close to the wall and bumped into it. The sound of his jacket rubbing against the brick was painfully audible, and Nia abruptly stopped talking. "Who's there?" she called, leaning forward a little. A second later, she lifted the phone back to her ear again. "Sorry. I thought I heard something. I'm so jumpy from earlier. No, no, I'm fine. I just need some sleep, I guess."

Brainy let himself breathe again, and watched as Nia said good night to Kara and put her phone into her pocket. She let out a deep sigh, leaning forward to rest her chin on her palms. Brainy felt himself moving forward again without remembering ordering his ring to move him, and quickly stopped. What was he doing? What more was there to discuss than what they already had that afternoon? He wanted to be with Nia, she didn't want to hold him back.

Circles. They were going in circles and Brainy was so tired of it.

So he turned and flew away.

W / T \ Y

The next time Brainy saw Nia, it was at the DEO post-mission.

"How are you holding up?" he asked as he came up alongside her. It had taken quite a bit of courage just to walk over, and he had made sure to start talking almost immediately once she was within earshot so he didn't lose his nerve.

Nia glanced at him, her face shutting down a little. "Fine," she said stiffly.

"I meant, in lieu of your kidnapping, how are you holding up?" Brainy elaborated. "Have you been... sleeping well?"

Nia's eyebrows raised. "Was that a... joke? Because I'm Dreamer?"

"No- no!" Brainy shook his head, flustered. "You- sometimes- at times, people have been known to find sleep... challenging after a traumatic experience."

"I'm fine," Nia told him shortly, licking her lips.

They stood next to each other for a moment in an awkward silence before Brainy nodded and began to walk away. He felt deflated, knowing he had just completely screwed up that conversation but unsure of how he could have made it better.

"Brainy-!" Nia called suddenly, reaching out and grabbing his arm. He let her spin him towards her and met her pleading gaze. "What are we doing? Right now? What are we, right now?"

Brainy swallowed. "I suppose that are... at an impasse," he said softly. "We both want to be together and yet..."

"I think that I'm holding you back and you think that you won't care when, someday, you really will," Nia finished, maybe not in quite the words Brainy would have used.

He nodded anyway, though, and swallowed again. "Circles," he whispered.

Nia let out a sigh and dropped her head, letting her hand fall from his arm in the process. "I wish that all of this would just- just stop," she said, her voice cracking a little. "I wish we could go back to how we were before Crisis. Before your doppelgängers."

"You wish me to put my inhibitors back on?"

She looked up sharply. "No- good grief, of course I don't, Brainy! You seriously think that I wan you to- to suppress a part of yourself like that?"

"We could be together." Brainy hated that he felt the need to keep talking, but he did. "If I- if I put my inhibitors back on, my view of possible futures is more... manageable. Ignorable. We could go back to the way things were, maybe not entirely but... somewhat."

"Stop it," Nia breathed. "Stop saying stuff like that. I will not allow you to put your inhibitors back on, Brainy. You know how I think that you wouldn't be able to not resent me if you knew I was holding you back from helping people to your full potential? Yeah, well I know I would never forgive myself if I knew you weren't able to be your complete self because I asked you to. That's not a solution, so stop considering it."

Brainy nodded, his chest welling up with unprecedented emotion. He loved Nia. He loved her so much it made him ache.

But he also loved her enough to know that she was right. Taking off his inhibitors wasn't a good answer to their issue.

The problem was, he didn't know what was.

W / T \ Y

Brainy walked up to the frosted glass door and stopped with his hand touching the doorknob.

After he did this -after he walked into Lex Luthor's DEO office and told him that he was out- there would be no going back. He would put himself and everyone he cared about in serious danger. He would lose his only concrete hope in stopping Leviathan.

But this was about more than just fixing things with Nia. Brainy was done with betraying his friends, and he had to stop all of this before he caused irreparable damage.

If he hadn't already, anyway.

Brainy's fingers tightened around the handle and he pushed the door in without knocking. Lex Luthor looked up from his computer and raised his eyebrows, in innocuously pleasant expression on his face. "Agent Dox! I wasn't expecting you this late."

"I'm done," Brainy said, trying to keep his voice as steady as it always was when he dealt with Lex, no matter how he was really feeling.

Lex slowly closed the lid of his computer and the soft click echoed in the silence. There was no one in the DEO, which meant no one to get caught in the fallout of this encounter... and that there would be no backup.

"You're... done?"

"I'm done," Brainy repeated. "As of today, I will no longer be working alongside you to stop Leviathan."

Lex got to his feet, walking over to one of his wall-windows and looking out, even though the DEO was dark and there was nothing to see. "This is... sudden. What made you change your mind about helping me?" He turned and looked Brainy over. "I knew you never truly cut ties with your little band of... superfriends."

Brainy's jaw tightened. "I don't agree with your methods," he said simply.

Lex walked back over to him and came to stand right in front of him. "Of course," he agreed lightly. "You can leave at any time you want."

Brainy frowned a little, knowing that it wasn't that easy. Lex turned away, but stopped right before his back was completely to Brainy. "That being said... no one who's not working with me can know my plans and remain alive."

"Death threats," Brainy stated, his face darkening. "How... uncivilized."

"Let's call it insurance," Lex rejoined with a shrug, walking the rest of the way back to his computer. "If you're not on my team, I lose absolutely nothing if you were to be... dispatched."

"Oh, but you do," Brainy countered. In an odd way, he was relieved that the conversation was going in this direction instead of Lex threatening to hurt Nia or Alex or Kara. "As of yet, you haven't participated in any culpable crimes. You kill me, there will be evidence. No matter what great name you've built for yourself, you will be convicted of the crime. And then where will your plans be?"

"You make an interesting point," Lex agreed with a light shrug. "Well. I guess I'll decide at a later time and keep things... exciting for you." He twitched his eyebrows in Brainy's direction. "You may go."

Brainy's shoulders dropped and he turned toward the door. Right before he made it outside, Lex's voice stopped him. "Oh, and Agent Dox- if you reveal your plans to Supergirl, I will kill every single person on your team, regardless of the ramifications."

Brainy swallowed, not turning around.

"That is all," Lex said after a moment, and Brainy walked out of the room.

W / T \ Y

When Brainy found himself at Nia's apartment that night, he was smart enough to use the front entrance.

Nia opened her door to him warily. "What are you doing here?" she asked, but she sounded more exhausted than mad. "I think we've said everything we need to say."

"No," Brainy said, and peeked behind her. "May I come in, Nia? Please? I have a confession and I... I wouldn't like to make it in the hallway."

Nia's eyebrows furrowed and she pulled the door open wider. "Fine," she relented. "Come on in."

Brainy settled himself somewhat stiffly on a couch and Nia took the adjoining chair. "Alright," she said, not wasting any time in making sure he was comfortable... both physically or emotionally. "What did you want to tell me?"

Brainy took a deep breath. This was it. There was no going back from this in the same way that there was no going back from stopping his partnership with Lex Luthor. "When my doppelgängers came to our Earth, I had an... interesting conversation with the female Brainiac 5. She told me that- she told me that, in order to stop Leviathan, I would need to partner with Lex Luthor."

Nia's face went lax with shock. "You said no," she said, not even phrasing it as a question. Then she doubted herself and added a, "Right?"

Brainy took another deep breath, but it wasn't making things any easier. "No," he said. There was no point in beating around the bush because if he was here -if he was doing this- he was going to have to get to the point eventually. "I've done the math, Nia. I know the possibilities. The only way that- that I could see to stop Leviathan would be to work with Lex Luthor and, in order to do that... I had to push everyone away. Including you."

Nia got to her feet and started to pace, emotions warring on her face. Brainy caught a glimpse of anger and frustration and sadness before she turned away from him. "So you- you broke up with me and shut everyone out of your lives and then you, what? Pledged allegiance to Lex Luthor? And- and kept that allegiance through everything that's happened?"

"Yes," Brainy breathed. He gripped his hands together in his lap, unable to look at her any longer. "To make a long story short, this evening I went to Lex Luthor and I- I terminated our partnership. I am done with trying to ignore the pain that he has caused. My doppelgänger must have been wrong; we will find another way."

Nia sat back down again and put her face in her hands. "I can't believe this," she muttered.

"In- In my defense, i tried to keep him somewhat in check," Brainy blurted. "I only aided him with plans that I knew for certain would have no fatalities. It does not- it does not excuse my behavior in any way, but I like to reassure myself with the fact that, if I had not aided him, Lex Luthor would have done considerably more harm to the city."

Nia scrubbed her hands through her hair. "I don't even know what to say," she mumbled. "I don't know whether to be angry at you, or- or relieved that you're finally telling me why you left me or confused as to why you're telling me all of this now, of all times..."

"I suppose that..." Brainy hesitated, unsure of exactly how to put what he wanted to say. "I suppose that, in a way, this is me showing you that I am willing to give it up. I tried to follow my precognition and it- it led to all of this, so now I am throwing it away. From now on, I will only consider possibilities that do not lead to me having to betray you or any one of the other Superfriends, except for in incredibly dire situations."

"And you think that's enough?" Nia asked incredulously, lifting her head. "To just... walk in here, and say you'll change? Do you really think I'm going to just- just take you back like nothing happened?"

"Of course not," Brainy breathed. "I would never expect-"

"Well, I won't," Nia declared, cutting him off and getting to her feet again. "You need to go. And- and if you don't tell Alex and Kara about this, then I will. Got it?"

Her gaze was hard, but Brainy could see her lips shaking a little. He swallowed thickly and nodded, slowly standing. "Nia," he said right before he turned to leave. "I am... truly sorry. I don't believe that I will ever stop being sorry."

Nia seemed to deflate, and covered her face with her hand. "You know what, Brainy?" she whispered. "I'm sorry, too."

W / T \ Y

It had been a few weeks since Brainy made his confession to Nia. In that time, he had told Alex, Kara and J'onn what he had done, and pretty much banished himself. He had resigned from the DEO, stopped fighting crime, and only left his apartment when it was absolutely necessary.

It wasn't the best way to live. But Brainy had a feeling that most of the people on his old Team would never want to see his face again, and if he was being honest? He didn't blame them.

On a Tuesday night, Brainy was suddenly so sick of staring at the same four walls that he had to get out. He threw on a sweatshirt and left the building to go for a walk down the darkened streets of National City. It was reminiscent of the same walk he had taken under a month ago, when he had ended up at Nia's apartment and finally made the decision to break off his partnership with Lex.

Over the past few weeks, Brainy had fought against the precognitive abilities that had started this whole mess. He had managed to get them into such a quiet hum in the back of his head that he was taken completely by surprise when someone grabbed his arm and spun him around.

Before Brainy could make sense of the situation, a fist had slammed into his face. He staggered backward, clutching at his nose, and quickly ducked another punch. There were two men in front of him, with beanies pulled low over their heads and faces shrouded in shadow. Brainy didn't know who they were.

But he knew who'd sent them.

In a way, he was surprised that Lex Luthor hadn't acted sooner. Brainy hadn't really expected Lex to not kill him just to avoid detection, but he hadn't expected this.

Holding his fists up, Brainy rolled onto the balls of his feet and prepared for the fight. Once again, he was completely unprepared for a third man to charge out of the shadows and stab a knife into his stomach.

Brainy choked on a pained gasp and doubled half-over. He knew it wasn't wise to take a knife out of a wound (he would bleed out at a considerably increased rate), but it would be a good edge to have a weapon.

So Brainy grabbed the hilt of the knife and yanked it out of his stomach, gasping at the shockwave of agony it sent through his body. He pressed a hand over the wound, trying to ignore the warm, wet ooze of blood through his fingers as he put pressure on the area.

One of the men cracked his knuckles and another took a threatening step forward. Brainy held the knife in front of him, hating how small it was.

Then a tendril of electric blue energy lashed out and twined around the ankle of the man closest to Brainy. He was abruptly yanked backward, off his feet, and the tendril sent him crashing into the wall. Brainy gaped in shock for a second, so startled that one of the other guys took the opportunity to wrestle the knife from his grasp and aim it for his heart.

Another tendril of energy caught the arm holding the weapon, and that man, too, was thrown violently into a wall. Brainy looked around him, disoriented. There was only one person with energy like that (well, two, but only one in that time period), but where was she?

Then Nia stepped out of the shadows. A sudden breeze picked up her hair and blew it dramatically back from her shoulders and Brainy felt his eyes glaze over in wonder.

It only took Nia seconds to deal with the last thug, and then she was hurrying up to Brainy. "You alright?"

Brainy gulped, his throat dry and his head starting to spin. He looked down at the growing dark stain on his sweatshirt, his hand coated in blood, and then back at Nia.

"Crap," she muttered, reaching forward to grasp his shoulder in case he started to fall. "You got stabbed. Ok- ok, I'm calling Supergirl."

She pressed her watch and then turned back to Brainy, reaching up to hold his other shoulder, too.

"How did you- what are you-? How did you know what was happening?" Brainy asked dumbly, eyes flitting across her face.

Nia smirked a little. "I can see the future, remember? I was sleeping and I got this flash, and for a bit I thought it was just a nightmare, but with everything that'd happened with Lex I figured it didn't hurt to check it out." The smirk faded and when she let out a breath it was considerably more shaky. "I'm glad I did. You know you could have died, right?"

"It wasn't my intention to get stabbed," Brainy said, the corner of his lips lifting. Then he coughed and pain shot through his stomach. Nia tugged him forward into her arms and Brainy buried his face into her leather-clad shoulder. "I'm not okay," he whispered, unsure of exactly why he was saying that.

Nia let out a strained laugh. "I don't think any of us are," she admitted. "But one thing I've learned is that- that you don't get to being okay by going at it alone."

Confused, Brainy pulled back so he could look her in the face. "I don't understand," he admitted softly. "I- I assumed that none of you wanted anything to do with me now."

Nia let out a deep sigh. "You remember what I told you awhile ago?" she said softly, brushing his cheek with her thumb. "That you are the dumbest smartest person I know?"

Brainy nodded, a little breathless at her touch.

"Well, you still are," Nia finished with a frayed laugh. "But that doesn't mean that your Team doesn't love you. That- that I don't love you."

Brainy's eyes widened, and Nia kissed him.

W / T \ Y

In the time it took for Brainy to get rushed to the DEO via Supergirl's flight and get stitched up, the entirety of the Superfriends had assembled. Nia sat on the edge of Brainy's bed with her hand lightly resting on his knee, and Alex, Kara and Kelly took the gurney opposite, J'onn standing at the doorway almost like a sentry.

Alex crossed her arms. In a way, she had been the most hurt by Brainy's betrayal, mostly because of her history with Lex, her relationship with Brainy, and her position at the DEO. "You know it's going to take some time to get me to trust you again."

"Alex!" Kara scolded, giving her sister a look. "Come on. It's Brainy. We've all gone off the deep end at least once during the course of our crusade-"

"Crusade?" Alex echoed, smirking.

"Shut up. Point being, Brainy was just trying to do what was best for the world. Maybe he didn't quite go about it in the right way, but... his heart was in the right place."

"But you all-" Brainy couldn't quite comprehend the fact that they were forgiving him, much less that they were even in the same room as him. "You all seemed so angry when I told you."

"Well, sure we were angry," Kara admitted. "But we've had time to process and to think it over and to cool off a little." She sent Alex another look. "Well, most of us, anyway."

"I forgive you, Brainy," Alex said, looking at him seriously. "But there's a difference between forgiveness and life-in-your-hands trust. We'll get there, we're just... not there yet."

He nodded rapidly, and Nia gave his knee a squeeze. "I think this'll take some time for all of us," she said. "A lot has happened over the past few months and we can't just shut it out of our minds. But, as I told Brainy, we can only heal if we heal together."

"Together," Kara agreed, putting her hand in the middle. Alex put hers on top, followed by Kelly's, J'onn's and Nia's. Then Brainy got up and put his on top.

If you had looked from above, they would have made a perfect circle.

Author's Note: AHHHHH holy garbanzo beans! This story started as another chapter for the Brainiac and the Dreamer drabble series and I was literally going to end it after they saved Nia.

But then I added the hospital scene.

And then I just. Kept. Going.

So now we've got a 8500 word oneshot fixit HOLY SMOKES a lot happened in this XD Maybe too much. But I hope you guys still enjoyed. I know that was a blast to write, even though I had to take a lot of breaks to try and figure out how I was going to fix things without making it too easy or like other fixits! I will say that wasn't easy!