"Any news on Supergirl?" J'onn asked, entering one of the DEO's labs. There, Alex and a couple of doctors and other scientists were working on all kinds of samples collected from Kara.
"Actually sir, yes." Alex started, taping on her tablet to show pictures on a computer screen. "We discovered these in Supergirl's blood."
"What is it?" the director questionned, putting his fists on his hips
"Nanites." the agent answered
"Kara has robots inside of her?"
The question was asked with such innoncence, with such worry and fear, and it was so sudden, that it actually startled Alex and J'onn. The martian turned only to reveal Adam standing in the doorway. Alex didn't know quite what to do so she returned to her explanation.
"We don't know what they do yet but one thing is sure...there's a lot of them."
"Any idea on how they ended up in Supergirl's blood?" J'onn asked, still trying to keep his increasing concern in check
"No. Not yet." Alex admitted, a bit defeated. "We need more time and this technology is really advanced."
"Keep digging then." the martian instructed before leaving, almost bumping into Adam.
He didn't get the time to make two steps that the young man caught up with him.
"Hey I need to talk to Kara." the young man said in a hurry
"I thought I was clear about her not having visitors." the martian growled, still walking
"But maybe I can get through to her. Maybe I can resonate with her." Adam begged
"You know the risks, she could hurt herself or could use the occasion to escape."
"Please J'onn-"
"Don't call me that here!" the director whispered angrily as he spun on his heals suddenly and placed a finger on Adam's chest
"Sorry. I'm sorry." the young man quickly said, holding his hands up. "I'm just... I need to see her." he added, desperate and sad. "And we don't know if she's going to react to me the way she reacted to you."
"Do I need to remind you that Supergirl wants to kill you?" J'onn pointed, annoyed and upset, earning a sigh from Adam
"Listen, in the apartment she was calm, she never got angry. Maybe Kara will react better if I am the one to talk to her. And who knows... we might get more information on her condition."
J'onn sighed heavily, thinking with his fists on his hips. After a few seconds, the martian looked up as he pointed his index to Adam, supporting what he was about to say.
"Ok but at the first sign, you get out of there. And no contacts."
"Thank you." Adam stated with relief.
Almost running, the young man quickly arrived in front of the infamous door. The guard posted in front of him instantly blocked the way. Adam was about to protest when the agent stepped away, having seen his superior's nod from a few meters away. The young man sighed to give himself courage and stepped closer to the door. When he opened it, he saw Kara, lying on the steel table, staring at the ceiling. Adam sat on the stool and looked at her for a few seconds as she seemed to want to ignore him for the time being. Adam could only imagine how uncomfortable that table was. And the pain brought by the injured shoulder coupled with the kryptonite cuffs had to be awful to bear. His eyes landed on Kara's face. Somehow she seemed to sustain the pain with an incredible capacity. Only the dark rings under her eyes indicated of her fatigue.
"I was wondering when you would show up." the kryptonian said, startling Adam, before turning her head to look at him. "I was beginning to think the humans were smart enough to stay away from me but I guess I gave them to much credit."
Adam didn't know how to respond. And it was weird the way Kara was acting. She didn't look like a robot this time, not as much anyway. She seemed...more alive in her expressions but still had that automatic tone somehow.
"You're not going to lie to me the way you did with J'onn?" he asked carefully, a bit of defiance in his voice
"It's useless with you; you already know the truth. If I want to get out of here, I have to install doubt. And what better way than discrediting you? The only witness."
"They know they can't trust you. We all do." Adam started, getting a bit more confidence. "And I wasn't the only one. Alex saw you trying to kill me."
"So she's the one who shot me. Interesting. I didn't think she would have the guts to do it."
"You don't think that. This isn't you." Adam said gently, causing Kara to snort. "Please Kara. Come back to me."
"But I'm right here." the young woman mocked with her eyes but in all seriousness with her voice.
Adam sighed. At the moment it was the only way to forget the anger that was building up in his body.
"Do you have any information on how you got infected? We found nanites in your blood. Do you have any idea on how they got here?" Adam asked, pleading.
But it was in vain. Kara kept looking at him with pitty and disgust and chuckled.
"Please Kara I know you're in there somewhere." he begged.
After a few seconds, Kara's face changed drastically. She became terrified and desperate at the same time. Sweet features crowled back onto her face, stepping on those hard, mean expressions. A spark of hope suddenly settled in Adam, bringing back a certain light that hadn't been there for a long time.
"Adam I can't stay in here any longer. I'm so tired." she said as a tear threatened to fall
"I know." he breathed out, caressing her forehead
"You have to get me out of here." Kara pleaded
"I can't do that, I'm sorry." Adam almost cried
"But the pain it's too much and the kryptonite is making me sick." Kara whimpered. "If I tell you what I know, will you help me out of here? I have to get out."
"Sure I will help you. I promise. But I can't get you out until we know you're cured." Adam insisted
"Well at least I tried." Kara gave up, bored, suddenly returning to her determined and robotic self, causing Adam to stand up in panic.
She took pleasure watching Adam's hopes getting crushed under her words. So much pleasure that an evil laugh escaped her lips.
"How could you be so stupid?" she spat with force. "Did you really think I was going to beg for your help after what you did to me? After you crushed my heart with your lies? When I get out of here I'll take great pleasure in watching those you love die." Kara promised, tugging on the restains to be more impressive as Adam backed up, terrified, until he met the wall. "Now get me out of here and I guarantee their deaths will be quick. Get me out of here!" she yelled, pulling harder on the cuffs. "Let me out!"
Adam couldn't take it anymore and Kara was hurting herself. He ran out of the room and slamed the door shut behind him, panting. Adam barely acknowledged the guard asking him if he was alright and walked away, fast. The terror of watching Kara making deaths threats, again, the hurt of hearing her despising him for a kiss. All of it only brought rage to Adam. Stopping to catch his breath, his eyes landed on the gun of one the agents in the control room. Determination settled on Adam's face. It was time to act.
SSSSSSSSSSS
Alex put down her coffee and extended her arms on the side before resting her hands on the counter. Hanging her head low, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. A few seconds later, Vasquez entered the break-room and served herself a coffee. If Alex heard her walking in she didn't react. But Vasquez, however, noticed the silence and the obvious trouble in her friend. Walking closer, the agent was about to put a comforting hand on Alex's back but thought otherwise.
"Are you ok?" she asked gently, causing her to look up
"Yes. I'm fine." Alex lied
"You know, I saw you walking by Supergirl's cell a bunch of time. And I know Hanshaw put a no visitors restriction but you clearly want to go in there." Susan pointed with an understanding look
"I want to." Alex confirmed with a surprising steady voice. "But I can't." she choked.
The look on her face broke Susan's heart. The agent let out an "oh" of sadness and compassion before closing the distance between them. Vasquez wrapped her arms protectively around Alex. She didn't care if they were at the DEO, in a room where everyone could see, or even that Alex was her superior. She didn't care about any of that because she was her friend and she really needed a hug. And the first indication of that was simply Alex passing her arms behind Susan's back and brought her hands up to her shoulders, gripping the fabric of her shirt tightly.
As good as the moment felt, it got interrupted by someone clearling their throat. Alex let go of her anchor and carefully conceled her emotions before turning to look at the intruder. It was Adam.
"Sorry to interrupt."
"It's ok." Alex assured, glad she could drop the act of the strong leader for a few more minutes. "Thank you." she said to Vasquez, putting a friendly hand on her shoulder.
The agent nodded and left the two alone.
"What uh..What is it?" Alex asked, dealing with her sadness, awkwardly searching what to do with her hands
"I wanted to thank you for listening to me last night. I guess I really needed it."
A slight smile crossed Alex's face right before a nervous chuckle escaped her lips. The sight brought a grin to Adam's lips.
"What is it?" he asked, curious but also a bit confused
"You know, it's funny." Alex started, pointing her idex at him, a smile still on her face. "Up to few days ago, I was still considering punching you a couple of times for what you did to Kara."
"Wow...ok. What changed your mind?" Adam questionned, suddenly wondering if he should stand so close to the highly trained secret agent
"Well we've only known each other for a few months but it's clear that the love Kara has for you is mutual, for one. And when I found you at her place last night, I figured that for you to be there in the middle of the night...something good might have happened."
"Yeah..." Adam breathed out with a shy smile as he recalled the magical events.
A silence settled in the room as neither really knew what to say. However it quickly became awkward.
"And I wanted to tell you that if you ever needed to talk...I'm here to listen too." Adam promised
"I have no doubt about it." Alex smiled.
What she did next surprised Adam a lot. The agent stepped closer to him and pulled him in a hug. Just recovering from his stupor, the young man reciprocated. But as soon as his arms touched Alex's back, hers felt suddenly very tight around his chest. Adam let out breath of surprise as Alex kinda hurt him a little.
"I feel like I have to do this and I guess I should've done it a lot sooner. But if ever hurt Kara again, I won't hesitate." she threatened in his ear
"Ok, ok. Understood. Loud and clear. Now I need to breathe again." Adam said a bit scared.
Alex released her prisonner and fixed his shirt. Adam chuckled nervously and watched the agent leave the break-room. He sighed heavily to regain his composure before pourring himself a much deserved coffee. This wasn't going to be easy.
SSSSSSSSSS
The DEO was a lot calmer during luch break and while the majority of the agents and staff were eating, Alex and her team were still working. That left Adam alone with no supervision. It was the perfect time to bring back Kara.
The young man walked as naturaly as possible. An easy task since now it was common to see him, a civilian, roaming the DEO's hallways. Stopping in front of the armoury, Adam pulled something out of his pocket. Alex Danvers' access card. Looking around one more time, he entered the small room and immediately found what he was looking for. On a shelf, taking an entire part of the wall, a collection of kryptonite blades was exposed. Adam chose a twenty-five centimeters long dagger. Hidding it in his jeans, he exited the room as quickly and quietly as he came in. Adam dropped Alex's card, missing his backpocket without realising it.
The young man continued his raid across the DEO until he arrived at his final destination. The agent posted in front of the door was about to stop Adam from going further when he punched him square in the jaw. Taken by surprise, the guard fell hard on the floor, uncounscious. Adam reached his pocket only to find it was empty. Never losing his focus, he stole the guard's pass, opened the door and dragged his body inside, closing it behind him.
"Finally decided to help me." Kara said, unimpressed, watching the scene with amusement
"Yes. But not the way you think."
Adam suddenly pulled the knife and held it close to Kara's face. An instantaneous terror settled within her and she did not even think to hide it.
"What are you doing?" she asked panicked
"Kara, I know you're in there. I know whatever it is you can fight it." Adam pleaded, holding the dagger closer to her face.
The small cry that escaped the young woman's lips made Adam weak in his knees but he had to do it. He had to bring his love back. Kara was pulling on the restrains, not caring about the pain in her wrists because the dizziness and the burning sensation that came with the dagger was far worse, extending her neck as far as she could, trying to get away somehow.
"Stop it! You're hurting me!"
"Maybe it'll bring you back!" Adam yelled, rage and frustration out of control.
That's when Kara became truly terrified. He seemed lost, possessed.
"That's how you love me? So now you're going to kill me!" the kryptonian spat
"I'm doing this because I love you, Kara! If I can't bring you back then I can't have you at all."
Adam's face was red, the tears sliding down his face met the corner of his mouth, occasionally mixing with saliva. He was crazy, insane. And as the last veil of hesitation disappeared, Adam's grip on the knife tightened. Kara saw the resolution on his face and she didn't think it was possible but her heartrate fastened even more. Her eyes grew wide and a scream prepared to exit her lungs.
"Adam, no!" she yelled as the green light came closer to her face.
But he continued. And he blocked her mouth with his hand. Adam forced the blade onto her face and pressed harder, causing a muffled scream of agony to fill the room.
"Come back to me, please." he begged. "Come Back!"
When he retreated the knife and his hand, Kara inhaled sharply, trying to catch her breath as her vision began to blurry.
"You'll never get what you want." she said with a cracked voice, defiance in her eyes.
Adam inhaled with rage and placed the blade on her skin and his hand on her mouth once again. Kara squeezed her eyes shut, arching back from the pain. That's when it got worse. Adam angled the blade just a little, just enough to pierce the skin of Kara's neck. A trickle of bright red blood slid along the green dagger before continuing it's route down her neck. This was going to be very long but Adam would never back down.
SSSSSSSSSS
"You found something?" J'onn asked as he entered the lab
"Yes. We know what the nanites are doing." Alex stated, showing the results on her tablet. "They're not affecting her directly. They are emitters, sending out a signal."
"A signal? To what?" the director questionned
"Agent Danvers." an agent interrupted. "I found this by the armoury." he said, handing her her pass
"The armoury? I didn't go there today." Alex stated in confusion before an awful truth hit her. " Oh my God, Adam." she breathed out with a sudden panic.
Rushing out of the lab, quickly followed by J'onn, Alex ran as fast as she could to the armoury. A flash of terror went through her eyes as she noticed one of the blades was missing. The agent grabbed a taser gun on her way out and ran even faster towards Kara's cell. There, Alex kicked the door open only to find Adam leaning above a screaming Kara, torturing her. He stepped away, surprised of being interrupted.
"Drop the knife!" the agent ordered, pointing the gun at him
"No, you don't understand!" Adam countered, looking back and forth between a barely conscious Kara and a very angry Alex
"Drop it!"
Adam stared at Alex for too long seconds, clearly conflicted. It was the only way to save Kara, to bring peace to her. He knew she would always be suffering, no matter how much, he just knew that the pain would never go away. Supergirl was ruining her life and she wasn't even realizing it. Then, Adam himself hurt her and brought more pain. But Adam didn't want Kara to suffer. That was the last thing he ever wanted. It was his mission, his goal, his purpose to release her from any pain. And since Kara would never give up on being Supergirl, he was the one who had to save her. But Alex was trying to stop him in his mission. She was trying to ruin everything. And while Adam knew he would never be able to beat her, Kara was weak and at his mercy. So he made the most logical choice. The choice that would allow him to fulfil his mission and then join Kara in a world of peace and serenity.
With a sceam of rage, Adam lifted the dagger and surged forward, aiming for Kara's heart. But Alex was faster, the taser gun was faster. Adam felt the electricity running through his veins, his muscles. His cry of pain only lasted an instant as he became trapped in his own convulsing body. Soon enough, the electricity ceased and he fell to the ground, dropping the knife on the table as he went.
As soon as the threat had been eliminated, Alex rushed over Kara and threw the dagger away before placing two fingers on her pulse point.
"Kara, can you hear me?" she asked in a hurry, full of concern.
The young kryptonian found it incredibly hard to focus but after a moment her eyes found her sister. Or at least a face that she thought resembled her sister's. She could vaguely see her, everything around was fuzzy. She felt something, someone, touching her. And then her wrists and ankles were free.
"Adam..." Kara only managed with a cracked voice.
Then someone called her name, she wasn't even sure who. But it didn't matter because her eyes closed by themselves and then she wasn't able to hear or feel anything.
AN: Thanks for reading!
So here's the big twist! What did you guys think? Was it good? Did you expect it? I tried to hide it as good as I could but I also dropped slight hints in the previous chapters. Like the thing with the mission for example. Don't forget to tell me in the reviews or by PM. I will gladly reply ;)
Next, there will be a bit of explanation on the whole nanites thing and maybe the return of Astra. I'm not sure yet if I'll bring her back next chapter or the one after. And I'm also open to suggestion