Chapter Text
Shame, such a shame
I think I kind of lost myself again
Day, yesterday
Really should be leaving but I stay
High up in the sky of another Earth, the air split open with distorted edges and spat out an angry mass of black and crimson. Kara, under the heavy influence of her Red Lantern ring, snarled at the portal she was sent through and bellowed out her flaming rage towards it.
The portal closed with a harmless ‘bwoop! ’ and left Kara stranded on a different Earth than her own. She squinted behind her crimson mask, glaring out over the city. There were so many irritating sounds and smells to her overstimulated senses.
She was ready to incinerate the entire damn place to the ground when a familiar scent caught her nose. Kara’s eyes widened in shock, the small, lucid part of her fighting against her primal impulses recognizing the scent.
Alex!
With a crack in the air, Kara shot towards the source of the scent like a streak of red lightning.
***
She should have taken a cab. It was a thought that came much too late as Alex hurried her way up the stairs. She could hear the group of men behind her. Five of them, and mostly wasted.
After a lacklustre date, Alex had been on autopilot when she took the subway back. Something she regretted when two stops in, the drunken group got on.
She ignored them for the most part, wishing she brought her headphones with her, but she had planned to take a cab back. It could have been coincidence that the men got onboard, but there had been too many glances and lewd remarks for her to believe that.
At the stop, her apartment was two blocks away still, and Alex found the streets were empty at this time of night. She dug her hand into her purse, fingers closing around the mace. She kept a brisk pace, hoping to put some distance between herself and the group without making them notice.
She really hoped it was a coincidence, but then she heard a holler from behind, "Hey, hot stuff. Wait up. We just wanna walk you home!"
Alex slowed down abruptly. All she wanted was to get inside, but she couldn't let these guys see where she lived. Steeling herself, she slid the mace from her purse, holding it clutched in front of her. "Thanks, but no thanks," she managed in a steely voice.
"Awww, don't be like that." A hand reached for her and Alex jerked away, turning to face them.
"Don't," she warned with a growl. She didn't want to start this. Two guys, she could handle. Maybe three, they were drunk after all, but five…
***
Alex was alive!
A rare moment of happiness and relief crossed her face until Kara realized the danger the woman was in. Her freshly minted rage burned brighter in her chest, threatening to spew like fire from her mouth.
She wasn’t going to let anyone take Alex away from her again. She wouldn’t lose her!
By the time one of the men reached for Alex again, Kara caught his arm like a specter of the night, her eyes gleaming a furious red behind her crimson mask. She snarled, crushing the man’s arm like it was made of paper.
“Hah—haaaAAAGGHH!” The pained cry sounded through the night. Falling to his knees, the man begged and threatened Kara to let go of him. “Fuck, FUCK! LET ME GO! Oh god—it hurts! Fuck you, crazy bitch!”
Kara gave no indication of comprehending his cries. This pitiful man wouldn’t live to regret touching Alex. With a growl, she drew back her hand and aimed it at his heart.
For a moment, all Alex could do was stare at this vision. The world seemed to grow darker around them as the woman who'd thrown herself into the midst of the fight lit up like a beacon. The other men were too dazed themselves to move against her, staring in shock at their buddy who was down on his knees.
Good, a part of Alex was satisfied as relief washed over her to not be alone anymore. But it was short lived and suddenly, Alex was moving on instinct, reaching for her rescuer's arm as she realised this was escalating too quickly. "No!"
Kara would’ve thrust her hand through the man’s heart if it weren’t for Alex’s trying to restrain her. The violence brought the woman closer to danger, and Kara couldn’t have that.
“L—let go, ahhhrgh!” The man pried uselessly at Kara’s steel grip.
“Yeah, get the fuck off of him!” Another one of his friends yelled. That seemed to snap the other men back from their stupor. A few of them pulled out knives, holding them threateningly as they surrounded Alex and Kara.
Oh, did that piss Kara off.
These lowlife shit stains had the gall to raise their weapons to threaten her? To threaten Alex?
Kara let out a deep warning growl, throwing the man in her grasp at his nearest friend, sending both of them flying down the street and crashing hard against the wall where they both slumped limply.
Alex's mouth fell open at the power of the woman. It was impressive and scary at once. Alex's heart was racing, but so far it was the men who formed the danger.
One of them lunged forward as his friends were scrambling back to their feet with a hissed, "Bitch!"
Alex let go of her ally's arm and sprayed him in the eyes before kicking him in the gut, muscle memory taking over.
Once the mace was unleashed, Kara visibly recoiled after her first breath. The smell of it was overwhelmingly sharp and piercing to her senses. She shook her head to try to rid her nose of it but that only made it worse.
Kara sneezed, shooting out compressed air that fired with the force of a canon, blasting the remaining two men painfully back down the subway steps. She shook off the sneeze with a snarl then blinked bewilderedly when there was no one left to fight.
There was no time to second guess. Alex grabbed the woman's arm and tugged on it. She was surprised to find it actually had no effect. That was off, but Alex couldn't just run and leave her behind. She'd just saved her...
"Let's get out of here," she insisted, wanting to move and think later.
Kara frowned. Where was Alex trying to go? Even with the red lantern mask obscuring half of her face, it was obvious to see the incredulous look Kara was giving Alex.
But she was alive. That was all that mattered.
Kara yanked Alex back against her, scooping her up into her arms as she had done many times in the past before flying up into the sky.
The sound Alex made was undignified and she clung to the woman's shoulders. The thrill and swooping feeling of actually flying was completely overridden as panic set in. "What are you doing? Where are you taking me?"
Kara ignored the questioning that she lacked the mental facilities to answer. She was acting mostly on instinct, needing to take Alex to shelter and safety. Hovering where they towered over the city, she took a moment to gather her bearings and orient herself.
There. Her old apartment.
Raising her body temperature to keep Alex warm, Kara flew towards home.
The wind was icy and made her eyes water, making Alex occasionally press her face against the woman's shoulder. Any other time, she might have appreciated the view. The stars overhead were so much clearer now and the lights of the city below made for a gorgeous sight, but all Alex saw was the stern red mask.
She fell quiet when her questions remained unanswered and she wondered if she'd be able to get her phone out and call... for some sort of help when she realised that they were flying lower again.
"Oh. How...?" That was definitely her place.
Kara frowned at the closed window she normally left open for this specific purpose. The latch hadn’t even been modified to face outward, which annoyed her because how was she supposed to open the window now?
Kara hovered around it with an unhappy whine in the back of her throat. This didn’t feel right. Why did her own home feel...unwelcoming?
This was absurd and Alex didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Her hand gripped at her rescuer's shoulder as she still wasn't sure whether to trust her or not.
"I can't open it from up here," she finally said, her voice a little shaky.
Kara scowled at the tone in Alex’s voice, her protectiveness surging. Alex was probably still shaken from the fight and it was too cold out here for her. If the window couldn’t be opened, then she would take matters into her own hands.
Kara flew closer and kicked the window in, shattering glass and wood inside the apartment. There. Problem solved.
"Hey!" Alex objected, trying to sit up somehow. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You're paying for that!"
Kara looked surprised at the anger that Alex directed at her. She huffed, looking annoyed as she dumped Alex onto her bed. This was the thanks she’d get?
Typical Alex.
Alex scrambled to sit up, frowning at the woman who was hovering inside her room now. "How did you know I live here?"
Because I live here too, Kara wanted to say.
But then she paused. Where were her paints? And canvases? Where were the pictures of her and Alex at the beach? Where were...
Kara frowned as she grasped for fading memories that were disappearing because of the ring. She abruptly broke away and prowled the apartment, looking for anything. A sign. Something familiar.
Where was she?
Alex got up and followed the... She was going to have to find a name for her, if she could get any words from her that was. She got distracted when it seemed the red avenger was looking for something.
"Look, I don't have anything of value here," she explained. "Unless you like some science books, which... most people frankly find boring. Just tell me what it is you want and we can work something out. You don't have to do... this." She motioned vaguely back towards her broken window.
Kara couldn’t find anything. There was nothing of her here. Kara got increasingly upset, hurt in ways she couldn’t understand in the state she was in. It felt like someone took the jagged glass on the floor and pushed it into her chest.
She yanked open cabinets and drawers roughly, breaking hinges in the process. She upended desks and tables, a distressed whine building in the back of her throat.
Where was she? They had a life together, didn’t they? Alex was her...she was her...why wasn’t she hers?
While her visitor was getting increasingly upset, so was Alex as she saw more and more of her apartment getting destroyed. She tracked back into her bedroom, pulling out the gun she kept beside her bed.
She had to use both hands to keep them from shaking as she headed back into the bedroom and took aim. "Stop!" she bellowed.
What?
Why was Alex pointing that at her?
Kara furrowed her brows in frustration, letting out a low growl. She stalked forward without hesitation, going to rip the gun away. She wasn’t in the mood for games or Alex’s reaction speed tests. Kara wanted to know what the hell happened to her apartment.
"Back off!" Alex shouted, but she was the one taking a step back. "I will shoot you!"
Kara was really getting worked down to her last nerve. She growled dangerously, a warning of her own for Alex to stop this nonsense. Vapor trailed from her mouth where the air instantly evaporated, small irritations quickly spinning out of her control because of the ring.
Was this an impostor? Kara was almost absolutely certain this was Alex. If she could just get close enough to properly scent her…
It was the smoke coming from the woman's mouth that had Alex's finger pulling the trigger. She had to be going insane. This was her mental breakdown and she was shooting hallucinations now.
The shot ricocheted off of Kara’s shoulder and hit the lamp off of the table stand. Kara pounced with inhuman speed, pinning Alex up against the wall with a burst of rage.
The gunshot, the crashing...they triggered the flood of violence Kara had been struggling to hold at bay. She held Alex’s wrists about her head, burning red eyes looking over her for any signs of deception. If she was a shapeshifter, then she would terrify it into revealing itself.
Kara growled behind gritted teeth, holding Alex immobile by barely using a fraction of her strength. No supernatural strength?
Alex cried out in pain as her head hit the wall behind her. Suddenly she was pinned, a red demon in front of her and she really had to be going crazy.
An attempt to knee her assaulter resulted in nothing but her leg hurting and fear was gripping at her throat, making it hard for her to get any words out. "What do you want?"
Kara wanted home. Where was her home?
The growling in Kara’s throat turned back into a distressed whine but she didn’t ease her grip.
Why wasn’t Alex getting it? Was this really not Alex? She looked like Alex, down to the very last freckles on her face.
Kara pressed her face to Alex’s neck, snuffling and taking in her scent. It was practically the same except...she couldn’t smell herself on Alex. Kara stepped back away from the woman in confusion.
She couldn’t smell herself on Alex. Where was the hint of her blood in Alex from when they swore to be family? Where was the comforting mixture of their scents from the shared clothes and embraces?
Kara staggered back further.
...Alex?
Memories that the ring was burning through flashed through her mind. Auburn red hair caked in mud. Limbs bent in impossible angles. A wicked claw of a Worldkiller piercing through a slender woman.
“N—no...Alex...”
Kara’s heart pounded in her ears, her breathing speeding up. Her Alex was dead. This woman in front of her was Alex too but...not her Alex.
Her chest tightened painfully before the ring kicked in, turning her loss and grief into rage. Kara clenched her fists as the air crackled with energy around her. She doubled over, feeling raw, unchecked power coursing through her veins.
Where were they? The ones who killed her Alex?
She couldn’t think past the anger spinning out of control as the ring fed her with promises of revenge. She’d make them pay for hurting Alex. Kara let out an enraged roar, her distended fangs gleaming deadly and sharp as fire gathered behind them in her throat. With a burst of wind, Kara was gone from the apartment.
For just a split second, Alex saw something in her attacker that made her want to reach out and... comfort. A split second and then the woman was gone, leaving behind an empty, ransacked apartment and a shaking Alex.
She slowly lowered the gun and stared at the damage around her. It was only the pounding on the door that shook her out of the shock.
"Alex? Are you okay? We heard a gun go off... Did I--Oh my god, what happened?" Her downstairs neighbours were standing there. Walter was holding on to a baseball bat as his wife stood a little away at the top of the stairs in the hall.
Alex followed the look of her downstairs neighbour back into her apartment and grimaced. She had no idea how to start explaining this and the sound of sirens told her she quickly had to find out how.
It was hours later by the time the police left. Even the cute detective had gotten exasperated with the holes in Alex's story, but how could she tell them that the person who had rescued her from an attack had then flown her around, somehow seemed to reflect bullets, and then flew off again.
Alex stared at the mess she still had to clean up now that the cops had taken fingerprints. Her landlord at least had quickly sent someone over to block off the broken window, but Alex wasn't anywhere near sleep.
She paced in her living room and finally ended up calling her mother. It gave her something to focus on as she cleaned up, but the anger and grief on the crimson woman's face and the way she had said her name, like somehow Alex should know her, kept turning over in her brain.
If it wasn't for the very visible damage, she might think she was imagining it. She couldn't tell her mother any of that, not without having her drive over to National City and Alex didn't need that on top of everything.
Great.