shattered souls won't mend themselves (supercorp au)

on razor's edge

Don't forget the coauthor of this story; the one and only..... infinity_in_his_eyes

//Kara POV//

I was back.

I was in my living room, splayed across the couch with Alex in my lap. I was eating the leftover pot stickers that someone had left in the fridge (I hope they weren't expecting to get them back.)

Alex was gushing to me about Maggie. About how she had slept over at Maggie's house the other night. About how they made cookies and watched Captain America and held hands under the blanket and made a pillow fort like they were young again and the world didn't matter.

She looked down at the floor, but I could see the rosy blush on her cheeks.

"Kara, I don't think I've ever felt more like me before."

I extended my fingers to play with her hair.

And when my fingers reached her hair, all I could feel was blistering heat.

Suddenly, the heat was gone. I was outside again, stepping off the bus (but I was just inside with Alex?), just like I had that day.

I heard voices, screaming, laden with betrayal and pain.

"Kara, why did you leave us? Why aren't you here?"

But then I was there. I was inside my house, my burning house, yet I was unaffected. The flames lapped at me, but to no avail.

"Kara!" The screams had never felt so heavy, so close...

My family was before me, all on their knees, as if they were begging me to make it stop (as if (God do I wish) I had any control over what was happening.

I could only see the white of their eyes, any trace of tears gone, the searing temperatures causing them to evaporate as they appeared. They were convulsing, blood dripping from the corners of their mouths. I could do nothing but stand there. My feet were melted into the floor, it's like I was walking through wet concrete.

"Please, Kara. Help us."

They were on fire.

My world was on fire.

I was on the brink of consciousness. I knew, because I could faintly see the incandescent ceiling light through my eyelids. The air had returned to my lungs. I took deep, gulping breaths, but my eyes remained closed. There was a faint voice, peaceful, and soothing.

"Hey, hey, you'll be fine. Just listen to my voice, focus on me. Come on, it's okay. Breathe."

It's definitely a girl, and she holds my head in her lap. Her hand is gently caressing my hair. I almost want to keep my eyes shut. To let her be, to let myself be held for just a moment longer.

I squeeze my eyes shut tighter before I open them. A soft face is close (so close) to mine.

It's Lena.

I immediately panic. I remember the episode perfectly. As vividly as the day it happened, except worse. There are numerous thoughts running through my mind, every single one relating to the notion of being absolutely terrified.

I could not let her know that. I'm not about to seem so weak, give myself (my background, my story ) up to Lena so quickly.

So I do what anyone would do. I smiled. I smiled like I didn't know what I had just experienced, I smile like I had just waken up to her in bed (what?) rather than on the dirty floor that I had been convulsing on.