Truth (Second Book: Faked, Truth)

III

(Chapter Three)

Pacing the fortress, waiting for Kal-El's arrival, Astra thought about her niece. She didn't want to have to leave again but she needed to find her place in this world, somewhere far from the humans she once threatened to wipe out. She didn't want Kara to know but she was planning a one way trip to Daxam where she could lead like she once had as a general. She hadn't yet been notified of the attack in Kara's apartment but when Kal-El landed gracefully with a grimace on his face, Astra didn't need to be told that someone close to him had gotten hurt.

"Kara's okay now but she got shot. She'll wake up soon though, we should go visit her." He smiled half-heartedly but she didn't even force a smile.

"Kal-El. I have to leave. Please make sure Kara knows I love her." She flew away, heading for the pod she had stashed away. Kal sighed, unsure of what to do. He shook his head and flew back to Metropolis, maybe Kara won't ask about Astra and everything will just be okay.

He was very wrong.

Kara woke slowly, the steady beeping to her right side was almost enough to lull her back to sleep. She sat up with a groan and turned off the sunlamps, ripping the IV out of her arm and the electrodes off her chest. She looked around, scanning the room with her X-Ray vision to quickly find out where her sister was. She ran directly to the room where Alex was asleep, holding Maggie's hand.

"I guess you didn't hear." Kara turned and immediately hugged the brunette.

"That you saved my life?" Kara sighed and smiled slightly, then Sam shook her head. "Why's Maggie so battered up?" Sam took in a deep breath and explained what happened without stopping to take a breath. 

"She was attacked by a member of Cadmus. He asked her for information on you but she didn't tell them anything so they... they tortured her." Sam clenched her jaw at the thought of someone going through what Maggie had. Kara recognised the cuts she could see on the lifeless body before her.

"Cadmus?" Kara was confused for a moment. "Cadmus!" She said again but louder this time and it startled Alex. "Alex?" Kara ran over and sat next to her sister, who immediately looked at Kara's abdomen for signs of the wound she had sustained two nights before.

"You're okay," Alex told herself and grabbed Kara's hand. "What are you doing here? You should be sleeping in the sunbed."

"I am fine, I healed. Plus, I needed to see you. I'm really sorry about Maggie." Kara squeezed Alex's hand for comfort. Alex just nodded and rested her head on Kara's shoulder, falling asleep again almost immediately. The blonde followed suit and put her head back on the wall behind the chair, closing her eyes, not expecting the events of the next hour to play out the way they did.

The pain had subsided hours ago but Lena still couldn't move. She didn't know what was going on, feeling sudden strength when Kara was in the sun and feeling physical pain when Kara was hurt. For a while, she told herself it was just sympathy pain because she loved her fiance so much but this time was different. Lena felt like she, herself had just been shot. It frightened her that something like this would ever be happening. What if it went both ways and Kara could feel pain if Lena was hurt?

"Lena?" A knock came from the door. The voice gave Lena a rush of hope and strength just from that single syllable. 'It must be Kara.' Lena thought, running to the door and throwing her arms around the blonde's neck.

"I'm so glad you're okay." She drenched Kara's shoulder with tears. "There's something you should know before it gets too late and becomes an actual secret. Rao forbid one of us keeps a secret." She joked, only getting a blank stare from Kara in return. "Anyway, it's hard to explain and I'm not sure how to explain it. You'll probably think I'm crazy and..."

"I'm supposed to be the one that rambles, Lena. Just say whatever it is you want to say." Kara smiled, which made Lena more nervous to tell her what was happening.

"Every time you get hurt or empowered by the sun, or even drugged... I have felt the effects." Lena took in a deep breath and waited for Kara to answer. She did, with a nod, after several minutes of thinking. "So, you're thinking..."

"That Kryptonians rarely find their mate. When they do, it's been documented that they share a link that can't be broken." Kara was more trying to understand it herself than explain it to Lena but after a short pause, they found themselves laying in bed, heaving and out of energy.

Alex sighed, trying to take her mind off the past hour. She never once imagined that Maggie would be a Meta but here she was, now healed with power-dampening cuffs on. Sara sat to the side, ready to pounce at any given moment if Maggie tried anything.

"Tell me the truth," Alex said, not really wanting to hear the answer but she had to do her job and ask the questions.

"After we split up, I went to another Earth," Maggie said simply. Sara scoffed and Alex turned to her girlfriend.

"Can you leave us alone?" Alex asked. Sara scowled at Maggie, then nodded and left, giving the ex-lovers some space.

"How did you get the powers?"

"Similar to how The Flash got his," Maggie explained. "I don't really know what my powers are, I just know I can heal quickly and that I'm abnormally strong, that's it."

"Maybe that is it," Alex said, grabbing the keys to Maggie's cuffs and unlocking them.

"Thank you." Maggie stood and started to walk away. Alex stopped her by kissing her on the lips.

"That was goodbye," Alex said, handing Maggie a ticket to Metropolis. Then she walked away, not noticing the extremely angry Sara standing behind the glass.