While Kara sat with J’onn and M’Gann, Clark was still working with Winn on tracking Brainiac.  Barry even joined into lend a hand seeing as how three minds were better than two and his proficiency with computers was an undeniable asset.  The three of them spent hours triangulating and rerouting every possible location through multiple satellites including the Star Labs satellite but came up with nothing conclusive.  The silence was tense until Winn finally spoke.

“This is pointless guys.  Brainiac knew exactly how to hijack the D.E.O.’s systems and keep himself hidden.  He’s taunting us.”

“Winn…”

“He’s right Barry.  Neither of you have dealt with Brainiac before.  I have; and we’re not going to find him until he wants us to.  We should take a break.  We can continue this in the morning.”

Barry and Winn both looked out towards the sky and noticed that the sun was beginning to set.  Both of them rubbed their eyes before logging out of the computer terminals they were working at.  Clark took off to return to Smallville while Winn left for his apartment.  Now alone, Barry ventured towards the medical facility where Kara was.  Upon arriving he could hear her still talking with M’Gann.

“So what was it like when you found out your cousin had grown up here Kara?  How…?”

“It was definitely a shock, M’Gann.  When we left Krypton, I knew I was going to be the one who had to protect him here.  But my pod getting knocked off course changed all that.  It was strange to find out that my baby cousin was now older than me.  What about you?”

“What about me?”

“I know that for several years J’onn thought he was the last of his kind.  He never said anything, but I could tell that he felt isolated, alone.  Then when the White Martians invaded Earth last year…all the pain and anguish he had tried to make peace with came back.”

“It was like he lost his family all over again.  I know…I felt the same way.  I just wish our paths had crossed sooner than this.  I went searching after I saw the television report of you and a Green Martian attacking this city.”

Kara turned away for a brief moment, she didn’t have any control over her actions but she remembered everything she had been forced to do.  She hadn’t yet noticed that Barry was listening outside the door nor did she see her mother come to stand by his side.

“Did you know it was J’onn?”

“Not at first Kara…but there was a certain resemblance to my father.  When I arrived here, the sense of a familial bond was almost overwhelming. I had to use my telepathy to sift through all the conflicting emotions I could feel.  That was when I knew.  So I found my own way to back to Mars.”

“Well, now you know you’re not alone anymore.  Kal was relieved when I finally arrived on Earth.  We both had someone who understood where we came from…”

“And you felt whole again.  You had your family back.”

“Yes…and then last year I met Barry.  Even though I had my cousin and an adoptive family, there was still a missing piece to my life…”

Barry could see the smile light up Kara’s face as she began telling M’Gann about him and all they’d been through together.  He didn’t want to interrupt the two as they continued to share stories of their lives, and almost missed Alura speaking to him.

“You should go in there Barry.  You and Kara have had a long day.  Isn’t it time the two of you go home and get some rest?”

“In a minute Alura…Kara sharing her experiences on Earth really seems to be helping M’Gann.  I’d be willing to spend the night here if M’Gann asked Kara to stay.”

“I know.  But M’Gann won’t be alone.  I’ll be here.  Go.”

With a gentle push from his mother-in-law, Barry entered the room and gently placed a hand on Kara’s shoulder.  She reciprocated and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.  M’Gann wasn’t surprised to see him, as she had briefly read his mind.  But seeing him with his mask off was somewhat confusing as she can shapeshift to look like anyone and Kara doesn’t even wear a mask as Supergirl.

“Barry…I have to ask…why the mask?  Does it provide some sort of physical protection for you?  Why not let people see your face?”

“Well M’Gann…the mask protects my identity.  It’s a way for me to have a life outside of being the Flash.  Imagine if I did the hero thing without it.  My family and friends would be in constant danger.”

“But why not just shapeshift? You can do that right?”

“No…I have a lot of abilities but that’s not one of them.”

Kara chuckled as Barry rubbed the back of his neck with his explanation.  While talking with M’Gann, Kara realized that she was relatively new to Earth and didn’t know much about humans.  But as she looked out towards the sunset, she knew that it was about time for her and Barry to head home.

“Well M’Gann, it’s getting late and Barry and I are going to head out for the night.  We’ve been away from home for two weeks and…”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“National City is your home Kara…why would you leave it for two weeks?”

“Barry and I had just gotten married before my mother crashed to Earth and we needed some time away to celebrate.”

“Oh…you mean you mated.  Martians mate as well.  The two of you had to commence your bonding ritual.”

Barry and Kara both turned bright red as M’Gann broke down their marriage in the terms she would understand the easiest.  The room fell awkwardly silent until Alura stepped in and offered up her help.

"That is one way of putting it M’Gann.  Every planet in the universe refers to the bond differently.  Anyway Kara, you and Barry should go home and get some rest.  I’ll stay here and monitor J’onn while keeping M’Gann company.”

“Okay.  M’Gann…I’ll be back in the morning to check on you and J’onn.  You’ll be safe here.”

Barry and Kara walked out the D.E.O. towards where the balcony entrance was still receiving final repairs.  They could have gone back to his apartment in Central but decided to stay in National at hers for the night as they were both exhausted from the day’s events.  Kara still had to inform the manager that she wouldn’t be renewing her lease come March, but even then she decided that could wait until morning.  After making dinner together, the couple retired to her bedroom unaware that the few nightmares she had in Smallville were about to get so much worse.

“No…no…Barry…Clark…no…!

Barry could feel Kara tossing and turning by his side.  He was instantly awake and worried about her before she thrashed in her sleep hard enough to knock him out of the bed.  Upon hitting the floor he landed with a massive thud causing pain to shoot up and down his right arm.  He could feel that at the very least he had fractured the bone in his fall but pushed that aside as Kara’s sleep screams reached a fever pitch.

“NO!  DON’T…!  BARRY!”

Kara sat bolt upright in the bed as she felt the last images of her nightmare and a sinister laugh echoed in her thoughts as she tried to calm her rapid heartbeat.  Reaching over to Barry’s side of the bed, she felt the empty space and immediately worried that this hadn’t been a nightmare at all.  Her fears only slightly abated as she heard his voice and felt him crawl back into the bed.

“Kara…are you okay?  What was all that?”

“I…I don’t know Barry.  That nightmare felt so real…it was…”

“Worse than the ones you had in Smallville.”

Kara nodded her head as she turned to him while he flipped on the bedside lamp.  The sight that greeted him as his eyes adjusted to the low light was not like anything he could have expected.  Kara’s eyes were bloodshot and there were tear tracks staining her cheeks.  Her breathing still had yet to calm as she wrapped her arms around him.  In an effort to help soothe her, Barry ran his right hand up and down her back, only to grimace in pain, an action Kara immediately took notice of.

“I hurt you this time, didn’t I Barry?”

“Nah…I’ll be fine…”

“You’re sure?  I know you tried to hide it, but that wasn’t just a wince of pain.  That was an I think I’ve broken something groan.”

“I might have fractured my arm when I fell out of the bed.  But it’s not your fault Kara.  It’ll heal in no time.”

“But…”

“Kara, please…tell me about your nightmare.”

“It was…I…it felt like the nightmare you told me about that occurred after your trip to the future. Only so much worse.  Everything was dark…I saw all of our friends on the ground, they had been slaughtered.  There was blood everywhere.”

“Did you see who did it?”

“No.  But you and Clark were the last to fall.  All I could see were five shadows walking away and heard the sinister laughter as the last one followed the other four.  I don’t even know if the fifth was a he or she.  The only features I could make out were blonde hair streaked red with blood and what looked like a black cape hanging off the figure’s shoulders.”

Barry didn’t know what else to do, so he pulled Kara back close to his chest and wrapped his arms around her once again.  She had given him the same attention last year and he was going to be there through all of it, even when they figured out what happened.  With her head on his shoulder, she whispered to him.

“Barry…promise me that you won’t leave me.  Whatever these nightmares mean…”

“Hey…hey…till death do us part, remember?  You’re not going to get rid of me Kara Allen.  I’m in this for the long haul.”

Kara fell silent as Barry continued to run a soothing hand over her back.  She let herself get lost in the feeling. But she couldn’t stop her turbulent thoughts as her memories of the fight with Cadmus that took him to the Speed Force flooded her mind.

“Until death do us part is what I’m afraid of.”

The next morning Kara was only feeling slightly better after waking from the nightmare.  She had fallen asleep in Barry’s arms, her fists wrapped tightly in his shirt.  She didn’t want to wake him and gently extricated herself from his arms before heading off for the shower.  Giving herself a good hour to get ready for the D.E.O. and then heading back to work, she finished up with makeup that she hoped would conceal the dark circles forming under her eyes when Barry joined her in the bathroom, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“You okay?”

Kara was silent as she stared at herself in the mirror.  She wanted to tell him she was fine, but the words wouldn’t come.  Even the feel of Barry pressing a kiss to her shoulder didn’t help ease her tension.  He couldn’t be sure of what she was thinking or feeling so he tentatively spoke again.

“Kara…don’t shut me out.”

“I’m not shutting you out Barry.  I’m just trying to process everything.  Nightmares like that don’t happen to Kryptonians.”

“Hey…why don’t you take the day off?  Technically we still have a few days left on our honeymoon.  Why don’t we spend the day together?  I heard there’s a small carnival going on in Central City…”

“I DON'T NEED TO TAKE THE DAY OFF, BARRY!”

Kara’s scream caught him off guard as she pulled free of his embrace and stormed out of the bathroom.  She was clearly still on edge and while she would regret her actions later in the day, she was a force of nature at the moment as he followed her to the living room.

“Don’t you need to get back to being the Flash anyway?!  You think poor little Kara Danvers can’t handle a stupid nightmare?!  I’ve got some news for you; I was just fine before you came along!”

Barry didn’t know how to respond as Kara grabbed her purse and slammed the door behind her as she left.  He stayed there a few minutes before leaving so she wouldn’t think he was following her to continue the conversation.  Knowing that the best thing to do was give her time to calm down, he got into his Flash uniform and locked the door as he ran back to Central City. 

In her anger, Kara completely forgot that she had promised M’Gann she would stop by the D.E.O. and went straight to Cat Co.  instead.  When she arrived, there were several potential stories on her desk that required follow up and she started going through them as James walked up.

“Hey Kara…welcome back.”

“What do you want James?”

“Just to see how a friend is doing?  Ask how your time away was?”

“It was fine!  Why does everybody seem to be so worried about me?!  I can take care of myself!”

The bullpen fell silent as Kara’s scream caught everyone off guard.  The room was so quiet that if a pin dropped it would be the only sound anyone could hear.  James took a few steps back from Kara’s desk as her eyes briefly lit up behind her glasses.  Before anyone else could speak, Cat’s door opened and she called Kara into her office.

“Keira…get in here…now.”

Kara stepped into Cat’s office and shut the door before sitting down, her arms across her chest and her right leg kicking in annoyance from where it was crossed over her left leg.  She waited for her boss to speak and didn’t even pretend to stifle the yawn that signaled she was already bored.

“Care to tell me what that was all about?”

“What do you care, Ms. Grant?  Are we done here so I can get to those stories on my desk?”

“No, we’re not done.  Is there already trouble in paradise with you and Mr. Allen?”

“Barry and I are just fine.  And for the record, my personal life is none of your business.  So stay out of it!”

If Cat was taken aback at Kara calling her out, she didn’t show it.  She simply stood up and walked around her desk to take a seat next to her former assistant and spoke, quiet and calm.

“Kara…clearly something is bothering you.  You’re upset and being at work is not going to help the situation.  Take the day off and figure out what’s wrong.”

“Ms. Grant…”

Kara was practically seething in anger as Cat recommended that she take the day off.  She didn’t want or need the day off, and really just wanted to get back to work.  But Cat continued talking, ignoring any protests that were coming from Kara’s mouth.

“That was not a request Kara.  You’re under a lot of stress and I would hate to see it affect your work.  Go home…and don’t come back until you’ve resolved whatever it is that’s going on with you.”

“Fine…I’ll just take the leads that are…”

“And don’t touch the potential stories on your desk either.”

Kara was even more furious as she left Cat’s office and grabbed her purse before getting in the elevator.  Everything seemed to be going wrong and was setting her off.  She had yelled at Barry, yelled at James and yelled at Cat.  But none of her outbursts helped resolve the anger she was feeling.  At this point she didn’t even care if someone saw her; she flew off in her work clothes back for her apartment.  Upon arrival she was glad and annoyed that Barry wasn’t there.  Still hoping to resolve her anger, she got into uniform and as she was flying over the city, she looked for something to punch.

Barry had been on his way back to Central City when a fire exploded in a high rise apartment building.  With the state of mind Kara was in, he wasn’t sure she’d be of any help if she found out about it and quickly ran in, evacuating tenants to the street.  Kara heard the screams and saw the flames and even though she was still furious, it gave her something else to focus on.  In the next instant she saw the red blur running in and out of the building and lost any sense of control.  Barry had just gotten the last tenant to safety while the fire department worked to put out the flames.  When she landed, Kara screamed in rage at her husband.

“What the hell Flash?  I told you earlier I don’t need you to look after me!  I could have saved all those people without your help!  Why didn’t you just go back to your city like I told you?!”

“Supergirl…”

“NO!  I don’t want to hear it!”

Kara was instantly throwing super speed punches at Barry and he was dodging every single one of them faster than she could respond. His evasion of her strikes only served to increase her rage as her eyes started to glow red with heat vision.  Barry had seen her use this power before and then the beams had been blue-white so he knew something was really wrong, but not what.  Hoping to keep her from hurting civilians as she lashed out at him, Barry took off running.  Kara leapt into the sky and followed him.  She was flying faster than he expected and was keeping up where as normally she’d have to push harder since he came back from the Speed Force.

Kara was on the verge of catching him and nearly got her hand around his throat when he dodged and ran up the side of a building.  She was still on his tail and he jumped across to another one.  Kara turned in mid-air and reached for him again before she started to fall out of the sky.  Terror hit Barry in that instant and though he would be putting himself in danger if she recovered, he jumped back and caught her before she could fall too far and ran down the building he had just been running up.  When he reached ground level, he had Kara supported in his arms but she was unconscious.

Knowing that Kara could wake up any minute, Barry had little time to get her somewhere safe and there was only one place he could go.  Star Labs was out of the question.  He just hoped Alex had something that could help figure out whatever had happened to his wife.  Barry was a blur as he ran into the building and came to an abrupt stop.

“Alex, help!

“Kara?  What happened to her; Barry?”

“I don’t know.  But she attacked me.”

“Follow me.”