Epilogue: Mutated

"This is your fault."

"I know," Kara sighed in a sing-song manner as she pressed the cool, damp cloth against Alex's flushed cheek.

"You made me see that movie where the delinquents infected me, then you mutated it and reinfected me."

"I know." When Alex had given her the flu after she'd blown out her powers, Kara's Kryptonian biology had apparently mutated it and she'd passed it right back to Alex.

And Alex was not pleased.

"Now Hernandez and Hamilton have double-teamed me and have put me on lockdown. Harewood is literally standing outside the door right now, waiting to sacrifice his health in order to tackle me should I attempt to make an escape."

"Lot of H names."

"Kara."

"Just making an observation."

Alex glared at her. "I can't even use my exceptional stealth training to make a break for it because I would potentially be putting a man's life in danger and he has kids." Alex glared querulously out the glass at the back of the man as if his having kids was a direct slight against her. "I swear Hank chose Harewood specifically to keep me contained because he knew I wouldn't risk someone's life when they have children."

"You wouldn't risk anyone's life period," Kara pointed out. The flu sucked enough as it was, but the real issue was that because it had been mutated alien means, J'onn and the DEO doctors had decided to quarantine Alex just to be safe and she did not like being forcibly contained.

When Kara had asked why it was necessary, they'd told her it was because they didn't want to accidentally let loose some alien-mutated contagion. Aside from Dr. Hamilton and Dr. Hernandez, who both had to be in hazmat suits when inside, the only ones allowed in and out of the room were Kara and J'onn.

"Well... that is beside the point!" Alex proclaimed.

"What is the point?"

"That I'm going crazy trapped in here, Kara!"

Kara swallowed hard at the laugh bubbling up in her chest, just barely keeping it at bay. The grin, though, that she just couldn't do anything about. "Oh, I think we're well past going," she said.

Alex glared at her again. "I thought you said you weren't going to tease me anymore when I was sick."

"Did I say that?" she questioned mischievously. "I must have been delirious with fever."

"Brat."

Kara took a minute to wrangle back down her mirth, but then eyed her sister, noting the creased brow, crossed arms, and the tight press of her lips. She blinked. "Are you… are you pouting?"

"No."

She so was pouting. Kara laughed now, just giving up completely at trying to control herself. "Liar."

"Takes one to know one," came the juvenile reply.

"Pretty sure we were too old for that comeback even before I landed on Earth," Kara said wryly. Though, she considered, Alex did tend to turn into something of a child when she was ill so she supposed it was somewhat to be expected.

Alex huffed.

Kara understood now. She'd been sick (if only for a few hours) and she could finally empathize with her sister. She completely knew what it felt like to be suffering and to just want to be home in your own bed.

"You could get me out?" The question was hopeful. Desperately hopeful.

Kara crossed her arms. "Nope."

Alex leveled her with a thoroughly disapproving look. "You're supposed to be on my side."

"I'm on the side of you getting better." And on the side of her sister not infecting the planet with a Kryptonian-mutated super-flu.

"I will get better," she insisted, "when I'm not in here. All you have to do is zoom me out of here. No one will see, no one will know, and at that speed there's very little chance of Harewood getting sick either."

"No, Danvers," came the bark, reprimanding and final. It was from somewhere down the hall, but they still heard it clear through the glass. It was J'onn.

Alex frowned at the door.

"Yikes, he's using your last name. You really must be driving him insane." She'd suspected as much given that when she'd spoken to him when she'd first arrived, he'd simply grumbled, "Vexing," after she'd asked how Alex was.

"I swear he's just keeping an open link to my mind now, keeping an eye on me."

"Probably a smart plan. You might attempt to slip out through the air vents or something."

Alex shook her head. "Too small, and they're welded shut anyway."

Kara raised an eyebrow at her sister. "You've thought about this, I see."

Alex met her eyes and shrugged. "I told you I was going crazy."

"Well, you'll be happy to know Eliza is at your apartment—"

"Happy?" Alex cocked a bewildered eyebrow. "You're trying to drive me further into madness, aren't you?"

"—And she forwarded me that list of items she originally sent you for me," Kara continued, unfazed, "except now they're for you, for when they finally free you from here."

"By the time they free me, I'll either be well again or I'll be dead. I won't need wassail and soup."

If Kara hadn't already spoken to Hernandez and Hamilton, she might have been upset by her sister's statement, but they'd both seemed confident that Alex was going to make a full recovery, that the Kryptonian mutation hadn't done much to the virus save perhaps make the symptoms a tad by more ...severe.

Alex's fever had been 103.6, her cough sounded still like she'd been smoking for 40 years, and she'd gone full Exorcist no less than 6 times, projectile vomiting in an impressive display of expectoration. Nothing had stayed down, not even for a few minutes. She'd been a serious mess. Thankfully most of the worst symptoms had died down for the most part.

"Either way," Kara brushed off. "She also just sent me a text that said, and I quote," she looked down at her phone to read it verbatim, "'Would you mind bringing over some pots as well? I've scoured your sister's apartment and have only come up with a single serve frying pan and the Crock-Pot I got her three Christmases ago… which is still in the box.'"

Alex looked unabashed. "The pan is for eggs in the morning. I have no use for anything more. And as far as the Crock-Pot goes, I'm never home long enough to use it and I'm not just going to leave it on while I'm at work. I do that, then next thing you know there's some sort of apocalyptic threat to the planet and by the time I get home days later, my apartment has burned down."

Kara was glad that Alex had reached a point in her recovery where she felt well enough to joke back (even if she still had a grumpy edge to her). Earlier, most of her sister's replies had been groans and the sound of vomiting. This also meant that Kara could poke fun at Alex and not really feel guilty about it. "It certainly would be a shame to lose that ratty recliner you've had since college and all fifty-or-so sets of black clothes," she cracked, expression dry.

Alex gave her an irritable look. "I have gray clothes, too," she grumbled. "Now, as I was saying, if any sort of cooking is to be done, we're always at your apartment where you have just about every pot and pan on the planet… which, if you think about it, is fairly odd considering your cooking abilities consist of flash-frying meats with your eyeballs, boiling water, and making Pop-Tarts."

"I can make pancakes, too," Kara defended.

"Sure, if you like them lumpy and on the extremely well-done side."

"Anyway." Alex looked smug enough that Kara almost didn't want to tell her, but she'd never really been good at keeping anything to herself. "Your mom also said that if I bring the right pans over, she'll make pie."

Alex immediately perked up at that, which Kara took as a good sign. Before, even the mention of food had her heaving. "She did?"

"Yes."

There was a suspicious squinting of the eyes aimed Kara's way followed by a hesitant, "...My favorite or yours?"

"You're the one dying."

"So…?" She knew Alex was prodding because she actually wanted the satisfaction of hearing Kara say it.

"Yours!"

The sickly one grinned. "Yeeeeees." Then she paused and leveled Kara with sharp-eyed warning look. "Bring the right pans over."

Kara heard the clear 'Or else' in her sister's tone and rolled her eyes. "I will."

"Good girl."

Kara pursed her lips and shook her head. "Won't be as good as chocolate pecan…" she murmured.

Alex smirked. "Now who's pouting?"

Kara very nearly stuck her tongue out at Alex, but instead puffed out a soft exasperated breath and then smiled. She really was glad to see her sister beginning to recover. "Just get better, okay? No pie for anyone until you're actually home."

"Again, there is the option of a jailbreak," Alex said, her tone once again almost pitifully hopeful.

"For pie, I'd almost consider it," Kara replied, "Buuuut I'm Supergirl and it'd make me look bad if I released a plague on National City."

"I'm pretty sure this virus has only a short infectious period," Alex speculated, no doubt in hopes of presenting a sound enough argument that she'd be able to change Kara's mind, or convince her to at least talk to J'onn about releasing her. "I mean, I walked all through the DEO before they quarantined me and no one has caught it. I bet it was over before we even arrived."

The moment the words were out of her mouth, a sharp, gurgling cough thundered from out in the hall. Both Danvers sisters snapped their heads toward the door, searching for the source.

At first Kara thought it had been Harewood, but she immediately noticed that he was staring down the hallway, a look of alarm on his face. A beat later, he took several speedy steps backward away from the door.

The culprit lumbered into view. Kara's eyes went wide.

It was J'onn.

Kara inhaled sharply, then breathed out a concerned, "Oh my—"

"—God," Alex finished.

J'onn stepped through the door into the quarantine lock, waited until it sealed behind him, then pushed through the second door into the room.

The fearsome, stalwart, rock of a man look utterly green and not in a healthy Green Martian sort of way. "Dammit, Danvers," he growled, his voice nasally and very, very unhappy.

Kara wasn't quite sure which of them he was actually speaking to.

He slapped his hand suddenly over his mouth, paling, and glared hotly at the two of them for just a beat before he turned quickly away to heave into the sink.

Kara looked over at Alex and they winced at each other.

And in that moment, Kara realized he'd definitely been addressing them both.

Author's Notes: THE END. These dorks, I love them so. Alex really, really does not like being contained. *pets her*

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed. :D