For All the Times I Should Have Said, “I love you” by LyrZetara is a Supergirl tale that spans three different points in time. This is a supercorp story. For those of you unfamiliar with the terminology, it means that Kara Zor-el (aka, Supergirl, aka, Kara Danvers) is in a relationship with Lena Luthor (CEO of L-Corp and sister to the madman, Lex Luthor)
I downloaded this story from Archive of Our Own, a site I love and support with monthly donations. I believe in their cause, the platform, and the voice they lend to all the authors involved. It’s my favorite place as a reader, and my origination point as a writer. That being said, there are hits and misses, as with any fiction repository. For All the Times I Should Have Said, “I love you” was un unexpected and powerful hit.
In the year 2028, Kara Zor-el/Supergirl is at her strongest. She has everything she could want in life. Family, maturity, wisdom, and Lena Luthor as her wife. On the night of their first anniversary a mission goes sideways, catapulting her and two other Supergirls into different timelines. For 2028 Kara, she finds herself sitting on the couch in her apartment on the very night Mxy is offering to help her fix things with Lena, during what she knows is a dark time where Lena feels most alone. She grieves immediately because age and wisdom has taught her that she needs to replicate her past steps exactly, despite the pain her words to Lena will cause. The timeline must be preserved.
Kara from the year 2020 assumes her jaunt into the past is simply the work of Mxy showing her different timelines. She isn’t living as carefully, thinking that Mxy can just snap everything back the way it should be. She makes small decisions that could have big consequences later.
And finally, we see 2016 Kara, a fairly new Supergirl and recent acquaintance of Lena Luthor, opening her eyes to a group of strangers. The only two people she recognizes are her sister, Alex, and J’onn Jonzz. In an effort to preserve the timeline as much as possible, the team decides to keep her in the dark. It’s a decision that has consequences for Lena’s heart and hers.
The entire fic is about the growth that past, present, and future Kara goes through, as well as a highlight to the way she and Lena are drawing to each other no matter what version they are, or what time in their lives. It’s about the lengths they’d each go through to spare the other pain, and the admissions of their weaknesses to one another that bring ultimate healing.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
Anyone that knows me, or has read my reviews, knows that my favorite stories are ones that make me think, feel, or discuss. This 100,000 word fanfic brought forth a whole bucket of feels. Every version of Kara carried a different kind of pain and joy. Every version loved Lena, sometimes without even realizing why or how much.
I’m not ashamed to say I teared up off and on throughout the entire read. There were highs, lows, and everything in between. I wouldn’t say it was filled with angst, because I’m not normally a fan of that. But there was the right amount of angst given the events and I think that is an important balance the author makes.
Cons And Heads Up
Honestly, there weren’t really any cons. There were some misspelled words, sometimes the wrong word was used but it’s fanfic. Fanfic isn’t a polished novel, it’s an author’s passion project. That being said, the grammar and spelling errors didn’t detract from the story because it was so engrossing
Conclusion
This fan fiction piece could have been a hot mess, should have been a hot mess, given the length and theme. It was like playing the cup game with three different Kara’s ending up in three different places. And throughout, we would switch between the three of them while they battled their personal demons from each time period, 2016, 2020, and 2028.
I love this piece because of the pure unadulterated emotions it let me feel. Every Kara was true to herself in all the ways that mattered. And honesty, the 2028 version of the team was a delight and treasure. For those of you that followed the show and were disappointed by the ending…this fic is for you. The ending was beautiful, it was complete. When I finished reading For All the Times I Should Have Said, “I love you,” I felt like all the puzzle pieces fell into place. I was at peace for Supercorp.
You don’t need to follow any television show if the story is written well enough and you accept that there are certain things you won’t know the significance of until the author reveals them. However, it would be helpful to have either watched the show, or at least be a frequent reader of supercorp fanfic. That being said, this fanfic is going to hit those that do both the hardest…in a good way. Pleasant reading, peeps.
Excerpt from For All the Times I Should Have Said, “I love you” by LyrZetara
Chapter 1: Parallel Times
It had been over a decade now. More than ten years of proudly weaning her family’s crest on her chest to portray hope as she fought against all odds, foes, and herself. But now, Kara Danvers, Supergirl, had earned the title of being National City’s hero in her own right. And the best part was that she was no longer alone to uphold such responsibility.
“On your six, Supergirl!” Alex shouted as her wife covered both of them from the incoming lasers.
“Brainy, how are we looking?” The girl of steel asked as she blasted her heat vision over the arsenal stored in the apparently not-so-abandoned warehouse.
“I’ve detected three more abnormal signatures,” he answered through the com, being back at the Tower, “Dreamer is on her way, with backup.”
“Are you sure this is the right mission?” Kara asked, covering behind her cape as fire blasts were aimed her way.
“We’ve discussed it,” Alex began, engaging in hand-to-hand combat against a rough alien.
“And we think that she’ll be safer if her first fight is with us watching her back,” Kelly added, “besides, she’s not getting anywhere near the action, we agreed on solely coping powers to help us evaluate the weakness of our enemies.”
“And she should be arriving right about now,” they heard Lena’s voice on their frequency.
“I’ll make sure to cloak her,” J’onn assured, flying to meet Esme and Nia. The little girl had grown up to be a determined and valiant teen who had been stubbornly determined to also join in the family tradition of becoming a superhero.
“Ready?” J’onn asked his granddaughter as she fixed her mask.
“Ready.” She said adamantly as J’onn merged them both to phase through the ground and sneak behind enemy lines to ambush the gang.
Even though Esme was surrounded by National City’s mightiest heroes, that didn’t stop Kelly or Alex from sharing a worried look.
“This is too soon, isn’t it? Maybe we jumped the gun on this?” Alex asked, her voice ringing with concern as they took cover to regroup as Nia distracted the criminals to give Esme an opening.
“I’m pretty sure that’s the same reaction you had when you saw me wear the suit for the first time,” Kara answered, blowing her frosty breath to create an ice barricade with the remains of the wall.
“Well, yeah, you are my baby sister and you decided to dive headfirst into danger.”
“A family trait, I might add.” Kelly jabbed jokingly, trying to ease her own nerves as she adjusted her gear.
“Don’t worry, I made sure to equip Esme’s suit with everything I could think of. It’s basically an indestructible exoskeleton, made with fire-resistant material, and bulletproof armor, too.” the CEO said reassuringly, “With a protection spell added for good measure.”
Kelly huffed amusedly as her wife smirked, “Thanks, Lena.”
“Anything for that little girl.” The youngest Luthor replied heartedly.
“More like ‘rebellious teen’ now, but yeah.” Alex chuckled a bit more relieved, looking back at her sister, who was grinning in her signature adorkable way at the sound of Lena’s voice in her ear.
The oldest Danvers patted her sister’s arm to get her attention, “Hey, coms out for a second,” she asked, taking off her own as the super complied as well.
“What’s up?”
“Are you sure you have time for this?” Alex asked, “Kelly and I can easily take over if you need to go.”
Guardian closed in, “Yeah, Kara. If you still need to set up some last-minute arrangements we can cover for you.”
Kara smiled with adoration at both of them, “Thank you, guys. But it’s under control, I promise. I just need to take a quick flight to Paris, but the bakery won’t open for another hour anyway. And dinner is ready, all I have to do is use my heat vision and voilà! Everything will be set!”
“Okay, we’ll try to wrap it up quickly, just in case. You do need to shower.”
“Rude!” Kara’s laughter was cut short by her barricade being blown to pieces, “Well, recess is over.” She put her com back online, “Beta team, how are we looking on that copy-cat plan?”
“They have a fire-breather, and also an alien with unbreakable skin, it’s going to be tough to take him down.” Esme explained, “A psyche attack is the best option.”
“Copy that,” Kara said, “You two get rid of their arsenal, I’ll take down the powered-up aliens.” She instructed before rushing back to the arena.
After facing bigger foes for so many years, taking down gangs of underground and intergalactic arm dealers was just considerably easier. They didn’t have a strategy or laid out plans, just pure brute force, and their brawls were nothing compared to hers. And their organization was no match for the incredible team backing her up every step of the way. Her Superfriends. Her family.
Before the battle could really escalate, it was basically over. Guardian and Sentinel had already handcuffed the goons as Nia recollected all the guns that would be confiscated and dismantled under Lena’s supervision back in the Tower.
“Well done, team,” J’onn appeared next to Esme.
“You did it!” Both proud parents smothered their daughter as the teen shrugged in a mix of embarrassment and pride.
“I’d say this mission was a complete success!” Kara said, smiling grandly as she posed in her usual hero stance. The only difference was that now her aura carried something else in it. A kind of security and confidence that exuberated the way she carried herself. She was no longer a Kryptonian trying to find her place on Earth, she knew where she belonged and whom she belonged to. She had a family, a home, a purpose. She was Supergirl.
Alex Danvers wrapped an arm around Kara’s shoulders, “Come here little sister,”
“I’m not that little anymore,” the super rolled her eyes.
“You’ll always be my little sister.” Alex shrugged carefree as both turned around to see the scene before them. All of them together, knowing that Lena and Brainy were celebrating through the coms as well. The real victory was that this picture-perfect moment was everything both had worked so hard to achieve.
“It really makes you look back, doesn’t it?” the oldest sibling asked, “How it started, how we kept on pushing obstacle after obstacle, but finally…how we are here. After everything we’ve lived through.”
“Yeah,” Kara mumbled, her hands fidgeting with the small cold metal that fitted so perfectly into one of her fingers. “I guess today it’s really the day to look back at it all, isn’t it?” the super turned to her sister.
“For the first time in a long while, looking back doesn’t hurt,” she nodded, “I’d say we’ve earned ourselves this happiness, don’t you agree?”
Kara embraced her sister in a side hug, “Indeed.”
“So!” Nia clapped loudly, getting everyone’s attention, “Should we go for some dumplings to celebrate?!”
“Here- here!” Alex raised her hand, going to Kelly’s side as the other woman enveloped her in arms to kiss her.
“That sounds like a great plan,” J’onn smiled, I’ll call M’gan.”
“Are you coming with us, Aunt Kara?!” Esme turned to look at the hero with hopeful eyes.
The super laid a hand over her shoulder, smiling softly, “Sorry, little one. I’ll come next time, but I have somewhere to be.”
“I’d say.” A voice echoed from the back of the warehouse as a figure limped towards them, his sight fixed on the red and blue hero, “You should really haven’t messed with our operation, Kryptonian. You put a serious dent on our plans for the future. But don’t worry, I’m sure I can fix that.” his eyes sparkled a deep shade of orange.
“Restrain him!” J’onn ordered, feeling that his attack was beyond the physical realm.
“Don’t!” Esme jumped in, copping his powers and turning them back on himself, unaware of what his abilities might be.
“Get out of my head you little brat!” he shouted, his tone raw and desperate. “You are going to ruin everything!”
Supergirl flew right up to him, ready to apprehend him, but in the explosion of his eyes, she saw fragments of her own life on them, and suddenly her mind wandered to pieces of the past, and then… everything turned white.
Find the full story here
Bits And Bobs
Fandom: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Length: 111434
Author: LyrZetara
Rating: T (for violence and emotional angst, no sexual content)
Rating Guide: G= General, T = Teen and up, M=Mature, E = explicit
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