The Other Symbiote

Opposite of a Friend

"Kara? Why are you calling me at such a late hour?" Lena spoke over the phone.

"It's Raiva. Nemesis... is gone."

"That means-"

"Yes."

Both the Super and Luthor were worried now. Lena and Raiva were supposed to go to the Luthor family together, but they only took Lena. They didn't want another girl, let alone a dying one, to become part of their family.

But Lena managed to find her. Whilst the sisters had a large eight year gap between themselves, they were still family. As soon as Lena found out that Raiva had been adopted, she immediately contacted Eddie. She asked if she could see her, but Raiva didn't want to.

She wanted to forget everything about the orphanage, even if it meant losing Lena.

The ambitious Luthor obliged reluctantly and left her sister alone, which caused more damage than either thought. Raiva was her sole drive to find the cure of cancer, to which she was still yet to uncover. They would often talk when meeting up at a Crisis event or just hanging out, but they never spoke of their past. It was too painful for either one to talk about.

"Lena, she had a blade when I found her. Her tattoo of all of our emblems? She outlined each of them, except for mine. I think I got there just in time for her to stop at mine."

Lena paused, her silence showing she was deep in thought. "If you don't mind, can you send me a photo of her arm?"

With a quick click of the digital camera, Lena was horrified. Her baby sister's arm was mutilated without Nemesis to heal her, her skin having a dark red stain of blood over the tattoo. She shook herself from crying and quickly analysed the cuts.

"Kara... she cut the other emblems long before you arrived. She stopped at yours willingly."

"But that doesn't make sense. Why stop at mine?"

"Because you mean something special to her. More so than the others."

Kara looked down at the sleeping teen, tears staining her pillow. She quickly wiped an escapee that was falling softly down her cheek.

*Do I really mean that much to you?*

All of a sudden, the door to Raiva's bed broke off it's hinges, with Steve and Wanda bursting through.

"Get away from her!"

Raiva immediately jumped up but she put a hand to her head to stop the room from spinning, stepping groggily in front of Kara.

"Steve! It's okay! She's like family to me! She's dating my sister, for crying out loud."

"Wait. Your arm." Wanda pointed out the smudged blood on her skin and Raiva threw on her leather jacket to cover it.

"What about it?" She dared the brunette to answer her question but she just shrugged.

"Cap, this is Kara. Kara, this is-"

"Captain America. I know." She shook his hand firmly before looking at Wanda. "And this is...?"

"Wanda."

Kara immediately stared daggers at her, knowing what she did in their conversation prior to Raiva falling asleep.

"Don't." She slapped the Kryptonian's arm. A purple portal appeared in the room and Lena stepped out of it, causing Wanda to push her back into the wall. Kara yelled in anger and moved to backhand Wanda into the bedroom cupboard, but Raiva went flying instead as she tried to protect the girl she had come to admire.