This is entirely Valnixyrie's fault because I promised her I would write her a fic and then she wanted something with Alex/Lena,and here we are like three hours and four thousand words later. Oops?

It had started out with a background check. The really thorough, top secret clearance type of background check that found out every single thing about you type of deal. Alex would do anything and everything to protect her sister, and if she had at least some grounds to use government resources while doing it, well she wasn't complaining. Because from the moment that Kara told her that she was interacting with Lena Luthor of all people, red flags had gone up all over. Kara, of course, didn't see it.

And neither did the background check. When Alex had gotten it back and everything was clean, squeaky clean, she doubted it. There was no way with a family like the Luthors that she was free from any blame. Surely there had to be something. But the only real way for her to find out anymore was to actually interact with the woman.

So Alex had grabbed her FBI badge and was up and out of the downtown DEO office faster than a speeding bullet.

L Corp's building wasn't as big as Alex would have thought. Maybe only twenty stories or so, and not some sort of phallic overcompensation. It was all glass and metal, though, and seemed a bit on the pretentious side of modern. Well, she was a Luthor after all, so what did she expect.

Alex walked through the building's lobby quickly, flashing her badge to the receptionist and getting waved through without a hitch. She had to admit, sometimes the FBI badge was one of her favorite perks because it got her almost anything she wanted with little fuss.

Lena's office was on the top floor, no surprise there. Alex flashed her badge at Lena's assistant and got a less welcoming response.

"Miss Luthor is in a very important meeting. Do you have a warrant?"

Well, the badge got her almost everything. "No, but Miss Luthor is in no trouble. I'm just here to ask a few questions about a pending investigation that's stalled out on leads." That technically wasn't a lie, really.

"Then you should have called first. She's booked solid all day today until nine p.m. Investors wait for no one, I'm sure you understand."

Alex cocked an eyebrow. The woman had been trained well. She didn't even think Kara was this good at deflecting people after two years under Cat.

"I only need five minutes of her time, no more." Five minutes would let her know if Lena was up to something nefarious. She hadn't gone through all her training without acquiring some sort of instincts, that was for damn sure.

"Just show her in, Jessica," Lena said, opening her office door and leaning against the frame. "Officers of the law are rather tenacious when they want to be and I don't believe we're going to get rid of this one easily." The woman smiled, all bright white teeth and blood red lipstick.

Alex's heart beat a bit harder in her chest. She had seen pictures, who hadn't after everything with her brother? But in real life there was just something…more. A presence that photos couldn't convey. Oh boy, maybe this was going to be a bit harder than she thought.

She stepped forward. "Alex Danvers, FBI." She held out her hand.

"Danvers?" Lena looked Alex up and down. "Any relation to Kara?"

Alex debated on lying. Lena shouldn't know that Kara was Supergirl, but with the Luthors being mixed up in what they were, what were the odds that Lena knew? Then again, if Lena knew that Kara was Supergirl then she probably also knew that Alex was her sister. And perhaps if Lena and Kara's meeting had gone as well as Kara said it had, saying that she was Kara's sister might give her a bit of leeway.

"We're sisters," Alex said after a second.

"Funny how sisters can look so different. Genes are an odd thing. Come in, make yourself comfortable."

Alex walked into the office behind Lean, looking around. Obviously it was a space meant to intimidate, all sleek, modern lines, and sparse decoration. She wondered if the intimidation factor was just because Lena wanted an edge in the business world or if that was just her personality.

"We're foster sisters, actually. My parents took her in after hers died in a car wreck when she was thirteen."

Lena's eyes softened somewhat at that. "Oh, I see. I was adopted as well when I was rather young. I don't remember much before coming to live with the Luthors." Though there was a dark flash through her eyes that said differently. She sat down in her desk chair, like a queen on her throne. "Now, what exactly brings you here Agent Danvers?"

Alex swallowed. She hadn't exactly gotten this far, the urge to protect Kara had driven her out the door before she had a solid plan. J'onn would kill her if he found out about that particular detail. As always, though, she was great at covering her ass in the moment.

"I just wanted to ask some questions regarding the spaceship crash. I know you've must have answered hundred by now, but I've always gotten more from people than I ever did reading a file."

Lena sighed heavily. "I know where you're coming from, though honestly, I don't think anyone around here wants me to get in a full day's worth of work."

"Like I told your assistant this will only take a few minutes," Alex placated. She couldn't have the other woman locking up before she had gotten anything really useful. She could give a damn about the spaceship and Lena's probably already memorized answers. If Lena clammed up and only parroted things back at her, she wouldn't be able to get a feel for the woman.

"Ask away then I suppose." She waved Alex on.

"So is there anyone that might have targeted you specifically?" She asked right off. Basic question that seemed to get asked at every interview like this.

"Hundreds of people. Business isn't a place for those who hate making enemies." She shrugged and looked at Alex. "I gave a list of people to some of your colleagues and they are probably going through it now, yes?"

Alex nodded. "Yes, of course, I just wanted to see if anyone in particular stood out now that the first haze of panic had passed."

"No, no one. They all equally want me dead in their own way. White men do not much like when a woman gets one over on them, especially when she's pretty." She grinned a wicked grin and Alex couldn't help but smile along with her.

"Fair enough. Could it be because of your brother's anti-Superman activity? Now you're in National City, someone could be worried that you're here because you're out to destroy Supergirl while she's new and unexperienced."

Lena turned away from Alex for half a second. "Someone could have done it for that reason, but…" She trailed off. "I am not my brother. I am not the rest of my family, either. They have their views and I have mine. I am trying to build this business into something that does good. Supergirl is someone who does good. I believe we're on the same side. I don't believe what Lex does. Or, more accurately I don't want to believe him." She swallowed. "Hearing his rather impassioned speeches from a young age might have unknowingly biased me, but that doesn't mean that I don't work against it."

Alex tilted her head, looking over the woman carefully. Was she telling the truth? Did Alex really believe all those pretty words that had just come out of an even prettier mouth?

But Lena stared back at her, honest, and open, and unblinking with eyes green as a tropical sea. And either the woman was a phenomenal actor, or she was being truthful. And god, who gave her permission to have eyes that green anyway? So not fair. But the important thing was she was telling the truth.

Alex nodded. "Ok, well, we'll start looking in other places first then." She stopped. "Or maybe we should start looking at people who resent you for not having those views."

Lena froze for half a second, the span of a blink, but Alex saw. She had struck a chord somewhere. The next second, though, Lena was smiling up at her like nothing was wrong.

"Well, add that to the list of a hundred possibilities, I suppose."

Alex stepped forward. "Miss Luthor, are you sure you don't know anything?"

"Yes. I am very sure Agent Danvers."

And that, Alex knew was a lie, even though that same innocent look from before pasted itself onto Lena's face. There was just something slightly different about it now, a slight tense in the muscles of her face that anyone without training wouldn't notice. But Alex did, and that made her even more sure that Lena had been telling the truth before about not meaning Supergirl harm.

"Because if you aren't sure, we can protect you," Alex continued like she hadn't heard. "We have resources that most people wouldn't dream of that would be used to keep you safe."

"I assure you, I am very positive about my answer. And if I wasn't sure, if those were the people coming after me, not even the FBI could stop them."

Alex stepped back. "Ok." She reached into her pocket and pulled a card from it with her name and work number on it. "But if you think of anything else, here's my card." She placed it gently on Lena's desk.

"Thank you, Agent Danvers. If I think of anything I will call."

"Thank you for your time. Have a nice day, Miss Luthor."

"And you as well, Alex."

Alex swallowed hard at the use of her first name, but managed to get herself to the door without incident.

The next time Alex saw Lena she was literally fighting for her life against some fake cop with assassin training on steroids. As many hits as she had landed, and the guy kept coming at her like some sort of machine. She thought that she wasn't going to make it, but then a gunshot and the sound of a body hitting the ground that most definitely wasn't hers. She looked back to see the man on the ground, bleeding and most definitely not moving. Alex heaved a sigh of relief and turned to see just who had shot the guy.

And there was Lean Luthor, standing in the correct shooting stance, hand gripping the gun surely. Someone had definitely taught the woman the proper way to shoot, and damn if it wasn't a bit sexy.

"Lena," Alex gasped out, still out of breath.

"Alex, are you ok?" Lena asked, stepping forward, dropping the gun to her side, finger beside the trigger but not on it.

Alex nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, bruises, cuts, nothing bad."

Lena moved into Alex's personal space. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, really, it's fine. I've had worse being in the FBI." Aliens were a bitch to fight, especially without superpowers.

Lena nudged the man with the toe of her high heel with a disgusted look on her face. The man didn't move, though, so she stopped after a moment.

A thought tickled at the back of Alex's mind. "Lena, do you know him?"

Lena's eyes flicked up to Alex's then away. "No."

"Bullshit, Lena."

"Whatever happened to you calling me Miss Luthor." Lena stepped back again and slipped her gun into the handbag at her side.

"Well, you shot a man to keep me alive, so I think we can be on a first name basis, don't you?" She stepped right back into Lena's personal space. "Lean, you know him. Disgust like that doesn't just happen at the spur of the moment."

Lena was silent for a long moment, looking around them at the smoky haze that covered the street. The damage done around them was rather extreme, so she had a great lot to look at before she looked back to Alex.

"You know, I've looked into you, Alex. I think you have looked into me as well. Even something as subtle as a government sponsored background check can be found out if you have the right connections, so I thought it only fair."

Alex's eyes narrowed. She had no idea where this was going but she damn well wasn't about to speak up and ruin whatever flow Lena had going on.

"You don't work for the FBI, at least not in any real capacity. You are on their records, you have a case load, you have solved cases, testimonies, the whole lot, but whoever cooked up that record didn't think through was what you would do were you actually in the FBI. It's rather clear who you are meeting you and seeing some of your background, and those small time cases they put to your name, no that's not you. You would not care about the small time people who only a hurt a few, you would go after the bigger fish, wouldn't you?"

Lena wasn't wrong, if she did actually work for the FBI she would be on some large task force going for the jugular of some big time scumbag. She was an all or nothing type of girl. So she just nodded.

"I thought so. So, who exactly is it that you work for, Alex, or this goes no further. I've had too much of secrets in my life."

"The DEO."

Lena lets out a breath immediately. So the acronym means something to her, obviously, which is shouldn't considering they don't even exist on paper. Those three hundred dollar hammers that the government buys are where their budget comes from, and anyone below top secret clearance has no idea they exist. But some things still find the light of day despite being buried a thousand feet down. That was what explosions, and earthquakes, and weathering were built to do, just as humans always dug for the truth.

"Well then, take me there and we'll talk."

"I'm going to have to blindfold you once we get into the car, are you ok with that?" She wants to know upfront because otherwise she has a few choice sleeperholds that will do. Alex isn't exactly comfortable with the thought of doing that, but the DEO's location has to be kept secret even if Lena knows of its existence.

Lena meets her gaze head on and unwavering. "That's fine."

"Alright then, let's go."

When they pulled up at the downtown office, half an hour after they could have gotten there, Alex escorted Lena to the control room and only there did she take off the woman's blindfold. Immediately Lena was looking around, taking everything in.

"Impressive." She turned to Alex. "I assume you have the best anti-surveillance technology here."

Alex nodded. "And then some." Having access to alien tech worked wonders for just about everything, really.

"Good." She looked around at the bustling room. "You have a conference room around here somewhere, yes?"

"Yup, follow me." She broadcast her thoughts loud enough that J'onn would have to hear her. She wanted him on the other side of the glass in that room because whatever Lena was about to tell her was going to be important intelligence. Why would Lena ask to be brought here otherwise?

She led them to one of the smaller rooms and sat down on the opposite side of the table from Lena, facing the glass wall. "So?" Alex asked, setting her crossed arms on the tabletop.

Lena sighed, glanced behind her at the glass and frowned. "Is anyone on the otherside."

"Not that I know of." Actively anyway. She couldn't really be sure that J'onn was there.

Lena nodded and turned back around. "My mother is trying to kill me and has been since I took over L Corp."

Alex blinked at that. "What?"

"You heard me right. Lex got all his ideas from somewhere, I assure you, and it was my mother." She leaned forward. "Do you know of Project Cadmus?"

Alex felt herself sit up straighter without meaning to.

"I see that you do." Lena fiddled with her fingers for half a moment. "And if you know about them, then you know why protecting me is a rather…interesting venture."

"That doesn't mean that we would just throw you to the dogs, Lena. Why is your mom after you?"

"Because she is the head of the project and because I do not wish to end all alien life on the planet. I said no to funneling the profits of L Corp into Project Cadmus like Lex had done before me. She promised that I would regret it. Offered me a dozen chances to change my mind, and when I told her that I would hear no more of the subject, well, it wasn't pretty."

Anger rose up in Alex. How could anyone want to hurt Lena, especially her own mother. What kind of sick and twisted person did that? Then again, sick and twisted would be what someone had to be to be the head of Cadmus.

"Now that Supergirl has saved me twice, I believe the attacks will only ramp up in nature because I've accepted help from what she deems 'the foreign parasites.' I do not think that even the DEO have the resources to go up against her."

"Lena, what do you know about Cadmus? We've been after them for a while since we heard about them, but they're even more of a ghost than we are."

Lena shook her head. "Not much, just that it exists, that my mother runs it, it's basic mission. It was on a need to know basis, and I never wanted to know. I knew that the man that attacked you was an officer there, he came by the house sometimes to drop things off. He was…not a good man." She looked down at the table for a long moment, posture stiff, remembering. "The world is better off without him."

Alex reached out on instinct and took Lena's hand. "If he worked for that hell house, then yeah, he's better off dead. Anyone who could try to kill you doesn't deserve to be here, honestly."

Lena laughed humorlessly. "Tell that to my family, Agent Danvers."

"If they're out to kill you, I don't think they're your family anymore. That's not what family is, not really. An adoption certificate doesn't make that, love does."

"I'm sure they think it's for my own good." Lena tossed her head back.

Alex looked up at the glass, willing J'onn into the room. A minute later J'onn was opening the door just as commanded. Sometimes having a boss with mind reading abilities worked out rather well.

"Hank, I think that Lena might be a valuable asset against Cadmus," Alex said evenly, still holding on to Lena's hand. It felt right for it to be there, so she didn't move, she saw no need to.

"How so?" J'onn asked, playing like he hadn't been in the next room.

"Lillian Luthor is the head of Cadmus. I think that over the years she picked up more than she realizes and can tell us more than we know currently."

J'onn looked over Lena carefully. "Well, the information that Lillian Luthor is the head is much more than we already knew, so I suppose you aren't wrong." He cocked an eyebrow at Alex. "I'm sensing a catch here, however."

"She needs protection. They've been coming after her." Alex squeezed Lena's hand gently and Lena squeezed back.

"A fair enough trade." He looked at Lena. "Your security detail can't be noticeable, ideally?"

"That would be for the best, yes." Lena nodded. "I still do have a company to run. I won't let it fail just because of a personal crisis."

Alex looked at Lena with a raised eyebrow. Family out to kill you seemed a bit more than a personal crisis. Lena, however, just shrugged slightly.

"It would seem rather suspicious. We'll integrate with your apartment security and L Corp's as well. Your drivers will be our agents, we'll take over any outside services you may have, if all goes to plan they shouldn't have a chance to strike. Though, perhaps an agent on you at all times would not be remiss." J'onn glanced at Alex for a long moment. "Alex, I'm sure you can find a good cover story for why you'll be with Lena whenever she's not in a secured location, don't you." He glanced down at their joined hands.

Alex blushed hotter than the sun. This was totally not where she thought this was going to go. The security detail, yes, J'onn being his normal brusque self when conducting business, yes, but being called out on the hand holding and then assigned to Lena's security detail, oh no. She had no idea that background check was going to lead to that.

"Do you agree to this, Miss Luthor?" J'onn asked.

Lena looked at Alex, a glint in her eyes that look a bit like mischief, along with fear and just a bit of rage. "Yes, I'll accept. Perhaps Alex and I can go through some of my old things to see if there's anything I can recall from the past. As for my current knowledge I'll write down what I can."

"Good. I look forward to working with you then." And with that J'onn left the room.

Lena looked back at Alex. "Well, it seems you do make good on your promises, even if you do lie about what agency you're from." She swallowed audibly. "Alex, I'm afraid not even the DEO has the resources to go against Cadmus. I don't want to put you in danger."

"The confrontation between us and Cadmus has been a long time coming, Lena. We would have gone against them no matter what, even if I hadn't walked into your office a few days ago. Besides, we've got a superhero on our side and more than a few tricks up our sleeves. We'll make it through."

Lena drew her hand back from Alex's. "I can only hope." She stood and looked towards the door. "Are we done here?"

Alex nodded. "Hank will take a couple hours to organize everything that's needed for your protection detail. We should probably wait until then."

"Can they search my apartment first? After all this I think going home would be the best option."

"I'll get the right on that." Alex stood and walked towards the door.

"And Alex?" Lena said just as Alex put her hand on the door knob.

Alex turned to look at the other woman. "What would you say to dinner tonight? After all, I think I should get to know the woman who will be protecting me, don't you? Especially if our cover story is going to be what I think it is, yes?" A grin teased at Lena's lips, not quite taking the worry from her face, but smoothing some of the lines around her eyes nonetheless.

Alex choked a bit. If that wasn't a come on, she didn't know what was. Oh god, what exactly had she gotten herself into?

"Um, yeah, that doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"Wonderful, I've been told I'm a wonderful cook. I think you're in for a treat."

Oh god, being made dinner? Yeah. Alex had walked into the deep in. How exactly was she going to remain unattached during this particular assignment?

"We'll see if you put your money where your mouth is later, Lena," Alex said back, opening the door. God, was she flirting too? Behind her Lena just laughed as the door closed behind Alex and Alex's heart skipped a beat at the delighted sound.

There was the answer, she wasn't going to stay unattached. Hopefully that didn't come back and bite her in the ass later.