Winn wasn't sure he was doing the right thing as he prepared to knock on Maggie's door. He took a breath and then knocked. He was shuffling his feet when Maggie answered the door.

"Winn? What are you doing here?"

"I …" he had started to speak but then saw the woman in the background. He hadn't really thought about Maggie being with someone or even considered the idea that she had moved on. Maybe it was because he knew that Alex hadn't so he assumed Maggie also had not.

"Winn," Maggie said, bringing his attention back to her. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, I shouldn't have come," he said. He turned to leave but she grabbed a hold of his arm to prevent him from going.

"What is going on?"

"Is everything ok?" the woman who had come a little closer to the door asked.

"It's fine," Maggie said, not turning to look at her. "I'll be just a moment."

She stepped outside with Winn and closed the door behind her. "Spill it. Now."

"It's Alex. She's dying."

Maggie didn't say anything just stood there in obvious shock.

"It was an alien. We don't really know how he did it, but her body systems are shutting down," Winn continued. "The only thing keeping her alive right now is the machines and she had a living will. She didn't want to be kept alive like this so tomorrow her mom is going to … Anyway, I thought I should … I thought someone should let you know in case you want to come say goodbye."

Maggie didn't say anything only nodded.

"I'll go," he said.

"Thanks for um, thanks for letting me know," Maggie said, before turning to go back into the apartment.

….

Maggie spent all night debating whether she should do what she was doing now – entering the DEO. In the end, she knew that if she didn't see Alex one last time she would regret it for the rest of her life.

She still had DEO access because of her work with the NCPD, but it had been a while since she had been there. For the most part, she hadn't seen Alex in months. The one time she saw her at a crime scene was awkward for both of them. They had been all business in talking to each other in the limited amount of time they were around each other and it saddened Maggie to think that was how it was going to be from now on with them.

It was Alex's choice to break things off, she told herself, so there was no reason for her not to move on – or at least try to.

Now here she was, coming to the DEO to say goodbye to the woman she once believed was who she would spend the rest of her life with.

Once she entered the command center, J'onn saw her and approached. "I'll take you to her," he said.

They traveled down a hall and to the elevators, not saying anything until they were inside it and heading down.

"You don't seem surprised to see me here," she commented.

"I try not to read others' minds, but in times of high stress it is hard," he explained. "I knew Winn went to see you."

"He didn't really explain what happened to her."

"She was doing her job. Her and a team went out to capture a Fort Rozz prisoner who we believe has been responsible for at least five deaths. Somehow he is able to put his victims in some sort of coma and from there they just sort of waste away. The Kryptonians also seemed to be at a loss as to how he does it. The team was successful in apprehending him and they got him back here where he broke loose from the guards and he went right at Alex, even though she wasn't the closest to him. He touched her skin and she fell unconscious, but it only lasted for maybe a minute if that and she was awake once more. We ran all the tests and everything came back normal and she said she felt fine and couldn't pinpoint anything being amiss. She was released and headed home. The next day she didn't show up and Kara went to go check on her and found her unconscious at her place. She was flown back here and … well we exhausted every means we had at our disposal."

The elevator stopped but Maggie made no move except toward the panel where she hit the button to keep the door closed a moment.

"This alien, it's here?"

"Yes, but he has not been cooperative in answering any questions and I can't read its mind. All it would say was that it was Alex choice to come back."

"Her choice, what does that mean?"

"We don't know," J'onn admitted. "We have been monitoring Alex's brainwaves too, to see if there is some activity going on in her mind that might account for this, but it hasn't been helpful either."

"So, you are just going pull the plug?"

"Like I said, we have exhausted all our options. As it is, she can no longer breathe on her own and her body has already begun the process of shutting down. Alex was clear about what she wanted in terms of her death and we must respect that."

Maggie knew that was true, that Alex wouldn't want to be kept alive by machines, but at the same time, she felt like something else needed to be done other than this. Maggie opened the elevator doors and stepped out with J'onn, who led her to the infirmary. They were standing outside the door of one of the private rooms when J'onn faced her.

"Eliza and Kara are in there," he said. "They have barely left her bedside."

"God, I can't imagine what they are going through."

J'onn opened the door and Maggie walked in, but stopped almost immediately at the sight of Alex in the hospital bed. A tube was coming out of her mouth to help her breathe and if it weren't for that and the heart monitor, Maggie would have thought she was dead already.

"Maggie," Eliza said coming over and embracing her. "Thank you for coming."

Once Eliza released her, Kara was there hugging her.

"I'm so sorry," Maggie whispered to her.

Once they were separated, Maggie's attention again turned to Alex.

"How long has she been like this?"

"It wasn't like this at first. At first, it was like she was sleeping," Eliza said, her eyes going back to her daughter. "But It's been just over a week on the ventilator."

Maggie tried not to think about the fact that Alex had been like this for days, yet she had only found out about it last night and only then because Winn had apparently took it upon himself to tell her. She wondered if he hadn't shown up, when would she have found out that Alex died.

"You take what time you need," Eliza said, motioning to Kara that they should leave the room to give Maggie some privacy.

"When?" Maggie asked. "When are you …"

She couldn't bring herself to finish the question, but she could tell that Eliza understood what she meant.

"Everyone else has said their goodbyes," Eliza said. She and Kara left the room and Maggie stood there a moment looking at the bed until she finally walked over and took a seat in the chair next to it. She looks small, Maggie thought. Alex could cut an imposing figure when she wanted to – usually when she was being all Agent Danvers, but all Maggie could think now, seeing her in the bed like this, was that she seemed smaller somehow.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to say," Maggie said. "I mean, how is it possible that you're lying here and you're dying. You can't be dying."

She fell silent for a long while, just sitting there watching the ventilator do the breathing for her.

"We were should have been married by now," she finally said. "We were going to be married."

She started to cry but quickly wiped away the tears. She had cried the night Alex had broken up with her, cried the night after that and the night after that. She never thought she would be crying because she'd be watching Alex die.

That was when she knew, she couldn't watch it happen. Not that she had really thought about it, but she realized that Eliza was going to have the machine turned off, probably shortly after Maggie was done. And she didn't even know if they expected her or would even want her to be there when it happened, but Maggie knew she couldn't do it.

"I'm sorry," she said to Alex, as she got up.

She got to the door, her hand on it before looking back at Alex one last time and then she walked out. Eliza and Kara stood up from the seats they were sitting on in the hall when she came out.

"Thank you," Maggie said. "For letting me…"

Eliza gave her another hug. "She never stopped loving you."

Maggie nodded to her and then to Kara before walking away. She took the elevator back up to the command center and approached J'onn once more. "The alien that did this to her, take me to it."

"Detective …"

"I'm not going to do anything. Read my mind if you don't believe me, but I need to see who did this to her."

"Ok," he said.

J'onn once again led the way, but this time to the detention cell area. They were nearing the end of the corridor when he stopped next to a door.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes."

He opened the door for her and she entered seeing the alien in the middle of the room behind one of the containment cells. It was male – or at least she thought maybe it was – honestly, she wasn't sure because what she was looking at resembled a mannequin. It had the shape of a human – two arms, two legs, two eyes, ears and a mouth and nose, but like a mannequin it didn't really have any features.

It stood when it saw her.

"Detective Sawyer," it said, and it smiled at her – an expression that seemed impossible for it.

Maggie looked back at J'onn who barely shook his head no. He understood – or read her mind to know what she was asking. She again focused on the alien.

"How do you know who I am?"

"Because of Alexandra," it said as if it was the most natural answer in the world.

Maggie got closer to the containment cell, studying it as it appeared to be studying her – almost mirroring her exactly.

"If you find this form displeasing, perhaps this one will be more to your liking," it said, and then its body began to shimmer and suddenly Maggie was looking at Alex, causing her to back up and then turning to see J'onn move forward.

"Did you know it could do that?" Maggie asked him.

"No," J'onn said. "There was nothing in the Kryptonian records to indicate it has the power to shapeshift, but it does explain how it was able to stave off capture for so long."

The DEO had trouble tracking it after they suspected it was responsible for the second of the five killings they had investigated. It had found trace DNA at each of the crime scenes that matched the Kryptonian database from the prison.

"What did you do to her?" Maggie asked. She felt odd speaking to it while it had Alex's form, but she wanted answers.

It moved a little to her left, still keeping its eyes – well Alex's eyes – on her. "Do you not find this form to your liking?" it asked. When it spoke, it spoke with Alex's voice as well. "Do you no longer find her attractive now that you no longer wear that ring on your finger?"

"What did you do to her?" Maggie repeated. She wasn't going to let this thing bait her. But the fact it knew who she was, knew that she had been engaged to Alex posed even more questions in her mind.

"I killed her," it said. "Almost killed her I should say. It's simply remarkable that she has managed to hang on to life. She is truly one of a kind. You shouldn't have let her go Maggie – not that she gave you much of a choice in that. "

"You said you almost killed her, does that mean there is a chance she won't die?" she asked, moving closer to the cell. If there was some way to save Alex she needed to find it fast.

"As I told your martian friend there, it is her choice not mine."

"What does that mean?"

"I thought that would be fairly obvious," it said.

Maggie came closer to the cell. "Is there a chance she won't die?" She needed to the know the answer. She needed to stop what was about to happen to Alex if there was even the smallest of chances.

It cocked its head to the side, and Maggie gathered that it was thinking of what to say. She wanted to hit the cell, or even go inside of it and grab a hold of this thing and make it tell her the answer. If she didn't know any better she would have thought it was purposely taking its time so that the deed upstairs would be done.

"I have been to many worlds," it said finally. "I have taken many forms – although it would be wrong to say that I choose the form because of what it looks like. No, the form doesn't really matter except for the need to blend in with the population. It's just skin. Something else makes my victims attractive to me. When I saw Alexandra, I knew I had to have her and she hasn't disappointed me. In all my years, I can think of only one other who has been as … tasty to me as she has been. But to answer your question, no one that I have ever experienced has recovered and while Alexandra is exceptional I do not believe she will be any different."

Taking a step back, Maggie felt whatever resolve she had flow from her body.

Alex was going to die.

Maggie looked at J'onn. "I'm done here." She didn't wait for a response from him, merely walked to the door. It slid open and that is when the alien spoke once more.

"Detective, as I said, she was exceptional, but in the end it didn't matter," it said. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Maggie was stuck on the word "was." The use of the past tense. Again, her eyes went to J'onn, who had his head bowed down and his eyes closed before opening them to look at her. That look was all it took to tell her and she turned once more to the alien, but as Maggie stared it down – this alien who had taken Alex's form along with her life – she knew there was no remorse in it. She turned and left the room, stopping almost immediately outside the door to lean up against the wall next to it. J'onn came out a moment later but didn't say anything, just let her stay there as she collected the will to move.

"It targeted her," Maggie said finally. "It murdered her. And now it, it has her face, her voice. It can't … it can't stay like that. If nothing else, you have to make it stop."

"If we can find a way to do so, we will," J'onn promised.

Maggie wanted to cry, but the tears weren't coming. Nothing was coming except an emptiness like she had never experienced before. She bent down, her hands on her knees as she felt her breath coming out too rapidly. She stayed there, not trusting herself to move or do anything. She briefly thought about going back into that room and maybe J'onn wouldn't care if she entered that cell. Maybe he wouldn't care if she made that thing give up Alex's form.

But she knew she couldn't. Not because J'onn would most assuredly stop her, but because she couldn't go in there and see Alex – see her alive or at least the alien's copy of her alive when she knew that upstairs Alex was dead.

Somewhere she heard a door slam shut, but she didn't pay it any mind.

"Alex?"

The tone of J'onn's voice had to her looking up and following his gaze which was fixed on the corridor to their left where Alex was striding down toward them. Maggie thought she must be hallucinating. Even if Alex were alive, she wouldn't be up and moving after being on a ventilator like that. She wouldn't be moving with such a purpose. J'onn approached as she reached them, but she ignored them as if they weren't there, instead entering the room even as Kara appeared at the end of the hall yelling Alex's name. J'onn followed Alex but it took Maggie a couple of seconds – time enough for Kara to reach her – before they also entered the room.

There was Alex standing in front of the cell staring at the alien who still held her form. Wearing a pair of lightweight pants and a tank top, with no shoes, she stood there facing the mirror image of herself.

The alien began to clap. "Simply remarkable Alexandra," it said. "I didn't think you capable of it, but you have proved me wrong."

It looked as if it was about to say something else but Alex quickly imputed a code on the panel next to the cell and entered it, hitting it with a vicious right which she followed up with more punches until J'onn entered and grabbed her from behind pulling her out while Kara closed the cell. Alex was struggling against J'onn as if wanting to free herself so she could continue the onslaught.

The alien, whom she had knocked to the floor, got up, laughing – still in Alex's form with her voice – and approached the cell's barrier, its eyes never leaving Alex, who had stopped struggling but was still being held by J'onn.

"I can't wait to experience you again Alexandra," it said. "It will be even sweeter the second time around. Unless of course the detective here would like to volunteer to be my next meal."

For the first time Alex looked at someone other than the alien. From her expression, Maggie figured that Alex had no idea she had been there. Maybe she had no idea of anything, Maggie thought, seeing an almost confused expression on Alex's face. Their eye contact didn't last long as Alex slipped from J'onn's grasp, again going for the cell, but this time Kara was there to stop her. It didn't stop Alex from trying to fight her sister to reach her intended goal. Maggie was so shocked that she hadn't even noticed that Eliza had entered the room. As Kara grabbed Alex to hold her still, Eliza came up behind her daughter and injected something into her arm.

It must have been a sedative – a strong one – because Alex stopped fighting and began to waver a bit on her feet. By the time she was unconscious, Kara had picked her up into her arms.

"Take her back to the medbay, the doctor is waiting," Eliza instructed.

Once Kara left, J'onn asked Eliza what happened.

"Not here," she said, refusing to even glance in the direction of the alien. J'onn walked her out, with Maggie right behind them. Maggie took one last look at the alien who was standing there smiling at her.

After they made it back to the corridor, J'onn again asked for an explanation.

"I don't know," Eliza said. "I gave them the go ahead and they began to shut down the machines. I watched as she died and she was dead. Kara was crying and I didn't know what to say or do and then Alex, she just opened her eyes and sat up. She began choking because of the tube so we held her down while the doctor removed it. She was coughing and I think I was laughing, I just felt such joy that my daughter was there alive but even as she stopped coughing, she didn't say anything and didn't actually seem to be aware of her surroundings or any of us. Then she bolted from the bed. We were all so shocked that we stood there doing nothing and then I told Kara to follow her. She must have come straight here."

"Is she going to be ok?" Maggie asked. "I mean that wasn't normal."

Eliza shook her head, not knowing the answer to that. "I need to get back up there and check on her."

J'onn and Maggie escorted Eliza back up, none of them speaking, all of them alone with their own thoughts about what happened. While Maggie was still trying to sort out exactly what happened – and how quickly it had happened – she couldn't help but get stuck on what the alien had said to Alex about experiencing her again.

Whatever this was, she feared it wasn't over.