"Winn, I need to know what that thing is!" Striding into the Command Center, Alex tapped one of the consoles to pull up the live feed of the fight going on downtown. Kara was getting slaughtered.
He spun in his chair. "I'm working on it. The Fort Rozz information…" Winn banged his knees into the station next to him, eyes locked onto Alex.
Alex waited with as much patience as possible. When the on-screen Kara put a Supergirl-sized dent in a NCPD radio car, though, she snapped. "What about Fort Rozz? Is this one of the escapees? How do we beat this thing?"
"You heard the queen. Stop staring at the royal jewels." Vasquez punched Winn lightly in the arm. "Keep working on the Fort Rozz records, Obi Winn. You're her only hope."
Royal jewels? Alex glanced down and then glared hard enough to turn Winn into ashes if only she shared Kara's laser vision. She yanked at the neckline of her dress. Damn Kara to hell and back. Why couldn't her sister have donned a wig and been the Evil Queen? Alex would have rocked the red leather jacket Kara had found for the party.
All of the yanking did nothing. Yards of Alex's chest remained on display.
"Alpha Team's on scene, ma'am." Vasquez's bright shock of pink hair was a discordant reminder that everyone in the Command Center had come straight from Kara's Halloween party. At least Vasquez had ditched her earlier attempt at a Russian accent.
"General? What's the situation?" Alex asked through her earpiece.
Wind whipped through the channel for a second. "I am afraid I have little news, Agent Danvers. The threat is from Fort Rozz, as you no doubt surmised."
On a normal day, Alex didn't mind Astra's stiff, formal speech. Today was not normal. Alex needed information on the current alien threat yesterday. She ground her teeth against lashing out, though. Astra had been a general. Snarling at someone used to command never went well.
Destroying her dental work paid off. "It is from the planet Dilbworld," Astra finally continued.
There were thuds which were just enough out of sync with the live feed to be disconcerting. Kara took out another parked car and then a statue near CatCo Plaza. The footage showed Astra hovering well out of range.
"How do we neutralize it?" Alex's acknowledgement of Astra's rank slipped. "What do you know?" she demanded.
Astra didn't respond verbally. Alex watched the general fly at the alien on screen and wished she had the Evil Queen's magic. One finger snap and she'd be in the midst of the action, and she'd be sure to snatch Astra's still-beating heart right from her chest for going radio silent.
The Command Center was silent, except for the sound of Winn and Vasquez typing. Everyone watched the fight play out on the screen.
It was a very short show.
Astra moved light lightening, flying in to land brutal punches before zipping out of range. The alien dropped to the ground after only a few minutes of this treatment.
"Vas," Alex said.
"Already on it, ma'am. Alpha Team is set for retrieval." The view on the screen now showed black-clad and heavily armed agents swarming the downed alien. "Team Leader confirms capture. ETA ninety minutes."
Plenty of time to reconfigure one of the containment cells. Toggling her comm, Alex announced, "Good job, everyone. General, Supergirl, return to the base for debrief."
Every loose paper in the room flew up into the air before Alex finished speaking.
"I am afraid my niece had a prior engagement, Agent..." Astra's voice faded and her eyes appeared to examine the pendant Alex wore – and the Royal Jewels. Was that a blush coloring the general's cheeks?
Ignoring Vasquez's badly disguised chuckle, Alex channeled her best Evil Queen. She crossed her arms below the bodice of her dress, fluffing the Jewels as much as possible. "Danvers, General. Agent. Danvers," she enunciated.
Seeming to recover a little of her poise, Astra dragged her gaze upward. "Agent Danvers. I am aware of your rank, Brave One. Were I not, surely Kara would educate me." She cleared her throat. "You wished to speak of the battle?"
Alex might have missed the downward flicker of Astra's eyes as she spoke if she hadn't been watching so closely. Maybe the dress wasn't the tragedy she'd originally thought. In a move Alex remembered Lana Parrilla making, she stroked a finger over her pendant.
Hiding her smirk was difficult when Astra tracked the movement.
"I'm sure we can finish the debrief in the morning," Alex said. "Care to join me for a drink, General? I asked that irritating Miss Swan to stock my favorite cider."