Powers and Pacifiers
Chapter One
Alex yanked her phone out of the back pocket of her DEO issued black pants, taking a quick glance at the caller ID before answering.
"Kara? Where are you?"
The only sound that Alex heard in response were some giggles, and then some whimpering in the background. She pulled the phone away from her ear to double check the name on the screen before placing it back.
"Kara?"
The giggling and ceased; replaced by the dial tone. Alex shoved her phone back in her pocket and started toward the door.
"Al? What's wrong?" Maggie called, following her fiancée out the door.
"I don't know, but I think something is wrong with Kara."
…
The hulking, black DEO vehicle pulled up to Kara's apartment, Alex threw open the driver's side door and started toward the stairs, Maggie a step behind. They took the stairs two at a time, Alex rushing to get to her sister as soon as possible. When she made it to the door, she stopped, fingers inches away from the doorknob.
Maggie stepped behind her.
"Come on," she said, stepping around Alex and pushing open the door to Kara's apartment.
The two creeped into the open area of the kitchen, both on edge as they looked around the area. A soft thud came from around the corner; followed by a whimper.
The two rushed towards Kara's room, unsure of what they would find.
The first thing Alex noticed when she turned the corner is that Kara's bed, which was normally neatly made each morning, was rumpled. There were pillows thrown onto the floor and blankets bundled into a heap on the bed, a corner of Kara's duvet hung off the mattress, disappearing behind to the other side of the bed.
"Kara?" Alex asked.
A giggle and some shuffling came from the hidden side of the bed.
Creeping around, Alex yanked the duvet away to reveal something shocking.
Looking up at here were two pairs of wide eyes, a shocking blue that seemed more curious than anything, and a big watery green pair that looked up at Alex with barely concealed fear.
"Mags? You gotta come see this."
Maggie rushed the few steps to meet Alex at the end of Kara's bed, peering over her shoulders to look at the two toddlers wrapped up in Kara's bed sheets.
The closer girl, the one with shocking blue eyes, looked up at Maggie as she approached. Her blonde curls were a mess, ruffled from the static of her rolling around in the linens, and her body was covered by an adult sized t-shirt with the letters MIT blazoned across the front.
Slightly behind her, a very pale, very small little girl sat, her green eyes barely holding in tears, and her raven locks were plastered to her pale forehead. She wore a rumpled sweater that Alex knew for a fact came from Kara's closet.
The two little girls blinked at the women, unsure of what to do.
Without thinking, Alex scooped up the black haired tot, placing her on her hip and bouncing her up and down, shushing her and reassuring her that everything would be okay. Maggie looked at the little blonde girl for a moment before, slightly stiffly, copying Alex's actions with the little girl. She was thankful that the child was nowhere near tears at this point.
"What's your name?" Maggie asked the little girl in a hushed tone.
"Kara," the child had a very slight lisp.
Maggie wasn't sure what to do. The child, with the same name as her soon to be sister in law, bore a very large resemblance to the woman who occupied the apartment. Looking between Kara and the little girl on Alex's hip, she deduced that this was most likely Alex's little sister. And if she had to bet, the toddler with Alex was none other than Lena Luthor.
"How old are you, Kara?"
"I'm four!" the little girl, Kara, cheered, throwing up four tiny fingers in Maggie's face.
Maggie stole another look at Alex and the other toddler, noticing that Alex had, for the moment, calmed the child, although she still let out a hitching breath as she stuck a thumb in her mouth. Alex made her way back to Maggie, a concerned look across her face.
…
On the other side of the room, Alex was bouncing the little girl in her arms, shushing her quietly and whispering consoling words. As the child calmed, Alex tried to get what she could from the girl.
"Can you tell me your name?" Alex bounced her on her hip.
"Lena," the child has a slight Irish accent to her word as she whimpered out the answer.
Alex pushed down her shock, wanting to get something else from the girl, Lena, before she could allow herself to freak out.
"And how old are you, sweetie?"
Lena chose to answer by lifting three fingers up with her left hand and stuffing her right thumb into her mouth, effectively ending her side of the conversation.
Alex made her way back to Maggie, Lena calming slightly in her arms as she sucked on her thumb.
"What do we do with them?"
Maggie looked at the little girl on her hip, who was currently too occupied playing with her necklace than to be paying attention to the conversation, and then looked to the other child in Alex's arms, thumb in her mouth and her little nose sniffling.
"Should we take them to the DEO? Check them out before we decide where we should take them?"
Alex nodded, looking at Lena's tear stained face. The little girl looked like she was falling asleep, her eyelids drooping and her head leaning, as though she wanted to place it on Alex's shoulder, but unsure if she was allowed. Alex made the decision easier, placing a gentle hand on the back of Lena's head and guiding her down to her shoulder, running her hand down the child's back in what she hoped was a motion that would sooth the distraught girl into sleep.
When she looked up at Maggie again, the blonde girl was wide away, looking between Maggie and Alex and Lena with wide, curious blue eyes.
"Let's go then."
The pair made their way toward the door, Alex scooped up a fleecy pink blanket from the couch and threw it around Lena, hoping to give the little girl a little more comfort, before snapping up a worn quilt from the opposite end, tossing it to Maggie. They made sure to lock the door on their way out, and then made their way down the stairs. When they reached the DEO vehicle, Alex realised.
"We don't have car seats."
Maggie stood for a moment before handing Kara over to Alex, pulling open the back door to the SUV and stepping around to the driver's side.
"It's not far," she said as she walked. "You sit in the back with them, and I'll drive."
Alex deliberated for a moment before climbing into the vehicle and situating herself in the backseat of the car, balancing the sleeping toddler on one leg and the nervous, curious blonde on the other leg.
…
When the two marched through the doors of the DEO, they were greeted by J'onn, who Alex had called on route to make sure he was caught up on the situation.
Lena was now awake, looking around at the bustling command center of the DEO, nervous eyes flickering from one group of agents to the next, her thumb still planted firmly in her mouth. Alex was beginning to worry about it, but decided it wasn't a pressing issue at the moment.
The group headed straight to the med bay where they were greeted by doctors and other agents. J'onn dismissed the occupants, waiting for the team to leave the room before turning to the two women in front of him.
"What do we know for sure?" he asked.
"All we know is that we found them in Kara's apartment. We asked them their names, and so, from what we can gather, this is Kara and Lena. I don't have any leads as to how they ended up like this, or who would want to do this to them," Alex explained, her voice strong as she delivered her report to the director.
"Get them checked, and we should get some samples so that we can run some tests. I want to know how they ended up like this, and I want to know who did it and why."
"Of course," Alex nodded.
"And Alex? I think it would be best if they stayed with you two. They seem comfortable enough with you," J'onn nodded at Kara, who was snuggled into the quilt Alex brought, leaning into Maggie.
Alex nodded, bouncing Lena higher up onto her hip.
With that, J'onn turned and left the room. Alex turned and went to place Lena down on the examination table. The little girl looked like she wanted to complain, but held silent as she watched Alex hustle around the room, gathering supplies before coming back to the little girl. Before she began her examination on Lena, she looked at Maggie and told her to place her down on another table, slightly off to the side. Alex flipped a switch and the table, and Kara, were bathed in a red light. Maggie turned to look at Alex.
"Red sun lamps. If we have to draw blood, I'm not using a Kryptonite needle."
Maggie nodded and watched as Alex went through the motions of examining Lena. Checking her pulse, looking into her eyes, and listening to her breath. Finally, Alex ushered Maggie over and asked her to distract the little girl.
"I'll be really quick," Alex promised.
Maggie made a couple faces, trying to get the worried little girl to laugh before Alex announced that she was done. Quickly she followed the same procedure with Kara, the blonde toddler was squirming much more than Lena had, but soon enough everything was finished, and Alex fished out two Halloween sized chocolate bars from a locked drawer in one of the desks. Handing one to each of the children, she handed one to each of the children, with a wink and a finger to her lips to show them that it was a secret.
Kara tore into hers quickly, and Maggie feared for a moment that the girl would choke as she took a big bite of the bar. Lena, on the other hand, was tentative with the treat. She held it in her hand, her other thumb still firmly planted in her mouth. Alex smiled at the little girl.
"You want to try yours?" she asked.
Lena looked at her for a moment before reaching her hand out to Alex in a silent question for her to open it. Alex quickly unwrapped the treat.
"You have to take your thumb out if you want to try it," Alex laughed lightly, tapping the little girl's first.
Lena weighed her options, looking over at Kara's happy, if not chocolate covered, face, before slowly withdrawing her thumb from her mouth and taking the candy from Alex. She took a small bite, unsure of herself, before smiling and stuffing more of the treat in her mouth. Alex chuckled at the little girl's bright expression.
…
J'onn returned to the med bay and dismissed the group, telling them to spend the night in Alex and Maggie's apartment as there were agents searching Kara's apartment for evidence. Before the group exited out into the parking garage, J'onn handed Alex a black card, telling her that it was for any expenses needed for the children.
He gave the little girls a smile before Alex and Maggie bid him goodnight and went on their way out to the garage.
"We should stop and pick up some essentials," Maggie suggested.
"'M hungry," Kara whined from Maggie's arms.
Alex laughed to herself as they made their way to the car.
"Maybe some dinner too."