"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." ~ Socrates
"Are we sure this is still a good idea?"
"I was going to ask that," J'onn told her with a slight smirk.
Alex sighed as they stood there, watching the vehicle coming in with their special guest on the monitor. "I mean, we do have a lot of escapees…"
"The cells we have aren't easily cleaned or maintained," J'onn pointed out. "But they do allow us for specialized countermeasures."
"I thought this guy promises that, too?"
J'onn really didn't seem like he was on board with this, but that this was really their best option. They'd been over it multiple times. That didn't make it any easier. "Have you looked over the blueprints that he submitted?"
Of course she had, and he knew that, she'd been the one that had reluctantly agreed that they needed this outsider to come in for this project. "It's going to be better for base security," she reminded. "If we have another power hiccup, it won't release prisoners and there were be so many more barriers between us and the cells."
"It's a longer walk."
Alex just smiled at him. He really liked the blueprints, the plans, and what that meant for the safety of the DEO. The only thing that was really hanging him up on this plan was the fact that they had to bring in an outsider, who was a specialist, a genius even...but none of that would likely matter to J'onn until the project was complete and they knew that everything worked as advertised. Even with it all, she was fairly sure that he just wasn't too keen on change. This was going to be a big change.
"Sir, they're asking where you'd like him escorted?" Vasquez spoke up.
J'onn, hands on his hips, sighed and shook his head a bit. "Have him escorted to the briefing room."
This was going to be a huge operation. It wasn't going to be like building on a new wing to the currently existing DEO facility, which she was fairly sure was one of the things that he was worried about. Normally, their facility was practically cloaked from overhead because their buildings were designed to blend in with the environment they were in. During the construction, anyone who got near, they'd know that something was going on and attention would be brought to the DEO.
"It's going to take a week," she reminded.
They'd insisted on the faster time table, originally it was supposed to be a month. There was no way they could be under construction on their new and improved prison for that long. They couldn't compromise the security of the DEO and they couldn't attract unwanted attention from the skies (alien or otherwise).
"This is going to be the longest week in my life," J'onn muttered with his hands on his hips before heading in the direction of the briefing room.
It was going to be the longest week of everyone in the DEO's life. If things didn't go right, people were going to wish that they'd asked for vacation time off. If things went right, then it was going to be fine. The one thing Alex knew was that no matter what, something would go wrong. Something like this didn't happen without something going wrong. They'd been preparing, but Cisco Ramon was not an agent of the DEO, he was an outsider but it was him or Maxwell Lord.
"That's him?"
"Apparently STAR Labs required a dress code for official pictures," J'onn commented as they stood right outside of the room, staring in through the glass wall.
This already wasn't going the way Alex had hoped. She knew that he was young, they'd done their research, but his 'Star Wars' shirt under the blazer wasn't bringing on a lot of professionalism. "Don't judge a book by the cover?" Alex put out there as her hand rested on her hip.
This was going to be a long week.
"I just keep telling myself it could have been Lord."
Alex was glad that they weren't going that route either. Mainly because that would require her to spend too much time with Max and he'd be flirting out of control. She just wasn't ready for that. He'd been instrumental in making the equipment to assist Kara in bringing her back after the car accident, but that didn't mean that Max was all good. He was still very much grey when it came to good or bad.
J'onn entered the briefing room and she was right behind him. "Mr. Ramon, welcome to the DEO. I'm Director Henshaw and this is Agent Danvers," he said as he motioned to Alex in turn.
"I totally didn't get the tour. I mean, you guys have to be working with Supergirl, am I right?" Cisco asked excitedly. His black hair that fell to his shoulders, but it was his 'judge me by my size do you?' Yoda shirt that really stood out. He was wearing a blazer, but that really wasn't enough to dress it up. "Do I get to meet her?" He looked around like crazy.
Alex sighed and covered her face. It was a good thing Kara wasn't there. There was probably no way that they'd get this kid working. She removed her hand from her face and took a few steps forward until she was standing next to J'onn, her arms crossing over her chest. "Maybe if you finish this project on time, we can arrange for you to meet her before you have to go back to Central City," she said.
"Fair enough," Cisco said with a tilt of his head. "No one would tell me if all the parts have arrived yet."
"We're only waiting on one piece," J'onn informed him.
"Seriously?"
"The part you requested from Lord Technologies apparently is taking longer than previously thought." J'onn looked over to Alex. "Perhaps you could work your magic with Max?"
"I knew I should have used Palmer Tech for that one," Cisco said with a shake of his head. "That's what happens when I you try to use a local source for sophisticated tech."
Alex groaned. "I'll go pay a visit to Max."
"Try not to drag him back in with you this time."
"No promises."
Cisco motioned between the two of them. "I feel like there's a story that I'm missing."
"It has nothing to do with your project here at the DEO," J'onn assured. "Why don't we go over things again?"
Everything had been prepared before hand. That's why it was supposed to just take a week. It meant a week of crews working twenty-four/seven. It was going to be beyond interesting. They'd been digging up the earth in preparation for the pieces that would be sunk underground. The original Fort Rozz pieces had been retrofitted and from what Alex understood, all the pieces would be reassembled with the segments just needing the plumbing, electrical, and computer systems to line up and be fully connected.
They were basically sinking in the prison ring of Fort Rozz underground and connecting it to the DEO. It was a little more sophisticated than that, they had made sure that there were a number of fail safes and other elements that were to keep the DEO and the planet safer. Alex just hoped that it went smoothly, first she was going to have to get Max to give up the piece they needed though.
"So, there's the ring with the designated number of cells that you requested," Cisco said. "And honestly, I was thinking about this on the way over...STAR Labs has quite a bit of interaction with Metahumans. I know your escapees aren't Metahumans, but I was thinking that we might want to think about dropping the ring lower than we originally planned and laying a cement layer over the top that has a connector with a locked reinforce port at the top center tube."
"Why?" J'onn asked gruffly.
This wasn't something that they'd planned or prepared for.
"I was just thinking that the number that you might need the option to expand in the future. I have a full blueprint of the ring that's going in now. If we left it with that option, then we could come in later on down the road and install a second ring and still have enough clearance between the top and the surface."
Alex looked to J'onn, whom looked like he was seriously considering it. As she stood there and thought about it, it really wouldn't be that bad of an idea. "How much more time will this tack onto the install?" she questioned.
Cisco shrugged. "Couple more hours. The additional concrete can be brought in, it should be easy enough to request more than what they're already bringing in. I can have the additional parts for the reinforced port constructed by Palmer Technologies, I know the CEO."
"We might as well do it," J'onn said. "We'll have to let them know that we'll need a deeper pit than what it already is…"
"'And I'll go talk to Max," Alex said reluctantly with a sigh.
"My favorite agent from an organization that doesn't technically exist!" Lord proclaimed happily with his arms open, a bright smile on his face, as he got up from his desk. "Come to throw me into my glass display case again? I've been behaving…"
Alex resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. At least Max had the common decency to keep his assistant out of his office when she visited and he was talking about things like the DEO. He was definitely pleased with himself and it seemed her presence as well. She really wasn't thrilled to have to change and see Max when that wasn't on her plans for the day. Maxwell Lord was really someone that Alex needed to know about having to interact with a day ahead of time.
When Alex didn't respond to his initial conversation starter, he continued on without her. "What brings you here this time, Alex?" He moved from behind his desk and towards her.
"You're holding hostage a piece of technology that we need for a vital upgrade," Alex told him. "I was wondering if it was possible that you were holding it because you didn't want the DEO to have it...or if you just wanted me to come and pick it up in person?"
Max grinned at her as he moved closer, the distance between them gone. "I just wanted to personally make sure that the item requested was made precisely to specifications." He tilted his head. "You know it's a delicate piece of tech, maybe I should accompany you and install it myself. I seem to have clearance whenever you guys need tech support."
"Actually, we have a consultant."
"Someone I know?"
"He's not from National City," she told him. He seemed almost jealous. It amused her. Alex shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.
"He?"
"Are you jealous, Max?"
Smirking, Max shook his head at her. "I'm just concerned that this consultant might not install this piece correctly. I wouldn't want to have to be called in later…"
"I'm sure you'd actually enjoy that."
"Actually, I would. I like being the hero."
Alex was certain that Max saw himself as a hero...all the time...even when he was doing stupid things. She was going to humor him though because she knew that if she didn't, she might not get that piece and they needed that piece. Plus, she couldn't bring herself to be mean to him (at least not currently) after he'd helped J'onn and Kara bring her back. "You'd be my hero if you'd hand over that piece we need."
"I have a condition," he said as he moved back to his desk.
Of course.
"What is it?"
"Dinner. You and I. Not about business."
Crap.
This was really going to be a long week.
"I know this sounds like I'm trying to get out of dinner, but can we do it next week?" Alex asked gently. She was exhausted just thinking about how this week was going to go at the DEO, let alone having to factor in having dinner with Max. She just couldn't do it this week. J'onn was going to be stressed, which meant she was going to be stressed, and the rest of the DEO staff. Things were bound to go wrong at some point with this installation and that was going to mean longer hours at the DEO.
Max seemed disappointed but held out a small box in the palm of his hand. "You'll call me?"
"And make an appointment with your assistant?"
He smirked at that and shook his head as he moved closer to her. "I think we've moved past that phase, haven't we?" When Alex took the box from his hand, he pulled out his phone and pushed his personal information to her device. "Now you have it all."
Alex pulled out her phone as she balanced the little box in her other hand and stared down at everything that Max had pushed to her phone. She wasn't sure what to say to that, but she appreciated that he wasn't pushing this. There was just too much. "Thanks," she finally said. She tucked the phone back into her blazer pocket before looking down at the box. "This is what we needed?"
"That's it," Max told her. "What did you expect?"
"Something that required multiple people to lift into the back of my vehicle."
Max just chuckled. "They didn't tell you the part you were picking up, did they?"
"No," she admitted with an embarrassed smile.
"They just knew that I'd give it to you."
"You sending me those flowers before-"
"Which reminds me, I haven't been able to send you a bouquet that you can actually enjoy," Max brought up. "At least let me do that for you this week?"
"Max-"
"I'd just send them to CatCo and let your sister bring them to you, but I don't know if Cat would appreciate me using her assistant as a flower courier."
"Let's not get Kara into trouble over flowers."
Alex didn't know how she was going to get out of this, but she knew that Max was going to do whatever he could in order to get her to accept his proposals. "How about I call you tonight if I get off work at a decent hour? Maybe I'll let you meet me for dessert and then you can bring me flowers."
"It's a little backwards, but I like it," Max said cheerily. "I look forward to your call."
"No promises."
"I have faith."
"Are we sure he's the best?"
J'onn and Alex just stood there, watching Cisco with a brightly colored lollipop as he worked. He looked more like a six year old than an adult genius. Alex tilted her head. "We did check him out."
"Did you get the item from Max?"
Alex sighed and held out the box in the palm of her hand.
"That's it?"
She nodded.
"And what else did we have to sacrifice in order to get it?"
"You don't want to know." She could feel his eyes on her and she knew that he wasn't going to give it up. He was protective and she knew that now, so there was no ignoring it. Alex sighed and turned to look at him. "It's nothing you have to worry about."
"If it has to do with Lord-"
"I promised Max dinner next week," Alex told him. "It's not like I can't handle him."
"Alex-"
"He also wants to give me flowers since the ones he sent to the hospital I never saw," Alex added. "So, I told him I'd meet him for dessert and he could give them to me tonight if I got done early enough." She looked directly at him and found a very worried expression. Alex knew that he wouldn't approve, but they needed to stay on Max Lord's good side. Even though they had dirt on him, he'd done things to make Alex feel like they might just owe him the benefit of the doubt.
"I don't like it."
"Do you doubt my ability to handle myself when it comes to him?"
"Of course not," he said and turned to look back out the window towards where Cisco was working. "Maxwell Lord is a powerful man, Alex-"
"And we should keep him on our side if at all possible," Alex pointed out. "He helped us save Kara and he helped you bring me home...it's two times that I have to spend time with him over the course of two weeks, J'onn… It's nothing."
"He's smitten with you."
"No-"
"Just please be careful."
"Always."
They both turned their attentions back to Cisco Ramon as he coordinated the efforts below. It had only been a few hours since he'd gotten there and already it seemed to Alex like things were coming together quickly. She knew that it wasn't really the assembly that they needed to be worried about, it was the connections and everything working within the prison cells. Everything had to work and be calibrated just right.
"The concrete company said that it wouldn't be any problem to bring in what we'll need to lay that pad in," J'onn told her after a few minutes of silence. "And Mr. Ramon has already contacted Ms. Smoak at Palmer Technologies and they're going to have us that hatch in two days...hopefully."
"Hopefully?"
J'onn shrugged. "They don't even have the dimensions or the specifications yet."
"What have we gotten ourselves into?"
"I keep asking myself that same thing," J'onn told her honestly. "But then I think about Jem and there's no way I'm letting something like that happen again."
Alex realized then that he was looking over at her. "We lost good people, but-"
"But some good things came out of it, didn't they?"
"Yeah," she responded with a smile. She wouldn't change knowing about her father or about J'onn. No matter how bad things had been during that time, she was glad that she knew the truth now.
It was late, later than she had wanted. She'd told herself earlier in the day that she'd leave on time, but now it was dark out and she knew that she was going to be hating herself in the morning. J'onn was stressed though and Cisco wasn't helping things, it really wasn't his fault it was just how he brushed things off and Alex chalked that up to his personality.
"It's looking promising," Alex said as she started down the ramp that Cisco was standing on. It would lead down into the prison ring that had once been pieces of Fort Rozz. This prison though would have an 'x' section in the middle of the ring and everything would lock down with heavy duty barriers in quite a few places. Right now, it was lit up with lighting that they had extension cords bringing the electricity down there from the DEO proper.
"It's still going to be a week," Cisco said as he looked over at her. He eyed her for a moment. "Did you change for me?"
"Really? You know I could break you-"
"Okay, okay...feisty… I know too many women who can break me in half or kill, injure, or maim me in some other way. I'm starting to think that superpowers or not, women are the most fearsome in this galaxy."
"You really are a genius," she teased as she crossed her arms over her chest. She looked over what he was doing. "How is everything lining up? The sand will be here soon enough to make sure that everything is filled and leveled properly."
"Good. So far, things are going okay, though not quite as quickly as I was hoping," Cisco admitted. "I said a week, but I was counting on working about twelve hours each of those days and right now I'm thinking it's going to be more like eighteen."
"Well, let us know if you need any other help."
"That's the last thing I need right now," Cisco waved his hands. "Any other help will likely only get in the way."
Alex smirked. "Noted." She decided it would be smart not to bring up Maxwell Lord feeling that he needed to install the part she'd brought back from Lord Technologies. Either Cisco would fanboy or he'd be yelling at him. Most people went with the latter reaction.
"Just tell your boss that it's going to be fine. We'll finish on time and it'll work," Cisco promised. "Cisco Ramon guarantee! It'll be perfect before I have to leave for Central City."
"I'll pass along the message."
"And he doesn't have to watch me all the time," Cisco went on. "I can feel him watching me."
Alex just smirked and held in the small laugh that tried to bubble out. "I'll see what I can do."
She'd left the DEO so late that most places in National City were closed, so she had gotten Max (who was still very much wanting to give her a replacement bouquet of flowers) to agree to meet her at a diner. Alex had actually not eaten more than a snack that day and coffee. There'd been a lot of coffee and water consumed at the DEO. Lunch had gone by in a blink and she'd just skipped dinner altogether because she'd felt the need to keep an eye on things at the DEO longer than she had expected.
It was really going to be a long week.
Alex was exhausted when she got to the diner and was surprised that she was the first to arrive. She found a booth and started to look over the menu after ordering a coffee to start with. Max had wanted to buy her dessert, but the more Alex looked at the menu the hungrier she got.
The sound of the bell on the door pulled Alex's attention and she found Max with far too large of a bouquet of flowers in a vase. He moved towards her, his smile bright and far too charming. "Sorry, I wanted to make sure they were fresh...though, I regret to inform you that they are not as large as the last bouquet-"
Alex just smiled at that as he set them down and then slid into the seat across from her. "They're beautiful."
"They pale in comparison."
She could feel the blush rising in her cheeks and chalked it up to being so exhausted. Alex tried to hide it by covering the side of her face and bringing up the menu. "Do you always have to flirt, Max?" she asked quietly and a bit embarrassed. She didn't know why Max always seemed to exceedingly flirt with her, even when she had him imprisoned.
"Only with you, Alex," he said with a smile. "So? We're having dessert, right?"
"Right," Alex said as she tried to focus on dessert related items.
"I'm thinking pie."
They both ordered pie and Max decided to use the time in between ordering and when they got it to flirt some more. Alex was certain that she'd find it more amusing if she'd been more alert. "You know, you can drop the facade."
Max just smiled and sat back in the booth, relaxing. "Alex, this isn't a facade." He was quiet. "I don't just send flowers to anyone who lands in the hospital who has physically assaulted me and held me against my will for weeks."
"I don't know how to take that," she told him honestly as pies were set in front of them.
"As a compliment?"
Alex picked up her fork and picked at her pie at first and then found herself savoring the first bite a bit too much. "This is really good pie," she told him and took another bite.
"Did you eat today?" he asked.
When she looked up, she realized Max had only taken a bite and she'd pretty much devoured the entire piece of pie in front of her. He looked amused. "So, it's been a long day."
"I gathered that," he said. "Maybe order something other than dessert."
"I-"
"You need to eat, Alex," Max told her. "You might as well eat something while you're with company."
Alex didn't really know if she needed company, but it was nice. Right now, she didn't even mind Max even though she found his insistent flirting unnecessary. "You sound like a friend," Alex said as she tilted her head and looked at him.
"We could be friends, couldn't we?"
"What about Kara?"
"Alex-"
She held up the menu and started to look it over. Maybe she could get real food to take home. "No, there's no way we can be friends, Max, if you're going to be on some witch hunt after my sister-"
"It's not just your sister."
Alex set the menu down again and glared at him. "That's not your job."
"No," he said with a sigh and looked away for a moment, tapping his fork against the ceramic plate. He looked back to Alex. "That doesn't mean that I should just ignore what I know."
"Let the DEO do their job, Max."
"Alex-"
"Let me do my job," she told him and went to get up.
Max's hand on her arm was not welcome and she only paused her moving from her seat. "Alex, look...I can't just give up this overnight. I can't just ignore what's gone on-"
"I'm not asking you to, I'm just asking you to stop threatening my sister and-"
"I've never meant to purposely target your sister," Max said.
Alex glared harder at him and settled in the seat again. She leaned over the table between them and whispered. "Bizarro?"
"Okay, so there's that."
"Max-"
"Can we just call it a truce tonight?" he pleaded. Max actually seemed sad about how their conversation had turned.
Alex hadn't meant for them to get into it, but that's where it had gone. She covered her face for a moment and then pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry, I hadn't meant to-"
"It's okay," he whispered.
When she looked up, he was looking at her again...or still. Alex sighed. "It's really going to be a long week."
"I'd ask you what's going on, but it's probably classified and doesn't technically exist."
"And you'd be right," Alex said and looked down at the menu again.
"Let me buy you dinner, Alex," he said and she found his hand gently laid upon hers. "Tonight."
"Max-"
"Next week, we can go somewhere with candles and a dress code," Max told her and was smiling his charming smile at her again.
Alex sighed and told herself that it wouldn't hurt. This didn't mean that they were friends or anything else, it just was him buying her dinner and providing her with company while she ate. "Safe topics of conversation?"
"Movies? TV shows? Music?"
"Those might be the safest."
"Let's get you something ordered before you turn into a Snickers commercial," Max told her. "And then you can tell me about the last thing you enjoyed…"
"How's it coming?"
"It's been two days and I already feel behind schedule and yet ahead of it," Cisco said as he turned to Alex. He immediately lit up when he realized that she was offering him a coffee. He took it and seemed to just savor the feel of it between his hands for a moment. "You are a goddess! I'm serious. Too kind."
"Does that mean you don't need the donut?" Alex said as she motioned to the small paper bag she'd already set down on the work table nearby.
"I would so hug you right now, but I'm a little terrified of the response," Cisco pointed out after taking a gulp of the hot beverage. "So, right now, I'm just going to say thank you." He took another sip and then motioned to the massive undertaking around them. "The Pipeline is going to be finished on time, mainly because my genius is needed back in Central City."
"Have you slept?"
"Not as much as I needed, but someone was nice enough to let me shower here after I fell asleep in a chair, so that was helpful," Cisco told her.
Alex motioned to his shirt. "Isn't that basically asking to be shot?"
"What? No…"
She smirked in response. "Are all your shirts 'Star Wars' related?" Today's Cisco was a shirt that declared him Star Wars #1 fan with the original Enterprise on it. Somehow, she didn't understand how he'd even made it from the locker room and down into the prison without someone commenting on it at the very least.
"Only the ones I packed for this trip," Cisco said. "I wanted to be consistent."
"Ah."
"Clever, I know."
"So, this thing is put together?" she questioned as she motioned around.
Alex knew that having the systems all up and running and interfaced with their system was going to take time. So far, they'd managed to excavate the additional dirt in order to factor in the possibility for a second ring being constructed and added in later. The area had been leveled and the ring had been brought in in several pieces and put together. Exterior welding had taken an entire day, Alex just hoped that all of the interior connections were working and that the rest would come together easier. They were waiting to fill in the ring more than they already had. It was about halfway covered with a mix of dirt and sand in order to keep it in one place and provide some external stability for the structure.
"And are we really calling it Pipeline?"
"The Pipeline is what we call it back in Central City, it really wasn't supposed to be a Metahuman prison, but things happened...so," Cisco said with a shrug as he broke into the bag with his donut in it. He took a bite and happily motioned for her to follow him. "So this walkway," he said with donut still in his mouth. "You've got five heavily reinforced barriers that'll drop down if triggered between you and the bottom of this ramp."
Alex followed him down the ramp and could see the spots where the barriers on the left and right, it was staggered, left and then right. She just hoped that this worked. When they got to the bottom, she was just taken back at how it looked. They'd gotten blueprints and even mock ups, but this was something entirely different. She hadn't been there when Fort Rozz was recovered thirteen years prior, but she was certain that this was what it must have been for people who had stepped inside after the criminals had escaped. It was like stepping on a sci-fi movie set except there were familiar consoles and interfaces.
"You know I'm seriously considering making the door at the top of that ramp blue," Cisco said as he motioned upward.
"Why blue?"
"Because it's bigger on the inside," Cisco said with a grin.
"We are not calling this place the TARDIS," Alex argued seriously. There were multiple reasons for that, but she really wasn't going to get into it.
"You bring me coffee and a donut and you get my geeky references...your hotness factor might be overwhelming the danger factor currently."
"I see that it's coming together," J'onn interrupted from behind.
Alex tried to hide her amusement when Cisco jumped a bit. J'onn had even used his booming voice. He'd done it on purpose, too. She moved over to stand next to J'onn. She knew that this was stressing J'onn and the rest of the DEO out, but there was definitely progress. Right now, it looked like a lot of progress, but she knew that there was so much more that had to be done.
"It is, but now it's the time for fine tuning," Cisco said as he held up a finger. "Also, that special hatch won't be here until tomorrow. I got a text about half an hour ago from Curtis at Palmer Tech."
"Take us on the initial tour," J'onn said as he motioned to the corridor on the right.
"Sure," Cisco said. "Just know that if there's a lighting glitch or something, I haven't gone through and done an extensive check of the systems yet. We also need to have them start filling the exterior up to about three feet below where the hatch still needs to be installed. They'll be able to level and pack so that they can put the concrete pad atop this section.
"Is that safe with people down here?" Alex questioned.
"It'll hold to the stress. I did the numbers on the way here when I first thought about the possibility of adding a second ring."
"Mr. Ramon," J'onn said when Cisco didn't start moving right away. "Start walking."
Alex wondered if J'onn just seemed a bit more snappy because he was worried about the time table, having an outsider there, or if it had just been him not liking Cisco hitting on her. After all, he was protective of her, but then he'd also been the one who had asked her to go and get the part from Max before...and he knew how Max felt about her.
"Right, so this place holds the same amount of prisoners that Fort Rozz had held," Cisco began as he started to walk.
"You've been quiet."
"Meaning?"
"The entire week you've snapped at everyone-" Alex stopped when he raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, everyone except me." He smiled at that. "And today, you've not said one word past 'good morning, Alex'. You didn't even ask for an update or complain that Cisco is wearing yet another 'Star Wars' shirt."
"Mr. Ramon has seemed to completed his task and on time," J'onn replied evenly.
"You didn't think he was going to do it."
"Have you looked at him?"
"You can't judge a geek by his 'Star Wars' shirt."
J'onn smiled at that. "I was just thinking about who we should move over there to test out the cell system before we migrate everyone we're holding."
"Amblers are always good, but they won't test all of the features," Alex pointed out. "We have that Valeronian that Benanti's team brought in a couple weeks back."
"True," J'onn said.
"You don't sound so excited about this prison being finished."
"I keep thinking of all the good people we've lost with the system we've been using...because of cell containment failures or-"
"We're doing this to prevent anything more, you know that," Alex said gently as she touched his arm lightly. "You can't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, J'onn."
He didn't respond to her, but rather looked back down the ramp. "Should we check in with Mr. Ramon? See if his final check has passed?"
"It better have," Alex said with a huff. "I don't think I can handle how long it might take to do any adjustments."
"Did they install that hatch?"
"Done and it's already been filled and packed," Alex reported as they walked down the ramp. They found Cisco in the center of the 'x' section in the middle of the ring with a tablet in his hands and he seemed to be going over things, quite quickly. "Update, Mr. Ramon?"
Cisco turned and pulled the lollipop out of his mouth. Today's shirt was a broken the Death Star with the phrase 'All About That Base', which was coordinated with navy blue hoodie. He balanced the tablet in his other hand, his thumb scrolling. "So, I'm just waiting for this thing to finish the diagnostics that everything is installed correctly, then you guys should be good to go."
"We want a trial run before you depart for Central City," J'onn told him.
"Sure."
"We have a prisoner we want to put in one of the cells and test it out before moving all of our inmates into here," Alex told him.
"Is it someone who you can contain if it doesn't work?" Cisco asked, his voice didn't relay the greatest of confidence.
Alex sighed and she saw the look on J'onn's face, he wasn't pleased. "It's someone who will test the cell reinforced structure and ensure that the fail safes all work."
"But-"
"Yes," J'onn replied quickly and curtly. He obviously wasn't happy about this line of questioning.
The truth of the matter was that even if Cisco were completely confident in the prison, they'd still want to test it out just to be certain that it was strong enough. "I'll have a team meet me and prepare for a prisoner move," Alex told J'onn.
"I'd rather we do it with Supergirl present, but since that's not an option at the moment-"
"Wait, but I get to meet her, right?" Cisco asked, his head snapping in their direction and away from the tablet screen. "I mean. It's been a week. It's finished," Cisco declared as he motioned around them. "I even did upgrades to what was originally agreed upon."
"She's a little busy right now, but I'm sure she'll be back before you have to leave," Alex tried to assure. She looked to J'onn before turning and heading to gear up, gather a team, and prepare for the prisoner move. Alex and J'onn had been doing this for a few years now and though she didn't have super powers, she'd figured out how to deal with them. This Valeronian was going to be no different.
They weren't taking any risks in moving Lhasleon from his cell to the new one. They had him handcuffed and in a neck restraint attached to poles. Alex not only had guards armed with nonlethal, but they also had the lethal ammo too. They weren't taking any chances.
She'd actually gathered two teams, it just hadn't seemed like enough when she'd gotten together just one. This needed to go smoothly. The teams knew what to do and what the protocol was. This was going to be the first time that they'd all be going down into the prison ring and Alex just hoped that no one got distracted. She knew that J'onn only recruited the best of the best and he made sure that they had the proper training, that's how she'd gotten there.
"Stay focused!" Alex barked as they moved towards the tunnel that led down into the new prison, which she realized they'd have to name. It didn't seem right to call it Fort Rozz anymore, but she knew that wasn't important right now. Right now, it just needed to work...to function how it was designed to. They moved as one, even when Lhasleon pulled and shouted. Alex cleared out his voice and his shouts. She could hear them and was processing them, but what he was saying didn't matter right now. They had a job and they were going to do it.
They marched down the ramp and took the left turn at the bottom, Alex figured that she'd lock him in one of the cells that was farthest from the ramp. It was just her thinking that if there were a problem, that would give them that much more space to try to regain the situation. She didn't plan on having any problems, but she liked to be prepared.
She noticed J'onn and Cisco moving towards them, but she focused on the job at hand. Everything was by the book. Lhasleon was marched into his cell, which she realized was actually bigger than the ones that they'd been putting them in, and then he was immediately hit by tranquilizers. The ideas was to knock him out enough so that they could remove the bindings that they'd used to get him there in the first place. Alex had instructed that they hit him with an extra dose than normal, just to be on the cautious side.
The designated team members moved in while the others covered them in case Lhasleon wasn't as knocked out as they'd thought, as they went in to remove the handcuffs and the neck restraint. The team was quick and the new door shut on the cell within thirty seconds. Alex was pleased.
"You're dismissed," J'onn told them.
Alex stayed behind, still fully geared, with Cisco and J'onn.
"I don't know how this thing is going to really test the cell with this guy," Cisco said as he pointed to the newly occupied cell. "You guys just tranq-ed him-"
The screams that morphed practically into a roar as Lhasleon collided with the cell door cut off Cisco and made him jump. Alex swore that he'd screamed a little bit. She looked over at the cell with a sigh. "Their metabolism burns the tranqs fast. It was enough for a couple of minutes, that's it. We'd have to hit him with a lot more to keep him down any longer."
Cisco's fingers were dancing across the tablet screen as Lhasleon continued his assault on the new cell door. "So what kind of powers does this guy have?"
"Heightened strength, ability to bound a great distance, and practically invulnerable," J'onn listed off. "That doesn't mean that they aren't vulnerable, though."
"Well, you guys have Supergirl," Cisco pointed out.
"Lhasleon was brought in by a team of human agents," J'onn told him. "My agents are highly trained."
"Of course they are," Cisco said. "I just assumed."
"It's holding," Alex commented.
Cisco's focus went back to the screen he held between his hands. "The containment level isn't one hundred percent, but it's within acceptable range." He started to move towards the computer panel near the middle junction and started to tap on it.
Alex and J'onn followed him. "What do you mean within acceptable range?" J'onn questioned. "I would think that one hundred would be the only acceptable range."
Suddenly, there was a large bang that seemed to echo before the power went out, leaving the entire prison black. "Alex," she heard J'onn whisper and he had her wrist a breath later.
"Shit!" Cisco shouted and his tablet was the only light they had. The back-ups kicked in and their attentions all turned to the cell. Lhasleon was still safely behind the cell door. "I know that seemed like a long time, but it was only like fifteen seconds! That's the normal time it takes for the back-ups to kick in." He motioned to the cell. "And look, it's still holding. The locks doesn't disengage if the power is knocked out."
"We're sure?" Alex questioned. J'onn still had her wrist in his hand, like he was ready to yank her out of the way
"Yeah, yeah...I'm sure," Cisco rambled and then held up his hands as he looked at them. "I swear."
They relaxed just long enough for something to crackle and then sparks exploded out from a panel in the middle of the circle. Cisco was already running for it. Alex looked at J'onn and it seemed like their Valeronian guinea pig was taking full advantage to the fact that there were some issues. He was repeatedly slamming against the door of his cell.
"I thought these things are suppose to ramp up containment after so many-" J'onn started.
"But it's only the back-up," Cisco called. "I don't know why the full power hasn't come back on! It shouldn't have tripped in the first place!"
"Can you get the power back online?" Alex questioned sharply. This was just how they needed this week from hell to end. She'd been hopeful that things would end well and now they had this...mess. "What happened? Why did it trip-"
"If I knew that, I would have already fixed it!" Cisco snapped.
It was then that the sound of the cell door coming off and a roar caught Alex's attention. They were so screwed. They needed Kara. Valeronians weren't exactly easy to catch and they'd only caught this one because they'd had advantages. Right now, they weren't prepared. Alex knew that the one thing that they needed to ensure was that they kept the destruction to a minimum and that they tried to keep casualties down. She turned to Cisco. "Can you drop the barriers?"
"Which ones?"
"All of them."
"Uh-I-"
"CISCO!" She could hear J'onn trying to distract, but that wasn't going to work for long and she realized something else. The prison was filled with cameras that were relaying everything back to the command center of the DEO. Agent Vasquez was watching them from up there along with the rest of her team. If they needed J'onn to transform, his secret would be blown. "Get the barriers down between the bottom of the ramp and the DEO," Alex told him. She just hoped that limiting the amount she needed done would help get it done. "And take all of the cameras offline, so the DEO can't see us."
Cisco just stared at her.
He didn't understand and she hoped that she didn't have to explain it later, that this was just a precaution. "Can you do it or not?!"
"I-I can."
"DO IT."
She moved to go and help J'onn. She was fully geared and she was certain that a team was gearing up now, but that was why they needed to get containment in place. She moved to J'onn's side and handed him one of her guns. She knew that there were other ways he could fight, but they had eyes on them and the Valeronian seemed to be getting bored of playing chase.
The sound of the barriers locking into place one by one, all five of them, was a wonderful booming song as far as Alex was concerned. She was just glad that it was done, but she wondered if Cisco was going to be able to get the systems back online with them all trapped down there.
"Did you really think that that cell would hold me?" Lhasleon questioned, obviously amused and thrilled at being out. "Just because it looks like Fort Rozz-"
"It is Fort Rozz," J'onn told him.
"It's not going to hold me!"
"Cameras are down!" Cisco called. "And I found the problem!"
"Fix it!" Alex called.
"Working on it!"
She looked over to J'onn. It was just them and the cameras were down. Alex turned her attention back to Lhasleon, her gun ready even though she knew that the bullets likely wouldn't even slow him down. It was what she had in that moment. "You're not leaving this place, so you might as well just back yourself into one of the other cells."
Lhasleon just laughed in response. "You may think this is Fort Rozz, but it obviously pales in comparison." Lhasleon started to move towards them, Alex fired even though she knew it wouldn't stop him.
J'onn was transforming a moment later, he met Lhasleon's fist that had intended to take Alex as its target and used it to shove him backwards and into the now broken and empty cell he'd once taken up residence in. "Get Cisco to hurry up!" J'onn growled in her direction.
Alex hurried off to see if there was anything she could do to help Cisco. She knew that J'onn was powerful and though he was a bit rusty when it came to his powers, she was fairly sure that he could handle Lhasleon since he was contained.
When she found Cisco, he was furiously typing on his tablet and had pried open a panel. "We need the power back on," Alex told him. "Tell me what I can do in order to help you speed this along."
"I need another fuse and I need to get into the main computer hatch because apparently one of the connections isn't tight."
"Okay," Alex said as calmly as possible even though her stress level was through the roof because she wasn't there to back up J'onn. "Where can we get another fuse?"
"I-I-I don't know-"
"THINK, Cisco!"
"One of the cells," he rattled off. "The broken one. We could take one out of the control panel if it's not been damaged."
"Okay, and what about the main computer hatch? Can you access it from down here?" Alex asked.
Cisco pointed upwards. There were ladder rungs along one of the walls in the center of the 'x' that led upwards and there was a hatch marked 'main computer hatch'. Alex supposed that at least it was labeled.
"You fix the connection and I'll get you that fuse," Alex told him. She moved down the short hallway and back to where it met the ring. She peered left to right until she saw where Lhasleon and J'onn were fighting. Quickly, she made the run towards the cell that they'd previously had the Valeronian in it. Before she could make it to the panel, however, she found herself flying towards the other cells to the left of her with Lhasleon as the catalyst for the momentum.
"Alex!" she heard J'onn shout out.
The wind flew out of her as she hit a cell door and slid down to the floor. A groan followed and she found herself being lifted up and off of her feet as Lhasleon held her by the throat, breath wasn't coming and she tried to fight, but she knew that it wasn't going to do much of anything.
J'onn was there knocking her free from his grip, though. The two of them went flying through the air as Alex sat crumpled on the floor. She only allowed herself a moment to breathe again before she pushed herself to her feet and scrambled for her intended destination. Her fingers gripped the edges of the panel, feeling for the right place to pull it out. It took some doing, but she finally managed to pull the panel free and behind it found what seemed like a billion wires and circuits and everything else. Her hand was shaking a bit, she realized, as she pushed aside the wiring looking for fuses. These were definitely not something that were properly labeled.
The roar that she heard behind her gave her just enough time to look over her shoulder and dive to the right. She rolled and hopped back up, seeing that J'onn was already taking care of Lhasleon and obviously attempting to keep him distracted. She set back for the open panel and stuck her hand in and felt around for something that didn't feel like wiring or cabling. Alex finally felt something and though it wasn't easily removed, and she removed four of them, she got them anyways and dropped them in her jacket pocket. She cringed at the pain as she looked down at her cut jacket and her bleeding lower arm. It didn't matter right now, though, it wasn't deep.
Moving quickly, she zigzagged through the fight between J'onn and Lhasleon until she made it into the hallway and could see Cisco once again. The panel above was open and he had his tablet out again. She pulled the fuses from her pocket and held them out to him. "Here."
"You're bleeding," Cisco said in a lot more shock than Alex expected to hear.
"Yeah, it's no big deal," Alex told him and practically pushed him in the direction he needed to be going in. "It's just a scratch. We're both going to be bleeding a lot more if we don't get that power restored." She watched as Cisco snapped back to doing what needed to be done. "We're sure those cameras are still down, right?"
"Yeah, I disconnected this system from the command center." A beat passed. "Why?"
"Just keep doing what you're doing," Alex told him. She held her hand over the injury, it really wasn't that bad, but she didn't need to bleed all over the place if she could get the bleeding to slow. "We have to get Lhasleon back into one of the cells and then we're going to have to talk about how easily we'll be able to repair that other cell." They didn't need all the cells that they currently had, it was an optimistic number taking in account the original number of prisoners that were incarcerated on Fort Rozz.
"I think it's mainly just the door," Cisco pointed out as he worked.
"And the control panel."
"Right."
Those couple of minutes felt like an entire day as she watched from the center of the prison as J'onn and Lhasleon would come into view here and there as they rounded the prison's circular corridors. She didn't know how long J'onn could keep it up and she was worried about his safety (in various ways). When she saw Lhasleon hit J'onn fairly hard though and him flying out of her line of sight, she started to worry. "Cisco! We need it! Now!"
"Okay, okay," Cisco grumbled and a moment later, the entire prison was fully lit. There was a light humming sound and she watched as Cisco smacked the hatch shut. "We're online."
"Cameras?"
"Why do you keep asking me that?"
"Cisco!"
He seemed to jump before responding. "They're still offline," he said as he held up his hands. "Do you want them back online?"
"No." Alex started to stalk off towards the ring, her weapon in her hand and determined to take back control of the situation. She looked left and right. She didn't see J'onn or Lhasleon, so she started right.
"Why do we want them offline?" Cisco asked, standing ridiculously close to her. Alex cringed and gave herself a good breath before continuing.
"Don't worry about it," Alex whispered back to him. The roar alerted her that she had some distance to make up for. She started to run in the direction and found Lhasleon with J'onn held up against one of the cells. "Put him down!" she shouted as she shot at him. It wasn't going to make a dent or injure him, but she knew that there was a chance that she could distract the Valeronian and pull him away from J'onn.
"Why are you pissing him off?" Cisco asked, obviously scared. "And where'd the green guy come from? Where's Henshaw? Oh my God! Did he kill Henshaw?"
Alex ignored Cisco and kept shooting, reloading when necessary. At first, Lhasleon didn't seem to want to go for the bait and then he turned to her. "Time for you to go back into your cage," she told him.
Lhasleon just smirked. "You think you can do anything to hurt me?"
"No!" Cisco shouted from behind Alex. "We don't think that, right? We don't…"
"Oh, you're going back in the cell whether you like it or not," Alex said as she moved back and pulled Cisco with her. She shot off a couple more shots, which seemed to keep the Valeronian coming after her. She could see J'onn behind him and he was getting up, his hand was holding onto his throat. Alex wasn't sure for how long she could honestly distract him, but she was going to do what she could do. "Twenty four-fifty two," she told Cisco before shooting at Lhasleon again. She just hoped that he knew what she was saying and what she meant.
"What?"
"Twenty four-fifty two, door open," Alex told him. She knew that Cisco still had his tablet. It had seemed like it was pretty much attached to the palm of his hand. She heard the familiar click. "Now the one above it," she told him. There was another click. Grabbing Cisco, she started to run for the lower cell that she'd had him open, she went to close the door, but Lhasleon grabbed hold of it. That was part of her plan. As he went to pull it open, she watched as J'onn came up behind him running full speed before he took off, grabbing Lhasleon from behind as he flew upward. There was a thud and as she ran out of the cell, she saw J'onn holding the door shut. "Lock it, Cisco!"
"It's locked! It's locked!" Cisco shouted.
Alex let out a sigh and looked up at J'onn. "Well, that didn't exactly go as planned," she muttered. She holstered her weapon and as J'onn descended back to the floor, she caught his look and then turned to look over at Cisco. She sighed again. "He's on our side, Cisco."
"Oh," Cisco breathed as he held a hand over his chest. "That's good."
"You must not tell anyone of me, Cisco," J'onn said as he approached him.
She didn't know how terrified Cisco was at the moment, but she waited to see if he found it more terrifying when he found out that the Green Martian in front of him was also Henshaw. "No one," Alex echoed.
"Okay, okay, no problem," Cisco said. "I'm really good at keeping secrets."
They both eyed him before J'onn transformed back into Henshaw's form.
"Holy crap! Seriously?! Seriously?"
Alex just smirked and found J'onn fussing over her arm a moment later, she'd forgotten that she'd hurt it. "It's nothing," she told him.
"Please tell me that we won't be having any more cell problems?" J'onn asked Cisco.
"No, no, totally good now," Cisco told him.
"Turn the cameras back on and remove the barriers," Alex told Cisco.
"Oh, I totally get why you said no cameras now."
A moment later, Kara (dressed as Supergirl) was flying in looking quite concerned. "Sorry, I'm late," she said. "But it looks like you took care of things just fine without me. Those barriers are definitely not easy to break or get through."
"Oh no, did you punch holes in them?" Cisco asked crestfallen.
"No, actually, I don't even think it dented."
"Unlike that cell door," Alex pointed out.
Cisco sucked in a breath and then shrugged. "We fail, we redesign, and hope that next time it doesn't break." He then lit up. "And Supergirl! It's so nice to meet you!"
"Whoa whoa...no one said you could have your fanboy moment yet," Alex said as she grabbed onto the hood of his hoodie and pulled him back a step. "We still have a prison to figure out before you head back to Central City."
"Let him," J'onn told Alex with a smile. "He did pretty well under pressure."
"Alex was actually pretty badass," Cisco said and then turned to Kara. "We could have used your help."
"You guys had it handled," Kara said with a smile.
"We should totally get a selfie together," Cisco suggested. "I need to start a wall of those with superheroes."
Alex shook her head, J'onn was still putting pressure on her arm. "How many superheroes do you know?"
"I mean, maybe we wouldn't consider them all super...but don't tell them I said that," Cisco rambled. "I'm best friends with The Flash...and then we know the Green Arrow and his crew."
"Your best friend is The Flash?" Kara questioned with a smile.
"Why would you say that?" Alex asked him.
"What? He is!" Cisco insisted.
"That's really not helpful in feeling that you'll actually keep our secret," Alex explained. "Since we could probably do some investigating and figure out exactly who The Flash is just from what you've told us already."
"Oh…"
"We're doomed," Alex whispered to herself.
"Wait, what secret?" Kara asked them.
Alex motioned to J'onn.
"Oh. That makes sense."
"Come on," J'onn told Alex. "Let's get you up to medical and we'll have Mr. Ramon work on making sure all of the glitches are flushed and everything is working at one hundred percent before you depart for Central City."
"Right," Cisco said slowly.
"We could always call in some help," Kara suggested.
Winn.
Alex knew that that's what Kara meant and maybe that wouldn't be a horrible idea. "We also had another volunteer that had been willing to self install his company's part."
"Maxwell Lord?" Cisco asked.
"Yeah, let's try to avoid Max today," Kara said as she led Cisco towards the ramp. "I'm not sure I can tolerate his ego. It's been a long day."
"Feel free to tell me all about it."
Alex just shook her head as she and J'onn followed. It had been a long week, but there was light in sight and the prison seemed to now be working. All in all, it wasn't really that horrible of a week, though...she still owed Max a dinner date.
The End.