Chapter 3
'Welcome to Meta Labs'.
Dr. West extends her hand to shake and asks them all to call her Iris, her friendly smile and easy demeanour making Kara like her right away, but the funk Alex has fallen in to keeps her from responding immediately.
She remains pleasant however, and looks around the lab with genuine interest, becoming engrossed in the advanced tech they've designed to aid soldiers in their missions against alien forces. The weaponry is impressive, with most built to incapacitate rather than kill, and the armour built specifically to respond to each individual soldier, almost like a second skin.
'This tech is amazing, seriously, and I'm going to be asking for a full diagnostic of it in about thirty seconds'- Alex runs her hand over one of the Ion blasters. -'but its way more advanced than anything we've seen at the D.E.O. despite studying alien biology for years so I have to ask, where did you get this from?'
'From me'.
There is a loud fluttering and a gust of wind sweeps across the group as a shadow flickers above them, the motion making them all look up as one, and Alex feels a lead weight drop into her stomach at the sight.
Not only is there a person with wings; freaking HUGE, white, angelesque shaped, wings, descending from above them; but that person is also the woman the Alex has been trying to forget ever since Sunday morning.
Lucy lands a few paces from them, her feet touching down gently as her wings give one final stretch, seeming to reach from one end of the room to the other, before folding in on themselves and tucking neatly behind her. From this angle Alex can't see them at all and Lucy looks like a regular person, which is no doubt why she hadn't noticed then in their previous encounter, but she remains staring at Lucy completely dumbfounded.
'Hey, I'm Lucy. I'm the resident Meta geek, and some time guinea pig, around here'.
'That was awesome!' Kara steps forward first, her hand extended and a friendly smile on her face, to greet the newcomer, already picturing them up in the sky racing. 'Your wings are amazing, and I can't tell you how much I look forward to seeing you in action out in the open'.
'Well, I have to say, its an honour to meet you, Supergirl'. Lucy laughs easily and shakes her hand back, feeling the repressed strength in the grip as she gives her a smile. 'There's not a lot of beings here with the ability to fly, so I look forward to having a few races with you amongst the clouds'.
'You're on'. Kara finds herself liking the girl immediately and hopes to spend some time getting to know her, but frowns when she realises she can hear Alex's heart pounding.
She steps back from Lucy and glances behind her, finding her sister staring at the pair of them seemingly impassively, but her sensitive hearing picks up the frantic thump of her pulse as her heart thunders away inside her chest. Kara looks at Alex in confusion, finding the reaction out of place for the normally unflappable woman, although it sounds amazingly similar to the one she had last night when she said she saw the person from her one night sta...'Oh'.
Kara looks between Alex and Lucy, sensing the tension radiating beneath the surface, and it finally clicks as to what Alex has been struggling with. She feels bad instantly, knowing she should have spotted it sooner, and resolves to speak to her about it as soon as possible.
Lucy, to give her credit, doesn't falter in her sunny disposition as she steps forward to extend her hand to J'onn, then turns and holds her palm out to Alex. 'Hi, I'm Lucy, it's a pleasure to meet you Agent Danvers'.
'Call me Alex'.
Alex, no stranger at having to keeping her cool under extreme situations, offers Lucy a professional smile and takes her hand. 'Thank you for letting us come take a look around, you certainly have an impressive set up here'.
The two women shake hands slowly as they size each other up, the shock they both felt at seeing the other now dissipating into professional curiosity, and they feel a frisson of something race up their spines at seeing the other again.
For Alex the feeling is shame mixed with embarrassment, her lapse of control now thrust once again into her face, and she has to bite the inside of her cheek as she feels the urge to blurt out an apology for her behaviour, but the biologist in her is also piqued about what species she is. Her wings are truly magnificent, and the power they must require to lift a human body with the kind of effortlessness she displayed has to be immense (humans don't have hollow bones like birds do after all), which makes Alex wish that she could study her physiology like she had Kara's, but knows that it would be far too awkward now.
For Lucy, seeing Alex again gives her mixed feelings. The woman accused her of taking her clothes off while unconscious, which isn't something you just forget about, and she'd felt a streak of annoyance at the gall she must have to just stroll into her lab; but after overhearing some of the conversation (another perk of her condition), she'd quickly realised that she was the infamous Agent Danvers Commander Lane has been raving about. Lucy has been looking forward to meeting Agent Danvers; a highly commended member of the secretive Department of Extra-Normal Operations, for some time. Part agent, part soldier, part scientist, and all genius, at least according to most around here, the woman was a legend that every single member of the team were queuing up to meet, and against her better judgement Lucy still feels excited to meet her.
'Any friend of Commander Lane's is a friend of ours. After all, we all share the same goal of trying to protect the world from threats, both Meta and Extra'. Lucy realises she still holding Alex's hand and quickly releases it, then turns to look at the tech Alex had just been admiring to cover the fact that she actually felt disappointment when she let go.
'Seeing as we're on the subject, what exactly is a Meta?' Kara speaks up to try and ease the strange tension between the two women, as even J'onn can tell something is amiss, and places herself next to Lucy in order to block Alex's view of her. 'An Extra is clearly and extraterrestrial, and we've dealt with plenty of those, but I don't believe we've ever come across a Meta threat before'.
Lucy looks up at the Kryptonian, grateful for the distraction, and gives her a wry grin. 'That's because we don't seem to exist in this universe'.
That gets everyone's attention, and Dr. West laughs at the looks of confusion on their faces. 'You'll have to excuse Lucy, she likes to be overly dramatic'.
She walks over to Lucy's other side and presses a few buttons on the panel, which makes the large screen to their right click on, and then taps a few more times before a picture of the Earth appears.
'This is us, our Earth'. Dr. West indicates the picture on the screen, then hits a few buttons to make an almost identical Earth appear next to it. 'And this is where Lucy is from, Earth Two'.
'In my world this was Earth Two, but whatever'. Lucy grumbles light-heartedly, rolling her eyes at Dr. West.
Dr. West rolls her eyes back at her, the two well used to sparing with each other. 'Normally the worlds are entirely separate, and there is no way to for one person to cross between them, but...'
'...but if that person is moving fast enough, and at the right frequency, they can jump from one universe to the next'. Kara finishes Dr. West's sentence, her eyes going wide as she stares at Lucy. 'You're a Metahuman, like Barry'.
Dr. West and Lucy glance at each other before looking back at Kara with surprise on their faces, never having encountered anyone that knew the term before, and find themselves asking the same question at the same time. 'Who's Barry?'
'Barry Allan'. Kara is just as surprised, having never expected to encounter another Metahuman in this world, and finds herself getting excited about the possibilities of meeting more. 'You must know him, he's The Flash on your world!'
'Barry Allen is really The Flash?' Lucy stares at Kara in shock, the news that the scrawny guy she had met during her ill fated trip to Central City is the superfast superhero she had read about while trying to get a handle on her own powers a fact she wasn't expecting, then frowns in confusion. 'Hold on, how do you know about Meta's, and more importantly, how do you know about The Flash?'
Kara looks at the expectant faces of Lucy and Dr. West and gives them a confused grin. 'Barry came to this Earth a while ago by accident, I thought you knew'.
'I remember a speedster being reported by Catco Media but he was called The Blur, and he disappeared almost as soon as he appeared, way before we could pin down when he was and retrieve him'. Lucy frowns at the thought that someone from her world has been here, in this world with her, and she hadn't had a clue.
Alex catches the look of disappointment on Lucy's face, having moved to a position where she could watch the woman interact with her sister, and wonders at it because, despite being too mortified to ever attempt a one on one conversation with her again, she remains fascinated by the winged woman.
'He needed to get back as he had a lot going on with someone called Zoom, but while he was here he helped me capture Livewire and Silver Banshee'.
Kara looks at J'onn, feeling guilty that she forgot to tell him about Barry, but Alex places her hand on her arm reassuringly. 'I filled him in, don't worry'.
Kara places her hand over the one on her arm and squeezes it gently, grateful that Alex always has her back, then turns back to Lucy. 'I know he only got here with the help of something called a Tachyon Device, is that how you got here?'
Lucy has to drag her eyes away from the hand on Supergirl's arm to look back at her face, the sight of the women's casual affection sparking something akin to jealously inside of her, and she has to battle the emotion from showing on her face. She flicks her gaze up to Alex for a moment, her curiosity at how this woman could be so confidently affectionate with Supergirl when just days ago she was throwing herself at her, on fire, and wishes that one of her acquired powers was the ability to read minds.
Lucy had turned Alex down, twice, it was true; but it hadn't been because she didn't find the woman attractive. In fact the reverse was true. Lucy had found Alex incredibly attractive, and only turned her down at the bar because she was far too drunk to make an informed consent.
From the start Alex had been charming, self deprecating, very complementary, and downright adorable. Lucy had found herself swooning in a way she hadn't in a long time, and very eager to continue getting to know her, yet thought her chances had been dashed when she'd to say no to Alex's attempt to kiss her.
She'd tried to explain why, knowing that no girl liked to be rebuffed when they had been brave enough to make the first move, but Alex had high-tailed it out of the bar before she'd even had the chance to start. Lucy had thought she'd got her second chance when she'd answered her doorbell to find the inebriated girl swaying like a sailor in front of her, and Alex hadn't had to force her way into Lucy's apartment at all. Lucy had invited Alex in happily, glad that she'd had a second chance, and Alex herself had seemed eager to apologise for running out without an explanation.
Lucy had then retreated to the kitchen area to make them drinks, the non alcoholic-trying to sober a person up–kind, but when she'd turned around it was to find that Alex had somehow stripped out of most of her clothes, and was stood (still swaying) in just her bra and panties. The sight had been enough to short circuit the winged woman's thought process; the leanly muscled torso and sculpted abs that Alex was displaying had made her mouth water with the urge to run her tongue over them, her finely toned thighs had begged to have Lucy's head between them, and the delectable handfuls straining at the cups of her bra made Lucy wish on more than one deity that she was free to indulge her desires.
Lucy's transfixed state had boosted Alex's confidence and she had peeled off the remaining garments before Lucy had been able to break free of the spell Alex's body had put her in, and in the blink of an eye Lucy had a completely naked Alex standing directly in front of her. The touch of Alex's hand on her arm had jolted Lucy out of her fog, and she had let out a little whimper of frustration as she'd registered the sight of Alex's bare breasts so close to hand. Lucy had wanted Alex, very badly, and had been extremely tempted to give in, just for one kiss, but as she had watched Alex close her eyes and start to lean in however, she'd known that one kiss wouldn't be enough, and had forced herself to step away.
Alex had not been pleased by the move, the already wobbly girl almost falling on her face as a result, and had become defensive at what she'd perceived to be a second snub. The intoxicated woman had started berating Lucy for leading her on; making her think she was interested in being with her only to turn around and shoot her down at the last moment, and had become tearful at the thought that this was all some big joke on Lucy's part just to play with her feelings.
The change in Alex from confident and flirty to paranoid and defensive had been done at breakneck speed, leaving Lucy's head spinning in confusion, and she had suggested that maybe it was wise for them to end the conversation, for now, and reconvene in the morning. This had seemed to mollify Alex somewhat, the knowledge that Lucy was still wanting to get to know her easing some of her fears of rejection, and she had nodded in agreement. Lucy had then gone to retrieve her cell from her bedroom so that she could ring for a cab to take Alex home, but by the time she had returned she'd found that Alex had slipped into unconsciousness on the armchair.
Lucy had been tempted to let Alex sleep where she was, the idea of laying her hands on the unaware girl in order to move her feeling a lot like a violation of trust, but knew from experience that the chair Alex had chosen to pass out in was hell to sleep in. Instead she'd picked up the blanket from the back of the chair and covered Alex with it, not wanting the girl to remain bare to her eyes, and then spent the next forty minutes pacing her apartment as she deliberated about what to do.
In the end Alex decided for the pair of them, as just when Lucy had resolved to leave Alex where she was, deciding that a bit of backache was the penance you paid for passing out in someone's apartment, the girl in question had let out a groan of discomfort and tried shifting in the chair to find a more comfortable position. The chairs design made that impossible however, and the grimace on Alex's face was too much for Lucy to cope with.
She'd stood up swiftly and stalked into the bedroom, pulled back the duvet in preparation for receiving Alex's unconscious form, and then drew the blinds so that the sun wouldn't stream in come morning time. With that done Lucy had returned to the living room and, without hesitating least she lose her nerve, scooped Alex up in her arms (ensuring that the blanket remained covering her modesty), and returned to the bedroom.
Lucy had placed Alex in the centre of the bed, figuring that she wouldn't then accidentally roll out of the bed thinking she was on her side of the bed (whatever that side may be) and clunk herself on the floor. She'd dithered over whether to try putting some pyjama's on Alex, figuring it would be less awkward for the girl in the morning if she woke up wearing something more than just her birthday suit, but a deep moan that Alex emitted as she snuggled against Lucy's pillow had her quickly deciding against it. She'd hurriedly placed the duvet over Alex's body, removed the blanket, made sure the duvet wasn't covering too much of Alex's face, then returned to the living room to retrieve her clothes. Lucy had felt like a pervert handling Alex's underwear, the feeling of invading her privacy one that didn't sit well with her despite knowing that Alex had been the one to invade her privacy, and she'd made sure to deposit the clothes by the side of the bed (tucked out of potential vomit range) as quickly as she could.
One done Lucy had retreated to the living room, and spent the rest of the night alternatively pacing and going for short flights to try and burn off some sexual frustration. The morning had seemed to take an age to come, and even the stunning sunrise she'd witnessed from her balcony had not been enough to take Lucy's mind off the naked woman in her bed, so when she'd picked up the sounds of movement in her room she'd had to force herself to wait another couple of minutes to ensure Alex was sufficiently awake enough to be coherent, before heading in to greet her.
Lucy had intended to treat Alex to breakfast, seeing as she didn't have enough in her apartment to feed a sparrow (self deprecation was an art form with Lucy), but things had quickly deteriorated and Lucy had ended up storming out of her apartment instead.
'I'm sorry, was that too personal a question?'
Lucy blinks as she realises that she is just staring at Supergirl, not answering the simple question she had been asked, and smiles apologetically. 'Sorry, I spaced out there for a second'.
'That's okay, you just looked lost in thought and I was worried I'd stepped over the line by asking about how you got here'. Kara smiles kindly at her.
Lucy flicks a glance at Alex and sees that she is looking at her curiously, then pulls her gaze away again to focus on Supergirl. 'Er, it is kinda personal, and I'd prefer not to share until I've known you all for a bit longer, if you don't mind'.
Lucy tries to fight the shame that always rises in her when she thinks about her reason for ending up here, not wanting to give anything away in front of Alex, and quickly moves on. 'I can say that I've never heard of this Tachyon Device though, and I'd be very interested to work with you to find out more about it'.
'If you want to know how it works you should talk to Alex'. Kara beams at Lucy as she gets the chance to boast about her sisters brilliant mind to the woman Alex clearly likes 'Before Barry left, she got a chance to study it, seeing as she is our resident expert in all things techy, and is currently working on a way to reverse engineer it'.
The pride on Kara's face at Alex's achievements is unmistakeable and Lucy feels a tight knot in the pit of her stomach at the thought that the pair might actually be together, because it would make being around both of them really awkward; but it would also go some way to explain why Alex was so hostile when she woke up. If they'd had a row and Alex had hit on her as a drunken mistake then waking up in a strangers apartment completely naked would have been a hell of a guilt trip for her to deal with, and the easiest way to justify it to herself would of course been to think Lucy had made her do something she didn't want to.
Lucy swallows as she looks at Alex, seeing her flush with embarrassment at Supergirl's praise, and knows that they definitely have more than a working relationship going on. If they really are a couple then Lucy needs to stay as far away from Alex as possible, which is going to be difficult given that Supergirl has just said that the only way for her to learn anything about a possible way home will be to spend time with the very girl she needs to avoid, and she feels stuck between two very difficult choices.
'I, er...I'd be interested to see any notes you have on it, certainly'. Lucy looks at Alex and gives her a professional smile, ensuring she doesn't make eye contact, then hastily moves on. 'But for now why doesn't Dr. West show you around the rest of the lab'.
Lucy quickly hands off responsibility to Iris, who is happy to play tour guide, and excuses herself by saying that she needs to check up on one of the assistants.
Alex scowls as she watches Lucy hurry away, knowing that the only reason she hasn't stayed and helped show them around is because of her, and silently berates herself yet again for not keeping her emotions under better control.
Seeing Lucy again so unexpectedly, and with the added surprise of her being a Metahuman, had derailed Alex's hard fought for calm, and she knows that she is going to have a difficult time not obsessing over the woman in the remaining time they have here, but also knows that after the things she accused her of, Lucy will not be eager to spend any time with her at all.
A sharp jab in the ribs brings Alex's attention back to the group and she looks up to see Kara making not so subtle "pay attention" gestures at her, and quickly realises that Dr. West is talking to her.
'…..really would be good if you and Lucy could collaborate together about the Tachyon Device as its the first real piece of information we've had about a way to connect with her home since she got her'.
'Sure, it would be my pleasure to help in any way that I can'. Alex feels her stomach churn at the thought of having to work with Lucy in any way, sure that the woman must despise her, but keeps her face impassive as she nods at Dr. West. 'She must be eager to return home. How long has she been here?'
Dr. West pauses as she considers the question, no doubt assessing how much Lucy would be comfortable with them knowing, then gestures for the group to follow her as she leads them into a large chamber at the end of the corridor. 'I first met Lucy three years ago when Commander Lane brought her to this facility, primarily so that we could study her physiology'.
Iris taps a few buttons on the control panel and a holographic image of Lucy appears in the middle of the room, the 3D representation suspended as if frozen in mid air, and Alex can't help but let out a low gasp at the sight. The image is an obvious scan of the woman, done with some sort of projector no doubt, but in it Lucy is wearing nothing more than a sports bra and a pair of tiny jogging shorts.
Alex catches Kara turn to look at her out of the corner of her eye, knowing that she was the only one that would have heard the gasp (J'onn had left to meet with Commander Lane shortly after Lucy left), but ignores her in favour of keeping her focus on the image. The resolution is amazing, the scan so clear that it is almost as if the woman is actually in the room with them, but a subtle flickering at the edges give away its true nature.
The image is life size, roughly 3 inches shorter than her own height of 5ft 6, which would place Lucy around 5' 3, but her wings when unfolded make her look much taller. Alex stares at the image, entranced as it is the first time she has been able to really look at the woman since she woke up in her bed, and realises that the reason for her lapse in control on Saturday night was because Lucy is absolutely, flawlessly, gorgeous.
The image is actually a short video, a clip of around ten seconds, which starts with Lucy standing with her wings folded and then progresses to her stretching her wings to full length. The camera spins around the circumference of Lucy's frame as she does, so that the viewer gets an all around pan of her body, and Alex finds her mouth going dry as she takes in the spectacle that is all of Lucy.
Lucy is relaxed in the video, clearly comfortable with whoever is doing the filming (Alex suspects it is Dr. West as she had noticed a closeness between the two women while they were talking), and has a small smile on her face as she converses with the unseen camera person. Her hands are resting on her hips, fingers splayed across the V cut defining where her torso meets her pelvis, and her abdominal muscles are as well defined as any athlete Alex has ever seen. The muscles in Lucy's arms are well proportioned, a result of countless hours in the gym she mentioned needing to go to no doubt, and her legs have the look of a professional runner.
Alex is speechless, finding herself more than a little turned on, and is once again mortified that she made such an idiot of herself with this woman.
'Why did the Commander bring her here?'
Kara is the one to ask the question and Alex turns to look at Dr. West in anticipation of her answer, glad to have the distraction.
'Lucy is like nothing we've ever seen before'. Dr. West pauses the hologram so that Lucy is facing away from them, and that Alex and Kara can see her wings clearly. 'She was born human, but a physiological event changed her genetic make up and melded it with that of an eagle, which forced her body to grow the wings you see here'.
The image shows that Lucy's wings sprout from her trapezius muscles, the thick ropes of muscle enlarged to balance the extra force being applied to them, and stretching further down her back than normal.
'I thought eagles had brown feathers, so why are Lucy's white?'
Dr. West nods at Kara and clicks on the keyboard some more, until a hologram of a white eagle appears next to the one of Lucy. 'They normally are brown, but Lucy was in the vicinity of a rare albino eagle, like this one, when the event happened, and its genetic markers for white feathers were passed to her'.
'They're beautiful'.
Alex goes still as she realises she just said that out loud, and hastily tries to cover up her slip. 'I..., I mean from a biological standpoint, they're amazing. You, you said her body grew these?'
Dr. West nods again, this time at Alex, and looks pensive. 'Lucy has always been...reluctant, to reveal too much about what she experienced in the time just after the event, but from what she has said, I understand the process to have been...painful'.
Alex's heart squeezes at the thought and she has the strange urge to find Lucy so that she can give her a sympathetic hug, but then scoffs internally at the idea, knowing that if she attempted something so foolhardy she would most likely receive a fist to the face for it, and tries to squash down her emotions so that only her scientific side is active. 'You've mentioned this "event" a couple of times now Dr. West, but it would help us a lot if we knew exactly what this event was'.
'Of course'. Dr. West turns back to the keyboard and resumes tapping. The image of the eagle disappears, followed by the image of Lucy, and Alex feels a pang of sadness at the loss, knowing that she probably wouldn't ever have another chance to look at the woman so openly.
After a few more taps the image of a large building appears in the spot where the hologram of Lucy was, and Dr. West turns back. 'Do either of you recognise this?'
Both Kara and Alex study the image of the circular building thoroughly, then shake their heads when they come up empty.
'No, I didn't think you would'. Dr. West smiles knowingly. 'The Government had it torn down before it ever officially opened'.
'Why?' Alex glances at Dr. West before looking back at the unfamiliar building. 'Did it have something to do with Lucy's transformation?'
'Not on this Earth, no'. Dr. West taps a few more buttons, and the image changes to the pile of rubble the Government had left the building in. 'The building was meant to become S.T.A.R Labs, the Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories, designed and built by a scientist by the name of Harrison Wells'.
The image on screen changes again to show the face of Dr. Wells, a thin faced man in his early fifties, as Dr. West continues. 'Dr. Wells designed a new type of particle accelerator, one that was meant to be able to power the whole of Central City with clean energy, but just before it opened Lucy contacted the Commander and informed him of a potentially catastrophic event that could take place should it be allowed to be switched on'.
'So Commander Lane destroyed an entire building based on the say so of a complete stranger? Even taking into account Lucy's special nature, that's a lot to take on faith, isn't it?' Alex frowns as she tries to image someone coming to her with such a story, and what she would be willing to accept at face value.
Dr. West looks conflicted for a moment, which tells Alex that there is a lot more to the story that she isn't telling, before speaking. 'The relationship between the Commander and Lucy is...complicated, and one only Lucy is at liberty to disclose, but suffice to say that the Commander believed her immediately'.
A few more taps and the image of S.T.A.R Labs is back, but this time with a strange haze around it.
'The event that Lucy warned the Commander about was an explosion, a massive scale event like we'd never seen before, which would send a shockwave careening throughout Central City'. Dr. West sounds more animated now, clearly on the subject that excites her most, and Alex feels a burst of geek solidarity for her enthusiasm. 'Lucy explained that on her Earth, Metahumans are individuals that, after being exposed to the particles and Dark Matter that the shockwave contained, had their genetic, and sometimes even their atomic, structure altered. From our research it appears that the type of power a person developed depended on the situation they were in, and the elements around them, at the time of the shockwave'.
Yet more taps, and the building disappears as a row of individuals take its place.
'Lucy was caught up in this shockwave and, along with volunteering herself as a specimen, she was able to furnish us with details about some of the powers people had developed; not all of them as benign as hers'.
The individuals shown on the holograms are about the height of a ruler, the sheer quantity of them meaning they couldn't be shown life-size, but they are still large enough to be able to see the various powers they are displaying.
The variety is amazing, with one man controlling what appears to be a tornado while another is covered in flames. A silver haired lady seems to be able to send jets of ice straight into the air, and a brunette looks to have a swarm of bees under her control. There is also a half man half shark, a giant gorilla, and a woman that can teleport from one spot to another.
Kara bends down and studies the projections, her face alight with interest at the different powers on display, and Alex knows that Kara would love to be able to talk to Barry all about them. The boy had made quite the impression on Kara during his brief stay, his outlook on his abilities (not to mention his gargantuan appetite) so similar to Kara's that the pair could be related, and Alex had enjoyed watched the pair geek out during their time together.
'The Commander ordered S.T.A.R Labs destroyed as a priority, which was a hell of a lot of bad press for us given how much money it was going to save Central City, but was green lit by the President herself the moment she met Lucy'.
'She sure does seem to have an effect on people'. Alex mutters under her breath, still out of sorts from seeing the other woman again, then speaks up when Kara gives her the side eye. 'What did you mean when you said Lucy offered herself up as a specimen?'
'I met Lucy the day she contacted Commander Lane about S.T.A.R Labs'. Dr. West closes down the hologram, much to Kara's disappointment, and then turns to face Alex. 'He brought her straight to my lab, which was over in Star City at the time, to run some tests, and Lucy stayed there for about a week while we tried to determine the cause of her transformation. By that time Commander Lane had secured the funds to set up this lab, named the Meta Lab in honour of Lucy's information, and she transferred here the day after'.
Alex thinks back to Lucy's comment when they first saw her and realises she wasn't just jesting. 'Is Lucy a member of this team, or is she still a specimen confined to this facility?'
Dr. West looks guilty for a moment, thought hides it quickly beneath a professional blank face, and gives Alex a tight smile. 'Lucy isn't a prisoner here, if that's that you're thinking'.
'What I'm thinking is too full of expletives to repeat right now, Doctor, but I noticed that you didn't answer my question. Is Lucy free to leave this facility whenever she wants?'
'The Commander has stated that...'
'Yes or no, Doc?' Alex cuts her off, not interested in hearing any carefully worded excuse, and raises her eyebrow at her expectantly.
Dr. West glances at Kara, who is also looking at her with rather less friendliness than a few minutes before, and lets out a sigh as she sags back so that she is sitting on the edge of the table. 'The truth is no, she isn't'.
The muscle in Alex's jaw flexes tightly as she grits her teeth in anger, her blood boiling as she thinks back to Commander Lane's smirk as he'd boasted about having something to rival Supergirl, and knows now that he must have been talking about Lucy. The way he'd said it had sounded so impersonal, as if he had been a kid bragging about a new car, and knows that he clearly sees Lucy as a commodity rather than a person.
Before she can storm out however, Dr. West holds up her hand and continues talking. 'Before you go rampaging out of here and start knocking heads about, Agent Danvers, I have to tell you that it is also Lucy's choice to remain here'.
'What?'
Alex looks at Kara in confusion and sees that she is also frowning, the hero clearly not understanding why someone would voluntarily choose to remain here either, and then back at the doctor. 'Why would anyone choose to stay here when they could go anywhere they wanted?'
Dr. West stands up and looks Alex in the eye, once more calm and confident. 'Only Lucy can give you her reasons for that, but you must remember that although this may look a lot like her Earth in many ways, this isn't Lucy's world. There are no Meta's here, no one that has gone through what Lucy has, and no one that can understand what it is like to be on a world not their own. Think on that for a little while Agent. Danvers, before you start with any accusations'.
I have no idea if this is actually any good so...hit me up huh. Leave me a message, even if its just a "continue" or "it's not the worst thing I've ever read" to let me know whether I should stick with it or flush my head in the toilet a few times.