Author's Note: Needed to get this out before I became swamped with other things so it didn't get as far along as I would have liked, but at least they've arrived! Thank you to everyone who has read and/or reviewed so far. It's great to hear what you guys think, even if it's not all good! Hope you enjoy this chapter :)
The Tournament – Chapter 3
For once Maxwell Lord was at a loss for words.
Ruthless enough to kill me.
He didn't get surprised often. He'd always thought using his genius to predict what would happen a benefit and allow him a way to use whatever happened to his advantage.
Ruthless enough to kill me.
Alex watched with a raised brow as Max digested her words. His face went through a multitude of emotions: surprise and shock were followed quickly by suspicion, then dismay.
"I don't like this idea," he finally said with a frown. Alex smiled tiredly.
"What, pass by a chance to get rid of me once and forever?" she ribbed. She started walking down the hallway, indicating that he should follow. Still in a bit of a daze, he started walking automatically.
"There are certain circumstances where my death might be more beneficial than if I should live," Alex explained.
"I fail to see how that could ever be the case."
"Humour me for just a moment," Alex said as she stopped by her quarters. She ran her palm over the interface and the door slid open with a soft whoosh. She stepped inside and Max followed, looking around in curiosity.
"Agent Danvers, are you trying to seduce me?" Max said with his customary smirk. He looked around the room with interest, noting a second door beside the bathroom. Alex sat down on the lounge.
"The Tournament is a complicated game," Alex stated, ignoring his attempt at levity. Max sat down close by. She used a finger to push him away, ignoring his smirk. "In some instances, showing defiance and bravery before death can win you more points than surviving would. Now that we've had a few years to gain our feet and get a reputation, we may have to step it up. That means, if a situation arises that would give Earth a greater standing, then I want you to make the call."
Max leaned back on the couch and crossed one leg over the other, looking at the woman before him. She was sitting straight-backed, one leg bent under the other as she sat sideways with an arm resting across the top of the lounge. Her words were firm and he could see the resolve in her eyes. She was determined to lay down her life in order to protect the planet.
He made his decision.
"Alright," he said simply. Alex's shoulders relaxed just a fraction.
"Thank you," she said sincerely. Her watch beeped and she glanced at it before standing and opening the door again. Max wriggled around on the lounge to make himself more comfortable, wilfully ignoring the unspoken order and the glare she sent his way as he didn't move.
"What was the alarm set for?"
"None of your business," she said, striding back to the lounge and heaving him up.
"I thought we were having a moment, Agent Danvers," he said reproachfully. She grabbed his arm and tugged him towards the door.
"Oh we were," she assured him. "I trust you to kill me. I don't trust you to save my life."
With that, she pushed him across the threshold and closed the door.
Alex leaned against the door that had just shut and eyed the second door in her room. It was unique. No other quarters aboard their ship had them. Finally, she walked to the second door that Max had noticed and hesitated for a split second before waving her hand across the security pad. It slid open to reveal a softly lit interior with a chair that looked like it belonged in a dentist's surgery and multiple tubes with needles on the end.
"Welcome back, Alex Danvers," said a soft, lyrical, disembodied voice. Alex didn't answer and instead walked with heavy steps to the chair. Once again, she hesitated before sitting down. It immediately began to lower itself to a more horizontal position. The tubes positioned themselves in line with her arms, legs and chest. The chair stopped moving and the needles plunged into Alex's skin. She bit her lip to keep from screaming in pain as the liquid in the tubes began pumping through her system.
The rest of the team looked up as Max re-entered the common room.
"Where have you been?" Hernandez demanded.
"Agent Danvers and I had some things to discuss," he said dismissively. The team collectively raised surprised eyebrows.
"I thought she hated you," Bronwyn blurted.
"Oh, she does," Max assured them sitting down and resting one ankle on the other knee. "That doesn't mean we can't talk like civilised people. We had some issues to work out."
"I bet you did," Nails muttered with a sideways look at Dolls. He sniggered as he caught the look.
"Well, why you were 'working out' your issues, the rest of us were actually working," the scientist said crossly. "If you would be so kind as to look at these equations and suggestions that would be great," he finished sarcastically. Max accepted the tablet wordlessly and started perusing the contents.
Margaret studied him. Bronwyn sidled up next to her.
"What do you think?" she murmured.
"I think we might have an unexpected complication to overcome," Margaret replied quietly. "The relationship between Alex Danvers and Maxwell Lord appears to be more complicated than we all anticipated."
"So what do we do? Does this change our plans?"
"We wait and see what eventuates. We're playing it by ear now. So keep them open and keep your head down."
Bronwyn nodded and moved back over to Hernandez. Margaret continued to watch Max out of the corner of her eye as she studied the cultural aspects of the Hyoshi species. They were extremely intelligent creatures with a humanoid body type: two legs, two arms, one head but four eyes, spaced evenly around their head – an evolutionary trait to detect predators. Like humans, their only natural defence was their ability to think and they used it with extreme efficiency. They still had a tribal culture, large tribes moving across continents that largely reflected Earth's temperate zones. Margaret flagged the Hyoshi as needing advanced study. With their natural intelligence, she had an inkling that they would be a dark horse in the coming game.
Hernandez and Bronwyn were debating the merits of delving further into the biology of a species or focusing on a broad range of information when the door slid open to reveal Alex. Max immediately looked up.
"Dr. Green, do you have a moment?" Alex called. Bronwyn broke off her argument and narrowed her eyes in Alex's direction.
"Of course," she replied. Alex stepped out once again and Bronwyn followed. Max tilted his head. His year at med school had taught him quite a few things and he noted the ways Alex moved more carefully than usual, the slight redness of her eyes and the tightness around her mouth. The door closed once again and he immediately stood, walked over to it, waited a few seconds, then opened it again to slip into the hallway. He caught a glimpse of Alex's bare skin before she yanked her T-shirt back down.
It was long enough to see the bruises and puncture marks spaced evenly along her stomach and up her sides.
"What are you doing? "Alex demanded. Bronwyn stepped aside so she wasn't caught in the crossfire.
"I think the more appropriate question in this circumstance is what happened to you?" Max yanked up her shirt again.
She punched him in the cheek. Bronwyn gaped in surprise as Max's head rocked sideways He swore in pain.
"What the hell, Max? That hurt!"
"And that deserves to be beaten to a pulp?" He poked at his cheek gently.
"Reflex action. And one punch is not getting beaten to a pulp. Now answer the question: what the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded.
"I spent a year doing a medical degree," he answered. "You can't hide the fact you were in pain. I thought you were sick but now…"
"It's none of your business," Alex said firmly. "Bronwyn is here to provide medical treatment, not you."
"Alex, maybe you should just tell him,' Bronwyn interjected gently. "He could be useful."
"He already has a role," Alex said sharply.
"Ah yes, to kill you, if needs must." Max thrust his hands into his pockets and affected an innocent look.
"Come again?" Bronwyn said, clearly thinking she had misheard or misunderstood.
"Oh, you didn't know?" Max looked at Alex. "Do you want me to tell her or should I fill her in on the plan?"
"What plan?" Bronwyn demanded. If looks could kill, the one Alex was giving Max would have reduced him to a pile of cinders.
"Human bodies are weak," Alex eventually said, pulling the two further down the hall so no one else would surprise them. "Our immune systems are weak, our bodies are weak. In order to mount any sort of competition, certain steps need to be taken by the runner in order to compete at a level that is even classed as competitive."
"And these steps are the cause of the abuse you've received?" Max raised a disbelieving eyebrow.
"That second door you saw in my room? It's a medical chamber. It injects me with antibodies and muscle stimulants four times a day. It also introduces nanites into my bloodstream that can repair tissue quickly and release vital organic compounds should they be necessary."
Max reached forward slowly, giving her every chance to pull away, and gently pulled her T-shirt up again, studying the bruises left on her body from the ordeal she had just described. He ran his fingers gently over her waist. Goosebumps spread across her skin in their wake.
"These four days of travel aren't because it takes that long to get there," Alex quietly informed him. "They're to give me time to have a full treatment."
Max let the shirt drop back down and smoothed it into place, his hand lingering, warm even through her shirt.
"This is why you're the hero, Alex. Not Supergirl or Superman, with their powers and good deeds. You are human and you need to train, practice and fight for what you have." He turned to Bronwyn. "I'll be your second in medical matters."
Bronwyn nodded in acceptance. "I need to get her back to her quarters and treat these wounds before they get worse." Max moved to follow them but Alex held up her hand stopping him.
"You aren't necessary for this part," she said. He would have sworn on his overinflated ego that pink dusted her face in a soft blush. She cleared her throat before continuing. "While it may be necessary in the future, seeing me naked is not necessary right now."
An image of Alex naked and in the throes of pleasure immediately popped into his mind. Their eyes locked and Max's darkened with desire. Alex's widened fractionally in surprise before narrowing in an unspoken threat.
Don't even think about it, her face said.
Far too late for that, his smirk responded.
"It will be my pleasure to assist in the future," he eventually said to Bronwyn, still looking at Alex, placing emphasis on the pleasure part.
In your dreams, she mouthed to him as Bronwyn thanked him and took her patient by the arm. Alex didn't look back. If she had, she would have seen an odd expression on the face of Maxwell Lord.
An expression of bewilderment as he came to the realisation that he may, in fact, be more attracted to Alex Danvers than he had thought.
Two days later they were all huddled at the front window of the common room, watching as their home for the last four days was brought into the docking area of a large space station.
"I thought the Tournament was being held on a planet," Margaret said with a frown. Alex shook her head.
"Each system that participates hosts the Tournament in a repetitive cycle. It's easier to move a space station then move all the infrastructure needed to support such a large activity."
They watched for a few moments longer until the ship was almost completely docked.
"Come on," Alex said, spinning around and striding away. "It's bad form to not be present when we are welcomed."
They made it to the hatch they'd used to enter just as it began lowering. Alex stood front and centre, head high and shoulders back, looking confident and arrogant. The rest of the team arrange themselves beside and behind her. Predictably, Max stood beside her, not wanting to miss anything.
"Once it's fully lowered, we'll walk down and be officially greeted, then shown to our area," Alex told them softly. The hatch was halfway down.
"Once there, I want everyone to remain silent until we can confirm that there aren't any bugs in our rooms. Clear?"
There were muttered affirmatives behind her but she didn't have time to acknowledge them. The hatch was down and the dull murmur of the assembled crowd rose to a deafening roar.
"And here they are! The Earth team, looking fit and healthy, and ready to show the rest of the universe what they can do!" The voice came from everywhere at once and the crowd went wild as Alex strode down the ramp and along the short walkway to the transport vehicle. The others followed in her wake, attempting to look as coolly confident and uninterested in their surroundings as their team leader did.
The walk was short and before long they were skimming along the inside corridors of the station. Shuttle paths, Alex said they were called.
"Two minutes to destination," the computer announced.
"They use minutes to measure time," Margaret noted with interest.
"This is our shuttle for the duration of the Tournament. Each species has their own measurement of time. Each shuttle is programmed to use a species' native measurement in order to provide clearer context," Alex explained.
The steel grey of the shuttle path abruptly ended and they burst into an open space. Windows lined every square inch and shadows could be seen moving behind the tinted spaces. Their shuttle angled slightly up and to the left. It moved smoothly toward a small opening in the wall and came to rest on the floor with a gentle bump.
"Arrived," came the computer, once again. The door slid open to reveal another hatch.
"Wait, what about air? And environmentals?" Bronwyn said suddenly. The team hesitated and Max took a long step back, putting Dr. Hernandez between him and the open shuttle hatch.
"This area has been configured specifically for those of us who breathe a similar concentration of oxygen," Alex said, exiting the shuttle and opening the second hatch. "You may feel a bit off for a few hours but your body will adjust." She waved everyone inside and they dutifully filed in.
"Welcome to Team Earth's Headquarters."