Chapter 10. Marriage Trap

Thanks all for bearing with me, I had a hectic August but now I'm back. I went ahead and wrote two chapters so chapter 11, is on the back burner.

ALEX POV

She stood up so quickly, her chair flipped backward, hitting the floor with a "THUD." The DEO had a standard operational procedure for every type of alien threat, but this was Kara. She exhaled, releasing all thoughts of what she should do and counted off, "5…4...3...2...1…" Her eyes flicked open. She touched the screen on her smart watch, syncing it to Kara's GPS tracker, then clicked her communicator over to a private channel.

J'onn immediately picked up the call, "Danvers, we've got multiple reports of electrical malfunction all over the city."

"Livewire," She deduced. "J'onn, Supergirl is down, I repeat DOWN. Last known location 238 Baker St., the alley next to the Bolshoi Liquor Mart. I'm going in solo, send backup."

She heard white static and then J'onn's voice. "Roger that, we'll meet you at Kara's location as soon as we've cleared the area. Do you want me to send Mon'el?"

"I'd rather you send me a gun, some grenades, a jagged rock, a cafeteria spork. You know, something useful."

"Right then, you're on your own" J'onn replied. "Keep your communicator on, and try not to blow up anything too expensive."

"No, promises, I'll see you at the scene." She touched her earpiece to end the call.

Alex jogged over to the elevator and pressed the button. A light turned on indicating it was on the first floor. She pounded the button again, "mother fucker." Then gazed up at the green "exit" sign, hanging over the doorway next to the elevator. She ran up the emergency stairwell, skipping steps to the fifth floor. She burst out of the stairwell into a quiet gray corridor, and sprinted down the hallway, hanging a left which lead to the Armory.

She arrived in front of double enforced doors, and realized she left her swipe card next to her coffee on Winn's desk. She had to manually input her employee pin number which was difficult to remember, without the stress of her sister's life hanging in the balance. She started punching numbers onto the screen, "8547-685-WTL2- 000Z… " A barcode flashed on and off, and the door re-locked. She looked at the keyboard and it dawned on her. She had forgotten a number and had to start over. Now, because she had imputed the wrong number the first time, she had to do a retina scan. An automated panel with a questionable looking laser attached to it, lowered in front of her left eye. She lined up her eye to the beam of the laser and waited. A fine thin beam nearly blinded her and made her see spots. It took a few seconds, but then there was a "CLICK," and the gears on the Armory doors pulled open.

The Armory was a large, overly air-conditioned room with rows of guns. An ideal location for proposing to Maggie, if and when, their relationship got to that point. She grabbed a basket and started loading it. "Some ladies like to match their purses with their outfits. Some like to match their guns with Kryptonite nemesis," she mused. She stopped in front a rack of Alien weaponry, and strapped a matching set of glowing blue pistols to each hip. She grabbed a few sun grenades, smoke bombs, rope, brass knuckles, and of course handcuffs. Next, she suited up with a pair of electrical grounding boots and rubber enforced armor, ready for Live Wire if the bitch showed up.

Finding the right weapon for the Kryptonite wielder was more perplexing. They had yet to develop anti-kryptonite weapons and though kryptonite did not incapacitate humans, it's potency was such that it could slice through buildings. She was staring at a row of harpoons, which reminded her of the Roman gladiators, and how they used nets and spears to trap foes. Inspired, she found a handheld gun with a retractable grappling hook and strapped it to her lower thigh.

She stepped out of the armory and jogged down the emergency stairwell to the garage. The DEO garage was full of black utility vehicles which appeared even more non-descript beneath the dull energy saving floodlights. In the far right corner, she spotted what she was looking for and ran toward the Guardian's motorcycle. Other than Jimmy, no one had ever ridden the bike, but now she supposed he wouldn't mind since it was for Kara. Jimmy had loved Kara, blindly and stupidly. Her sister had been too involved in her identity and work, but she saw it. She understood the fundamentals of love in ways that Kara was only beginning to learn. She opened her heart and thought of Jimmy, "Please, keep me safe." She pulled on a black helmet and stowed her weapons in the bike's cache. She kicked off the brake stand and pressed down on the ignition. The engine purred between her thighs, in a way that made her feel too good. She pressed her foot on the gas and the motorcycle kicked back, then sped forward. It's wheels screeching beneath her, leaving a trail along the concrete.

The city itself appeared to be cut in half one dark side, one light side. All the electricity was out in the Downtown district, the skyscrapers meshed together, making up a dark profile. The side she was headed toward was mostly made up of small businesses, with independently lit structures. She touched a button on her watch and raised her wrist up to her mouth. "Call Maggie," she yelled through her helmet. The screen on her watch dialed a series of numbers and began to ring.

Maggie picked up on the second ring, "hey babe, Livewire is on the move. Any chance your home, snuggled up in your PJ's?"

"MAGGIE, Kara's in trouble, can you be near 238 Baker St., in five?"

"You mean Drug Alley?" Maggie clarified.

Alex could hear the concern in her voice. "The very one." She weaved through a row of stalled cars.

"I'm across town, but for you Danvers, anything. I'm calling all available units to your location. Be safe, baby. "

"You, too, I'll see you soon." She touched her watch to end the call.

Alex noticed a bright yellow button on the dashboard, taped to the top was a Post-it that read 'No Touchy,' out of curiosity she ripped off the tape. "Here goes nothing…" She pressed the yellow button, the dashboard on the bike lit up. The bike sputtered, there was a loud, "CLICK," something within the bike shifted - And she began going a hell of a lot faster. She could barely see where one building began and another one ended. The street lights blurred into long strips that looked like something out of a futuristic rave.

She pulled up to 'Drug Alley' where there was no sign of Kara or her attackers. She found a telephone pole knocked over and could see obvious signs of a struggle. She gazed down and discovered car tracks leading through the alley, breaking off to the right. She stopped and checked her watch. Kara's GPS was still functioning, whomever had her sister was headed toward the docks. She followed, slowly, keeping one eye on the road, the other on her tracker.

Her watch, began ringing again, the caller I.D., read Maggie.

She picked up the call, "hey baby, how far out are you?"

"Danvers, I was headed toward your location, but I got eyes on a brown Lincoln. The car looks real smashed up, 'Super Smashed,' if you ask me. The driver is a white male in his late thirties. Oooh- I see red fabric poking out of his trunk. He's inbound, I'm going to cut him off..."

She glanced at her watch, Maggies description matched with Kara's GPS.

"Okay, Maggie, I'm right behind you, two minutes away." She said, carefully following Kara's tracker toward the docks.

The National City Port, smelled like moldy wood and spoiled eggs. There were rows of passenger boats docked for the evening, with shipping crates waiting to be loaded. She turned off her headlights and continued under the cover of darkness, hoping to blend in against the black water. In the distance she heard a gunshot followed by empty silence. The watch on her wrist blinked on, indicating an incoming call.

She touched her watch. "Maggie, hold on, I'm coming."

"Danvers, they got heavy weapons in the water. I need you to hurry your pretty-ass over-"

The call dropped, she heard a round of gunfire unleashed.

Alex arrived at the end of the narrow street in time to see a hail of bullets peppering the side of Maggie's car. On the water was a boat with high beams aimed at the vehicle. She could see a heavy automatic machine gun mounted on top of its lights. Maggie, exited the car and crawl around the side for extra cover. It fired again, poking holes through the car doors like a pin cushion. Alex spotted a brown Lincoln, making its way toward Maggie's car. From the drivers side, a burst of green shot out, cutting it the car in half. Maggie screamed, and jumped into the line of fire. The gunner on the boat aimed his weaponry directly at Maggie, who was sandwiched between the boat and the Lincoln.

Winn had once bragged about how the Guardian's Motorcycle was "Pimped out with Toys," whatever that meant. Alex scanned the console for anything that might help. She pressed all the buttons and aimed the front of the bike at the boat. A number things happened, gas shot out, a wire net deployed, a rocket launched from the bottom of the carriage, smoke bombs went off, an emergency flare shot up, a remix of the nineties hit "Gangster Paradise," played over speakers. The men on the boat saw her positioned across from Maggie's car, and they began aiming their heavy artillery. There was a two second delay in which she thought they might successfully get a shot off at her, but then the rocket hit its target and the boat exploded. She heard the screams of the burning as they jumped into the water.

She looked at the Lincoln, sitting in the driver's seat was the man known as Metallo with his shirt ripped open. "What a pervy, super ability," She thought, rearing the motorcycle back, the front tires manically spun in the air. She charged forward with no plan other than to distract and disrupt.

"ALEX, NO!" Maggie screamed.

The bike picked up speed, and she could see panic in Metallo's face. She lifted herself up onto the motorcycle seat. It was like she was surfing a wave of speed. She crouched, keeping both hands on the steering wheel. A burst of Kryptonite shot out of the Lincoln, and she swerved just barely managing to keep the bike upright. She reached for the gun on her thigh and shot it upward at the building tops, hoping against all odds that it would latch to something, anything. The grappling hook extended, catching the side of a roof, and loose shingles rained down on her. She hauled herself up, clicking the release on the gun, it retracted as the motorcycle plowed into the passenger side of Metallo's car. The impact flipped the Lincoln onto its side, sending it scraping across the asphalt in a spray of white sparks.

She swung off the bike and over Maggie's car, hitting the side of the building. She lost her grip on the gun and fell awkwardly to the ground. Her faced skidded against the gravel as she rolled gracelessly. She laid wiped out on the asphalt looking up at the evening sky, all the stars were out, so beautiful. She heard her name and craned her neck up. She winced as a sharp pain shot up her neck.

Maggie called out to her, "Alex! Oh my god! Don't you ever do that again! You hear me? NEVER AGAIN!"

She heard sirens and the stars became more practical, as she realized they were in fact approaching helicopters. She heaved herself up onto her side, trying and failing to catch her breath. Then crawled on her hands and knees toward the upended vehicles. What was once three different types of car was now just a pile of twisted metal against a backdrop of a fiery boat.

Maggie curled into the nook beneath her arm and helped her find her feet. "Boy, Danvers..." Maggie trailed off, unable any more, they walked around the back of the Lincoln. Alex stared at the trunk, a trunk which Kara had yet to bust out of. She sighed, and reached for her weapon, then shot the lock off. When she opened the trunk she found her sister, curled up in a little ball with a wreath of drying blood seeping down her neck and arms.

Lena POV

It took seconds for her eyes to adjust to the natural lighting of the room. She was back in her first hospital room, the one with the amazing view of the flowers and the parking lot. She could appreciate this view now, having spent days without it. She looked at the back of Winn's red and black button up. She had the same shirt hanging in the back of her closet with the tags still on it. He was stuffing all her things into a blue and red duffle bag.

He looked up, catching her staring at him. "Good morning Lena, are you ready to go home?" He said, with too much cheer.

Too much cheer was a quality she often felt the need to destroy. "How do you know if it's a good morning?"

He smiled, again with the cheer. "We'll it's good because the sun is out... And we are going home so that should be enough of an indicator..."

She felt the opposite of 'ready for home' or anywhere else for that matter. Her head was throbbing and it felt like she was underwater.

"Winn… How?" Her thoughts were too muddled to finish her own question.

He continued stuffing her belongings into the duffle bag. "You're on Fentanyl so just let that happen… I've already gone ahead and got the paperwork going for your release. Your doctor gave me a prescription for pain relievers and the chart for turning the screws in your arm. Fortunately, we don't have to start that just now."

She looked at Winn and noticed a little stubble growing on the bottom of his chin. "Odd," she thought, he usually had the smooth chin of a baby's butt. "You ready?" He asked, pulling her from her butt-chin thoughts. She looked around the room, then back at him. He had Kara's work computer, slung across his body along with her extra duffle.

Her arm was encased in a white humeral fracture brace that started at her elbow and went up to her shoulder. It had straps that wound around her front and back and connected to her other shoulder. Along the outside of her cast, was a thin plated bar held together by a row of tiny screws that lead into her skin. The cast was built especially to fit around the metal plating so none of her skin was exposed. Beneath the hard cast, she wore a white arm sleeve to help with blood circulation and limit mobility. The sleeve was fitted so it could be worn without impeding the metal bar attached to her arm. She had been given several sleeves so she would be able to change them to keep the wound clean.

She tried focusing on one thought at a time. "Is Kara coming?"

Winn suck in a deep breath and looked from the duffle bag to her. Since their first meeting he had become somewhat of a constant fixture in her life.

His jaw clenched, "Kara's doing Supergirl stuff and she wants you home and safe."

Lena frowned slightly confused because Kara had been adamant about picking her up after the surgery.

"She told me she got the day off from Catco?" She said, more to herself.

"Kara called earlier, she's going to be late. Okay?" Winn said shortly.

Talking while on drugs was never her forte, "okay." She could tell he was in a mood, "sorry, I asked."

Winn slammed her side of the car door closed, then walked around the other side and got in. He owned an old Buick, something he had bought in college and never thought to replace. The interior of the car was cluttered with leftover food containers and empty coffee cups. She squeezed the arm rest, trying to force herself to stay awake. As much as she trusted Winn, she was not fond of the idea of falling asleep in front of people.

Winn reached over her waist for her seatbelt. "Click it or ticket, click or ticket, don't break the law," he singsonged.

He had a habit of turning everything into little songs, and she was on the fence between finding it charming and horribly annoying.

"I prefer ticket," she said petulantly.

Winn shrugged and attached her seatbelt, "I'm not going to argue with a billionaire. You can have all the tickets you want."

He sat back in his seat and turned the car on. Then reached for the radio knobs and began scrolling through white noise for a station.

"Winn?"

He bobbed his head in time with radio and looked at her. "Yes, Boss Lady?"

"Um-" she coughed, clearing the dryness in the back of her throat. "Shouldn't we be driving?"

He ran his hand over his dirty dashboard. "My little Bucky Buick needs a moment for the engine to warm up. It's like stretching before a workout."

"Of course it does," she closed her eyes nearly succumbing to drowsiness and sleep. Then gripped the armrest and blinked.

Winn pulled out of the hospital driveway and they began cruising through, Downtown National City. There were a only a few cars on the road. She rolled the window down and dropped her head against it. The wind hit her face, helping to offset the queasiness gathering in her stomach. In the sideview mirror, she saw for the first time in weeks how battered she looked. Her hair was greasy from lack of a real bath and her face sullen, making her eyes appear bigger. Her lips were dry and chapped and she was beyond pale.

Winn pulled into a burger joint drive-thru with a 'B' grading from the health department.

"This place is the best." He muttered as he caught her staring at the 'B' posted in the window.

The notion of greasy food made her stomach turn. "I'm not hungry."

Her protest did not affect his decision to stop for food. "Kara would want you to eat so please do it for her."

"Why does everyone assume everything I do is for Kara? I'm my own person. I don't need you using Kara to get me to do things."

"Fine," he snapped. "Can you eat some food for yourself?"

It took her all of ten seconds to read the menu. "None of that is organic, Winn I don't eat this kind of food."

Winn sighed, "come on Lena is it that hard?"

"Yes, it is very hard to stay committed to a healthy lifestyle when you're forcing this nastiness on me."

"Healthy lifestyle?" "Winn replied. "Weren't you high when they brought you to the hospital?"

She stared out the window, no longer interested in anything he had to say. He ignored her and stuck his head out the window, shouting into the monitor.

"We'll have two number five's, extra ketchup, and two cokes, supersize it because we are hungry people!" He looked back at Lena, "did I miss anything?"

She reached for the lever on the side of her seat, releasing it all the way back. "Tell them not to forget napkins for all trans-fat you'll be eating."

"Ouch," he snarked. "How does Kara get you to eat?"

"She's much prettier than you are."

"Touché Boss, Lady."

She felt light-headed from the blare of the sun through the front window. She reached above herself and pulled down the sun visor. She closed her eyes succumbing to the Fentanyl as she always did.

Lena stared questioningly at the four story brownstone with it's black gated entry, and charming narrow stoop.

"This isn't my house?" She stated, unlocking her seat belt before he could do it.

Winn grabbed the bags of food at her feet. "No, you're right, it's Kara's apartment. Before you say anything, I didn't know where you lived and you were asleep, so I brought you here instead."

It was an older building, that had been converted into smaller apartments. Kara's studio was located on the top floor, where the ceiling hung low in places and steeped in other places. There were large floor-to-ceiling windows, decorated with sheer curtains which allowed a nice breeze. The living room opened up into the bedroom. It was clear from the trail of clothes leading from the queen-sized bed to the windows, that Kara dressed herself in both spaces. The living room was both a group space and an eating area. Kara had a couch, and next to it was a comfy lazy boy recliner. There was a forty inch flat screen mounted against a wall, below it was a shelf of board games, a few half burnt candles, and a coffee table book entitled, "Puppies."

Winn set her bag down by the couch and nodded to the bedroom.

"You can take a nap if you want?" He offered.

She looked at Kara's bed and could not picture herself sleeping there. She had not spent much time at Kara's apartment beyond picking her up for outings. They had never gone back to each other's apartments, and they had never invited each other "up" after a date. When she thought about it, they had yet to do a lot of things and that was fine. "It" i.e. "Sex" was not something she had fully thought out when she entered a dating arrangement with Kara.

"I need to use the restroom." She said.

Winn jumped to help her, but she took a step backward. "I can help myself."

She walked passed him into Kara's bedroom. There was a door by the bed that she guessed to be the bathroom. She let herself in and locked the door. Then sat down on the toilet seat and dropped her face into her hand. How did she get here? She took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to think of one thing she liked about herself. She stared down at the grit between the white tiles on the floor, her eyes blurred and the tiles became shapeless. She sat there for a long time, not bothering to answer when Winn knocked on the door. After a while, her butt fell asleep and her feet became cold through her socks.

The lack of walls and hardwood floors made it possible to hear everything that went on in Kara's apartment. Through the bathroom door, she heard the front door open and close, followed by a muffled conversation. She stood up slowly and slightly opened the door, pressing her ear against it. There was soft whispering coming from the kitchen that escalated into regular talking. She left the bathroom and made her way over to the kitchen.

She heard Winn say, "she just got out of the hospital..."

The living room opened into a half kitchen which had an island with two blue stools. She walked to the kitchen where she found Winn and Alex, having a whispered argument. Alex's face was littered with tiny white bandages. She had a deep cut across her brow, sealed with a line of butterfly stitches. A darkening ring formed around her eye, which was starting to swell shut. Her black uniform was tattered to pieces, anywhere skin was exposed was covered in more tiny bandaids.

Alex greeted her with a weak wave. "Hi Lena"

Winn bugged out when he saw her. "You should be lying down. "

Lena ignored him and went straight to the freezer where she found a bag of frozen peas.

Winn shook his head disapprovingly, "Alex, she's on pain meds... " He trailed off.

"Where's Kara?" Lena asked. She noticed how they both froze at the mention of her 'supposed fianceé.' "Come now, one of you please let me know what's happening? Yes, I'm not feeling well, but do you think it will make me feel any worse?"

"She's at the DEO…" Alex replied

Lena scrunched her face up, "the D.E… what?"

Winn looked at her surprised, "Kara hasn't told you about the DEO?"

"No." She looked at Winn and then at Alex. "What's the DEO?"

Alex's voice was tired and calm. "Supergirl works with a government agency that collaborates with Aliens."

"Oh," Lena said, " that makes sense." It was another thing she and Kara had yet to discuss, but at this point nothing was a surprise.

Alex leaned into the kitchen counter with one hand holding a brown bag, the other on her ribs. Her shoulders were high up to her neck and her spine curved.

"You can go Winn, I got this."

Winn looked at Alex, annoyed. "Fine, tell her whatever you want." He picked up his keys and glanced back at Lena. I'm just going to my house to pick a few things up, Lena, would you like anything?"

She shook her head, "take your time." Being around any person for a prolonged period always made her a little antsy.

Alex didn't move until Winn had exited the studio. She pushed herself off the counter and limped over to a cabinet. She opened a top drawer and pulled out a glass and then filled it with a few ice cubes. She reached in the refrigerator and found a jar of maraschino cherries and dropped five of them into her glass. She held up the brown bag and pulled out a bottle of bourbon.

Alex poured herself a tall glass and then grabbed a banana off Kara's counter. "You mind if I get comfortable?"

Lena picked up the frozen peas and followed Alex into the living room.

Alex collapsed onto the couch, closed her eyes and sighed. She brought the liquor to her lips and took a sip. Then leaned down and pulled apart the laces on her combat boots, kicking them off with her feet. She hissed as her right boot slid over the top of her big toe. Then carefully pulled off her sock and discovered her toenail in the cotton of her sock. She grimaced at her grisly nail bed.

She looked at Lena, and took another sip of her drink. "Kara is down… And by down, I mean she's- She's hurt... People want to hurt her because she's what? An Alien? Kara loves this planet. She loves me, she loves you, she loves everybody." Alex smashed the bag of peas against her right eye. "That fucker, Metallo, I'm gonna kill him."

Lena's stomach dropped and her voice became shaky, "what happened?"

Alex shook her head over and over, "they've developed some form of synthetic kryptonite. And J'onn..." She laughed. "He's my boss" She explained. "He won't let us even go there with Kryponite technology... Tonight I barely made it out alive."

Lena stood up, abruptly. "Is that what it takes to fight these monsters?" She walked mechanically around the couch and reached into the bag of her things.

Alex sighed into her drink, and her eyes darkened. "Yeah, we need something... Something a hell of a lot stronger than Supergirl."

"Where does it hurt?" Lena asked.

Alex picked a tiny white bandage off her thumb. "Everywhere," she said quietly.

Lena held up a white prescription bottle with her name on it, "would you like some morphine?"

Alex thoughtfully picked a cherry out of her glass and ate it, then looked up. "Fuck it, give me one."

Hi all, thanks for reading my crime-action-thriller-romance-dramedy. I hope you have an awesome day :) I'm going to have chapter 11 up in the next 2-3days, it's already written I'm just editing/grammering it and adding small transitions. Next Chapter LENA POV. She is going to have to make some heavy choices which are definitely in reaction to the events unfolding. How does she work around her physical limitation to help Kara? Does she want to help Kara? There will be some big Winn and Alex scenes in context with Lena and her choices. We've seen the destruction that Lillian is capable of, (in this fic Lillian is no joke). Now we have to see how our heroes respond. We are going to stick with Lena for a few more chapters and then switch over to Kara issues.