Maggie would have been content to stay with Alex for the rest of the day. Just lounging around doing absolutely nothing. But with the suggestion of taking next week off Maggie knew it would be better to ask the chief as soon as possible. She let Alex fix them breakfast. She didn't think Alex knew her way around a kitchen but then again there was still so much they didn't really know about each other.

"Alex I can fix us breakfast it's not a big deal."

"No Maggie I am going to be cooking for you for once. Just sit back and relax. I'm not going to mess this up."

Maggie was skeptical she had never heard Alex mention knowing how to cook anything. Maggie wasn't a food snob she just didn't want Alex to be doing this just to impress her. Maggie didn't need to be impressed. Alex had already done enough of that out in the field when their jobs overlapped.

"Whatever you say Danvers." Maggie conceded. All she could do at this point was sit back, drink her coffee and watch.

And watch she did. She was surprised Alex knew her way around the kitchen. She learned something about Alex watching her cook breakfast. This was something Alex had been doing for years. But hadn't done in a long time. It looked like she was trying to remember a recipe for pancakes from scratch. She would taste the batter make a face that indicated that something wasn't quite right. She would add a little more of an ingredient until she finally got the taste she had been searching for.

She had everything timed perfectly. The pancakes, eggs and bacon all ready at the same time so each element didn't have a chance to get cold. Maggie was impressed. She hoped it all tasted as good as it smelled.

"Just when I thought you couldn't impress me anymore than you already have. Alex this is amazing!"

"I never have been good in the kitchen. Cooking as an overall concept just doesn't click with me. But breakfast was the one thing my dad was determined I would be able to do in the kitchen. Every weekend while the other kids would be sleeping in I was in the kitchen with my dad. He taught me the basics. After he died I still got up every weekend and made breakfast. It was my way of coping with his loss I guess."

Maggie looked at Alex and then looked at the plate of food in front of her. Steph had said let her in. With much anxiety and part of her still hesitant Maggie revealed a bit of her past. A piece of history with her own father that she very rarely thought of these days.

"My dad isn't much in the kitchen. But breakfast he can do. I think you would give him a run for his money. These pancakes put his to shame. Even my mom's. Although my mom has always been better at baking. When you're the daughter of some hot shot lawyer's in Metropolis I guess you don't need to know how to cook really."

Maggie had dropped her fork on her plate a bit harder than she intended. Clearly irritated, she took a deep breath and stole a glance at Alex. Thankfully the only acknowledgement Alex gave of her irritation was enveloping her hand with hers and a knowing smile.

When Maggie arrived at the precinct she was surprised to see Kara there. In civilian clothes. Talking to detective Matthews. It was none of her business so she let it go. Kara was probably there asking Matthews about the big drug bust earlier in the week that involved one of National City's more prominent Politian's.

Maggie went straight to the Chiefs office and asked about the additional time off. She had predicted correctly she would need to finish the mound of paper work she had been avoiding and then she would be free until January 2nd. She called Alex to let her know what the Chief had said and that she probably would be there all night finishing her paperwork. Truth was she would be lucky if she finished it all that night.

Kara wasn't expecting a call from Detective Matthews so soon. He said he had information regarding some genetics research CADMUS had been doing for the last year. This is information Kara and the DEO wanted. If he could shed some light on the data, they recovered it might give them an edge in the upcoming fight. Kara didn't ask any questions only listened. That was Matthews stipulation about meeting today and if anybody asked they were talking about the drug bust earlier in the week.

"I know CADMUS is trying to create an army of sorts. They managed to successfully clone Supergirl and one of their operatives. I can't tell you who. It's already risky enough talking to you. With Lillian Luthor gone I feel a little safer talking. That's why I sought you out Miss Danvers."

"Lillian Luthor as in Lex and Lena Luthor's mother?" Kara hoped she sounded genuinely curious because of course she knew who Lillian Luthor was. If this talk produced the answers she thought, it might she was going to have to pay a visit to the matriarch of the Luthor family.

"Yes the one and only. She wasn't the one originally running CADMUS. It was originally a government agency that's sole purpose was to find out what it could about the alien species invading our planet. We did get to a point where we didn't need to harm any of the aliens anymore. Once Colonel Harper left things took a turn. Not that Colonel Harper was the best at running CADMUS but he only did what was necessary. When Lillian swept in she operated things in a no holds barred ideal. She didn't care who was hurt in the process. Aliens she cares nothing for but if you are a human who sympathizes with aliens your worse than the aliens. She has plans for the human sympathizers. And it ain't pretty."

Kara shuddered at the thought. Jeremiah was one of those sympathizers and so was Maggie. But Jeremiah had something CADMUS wanted his knowledge of Kryptonians. Maggie had nothing but her empathy for all aliens. And that was something CADMUS didn't need.

"Once Lillian took over they started doing more research into the more superior alien DNA's. Kryptonian DNA being the most superior. At least in Lillian's mind. I think Superman betraying her son had more to do with it than anything. Lillian and her lab rats had figured out how to clone a human but the incubation period was 2 years. Mind you this research was happening before she hijacked CADMUS. Once she gained control of CADMUS she had more tools at her disposal. One of the first things she did was kidnap Maxwell Lord."

Kara couldn't help her intake of breath. That would explain why they hadn't heard from Maxwell Lord since stopping Myriad. CADMUS had taken him. Knowing what little she did of Max he hadn't gone quietly. She also suspected that General Lane had a role to play in this story. She just hoped that Lucy had been kept out of all of this. She couldn't stand the thought of Lucy being taken by CADMUS in any capacity.

Keeping her tone as even as she could she asked Matthews, "What did CADMUS need Maxwell Lord for? I know the guy is a know it all but obviously Lillian thought he had some kind of knowledge that would come in handy toward the fight against aliens?"

"He has a photographic memory. That's why he is so smart. He can look at any text and remember it word for word. What Lillian needed was someone with his kind of brain to help build the instruments necessary to advance her clones. She needed it to take less than 2 years to incubate a clone. With Maxwell on her side she cut that time down to 6 months for a clone to fully develop. Plus, he was able to create multiple incubators. But he was only able to create 6 fully to completion last time I was at the lab. But that was before Lillian was captured so I don't know if Max was able to create more."

This was information Kara needed. It was the only thing that wasn't documented in the data the DEO had gleaned from the lab raid. They knew she had been cloned they just didn't know for sure how many clones they had. Matthews hadn't confirmed the exact number they had right know but they now knew how many clones CADMUS was capable of producing over a six-month period. Her phone went off interrupting her train of thought. It was Alex. She knew she needed to talk to her sister. But she wasn't sure if Matthews was done giving information today.

"If you have another story that you need to get info for I completely understand. CADMUS can wait."

"I'm sorry Detective Matthews but I do have another story that needs my attention. Let's give CADMUS a rest for a few days. Contact me again when you feel it's safe."

Alex suspected that Kara wasn't answering her phone because her job as a reporter for CatCo was holding her up. She needed to talk to her sister about everything she had discovered/ thought of while going through the data from the CADMUS lab. She hadn't spoken to Kara since that night in her apartment. She had so many questions. But first she needed to ask J'onn if it was ok to take an extra week off.

He agreed way to easily. She didn't know if it was because of her injuries or if it was because she hadn't taken off in the two years she had been with the DEO. Either way she was grateful. She knew deep down in her gut that a fight with CADMUS was brewing and she was going to need this time off to recharge her batteries and maybe get Maggie to finally let go of herself and let Alex in.

She had gotten a glimpse of that this morning when Maggie had revealed the information about her mother and father. Alex hadn't said anything only took Maggie's hand. She knew how hard it was for Maggie to reveal parts of her past. So she was sticking to her promise not to push her into talking about things if she wasn't ready. While Alex was lost in thought Kara arrived looking more worried than Alex had ever seen her.

"How much of the CADMUS data did you get through yesterday?" Kara said with a flat tone

"Everything the DEO had taken from the raid. They successfully cloned you but I'm guessing you already knew that." Alex took a look at her sister and saw fear in her eyes. Alex couldn't blame her. They should all be scared.

"I didn't find any information on how many clones they have currently. I also think Lillian hired or coerced Maxwell Lord into building the equipment necessary to speed up the incubation process. It would also explain why we haven't heard about him in a while."

Kara wished none of this was true. She wasn't surprised that Alex had arrived at the conclusion about Max. Kara should have pieced it together when Winn was telling her everything that night.

"I wish I could say that you were wrong." Kara grabbed a chair from a nearby desk and pulled it next to Alex's. She let out a deep breath not sure where she should begin.

"I don't know if I told you about the current story I'm working on. Things have been crazy for the last week. Two weeks after the attack on L Corp. I was contacted by someone from CADMUS. He said he wanted to expose them for what they really were. I convinced him to hold off for a while and see if he really wanted to do this."

Alex was surprised Kara had kept this kind of information from her. But with both of their busy lives she understood. Didn't mean she liked it but she understood. She got up from her chair and started pacing. Running one hand through her hair and the other over her jaw she contemplated why Max would willingly help CADMUS. She had thought that they had broken through to him, on some level, after Myriad.

"What information did this informant give you?"

"That's where I was when you called. He confirmed CADMUS has at least one of me cloned. Max was taken by CADMUS and they used him to create the technology they would need to speed up the incubation process. My informant confirmed that Max had created 6 incubators the last time he was at the lab. He didn't say when he was last at the lab. If it was more than six months ago they would have a total of 7 clones."

As Kara uttered that last statement she started to shake. Alex was just as scared as Kara but she couldn't let her sister see it. She had spent the last 12 years protecting her she wasn't going to stop now. She motioned for Kara to come sit in her lap. Kara flew over the few inches to Alex that she almost toppled the chair she was seated in.

"Alex I'm terrified. Not just for us but for the entire world." Kara buried her head deeper in Alex's neck and fought the tears she knew where about to fall.

Running her hand in soothing circles along Kara's back. She was just as scared. But she had promised J'onn that she would at least try to keep a level head with the growing threat. But the level head was more for Kara's benefit right now.

"We need to talk to Lillian Luthor."

"We do."

Alex had to get permission from J'onn to question Lillian. After Kara explained what she had learned from her informant he reluctantly agreed.

Alex was going to let Kara take the lead on this one. See how well her sister could handle the pressure of interrogating someone. She had been giving her pointers since she had started working at the DEO over a year ago but this was going to be her first official interrogation.

"Ah, Supergirl I was wondering when you would pay me a visit."

Kara had to remember to keep her wits about her not let her emotions fuel her questioning after all that would be the exact thing Lillian would want.

"I have a few questions for you regarding some genetics research you were doing."

Lillian smirked she knew exactly why the Danvers sisters were here. They wanted to know how many clones they had managed to create since Maxwell Lord provided the technology to speed up the process.

"I'll tell you everything you want to know on one condition."

Alex had been expecting that. The only thing she was willing to negotiate with Lillian on was where her father was. Anything else wasn't worth Alex's time or the information. She was trying to play nice. She could torture the information out of Lillian easily. She wanted to avoid that route if possible. Not that Lillian didn't deserve the torture. Alex just didn't like the person she became while doing those things.

Maggie had finished her paperwork much earlier than she had previously anticipated. She called Alex to see if she wanted to grab an early dinner but couldn't reach her. She decided she would head to the DEO instead. When she arrived at the DEO she knew she would be able to walk in no questions asked. Thanks to her new security clearance. She knew where Alex's lab was. She hadn't expected to find it empty. She was about to go to central command and see if anyone knew where her girlfriend was when she ran into Director Henshaw.

"Looking for Alex?"

"Yes sir. I was expecting to find her here but I guess she has duties elsewhere today."

"That she does Detective Sawyer. If you'll follow me I can take you to her."

"I would like that very much sir."

As J'onn lead Maggie toward Lillian's cell he decided now was as good a time as any to offer the Detective a full time position at the DEO. Instead of the NCPD liaison passion originally offered with her security clearance. Since then J'onn had done some research on Maggie Sawyer. Kara was right she would be a very valuable asset to the DEO. He had his concerns about bringing her on given her relationship with Alex but with CADMUS becoming more of a threat with each passing day they needed all the help they could get.

J'onn cleared his throat before starting the impromptu job offer.

"Detective Sawyer I know that you care about Agent Danvers and I don't want that to influence your answer to this next question in anyway."

Maggie was starting to get nervous. She knew that Director Henshaw's real identity was J'onn J'onzz, a Green Martian. She also knew that he had become a father figure to Alex and she hoped she wasn't about to get that talk from him.

"I can't promise that it won't sir, but I'll do my best to keep my feelings for Alex aside in regards to your question."

He hadn't expected anything less. "I can respect that. I want to offer you a full time position with the DEO. I've done my research on you Sawyer. You know more about aliens than some of my best agents. Alex included. But if you agree to take this job it can't be because of Alex. You have to make this decision solely on your ability to protect the people and aliens of this city and the want to do those things. If I thought for a second you were agreeing to take this job just so you could keep a better eye on Alex, I wouldn't agree to sign you on."

Maggie was shocked she didn't think she had it in her to be a DEO Agent. She knew she couldn't give J'onn an answer right now.

"Sir I'm honored that you think I've got what it takes to be an agent for the DEO but something as serious as this will require some serious thought."

"Of course Detective. I would be concerned if you had answered me immediately. I know you and Alex are going away before she takes you to meet Eliza over Christmas. Take that time to think things over. Talk to Alex if you need to but when you two get back I'll need an answer."

"Of course, sir. You'll have your answer by then."

Maggie had never thought about working for the DEO even after confirming its existence. But she had to admit it would make life a whole lot easier. And not just in the dating department. She would be able to protect the aliens of National City better working for the DEO. She was caught up in those thoughts when she heard Alex's voice. It wasn't a tone Maggie was used to hearing. Alex was interrogating someone. Maggie decided it was best to hang back and watch things unfold.

"The only thing that is negotiable here is the release of Jeremiah Danvers."

"Oh Alexandra it isn't that simple." Lillian said coyly.

Kara started to protest but Alex stopped her. All she had to do was look at her sister and she immediately understood what was about to happen.

"But you see Lillian it is that simple."

Alex went from being Alex Danvers the daughter that wanted nothing more than to have her father to the tough as nails DEO agent that everyone feared but also respected. Hands clasped behind her back she started pacing in front of Lillian's cell.

"Would you say that your imprisonment so far has been comfortable?"

Lillian started to formulate a response but Alex cut her off.

"It has been and that can change. All I have to do is say the word and your life gets uncomfortable. But that isn't going to scare you into giving us the information we want. So we won't make your stay here uncomfortable we'll make it unbearable." Alex snarled

Maggie assumed Alex had a dark side but this was the first time she had seen it in all its glory. Maggie was only mildly concerned at what she was seeing. She had seen it before but only in small doses. She was more turned on than anything. She leaned up against the wall and watched.

"I doubt anything you do to me Alexandra would be unbearable. Because you see I've already had the unbearable happen to me. So do your worst. You won't be able to break me."

Alex stopped pacing. She stood in front of Lillian's cell. Lillian had no idea what Alex and her team were capable of in the torture department. Lillian didn't suspect she would use the aliens the DEO had locked up to torture her. But Alex would only use that as a last resort. If it was truly up to Alex she would start off with the six different ways she could torture Lillian with just her index finger.

"We'll see about that Lillian. You are most definitely underestimating me. The truth is we came down here to confirm information that we have gathered so you really are of no use to us. We know that you have cloned my father and Supergirl. That you plan on building an army of Kryptonians. I'm not so sure that it is simply to wipe out the aliens and any alien sympathizers on earth. No you've gone down a path that has strayed from the original purpose of CADMUS. We also know that Maxwell Lord built you the technology you needed to quickly incubate the Supergirl clones. Other than confirming a few of the minor details we don't need you."

Lillian kept her features neutral. But Alex caught the fraction of a second that she looked scared. That pleased Alex. Gave her hope that Lillian would eventually give them the information they needed. She had nothing more to say to the woman turning swiftly away from the cell she walked toward the guard on duty and gave him instructions to move Lillian to the sensory deprivation cell. She was only to be given food once a day. Enough to keep her alive but no more.

Alex had just noticed Maggie and was about to walk toward her when Lillian yelled out, "You'll never see him again you know. I may be locked up inside the DEO but I can still reach my people."

Kara was the one to respond. Using her superhuman speed, she had unlocked Lillian's cell and was punching the woman. Alex and Maggie had to rip Kara off of her. It wasn't until they got back to Alex's lab that she reprimanded her sister.

"Kara what were you thinking. Actually no don't answer that. You weren't thinking. I know your mad at her. But there is a right way to do this."

Kara was still seething. She almost couldn't see straight. "Coming from the woman who would have beat Maxwell Lord into the ground when she thought he had turned the Black Mercy on me."

"That's the difference Kara I didn't beat him into the ground. I only used the necessary force to get him to cooperate."

Kara knew she was right she had lost her temper with Lillian. But she wasn't sorry for what she had done. Kara has kept as level of a head as she could finding out about her clones. She needed to let some of her anger and hatred for what that woman has done to her family out.

She looked at Alex expecting the see the DEO agent looking back at her but instead it was her sister. Kara was going to apologize but Alex wouldn't have any of it.

"That was my official response at an agent of the DEO. As your sister I'm not mad. You have been violated by that woman and you can't do anything about it currently. But seriously Kara if you need to let off some steam see if J'onn will be your sparring partner don't take it out on the prisoner. She isn't worth it."

Kara knew she was right but she didn't need to fight anyone she needed to talk with someone. Someone she could share the whole truth with.

"Alex do you think J'onn would have an issue with me going to talk with Clark?"

"No I don't think he would. Honestly I've been thinking about telling him what we've uncovered. For all we know they have a few clones of him as well."

Kara gave Alex a hug. She started to walk away but Maggie grabbed her hand and told her that if she ever needed anything she would be there for her to. Kara smiled and thanked Maggie. She hadn't been expecting that from the detective.

"Sounds like the Danvers sisters have had quite a day."

"You could say that."

Maggie could see the emotional toll CADMUS was taking on Alex. Maggie and Alex had both gotten the extra week off. That morning neither one of them knew where they were going to go for that week but Maggie had just gotten an idea. She wrapped her arms around Alex's waist and stared into Alex's eyes. Letting herself and Alex get lost in each other before she spoke.

"I didn't know if you had a place in mind when you suggested this extra week off but I have an idea."

"No I hadn't gotten that far into the plans so if you have an idea then I'm game. I don't care where we go I just want to get away from all of this and spend time with you." Alex brushed aside a lock of Maggie's hair and let her hand rest on Maggie's cheek. Let herself take in the beauty that was Maggie Sawyer.

"I'll need to call Claire and see if she's using her place in Hawaii right now but if not we can spend our time there before going to your moms."

"Sounds like a perfect plan."

Maggie knew Alex was going to have something to say about what she did next especially since they were out in the open at her place of work. Where she had a reputation but Maggie didn't care. She kissed her girlfriend and let herself get lost in her feelings for the badass DEO agent who happened to have the softest heart of anyone she knew.