Act I Caïssa

Coming in through the glass slider wearing a one piece bathing suit and with a towel wrapped around her waist, Kara made her way to the kitchen in Lena's house. In a wheelchair, Lena sat at the cutout portion of her kitchen island. She was slicing pieces of melon up and putting them in a bowl.

"Hey, let me do that," Kara said hurrying to assist.

"Kara, I can do this," Lena replied, gripping the knife tighter and shooting the blonde a warning look. "I'm quite capable you know."

"I know, but you could cut yourself."

"Only if someone distracts me."

Grinning and with her hands on her hips, Kara replied, "Oh, do you find me…distracting?"

Lena allowed her gaze to travel up and down Kara's form, giving special attention to the fit upper arms that were clearly exposed. Placing the knife on the table, she replied, "Yes, rather. You're a household accident waiting to happen. I thought you had to head into work this morning."

"I do," Kara agreed, leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on Lena's lips. "First I have someone to distract."

Pulling back suddenly, Lena said, "Kara, don't. Kalia's here."

Shaking her head, Kara said, "She's in her room reading. I can hear her. Relax. I'm being careful." Opening the fridge, Kara rummaged through it for a moment before coming out with some leftover chicken and pizza. "How long is she going to live here, anyway?"

"Until I don't need a nurse. Honestly, we've gone over this."

"You don't need a nurse. You've got me," Kara said around bites of pizza.

"Do you have a Doctorate of Nursing?"

Chewing thoughtfully on some pizza, Kara asked, "Is that a real thing?"

Lena nodded.

"Huh. No, I do not. However—"

"You just want to play doctor."

Kara smiled. "Guilty as charged. What is she actually doing here besides being grossly overpaid? She's making a ton, isn't she?"

"I expect more in a month than you make in a year, yes," Lena affirmed.

Dropped her pizza bone into the box, Kara said, "You're kidding me! Why is the board making you have a nurse?"

Lena shrugged. "It's in my contract. Until I'm cleared to go back to work, I need to have a nurse on hand full time. Oh, don't look so upset, Kara. So long as you're living here, you're eating for free."

A piece of chicken in hand, Kara pointed with it and said, "That's true. I bet you spend more on my food in a month than she makes in a month."

Nodding, Lena said, "Speaking of which, what do you want for dinner?"

"Ummm, Thai? You like Thai."

"Will you be home for lunch?"

Chewing the last of the chicken off the bone, Kara shook her head. Swallowing she said, "Probably not. I have a friend in town, and I haven't seen her in like a year. That is, unless you want me home for lunch. Do you?"

"No, it's fine. Go out with your friend. Have dinner with her if you like. I'll be fine."

"You're sure?" Kara grabbed the last piece of pizza from the box, taking several large bites.

"I'm so far behind on work, I could work every night for the rest of the year and still not catch up. Just let me know if you'll miss dinner, and I'll call Jess and see if she can meet me here."

"Poor Jess," Kara mumbled.

"What?"

"Yes, dear," Kara said, finishing her piece of pizza. She deposited the box into the trash, doing the same with the chicken box as she took the last piece of the chicken and ate it quickly. "I should know fairly soon. Of course, there could always be an emergency so…" Kara shrugged.

"That's just going to be our life, isn't it?"

"Is it a problem?"

With a small smile, Lena replied, "I wouldn't change a thing about you. Is Kalia still in her room?"

Pitching her ear toward the bedrooms down the hallway, Kara nodded.

With one finger, Lena beckoned Kara closer.

Tossing the chicken bone into the trash, Kara was suddenly on Lena's side and kneeling. "You called?"

"I did," Lena said, running her fingers through slightly damp hair. "I look forward to being able to really swim with you."

"Me too, especially when you don't have a house guest other than me."

"Mmmm." Leaning closer, Lena kissed Kara gently while gently scratching the back of the blonde's neck with one hand.

Seconds later, when the kiss broke, Kara said, "You know, maybe I don't have to go to work today."

"I thought it had something to do with national security?" Lena asked, laying another gentle kiss on Kara's lips.

"Mmmm." Kara returned the kiss, running one of her hands along Lena's side. "Yeah, but they can probably get another superhero to do that."

Lena chuckled. "There are so many of you."

"So, so…" Kara kissed Lena again. "So many. I'm surprised there's any crime at all."

"Then don't quite your day job," Lena replied, kissing Kara one final time, but this one was deep and long. When it finally ended she pushed Kara back, using her thumb to wipe along her lower lip and smiled as she watched the blonde's reaction. "Get to work, Supergirl."

"I think I'm already working."

Lena chuckled. "I'm going to do my PT today, so I can get healthier. You go do whatever it is that you do with your secret organization. Does it involve eating pizza?"

"Sometimes," Kara replied with a smile.

"Do my tax dollars pay for this pizza?"

"Well, gotta go. Duty calls!" Kara said, heading into the living room and making her way up the stairs.

"Really, Kara!?"

Seconds later from over the railing, Kara called down, "Hey, sometimes your tax dollars pay for doughnuts too!"

Lena shook her head, but she was smiling. She ate some of her melon slices until she saw a flash of red and blue zoom away from the house. She finished up the food, taking the dishes to the dishwasher and cleaning up. Pulling her phone from her purse, she sent a quick text and then headed toward her room.

Coming out of her bedroom, Kalia said, "I never heard the front door. That kid of yours is sneaky when she wants to be."

"She's not my kid," Lena said as she pushed her way into her room.

"Right, sorry, princess," Kalia said, pushing the chair in to help Lena. "I'll get your suit."

"Thank you, Kalia. I…I'm tense about today. I apologize if I'm snippy."

"You're always snippy," Kalia replied, bringing in a pants suit and laying it on the bed. "I wouldn't expect today to be any different."

"You're too kind. They didn't give you any indication as to why they were calling this meeting?"

Arms crossed, Kalia looked down at the younger woman. "You think they'd tell me if they didn't tell you? I'm lower on the totem pole than you. Let's remember our values here."

"I apologize….again."

Patting Lena on the shoulder, Kalia stepped past her and said, "I've got to get changed too. Text me when you're dressed or if your pants get stuck on your brace. The new suit should be big enough around the leg, but I know these things can give you a hard time sometimes."

Lena nodded, then turned and said, "Oh, Kalia, where is my—?"

"I've got it," Kalia assured Lena. "I'll bring both of ours. Hey, Lena relax. After everything you just went through, after the people we had to work with, I expect this is just a post-op evaluation. What's got you all worked up?"

"I…" smiling, Lena shook her head. "Do I really still need to be taking medication? I think it's making me paranoid."

"A paranoid Luthor? What are the odds of that?"

Lena laughed. "Indeed."

"Any pain from your incisions?"

"None. Honestly, none at all. Everyone said my healing is remarkable, unprecedented for the treatment. Oh, don't grimace at me woman. I'm doing well."

"I'm not grimacing," Kalia replied. "This is the way my face always looks. Fine, I'll reduce your medications. However, if you see any onset of pain or symptoms—"

"I'm no hero. I'll let you know."

Walking to the door, Kalia stopped and said, "You're in a wheelchair because you jumped between your friend and a gun. That's the definition of a hero. Just be a hero that gets dressed quickly, and call me if you get stuck."

Chuckling, Lena wheeled herself over the covered rug until she came next to the suit that lay on the bed. It was all white with wide pants legs. There was a matching white blouse that lay on a hanger next to it. Sitting on the floor next to the bed were a pair of short boots, also white. Running her hands along the silk blouse, Lena took one cleansing breath before beginning to undress.

Act II Scotch Game

At the same time, both Kalia and Lena's phones buzzed. Wearing a white dress suit and comfortable white shoes, Kalia stood and came behind Lena's wheelchair. The nurse pressed a gentle hand on the younger woman's shoulder and waited for a nod of assurance before moving them both toward the elevator in the living room.

Once within the elevator, Lena held her thumb against the up button, not releasing it for close to a half minute. Finally, it flashed red. A panel dropped down from the ceiling, and she and Kalia both looked up. A red light came down, scanning down and across their faces. The panel closed up, and there was an electronic noise as both women waited.

Finally, a computer voice spoke, "Name and identifier."

Lena nodded.

Taking her cue, Kalie said, "Kalia Campbell, White Queen's Bishop."

There was another pause, and the voice said, "Acknowledged, welcome White Queen's Bishop. Name and Identifier."

Clearing her throat, Lena replied, "Lena Luthor, White Queen's Rook."

Again the voice paused before saying, "Acknowledged, welcome White Queen's Rook."

The elevator lurched into motion, and the ladies found themselves moving down, the opposite of the direction Lena had pushed. They went past the basement level and continued downward what felt like another two levels before stopping. The elevator opened to another room with doors on all sides. They went forward and waited for the elevator to close up behind them. When it had left, Kalia put a hand on the panel in front of her. It caused a light to come out of the door in front of them and scan down both of their faces again.

"You know, I think I'm barely tall enough for this thing right now," Lena griped.

"You're fine."

"Barely. I should complain to the ADA."

With a smirk, Kalia replied, "Bring it up in the meeting. I'll love hearing about that in the minutes later."

"I just might," Lena threatened deadpan making Kalia's smile grow.

At Kalia's head height, an eight-by-eight grid appeared. The two spots on the bottom middle were lit up. The one on either side of them were dark, and the next were lit up, and then the ones on the outside were dark. All the rest of the spots were dark.

"Who's here already?" Lena asked. "More damn issues with the placement. I can't see that high."

"You know, this is your house. You could have built it lower."

Lena looked to the left and grumbled. "Fine. Just tell me who's here."

"Well, since you asked so nicely…It's Oskana, Ahmed, Graziella, and Isobel."

Brows furrowed, Lena asked, "That's it? Just the king, queen, and both their knights? I knew none of the pawns were expected, but what about the other rook and bishop?"

"Lena, I don't know. If it's just the king, queen, and their knights, this is probably just a check in for you like I said before. I wouldn't sweat it." Kalia went to grab the knob and push open the now unlocked door, but Lena's hand on her arm made her stop. Looking down at the younger woman she said, "Kid, I swear; it's fine. I know these last few weeks have been harrowing, but don't sweat it. You're good."

Eyes closed, Lena swallowed hard before opening her eyes and nodding. She let Kalia open the door and followed the other woman into the room.

The room was well lit but with gentle lighting. In its middle was a rectangular table, wooden but with marble inset of alternating colors: tan and red/brown. The squares covered the length of the table being eight long by four deep. There were four chess pieces on the table, a white king and queen, and two white knights. Each was placed where they would be if this were half a board.

Four people sat in the room roughly behind where each chess piece sat. Behind the queen was a pale woman in her late thirties to early forties. She had short blonde hair, blue eyes, was tall and thin, and was saved from looking rather severe by a gentle smile that graced her lips. Behind the king was a man with brown skin, black hair and a neatly trimmed black beard and goatee, and black eyes that sparkled with mischief. Sitting near the man was a petite woman with red hair, tan skin, and green eyes. She was lovely and gave the newcomers an encouraging nod when they came in. On the blonde woman's side sat another woman, not as dark skinned as the man but close. She had volumes of dark hair piled on her head and spilling about. Her bosom was also full. Her red lips smirked as if she knew a secret, though she examined her nails as if they were more interesting than anyone else in the room.

Kalia and Lena both gave a slight head nod, Kalia withdrawing a white chess piece from each of her pockets: a bishop and a rook. She held them out and upon receiving a head nod in return from the blonde woman, she leaned across the table and put them down in place on the white queen's side of the board. Kalia took the empty seat that was available on the opposite side of the others, and Lena slid into place next to Kalia, both women waiting to see what came next.

"Lena, you look well. How are you feeling?" The blonde asked in a heavy Slavic accent.

"I feel wonderful, better every day. Thank you for asking, Oskana. How are you?"

"I can't complain. Well, I suppose I could, but who listens anyway, yes?" Oskana laughed at her joke, others smiling and laughing a bit. "And Kalia, you are well?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, so dour as always." Oskana tsked. "You know, we have excellent doctors on staff. I offer this to you again if you want someone to talk to."

"No thanks. Doctors can't fix this."

Lena slid a hand under the table onto Kalia knee, squeezing once, then withdrew it.

"As you say again. Still, our offer stands, and we will continue to make it. Perhaps one day you will continue to care as much for your own well-being as others do." When the nurse didn't respond, Oskana held out a hand to her left, and the dark-haired woman placed a file into it. "Thank you, Isobel. Now, Lena, your recovery is going so very well. This pleases us. Full range of motion, no pain reported at your most recent examination, strength at sixty-seven percent." She nodded several times then closed the folder, handing it back. "This is good. We are pleased."

"We are more pleased," Lena said with a broad smile.

"Stand."

Nodding, the young Luthor snapped up her footrests while Kalia stood behind her and locked the wheelchair in place. Lena carefully pushed up on the armrests to come to a fairly steady standing position.

"I, um, I don't have my crutches so if you want me to walk—"

"No, no," Oskana said, gesturing the young woman back toward a seated position in the wheelchair which she didn't hesitate to take. "We've seen the videos. Still, seeing it in person is impressive. The bullet, it went through, yes?"

Snapping her second footrest into place, Lena sat up and replied, "Through my spinal cord, yes. It severed the cord. I was paralyzed."

"But no more," Isobel said, examining her fingernails once again.

Oskana tutted at the woman to her right.

"No more," Lena agreed.

"It's a miracle." Oskana grinned.

"It's science," Lena countered. "A miracle takes a miracle worker, and I did not have one of those. Speaking of which; I had a visitor at the hospital. He was not on my approved list, and Kalia had no authority to stop him. I'm assuming the white board didn't approve a visit from the black king?"

Turning sharply to her right, Oskana looked to the man there and asked, "Ahmed?"

Ahmed shook his head, his posture sharpening while his palms pressed against the edge of the table. "We did not. What did he want?"

Lena rolled her eyes before answering. "To gloat, brag, be obnoxious. What does he ever want? He was rude and overbearing, and he wanted to remind me that I was now in his debt and needed to follow through on a business deal with him, as if in some world we would renege on a deal we'd struck with the black."

"That was it? He did not mention Alexandra Danvers?" Oskana asked.

"Alex Danvers?" Lena shook her head. "I know they have some history, but apparently it was just her investigating him as an FBI agent. It's nothing relevant." When Oskana and Ahmed looked at each other, Lena asked, "What is it? What am I missing?"

"It's nothing, a matter of the black side of the board. Do not worry about it," Ahmed replied. "He didn't…make any overtures to you?"

Lena's eyes narrowed on the man, mouth opening as if to ask a question but closing and then opening as she replied, "He couldn't. There was a civilian present. Anyway, I've made my feelings known—"

"Kara Danvers?" The redhead asked.

"I…" Lena nodded. "She's a friend of mine."

"I would hope so. You don't go getting shot for stranger's do you Lena?" Ahmed smiled, but he raised his eyebrows and leaned forward again as he spoke.

"Well, I don't intend to get shot for anyone ever again. It's highly unpleasant. I don't recommend it." Lena's smile was easy, and there was only the slightest trail of a quiver to her voice.

"Lena, I sent you the paperwork to register a relationship. You did not fill it out. Do you have it with you?" Oskana asked.

"There's no need."

"You and Miss Danvers—"

"It was a misunderstanding," Lena said, interrupting the blonde. "Kara is my friend, a very dear friend but just a friend. There is nothing more intimate than that. I'm not registering for any sort of relationship with her. There's no need to—" Lena shook her head. "She's no further part of my life."

"Lena, she comes to your house. She stays at your house." Oskana smiled kindly. "We do not care if this Kara Danvers has tax issues or even legal issues of some kind that do not threaten members of our organization. When we investigate a potential partner—"

"Kara sleeps upstairs." Lena nodded, waiting until Oskana nodded back. "She doesn't stay over all the time, and when she does, she sleeps upstairs. Kalia sleeps in the room next to mine. Kara's only coming over out of guilt. She's just guilty because I was shot. I'm sure it won't continue."

"Kara sleeps upstairs?" Looking at Kalia, Oskana repeated, "Kara sleeps upstairs?"

"Yeah, and she makes a crap load of noise, too," Kalia replied. "For a skinny girl, she has damn heavy feet. She plays her music too loud, too. Lena, talk to that kid about her music, won't you? Some of us aren't twenty-something, and you need to sleep to heal."

With a small smile, Lena said, "I'll do that, Kalia. I didn't know she was keeping you awake. I'm so tired. Lately, I sleep like a log."

"One thing about Kara though." Kalia paused and everyone, especially Lena, listened attentively. "She's got a thing for our bishop here. It's entirely one-sided, and maybe it will pass once Lena is back moving around at 100%, but the kid is crushing big time."

"It's one-sided?" Oskana clarified.

Eyes closed, Kalia nodded quickly before opening her eyes. "I mean, it's Lena. She's all about work. When have you seen her involved with someone when it wasn't part of a job?"

Lena shrugged. "I have my priorities."

"You mean your family," Ahmed said.

"Ahmed." Oskana shook her head.

"Why would you bring up my family?"

"Lena, it's nothing," Oskana assured her.

"No, I want to know. Why would anyone in this room bring up my family, and why him? My deal is with you, Oskana."

"Your deal is with the white side of the board," Ahmed said. "So long as you keep your side of the deal, we'll keep your family safe."

"What the hell does that mean?" Lena's voice pitched a little bit higher.

"I'm merely pointing out—"

Lena spoke over the man. "How have I not kept my side?"

"Lena, kid, relax," Kalia said gripping the other woman's arm.

"No, I have done everything this organization has asked of me since the day I joined up. I did what you asked me to do with Jack. I did what you asked me to do with Luthor Corp. I did it all to keep my family safe. I did it all under the express condition that you would protect my family." With each sentence Lena gripped her chair, jerking and moving it.

"And we have, from everyone but themselves," Ahmed said casually.

"You are not helping." Oskana's eyes widened at the man next to her.

"My family is off limits!" Lena's hand shot out, her chair rocking slightly forward with her anger.

"Okay, everyone stop!" Stepping partway between Lena and the others, Kalia grabbed Lena's wrist as she looked at her own watch. About thirty seconds later she nodded. "Yeah, we're done here."

Head jerking back, Ahmed said, "Excuse me? You do not call these meetings to a close any—"

Stepping behind Lena, Kalia unlocked the wheelchair as she wheeled the other woman around. "Oh, you can keep having your meeting. My patient is done here, and I'm taking her out. I told you people, this was too early for a meeting for her. She only left the hospital three days ago. You didn't want to listen to me, so this is what you get." She pushed Lena to the door but stopped after pushing it open. "Seriously, after all, she's been through lately, what were you thinking bringing her brother and daughter into this? Even her mother…" Kalia sighed. "We don't do that. Have some respect."

When the two women left, Oskana looked at Ahmed and said, "Well, that could have gone better, yes?"

"Are you blaming me?"

She stood up. "Yes. That was unclear somehow?"

"I think they're hiding something. I also think Kalia needs to learn her place."

Smirking as she stood by the blonde, Isobel looked at the man and said, "Well, I think our ex-queen made some excellent points. Perhaps someone is just intimidated by a strong woman. Perhaps he should get over it since he is surrounded by them."

Standing, Ahmed glared at her and said, "Perhaps you should learn your place."

"Oh, I know my place. It's underneath a strong woman." Isobel grinned. "And I like it."

As she strolled out the door, Ahmed said, "You should put a muzzle on her."

"A muzzle?" Oskana shook her head. "A leash perhaps, but never a muzzle. You worry about your half of the board. Leave me to mine."

After they were gone, Ahmed turned to the redhead, his eyes flashing.

"Uh-oh," Graziella said. "I don't like that look in your eyes."

"I have a plan."

"I hate it."

"You don't even know what it is," he said.

"Of course I do. It's a plan where I have to do all the work."

Smiling, he nodded. "You're right. You do know what it is."

Lolling her head back, Graziella moaned.

As he slid an arm around her shoulders, Ahmed walked with the redhead to the door. "Come on. I'll buy you lunch and tell you all about the work you're going to do for me."

Act III Crime & Punishment

As Alex walked into the DEO, Winn jumped up from the seat as his desk and ran after her, "Hey! Hey, hey, hey!"

"What!?" She asked, spinning on him.

"That's not very friendly."

"Winn, when has the word friendly been synonymous with me?"

One finger raised, Winn dropped it and nodded. "Fair. Anyway, what do you know about this?" He held up his phone showing her a picture.

Taking the phone, she examined the image briefly. "It's a picture of a toy. It looks gay and not in the good way." She handed it back to him and began to walk away again.

"Alex, that's homophobic," Winn replied, holding his phone close to his chest as he hurried after Alex again.

Stopping suddenly, Alex turned and walked directly at Winn until he was flat against the wall and her face was perhaps two inches from his. Her voice was a quiet growl. "Dude, at this point I've eaten more pussy in my lifetime than you have. I'm a highly intelligent, highly motivated, highly trained, and dangerous government agent, but I am in no way homophobic. Are we good with that?"

"Heh, heh, maybe more, but it's the same…" When Alex's eyes moved slightly, perhaps in warning, Winn froze up and just swallowed.

"Go ahead, say it," she challenged. "I dare you to say it."

He shook his head. "I'm good."

Patting him on the shoulder, she whispered in his ear, "That's because you are the pussy." She continued down the hallway again at a good clip.

"So you didn't send me this?" Winn asked as he jogged after her, holding out his phone.

"Why would I send you a picture of a doll?"

"It's an action figure, and someone sent me the actual action figure. It arrived in the mail this morning."

"Pussy," she mumbled. "No, Winn, I didn't send you an action figure. Why would you even ask me that?"

"Well, you knew I wanted it, and I asked James, and he didn't—"

"What do you mean I knew you wanted it?" She asked over her shoulder as she turned the corner.

"Oh! Yeah, this is the one I almost got snake venomed over. See, it has the telescoping lightsaber, and it's original mint in its package. Did you know there are only—?"

Hand in front of his face, Alex stopped in front of a door. "This is my stop, and I was sorry I asked about your doll—"

"Action figure."

"Even before I asked. Is Kara here yet?"

"No. I even told her we had doughnuts. It's not like her to be late for doughnuts. You think she's okay? She's been kind of…you know, lately."

Alex nodded. "I'm getting kind of worried about her. I stopped by her apartment two nights ago. She wasn't in, and there was no food in the refrigerator."

"No…food? Are you sure you were in the right place?"

"Right? She's been really hard to pin down lately. She bolts out after missions, and she turned me down for a movie night last night. I'd offered a double header of a musical and a rom-com. I think she's still holding a grudge about what happened when Lena was in the hospital. Well, at least I know she'll be here today."

"Right," Winn agreed. "You two will be all right. Your bond is unbreakable. You're sisters."

Alex nodded. "Thanks, Winn. I'll catch you later. Oh, nice…action thing."

"It's awesome, right! I'm so excited. You can practically smell The Force on it."

As Winn walked away grinning, Alex shook her head. "What a strange little man." She entered J'onn's office, smiling at the two people within but tensing as the atmosphere in the room caught up to her. "J'onn, Lucy, I was looking forward to seeing you, but why does it feel like I've been called to the principal's office?"

J'onn nodded, taking a seat behind his desk. "Agent Danvers, won't you please sit down?"

"Agent Danvers?" Alex shook her head as she pulled up a chair and sat. "Well, that's not a good start to this conversation." As Lucy Lane sat next to her, pulling files out of a briefcase, Alex asked, "And why is Lucy here?"

"I'm your legal counsel," Lucy replied.

"What the…!?" Alex was on her feet, heart pounding. "Am I being court marshaled?"

"Alex, please sit," J'onn instructed.

"No." Alex shook her head, trying to steady her breathing. "Answer my God damn question, J'onn! We've worked together for too long, had each other's backs too often. J'onn, life and death, we've been the difference of life over death to each other more than once, so just tell me, am I being court marshaled?" Alex stared imploringly.

With eyes turning equally soft, the Martian stared back at the person who was both his finest agent and his daughter in the ways that mattered. He looked from Alex to Lucy, and it was his turn to make a silent request with just his expression.

One hand touching Alex's wrist, Lucy gently tugged until Alex met the smaller woman's gaze. Nodding toward the chair again, Lucy said, "Agent Danvers…Alex, you're not being court marshaled. Now sit down."

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Alex dropped down into the chair. "You could have started with that. You two just cost me ten years from my life. Phew. Okay, so why am I here?"

Opening one of the files she had placed on J'onn's desk, Lucy said, "Agent Danvers, I'm advising you fully to comply here and answer all questions openly and honestly. It will work out for you best in the long run. Do you recognize these?"

"Fully comply? Okay, now you're scaring me again," Alex said leaning over the files on the desk. She began to leaf through some papers, tensing up as she understood what this was all about. "Um…yeah. Yeah, I do. These are Lena Luthor's medical records."

Lucy nodded. "And how do you know that?"

"Mother fucker," Alex whispered. "I thought we were good with…I accessed them."

"How?" Lucy asked.

"How the fuck do you think?"

"Alex," J'onn warned.

"Fine," Alex said. "I used DEO resources to gain access to Miss Luthor's medical records, but you already know that."

"Did you act alone?" Lucy asked.

"Yes," Alex answered immediately.

"You're certain about that?" Lucy probed again.

"Absolutely."

Lucy nodded, looking over at J'onn who didn't react, just sat back with his arms crossed. "Did you access this information as part of an approved DEO mission?"

"No but…" Alex shook her head.

"Go ahead," Lucy said. "You can speak on your behalf.

"Luce, I wasn't trying to dig up any dirt on Lena. I don't know why I'm here or what anyone told you, but I was worried about her, for her."

Alex looked from Lucy to J'onn. The Martian nodded once with a slow blink. It was support and it helped. Eyes shifting to Lucy, his mouth shifted, but he didn't say anything. His lack of disagreement was helping.

Though flustered, Alex reminded herself these were her people and continued, "Look, I observed something medically with Lena, and I felt that as a doctor, I needed to act. I got a call from Kara who said Lena's doctor was in the middle of treating Lena for neurogenic shock. I rushed over to the hospital. Given Lena's spinal injury and Kara's description of the symptoms, that diagnosis was completely consistent with what one would expect to see. However, less than an hour later, Lena's medical staff walked out of the room. Kara was a wreck, so I talked to the doctor. Lena was out of shock. Great. I mean, I was hopeful given how quickly Kara was able to get Lena medical attention, but still, I was worried. Neurogenic shock kills. So we went into the room, and there was Lena…awake…talking."

When Alex didn't continue, Lucy asked, "And this was unusual?"

With a humorous laugh, Alex ran her hand through her hair. "Unusual? You bet your sweet ass it was. She should have been unresponsive. I wouldn't have been surprised to see her in a coma again. She was fine the next day. She was even better the next day. What we saw was…It was medically impossible. I don't know what her doctors were doing, but whatever they were doing, they weren't disclosing it. They were lying."

Lucy and J'onn exchanged a look of concern before Lucy said, "So you investigated Lena's doctors."

"Yes. I wasn't trying to invade Lena's privacy. I realize I did that, but that wasn't my intention. She was paralyzed in a hospital room with doctors doing experiments on her. If that had been you, would you have wanted someone looking out for you?"

"So you were just looking out for Miss Luthor?" Lucy clarified.

Alex nodded. "She took two bullets for my sister."

"Your sister is bulletproof," Lucy pointed out.

"Lena didn't know that. Also, she protected Kara's secret identity. She protected Supergirl. Sure, I crossed a line, but I did it for the right reason. Anyway, I was right. Look," Alex started to dig through the reports, flipped folder after folder open when she didn't find what she wanted. "Son of a bitch."

"What is it?" J'onn asked.

"Is this everything you have?" Alex asked.

Lucy nodded. "What's wrong?"

"Lena's earlier MRI is missing, the one showing her spinal cord was severed. They repaired it. Her doctor repaired it," Alex said, looking up and looking between J'onn and Lucy.

J'onn shook his head. "Alex, that's not possible. Humans can't—"

"That's my point, J'onn. Those nerves don't heal on a human. Also, her medical staff are using aliases. Doctor Patricia Queen's last name is actually Grace-Colby. Then there was nurse Jake Bishop, and the other nurse was Kalia…Kalia…"

"This Kalia, describe her," Lucy said.

"Kalia?" Alex shrugged. "Huh, okay, well right handed, average frame with good musculature, two scars on the back of her right hand, favored knee strikes and kicks, great joint locking techniques, balance was—"

"Alex," J'onn interrupted. "What did she look like?"

"Oh! Uh, about 5'4" with brown hair and eyes. She had an average build, but she was fit. In her mid-thirties, fairly attractive I guess. She only smiled when…she kicked my ass or was insulting me," Alex admitted.

"She kicked your ass?" Lucy grinned. "I think I know her."

"You do?" Alex sat up straighter. "No fucking way is she a nurse."

"Oh, she's a nurse. She was also one of my combat instructors at West Point. She's a Marine, a highly decorated one. Something happened to her while she was away on a mission." Lucy shook her head, a frown setting in.

"Did she get injured?" Alex inquired.

"No, nothing like that actually happened to her. It was something she found out while she was on her mission. I don't know what it was. All I know is she requested to leave the mission and was denied. The way I hear it, things almost came to blows with her and her CO. She ended up staying, completed her mission, but everything was a mess after that. For all I know she ended up leaving the military. It's a shame, too. She was a lifer."

Alex nodded, trying to figure out how a military, or ex-military nurse, could possibly fit into all of this. "Okay, so now what? I'm telling you, there's some kind of conspiracy going on. Is this coming back on me now?"

"Agent Danvers…"

"Just tell me, Luce. How bad is it?"

Lucy sighed. "Thank you for being forthcoming with us. J'onn, do you have any follow-up questions for Agent Danvers?"

"None," J'onn replied. "Agent Danvers believes what she says, and believed she was acting in Miss Luthor's best interests at the time of her actions."

Exhaling, Lucy reached out and grasped Alex's forearm.

"Okay, why do I feel like my head just got pulled back from the chopping block?" Alex asked.

"Alex." J'onn stood, walking the length of the room back and forth before he spoke again. "Several days ago we were contacted by another organization within the intelligence community. They made us aware of one of our agent's illegally gathering data on a civilian using DEO resources. They called for that agent's immediate resignation."

"I…" Alex shook her head. "Please?"

"Alex, it's going to be okay," Lucy assured her.

"Lucy, this is my life. This place, you guys are my family. Please don't make me leave," Alex begged. "I know I screwed up but—"

"Alex," J'onn began.

"Has anyone spoken to Lena?" Alex stood. "She told me to back off, and I did. I dropped it. I haven't looked into it any further, and I haven't bothered her. Talk to Lena."

"Alex, this isn't coming from Miss Luthor."

"Well, then who the fuck is this coming from J'onn!?" Alex slammed her palm down on the table. "Are you telling me some random government agency came in and is demanding my resignation over one stupid computer search I did of some rich bitch? I don't think so! Who was it: NSA, DIA, NGIA? Wait, are you sure this is even coming from our government? Could this be MI5?"

"Alex, you need to breathe!" Lucy had jumped to her feet.

"How the fuck can—!?"

"Agent Danvers, that is an order! Stand down!" Lucy barked.

Hands behind her back and feet splayed, Alex stood at parade rest.

"Okay, better." Lucy nodded. "Now just take a seat and let us tell you how we're going to make this a tenable situation before you go being all…" Lucy rolled her hand in front of herself. "All Alex all over us."

"Tenable as in I'm not being fired?"

"Tenable as in sit down, shut up, and listen to the people who are here to help you for once in your fucking life."

"Sorry," Alex mumbled.

His lips twisting into a semblance of a grin, J'onn said, "You do have a way with your clients. It's interesting that you went into law instead of medicine, Major Lane. You would have had a wonderful bedside manner."

"My bedside manner!?" Pointing at Alex, Lucy added, "She's a doctor! Imagine her…"

As Lucy pulled another file out of her briefcase, J'onn scratched over one eyebrow with his finger. "You know, when you think things this loudly, I can still hear you."

"Right, right," Lucy said still pulling out paperwork, and putting other paperwork away, preparing herself while she spoke to J'onn but didn't look up. "Why do I bother trying to censor myself around you?" She clicked a pen open, handing it over to Alex and smiling at the agent. "Okay, you're going to sign where I tell you to sign, and you're not going to argue with me. You're going to be happy that we managed to get you this deal and save your job. No one but you or your sister would still be here after this, understand?"

Wide-eyed, Alex nodded, and her eyes shifted back and forth between Lucy and J'onn.

"I was either yelling at someone or begging someone to help me out here. Both my knees and my throat were raw by the time I was done, and I didn't have nearly as much fun this time as the last time I ended up in that situation." Turning and leaning her palms on the desk, Lucy smiled at J'onn. "How'd you enjoy that mental image?"

Grimacing. J'onn couldn't suppress a shudder. "I'll never look at Mr. Olsen the same way again."

"Ha! Serves you right you mental voyeur." Pointing to a paper on J'onn's desk, Lucy said, "Alex, this acknowledges that you acted alone without knowledge of anyone else within the DEO and without authorization from the DEO as an entity. Don't sign it yet." She pulled out another sheet of papers, flagged for signature. "This acknowledges that you accessed Miss Luthor's medical records without her prior authorization."

"Wait, that's in question? Why would Lena ask that?"

"She wouldn't," J'onn pressed a finger against the surface of his desk. "It's our personal opinion, and this doesn't leave this office, that although you are being personally targeted through Miss Luthor, she is also a target in this investigation."

"How? I mean, how is that even possible? These are her private medical records. She can do what she wants with them…right?" Alex looked from J'onn back to Lucy again. "Wait, you never said which government agency this was."

"We don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know, Luce? We're the DEO. How can we not know? We know things. That's what we do. We know things, and we keep people from knowing those things. We're the government." With a dramatic sigh, she leaned back in her chair again. "How high up the food chain did you have to go with this?"

"Olivia Marsdin," Lucy replied.

"You had to go to the President of the United States?" Alex ran a hand through her hair again. "Who the fuck are these people?"

"Just be glad you were instrumental in saving her life recently, and that she's very fond of your sister. Anyone in this organization whose last name wasn't Danvers…" Lucy shrugged. "They wouldn't still be in this organization."

Alex opened her mouth but closed it again, apparently thinking better of whatever she was going to say.

Putting another grouping of papers on top of the pile she was asking Alex to sign, Lucy said, "This agrees that you will not do any further investigation on Miss Luthor or her medical staff—"

"Done and done," Alex muttered.

Lucy cleared her throat. "Alex, they're not fooling around here. They wanted to add, 'Under penalty of treason' to this, but we went back and forth, pushing for due cause until they dropped that clause."

One finger raised, Alex asked, "Isn't the penalty for treason death?"

Smiling, Lucy replied, "Say, thank you, Lucy."

"Fuck, yeah, thanks, Lucy."

"You're welcome, Agent Danvers."

"Alex, stay away from Miss Luthor's medical records and her medical staff," J'onn advised."

"Yeah, no problem. I like living."

Dropping the last grouping of papers on top of the others, Lucy pointed to the signature area. "You're not going to like this part."

"Ugh. After treason, I'm not going to like this part?" Alex shook her head. "Just say it."

"Keep in mind this was the best deal we could get you, and it takes the possibility of treason off the table and removes your forced resignation." Lucy waited for Alex to nod before saying, "By signing this, you agree to a three-month suspension without pay."

"I…" Alex shook her head, looking over at the Martian. "J'onn?"

"Sign it Alex."

"But—"

"Sign it," he repeated. "Lucy and I have both pulled every string there was to pull for you. If there was a favor, we called it in. You're keeping your career, your rank, even your pay grade. This is a good deal."

"But I did jack shit! This is bullshit!"

"We know, Alex!" J'onn's hand slammed down on the desk. "Lucy and I have known for a week. Yes, you crossed a line. Yes, you deserve to have your hand slapped, but unless the civilian in question is complaining, there's nothing to do. Someone has it in for you, someone powerful."

"Who?"

"Who have you pissed off?" Lucy asked.

"No one," Alex assured the other woman. "People like me."

"Alex." Lucy shook her head, her voice a study in disappointment.

"Fine." Alex sighed. "So I might have…irked a few people in my lifetime. I don't exactly have Kara's personality, but who dislikes me this much? Anyone who dislikes me this much is in holding here…right?"

"Apparently not," J'onn replied. "All we can do right now is sign the paperwork, and Alex…next time you come to me first. I can't have your back unless I know what's going on. You're my right hand. You're practically my daughter. You don't go behind my back again. Do we understand each other?"

Opening and closing her mouth, Alex dropped her face and nodded. Her voice was barely audible. "Sorry, J'onn."

"Financially, will you be all right?"

"I'm fine," Alex replied, grabbing the pen from the desk and signing on the line near each stickered tag.

"Alex, if you need—"

"J'onn, I'm fine. Kara may need to buy her own potstickers for a few months, and I'm sure you'll have to deal with that drama, but I'll be fine." Alex looked at Lucy. "Does anything in here say I can't consult while I'm suspended?"

Lucy shook her head. "What do you have in mind?"

"I don't know," Alex said, returning to the paperwork. "I have a gun and a medical degree. Maybe I'll drum up some business for myself." She signed the final piece of paper with a flourish. "So, that's it? I'm just…done?"

"Badge," J'onn said.

Pulling it out of her pocket, she dropped it on his desk.

"Gun."

Alex winced. "Ouch. Okay, that hurts, J'onn."

"You have more," he reminded her.

"Sure, but she and I have been through so much together." Pulling out the clip, Alex placed the weapon and it separately on the desk.

"She?"

Before Alex could speak, Lucy pointed at the weapon on the desk. "J'onn, look at her. She's sleek, fashionable, precise, has great lines, is powerful but not overpowering, looks good in silver and black, she's incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands…or the right hands. Mmmm, damn I want to get my hands on her."

"Right," Alex agreed, leaning both palms on the desk, her pose matching Lucy's.

"You both need to leave my office." J'onn pointed toward the door.

"I don't think I take orders from you," Alex replied.

"You realize you will again in three months," J'onn reminded her.

"Oh, uh…"

"Come on. Let's go out for drinks," Lucy said, piling the paperwork back into her bag.

"Sounds great," Alex said. "Someone with a job is buying, right?"

"Yup. Come on, J'onn. Let's help Alex drown her sorrows."

"I'm working."

"Nope. You're drinking," Lucy said, striding toward the exit and trusting that the others would follow.

As the trio reached the main room of the DEO, Supergirl with a doughnut in hand and a half a one in mouth, hopped off the table where she was chatting with Winn. She bounced over to the newcomers. It took a few seconds for the girl of steel to finish off the bakery item in her mouth though she smiled the whole time.

Swallowing hard, the blonde grabbed her diminutive friend up in a hug "Lucy! How's my favorite lawyer?"

"Put me down."

"Oops. Sorry." Gently placing the other woman down, Supergirl asked, "Why didn't we know you were coming into town?"

"Not here," Alex replied before anyone else could. "Alien bar. Let's go."

As Alex strode by, Kara followed asking, "Alien bar? Why are we going to the alien bar? Is this a case? Is someone under attack?"

"No, go change into something less leotard and more cardigan," Alex said, never breaking stride.

"Come on, Winn," Lucy said as she and J'onn followed the sisters out.

"I'm working!" He yelled over his shoulder.

"That's an order!" Lucy yelled back.

"Oh. Oh!" Fumbling a bit, Winn, hurried to log out. As he stood, he looked around. "No one…Don't touch my console. No one touch it while I'm gone."

Vasquez let him go with a head shake, sliding into his seat and logging into his system without even so much as a backward look.

Act IV Dollywood

"Wait, I still don't get it." Forearms on the table and mouth hanging slightly open, Kara blinked rapidly. "Lena did or didn't get you suspended from the DEO?"

"Jesus Christ. Have another drink." Alex leaned across the table, pouring another shot of Aldebaran Rum into Kara's glass. "I'm sure it will become much clearer after you drink that."

Downing the shot, Kara smile. "Mmmm. Warm." She looked to her left, smiling at J'onn who in turn sighed to Lucy who sat on his left.

"Perfect," Alex said. "So I was thinking—"

"Danvers!"

Holding up a hand, Alex smiled.

Maggie strode up, sliding into the empty seat next to Alex where Winn had sat earlier and kissing the redhead soundly. "Okay, now why did I need to get my ass down here ASAP? What's going on?"

"First, Maggie, Lucy Lane. Luce, this is my girlfriend, Maggie Sawyer."

"I've heard a lot about you. It's nice to finally meet you, Maggie."

"Hey," Maggie replied.

Alex elbowed Maggie roughly, jostling the smaller girl halfway out of the booth. "What the fuck was that.

"Easy! What did I do?" Maggie asked as she righted herself in the booth.

"I heard what you said."

"All I said was, 'Hey.'"

Alex shook her head. "Nope. You said, 'Hey.'" Alex said the word slowly, letting her eyebrows rise and fall as she smiled at Lucy.

"What the…I did not. Guys, back me up here." Looking around the table, Maggie nodded.

"Your tone did hold a certain, inflection." J'onn took a sip of his drink as he mumbled, "Let's not even get into your thoughts."

"Maggie, you're a flirt, a flirty flirt-flirt. You say flirty things in flirty ways." Kara looked down into her empty glass before meeting the detective's gaze again. "Flirt."

"People really pay you for your skillful way with words?" Maggie asked.

Smiling goofily, Kara nodded.

"Damn, how much did she have to drink?"

"It really doesn't take that much," Alex replied.

"More, please," Kara said pushing her empty glass across to her sister.

Smiling at the other woman, Maggie said, "Lucy, tell them I didn't say anything wrong."

Head tilting to the side; Lucy replied, "Your dimples are cute."

"Ha!" Alex's finger hovered obnoxiously in her girlfriend's field of vision.

"I'm getting a beer."

As Maggie left the table, Winn and a blonde alien with ridges between her eyes and across the bridge of her nose and cheeks arrived. Winn made introductions. "Lucy, this is my girlfriend, Lyra. Lyra, meet Lucy Lane."

Lucy extended a hand. "Nice to meet—"

Lyra tensed, darting closer suddenly. "Human female, are you heterosexual?"

"Excuse me?" Lucy asked.

"The same-sex pairing is no threat, and the Kryptonian is obviously of no interest."

"That would be me," Kara said, her head down on the table.

"You, however, are a female of the same species as Winslow. I believe you to be an above average representative of your species from a purely aesthetic standpoint. What you lack in stature you perhaps make up for in…hormone production."

"Hormone production?" Lucy rose to her feet.

"Ladies…ladies, let's be calm. I'm not worth fighting over." Winn tried to step in the way as Lucy advanced on Lyra.

"You sure as shit aren't," Lucy said, slapping Winn in the gut.

"Ouch." He winced.

"So, little human, you should be aware that this human male is my mate. As such, I have claimed him and will fight all challengers to the death." Lyra stared down a few inches at Lucy.

Lucy stretched her neck. "Relax you space britches. I'm not challenging you for him."

With a slight hiss, Lyra asked, "Why because you don't find him a worthwhile mate?"

Giving Winn a once over, Lucy returned her gaze to Lyra and replied, "Of course I find him a worthwhile mate. Who wouldn't find him a worthwhile mate?"

"You…you do? Wow! Cool! I mean, not cool! Bad!" Winn leaned in close to Lucy and whispered, "Do you really?"

"Winn!" Alex cocked her head to the side. "Get over here before one of them accidentally kills you."

"Ah. Good point." Rubbing the back of his neck, Winn slid to the side and moved over into the seat Maggie had vacated.

"If he is so worthy, then why do you not challenge me for him? Are you already mated?" Lyra asked.

"No, but I'm a soldier, a woman of honor. He's your mate, and I respect your claim. To do otherwise would be to dishonor myself. To honor your relationship is to honor myself."

"Little soldier." Lyra stared at Lucy for several heartbeats, then broke out into a broad grin as she slapped the human on both shoulders at once. "I like you! I am very glad I will not have to kill you and then my mate for voiding the boundaries of our relationship. Come, Winn, let us go to the bar to get drinks."

As she grabbed his arm and yanked him to his feet, Winn stumbled away. "Kill…kill my mate? Kill me? …help."

Rubbing her arms, Lucy took her seat again. "She's fun. Does she really have sex with him and not kill him?"

"Ugh! Lucy, I was drinking!" Alex held out a hand. "Tell me to turn off my visuals before you say anything about Winn and sex."

"Alex. Alex. Alex."

"What, Kara?"

"Alex, look at me."

"I'm looking at you."

"No, look at me."

"Kara, I'm looking right at you. You're still face down on the table."

"Hmmm?" Head and shoulders still on the table, Kara opened her eyes and wiggled her fingers. "Hello, hand."

"Okay, that was fucking rude," Maggie said as she walked up shaking one of her arms. "That's alcohol abuse, Winn! Anyone have a napkin?"

"Here." J'onn grabbed one from the middle of the table.

"Thanks." Wiping her sleeve, Maggie said, "Winn grabbed my arm and spilled my beer. He was saying his girlfriend was going to kill him."

Lucy laughed. "What did you say?"

"I told him to join the club." Looking at the seat next to Alex, she asked, "You still pissed, or can I sit here?"

"Both."

Maggie slid into the spot on the booth.

"Alex."

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Kara! What is it, already!?"

Pulling herself upright and putting a hand on her sister's check, Kara said, "Lena wouldn't do that."

"Lena wouldn't do what?" Maggie asked.

"Lena would get Alex treasoned," Kara explained.

"Treasoned isn't a word." Maggie sipped her beer. "What did I miss?"

"Argh! This planet has sooooo many languages. Why does this planet have to have so many languages?" Kara lay back in the booth dramatically before lolling her head forward again. "She wouldn't…wouldn't…verrat, trahison, pànnì, izmena, traición."

"That's Spanish! Up high!" Maggie said, holding her hand up.

"No!" Alex grabbed Maggie's arm, pulling it down. "Never high-five a drunk Kara. That will get you a broken hand."

"Thanks." Maggie took another sip of her beer. "What's going on with Lena and treason? Is Lena being accused of treason?"

"No!" Alex, J'onn, and Lucy all said at the same time.

"Hey, don't bite my head off bitches…and J'onn, though J'onn, you're my bitch too."

"I…thank you? That was a compliment, correct?" The Martian asked.

"In this company, absolutely," Maggie replied clinking her bottle against J'onn's glass. "Someone just catch me up. I'm at least three beers and one hell of a story behind."

"I got this," Lucy said grabbing a few empty bottles, glasses, and the salt and pepper shaker from the table and moving them in front of herself for props. She started with the salt and pepper shaker. "Okay, Salt and Pepper goes to a bar. Someone tries to shoot Salt, but Pepper gets in the way and BAM!" Lucy knocked over the pepper shaker, spilling some pepper on the table.

"Lena!" Kara yelled out, stretching dramatically.

Lucy picked up the pepper shaker, moving it to the side with the salt nearby. "Pepper goes to the hospital. Salt goes nuts." With salt shaker in hand, Lucy started knocking over empty beer bottles. "Justice!"

"Justice!" Kara called out, face down on her end of the table again.

"Where are we in all of this?" Maggie asked Alex.

Knocking back a shot, Alex shook her head. "We're not appearing in this scene. We're swirling around in a margarita pitcher right now."

"Right. Fun times."

"Then…" Lucy nodded at J'onn. "Do it."

"I don't want to do it."

"Do it," She repeated.

"I don't want to do it."

"It's an order."

"My job requirements—"

"It falls under 'other duties' so do it," she said once again.

Mouth a tight line, he said, "I will outlive you."

"True, but while I'm alive I'll have this memory," she smirked.

With a sigh, J'onn finished his drink and danced the empty across the table to the salt saying, "Just sit right back—"

"Sing it. You need to sing it," Lucy said.

Shooting Lucy the stink eye, J'onn said, "She'll recognize it if I just speak it in tempo."

"Nope, she wants to hear you sing it, don't you Maggie?" Lucy smiled over at the detective.

"Yes, I don't know what this is, but yes," Maggie earnestly agreed, her dimples in full effect.

From where she was lying head and shoulders on the table again, Kara lifted her hand and announced, "I helped write it!"

"I hate you all," J'onn mumbled before clearing his throat and breaking into song:

"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,

Of a hero who lost her grip,

That started in our fine city,

And ended with a ship.

Her sister is a kick-ass scientist,

Their Spacedad brave and proud,

Two girls went out clubbing that night,

For Drinks at The Out Crowd."

"Drinks at The Out Crowd," Kara repeated.

"The music started getting loud,

Shots fired by a lout,

If not for the courage of Lena Luthor ,

Her secret would be out."

"My secret would be out," Kara sang.

"The ship got flipped by an angry Super, her crush a little gay,

With Spacedad,

Alexandra too,

The billionaire and her crush,

The photographer,

The detective and nerd tech too,

Here at National City.

So this is the tale of the superfriends,

Who get along crazily,

Some who work for the DEO,

Top secret agency.

The detective and the scientist,

Both did their very best,

To get the hero calmed back down,

When she got overly stressed.

No threats, no fights, no violence,

Not a piece of Kryptonite,

Just sisterly love and caring,

Brought Kara back to the light.

So join us at the alien bar,

'Cause Lucy thinks she's witty,

When she is drinking Sunset Rum,

Here at National City."

When J'onn stop singing, Maggie spoke a bit breathlessly. "Oh. My. God. That was the greatest thing I've actually ever witnessed live and in person. Was that to the tune of Gilligan's Isle?"

Lucy nodded proudly.

"Did you record all of that?" J'onn asked.

Holding her phone in front of her, Maggie shook her head. "No, I missed the beginning. Start over again?"

"You know, I've killed people for less," J'onn threatened.

"Don't worry. He'll be doing it again for the DEO Holiday party. Don't piss me off and you're invited, Dimples." Lucy winked. "Interesting fact, did you know that you can sing any of Emily Dickinson's poems to Puff the Magic Dragon?"

"Uh…I did not know that." Maggie shrugged turning to Alex.

"And…Hey! Look at me, Dimples. Since Puff the Magic Dragon and Gilligan's Isle scan the same, you can sing any of Emily Dickinson's Songs to Gilligan's Isle." Lucy did another shot.

"O-kay." Whispering to Alex, Maggie asked, "Is she always like this, or is she drunk?"

"Oh, she's shit faced. We've been here for hours."

"Ah, gotcha. I don't know her, and she isn't slurring her words, so I didn't know if she just liked to share random facts with people or if this was the way she was when she was drunk."

Pouring a shot, Alex replied, "No, that's how Lanes are when they're drunk. They're hyper-aggressive, hyper-focused, and kind of hyper-sober, you know?"

"Hyper-sober? What does that mean?"

"If you used a breathalyzer, I bet she'd blow a .22 maybe a .25, but if you gave her a field sobriety test she'd pass because she's a Lane. The Lanes are scary."

"Wait." Maggie held up a finger. "Lane as in Lois Lane?"

"I'm the little sister in every sense of the word as Lois likes to remind me," Lucy said, staring at the shot in her hand.

"Uh-oh." Alex cleared her throat. "Hey Luce, you weren't done explain what's going on to Maggie. I think she still needs that explanation."

At a less than gentle kick under the table, Maggie startled but said, "Yeah! I'm still lost. Help a sister out?"

"Sure. Of course." Lucy knocked back her shot and nodded. "Where was I?"

"Salt took Pepper to the hospital. Salt went a little nuts, but was apparently saved through love and possibly a musical…which knowing Salt the way I do probably would have done it. She does love a good musical number," Maggie admitted.

"I really do," Kara mumbled.

Lucy nodded in agreement and turned to the bar. "M'gann, we need another selection of shots!"

"This story requires more alcohol?" Maggie asked.

"This entire night requires more alcohol," Alex said pouring herself another shot.

"Hey, you okay babe? You seem really out of sorts."

"I…" Alex sighed. "I'll let Luce get through her carefully created tale with alcohol and condiments. Then, if you still have questions, I'll fill in the blanks. It's been a tough few weeks, and today has been the cherry on top of the shit cake."

"Wow." Squeezing Alex's forearm, Maggie said, "I'm here for you, all right? Anything you need, you got me, babe."

"Thanks." Dropping her head on her girlfriend's shoulder, a bit more tension left Alex's body. "You've made such a change in my life. I've never had someone in my life like this before, someone I could trust completely and count on that wasn't family or work family. It means the world knowing I don't have to question this relationship right now. Thanks for just being you. You have no idea what that means right now."

Maggie just nodded, sliding an arm around Alex and holding her until the alcohol arrived.

"Same selection as before," M'gann said. She looked behind her. "The bar's covered right now, so I'm staying for the story. Did I miss the singing?"

"Et tu, M'gann?" J'onn asked.

"We'll make him do it again later," Lucy assured the other Martian while she placed the selection of shots on the table. "Who doesn't love an encore? Okay, so the Paleta and the Atomic Fireball are at home when Salt gets bad news about Pepper."

"Oh, I love a shot of paleta!" Maggie said. "Nice choice for me. That's me, right?"

"Don't interrupt, Dimples. I can still revoke your invitation to the DEO Holiday party. So, Paleta and Atomic Fireball finds out from Salt that Pepper won't walk again. They calm Salt down. Later though, Pepper disappears with these three Code Blues." Lucy surrounded the pepper shaker with three blue shots. "Salt catches up to them back at the hospital, and everything seems fine. Later, though, Salt and Pepper are chilling." She moves the blue shots away. "Pepper nearly dies again." Lucy knocks over the pepper shaker and surrounds it with the blue shots again, ignoring Kara's whimpers from the other side of J'onn. "Salt calls Atomic Fireball, and she and Paleta show up. Eventually one of the Code Blues talks to Atomic Fireball."

Maggie whispered to Alex, "This is both entertaining with shots and a bit concerning in its accuracy. Who filled her in?"

"Mainly drunk Kara. Drunk Kara likes to share especially about her gay crush. It's pretty gross."

"Been there."

"Thanksgiving," Was all Alex said.

"…so Atomic Fireball gets suspicious that Pepper is awake and decides to use DEO resources to pull Pepper's medical records."

"Oh, that is a lot of sharing," Maggie said.

"That wasn't Kara." Alex sighed. "Wait until the end of the story. The sharing gets worse."

"Medical records showed Pepper would never walk again which gets very suspicious when Pepper gets feeling and movement back in her legs. Then Pepper gets flowers from Alligator Sp3rm and—"

"Wait, wait, stop the story!" Maggie leaned forward. "What is in the nasty looking shot?"

"Alligator Sp3rm?" M'gann asked.

"I'm not saying the name, but yes…that." Maggie's finger hovered inches away from the shot. It was light green to yellow with something white and thick swirling in it and laying across the top.

"It's equal parts melon liqueur and pineapple juice with cream on top," M'gann explained.

"Does it taste as nasty as it looks?" The detective asked.

"Definitely. Newest at the table gets to drink it. Now, stop interrupting me, Dimples. Okay, so while Paleta is at the hospital because of the flowers, Salt shows up, and she and Pepper make up. They'd been fighting for some reason. It was gay girl shit I think. Anyway, Paleta and Salt end up following some lead from the flowers. Salt isn't a good team player, and she gets a pager that ends up being a trap from Alligator Sp3rm. This ends up with Salt having to fly all over the table. Whoosh!" Lucy picked up the salt shaker and waved it all over the table. "First she has to save Hot Damn from the Assassin." Lucy swooped the salt shaker down between a metal shot glass and one of five identical shot glasses filled with red contents. She slid the red drink in front of J'onn. "Drink it." The Martian knocked it back, only making a slight face at the flavor. "Next she has to save Cardassian Cooler. Drink this." She pushed over the next red shot to J'onn.

"Those were James and Winn?" Maggie asked quietly.

Alex nodded.

Continuing her story, Lucy said, "Whoosh! Then it's Atomic Fireball! Drink. Whoosh! Paleta! Drink. Oh no, that took too much time!" The salt shaker in Lucy's hand hovered inches away from the pepper shaker. "She doesn't make it to Pepper in time!"

"It's like I'm living it all over again." Kara cried from the table, then hurled herself into J'onn.

"It's okay." He patted her on the back while she cried onto his shirt.

"She really hasn't had that much?" Maggie asked.

"Four shots," Alex replied, "but she was intermittently laughing and crying after two. She's a light weight."

"Maybe, but if we drank what she drinks, we'd be dead."

"True," Alex agreed.

Lucy was still telling her tale. "Luckily, one of the Code Blues was there to save Pepper. Here, drink this last one."

"And how is J'onn not…? Right, he's a Martian. Never mind," Maggie said.

"She's all right." Kara draped herself across the table again.

"So, all of the Alcoholfriends get together. There's some disagreement, mainly between Atomic Fireball and Pepper, surprise, surprise, but that gets settled down. Alligator Sp3rm calls again, and there's some secret tech stuff that Pepper does so every can hear it. I assume it's being recorded. Everyone agrees to work together even though there are still some hard feelings. Pepper starts to get much better, even walking again. Then…give me the sugar packets, Kara."

Without lifting her head from the table, Kara grabbed a handful of sugar packets and tossed them along the length of the table.

"Smooth, thanks," Lucy said gathering them up.

"No problem," Kara replied waving vaguely in Lucy's direction.

"Then Tot of Brandy start getting all this paperwork from an unknown source."

"Tot." Maggie snorted.

"Hey! You're my height, Dimples, don't laugh." Lucy's finger hung in the air, and obviously threatening.

"Careful, she'll kick your ass," Alex warned.

Maggie nodded, finishing off her beer. "I might like that."

"You might," Alex agreed. "This is why it was better when you two hadn't met."

"So, Tot of Brandy took the paperwork higher and higher up the ladder until she finally reached Absolut Bitch who was able to help." Lucy dropped the pile of sugar packets by another shot.

"Who's that?" Maggie whispered.

"Olivia Marsdin," Alex replied.

"Same name as the president?"

"Because she's the president."

"…did not see that coming. I'm going to need more to drink," Maggie said.

Alex pushed her more than half-empty bottle to the right toward her girlfriend.

"After lots of brilliant political maneuvering, and some begging on the part of Tot of Brandy, she is able to get some of the paperwork tossed." Lucy started tossing sugar packets to her right, down to the other end of the table.

As packets of sugar rained down on her, several striking her face, Kara opened her eyes looking up. She lifted a sugar packet that was lying on her cheek, then looked up at the ceiling.

"Finally, we are left with," Laying out a sugar packet with each item, Lucy counted off the documents Alex had to sign. "Agreement she worked alone. Agreement the DEO, as an entity, was unaware of her actions in pulling the medical records of Lena Luthor without a warrant. Agreement that Lena Luthor was unaware that her medical records were being pulled. Finally, a three-month suspension from the DEO with no pay. There was no charge of treason if an investigation of Lena Luthor took place in the future for other reasons."

Turning to her girlfriend, eyes wide, Maggie asked, "You're suspended?"

"This isn't exactly a celebratory outing," Alex replied, raising her drink. "Lucy's buying since I won't be drawing a salary for a few months."

"The DEO's buying. This is a team building exercise," Lucy corrected Alex. "Plus were preparing for the Holiday party, right J'onn?"

"I hate you all," he replied.

"Hey, suspended is a big deal, babe. What can we do? Can we fight this?" Maggie asked.

"It's done, Mags. Lucy fought it for a week and got me the best deal she could. They wanted me to resign. They wanted a charge of treason hanging over my head if I ever looked into Lena or her medical staff again, probably if I ever looked in her direction again."

"Lena wouldn't treason you," Kara said sitting up.

"Kara, for the hundredth time, it wasn't Lena." Alex ran her hand through her hair. "Whoever did this was targeting her too."

"Who did it?" Maggie asked.

Alex gestured to Lucy.

"We don't know," Lucy said. "It was someone with enough clout to give the DEO a migraine and force J'onn and me to call in favors back to grade school. It was some major government agency."

"But not Lena," Kara said pushing up from her seat and crawling onto the table.

"Kara! What the fuck are you doing?" Alex asked, grabbing her bottle from the table.

"Gotta tinkle."

"Alcohol, save the alcohol!" Alex ordered, pulling a shot to safety.

Grabbing the shot of paleta, Maggie downed it. "Got me!"

The group hurried to move shots out of the path of the crawling Kryptonian. When Kara reached the edge of the table, she simply tipped off and fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Kara?" Lucy stared down at the blonde.

Pushing to her feet, Kara smiled, "Forgot to fly."

"You okay, Little Danvers?"

"Pfft, yah. Invulnerable. You should be asking the floor that." She wandered toward the bathroom waving a hand in front of her. "Look out, gotta powder my nose." People gave her a wide berth.

"She going to be okay?" Maggie asked watching behind them.

"Everything will be fine so long as she ends up in the right restroom. Last time she got drunk she went to the men's room. Then she assaulted some poor guy who had to take a piss because she thought he was in the woman's room. Winn had to go rescue him. Then she yelled at Winn for being in the woman's room."

Maggie laughed. "That sounds funny as fuck."

"Sure, if you're not that guy who just needed to take a leak," Alex said.

As Lucy bumped into her, urging her into Alex, Maggie startled. "Hello."

"Slide over. Alex, slide over. Your girl and I have to have a talk while your sister is gone."

J'onn patted the empty seat. "Care to join us for a bit longer? This could be entertaining too."

M'gann checker the bar again. "Looks like I have time." She sat next to J'onn. "Which human ritual will we now be observing?"

"I believe it is called 'The Shovel Talk.'"

"Ah." M'gann nodded.

Sitting next to Maggie, Lucy leaned in close. "You're dating my best friend."

"Um, okay. Yeah, Alex is awesome."

"Fuck right she is! What are your intentions, Dimples?"

"My…intentions? Are you serious?" Looking at Alex, Maggie repeated, "Is she serious?"

"Usually." Alex shrugged. "Just answer her before she pulls you into an interrogation."

"Heh, heh." The smile fell off of Maggie's face. "Oh, you're serious."

"Also usually. You know, what are your intentions? We've been dating for a while, now. Where is this going?"

"Going? Where? Us?" Maggie looked back and forth between the two women, swallowing hard before her gaze met the Martian's across the table. "J'onn, help me."

With a smile, J'onn began to sing. "Just sit right back, and we'll hear a tale.

A detective in quite a jam,

Started in the alien bar,

Led to her up on the lamb."

Sliding down into the booth, Maggie said, "Oh, payback's a bitch, huh?"

Grabbing the Absolut Bitch shot from the table, J'onn knocked it back. "Apparently so am I."

In the rest room, Kara was just drying her hands when something buzzed. She patted at her side, trying to figure out why she was vibrating until she came away with a pager. She stared at it for several seconds, looking at the fuzzy numbers. Pulling out her phone, Kara carefully called the number.

"Hello, Kara." Lillian's voice was its usual mixture of self-satisfaction and annoyance that only she seemed to be able to hold in perfect balance. "So, tomorrow I want—"

"Lillian." Kara's voice was heavy with alcohol. "You're crocodile sperm."

There was a deep inhalation of breath across the line. "What did you just call me!?"

"No that's not right," Kara muttered. She tapped a finger into her forehead several times. "You're alligator sperm." Kara smiled proudly.

After a few moments of obviously stunned silence, Lillian asked, "Kara, are you drunk?"

"Pfft. No, you're the one who's drink."

"Drunk."

"That's what I said. Don't correct me. That's a bad…It's rude. You taught Lena a rude thing, and she's like perfect except for you stuff."

"Oh, she's perfect, is she?"

Kara smiled and nodded alone in the bathroom.

"Is Lena there with you?"

Kara sighed. "No, and I miss her. Lillian, did you ever have someone that you missed so much that when you weren't with them, all you wanted to do was be with them again? Did you feel that way about Lionel?"

"No."

"Hmmm. Maybe that's why you're so mean. You're like a ala-crocomagator. Like, a head at both ends and super mean 'cause you can't…poop." Laughing, Kara slid down the wall until she was staring at the ceiling. "Oh, I'm on the floor."

"You're not going to remember this conversation in the morning, are you?"

"Uh, 'course I am. I'm not drink."

"Drunk."

"Ugh. So rude."

"Do you even get hangovers?" Lillian asked.

"No. Only drink people get hangovers."

"Good night, Supergirl. Keep an eye on my daughter. I still have use of her."

"What does that mean? Lillian? Lillian?" Looking at her phone, Kara eventually focused on the screen, seeing the line was disconnected. "Ugh, rude!" Kara struggled to her feet, shoving the pager and phone back into place as she stumbled into the main part of the bar. She saw her sister leaning next to the booth, Lucy standing across from the redhead. "Alex! Guess who was rude to me!?"

As Kara lurched into her from behind, Alex jostled forward, her phone flying out of her hands. "Holy fuck! Kara!"

"Got it," Lucy said, catching the phone mid-air left-handed.

"Damn, nice hands. Are you even left-handed?" Maggie asked.

Lucy just winked in response.

Maggie shook her head. "Hyper-sober."

"Jesus, Kara, you weigh like 300 pounds when you're drunk. A little help here?"

"I gotcha." Maggie slid an arm under one shoulder while Alex got under the Kryptonian's other side. "Holy…You weren't kidding. How is she so heavy?"

"It's her DNA. The real question is, how can she feel this heavy and fly?" Alex asked.

"Guys, guys, listen. Lillian is a ala-crocomagator. No pooping." Kara starting laughing again, all her weight leaning on the other two women.

"Oh, God, she's getting heavier. Help!" Alex said.

"I've got her." M'gann stepped in, casually scooped Kara up and tossing the Kryptonian over a shoulder. "Come on, Kara, let's go lie you down in the back until it's time to go home. You can tell me all about ala-crocomagators. They sound fierce."

"Rawrr!" Kara said as the Martian walked away with her.

Scrolling through a series of text messages on Alex's phone, Lucy asked, "Does this Lena Luthor not know how to text? I've read legal briefings with less cumbersome language than this."

"She's a Luthor," Alex said by way of explanation. "She's a seriously up tight bitch."

Sliding into the booth again, Maggie sipped her beer. "She's not that bad."

"Don't defend her," Alex said.

"Don't attack her."

"I'm not fighting with you tonight. I'm in a lousy mood. Don't add to it."

"Sorry, babe. What do you need?" Maggie asked.

"A job," Alex said. "Tomorrow I'm going to look for one. Well, maybe the day after. Tomorrow I'm going to be hungover and feel badly for myself."

"Actually…" Lucy looked up from Alex's phone. "How much do you hate this Lena Luthor?"

"I don't hate her," Alex said. "I don't trust her, and I don't like the way she treated Kara, but I don't hate her. I just think someone should keep an eye on her especially around my little sister who has a serious crush on her."

"Like someone who works for Lena?" Lucy asked, holding Alex's phone out to the redhead and wiggling it.

"What does that mean?" Alex asked, taking her phone and staring at the screen. She read the last text, scrolling back up and read a few before it slowly reading her way back down. "Holy fuck. Lena just offered me a job. How did she even know I needed one?"

"Now that's the sixty-four million dollar question," Lucy said. "Well, it's not that much, but it's a lot more a month than you were getting paid. If you take this, you sure you're coming back to the DEO?"

Act V Opening Gambit – Pawn Takes Rook

Ahmed Samarran, the White King, sat at his desk typing up a memo. His office was spacious, a broad, dark wooden table surrounded by wood walls. Several thin, light wooden pillars sat through the exterior of the room. A white fireplace façade was set into one wall. Glass sconces were just above head height all throughout the room, and a tan and dark-blue carpet sat on the white tile floor.

At a knock on the door, he didn't look up, just said, "Enter."

Graziella Rea, his knight, entered the room with several files in hand. The redhead closed the door and stopped by Ahmed's desk, waiting for him to finish his typing and look up. "The files you asked, for, Ahmed."

"Ah, the prospects. You gathered the information quickly, Graziella."

"Grace and Valentia deserve more credit than I do, especially Grace. Information is definitely her forte," the redhead replied.

"That's why she's a rook," Ahmed said, flipping over the first file. He only made it a few pages in, shaking his head. "Didn't think so, but it was worth investigating."

"His ties to Superman made him unsuitable, as we thought. Nothing we found leads us to believe otherwise," Graziella agreed, taking the file back.

As he flipped through another file, Ahmed raised his eye brows. "Hmmm. Oh. Did we know about this…history? This is history indeed. This all started in Metropolis."

"We did not. Well, we did not. I am certain that Oskana did. Is it of concern?"

"Concern no. Interest?" Ahmed met the redhead's eyes, smiling as he handed back the file. "Also unsuitable. Do you think the girlfriend knows?"

"Do we care?"

He shrugged, going onto the next file but pointing at the one the woman had just taken back. "Keep that one under possible recruits. Not for this, of course, but still I'm interested for possible future endeavors, all right?"

"Of course."

He flipped through another file. "This one reads like another Lena Luthor, but without the bank account or education. His current job is a front. Where is he actually working?"

"We're not sure."

Eyebrows raised, he stared up at her from his seat.

"It's classified, and we'd need cause to crack it open. We don't have cause."

He handed her back the file. "Well, keep him around. Now I find him very interesting."

"Not for this, of course."

"No, no, no." He opened another file, reading through it. "We need someone close to the subject, perhaps who's fallen on tough times or is in a desperate situation, but still someone of…good…moral standing. Perhaps someone with an ex-wife." He flipped the page. "Someone with next to no money in the bank." He flipped the page again. "Ugh, ulcer and cholesterol issues, well, we'll work on that." He flipped to the front of the file, turning to a picture and flipped that open, facing it toward the redhead. "What do you think of him?"

Staring at a picture of Snapper Carr, Graziella replied, "He's gruesome."

"He's perfect. I want him."

"Of course you do," she sighed.

"He sees her regularly?"

Head bouncing side to side, she finally nodded. "He's her editor. He sees her every work day, but I don't think he's very fond—"

"Perfect!" Snapping the file closed, Ahmed tossed it at her, forcing her to catch it between her free hand and her pile of folders. "Get him for me. In a month's time, I want him to be my next White Pawn."

"Ugh. Yes, my king. Of course, my king," she said with obvious sarcasm, bowing.

"Oh, stop it. Where are you going? Stay and get lunch with me?"

"I can't," she replied, hand on the doorknob. "My egocentric boss is sending me back to North America to recruit some obnoxious blowhard that's one enchilada away from a stroke. Wish me luck in not killing him."

"Graziella, we don't kill innocents," he scolded. "We try not to kill anyone."

She stared at him for several moments, then deflated. "Fine, but I'm going to recruit him with lots of fatty cheese. Cholesterol is an act of God." As she left the office, his laughter followed after her.

Well, if you made it this far, that was around 200k words all told, folks. Internet high fives all around. It's been a pleasure getting to know all of you across the miles. Thanks for reading book one of "Next of Kin- Checkmate." Seeing Lena holding those chess pieces after Kara left her on that couch actually set me down this thought, but I just needed an outlet for it. Fanfic was it. Thanks for sharing this with me. I have some more stuff to write, but we'll be back for the sequel in a while. I hope to have you all join me again. Feel free to message me any time. I'm always happy to chat writing. It's kind of my thing. – D.K.G.

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