So I want to start by saying I hope everyone is doing okay and is staying healthy. Writing has been difficult recently because a lack of inspiration and because even with the shutdown of a lot of businesses the one I work for is considered essential so we are super busy. But I finally have this done and I promise to keep uploading and trying to stay on schedule even during this fairly scary time. Like I said I hope everyone is safe and staying healthy, I know it isn't easy for anyone. Thanks for reading this and enjoy.

Chapter 18

Maggie had arrived with the DEO in complete disarray. A quick word from Alex told her all see needed to know. Secretary Ryland had tried to take over the DEO but had clearly underestimated Alex. Now she was waiting in the conference room with Lori and Lena waiting for Kara, Alex and Kelly to return from rounding up the other moles. Apparently Kelly and Brainy were enjoying using the truth seeker on one of the moles. In total there were eight agents who had been placed in the DEO in the past week. What was confusing to Maggie was the why. Why had Ryland hired Warden? Why had he agreed to release Donovan?

"Alright listen up we have new information pertaining to Warden," Alex said as she entered the room with Kara and Kelly in tow. She was in full director mode and she looked angry. "Much like we thought she is not working alone. The woman she is working for goes by the name Thourl, we have reason to believe it might be Lillian Luthor."

"Isn't Lillian dead," Maggie asked.

"Old age is a bitch," Lena mumbled. Her mother hadn't deserved a peaceful death, she felt that dying of old age was too kind for the woman who caused her so much pain.

"Doesn't matter," Kelly said. Maggie noticed that much like Alex Kelly's demeanor was completely different, like she had become a different person. "What matters is this, Thorul is the one pulling the strings, not Warden. Thorul wants me, the only thing we don't know is why."

"We also don't know why she wanted Donovan released," Alex added. "Good news is Kelly thinks we can turn Warden against Thorul."

It was a sight to see, Alex and Kelly, for once not arguing about a plan of action and instead working in tandem. The mother-daughter duo made a great team when they could both agree. Kelly would make one hell of an agent someday if she really applied herself to it.

"Warden was hired to kill Supergirl, in return for her death my father would be released from prison," Kelly said. "With Ryland out of the picture there is no reason for Supergirl to die, and yet Warden still wants to kill you."

"We already knew that," Lena said, "what else is there?"

"Something Thorul said to me," Kelly said. "Warden offered me my father for Supergirl's life. Thorul wanted to let you live, which means she wants Donovan to live. I don't think Warden likes that. It's all a theory of course but I think we can use it."

Alex and Kelly had already discussed with Kara the first half of the plan where they would use the Kryptonian as bait. She had already agreed to it since they had the new suit that would keep Kara safe from Warden's Photokinesis. All that was left to discuss was the logistics of the plan and how they would find Warden's hideout. Kelly had her own idea about it but she needed to speak with Lena to make sure it would work before they went ahead with the rest of the plan.

"We're going to do what we should have done from the beginning," Alex said crossing her arms over her chest. "We are going to give Warden what she wants, we're going to give her Supergirl."

Lena looked about half a second from committing a murder. Kara had to rest her hand on her wife's shoulder to calm her down. She was aware of what the plan was and had agreed to it. Kara wasn't the only one who was going to be thrown into the fire. Both Alex and Maggie would be right there with her and Kelly wasn't going to be too far behind. They had come up with the plan while detaining Ryland's men, and while it wasn't a great one it was the only one they had.

"Please tell me there's more to it than that." Lena had taken Kara's hand in hers, nervously running her thumb over Kara's knuckles.

Kelly had always been one to pick up on even the most subtle tells. She thought it had something to do with the abuse she went through as a young child. Even at the young age of four she had always been able to tell what kind of mood her father was in. Now she could easily read people that she barely knew. Her family were the easiest to read, both Kara and Lena had very obvious tells, between pacing, crushing random objects (in Kara's case) and twisting their hands. Alex and Maggie were more subtle, their tells were in the way they held themselves, or the way their hands twitched. She could tell everyone was on edge.

"We'll have two teams, Charlie and Delta, one lead by Alex, the other Maggie each will take up position on opposite ends of the hideout, their job is to provide over watch, if things go south the teams move in," Kelly explained.

"What about you?" Maggie spoke up for the first time in a while. Unlike Lena she wasn't showing any signs of being nervous. She was completely calm which Kelly found odd.

"I'll be planting charges," she said. "Once we have them where we want them I flush them out. It also happens to be plan C."

"Which just leave you Lena," Kara said. "We want you running the operation from here, with Brainy's help of course."

Lena looked unsure about the responsibility. She wasn't use to being in charge at the DEO. Alex normally staying behind, guiding her teams from the relative safety of the command center. She had taken to promotion of Director to keep herself out of danger so she could raise Kelly. With Kelly being an adult Alex was more willing to be in the field again. Alex being in the field meant they needed someone who was quick on their feet and that they could trust. As much as they trusted Brainy he occasionally let logic dictate his actions instead of making the right call.

"If everyone is good with their roles we need to move on to a glaring issue that Kelly refused to comment on," Alex said. "How are we going to find them?"

"Yeah how exactly do you plan on finding them?" Lori had been silent for most of the conversation, she knew they would never let her help with something so dangerous.

"I'm surprised you didn't figure it out yourself Lori," Kelly said. "The answer to finding them is L-Corps secret lab."

Everyone in the room exchanged confused glances. What did Lena's lab have to do with anything? When all eyes fell on Lena she shrugged, she was just as confused as they were. Kelly smirked, it was a rare occurrence that she would be the smartest person in the room, she kind of like it.

"Think about it aunt Lena," she said trying to help them out a bit. "Why doesn't my mom have any idea that the day before yesterday I was using my powers to help you?"

"You did what?"

Kelly ignored her mother. Even though she had thought up the plan she knew once Lena understood what she was planning she could explain it better. To be honest Kelly had no idea what kind of tech went into the device that shielded Lena's lab from prying eyes. She was sure there were other ways to track Warden, had she not been drugged when Thorul broke into her apartment she might have thought about placing a tracker on her.

"I can't believe I didn't think of that," Lena said snapping her fingers. "You are absolutely right Kelly. My device puts out a very specific signal. If Thorul is using a similar device we'll be able to find it."

"Looks like we all know the plan," Alex said. "Lena I want you and Brainy to get to work on the signal. Maggie you and I need to get our teams ready, Kara just make sure you're ready by the time we need to move. Kel get whatever you need together. We will be moving tonight, hopefully that will give us a bit of an advantage."

Everyone nodded, eager to get started. Lori stuck close to Lena following her mother when she went to find Brainy. Kara followed them out needing to get her new suit from L-Corp. Alex headed out, leaving Maggie alone with Kelly. The two stood there in silence neither wanting to speak.

"You doing okay?"

"I'm fine mom," Kelly said. "I'm just tired. I want this to be over."

Maggie went over to her daughter, taking a moment to ruffle Kelly's hair. She was surprised that Kelly had let it go for so long. Kelly had always preferred her hair being fairly short but recently hadn't been cutting it. She smiled at Kelly, she had always been proud of her but never more so than in that moment.

"You're doing that thing again."

"I know," Maggie said. "Cut your mom some slack huh? I'm proud of you, keep going like this and you might end up replacing Alex."

Kelly turned to hug Maggie. The stress was starting to get to her and with the final confrontation looming over them Kelly was even more stressed. She was glad that Alex and Kara had agreed to her plan and were willing to let her help. Part of her knew that if she was allowed a bigger role in the plan she would want to go after Donovan. She still wanted to make him pay for what he had done to her mother. She knew her parents would shoot him if they got the chance. They didn't want him back in prison any more than she did.

"I love you mom," Kelly said as she stepped away from Maggie. "Let's go get the bad guys,"

Maggie smiled, squeezing Kelly's shoulder as the two of them exited the room to catch up with Alex. She was more solemn than the two of them, probably realizing that whatever they were about to go through would be incredibly difficult for all of them. Kelly pat Alex's back before leaving for the armory, she had a lot of prep to do before they moved out. Alex watched as Kelly disappeared down the stairs. She was concerned about the upcoming mission but she trusted Kelly, no matter what had happened in the past month her cousin being put in danger had been a rude awakening for Kelly.

"Do you think she'll be alright?"

"I think she's too much like her mother not to be," Maggie said taking Alex's hand. "I'm not worried about her. Not this time."

Kelly sat at the metal table setting up the charges she'd be later placing in Warden's hideout. She was actually glad to be working alone, it gave her time to think, time to plan. She had a feeling the mission wouldn't be as clean cut as they were hoping. For all she knew they would be walking themselves into a slaughter. She wouldn't let anything happen to her family. Enough people had been hurt because of her actions, she wasn't going to let it happen again.

There was one other thing she had forgotten to address. She hadn't spoken to Nick in over a week and she had never called Sara. The last thing she meant to do was ghost the officer but with how things were going she didn't have much of a choice. Kelly considered going to see Sara before she possibly no longer had the chance, maybe explain to her that she was in no condition to be in any sort of relationship. The woman at least deserved that. She should also call Nick to let him know what was going on and to apologize for her sudden disappearance. If she left then she would have the time to do both. She just needed to grab another agent to finish the charges. Luckily for her an agent walked by just as she was getting ready to go looking.

"Do me a favor and finish these charges," she said. "I'll be back in an hour."

The agent stood there, about to argue, but she was gone before he could get a word out. The Danvers always had a habit of disappearing without giving anyone else a word. He didn't mind though at least setting up charges gave him something to do, it beat walking around in circles.

XXXXX

"Ms. Thorul," Warden spoke quietly in case the woman in front of her lashed out. Her boss had been in a foul mood since returning from her visit with Flare.

"What is it Warden?" she wasn't as cold as she had been recently but there was still a bite in her words.

"Secretary Ryland has gone to ground," she informed her. "The DEO sent Supergirl to bring him in but he had already disappeared. He shouldn't be a problem anymore, unless you want me to track him down."

"No need," she said. "He's already given us what we asked for. His life means nothing to me."

"Yes ma'am," Warden said. "Is there anything you need?"

"I need to be left alone," Thorul said waving her hand towards the door. "Now leave."

Warden nodded backing out of the room leaving Thorul on her own. Years she had been working under the woman as her enforcer. She had given up her life, her identity, to become Warden. Thorul treated her better than her family ever did, but that wasn't saying much having grown up in a cult. It was true she was starting to feel like Thorul was starting to go insane. They had their mission, obtain Flare and use her for their ultimate goal; keeping their reign with an iron fist. Of course with Donovan in the picture it muddied the waters. Why would Flare ever agree to join them when the man who abused her was part of the plan? Thorul had clearly lost her mind and Warden was prepared to fix that.

"Donovan just the man I was looking for," she said grabbing him by the shoulder as painfully as possible. "We need to talk."

"You finally going to take me up on my offer?" he said with a snarl.

Warden growled, she hated him, hated how he spoke to her. She should kill him, it wouldn't be that hard, she could just turn and snap his neck. Thorul would be angry. Furious even, but maybe then she would see Donovan was just a nuisance. She had to realize that having Donovan around would drive Flare away, no matter what they did.

She shoved her index finger in his face. "If I ever take you up on your offer someone damn well be ready to put a gun to my head and pull the trigger," she said. "I don't like you, in fact I would enjoy nothing more than to kill you, slowly and painfully. And if you push me much further not even Thorul will be able to stop me."

Donovan grinned enjoying how easily she angered. He enjoyed having knowledge that Warden didn't. He enjoyed knowing what her fate would be once his daughter joined them (willingly or unwillingly). She had no idea Ms. Thorul considered her expendable and that made every moment he was forced to spend with her more fun.

"Fine, what is it this time?"

"I don't know what plans Ms. Thorul has, but I have a feeling that they won't be sufficient," Warden said. "I know Flare's type, she won't come alone, not after what I did. So we have to be ready for anything."

"You give my daughter too much credit," Donovan said. "She's never been a fighter."

Warden scoffed. The last time Donovan had been face to face with his daughter she had nearly caved his face in she had beaten him so badly. He didn't see Flare as a threat, he probably even felt like he still had control over his daughter. Truth was he didn't, Warden had seen it in her eyes. Flare was out for blood when it came to Donovan.

"Don't underestimate a cornered animal, they can be the most dangerous," Warden warned him. "You need a weapon, I just happen to have one. It's infused with Kryptonite, it belonged to Lex Luthor at one point. I have a feeling you're going to be using it very soon."

"I didn't think you cared what happened to me, Warden," he said.

"I don't," she said, "but Ms. Thorul does, and I serve her."

She handed him the case housing the weapon. He took the case testing the weight in his hand, it was heavy but the weapon itself wasn't. She wasn't sure if he even knew how to yield it. Part of her wanted to leave him to his own devices, see what happened in a real fight. Part of her also wanted to get him use to it, see how good he was a yielding a blade, just in case she needed to incapacitate him if he decided to turn on them.

"Come on, might as well teach you how to use it."

XXXXX

Kara sat alone in the DEO's locker room. Her new suit was almost a carbon copy of her old one. Lena had added a bit more gold around the House of El coat of arms. There was also more plating around the chest like her Kryptonite suit Lena had originally built for her. Lena had also added more red to the rest of the suit, mostly in the wrists. Kara liked it, mostly because it was comfortable, but also because her wife had designed it. It wasn't the first time Lena had created a suit for her but every time she did it was special. Kara was also aware of the upgrades Lena had made, a shield to protect against Photokinetic energy and well as Kryptonite shielding. At the rate that Lena was coming up with things to add on Kara would completely invincible in no time.

She sighed, her fists clenching and unclenching. Warden had already beaten her once, with the intent to kill her. Kara wouldn't have been sitting there if it hadn't been for Kelly stepping in. She was use to standing alone in the face of danger, sometimes with her sister behind her and Lena offering support. This time all of them were running into the fire. They would all be lucky to make it out of this unscathed. That was what scared her most. Her wife and daughter would be safe from danger. Her sister, her niece, and Maggie on the other hand would be right there with her, risking everything to save each other.

"You don't have to keep standing there," she said. "Hiding in the shadows, trying not to be seen."

"What can I say," Lena said joining Kara on the bench. "It's not often I get to see you so quiet, deep in thought."

"I have a lot to think about."

"Like what darling?"

"That even after her death your mother just won't leave us alone," Kara said, they didn't know for sure of course but it was too much of a coincidence to overlook.

Lena chuckled leaning into Kara. "She never did get over the fact her granddaughter was part Kryptonian." She had taken great pride in breaking that news to her mother. Lillian's reaction had been priceless, it had been during one of the few times Lillian wasn't trying to kill her and Kara.

"Guess it doesn't matter what Earth she's from," Kara said resting her chin against the top of Lena's head. "She'll always think Supers and Luthor's are enemies."

Lena wrapped her arms around Kara's waist, pulling her wife closer to her. They rarely had moments to themselves where they could just sit and revel in each other's presence. When the opportunities presented themselves they took them. Everything was so uncertain, they had no idea if they would ever have a moment like this again. There was always a possibility something would go wrong, the suit would malfunction, or Kelly would falter.

"Lena, if something happens to me…" Kara trailed off. Neither of them liked discussing death, but in their lives death was a possibility. People wanted Lena dead, and Supergirl was always in some type of danger, new enemies arose everyday each more powerful and equipped to take her out. They always had a plan, but they needed to make sure the other remembered.

"I know, believe me, I know," she said. "Nothing is going to happen, you and the others will come home, safe with Warden and Thorul in custody."

"And Donovan?"

"In a casket."

"I think my sister has that covered."

XXXXX

Maggie stood back watching Alex conduct her briefing. These were her agents in her house, Maggie had no place but to stand back and listen. She always loved seeing Alex like this, focused and confident. Moments like this reminded her of the agent she had first met all those years ago at a crime scene. Each one of her agents had their full attention on her, absorbing every word she had to say.

"Warden and Thorul are to be brought in alive," Alex made sure to reinforce their main objective. "Donovan however, he does not make it out of this. If you are not comfortable taking the shot, we will."

Both Alex and Maggie had a strict moral code (one that didn't always agree with Maggie being a cop) to be non-lethal. Neither of them liked to kill, both actively avoided it and both had a body count that neither cared to share. In Donovan's case he couldn't be left alive, not after what he had done to Alex or Kelly. He would escape again. The only way they could ensure everyone's safety was to make sure he never got up again. It was one thing both of them were willing to do.

"Go get geared up, we move out in four hours."

The agents all moved as one unit, following each other out of the room towards the locker room. There were too many of them for Maggie to remember all of their names but she knew the majority of Delta team. She had worked with them once before a year or so prior. They were all good agents, extremely skilled and task oriented, but they were young and that was dangerous.

Alex sighed letting her shoulders relax. She was exhausted, emotionally and physically. In her years at the DEO she had been through a lot that drained her from Myriad to the Daxamite invasion but this topped the rest. Not only was she dealing with a threat to the city and to Supergirl but the rest of her family as well. She knew Maggie felt the same way as her.

"Guess this is it huh?" Maggie came over to stand next to Alex. "I think we're going to need a vacation after this. I was thinking somewhere and Europe. I know we always talked about it."

"Is now really the time to be thinking about that?" Alex didn't sound angry, just tired.

"Probably not, but when else would we talk about it?" Maggie countered. "Nearly sixteen years together and we just keep putting it off and putting it off. I think that once we get Warden and Thorul the two of us deserve a break."

She chuckled smiling up at Maggie. "I think you're right, but maybe we could start closer to home, say a week in Midvale at my parent's old home, just the two of us." She had always loved spending time in her childhood home in recent years, always trying to take Kelly there to visit Eliza. With Eliza being in an assisted living home Alex had promised she would take care of the house. Kara was usually the one to make the trip to make sure everything was alright. Maybe it was about time Alex and Maggie went.

"I think I could be convinced to do that," Maggie said with a smile. "Now back to business. Do we let Kelly know about our plan with Donovan?"

"No, I'm sure she'll figure out that we have no intention to bring him in alive," Alex said. "She doesn't need to know the details."

"Do you think she's actually going to let us handle this?" It was the one thing about this whole plan that worried Maggie. Kelly had never once actively agreed to hang back while they handled the situation. She was always fighting to be on the front lines with Kara or them. Maggie wasn't sure she fully believed that Kelly had come up with the entirety of the plan with the intention of staying out of the fray.

"I'm hoping she'll be smart about this," Alex admitted. "I think she's realized she can't do this alone."

"I hope you're right."

"Yeah, me too."

They both fell silent unsure if there was anything else that needed to be said. They both had plans for if and when one of them was hurt or worse in the line of duty. Both knew the risks and knew what the other wanted it wasn't something they had to worry about at that moment. Kelly would be alright if she just did what she was told and didn't get involved any further than that. Alex had learned to stop worry about Kara a long time ago, her sister was a capable fighter, and she could handle herself in the worst of situations.

"I love you," Maggie said after the silence became too much to bear. "Promise me, no heroics today. Donovan has already taken enough from us."

"I promise, only if you do the same," Alex agreed. "And I love you too."

"Let's get this done Alex."

XXXXX

Kelly pulled her jacket tighter around her, she wasn't cold, she just felt odd waiting outside of a gym to talk to a woman she had only brief interactions with. She had called Nick learning he was in the middle of a family crisis that he wished he could get away from. Sara on the other hand deserved more than just a phone call. Kelly felt she owed her some kind of explanation as to why she hadn't called or anything. She honestly didn't think that after all was said and done that she would stay in the city. She needed time to think, time to really figure out who she was, to stop questioning herself.

The problem Kelly had with all of this was that Sara knew nothing about her. She had no clue Kelly was Flare she didn't even know that she was a metahuman. Kelly rarely told her partners about her powers (the last one she had told had been in high school and she hadn't spoken to them since graduation). If Sara knew maybe it would be easier for her to understand why Kelly was turning her down. Then again maybe it wouldn't which was why Kelly wasn't going to say anything about it. She would rather disappoint Sara rather than get her hurt later on.

"Kelly! Hey!" Sara had caught sight of her almost immediately. She smiled as she approached Kelly, clearly happy to see her. "What are you doing here?"

Kelly rubbed the back of her neck. "I uh wanted to see you and uh talk to you." She was doing her best not to ring her hands but she wasn't good at this kind of thing. Communication wasn't really a Danvers thing.

Sara's smile faltered. "Nothing good ever come from that sentence." She sounded a bit disappointed but she wasn't angry.

"I feel like I owe you an explanation for not calling you," Kelly said. "I'm not a complete asshole."

"I appreciate it," Sara said.

"Let's get a coffee, then I'll explain."

It wasn't a far walk to the coffee shop, Kelly couldn't spend too much time away from the DEO, they were preparing their final assault, she wasn't about to miss it. Sara was a good cop, even better listener. Had things been better timed Kelly was sure the two of them would have made a great pair. It would be her father that would fuck things up for her. He always had a way of worming his way back into her life even while he was in prison. Part of her wanted someone to put a bullet in his head, another part of her wanted to do it herself.

"So what's the deal Danvers?" Sara pressed after they sat down. "If you didn't want to go on a date with me you could have just said so."

"That's not why," Kelly said. "Do you know who Miles Donovan is?"

"He was terrorist back in the day, Cadmus and the Children of Liberty, locked up at Albatross Bay serving out a life sentence," Sara said. "Why?"

"He's my father," Kelly admitted. "He was also released about three weeks ago. That's why I've been so flaky, I've been hiding from him."

Sara reached across the table to take Kelly's hand in hers. "I'm so sorry," she said. "Well that explains why Lieutenant Sawyer has been so busy lately."

"I just…I'm not in a great place right now," Kelly said, "maybe once he's in custody and I've had some time to figure myself out, I can take you to dinner like I said."

"I'd like that," Sara said with a smile. "You take care of yourself. I'm a patient woman."

"Well I think I have enough time to finish this coffee with you if you would allow that?"

"I think I can," Sara said with a laugh.

Kelly couldn't help but smile. She was beginning to realize that when things were at their worst taking a moment to step back and smile took some of that weight off. If she could go into this last fight with a clear head she could do what needed to be done without crossing any lines. Maybe this small spark of hope she was feeling would be enough for them to win. Maybe it was enough.

XXXXX

Alex stood in the command center with Maggie, Kara, Lori, Lena and Brainy. They would be moving out in twenty minutes after the final preparations had been made. Everyone was aware of their roles, aware of what they were expected to do. Well everyone but Kelly who was nowhere to be seen.

"Where the hell is Kelly?" Alex was really starting to hate Kelly's disappearing act.

Almost as if Alex had summoned her Kelly slid into the group, panting and out of breath. "Sorry lost track of time," she said. "Everyone ready?" Maggie shot her a look. She shrugged knowing that she was at fault for this one and she would take the blame for that.

"We were just waiting on you sunshine," Maggie said in a teasing tone. "Something more important than taking down a few bad guys?"

"Apologizing to a woman who asked me on a date and I promptly ghosted," Kelly shot back. "You know what that's like, don't you mom?"

Kara snorted unable to keep herself from laughing. She wasn't sure what had suddenly gotten into her niece but she was glad the young Danvers was back to her old self and immediately picking on Maggie. They had no idea what would happen to them in the upcoming hours, having a couple laughs before things got serious again felt like the best way to handle the situation. Kara wasn't going to argue if her sister-in-law got a few jabs in her direction.

"Alright, alright," Alex said stopping the situation from progressing any further (even though she found it just as funny). "Everyone knows what their job is, every one of us knows the stakes. I don't want anyone playing hero, we get in we get out. That's it, if things go sideways we pullout, regroup and find them again."

"Simple enough," Kelly said with a confident grin. "Get in, punch some shit, arrest a couple of baddies and get out."

"Let's not get too cocky," Maggie said. "We all know how dangerous Warden and Donovan are."

"I want everyone suited up and ready to go in ten minutes," Alex said before turning to Lena. "You two ready to go?"

"As ready as we can be," Lena said. "Just be careful, all of you."

They all nodded in agreement. Kara was already suited up, Alex was in her gear, the only two people not suited up were Kelly and Maggie. Kelly flicked her wrist to the side and a moment later she was in her suit, all she was missing was her helmet. Maggie rolled her eyes, when it came to getting suited up she was in the same boat as Alex.

"I'll catch up," she said quickly making her exit.

"I'll go get the charges," Kelly said patting Lori on the head. Her cousin had been quiet since that morning, allowing the rest of the Danvers to make their plans of attack. "See you on the flip side kid."

Alex and Kara stayed behind, one last moment to catch their breath, one last moment to take in the situation before there would be no time to think. Kara was ready, Warden had beaten her once but with her upgraded suit Kara would be the one walking away.

"You'll have two teams behind you incase anything goes wrong," Alex said. "Lena you have the location?"

"I do," Lena said handing Alex her tablet. "Another abandoned building, I think it was an old Cadmus facility before the organization folded."

"Good at least we'll have an idea of the layout, Cadmus never was very versatile," Alex said. "Let's get moving, we have a long couple hours ahead of us."

Alex started to leave pausing only when Kara didn't immediately follow her. Kara was hugging Lena and Lori. Alex was inclined to let her have the moment, they would be safe but Kara wouldn't be. If it hadn't been for the fact both Maggie and Kelly would be with them Alex probably would be doing the same thing. Saying her goodbyes just in case something went wrong. With one last squeeze from Lori, Kara went to join Alex, the two sisters leaving to join the rest of the team. They had fought greater odds before, but none had as high stakes for their families as this did.

XXXXX

"Ma'am the sensors have picked up multiple incoming," one of her men said. "Do you want us to do anything?"

"How many?"

"It appears to be all of them."

Thorul hadn't even noticed Warden standing behind the man. She was fully dressed in her thick armor, she held her mask in her hand. "What are your orders ma'am?"

She thought about it for a moment. She hadn't expected Flare to bring everyone into this, she had thought her threats had been enough. As it turned out her stunt had caused them all to rally and regroup. She had miscalculated their determination and now she had to answer for it. Behind Warden was Donovan, she supposed that he would be useful for more than one thing after all.

"I don't care how badly you hurt her, I just want you to bring Flare to me alive," Thorul said.

"And the others," Donovan asked.

"Kill them all."