Barry Allen was a dead man. Staring at the flexible cuffs on her wrists, Alex vowed to ensure the weaselly little bastard never ran another step as long as he lived. It was his fault she was in this mess.
Blood edged from beneath the tight, plastic cuffs. The goon who'd slipped them onto her wrists was a pro. There wasn't enough room to slip a finger between the cuff and her skin. Even squeezing her hands closed and tensing her muscles hadn't created any slack. Frustration overrode her calm, efficient examination of her situation. Alex yanked against the cuffs again and again.
The end result? More blood and pain and zero freedom. God damn Barry Allen.
Closing her eyes, Alex reached for Kara. Only silence answered. The constant, irritating optimism and happiness Kara shared with Alex through their bond was missing. Not as if Kara was having a bad day or (finally!) filtering her emotions. No. This was complete, echoing silence. Alex was alone in her mind in a way that hadn't happened since she was fourteen.
She rubbed her bound hands over her chest, where the House of El crest was permanently etched. The soulmark was cold under her tactical suit.
Known for her composure under pressure, Alex freaked out again. Her hands fisted, pushing already bruised and torn skin into the hard, plastic tie. When the panic receded, Alex hung her head and dragged in deep, slow breaths. There was no to act like a brand-new agent on her first mission. She was the DEO's second in command and Supergirl's soulmate.
She had to stay calm. Kara was fine. None of the grim scenarios in Alex's mind were true. Kara was simply out of reach somehow. Or maybe something in this shitty version of Earth was blocking their soulbond.
That had to be it.
Mind calming enough for Alex to think clearly, she reached for the collar of her suit. The Nth metal rank tab pinned beneath her chin marked Alex as a general in the House of El army – and hid the Kevlar cord carefully folded into the raised fabric.
It hissed as Alex pulled it free. She leaned against the wall of her cell for balance. The cord looped over the top of the flexicuffs before Alex tied overhand knots into the eyelets of each of her boots.
Now for the hard part. Lowering herself to the dank and disgusting floor, Alex lay on her back. Her feet bicycled for three…four rotations to create friction between the cord and the cuffs. A mild snap and the renewed blood flow in her hands announced she was free.
Alex rolled to her feet with renewed purpose. It was time to break out, kick the ass of whoever had kidnapped her, and find Kara.
And if she managed to "accidentally" wipe the floor with Barry Allen? Halle-fucking-lujah.
The cell "walls" were clear and hard. Something smooth like glass. Even the best-made prison had flaws, though. Alex had been part of the design team for the DEO containment cells. She knew the ins and outs of heavy-duty, alien-proof materials – and she always carried a tool specifically made to be a fail-safe.
Twisting the simple black band on her left ring finger activated a series of tiny, circular indentations. Thin lasers sprang from the ring. One by one, Alex tested them against the material of the cell.
Finally, a tiny crack appeared. "Bingo!" She'd have to buy Winn a new action figure. Maybe a baby Yoda, considering the ear-piercing squeal he'd made at seeing a gif on the Internet. The ring had been his invention. Alex carefully cut a narrow exit near the floor.
The excised section slid out, followed by Alex. She replaced the rectangle once she was free. Unless her captors were really looking, they might miss the method of her escape. Nerves strung taut, Alex crept through the cluttered area, passed rows of empty cells and abandoned, high-tech control centers.
"What do you mean, you lost her? Alex isn't a puppy! She didn't slip the leash and run off to chase butterflies!" Kara glared at Barry, eyes burning with incipient heat vision.
His sheepish grin grated on her nerves. "I got a call-out. She was safe here!" His arms waved at the temporary Command Center (what was Oliver's deal with ramshackle barns in the middle of nowhere?).
"We don't have time for this." Oliver. Of course. Voice monotone and expression devoid of anything remotely like an emotion, he moved between Kara and Barry. "We're here for a reason: to save this version of Earth before Dr. Titan can find a way to transport throughout the Multiverse."
White light bathed the barn in an iridescent flash. "Sorry we're late." Sara winked at Kara, as if she knew how close Oliver was to turning into a pile of ash. Maybe she did know. Maybe losing her temper was a fact in the future. "Stop antagonizing a Super. You do remember she can pick you up and turn you into a pretzel?"
An even better idea than frying him. Kara took a step forward.
"Focus, Danvers." Sara merely grinned when Kara glowered at her. "I've got the dirt on Titan. Once we take him down, you can find your girl and do whatever you want to the boys."
"Hang on, Alex," Kara thought into the normally vibrant spot at the back of her mind where Alex "lived". "Just hang on. I'll be there soon." Shelving her anger and need to pummel things, she stalked to the array of computer consoles where Sara waited.
Waving a flash drive at Felicity, Sara said, "We found some intel on Dr. Titan."
She might have continued if Felicity hadn't snatched the flash drive from her hand and shoved it into the nearest USB port on the laptop in front of her. A three-dimensional image of Titan sprang to life in the air above the Command Center. Felicity's fingers flew over her keyboard, and the flickering hologram of Titan transformed into a live-action movie.
A movie Sara narrated. "Titan is a physicist." She glanced at Oliver. "He was recruited by Queen Consolidated to work on a special project." The holographic movie showed a much younger Titan working with a group of other white-coated men and women in a high-tech lab.
Kara stared at Titan's image. "Let me see if I have the Cliff's Notes version: Titan worked for Oliver's company. Some tragedy happened, and he blames the Queen family. This whole thing is about revenge. Personal revenge."
No one moved or spoke for a long minute. "Regardless of what happened in the past," Oliver finally began, "Titan poses a threat to the entire Multiverse, starting with Earth-1."
No, he didn't. Kara might have told Oliver a few painful truths if the barn roof hadn't suddenly flown off and Dr. Titan hadn't dropped in. He landed with a thud. Energy crackled around him. Kara winced as he raised a hand and fired electricity in a blazing arc at Oliver.
She hated electricity. This was going to hurt.
"Bingo." Alex pressed her back to the wall, turning her head far enough to peek around the corner of the nearby doorway. A few white-coated men and women clustered around lab equipment and computer terminals. Armed guards roamed behind them.
It was a good thing that black was the default uniform of every black-ops organization and greedy mercenary everywhere. Alex would fit right in…as long as none of them had been part of her abduction team. Scowling, she shoved that thought away. There wasn't time to doubt her sort-of plan. Shoulders back, spine stiff, and chin raised, Alex marched right into the room. "Sit-rep!" she snapped at the first muscle head.
He came to sloppy attention. If he had been a DEO agent, Alex would have crucified him. Now, she crossed her arms and prayed he didn't notice her hands shaking. "Doc's with the Arrow and his crew. He ain't checked in but we've got video. Looks like his plan's working."
Voice sharp with disguised fear, Alex jerked her chin at the scientists. "And the nerd brigade?"
The guard's teeth flashed. "Almost ready."
Not good. Really not good. "We can't take any chances. Move two of the guards into the hallway in case that bastard in green has more friends. I'll monitor the progress in here. Your job is to make sure none of them make a break for it. I want a man on every exit." Well away from whatever Alex managed to come up with.
"On it." Proving that military discipline responded to confidence and command voice, he raised a hand and pointed to the door Alex had walked through. "You and you – outside the door. The rest with me. Post up at every door and window. Move!"
The coast was clear. Alex stayed in place, ignoring the urgent need to do something. She needed more information. What was going on at this facility? She observed the scientists, hoping to find some answers.
They were nervous – and definitely not moving like a group of people on the verge of a major scientific breakthrough. Steps slow and deliberate, Alex moved so she could view their work more closely.
Nothing made sense. A few tinkered with compounds and standard chemistry equipment. A biological weapon? The rest typed code. Familiar code. Alex had spent enough time on Earth-1 to recognize the programming that controlled access to the Multiverse.
Nothing related to Multiverse access was good news. It was time to put an end to Titan's experiments. First, though, Alex wanted a few seconds at one of the terminals to infect the code – and that required a diversion…and a scapegoat. One woman stood out. All of the others working at the computers deferred to her. Alex slipped closer – and paused. A photo of a man and two children sat on the desk. The woman looked at the photo every few keystrokes and sniffled.
Alex's scowl turned truly fierce. All of the people in the room, with the exception of the guards, were victims. She couldn't do anything to make their miserable existence worse. That left only one other option. As casually as possible, Alex pulled the second rank pin from her collar.
The magnetic tab clung to the underside of the lab table when she pressed it there. Tapping the insignia in a preset pattern armed the charge. Alex silently counted down. She had to make this look perfect or her already shaky "cover" would be blown. Even as time ran down. Alex remained in place.
Five.
She scanned the room. All of the guards were focused on the scientists.
Four.
Mapping the room with a practiced eye, she noted which computer was most likely to survive the blast intact. That was her target.
Three.
Alex slid one foot to the right and bent her knees.
Two.
Deep breath.
One.
Alex was diving even as the collar tab exploded and the lab table and all its contents flew into the air. Glass and metal rained down around her. The fire and smoke alarms sounded and the spigots in the ceiling deluged the room.
On her feet in seconds, Alex hurried to her chosen computer as the rest of the crew panicked and ran for the door. She caught the eye of the lead guard. "Go! I'll try to save as much data as I can!" Sure, she would. Alex didn't wait for the room to clear. She started typing frantically, praying to Fate and Rao that she remembered the code Winn had made her memorize when he'd first joined the DEO.
"Look, Alex…" His eyes widened when she took a step in his direction. "Agent! Agent Danvers! This code will destroy anything. My dad used it when he first became the Toyman. No one's cracked it yet. Not me. Not the best hackers at the NSA or Anonymous. No one."
"You better be right," she mumbled as she finished the last command and hit enter. She'd done it. Alex pumped a fist as the computer screen filled with binary numbers in a dancing toy pattern.
Her celebration was cut short as her mental link to Kara opened on a wave of pure, burning agony. Alex cried out; the room swam in a whirl of gray and black dots. "Kara!" Her internal shout got lost in Kara's pain. "What's happening? Where are you?"
Unfortunately, Kara didn't answer. Huddled on the floor, Alex breathed through the pain. Pain which disappeared as quickly as it arrived. Alex remained slumped, body trembling.
"We gotta clear out!" The guard. Fuck! How could she have forgotten. "You OK?" Footsteps squelched through the puddles of water.
Alex managed to stand. "Yeah." The guard didn't seem convinced. "Fucking sprinklers and electronics don't mix. Got shocked." Pasting on a grimace, she bitched. "Research is toast. The boss is gonna be pissed."
The guard paled. "Glad you showed up and I'm not in charge anymore." He gestured to the door. "Let's move. There's a van ready to take us to the secondary site.
Secondary site. Titan was too prepared. The virus would have wiped any local drives, but Alex didn't know if it would corrupt anything in the cloud or on a protected, shared server. She'd treated Winn's comments like a joke when he'd come to her. Too late now, but Winn was her first stop when she and Kara got back to their Earth.
She scrambled into the white panel van. It was crammed with the scientists and two guards, including her "friend." It was too good to be true. Hiding her glee, Alex crouched next to the other black-clad man. She catalogued his threat level automatically. A combat knife in a thigh sheath. A holstered Glock 17. He loosely held a M27 infantry rifle.
Like taking candy from a baby. Alex waited until the van was on the road. Ignoring the stares from the scientists, she tensed her muscles. As soon as they hit the highway, where the guard driving would be too busy to interfere, Alex threw herself at the man next to her.
She ripped the knife from its sheath before he registered her attack. It sliced cleanly through his carotid. He was dead before he hit the ground – and Alex knelt with his rifle pointed at the driver. "Take the next exit and find a restaurant or gas station. Pull in. Park. Keep your hands where I can see them," she ordered.
There was a silent standoff that lasted only a second. "You're the boss."
"Damn right." Alex's finger never left the trigger guard. This wasn't her first rodeo; he wasn't going to get her to relax. "Anyone back there know where Titan was headed? What he planned to do?"
She hadn't expected an answer, so the barrage of voices was a surprise.
"He's going after Oliver Queen," a woman said.
Another added, "He created a suit that gave him the ability to fly and generate a mobile electromagnetic field."
Kara's pain and fear. Alex's hands tightened on her weapon until her fingers ached. After Livewire…The need to find Kara. To make sure she was safe. "How do we kill the field?" Her voice was harsh with emotions she could no longer contain.
Writhing under the energy arcs, Kara tried to focus on moving. She…had to…move. Doctor Titan had to be stopped. Pressing her hands flat on the concrete floor, Kara managed to raise her torso a few inches.
That's when another bolt of electricity hit, and all her muscles seized. She screamed. Or thought she did. Kara didn't know how long she'd been down. At least she was still conscious (it was debatable how good that was). Barry and Oliver were motionless. Kara couldn't see Felicity or Sara.
Titan was at the Command Center. Typing. Cursing. Something…Kara closed her eyes and listened.
"Where is the portal? It should be opened by now." His bellow of rage punched into Kara's extended senses and combined with the lingering ache of the electrical bolts.
Raising her hand, she swiped at the tears flowing unchecked. Titan couldn't be allowed find a fix for his Multiverse portal. This time, Kara managed to get to her feet under her before Titan pulled his Emperor Palpatine act. And, like Luke, all Kara could do was scream and writhe on the floor.
Her heart raced then skipped. Raced. Skipped. The energy invading her body was never ending.
Unfortunately, Kara was not. Even the Girl of Steel buckled beneath Titan's electrical storm. The barn faded into shades of black and gray. Kara panted; gritted her teeth; pushed against the floor. And didn't move.
If moving wouldn't work, Kara had other weapons. A cloud of wintery air escaped her lips. Her aim was true. The leading edge of her freeze breath touched Titan, and one arm of his suit developed a thin coating of ice. Elation replaced the dread that had coiled deep in her bones. She sucked in a breath and blew harder and colder the second time.
Titan didn't appreciate Kara's "gift." He moved out of the line of fire and raised both hands.
This was it. Kara had no illusions regarding survival. She reached for the silent bond in her mind, needing to feel Alex. To know that whatever happened here in the barn, Alex would hear Kara's voice. "I love you, Alex. I'm sorry…"
She heard the electric crackle prefacing Titan's attack and braced.
The pain was forestalled by the rattle of metal and pounding footsteps. Kara peered across the barn. Blinked. Looked again.
A knight in full armor ran directly at Titan. Before the knight (Kara still wasn't sure if what she was seeing was real) took more than a dozen steps, the inevitable electrical strike filled the air.
The first sizzling arc hit the running figure in the chest – with no result. Sparks flew, and Kara smelled heating metal.
Titan didn't let up, but the knight never stopped. In seconds, the knight raised a lance – which looked suspiciously like a golf club – and swung it at Titan. There was a dull thud followed by his pained cry.
The electrical arc disappeared. The knight and the lance did not. Several more blows landed, dropping Titan to his knees. A brutal left hook put him flat on the floor. He didn't move again.
"Kara!" The knight ripped off her helmet and ran to Kara. Her metal-gloved hands banged against Kara's arms until they, too, came off. "I'm here, Kar. I'm here." Although the bond was still silent, Alex's hands were warm. Her arms familiar as they wrapped around Kara and helped her sit up.
Nuzzling her head beneath Alex's chin, Kara ignored the chill of the metal and soaked up Alex's presence. "Winn is never going to believe you were my knight in shining armor."
Alex's body shook against Kara. "You took too many lightening bolts to the head, Lady Kara. There's no shine to this armor. Titan's captive scientists and I made this shit out of aluminum siding from an old gas station."
"Still the most beautiful thing I've seen since Barry dragged us away from Movie Night."
"I've got a few things to…say to Barry," Alex growled, "and them I'm taking you home. We need to get you checked out and into a sun bed until I'm sure you're fine." Her eyes were darkened in anger. "And we're never helping in another Multiverse crisis again!"
Kara leaned up and kissed Alex's fierce Agent Danvers Scowl. "Whatever you say, 'lex." She'd let Alex think she'd won this particular battle. When Barry appeared again, Alex would dive into the portal at Kara's back with one Kara Pout or some puppy dog eyes. "Take me home. I need to feel you. I miss your constant worrying about my safety clattering around in my mind."
The rest of the armor clanged to the ground, and Alex lifted Kara from the floor. Cradled against Alex's chest, Kara activated the portal back to Earth-38. "I bet Titan would be upset that all he needed was my Supergirl watch. No research or kidnapped Agent Danvers required."
A warm voice and feel settled into Kara's mind as they stepped into the portal. "Kidnapping me was his biggest mistake, Sunshine. I'll always find a way to come home to you. Always."