Author Notes: Again the outside fanfic being referenced is '#sanversweek day 3: "you're drunk"' from the talented tumber author Performative Zippers

Link:

post/162066625165/sanversweek-day-3-youre-drunk

She really was trying to play it nice with the new one. She could see that being with her was making her Alex happy. Well almost happy. A different kind of happy. A fake happy.

The longer she observed the two together she could pick out the differences. Or at least the part of her that was Kara could see the differences. Her smile was too guarded. Too forced. It wasn't a real smile. Not like the ones she flashed before. Ones that were bright like the stars.

She sees those real Alex smiles when she sleeps hears her real laughter and not the fake laughs she gives when the new one is around.

Linda so wants to see one of those star bright smiles for herself to hear that real full bully laughter the normally follows and not just from someone else's memories in her head.

But how?

The one that caused it was gone. For that Linda sulks. She didn't want her gone. She likes the small one that made her Alex so happy.

"Hey, Al, you in…. Oh hey. Um…. Linda, right? Red Daughter?"

Linda tries not to flinch at her former code name as her eyes don't look up from their trained gaze on the floor. Well, one thing was sure. The new one was getting better at telling the 'Kara Twins' as Winn calls them apart.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

The new one takes a seat beside her on Alex's small couch.

Linda finished early with her part of her latest mission checking in on the beautiful Lena. She was alright it turned out. She'd explained to the awestruck Linda that she had accidentally sent out a false alarm of danger saying her watch had been hit too hard on the edge of a table. Yet the coldness in her eyes when she'd dismissed her after Linda had spotted a broken picture on her desk of her angel and her sisters had Linda sulking more than she was for her Alex while she hid away in her big sister's office like a child.

Another thing Lex would have scolded her for. She can hear him in her had as clearly as if he were in the room with them.

'Gods wouldn't hide away Daughter. You are a god. Act like one.'

"Come on. Maybe I can help." Kelly coxes nudging her shoulder with Linda's as she scoots closer. Linda shakes her head pulling her legs up against her chest to make herself smaller. She'd changed into some of Alex's spare clothes almost as soon as touched down at the DEO. They made her feel…safe.

"I am fine."

Yes, the new one was nice and kind and good, but she wasn't the one Linda wanted to open up to.

She wanted the small one with the smile that could power cities. The one with the scent of stale coffee, scotch and leather. That liked looking after baby trees in her spare time.

She wanted her Dude.

"Found her…. hey found them both cool…..Thanks Vaz."

The two on the couch turned as one at the call.

"Hey, you."

Again, Linda spots a less than perfect Alex smile as the other on the couch get up to pull her sister in for a greeting hug and a quick kiss.

"Hey yourself." Alex greets but Linda can hear she is holding herself back. Alex's smile falters even more as soon as her eyes find Linda.

She untangles from the new one instantly reclaiming Kelly's place beside her yet closer than Linda had let the other woman get. "Lin? What's wrong?"

Rather than answer Red Daughter pulls her sister in for a warm comforting hug. Drinking in the strength she gets from simply being in the other woman's presence.

"I am better now." She chirps when they part. It's not really a lie but not the full truth either. "I will leave you to your date now."

Alex starts to shake her head but its Kelly that answers "No need to leave on my account. It's just lunch. You're more than welcome to stay."

Linda shakes her head leaning over to press a soft kiss against Alex's coloring cheeks. "Kara Danvers and Mom are back. I will eat with them" she shrugs getting to her feet.

Alex narrowed her eyes as she looks Linda over. She's not dumb she knows her new sister is dodging them because of something. Yet before she can dig a little more as to why and almost as if on cue Kara breezed into the room bringing the scent of smoke with her. "Hey, I was going to take Mom over to check out that new Chinese fusion pizza place by the airport wanna come?"

"And miss you geeking out because they have two of your favorite things under one roof?" Alex laughs already picking up her jacket from the back of her chair.

Linda is about to accept as well as the mention of food reminds her that is was more than a while since she'd last eaten. "I…." she starts to say when she casts a glance out the window wall into the control room below spotting someone that reminds her of her earlier idea. "I will try another time. I am sure I can find something here I will like. Just remember Eliza expects us all back for dinner tonight." Linda reminds with a soft smile.

"Got it." Her sisters say at the same time pulling her in for a three-person hug.

"and you shower and change before you go."

Alex and Kelly laugh together at the wounded look Kara gives at the scold from her clone. "Nice one L." The real Alex grins holding out her hand for a high five that Red Daughter doesn't hesitate to return this time before turning to the door.

It takes a while to track her prey in the maze of halls, but soon enough she finds him. Stretched out on a couch in one of the three break rooms in the building tinkering with some high-tech looking device Linda had heard Brainy ask him to look at before he gave it as a gift to Nia.

"Winn?"

The cute computer genius starts a little at her touch having been too engrossed in whatever he'd been doing to hear her approach. Well, that and the fact he had headphones on she guesses. "Hey, Snowie. What brings you to my neck of HQ?"

Linda rolls her eyes cracking the first real smile since returning to the DEO as she goes to hug him. "I need your help. I need to find someone."

"Oh yeah?" Winn smiles running a hand in his already unkempt hair "Who's the target?"

"Sawyer…. you have a visitor."

The warn out detective glanced up at words then looked at her watch then at the calendar on her desk. No, she wasn't expecting one of her contacts to bringing her any more info on one of her cases and besides even if she was it was way too late for anyone with a brain to be out walking the streets of Gotham City.

"Burning night light Sawyer. Get out there." Her boss huffed from her office when the cop didn't go see who was waiting for her.

With a groan, Maggie got up taking her coffee mug with her for another cup of what passed for coffee at the precinct. At least the lobby coffee was a bit better than what they had to deal with in the breakroom.

She'd barely cleared the door when she was engulfed in a familiar pair of strong arms. "My Dude." Her visitor giggles only hugging tighter when Maggie tried to wrestle free. "I miss you." A surprisingly shy Kara Danvers hums pulling back to look at her without dropping her vice of a hold.

If Maggie didn't know better, she would swear the Kryptonian was drunk and the fact that she was dressed in disheveled pajamas she seemed to have borrowed from her sister didn't help that argument. Seriously it was cold enough to threaten snow and Kara wasn't wearing shoes or socks. Or worryingly her glasses.

"Patrol found her wandering by the park. When they stopped her, she immediately asked if they knew her dude, Maggie…..Maggie Sawyer."

As if on cue Kara jumped in with a proud smirk on her lips "My dude Maggie look. I found new song." She giggles waving what Maggie knew was a phone belonging to one of the officers waiting in the lobby with the giddy sister of Maggie's ex-fiancée. No, this woman might look like Kara, but she didn't sound like her. This had to be the other Kara the one Lex Luthor had been working with to bring down the real Kara.

Maggie might have transferred back to her old stomping ground as soon as she got the chance but that didn't mean she stopped keeping an eye on the news concerning the 'little sister' of the woman she had at one point being engaged to.

"Also, here." The Kara double smiles holding out a steaming to go cup. "It is still your favorite yes?" the accented voice prompts nervous as Maggie takes the cup turning it until she could read the order on the receipt taped to the side. Not coffee as some part of the cop's brain was grateful for but hot cocoa.

"Sure is." Maggie nodes earning a genuine smile from the blonde as she takes a sip letting the warmth of the drink work its way into her warn out and tired limbs. "I've got her from here guys." Maggie assures noticing how her fellow officers were still hanging around eyeing them warily.

"Good, maybe you can get her to go home for a few hours." Maggie starts causing the Kara double to spin her around putting herself between Maggie and her captain. "That's an order, Sawyer. You and…" Kate paused looking toward Kara.2

"Danvers…. Linda Danvers" 'Kara' answers her hand starching out politely but the hard fire in her blue eyes didn't dim nor did she move from her firm stance between the two.

Kate smiled her eyebrow raised. But Maggie knew the other woman well enough since coming back that she could tell Kate was upset for some reason. As if she'd somehow met Kara before and was upset her double hadn't remembered it. Yet just as soon as that look flashed in her eyes it was gone replaced with an amused smirk that didn't reach her eyes as the two shook hands. "Another Danvers?"

Maggie didn't answer instead becoming very interested in the design on her to go cup. "Anyway, you and Danvers go home get some sleep or hell listen to that new song she said she found. Anything but come in for the next week. You need time away. This seems a good of an excuse as any."

She wants to argue back but she also knows that her captain is only looking out for her. Despite living once again in one of the most crime rampant cities in the world Maggie had been incredibly fortunate to be able to work under a commanding officer that actually gave a dame about the officers she worked with. Besides with all the overtime she was pulling in Maggie did have more than a few vacation days waiting for her to use.

"…shark do do doo doo dado…. Mama shark….."

The two officers dropped the other's eyes in favor of looking at the blonde yet to move from her defensive place between them. "What…. I like this song." Linda defends. That triggers popcorned rounds of muffled laughter while Maggie rolls her eyes with the hint of a smile.

"Hang here while I go get my jacket then we'll go."

Linda nodes rather reluctantly returning the phone to its owner. "Thank you for letting me borrow." She says her broken English earning a warmer smile from the officer. "Not a problem at all." He assures pocketing the device.

Maggie grins mouthing her own thanks to her follow officer then turns on her heels to head back into the bullpen. She hadn't made it clear of the first row of desks before she felt a familiar shadow following her.

"Don't want you tripping my dude." Linda says by way of an explanation of her actions. Not that surprising considering the amount of coffee Maggie had had in the last 24 hours. Maggie shrugs allowing her new shadow to follow her over to her desk to sign off on the last pages of a case and pick up her jacket from the back of her chair.

"What is this?"

Maggie looks up from shutting down her computer to see Linda Lee standing beside her desk examining a zip-locked bag of powdered sugared checks cereal her latest partner dropped off that morning. She hadn't had the heart to reject the offering and had just left it on her desk while she worked occasionally taking a few pieces just to say she'd eaten something as she stared herself cross-eyed on case after case.

"Its puppy chow. Well, puppy chow trail mix more like."

The famous 'Danvers crinkle' soon appeared the longer the Kara double poked at the contents of the bag before looking back toward Maggie. "You have a dog?"

Maggie chuckled as she flipped her hair back over the collar of her jacket making one last check for her bike keys as she tugs her helmet out from her lower desk drawer. "Yes I do." she turns a framed picture on her desk of her smiling beside a mixed breed. "Rescued her almost as soon as I got back to town actually, but this kind of chow is for people only." She explains holding out her hand toward the super twin.

Linda goes to hand over the bag but again Maggie shakes her head her outstretched fingers closing around Linda's free hand instead. "I'll tell you more about it on the way to the lot." She offers earning one of Kara's heart-melting smiles as Linda nodes gratefully her hand tightening in Maggie only just remembering to back down her strength before her eagerness to be accepted could accidentally break her new friend's hands.

"Thank you, my dude Maggie."

The detective chuckles at that letting Linda break their connection the second they were back in front of other people on the way to the elevator. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

Linda blinks as if not understanding the question before she shrugs. "I have some of Kara Danvers's memories. The most recent I have seen being when she went after you in that bar and talked you into shots of water during that sports game."

Maggie smiles bashful now as she hit the button for the underground parking lot. Now she remembers why hearing that is equally amusing and painful to her. It came from a time when she was happier. She and Alex were just starting out as a couple and she and Kara were growing closer little by little.

It was also the night her favorite out of city hockey team had won a key match during which she'd gotten royally sloshed. Now she thinks about it she may even still have a few of the videos Kara had taken that night on her phone.

"Huummm. This is good."

Maggie started at the louder than needed exclamation in the still groaning elevator car. "Huh? Oh yeah. It is." She agrees her hands fisted deep in her jacket pockets as the elevator chimes.

The doors had slide closed by the time Maggie had pivoted around stopping a perky looking Linda form moving more than a step or two away from the elevator.

It wasn't until she hears a faint giggling that Maggie risked looking over at the Kara double. Low a behold it was to see her on a phone of her own. The little sneak. Rather than call her out for it the detective asks, "Who are you texting?"

Linda blushed pink at the question. "Lena."

"Does she know…..I mean about…." Maggie mimicked taking off an imaginary set of glasses making Linda giggle louder as she nodes. "She does. Not only did 'not the real Alex' tell her before my sister she was also helpful in seeing I got to live and be my own person."

Maggie cringed at the knowledge "Bet she didn't take it well,"

Linda shakes her head "but she did put her anger aside enough to help with me."

Again, Maggie nodes before asking the question that been buzzing in her head since laying eyes on the Kara double. "Why are you here? Really?" she had to know if this wasn't just some big kidnapping scheme. "Are you thinking you could somehow use me to get to Kara and A…" she fumbles on the name her throat tightening painfully even now but she pulls herself together with as much dignity as she can and tries again. "My point in asking is I want to know what do you want with me?"

Linda shakes her head tears welling in her blue eyes as her hands raise rambling out what Maggie guesses is an apology in Russian of all things yet talking so quickly that even if she had been able to understand it Maggie has trouble translating every other word of it. She obviously picks up on it because halfway into her backpaddling she changes over to choppy English "I only want to meet you. I see you in Kara's memories more and more and I want to know you myself. I come on my own. I am not here to trick you in any way."

The detective's arms remain locked across her chest defensive as she pulls another question from the growing list forming in her mind. "What about Lex?"

"He is dead. Lena killed him." The way she says the CEO's name reminds Maggie so much of how she would say Alex's before they started dating. So much low simmering love caressing every letter. It seemed memories weren't the only thing the Kara twins shared. They also had the same taste in women or in this case in one woman in particular.

"Knowing who your double is that chow won't hold you for long." Maggie comments after a pregnant pause while she thinks things over. Linda shrugs her shoulders her eyes going to her shoes when like Maggie predicted her stomach growled like a lion giving her away.

Maggie chuckles hiding a yawn behind her hands now the last of the station coffee had faded away leaving the start of fast-moving fatigue behind. She shakes it off as best she could her hands sliding into Linda's as she tugged her over to her waiting motorcycle. "Come on I know an all-night diner close by with a decent enough menu."

Linda looks like she wants to protest but as Maggie suspected her growling stomach wins out. That is until Kara 2.0 breaks out one of Kara's more mischievous smiles her head tilted to the side listening to something Maggie wouldn't hope to catch. "Or you can come for dinner. Eliza just called us for family supper."

Maggie hesitated. She had missed the Danvers's monarchs cooking something fierce. But a family dinner meant facing Alex.

"Please. My Dude. You come as my guest. Eliza misses you." Linda pleads seeing the rejection forming on her new friend's lips. "Alex has to decline. Working late."

Maggie's eyes flicker to Linda's face as if not fully believing her. For once she can't decipher her answer. Linda has too good of a poker face, unlike Kara who was more or less an open book. "Please." The Kara double tries again using the full force of that heart-melting pout.

"Alright. Okay." Maggie agrees after a pause bringing a clapped smile from the alien double beside her. "But at least let me take my bike home before we leave."

To say Linda was pleased with her acceptance was an understatement. The Russian daughter delight seemed to be nothing short of mischievous as she accepted the spare helmet Maggie offered her.

What the hell had Maggie gotten herself into?