Not for the first time, that night did Alex regret turning Kara down on flying her over to spend a little more time with her mother.
Despite what had been predicted earlier in the night that led to her decision to cancel whatever it was hadn't happened. Well apart from a few minor things over the police waves but nothing that would require any 'super' attention.
It was unnerving.
Like some weird calm before a huge storm. A storm Alex didn't want to be unprepared for.
To add to her unease, she still didn't know where Linda had gotten to. She'd tried texting her 'other younger sister' but didn't get an answer and her calls went the same way. Dropped to voicemail. After the twelfth time Alex had given up concluding that her youngest sister's phone had been turned off for some reason and deciding instead to activate her sister's DEO locator. That plan almost had her back to some semblance of calm until she remembered that Linda hadn't gotten her own yet.
As soon as she'd been stable enough for that kind of thing to take they'd already moved her to be closer to Eliza.
"I'm saying this as nice as I can. You need to calm down about this, Alex. I'm sure Linda is fine."
In her defense, Alex had, in fact, tried to set her mind at ease while she and Kelly chatted over a vending machine snack break, but it just seeping back into her mind. The dreaded unknown. The fear something was wrong.
It was like she was back when Kara had been literally off-world. No idea where she was or if she was okay. The same nervous energy buzzing in her system threatening to overwhelm her at any moment. Only this time it wouldn't be Maggie she blew up at. Alex still remembered all too clearly how losing her temper had almost cost her Maggie.
But at the same time, it had strangely brought them even closer in the end.
A strong grip on her upper arm jolts her back to herself "Hey, I get your just trying to look out for her because she's a twin of a sister you already have, but I also know that since she is the literal twin of Supergirl that Red Daughter can take care of herself." Kelly reminded pulling Alex in for a calming hug. Although why Alex now looked like Kelly had just asked to leave during the high point of an action movie was a bit puzzling.
After clearing her throat and seeming to be shaking something out of her head Alex answers. "I know. I know. I really do but every time I go down to at least get one of the guys to track Lin's phone for me Winn cuts in. It's like he knows something, but he just won't tell me what it is." She was thinking of some light threatening later in the night. Just to make sure his time in the future hadn't dulled her ability to intimidate him when she needed to.
After all, Winn had insisted on staying after talking Brainy into going home with Nia for the night so he'd all but volunteered for a little harmless threatening.
"Hey hey hey now. None of that." Kelly scolded with a joking laugh as if reading Alex's mind. "No maiming the techno-nerd." She reiterates following Alex's sightline into the control room below.
Just then Winn happened to look up at them from his chair in the control center's hub and despite the distance, Alex could see him sending her a wary kind of smile and a little wave as their eyes met. The little twitch of his hand against the keyboard was all the answer she needed.
"Still got it." The DEO director grins returning the gesture with a pleased smile of her own.
Beside her, Kelly rolls her eyes with a little shake of the head and a smile as she looked between the two. "Alright then. I'm going to head home."
Alex nodes her fingers still fisted in the material of her tactical shirt. "Yeah. Of course." She turns on her heels while Kelly collects her jacket.
She spots Winn coming around the corner from the direction of what passes for a cafeteria almost as soon as the elevator doors close and Kelly's car heads down to the lobby. Alex's feels her jaw tick in annoyance at how calm he is when Linda is still technically missing yet here he was distracted by something on his phone.
"Oh, Alex you have got to see this. Honestly, she's just so adorable it's almost criminal." Winn gushes turning the phone just in time for Alex to see a mix breed puppy a pitbull and some kind of shepherd if she had to guess bounding toward the camera after a spectacularly rolling bound into a pile of different colored leaves.
Alex can't help but smile as she takes the phone from his outstretched hand running the clip back to the beginning for the full effect.
She hasn't really watched the full clip and already she wants to kidnap that dog for her own.
Surprising her again was the lack of any kind of running commentary from whoever was filming, but whoever it was had a rather beautiful laugh as they track the eager pups progress in making leaping jumps into the air to catch the falling leaves. The sight made all the more adorable when Alex noted the pup only had the use of three legs.
"Get the leaf Rory that's a good girl."
Someone who wasn't the one doing the filming coaxed
Alex quietly hoped Rory was just a nickname because just looking at that cute face leaping around like a bunny to try and entangle whoever was filming, she would have gone with a more sun-related name.
How could she not with the happy shine in those big puppy eyes?
One a whiskey chocolate the other a light sky blue.
The video pauses most likely so the filmier can untangle themselves.
Once it starts up again a small yellow and black something that squeaks was tossed into the newly made leaf mound
"Go get the bat Ror. Go get him."
Alex lets out a breath of a laugh at that while on the screen Rory takes off sending leaves flying as she dives headlong into the colorful pile.
It's not until the long clip stopped that Alex notices, she feels a lot better than she had before. Calmer.
"Can you send that the three of us? I think Kar and Lin will get a real kick out of it."
Winn nodes taking his phone back and making a few quick taps. "Lin was the one that sent it to me." he even pulls up the time stamp as proof.
Rather than blow up at that newly acquired information Alex turned on her heels and walked away not giving her brother of a friend any time to tell her anything else while already pulling out her phone to replay Rory's video on her way back to the main hub.
She ended up in the lab. One thing she'd missed since taking the top job. The buzz of the lab. The relative safety of its walls. Now she was lucky to walk into it to have someone else double-check the analysis on something they found in the field before she finished up a report.
She's not really working. Everything has already been taken care of for the day.
Now she's just drinking in the clam she finds from being here. Like she used to have when she was younger sitting on her surfboard as the calm waves rolled around her while she watched the sun either rise or set. Or when she was curled up next to Maggie in those moments, they'd catch some time for themselves after pulling long hours at their respective jobs.
"You should have gone with her."
Alex didn't turn around from her contemplation of a computer screen. Even when said screen wasn't turned on not that the newcomer was surprised at that. "I'm serious Alex. For once the city is relatively quiet and if anything does come up, you're a call away. Take the night off."
"Kelly is probably already asleep by now. No need to wake her up." Alex waves off, but she can see in his reflection that J'onn shakes his head. "Not Kelly, Alex. I'm talking about Kara."
That has Alex turning around. "Kara."
J'onn nodes. "If you hurry, we can still make it before they start on desert."
He can tell without the use of his abilities that she wants to accept yet she shakes her head turning back to the window. "Not until I know where my other sister is. Kara said she was going to Mom's but Lin…" Alex lets out a slow breath trying not to think of any unsavory scenarios. It wasn't like she was trying to stress herself out, but Linda was just as much her sister as Kara. She needed to be protected just like Kara maybe even more so.
With a sigh, J'onn pulls out his phone pulling up another video for her to watch this one of Kara catching some impressive waves at the beach not far from Alex's childhood home as the sunset.
"Alright, alright stop showing off already Snowy it's almost time for dinner."
Alex laughs at the pout in her sister's voice as the clip cuts off to Linda's pleased smile as she paddles back toward the shore.
"She's getting good." J'onn smiles pocketing his phone. Alex grins at the unspoken praise in his voice. "She's an eager student. Actually listens, unlike Kara."
They both laugh at that "She listens Alex. She just chooses not to go along more than she should." That has Alex giggling harder as she gets up stretching her arms over her head to work out the stiffness.
"I'll drop you off then come right back. It's not like I'm unfamiliar with how this place works."
Alex smiles at his offer pulling her Space Dad in for a long hug. "Thanks, J'onn."
J'onn's arms are strong against her back as he hugs her back. "Any time, Earth daughter."
As promised J'onn sets her down right at the end of the walkway up to the front door. "You sure you don't want to come in? Say hi?"
After a short pause as he thought over her invitation J'onn smiles. "I guess I could stay. For a little while at least." He agrees.
Yet the pair had barely cleared the door when they were both pulled into the living room but strong hands narrowly missing being pelted by different colored soft made bullets.
"Oh, good we could use some reinforcements. These two together are quiet the power team." Eliza sighs sharing a laugh with Linda while she and her partner in crime high fived the praise.
"Would be better if I could use my powers." Kara pouted
"Our powers." Linda corrected shaking her head. "This is a fair fight, Kara Danvers. Skill on skill like chess match." She reminds folding her arms over her chest while keeping a tight hold on the toy nurf gun in her hand.
Kara's eye roll was canceled by her warm smile she shared with her twin "Oh we are so watching that later."
A little crinkle appears on Linda brow as she shifts in Kara's memories before she smiles wide in agreement. "With that butter corn yes?"
Kara laughs as she nodes. "Popcorn. Oh yeah. Can't have a movie night with it."
Eliza raises an eyebrow at J'onn behind Kara's back asking a silent question that the Martian didn't need to read her mind to hear. He inclines his head in answer then shakes his head a fraction when her eyes shift to the two other women beside them while her adoptive daughters talked between themselves.
Alex was frozen in place behind the woman yet to move away from her guarded stance in front of the DEO Director. True her body has gained a noticeable amount of muscle tone since she'd last felt it against her own but there no mistaking those curves.
"M…Maggie?"
The shorter woman starts at her name as if she'd forgotten who she was standing in front of while she listened to the Kryptonian twins chatting together.
Eliza and J'onn peek out at them from the kitchen both of them apprehensive at the reunion. In his defense, J'onn had been more interested in listening to the laughter of his newest 'daughter' to think about listening to anyone's thoughts as they neared the house. He hadn't had the pleasure of meeting Linda himself yet. Needless to say. He was actually a little nervous about it. Otherwise, he'd have warned Alex about the other person in the house before he'd let her open the door.
"She is my guest. I invited her to dinner." Linda jumps in but Alex has yet to look away as her ex turns to face her.
For a moment they just stood drinking the other in. Noting some changes in the other in their time apart.
With a slight tremble in her hand, Alex reaches out. She almost expects the other woman to disappear as soon as her hand moved but she didn't. Maggie mirrors her move meeting her halfway.
Her hand is just as rough and warm as she remembered as it closes against her own.
Maggie lets one of her lighter smiles grace her lips as she looks from their now joined hands to Alex's eyes. Not quite one of her full dimpled ones but it was enough to send Alex's heart doing a small flip at being able to see again.
"Long time no see Danvers."
"Yeah, long time Sawyer."