When Maggie arrived at the DEO, she immediately went to see Alex in the medbay. She was still sedated but was moving around on the bed like it wasn't a restful sleep and Lena was there at her bedside, looking down at her tablet. There were sensors on Alex's head and chest.

"Hey," Maggie said. "Kara says you might have a way to help her?"

"Yes, but it's not without complications, complications that Kara doesn't seem to want to listen to," Lena said, barely looking up at her. "I wish I had more time to study the problem, but Alex is getting worse. I wish sedation hadn't been necessary but we needed to get Alex back here so I could at least monitor her some more before we attempt this."

"What exactly do you have planned."

Lena nodded her head toward the doorway and Maggie understood that she didn't want to talk in front of Alex. Even though she was sedated they probably had no idea if Evo could still hear things around her. Once they were in another room Lena did look at her this time and she held up the tablet for her to see.

"You see these lines, that is Alex's brainwaves readout," Lena explained. "I theorized that the reason that J'onn couldn't sense Evo in her mind is that somehow Evo has the ability to completely mask his mental abilities within the brainwaves of his victim. Think of it like a parasite that can completely mimic its host so that you can't tell the two apart."

She lowered the tablet once more. "Alex was trying to use a neural inhibitor to block him, but it didn't work. I think that is because she can't block herself so she can't block him. So to be able to get Evo out of her mind we need to figure out which of these waves is Alex and which is Evo. As you can see, the readout of the waves – they are too thick. They shouldn't be like that. I think that is due to it being Alex and Evo. He has invaded all of them – Theta, Beta, and Alpha waves they are all like this. He is firmly entrenched in her mind."

"How do you figure out which is Evo and which is Alex?"

"That is the complicated part and the part that I'm not keen on," Lena said. "Did Alex ever tell you about the time Kara was under the thrall of an alien parasite named the Black Mercy?"

Maggie didn't answer immediately even though she knew what Lena was referring to – at least she knew the basics of the story.

"I know Kara is Supergirl," Lena stated after Maggie continued to stand there not saying anything.

"Ok then," Maggie said. She wondered when that development happened. "Yes, I know about it vaguely. Something about Alex going in her mind to save her."

"Yes, she used what I would consider a crude setup from Maxwell Lord to project her consciousness into Kara's so that she could speak to her and convince her that what the Black Mercy was showing her wasn't real. I have designed a way to do this with Alex with the hopes that we can find the true her in her consciousness and therefore know which brainwaves to target."

"How does that help us get him out of her mind exactly? And you said there are complications, what kind of complications?"

"Like a parasite, I believe Evo needs a host. It seems to be what sustains him. I have created one for him – an electronic brain as it were that if we can figure out which brainwaves belong to him, I can isolate them and send them into the electronic brain – thus trapping him in a host that he won't be able to affect like he does a living host," Lena said. "The problem is sending Kara into Alex's consciousness. That is still a work in progress."

"What's the problem?"

Lena sighed, "Kara just wants to help her sister. I get it. I understood how important it was to her the moment she flew onto my balcony as Supergirl to ask for my help. That's when she told me she was Kara. I would have helped without her even telling me, but it meant a lot that she would trust me enough to tell me the truth. But Kara isn't human. Evo isn't human. Alex is. Mixing those three in Alex's consciousness – well, I don't know that I can do it first off because I've barely even gotten the chance to get Kara to sit still to get enough readings on her brainwaves to feel comfortable doing it. Secondly, even if I can, I don't know that Alex's mind could handle two invaders of two different species. But it has to be someone that knows Alex well enough that they can find the true her in her mind somewhere."

"Then don't use Kara, use me," Maggie said without hesitation.

…

Maggie was nervous as she stood outside of the room where Evo was being held. She had left Lena with Kara, who was already arguing her case that she should be the one to go into Alex's mind. Maggie wasn't interested in the argument – the bottom line was that Maggie was going to be the one doing it.

First though, first she was going to speak with Evo once more.

As she was outside, she was trying to mentally prepare herself once more for this. Not just for seeing Evo in Alex's form but just speaking to him in general. She didn't like that he knew about her because he invaded Alex's mind. The first couple of times she had been unprepared for the confrontation, but this time she wasn't going to walk into that room until she was sure she was ready.

"What is your strategy?" J'onn asked her after he had been silent almost the entire time. He hadn't stopped her from wanting to talk to Evo again, hadn't questioned that it was needed to help Alex, had only told her that whatever she needed he would help.

"Still thinking that through," she said.

"Can I make a suggestion?"

Maggie nodded.

"Be vulnerable."

"Excuse me?"

"The last two times you have spoken to him, it's been confrontational," J'onn said. "You already know that he knows things about you and Alex and he will use that to his advantage. Let him."

"I don't know that I feel comfortable with that, especially with an audience."

"I'm not coming inside with you," he said. "If you are dead set on being the one who goes into Alex's mind, then it will be important for you to not only know Alex but to know your adversary. Let him stoke your emotions so that you can study him. Be vulnerable so he hopefully will in turn become vulnerable himself. When you go into her mind, you won't know if it is Alex or Evo until you can figure out the difference between them. He is going to do his best to be Alex and you don't know how good that will be inside her mind. Use this time with him to get to know him."

Maggie considered this, and while she knew J'onn's strategy made sense, she wasn't sure she could be vulnerable in front of Evo. She didn't let herself be vulnerable in front of anyone – that was until she met Alex. She let herself be exposed like an open wound to Alex, and in the end, she was the one that got hurt when Alex determined she wanted a life that Maggie couldn't give her.

No, she told herself, don't lose focus – this wasn't about what happened to her and Alex, this was about trying to save Alex's life now.

That is why she was here, why she had been concerned since the moment Winn showed up at her place. She just needed to keep that mind while speaking to Evo.

"I can do this," Maggie said. "I can."

She was trying to psyche herself up at this point.

"I'll leave you. When you are ready just go in," J'onn said.

Maggie watched him walk away, but she didn't make a move toward the door. She thought about her previous conversations with Evo, and how he always seemed pleased to see her. He had gotten Alex to come to her apartment to get her to come back here to see him. Evo wanted to see her, but outside of torturing Alex what was the point of it?

She ended up taking a seat there in the hallway facing the door. What was with this fascination with her?

Alex had sent her away – told her that her presence was making it worse for her. Evo fed on emotions and Alex was emotional when it came to her, which is why Maggie had left. What was the endgame here though? He said he was content to be where he was at, but why? He was in a cage, why would that be ok with him unless it had something to do with Alex. Maybe it was a proximity thing, she thought, maybe he wanted to be physically close to Alex.

That didn't seem right though, because she had gone home and from what Maggie knew that hadn't had an effect on Evo. When Alex had left, the only thing J'onn had mentioned was that it was the first time Evo had eaten and when he did he did so like Alex. When Maggie had seen him again, he had seemed more like Alex.

She got to her feet but she didn't go to the room, she went in the same direction J'onn had. It took her a while to get back to the command center. J'onn wasn't there, but Winn was and that is who she went up to now.

"Winn, I need to see the files on Evo's other victims again," she said.

"Sure," he said. "Sit at that terminal and I will send them over. Anything, in particular, you are looking for?"

"Yes," Maggie said, but she didn't say what that was as she took a seat. For the next 20 minutes or so, she quickly went back through the files. Once she was done, she sat back in the chair, and from what Winn could tell, she was sitting there thinking through something.

Suddenly, she got up and told Winn, "Thanks for getting those for me," she said, and then she left the way she came.

Maggie went quickly back down to the holding cell area but stopped outside the door once more to calm herself before going in. While she was sure she knew the answer to her question before she looked at the files, she wanted to be sure. Evo had said that he chose his victims because he was feeding on their emotions, but what she wanted to know was how long the meal lasted. In every case but Alex, the timeline was quick. His victims died not long after the coma.

But not Alex. She survived.

And Evo said her death was one of the ways to end this. Maggie was guessing the death of the victim broke the link, which meant he had been linked to Alex longer than any other victim.

Maybe that explained why he was becoming more like her.

It could also explain his fascination with her. If Alex was still harboring feelings for her, maybe those were manifesting in Evo now. If so, Maggie might be able to use that to her advantage.

She took one more deep breath and then walked in.

…

Like before Evo smiled upon seeing her – and still in Alex's form, Evo walked up to the barrier that separated them.

"Maggie, you came," he said.

"Don't sound so surprised," she responded. "You had to know I would."

"Well, I had hoped."

The smile she was getting from him now was identical to how Alex used to smile at her.

"You said if I came you would stop whatever you were doing to Alex," Maggie said. "I'm here to collect on that bargain."

"It's done," Evo said. "She can rest peacefully for a while."

"No," Maggie said. "None of this for a while stuff. I want you to stop this."

Evo moved his lips, very much the way Alex did when she was thinking about something, and he walked away and sat down, so Maggie moved closer to his cell.

"I told you that this won't win her back for you," he said.

"I know," Maggie said. "The relationship I had with her is over. I think we both know that and accept it."

Evo laughed as Alex would laugh, but with a slight edge to it. "But if she wanted you back, would you?"

"I don't know," Maggie said. "I guess she and I would have a lot to talk about because I haven't changed my mind about having children. And if she hasn't changed her mind then I don't see where we have a future."

Evo smiled wider this time. "She hasn't changed her mind."

Maggie nodded and looked down at her feet, stretching out the moment a little, before looking back at him.

"You do still love her, don't you?" he asked.

"I told you I do," she responded. "I never stopped loving her."

"But she hurt you by her actions," he said. "Don't you want her to hurt in return?"

"No," she said. "I don't want that. I hope Alex lives a long and happy life even if I am not in it. Do you think I would be standing here now if I wished her ill-will?"

"I suppose not," Evo said. "But I don't think you will get your wish of her living a long and happy life. She's just about ready to give up you know. She doesn't want me in her thoughts, her dreams, and she's not strong enough to endure it much longer. I told you, she will beg for her life to be ended. She's almost there now. Did you not sense her desperation when she came to your apartment? Can you not tell she is near the end?"

"Why are you doing this to her?" Maggie asked.

"I don't have a choice."

"What do you mean?"

Evo didn't answer the question, but he again got up and walked toward her. When he stopped, he let his eyes wander across her body. Maggie knew that look; it was a look of desire.

"What do I have to do to get you to stop what you are doing to her for good?" Maggie asked. After a moment, she added, "I'll do anything."

Evo seemed to consider this. "Tell me, when Alexandra dies, what is the plan for me?"

Maggie wasn't expecting that question and she quickly wondered why he was asking. Surely, he would have a better idea than she would since he had been in Alex's mind.

"I don't know," she said finally. "I assume they will just keep you locked up here, but I don't work for the DEO, so I don't know."

"They won't execute me?"

"I don't think they do that sort of thing here."

"And how will I be fed?"

Maggie was equally confused by this question.

"I suppose however you are being fed now," she said.

This time he was the one who got a thoughtful expression. "There is a way you can save Alexandra," he said. "I mean really save her. She will be free of me forever and it won't cost her life."

Immediately Maggie was suspicious about this. "You said before there were only three ways out of this – Alex's death, I take her place, or a third way you and Alex have refused to say," Maggie said. "And you said Alex would never allow it."

"True, she wouldn't. But she's not really in the position to object at the moment," Evo said.

"What is it then?"

"Let me go. Let me leave this place, go back into the world and you will never have to worry about me again," Evo said. "Within an hour or two, Alexandra will be free of me."

Warning bells were going off in her mind at this point. There was no way it was that simple.

"So, you can separate yourself from her at any time, you just won't do it until you are set free?"

"No," Evo said shaking his head. "I'm afraid Alexandra and I are joined until I can take another in her place. She would prefer that person not to be you. Although you would be a special meal."

He needed another victim to release the hold on Alex, no wonder it was something Alex would never allow. She would never let someone take her place no matter how much Evo tortured her mind. She also now fully understood his other question.

"How long can you go without feeding on a victim?" she asked.

He shrugged. "It depends on the quality of the last meal," he said. "If Alexandra dies, well, I will be ok for a while."

"Your other victims, the ones before Alex, they weren't very good meals, were they?" she asked.

"In comparison to her, no, most certainly not," he said. "She, she has been a feast and as much as I would like it to continue, I don't think she can handle it. I do hope they have her on some sort of suicide watch as she likely to make an attempt soon."

"And you think I would be just as satisfying of a meal?"

"Oh, the angst you must have over your breakup, over your failed past relationships, and from your own family's rejection of you," he said. "It must be delicious. Tell me, which one do you think I should save for last – your breakup with Alexandra or the one with your family?"

Maggie took a step back and then took in a deep breath before letting it out. "My family," she said softly.

"Really?" Evo asked. "I would have thought it would be Alexandra. The hurt there must be more fresh."

"It is," Maggie said. "But what my family did is a more lasting hurt."

"Have you thought that if your family hadn't done what they did, that you wouldn't be so opposed to the idea of children?" Evo asked. "Because that thought has certainly occurred to Alexandra."

"You said before that you only experienced someone special once before, who was that person?" Maggie asked.

"Avoidance won't help you deal with your issues," Evo said.

"You answer my question, I will answer yours," she replied.

"You might want to take a seat," he said.

There were a couple of chairs to the side and she pulled one over to sit in front of the cell.

"You must understand a few things first. I come from a race of empaths. We've always been able to sense emotions in people, but it comes in varying degrees. Those with the most abilities were deemed to have the spiritual right to be our rulers. Many of the high clerics were asked to intervene in conflicts – to be mediators of a sort. Then once in a while one of us would be born like me," he said. "Normally our empathic abilities do not emerge until later. I suppose it would be akin to your puberty. But mine, my abilities were there from the beginning."

"Are you trying to say that you were one of these high clerics?" she asked.

"No," he laughed, but she noted a tone of bitterness in it. "I'm merely saying that I was unique. Some empaths need only to be close to another to sense their emotions, while others require touch. I could sense those of people close to me and even in other rooms."

Maggie considered that as she was sitting close to the barrier.

"Don't concern yourself," Evo said, obviously able to tell what she was thinking. "I can not sense your emotions nor anyone else's but Alexandra's at this time. You see that was my issue. I was so powerful, I could sense emotions all the time and I couldn't stop it. It became physically painful to me and the only relief I could get was to take a drug cocktail that stripped me of my powers. And without powers, in our society, I was nothing."

Again, Maggie could tell that despite him trying to remain almost cool in the telling of this, he was bitter. She wanted him to keep talking so she could learn more about him and maybe it would help her when she needed it to.

"I hated those drugs," he said. "But being off of them was a form of torture. Still, I decided there had to be another way for me to use my powers without it causing me pain. The answer came quite by accident. I would go off the drugs occasionally to be able to practice with my powers to find a way to have better control – to tune out those emotions I didn't want to feel and concentrate on the ones I did. My success at that method was short-lived. I could do it for only a short period of time and it invariably left me feeling drained."

"As I said before, for some of us touch was required, but that was never the case for me," he continued. "One day when I was off the drugs, I was coming home and the pain got so bad that I nearly collapsed outside my door. A neighbor helped me up from the ground and that is when it happened. The moment he made contact, my mind connected with his. It was only a brief contact, but still, I knew what had happened. And the thing was – my pain went away at least for a short amount of time. Now, I know I haven't answered your question yet, but I will and I have given you a lot of information about myself, so do you mind if I ask you another question?"

Maggie nodded to indicate he could. She wanted him to keep talking and if that meant she needed to give in a little, she would.

"Have you been dating since you and Alexandra broke up?"

Maggie hesitated because she knew that whatever she said to Evo was sure to get back to Alex and he would use it against her.

"Yes," she said. "Nothing overly serious. No one has made it to the exclusive girlfriend stage if that is what you are asking."

"It must be hard for you humans to navigate relationships," Evo said. "Imagine if you had empathic abilities, then you would have known that Alexandra was beginning to feel a bit scared at the idea of the fast commitment you two were about to make."

"What do you mean scared?"

"I believe you humans call it cold feet or something like that," Evo said. "That is why things ended between you."

"No, it wasn't," Maggie said. "She wanted kids, I don't. That wasn't a position either one of us was going to budge from."

"You truly don't get it, do you? I know Alexandra better than she knows herself. There isn't a part of her mind that I haven't been in. Despite her feeble attempts to block me at every turn, there is no part of herself that she can hide from me," Evo said. "I dare say she and I share an intimacy that you and her could never share."

Maggie wanted to knock the smug look off his face and she had to remind herself quickly of why she was there.

"I think we are getting off-topic," she said. "Now answer my question."

Evo gave her another of Alex's smiles and she gritted her teeth.

"Well, we did have an agreement," he said. "After that first encounter, I began experimenting more and more with my powers. It took me a while to get it figured out, but soon enough I discovered that as my powers laid dormant due to the drugs, once I went off them, it gave me almost boosted power so that when I touched people I could enter their minds. At first, I could only stay there for a short time and I had no idea if they were even aware of it, but as time went on the only way to explain is that I evolved. I became more than the limitations of my species. I was able to get off the drugs entirely because the longer I could stay in a person's mind, the longer the pain was no longer there. I needed to do this. I needed that contact with another mind to sustain myself."

"But you were killing them to get what you needed," Maggie said.

"Not at first. My first forays into people's minds were limited. I was only getting the surface of who they were," Evo said. "It wasn't as satisfying, you could say, compared to what I experience now. The first time I was able to achieve sustained contact – a true pairing like I have with Alexandra – was with someone who I had been watching for a long time. There was a time I thought I knew who her, like you think you know Alex. I had watched her, wanted her, loved her from afar. I knew her routine, her friends, her family, but only from afar."

"You were stalking her."

"I was admiring her," Evo shot back. "And I knew there was only one way I would truly ever truly know her. Still, I was patient. I wanted to be sure that I could hold on to her mind. By this time, a few of my pairings had died, but I didn't know it at the time. Once I was ready, I had gotten into her room and I waited until she was asleep and that is when I touched her. A simple touch is all it takes but I didn't want to just touch her and leave. I laid there on the bed with her as I began to experience her."

The expression on Evo's face was wistful and Maggie could tell he was enjoying remembering this.

"My mistake was staying too long," he said. "I just didn't want to leave her, and that is how I was caught the first time. There was no real proof that I had done anything to her even though she failed to wake. And by that time my powers had evolved to the point that even a high cleric could not divine my true intentions. For days I got to enjoy her until she died. She fought – not everyone does. Since I was still young though I hadn't learned techniques to shut her down. That is what makes Alexandra so special. She fought – fought harder than any of the others. Still, I did believe she was done for that first time. I struggle to explain how she managed to live. But because she did, we are here now."

"Do you see?" Evo continued. "Why I had to have Alexandra? She is exquisite."

Maggie didn't like Evo talking about Alex like that, and she got to her feet. She was done hearing from him. It was time to free Alex from his hold.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"You're a monster," she said.

"Does that mean you won't be ensuring my release so that Alex can be free? You did say you would do anything."

Maggie walked up to the barrier and stared Evo down. Even though he was in Alex's form, she didn't view him that way – not anymore.

"I will do anything," she smiled.

Then she walked out.

She let her anger guide her back her all the way back up to the medbay, where Lena and Kara were both at – but both being a lot quieter than when she left them.

"How soon can we do this?" Maggie asked without preamble.

She noticed there was now something over Alex's ears like headphones.

"Noise-canceling," Lena said, noticing her look. "I need to run some more tests – including a brain wave one on you so that I can track yours as well," Lena said. "Shouldn't take too long to get that set up."

"Ok, let's get this done then."

Lena nodded and left the room. Maggie looked over at Alex's sleeping form. At least she seems more peaceful now than before, Maggie thought.

"You seemed upset when you came in," Kara commented. She was sitting there at Alex's bedside, holding onto one of Alex's hands. "What did he say?"

Maggie took the other chair in the room and sat down, but she didn't speak at first.

"Was Alex having cold feet before the wedding?" Maggie asked.

"What?" Kara asked

"It's something Evo said," Maggie answered. "He said that the reason Alex broke things off wasn't because of her wanting kids, but that she was having cold feet. He says he knows her better than anyone because he's experienced everything she has ever experienced and that I couldn't possibly know her. So was she having cold feet?"

"If she was, she didn't mention it to me," Kara said. "And why would Evo say that? Does he know what we're planning on doing?"

Maggie shook her head, "I don't see how," she said. "It's not the first time he has said something like that to me anyway. It's like he wants to brag to me about how intimate he is with her. I just can't help thinking that maybe he is right. Maybe I can't do this. She and I just went so fast, that maybe we didn't know each other. I think maybe you should be the one to do it."

Kara was taken aback by the admission, but she shook her head. "It has to be you," she said. "Lena isn't confident that she can do this with me. It has to be a human."

"What about Eliza?"

"We both know that Alex loves Eliza, but she also holds a lot back from her," Kara answered.

Maggie fell silent as she tried to think of other possibilities, but nothing was coming to mind.

"What if I don't know her well enough?"

"You know her."

"Do I?" Maggie said. "Because I was sure as well blindsided by her and this children thing. I get it – neither of us ever brought it up really but … "

"Stop," Kara said. "You are letting Evo put doubts in your mind that shouldn't be there. You know Alex. You still love Alex."

"Does she still love me?" Maggie asked. "No, don't answer that. It wasn't fair of me to ask that of you."

"When I was enthralled by the Black Mercy, I wanted to believe that the world it was showing me was my world. I wanted to believe that Krypton had never exploded and that my family was still alive," Kara said. "I think I would have been content to stay there in that world. I would have stayed there in that world if it weren't for Alex. She's my sister and she got through to me by appealing to that bond we have. I don't know what it will be like for you in there, but you are going to have to do the same thing in some manner. Concentrate on the love you feel for her and you will find the right path."

Maggie didn't comment, just sat back and thought about the words as she watched Alex sleep.