Diana shifted in her seat, a smile easily pulling at her lips as she watched Kara enter from the balcony window. They might not be together any more but she still feels a thrill of joy when she sees her. Her heart leaps rebelliously in response, a gentle quiet urging to be near her again after so long an absence. It's a startling realization and she is almost slightly amused by her body's response. She takes a sip of her coffee and focuses her attention on the two sisters as they greet each other. Alex got up from her spot on the couch, pulling her sister into a strong embrace, and smiled warmly at her.
"It's about time, I was beginning to wonder if I was getting stood up." She chided as she playfully shoved Kara in the shoulder. Kara laughed lightly as her cheeks tinged pink in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, I got held up." She put her glasses on and her suit disappears, revealing the outfit she must've been wearing all day at work. Her patterned button down was hidden behind a soft sweater and tucked into a pair of maroon pants and Diana could practically smell the news room's distinct copy paper smell radiating off the blonde hero. Kara's eyes scanned the rest of the room and she waved a quick hello to Sam and Diana as they both remained in the kitchen, her body practically vibrating with energy. "I have great news actually. Lena did it!" Her eyes dancing with happiness and pride at the cryptic reveal.
"Did what?" Sam asked as she took a sip of her freshly made coffee.
"She found the link that ties Maxwell Lord to the Son's of Liberty!" That seemed to peak everyone's attention.
"Are you serious?" Alex asked, stunned. "How? What did she find?"
"She's been on the rampage for months now, ever since the attack. Getting lawyers and talking with the authorities. The whole sha-bang! Turns out Max has made quite a lot of new friends recently. Selling those energy cannons through the black market, money laundering, extortion, all of it tying him back to the attack. I just left her office actually, she's on a warpath!" Kara said beaming with pride and admiration as she walked further into the apartment.
Sam chuckled into her mug. "That's my girl. She's a force to be reckoned with when she has her eyes set on something."
Kara sighs wistfully. "I know. She has single handedly outdone the entire NCPD. Well ok that's kind of a lie, but she's been instrumental to building their case against him. It's all very time sensitive now. After the attacks Max had gone quiet, and the authorities are having a lot of trouble luring him out of whatever cave he's slinked off to. Lena is with them now discussing options, so far their best plan is to have Lena set up a meeting with him and hope he shows." Kara's voice steadily lowered in its enthusiasm and at the last comment her eyes darted nervously to the floor.
Diana furrowed her brow. "They want to use her as bait?" Is that safe? Surely there is another option that doesn't put Lena in harm's way." Kara looked at her with genuine affection and smiled at her concern.
"I said the exact same thing to her tonight actually, just before I left to come here." She sighed and her shoulders slumped in defeat. She sunk into the couch and Alex followed close behind. "This is their best plan to get him out of hiding. I'll be there too though, as much as they tried to persuade me that was a bad idea, they don't want to spook him. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened and I wasn't there to do anything about it."
"Does that mean its over?"
Four sets of eyes shifted to the hallway where Ruby was slowly stepping out of. "Ruby…" Sam furrowed her brow and stepped toward her daughter.
"Is it over?" Ruby exclaimed, her voice rising as the desperation in her eyes caused all four women to tense in unison. Tears began welling up as her lip quivered in a barely contained sob. Sam was by her side in an instant and caught her as she slumped her weight heavily into her mother's arms.
"Honey…" Sam whispered, her face contorting with worry.
"NO!" Ruby shouted and took a step back clutching her hands together near her stomach as if afraid she was going to be taken away by force. Diana paused her movement forward instantly. "No." Ruby said again with less force but just as adamant. "I'm tired of feeling this way. Of dreaming of men shooting at me and my family and one of us not surviving this time. Of not feeling safe. I can't -" a broken sob escaped her lips before Sam rushed to her side and Alex, just a step behind, met them both in the hallway. "Please just don't leave me out of the loop. I need to know." Ruby shuddered and Sam whispered gentle shushes in her ear as her grip around her daughter tightened.
"How long have you been feeling this way?" Sam asked gently. Ruby's lip quivered as her eyes darted between all the adults now giving her their undivided attention. She shook her head as a gentle sob burst through her lips and covered her face with her palm. Sam brought her arm around her daughter in quiet encouragement and Ruby folded into her.
Diana saw the confusion and deep concern etched across Kara's face. Kara's eyes darted to her own in question. There was a stilted silence that now permeated the room as everyone waited with bated breath for who would speak first. Alex looked toward her sister, "Maybe we can postpone sister night until tomorrow?"
Kara nodded halfway through. "Yes of course." She agreed easily before shifting her gaze to the worried teen still buried between Sam and Alex's embrace. She hadn't realized how much she had been suffering "Ruby?" She watched as a tear stained face emerged from the crook of her mother's neck. "You know I would never let anything bad happen to you, right?" Ruby sniffed and hesitantly nodded her head and Kara's heart sank into her stomach at the lack of confidence she exuded. "It's going to be over really soon. I promise." Ruby sucked in a shaky breath before tucking her face back into Sam's shoulder.
Diana slowly collected her things and addressed Sam. "I think I'll take my leave now so you can tend to your family."
"I'll walk with you." Kara said before placing a kiss on Ruby's head and then her sister's cheek. Diana held the door open for the both of them and they stepped out into the night air silently.
"I feel like an idiot. I should have checked in on her more." Kara said more to herself than to Diana as she shoved her hands into her pockets.
"Don't beat yourself up over something you couldn't have possibly known." Diana folded her own arms across her chest. "Sam and Alex see her far more often than you and its coming as a shock to them too. Ruby is tough, she's been through a lot and I think this incident hit a little closer to home than she realized. She's going to be fine. The young have a way of surprising us with their resilience more often than not."
Kara bit the inside of her cheek as she warred with her own feelings on the matter. She had to begrudgingly agree with Diana on that. She couldn't very well argue against it when she had lost so much at a young age. "Still…" She whispered all too knowing. "Doesn't mean the scars go away."
"Perhaps not, but all scars eventually fade… they are always there, an ever present reminder, but one that becomes more and more manageable over time. Ruby hasn't had closure yet. She's been battling ghosts for months now unbeknownst to us. At least your news of Mr. Lord's impending indictment came at a good time. She will be able to process and move on now."
Kara offered up nothing in return, not sure what more she could add other than her own somber agreement. She made a mental note to reach out to Ruby in the next day or two. She knew from her own encounters with fear and grief that immersing herself in a bit of normalcy was one of the quickest ways to recover. Maybe a game night. They haven't had one of those in a while.
The night was just starting to come alive as people made their way out for the evening. The gentle rush of wind as cars passed by on the road was a pleasant distraction now that they were alone. It had been easy in most regards how they fell into a rhythm with each other. It had been a long while since they had time alone. They walked several blocks in companionable silence, the mood steadily rising as the brisk breeze and light exercise boosted their spirits. It wasn't long before a father and his son, both barreling towards them from the other side of the bridge caught their attention. It took another second to realize why when a furry blonde haired puppy bounded past them darting behind a barricade. "Shiro!" The little boy huffed. "Shiro! Come back!"
"I'll get him!" Kara volunteered as she leaped effortlessly over the barricade and down the slope where the puppy in question was now barking the most adorably aggressive bark he could manage at a turtle at the bank. She went to grab at him only for him to dodge her and run up the embankment. Kara huffed in mild agitation at being thwarted and raced up the hill after it. "Shiro." She couldn't help the small smile that curved her lips at the unique name. "Come here buddy." The puppy looked back at her and tilted it's head and yipped before bouncing off in the opposite direction. "No! Wait, that's the street buddy." Worry edged into her mind as the dog made an escape back towards the road and her eyes darted up to see the boy and his father watching them from the edge of the bridge. She couldn't use a burst of speed with witnesses but the road wasn't exactly deserted either. She ran as fast as humanly possible and called out for him once again just before he reached the roads edge. The two boys were suddenly in high pursuit once again as worry edged into panic at the dogs' proximity to the cars. Just as the dog stepped off the sidewalk into oncoming traffic a hand reached down and scooped him up and brought him close to her chest.
"Shiro!" The little boy exclaimed happily. He looked up at Diana and smiled a toothless grin at her. "Thank you Miss!" He gingerly plucked the menace from Diana's hands. She smiled down at him and patted the puppy's head laughing as it tried to lick her hand before squirming out of the boys grip. "Whoa there buddy, let me take him before he's off on another grand adventure." Diana looked up at the father and faltered. He was a handsome man, not overtly muscular but lean and athletically built. He had a gentle smile on his face and a rumbling laugh when the puppy tried to squirm out his grip too before he secured the leash and collar back onto its tiny neck and readjusted the straps. "It's a new collar…" He explained absently. "He grew out of the last one and I put it on too loose apparently." He shook his head at his carelessness and sighed. "Slipped right off the moment he saw the water."
"Well I'm glad we were able to help." Diana said as she knelt to the boys level. "You take care young man."
He nodded enthusiastically and tugged his father's shirt. The resigned sigh and half chuckle made Diana smile as the man gave his son an exasperated look. "I guess that's my cue, enjoy the rest of your date." He walked off with his son leaving Diana frozen in place with the protesting words left lodged in her throat.
"Whew!" Kara exclaimed with a huff and a light chuckle. "Thanks for the assist." Diana smiled amusedly as she redirected her attention away from the retreating pair and looked back at Kara, who was just making her way back up towards Diana. She slipped and caught herself then cursed something in Kyrptonian that had Diana's eyes crinkling further with soft affection for her.
"You're welcome." Diana said her eyes drifted down to the hem of Kara's pants and the sorry state of her shoes, both now soiled and muddy from the soft wet ground.
Kara followed her eyes and looked down at herself and frowned. "Oh wonderful… those were my fav– you know what, not important, I'm just glad the puppy is safe."
Diana nodded and they continued their little journey down the bridge.
"I just wanted to say–"
"So how are things with–"
They stared at each other and Kara smiled and waved her hands at Diana. "Sorry, you first."
Diana fidgeted slightly and the little movement made Kara smile. She so rarely ever showed any trepidations and seeing her look even slightly unsure made Kara want to wrap her up in a hug. Diana took a few more steps before attempting to break the silence once more. "You look good." She commented. "Lighter."
"Lighter?" Kara repeated bemused.
Diana's lip twitched upward and she rolled her eyes. "Happy. You look happy." She amended.
Kara smiled softly, her hand reflexively nudging the bridge of her glasses up her nose in that habit of hers Diana suddenly realized she had missed with an acute sense of longing. "Yeah, I am."
Diana nodded to herself as she tucked her hands in her pockets and focused on a point in the distance. The tension was slowly creeping its way into her shoulders and she felt torn between two realities, one in which she continued walking along this path with Kara and the other, fleeing from it and her altogether resolved to only be in her presence amongst other company. She tisked herself for even considering the latter, and forced a smile on her face. She could feel Kara's eyes on her and blushed looking down at the pavement below her feet.
"I'm sorry."
Diana looked up at Kara surprised. "What? What for?"
"The way things ended between us. For not being able to be that person for you. I just— I never meant to hurt you."
They walked in silence for a while, Diana's eyes drifted towards the bay and found herself migrating to the railing resting her arms against it to look out over the night sky as the moon danced in a broken elongated reflection off the water's surface.
She felt Kara's lingering presence just behind her and sighed. "I'm not actually. Sorry, that is. You helped me be a better person. I was practically friendless before we met, my last true friend dying of old age about twenty year ago." She raised her head up as Kara approached her side. "Knowing you, being with you, helped me see what I had closed myself off to a long time ago, too afraid of reliving the pain of losing more people, but it was a miserable existence to be in the world and not a part of it. Now I have people in my life who I care about a great deal. Sam, Ruby, Alex, Lena, even Andrea." She smirked at the wide eyed look Kara gave. "They are all important to me now in ways I hadn't anticipated and I have you to thank for that."
Kara smiled tentatively, "I'm glad for that." She said softly.
"Thank you Kara."
She looked at Diana with an almost startled expression. "For what?"
"For bringing me back to life again."
"I'll always be here for you Diana." Kara said earnestly, hoping the sincerity of her words was heard even in the whispered confession.
"And I you, my dear."
"Miss Luthor, Maxwell Lord is here." Jess said as she peaked her head into her office.
Lena looked up from her laptop and smiled.
"Please send him in."
Months of planning, digging, talking to the authorities as well as her own lawyers. Hours upon hours of work went into this, she pushed away from her desk with a rolling sense of anticipation sweeping over her and sat back as she watched the smug man enter through her office doors with not even a glimmer of suspicion on his face. She was going to enjoy this.
"Lena Luthor!" Maxwell boasted loudly. "I gotta say I was rather surprised to hear from you, I have to admit I'm curious why you suddenly wanted to meet." His arms spread wide and his chest puffed out as he cantered forward. "Finally willing to admit there's something between us afterall? I knew you couldn't resist me." He winked and laughed at his own joke. Lena smirked as she folded her arms lazily across her chest.
"As much as I'm sure you'd love the ego boost for me to agree with you, I find you much too repulsive." Her lips curved ever so slightly as Max's own smile faltered before he smoothed out his suit lapels and ran a hand through his greasy hair.
"I see we aren't holding our punches then." He said with scowl as he approached her desk.
"Have a seat Max." She replied, ignoring his comment.
"What do you want, Luthor? I'm a very busy man."
"I'm sure you were."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I think you'll be finding your days to be significantly more dull in the very near future. Would you care for a drink?" She asked kindly as she stepped away from her desk to pour herself a scotch.
"No." Max clipped back all pleasantries now thrown to the wayside. "What's this about?"
Lena took the decanter and poured a couple ounces of the amber liquid into her glass slowly, in no mood to rush. "Remind me Max. When was the last time you and I spoke?" Lena eyed him from the corner of her eye before centering her attention back onto her glass. "Oh, I remember, you were threatening my employee."
"I wasn't–"
"Do you remember how I told you then to be careful what you say because you could be held liable? It might serve you well to remember that warning." Lena said sharply, effectively cutting off whatever excuse was about to be unleashed. "There's a folder on my desk, why don't you take a look at its contents."
Max narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her before they tracked over to her desk to the single folder. He reached for it and sank back into his chair with a grimace as he opened it. Lena watched as his eyes skimmed over the first page of the document, then the next and as he thumbed quickly through the rest of the file his eyes grew more wild and his breathing less steady. "What's the meaning of this? You can't– there's nothing substantial enough to pin anything on me!" He growled.
Lena took a light sip of her scotch as she slowly walked back in his direction, hovering over him just beyond his reach. "Max, you and I have known each other for years, don't pretend to be naive of how thorough I can be when given incentive."
Max bolted out of his chair with a snarl and aggressively stepped into Lena's space nearly spitting in her face with rage. "Don't think for a second that you can pin any of this on me! All you have there is circumstantial, nothing in that folder connects those weapons to me."
Lena took a small step back and pursed her lips. "You're right, all that folder contains is a money trail. If you'd have taken the time to look at each entity rather than skim through it, you'd have found that there's not just one, or two, but five different instances of money laundering." Max's face pales as his rage turns into panic. "Now proof of that alone will put you behind bars for the better part of your miserable existence, but like I said…" She smirked as she nodded her head back towards the scattered documents on her desk. "I'm thorough." She eyed him with less amusement and before she even uttered the words 'sit down' Maxwell was already complying. Satisfied that she had his full and undivided attention, she walked towards her balcony and opened the door and a warm breeze drifted through the open doorway.
"Interestingly enough there's a few entities that, upon further digging, connect you not only to the Son's of Liberty, but make it abundantly clear that you've been funding that terrorist group for several years now."
"They are not terrorists." Max challenged and it didn't go past her that he didn't try and negate the fact.
"The families of those who died at their hands just a few short months ago, would beg to differ." Lena clipped back, her patience waning. "I think I've entertained you long enough."
"What do you want, Luthor? Name your price." He said through gritted teeth, his eyes
narrowed dangerously on her.
"Oh see, now that's a poor assumption on your part. You think I called you here to
negotiate, maybe blackmail you? That's Lex's style not mine." Lena pushed the intercom button on her phone.
"Yes Miss Luthor?" Jess' voice chimed through the intercom.
"You can send them in now." Lena instructed.
"Right away, Miss Luthor."
Max stood up with teeth clenched and his hands fisted at his side, but there's a glimmer in his eye that unsettles her, something feels off. "There's nowhere you could go that will ever be safe for you now." He threatens.
Lena nearly laughed at his last attempts at clawing back some semblance of control. "An empty threat is still a threat."
"You've shown your cards, now let me show you mine." Max reached behind his back and pulled out a shiny pistol then pointed it at her. "You know I always despised you." He started a small smirk on his face as he leveled the gun at her. "You rarely ever took anything I had to say seriously, you always waved off my ideas or my tech as elementary or irrelevant. Yet my company, the one I built from the fucking ground up, is one of your biggest competitors."
"Through illegal means and petty theft." Lena countered as she slowly set her tumbler down and crossed her arms in front of her, discreetly pushing the face of her watch and tripping the silent alarm. "You can't argue with facts dear. You may not have killed those people personally but you still have their blood on your hands."
"Those people are nothing more than cockroaches, infesting this planet with their kind, taking our jobs and our homes and —"
"Speak another word and you will see first hand just how much of a Luthor I am." Lena gritted between her teeth as her eyes narrowed menacingly.
"Oh but that's just it isn't it. You are a half breed, a true Luthor would actually be on my side." He goads, his face contorted into deep hard lines as he stared back at her behind the barrel of his revolver. She thinks perhaps that this was supposed to provoke her into some sort of rage filled match, perhaps it might have in a different time, but all she really felt was a sort of pleasant relief that even her enemies were starting to disassociate her from her deranged family. She wondered briefly what was taking the police officers so long. A moment of panic filled her that something was wrong. Her eyes flickered to the balcony before darting back to the gun and the crazed man wielding it.
Maxwell snickered and a flash of something sinister crossed over his eyes. "Are you looking for someone?" His voice sickeningly sweet and calm, unsettling her and shattering her once calm and confident composure. At that moment the door burst open and men in NCPD uniforms filtered through the doorway. The rush of relief was instantly snuffed out when each of them held up their guns with her as their target. She immediately recognized the weapons as the energy cannons and then her attention was drawn to the black insignia tattoo on their wrists marking these men as sons of liberty and swallowed thickly as her well laid out trap disintegrated before her eyes.
"I'll bet you're wondering where your kryptonian friend is right about now…" Max said and Lena felt her stomach twist violently at his words, her jaw clenching to the point of pain as she willed to keep her mouth shut. "I wonder just how many 'close friends' with 'unique sets of skills' you truly can depend on Lena. Seems to me you are quite alone right now."
Lena just stared silently, refusing to take the bait.
"I'm bored of this game now. I think I'll take my leave." Max sighed out feigning disinterest as he lowered his gun. "Kill her after I leave. I don't want this–" He circled the air lazily with his gun. "To get pinned on me. Have a nice life, Lena. Thanks for showing me the flaws in my accounting, I'll be sure to get that all sorted out right away, I wouldn't want people thinking I'm some sort of criminal." He walked toward the door and Lena stared after him as she wracked her brain violently on how to escape yet another attempt on her life, but there was no easy way out of this. Even minus Maxwell's retreating gun there were still five more trained on her. She could manage one maybe two of the men depending on how fast she was but five was near impossible. Kara. Lena felt her throat close up at the thought of not being able to see her again.
Defying death has become an ongoing joke now. The sheer number of times she's escaped death's door eclipsing the point of absurdity that it's now become humorous and the butt end of rather too many sadistic jokes. Well the joke is on her now, she inwardly scoffs. She has a handful of options the way she sees it and they each have a rapidly narrowing window of time as Max slowly exits the office. She can stand there and meet her fate, which she immediately rebels against, natural instincts telling her to fight to the bitter end. Leaving her with her other more desirable options; she can take out the man standing directly to her right, disarm him and if she's lucky enough to get back behind her desk maybe take out two more before meeting her untimely demise. Then there's her last option, the one that makes the least amount of sense, the riskiest in nature and yet will hopefully buy her precious time. The one that she has waited ever so patiently for and this is her one and only chance to enact it.
"If you spare my life… I'll give you something in return…." Lena holds her breath and waits. Maxwell stops mid stride, his back still facing her. She is banking on his insatiable greed and she practically sighs in relief when he turns around and lifts a finger. The five men relaxing minutely but still keeping their guns trained on her.
"You are in no position to argue for favors Luthor." Max waves his hand at the men waiting on his command as he looks at her.
"Oh I'm well aware. But I also know that what I'm about to offer you is something you'd be a fool not to take up on."
"What exactly did you have in mind?" Max asks, his voice laced with skepticism and yet there is a look in his eyes that Lena thinks borders on curious. Her lips lift up into a knowing smirk. "Have you ever heard of Mount Norquay?"
"What are we doing? I thought you were going to be at LCorp with Lena." Alex huffs into her comm as she scales the remaining few feet of cliff to get to the Bunker's hidden entrance.
"I was, I am. I'm here now, or was– there was a tiny, itsy-bitsy deviation in the plan. It was a last minute decision… well sort of…" Kara explains. Her voice sounded distracted even to her own ears, but she was currently tracking Lena and her abductors in the plane flying just below her so, you know, sue her she had her priorities.
"I don't understand." Alex dug into her pocket and pulled out the slip of paper with the ridiculously long code and began typing in the sequence into the pad. She heard Nia and Brainy huffing behind her as they too finally made it to the bunker's entrance.
"I hate hiking." Brainy said in a light scowl.
"That makes two of us." Nia agreed as she shrugged off the harness and shook out the soreness in her hands. "And for future reference this was anything but hiking. We just scaled a mountain." She says it as she looks down at the drop off and shudders. "I didn't know it was possible for my fingers to ache." She frowns as she experimentally flexes the sore digits which are still curled slightly at the ends. "My fingers are permanently stuck like this now aren't they?"
"I once had to climb Mount Olympus, this is an ant hill in comparison." Diana muses as she gently touches down beside the trio.
"Uh uh, no, you don't get to swoop in and make comments when you are a literal god." Nia bites out scornfully, though it's undercut by the playful swat she makes at Diana's shoulder. "Especially since you flew here." Diana smiled and Nia put up her crooked fingers and looked away. "Just ugh, I can't even look at you right now."
"We should be approaching the bunker in about a half hour or so." Kara said and everyone got back to their immediate tasks. A loud metallic latch shifted somewhere deep inside the mountain and then the large bunker door opened slowly as the two halves parted and disappeared into the rock face. Alex walked in first and was followed by the rest of the team as they made their way to the main control room.
"I still don't understand why we are here." Alex says as she takes in the wide and empty hangar that they found themselves in. There was a few crates stacked in one of the far corners, a couple of tables with mechanical parts to who knows what and a narrow hallway off to the side. Alex turned around and found a small keypad on the inside of the hangar and punched in a much shorter code and the doors began to slowly grind back together again.
"We had to improvise, Maxwell knew Lena had set him up. The officers that showed up were all part of the S.O.A." Kara explained.
"Explains how he knew then. They must've been the ones to leak him the information and warn him about the sting."
"That's what I can figure as well." Kara said. "You have no idea how hard it was not to barrel in there the moment all those guns pointed at Lena." She felt the rage return with a renewed vengeance. "But she made me promise not to interfere unless it was absolutely necessary."
"So then why didn't she? Why lure him here?" Diana asked, Kara had talked to her only briefly last night about their plan, and she hedged around asking her for help until Diana had placed a hand on her shoulder and offered it for her. She still can see the way Kara visibly sagged with relief before her whispered thanks. The details however were left rather vague.
"Because taking him down and five of those terrorists wouldn't have stopped the flow of weapons and money that they had painstakingly networked. She's bringing him here to give him carte blanche control over the bunker and all its resources." Alex answered for her.
"Why on earth would she do that? He has missiles down here!" Nia exclaimed. Diana at least felt a little encouraged by this. At least she wasn't the only one feeling slightly lost.
"It's a trojan horse. As soon as he starts operating from this bunker, she'll have everything, accounts, names, locations, he won't be able to lift a finger without her seeing it first." Brainy realizes. "It's genius. She'll expose him and everyone linked to him."
"Right so get to work Brainy, I need you to use your ability to manipulate technology and disarm the missiles, and figure out a way to —"
"Install undetectable spyware- its already done." Brainy interjects.
"You can't be serious." Alex looked at Brainy like he grew a second head. "You haven't even touched a computer yet."
"Don't need to." He points at his head.
"Right. Of course." Brainy winks with three very awkward head nods causing Alex to flinch. "Ok, cool, just please don't ever wink at me again. You used both eyes and your whole head to do it and it was just all kinds of wrong."
Brainy frowned and looked over at Nia who instantly looked away. "Is that not the correct way? I was assured that one eyed winks are no longer considered 'in' and that the more contemporary version is done so with both eyelids and a distinct yet firm head nod, once for strangers, twice for acquaintances, and three times for anyone I view as close and personal friends or similarly statused type bonds."
"Nia!" Alex exclaimed. Diana's laugh rang throughout the bunker and she shook her head watching Nia's face flush deep red and her shoulders lift up in a very poor attempt at looking remorseful. Brainy took it all in and stood straighter as he realized he'd been duped and gave Nia a very pointed glare. "I see."
"Oh Brainy, I'm sorry, I couldn't help it! You're — well it's just too easy!" Nia laughed. Brainy smiled against his will and then pointed at Nia wagging his finger at her vehemently. "This isn't over, I may love you, but I will get you for this."
"As thrilled as I am that you all seem to be enjoying yourselves over there, Lena meanwhile is a hostage currently being transported as we speak to where you are and I'd like to know that when she gets there you will all be ready to help me in rescuing her." Kara chimed in.
"Of course, you needn't worry." Diana said assuredly.
"Good cause we are making a final approach and from the looks of it they have assembled their own reinforcements." Kara said bleakly as she looked down at the mountain side. There were three armored trucks at the base of the mountain and about 10 men scaling the mountain's edge. She briefly thought about creating a tiny rockslide but she didn't want to spook Maxwell and ruin any chances of them succeeding with their plan. "Diana…"
"On it." Diana unsheathed her sword and shield in one fluid motion and disappeared in a rush of wind.
"Just wait until Maxwell is inside, before you deal with them." Kara adds.
"Now you tell me." Diana rebuttals light heartedly. She finds a smaller door and breaks the lock, finding it leads to a ledge with an overhang of rock and perches at the edge to see the men making their way up the cliff.
There was a small runway carved into the top of the mountain and the plane landed with ease. Kara ascended up just above some clouds for cover and watched as the men came out one by one until Lena was shoved down the steps and caught by a rough pair of hands and pulled along towards a separate entrance to the bunker. Then Maxwell himself descended the few steps of the aircraft looking at the vast mountain with a swell of appreciation and barely concealed awe.
He walked through the four men surrounding Lena and waved a signal to the fifth still sitting in the cabin of the aircraft. A quick nod and the plane's engines turned facing down instead of out and a swirl of wind and a large amount of whirring erupted as the plane took off from its fixed position and flew away. "Wouldn't want you to escape. Though if you prefer to jump off the cliff I wouldn't stop you." Max said almost sweetly into Lena's ear. She glared at him and he chuckled a throaty laugh before grabbing her by the arm, swinging her towards the door. "Open it."
Lena yanked her arm out of his grip and snarled at him. "You know on second thought maybe you could just rot in hell."
"You first." Max said as he snapped his fingers and four guns lifted in unison. "Last warning. I seriously doubt you came all this way just to die on the side of a mountain. Open. It."
Lena huffed and started punching in the code a faint locking mechanism releasing before the metal door swung slightly open. "After you."
Maxwell snickered and shoved her inside. The lights flickered on in sequence as the room illuminated one foot in front of the other. "It smells in here." He grimaced as the sulfur and damp moldy air penetrated his nostrils.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't exactly expecting company." Lena drawled. "This way your rottenness." As she led him deeper into the cave-like entrance. It probably wasn't the best idea to antagonize her captor but it made her smile each and every time she witnessed the pulsing vein in Maxwell's forehead pop out or the clench of his fist. So yeah, she took her amusement where she could get it. It was a narrow path of crude stairs carved into the rock that led down to the main part of the bunker and they had to walk in a single file line in order to traverse it.
We're right here with you Lena, just a little bit longer and it'll all be over. Her heart leapt out of her chest when she heard Jonn's voice in her head. She very nearly faltered, but grabbed hold of the wall to steady herself.
"Keep moving." Maxwell pressed the barrel of the gun into her back and pushed her forward.
Jonn?
It's me.
Kara and the others?
All here.
I thought you were off world with M'Gann? Lena's heart started to race violently and she had to take a slow methodical breath as she let the nerves and anxiety she held since the moment she was held at gunpoint in her office slip slowly away. She knew Kara had been following close behind this whole time, and her fear of ever truly coming to any harm was never an issue but to know that Kara had the rest of their friends here. Had called Jonn… she wasn't sure she fully comprehended the immensity of the emotions now swirling around in her thoughts.
You-you didn't have to come. Shouldn't have just for me, there are so many more important things you have to tend to on Mars. She can't help the thoughts spilling out of her and she knows he also hears the whispered one of thank you, I don't deserve it but thank you. Which are echoing along with countless others.
Your family Lena. Nothing is more important.
Her breath catches in her throat at that. Now the rest of the team is on comms, but I'm going to be with you the whole time.
Thank you. Lena felt a new resolve and a bolstered sense of courage and bravery, the emotions were overwhelming. She had her friends, people who at one point she thought she had severed relations with irreparably but they were here and they were here for her. She wasn't sure how she came to deserve this second chance yet here it was. She refused to waste it. Let's end this.
"Stop! Don't touch it! It's the blue one! The blue one!" Nia practically shouts.
"No, it's definitely green!" Alex protests.
"Brainy?" Nearly all four ring out in unison.
"I'd say it's about .724—"
"BRAINY!" The whole room explodes this time in perfect sync.
"Green! Its green." He huffs and crosses his arms and slinks back into the couch perturbed mumbling something along the lines of "why even ask me then?"
"I can't, there's no way I can reach it."
"You have to! Lena, please you can't give up now!" Kara is at the point of being desperate. "We've come this far!"
"If I fall you're going down with me!" Lena says flustered, she sticks her lips out and
blows hard trying and failing to blow the rebellious curl of blonde hair out of her face. Kara's nose is practically touching her own and she can feel her warm breath breezing over her mouth and if it weren't for the audience she might do something about it, but she's nothing if not a glutton for punishment and she more or less prides herself on her self control.
"Don't tempt me." Kara says smugly. At that Lena finally, slowly shifts her weight, ignoring MGann's elbow jabbing at her side and arches her neck to see past Diana's knee blocking her view and reaches, reaches, reaches for the green circle before the awkward angle gets the best of her and she falls taking Diana and Sam out with her.
A collective groan from the corresponding teams sounded off as the three of them made their attempts at disentangling and removing themselves from the mat.
"Mom! Dang it, you were our last hope!" Ruby chastises. Alex smacks the back of her head playfully and opens her arms welcoming Sam into her lap as she nestles back into the armchair. "You did good babe, it was all Lena's fault."
"Hey!" Lena stands and rubs her hands down her shirt and glares at Alex.
"It's ok sweetie, I'll win this for the both of us." Kara placates knowing all too well what Alex and Lena are capable of if left unchecked. She'd rather be in a more comfortable position to watch that part of the evening go down. Plus it doesn't go unnoticed how that term of endearment turns Lena's cheeks a light pink and there's something about having that kind of effect on her that makes her want to say it again. "Sweetie?"
The blush deepens but the smile that breaks out on Lena's face is all too knowing. "Can you make some popcorn? After my victory over M'Gann I'm going to want a celebratory snack."
Lena leans down and kisses Kara lightly on the forehead. "Sure, you want anything
else?"
"Yes, but that'll have to wait." Kara winks at her then turns when she hears loud smacking to find Alex, Sam and Ruby all in various states of making kissy faces and sounds. "Ugh, you're all children!" She exasperates and Lena chuckles softly behind her as she makes her way to the kitchen.
"Yes, yes we are." Sam agrees before she looks at Ruby and Alex and they all go back to teasing Kara and Lena with their obnoxious kissing sounds. There's a knock at the door and Diana quickly makes her way over to answer it with a soft smile on her face as she does.
"Sorry I'm so late."
"Nonsense, you are here, and that's all that matters." Diana assures her. Andrea steps into the loft smiling at Diana's outstretched arm, slipping into it for a quick side hug before stepping out of it just as quickly.
"Andrea! You made it, I was just about to call you." Lena said as she waved them both over to the kitchen. The bag of popcorn, just starting its rotations in the microwave, still flat and lifeless.
"This was all rather parsed together rather quickly. After everything that happened at Lex's old hideout…" She looked around at the group of friends all congregating in the small apartment, she smiled warmly and looked back at Andrea. "We thought a proper game night was well overdue."
"Yes, well…" Andrea watched with a grimace as M'Gann and Kara rolled around on the twister mat, Jonn and Nia laughing while they watched Ruby taunt and tease the pair with a feather trying to get one of them to crack. "Just as long as you don't expect me to do any sort of crawling while wearing this skirt, I guess I'm inclined to join in at some point."
Diana laughed softly causing Andrea to turn her attention back to cheerful brown eyes. "I dare say I'd rather enjoy watching you crawl around on all fours."
Andrea raised her eyebrow and watched with growing amusement how Diana's face twisted into one of slight horror at her own words. "You would?"
A quiet but altogether very uncharacteristic screeching sound was all Diana could muster before a whispered "excuse me." before escaping back into the living room, sitting herself deep into the corner of the couch and clutching a pillow over her chest.
Andrea smiled and shook her head and when she finally turned back around Lena was watching her with an expression that had Andrea quickly dart her eyes away. "I need a drink."
Lena looked at her warily before opening a cabinet and pulling out two glasses, choosing to allow her friend a moment of reprieve from whatever that was she just witnessed. "We have Scotch, whiskey and wine, or if you prefer there's water and soda as well. Ruby, prefers Root Beer so…"
"Whiskey." Which Lena knows all too well is her friends preference when feeling out of sorts. When Andrea sees the growing smirk on Lena's face she snatches the bottle and glass from her friends hands. "Just–" She huffs and pours a healthy serving and takes an aggressive gulp wincing as it burns going down. "Shut up." She pointedly glares at Lena who chuckles and raises her hands, the microwave dings and she turns to grab a bowl much to Andrea's relief.
Kara skips over just as Lena pours the contents of the bag into the bowl and kisses Lena on the cheek before grabbing a handful of the salty snack. "Hey Andrea!"
"Kara." She says politely back and finds she actually isn't altogether put out by her presence as she once was. She watches from her spot on the other side of the counter the way Kara gingerly moves Lena's hair to the side to inspect a rather insignificant scratch that has marked Lena's forehead with a worried expression before Lena takes her hand and reassures her with a simple, affectionate look. They move around each other easily as Lena doctors up the popcorn with butter and cheese powder while Kara pours a glass of wine, trading their wares with a soft 'thanks'.
"Let's join the others, yeah? They are about to start another round of twister, this time Jonn & Brainy against Alex and Ruby." Kara's eyes light up with excitement and she looks over to Andrea. "Ruby has the opinion that she and Alex are more than capable of taking down a Coluan and a shape shifting martian from Mars. So this is something I don't want to miss!"
"We'll be right there darling." Lena nudges her gently with her hand back towards the living room. "I just want to catch up with Andrea real quick."
Kara circles her arm tighter around the bowl of popcorn and nods. "Sure, but don't take too long." She winks at the both of them and saunters off.
"You two are good together." Andrea comments once Kara has taken a seat in between M'Gann and Diana on the couch.
"I like to think so."
"You are." Andrea assures her. "It was never that easy between us. But with you two…"
The words don't need to be said, and she leaves it at that. They watch as the next round of twister starts and Ruby is ribbing Alex while simultaneously ignoring her mother's warnings to cease and desist.
"We still have a long way to go, but I'm happy, and I –" Lena watches as Kara laughs at something Sam says which makes Alex stumble and curse when she becomes the first one out. "I think she is too."
"It's pretty obvious. Friends don't look at each other the way you two do. The way she looks at you…" Andrea smiles. "It's nice to see that someone sees how special you are."
"And you and Diana?"
"Don't speak of it…" Andrea starts then takes a smaller yet still significant sip of her whiskey. "There could be something, but for now we are content just being friends, neither of us really have a lot of those."
Lena looks at Andrea for a long moment before turning back to the rest of the room filled with people she's grown to love more and more with each passing day. "I disagree."