"Oh, Alex that is you, Thank Rao."
Alex's teeth bite hard into her lower lip as she turns her attention from the lounging lemurs to looking over toward the hurrying woman that was her ex-girlfriend.
"Hey, Kelly." Alex greets forcing on a smile considering that even when it was going on three years since their split the pain of their breakup still stung.
"Hi." Kelly answers much shyer now before shaking herself out of whatever daze she'd been in as her gaze slides back towards Alex's face and away from the form of her outfit choice after being ordered into her more 'civilian' worthy clothes. Already she was missing the second skin feeling of either her DEO tactical gear or her Sentinel suite considering she'd worn nothing but either of those in weeks if not months. "So, I need a favor,"
Alex was immediately curious to say the last. Not the way she'd have thought the rest of her afternoon would go after J'onn had coaxed her from the lab after she'd finally managed to crack a week's long investigation where she'd barely left said lab and in the most fatherly and loving way, he could manage had told her flat out she wasn't allowed back to at least DEO related work for the next three days.
"You don't need to take on every threat on your own."
"Yeah, save some glory for the rest of us, Agent Sentinel." Kara laughed playfully nudging her shoulder with Alex's own as she'd tagged along in walking the grumpy Alex out to her waiting motorcycle.
So that was how Alex Danvers aka Sentinel found herself wondering the National City Zoo.
"What kind of favor?" Alex questioned her hands fisting even tighter in the pockets of her jacket.
"How are your ALS skills?" Kelly asks splitting her gaze between Alex and a pair standing practically at the start of the walking path. One of her students Alex realized.
A girl Alex guess was in the age range of six or seven wearing a very familiar 'S' shaped symbol across her youth-sized t-shirt that matched rather well with her dark washed jeans and well-worn sneakers as she and a dog in a distinctly red and black vest wait for the adults to finish talking. She'd have to tell Kara later they in fact had a blind of their colors considering the symbol was for Supergirl yet the blue and black of the color scheme was more Sentinel based.
"Rusty but not completely useless, why?" Alex wonders sending the younger nervous-looking younger girl a reassuring smile earning a shy grin from the child before she turns her attention back between the service dog at her side and the red pandas.
"One of the kids in my group lost her hearing aids or so she says. I know she's not telling the whole story but she's not budging. Kind of reminds me of you from time to time." Kelly goes on in explanation "also one of the other chaperones had to leave for an emergency with one of her other kids and I'm having trouble handling the rest of these guys on my own." She admits sheepishly.
"How many kids?" Alex asks
"Kerstin and I split them, so she got five I got five, but they are still a handful." Kelly answers "thankfully two of the zoo attendees are with the rest of them giving me time to ask if you'd mind helping me out."
"Alright." Alex nodes glancing at the still waiting six-year-old.
Kelly was already in motion to grab her ex in a tight hug before she realized what she'd done. "Um…"
"'s alright." Alex shrugs giving her a light hug in return "we are almost to the otters. If memory serves…."
Alex blushes and keeps her eyes on her feet for a few extra steps before being confident enough to meet Kelly's soft gaze before she answers. "I still love them." she admits makes her ex pause for a few more beats to question if Alex was still talking about the animals or her until a series of scared screams and several zoo-goers start hurrying back towards the exits.
"Rise my brothers and sisters." That seemed to be coming from every direction.
"Beastmaster." The two say together.
"Still say he needs a new name considering the one he's ripping off both the movie and the not that bad tv series." Kelly sighed making Alex laugh dryly as more zoo guests hurry past them. "Go back to the kids, make sure they are all safe. I'll handle this." She promises
"Go get them, Sentinel." Kelly whispers just loud enough for Alex to catch.
"Well, that was…" Alex pants double-checking the restraints she'd finally managed to close around the still struggling Beastmaster were secure before the lone figure of a distraught child came hurrying towards her. The child's hands are sticky with what Alex knew at once to be blood.
The child's eyes wet with tears as she immediately begins tugging at Alex's sleeve.
"What's wrong, sweetie?" Alex tries to ask only for the child to pull even harder at her sleeve without giving her an answer.
"Cole…Cole, sweetie what's wrong?" Alex asks spotting the nametag stickered to the child's shirt before giving up for the moment and following the crying child back the way she'd come.
Beastmaster was still out cold thanks to Lena's latest metahuman tranquilizer cocktail so she could risk leaving him a little while longer Alex reasoned but sent a quick message to the rest of her 'super friends' to come to get him.
"H…Hel…Help…Her."
It was only when Alex sees the ripped red and black vest the injured animal had been wearing that it clicked.
The girl from before. The one Kelly had been about to ask her to help look after before Beastmaster had decided to show up and spoil everything.
Kelly's class had been close to where she'd finally managed to corner her newest adversary despite Alex's best efforts to keep the animal manipulating metahuman away from civilians. The closer he was to them the more dangerous any animals around were to any they deemed an enemy.
Defensive wounds all of these. Alex thinks as despite her medical training being more for humans than animals Sentinel does her best to patch the whimpering service animal.
"Are you hurt any?"
The child- Cole- blinks a few times in surprise that Alex thinks about repeating her signed question before Cole was asking one of her own.
"You know ASL?"
Alex smiles kindly her bloody fingers signing an answering yes as her free hand like Cole's go back to gently smoothing a hand down the now resting dog's muzzle.
"She kept me safe." Cole explains as if the fact wasn't painfully obvious to the animal-loving vigilante "that man, the bad one. He tried to make her go bad like the others, but she didn't. she fought him. Kept me safe."
Alex nodes in understanding "What's your last name, Cole?" she asks pointing towards her nametag
"S-a-w-y-e-r." Cole answers spelling out each letter.
It was then a watch similar to one Kara had given her 'not a girlfriend' girlfriend Lena a week before started vibrating against Cole's wrist.
"My Mama." Cole explains still signing each word for her "She's a cop." She goes on "she's looking for us."
Alex immediately does her best to gingerly pick up the wounded dog then gestures for Cole to lead the way the same moment a winded Supergirl opens the closet door. "Sorry, I'm late." Kara says guilty sending her sister her best sad puppy eyes only for the saddened expression to deepen into a real one once she noticed just what she'd walked into when she'd opened the door. "How can I help?" she asks at once kneeling with her hand already outstretched to run gently over the whimpering dog's ear.
"Find a cop last-named Sawyer she should be out with the others securing the scene and bring her with you when you meet us at the med wing of this place." Alex decides "This brave girl needs better training than I'm able to give her."
Kara nodes once offering her hand to the child only for Cole to shake her head and hide even more behind Alex's bowed body over the wounded dog.
"She's shaken and scared don't take it personally." Alex says switching to Kryptonian when she noticed Kara's saddened pout at the rejection.
"I'll find her." Kara promises before speeding off with a still unconscious Beastmaster sling over her shoulders like a metahuman sack of potatoes only to pause and shifted the alien threat to her shoulder to free her hands enough to sign her promise and an added "I like your shirt. You really are a Supergirl. So brave." for Cole earning a shy grateful smile from the child still hiding behind Alex.