A/N: Thanks for the comments.
Jennifer Baratta - Thank you!
Winterstorm22 - Thanks - Lex has been surprisingly fun to write.
"Alex, I know you are hurting-" Eliza said that evening as she once again tried to connect with her daughter.
"You don't know anything." Alex shouted. "You know nothing about me. You never have."
"Alex please." Eliza pleaded.
"Please what? What do you want from me?"
"I want to help you. You're my daughter."
"So now Kara is gone you want me? I'm not a replacement for Kara." Alex replied, her tone as bitter as her words.
"That's not what I meant." Eliza said trying not to take Alex's words to heart.
"Really? Because that isn't the message you have been giving for the last fifteen years. Only I'm not Kara. I will never be Kara. I will just be the screw up."
"You have never been a screw up." Eliza said stepping towards Alex.
"I don't need your lies right now. We all know you were more of a mother to Kara than you ever were to me." Alex said storming out of the apartment.
"She didn't mean it." J'onn said.
"I know. And if I thought it would help her I would stay and take what ever she needed to unleash. But something tells me that by being here I am only going to make it worse."
"You're leaving?" Kelly guessed.
"It's what Alex needs."
"What about what you need?" J'onn asked.
"I need Alex to be okay." Eliza pointed out. "If anything changes please call me and I'll be on the first flight back."
"If anything changes I'll fly you here myself." J'onn said, before offering. "Do you want me to fly you home now."
"I appreciate that, but I think I prefer planes. But I'd take a ride to the airport."
"Of course." He said before looking at Kelly and saying. "I'll be back later."
-00-
"How is she?" J'onn asked as he stopped by Alex's apartment having dropped Eliza off.
"Still drunk." Kelly said letting J'onn into the apartment.
"I'm not in the mood for a lecture." Alex said.
"I'm not here to give one." J'onn said. "There is no point when you're drunk." He then approached Alex and said. "I thought you should know your mother has gone back to Midvale."
When Alex didn't react he sighed and went on. "I know you are hurting. I know you miss Kara. But what would Kara want?"
"What about what I want?" Alex asked.
"What do you want?" J'onn asked.
"I want Kara." Alex said, a tear running down her face.
"I can't give you that." J'onn said.
"Than get out. Both of you. Please just leave me alone."
Hating leaving her, but knowing she needed space Kelly and J'onn retreated from the apartment. No longer under scrutiny Alex poured herself another drink and said. "I'm sorry Kara." Before downing the shot. She was about to pour herself another one when there was a knock on the door.
"What?" Alex asked opening the door, only to see Kate. "Kate?"
"Hey." Kate greeted. "Can I come in?"
"Which one was it?" Alex asked walking away from the door.
"Which one was what?" Kate asked looking round the apartment and raising an eyebrow at the empty bottles.
"Which one sent you? Mom? J'onn?" Alex slurred.
"No one sent me." Kate explained. "J'onn said you believed Kara was still alive."
"So you took it upon yourself to tell me I was crazy. Well no need I have plenty of people doing that already."
"That's not why I'm here."
"Then why are you here?" Alex asked looking round.
"To help."
"Help? You can't help me." Alex said pouring herself another shot.
"I know what you are going through, more than anyone. I lost my sister too. I gave up, except she wasn't really dead and now she is a psychopath. I listened to everyone telling me she was gone, despite knowing in my heart she was alive. I gave up and she suffered as a result. So if you really think Kara is alive I'm not going to tell you to give up. But if it were Beth I would not be here getting drunk pushing everyone away, I'd be asking for help. And when you are ready I'll be there." She added before leaving.
-00-
"You okay?" J'onn asked as he and Kelly sat in his apartment.
"No. I feel so useless. My job is to help people in crisis, but nothing I do helps her."
"Alex isn't ready for help yet." J'onn said. "When she is, she'll need you more than ever."
"I'm not going anywhere." Kelly assured him. "Is Eliza going to be okay by herself?"
"She's strong. Like everyone else in the family." J'onn said. "Right now she is focusing on Alex and what Alex needs, but I'm sure she'll break at some point. I'll go up and see her on Friday to make sure she is ok and try to distract her from Supergirl's funeral."
"Do you think Alex will do something …." Kelly started, pausing to think of the right word.
"Stupid? Aggressive?" J'onn guessed. "Maybe. Right now all the alcohol is stopping her think straight. I don't know if that is likely to push into being reckless or stop her. But Friday is going to be tough on her."
"Perhaps we can persuade her to go up to Midvale to see Eliza? Both as a distraction, but also to support each other."
"It's a nice idea, but I can't see Alex doing it." He said as there was a knock on the door.
Confused he went an opened it only to find Lex on the other side.
"What do you want?" J'onn asked angrily.
"As much as it pains me. I want your help." Lex said. "May I?" He asked indicating he wanted to enter the apartment.
"Two minutes." J'onn warned.
"That's all I need." Lex said. "I want to hire you."
"Hire me for what?" J'onn asked suspiciously.
"The DEO and the FBI are doing everything they can to find Lena and bring her to justice."
"And?" J'onn asked.
"Actually it is more of a but." Lex said. "So far they have no leads. Not one. So Either Lena is far more intelligent than I give her credit for, or she has help. Either way we are not making progress. You, however, have other resources. All of whom would like to see Lena brought to justice. So I want to hire you to find Lena, no matter how long it takes. And I will pay handsomely." He added handing J'onn a cheque. "That I assume will cover your first month. Expenses will be paid on top of that."
"Why?" J'onn asked.
"I told you, we are having no luck."
"Why do you want her brought to justice?" J'onn asked. "I know part of you admires her for what she did."
"Lena's actions may have had beneficial consequences, but she has also tarnished the Luthor name. My name. And yes I am aware of the irony. However, I am not going to sit idly by and let it happen. I need her brought to justice. And while you won't want to help me, I know you want Lena. We both know you are likely to run up large cost issues pursuing her, so let me bankroll it." He paused looking at J'onn's distrust for a moment before saying. "Okay, you've got me there is another reason. No matter what you think about me, I have no desire to let something happen to this planet. The biggest threat this planet faces right now is Leviathan. I have every intention to stop them, but it will be harder if my focus is split. So I want you to hunt down Lena, something I know you want, and I will stop Leviathan." He then paused once more before saying. "I'm sure that is my two minutes. I'll see myself out."
"Are you going to accept his offer?" Kelly asked.
"I don't know. I don't trust him, but he is right. I will be searching for Lena anyway. I won't decide anything until I have talked to Alex though."
-00-
As Alex sat on the floor of her apartment, still drunk and angry, she started to think about all the times she had let Kara down. She was barely past Kara's first year on Earth when her phone rang. Picking up the phone she was about to throw it at the wall when she saw the number. Seeing it was a Midvale number that she didn't recognised she reconsidered.
"Yes." She angrily answered. "Yes this is Alex Danvers … What? …. When? How bad? …. I'll be there as quickly as I can."
Ignoring how over the limit she was Alex hurriedly scanned the apartment for her keys. Seeing them she reached over the table but accidentally kicked it over instead."
"Stupid table." She muttered bending down to pick up the keys. As she did so she dropped her phone. "Got you." She said triumphantly picking up the keys, while ignoring the phone. Stumbling to her feet she grabbed her jacket and staggered to her bike.
-00-
"How are you this fine morning?" Lex asked. When Kara just glared at him he went on. "I expected more conversation form you. I mean you are, occasionally, a journalist, albeit a bad one, but still words are kind of meant to be your thing." He paused. Still getting no response he added. "Still nothing. Not to worry, I'll just fill you in. You'll be pleased to know that J'onn and Alex now work for me. I will take good care of them, making sure they are where they need to be." Once again he paused. "Still nothing to say to me? Very well, I'll leave you alone. Don't worry, things will start to get more exciting soon. Well for me anyway." He added as an alarm sounded. Looking at his phone he saw the camera feed and added. "How unexpected, but useful." He said. "Let's just make sure the mouse walks into the trap." He then tapped on the phone before he looked back at Kara. "No matter what you say I'm not evil. I even have a soft side, so I am going to facilitate a reunion. I'll be back soon." He added walking off, leaving Kara fearing the worse.
TBC...
A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing.