Notes: This chapter contains canon dialog from the episode "Red Dawn"
March 29, 2019
Maggie finished drying her hair and hung the towel on the rack. Kara would probably be pissed that she had stayed at the loft long enough to shower before heading to J'onn's, but for all its amenities, Lena's jet didn't have a shower, and after almost 36 hours without, Maggie couldn't deal with how greasy and grimy she felt. A quick shower, and she felt like a human being again, and honestly, what Kara didn't know, wouldn't hurt her.
She took a second to put her hair up so it would fit under her helmet, then pulled on a fresh set of clothes. She tossed a set of Kara's flannel pajamas in her bag, checked to make sure she had the flash drive with the evidence on it and the dimensional extrapolator Kara had asked her to pick up and that Kara's stash of yellow sunlight grenades was in her bag, then grabbed the crate with the lump of Kryptonite, and headed for the door. She stopped in the kitchen when she heard the sound of a key sliding into the lock. She sat the bag and the crate on the kitchen counter and reached for the alien gun, resting her hand on the butt of the weapon. Chances are, it was Alex, coming to check on Kara, but for a moment, she was worried Kara was right, and that she should have just grabbed her things and left. It was a fear that was dispelled a moment later when the door opened.
"Kara?"
"Hey," Kara said.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to DC after you finished at CatCo."
"I am," Kara said as she closed the door, "but I had to see you before I left."
Maggie smiled. "Come here."
Kars took a hesitant step towards her, and Maggie wondered at the sudden shyness. She reached out and rested her hands on Kara's hips, pulling her forward until their bodies were pressed together, then went up on her toes and kissed Kara.
It was wrong. From the instant their lips touched, Maggie knew it was wrong. When strong arms wrapped around her, they weren't comforting and enticing, they were a cage, pressing her against a stranger. When a tongue swiped at her lips, it wasn't arousing, it sent a shiver of fear down her spine, and she pulled away.
"Let go!" Maggie shouted into the woman's face. Maggie wasn't sure if it was surprise, shock, or months of training to obey orders, but the woman released her, and Maggie staggered back. She drew the alien gun and pointed it at the woman.
Red Daughter. It had to be.
"Maggie, what's wrong?" Red Daughter asked in Kara's voice.
"What are you doing here?" Maggie asked. She thought of the watch. Two clicks, to warn Kara to stay away. To warn her it was a trap. She dismissed it, because she knew Kara would come anyway. Kara would move heaven and Earth if she thought there was even a chance someone she cared about was in danger, and even if they hadn't spoken that one word to each other, Maggie knew how Kara felt. Warning Kara to stay away would just bring her that much faster.
"I told you, I wanted to see you before I went to DC."
"You're not Kara," Maggie said. "You're her. Krasnaya doch."
Red Daughter's expression shifted, going from concern to a sort of smug superiority. "How do you know that name?" she asked in a heavy Russian accent.
"I know everything," Maggie said. "I know you were created about nine months ago. I know you wound up in Kaznia somehow. I know you've been working with Lex."
"That's hardly everything," Red Daughter said. "You can put down gun. I am not here to hurt you."
Maggie stared at her for a moment, considering her options. The alien gun couldn't really hurt Red Daughter. It could knock her around a bit, though if Maggie turned the power up that high, the building might not survive it. She'd drawn the gun more on reflex than because it would actually protect her, and there was no reason to keep pointing it at Red Daughter, not when a bit of super speed would let her rip the gun from Maggie's hands before she could pull the trigger anyway.
Maggie holstered the gun.
"Why are you here?" she asked.
"I'm curious," Red Daughter said. "I've met her Alex, and Lena, but you're different. I wondered what makes you special."
"And you thought making out with me would be the way to find out?"
"You kissed me."
"Only because I thought you were Kara."
"Yes. What gave me away?"
"You're a shitty kisser," Maggie said.
Maggie saw a flicker of anger on Red Daughter's face before she schooled her features back to the smug expression she'd been wearing. "A side effect of not rutting with anyone who comes along, I suppose." She took a step closer to Maggie. "You're not the first, you know. She talks about it in her journals. Pages and pages about Cat Grant, James Olsen, Lucy Lane, Mon-El, Thara Ak-Var, Nia Nal, Kate Kane."
Maggie smiled with a bit of satisfaction at the fact that Lena Luthor wasn't on the list. Confusion spread over Red Daughter's face.
"You think it's funny that she's had so many before you?"
"Well, first, I know that she's only 'had' one of them, and second, you really should see my back catalog. I've lost count."
"You act like that's something to be proud of."
"You act like it's something to be ashamed of. To love people. To want to be loved in return. That's not something to be ashamed of."
Red Daughter didn't seem to have an answer for that. She just stared.
"Do you have name? Or should I just call you Krasnaya?"
"Linda. You can call me Linda."
"Okay," Maggie said. "Why are you here, Linda?"
"I told you. I was curious."
"About what?" Maggie asked. "About what it's like to be in love? About what it's like to hold someone in your arms and feel at home? About what it's like to have a family?"
Red Daughter tilted her head as she looked at Maggie. "I wanted to know why you were different. Why she fell in love with you. There are others who could offer her more. Lena and Cat both have money and power. James could advance her career. Nia has powers and fights beside her. And yet, she's with you. Why?"
"Love isn't about money, power or career. Love is about having someone to share your life with. The good and the bad. It's about having someone who's there for you when you need them. It's about having someone who makes you feel like you matter, like you're not alone in the world. That's what love is. A connection, even when you're apart. Don't you have anyone you feel that for? Someone you long for when you're apart?"
"Alex," Red Daughter whispered.
"Okay," Maggie said. "Tell me about Alex."
Red Daughter hesitated, a wary look on her face. "Why?"
"I'm curious," Maggie said. "You said I don't know everything, so tell me. Why is Alex important?"
"When I first woke up, I knew nothing, except Alex's name," Red Daughter said. "I could remember nothing but that I wanted Alex."
"That makes sense. Alex has always been the most important person in Kara's life. You're a part of her."
"No! I'm nothing like her," Red Daughter said.
"I don't believe that," Maggie said.
"She protects the corrupt. She consorts with parasites who feed off the labor of the people."
"No," Maggie said. "She cares for people. She protects them, inspires them, gives them hope. She's stood on an alien world, with no power, and no hope of rescue, and told evil men that if they wanted to hurt the innocent, they will have to go through her. She would die to save someone's life, anyone's life, and she would be at peace with it."
"You lie!" Red Daughter said.
"No," Maggie said. "No, I don't. Kara is good. She is. She's the best person I know. And if you're a part of her, then there must be good in you too."
"No," Red Daughter said.
"Come here," Maggie said. She walked over to the fridge, took down one of the pictures of Kara and Alex, and held it out to Red Daughter. "Look at this."
Red Daughter took the picture and looked at it. "This is her Alex."
"Your Alex too," Maggie said. "Linda, you are a part of Kara, and she's a part of you. And that is the Alex you wanted when you woke up. Alex is Kara's home. Her sister. Her family. She's your family too. Just like I am."
Red Daughter looked up at her. "What?"
"Linda, Lex is using you," Maggie said.
"His name is Alex!"
"No," Maggie said. "No, it's not. His name is Lex Luthor, and he's lying to you."
"No. NO! You're lying."
"Am I?" Maggie said. She reached over and put her hand on the crate with the Kryptonite. She rested her thumb on the latch, so she could open it with just a flick. "I could stop you, right now. I could end this. Turn you into the DEO and let them lock you in a cage."
There was a flicker of fear on Red Daughter's face. "Then why don't you?"
"Because they would treat you like a monster, and I don't think you are. And because that's not what Kara would want." Maggie reached out and took Red Daughter's hand in her own. "Please, let us help you."
"I…" Red Daughter dropped her gaze, staring at the picture in front of her, and for a second, Maggie thought she had gotten through to her, but then Red Daughter turned towards the window, with that look that Kara always got when she heard something, and needed to rush off to Supergirl.
"I have to go," Red Daughter said. She sat the photo almost reverently on the counter, before she disappeared out the window at super speed.
Maggie reached for her phone and dialed Kara.
Kara glared as one of Baker's Secret Service goons pulled the bag off her head. She did a quick scan of the room to assess the situation, just like Alex had taught her. It was a semi-high-end hotel, and she was tied to a wood framed chair. Two secret service goons were in the room, both staring at her.
"Jeez, this is America. You can't just kidnap a reporter," she said.
"And you can't publish state secrets when it's a matter of national security."
"You know, I've never signed a security clearance, and the US doesn't any an official secrets act, so I think you'll find that I actually can. Besides, my editor already has all my evidence."
"We scrubbed the CatCo servers."
Kara rolled her eyes, more than a little grateful she'd given Maggie a copy of the evidence. "How long are you gonna keep me here?"
"Until the President tells us you aren't a problem anymore."
Kara shook her head. "You know, I don't really think that's gonna work for me." She looked down and screamed. "Spider!"
The Secret Service agent glanced down just as Kara kicked out, sweeping his legs out from under him. He landed hard enough to knock the breath out of him, and before he could recover, she kicked him in the head, putting him out. Then she threw her weight forward, rolling across the floor and coming up on her feet before she twisted, using the legs of the chair to knock the second agent's legs out from under him. Another quick tap with her foot, and he was unconscious too. She pulled her arms apart, shattering the chair she was tied to into dozens of pieces.
"You picked on the wrong girl," she said as she stepped over the agent and headed towards the door. She swung it open and found herself looking at her own face. Before she could react, Red Daughter opened up a case that held a chunk of Kryptonite attached to a heavy chain.
Kara staggered back as the pain from the Kryptonite washed over her. Searing skin, nails in her veins. Pain. So much pain. If she'd had a second or two to adjust, to react, she might have had time to turn and run, to put distance between her and the Kryptonite, but Red Daughter lashed out, punching her in the face, and then, there was only darkness.
"Damn it!" Maggie said as she slammed her phone down on the table in J'onn's dining room.
"No luck with James?" J'onn asked.
"He said she left CatCo almost two hours ago," Maggie said.
"Maybe we should call Alex," J'onn said.
"We can't," Maggie said. "If we call Alex and tell her Kara is missing, she's going to want to call Supergirl in to help, and since Kara is Supergirl, that's going to be a problem."
Maggie picked up her phone and tried calling Kara again, but no one answered. She pulled up Nia's number, and called her.
"Maggie?" Nia asked as she picked up.
"Yeah. I need your help," Maggie said.
"Of course. What do you need?"
"Kara's missing," Maggie said. "I need you to use your powers and see if you can find her."
"I'm on it," Nia said.
"Good. Call me back as soon as you know anything."
"Will do."
Maggie ended the call and pulled up a number she never thought she'd actually use and hit send.
"Hello?"
"Is this Cat Grant?" Maggie asked.
"No, it's Vicki Vale," Cat said. "Of course it's Cat Grant. Now, if you're done asking stupid questions, would you mind telling me who the hell you are, and why you're calling me at this ungodly hour?"
"This is Maggie Sawyer. We met during the Daxamite invasion."
"What's happened to Kara?" Cat asked.
"I don't know if anything has happened to her," Maggie said. "But she was supposed to be meeting with President Baker earlier this evening."
"I'm aware. I arranged the meeting," Cat said.
"Well, according to White House security, she never arrived and she's not answering her phone. I was hoping she might be with you."
"I haven't heard from her since she called to ask me to set up the meeting," Cat said. "I'll make inquiries. Let me know if you find her."
"I will," Maggie said. "But be careful. There's an imposter. I ran into her tonight."
"I see," Cat said. "How did you spot the imposter?"
"Kara's a much better kisser," Maggie said.
"Interesting, but without a basis for comparison, I don't think that would be an effective detection technique," Cat said.
"If you see Kara, ask her what our toast is. The answer is 'Here's to us'."
"That sounds like a story," Cat said.
"Now one we have time for," Maggie said.
"I'll call if I have anything," Cat said. "And Maggie…"
"Yes?"
"It you hurt her..."
"I'll hand you the shovel," Maggie said.
The line disconnected.
Maggie dropped her phone on the table and looked over at J'onn.
"Go ahead and say it."
"Say what?"
"How horrible I am for falling for Kara, for letting it go this far."
"I'm not going to say anything," J'onn said.
"Really?" Maggie asked.
"No," J'onn said. "Maggie, I've known that you had feelings for Kara since that night at the hospital. Every moment you were with her, your mind was practically screaming out that you loved her."
"No," Maggie said. "No, that's not right. It can't be. I didn't even realize… Not until after Lex escaped."
"You might not have realized it, but that didn't mean you didn't feel it. My hearing isn't as good as Kara's, but I heard what you said to Alex, and while I might not agree with everything you said, I could feel how protective you are of her and how much she means to you."
Maggie shook her head. "I don't know what I'm going to do if Alex isn't okay with this."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," J'onn said. "For now, let's focus on Kara, Lex and this Red Daughter."
"Okay," Maggie said.
As if on cue, her phone rang. Maggie saw Nia's name on the caller ID before she answered it.
"Did you find her?" Maggie asked.
"Sort of," Nia said. "I don't know where she is, but I know where she'll be. I saw her at J'onn's apartment. I think it was tomorrow morning. You were there with her."
"Thank God," Maggie said.
"Don't thank me yet," Nia said. "She was hurt. I think J'onn was taking a bullet out of her arm."
"What?"
"Look, I'm still new at all of this. I could be misinterpreting things, but the dream seemed pretty clear."
"Okay," Maggie said. "We'll be ready."
"Should I head over there?" Nia asked. "Maybe I could help."
"No. There's an imposter out there who looks exactly like Kara, has all of her abilities, and knows Kara's secret identity. Can you go and keep an eye on Alex? She doesn't know."
"Of course," Nia said.
"Thank you," Maggie said before she hung up. She pulled up Lena's contact info.
"Hello," Lena said as she picked up.
"I need you to come over to J'onn's," Maggie said. "And I need you to bring whatever you need to work Kryptonite."
"Why?" Lena asked. "What's going on?"
"I ran into Red Daughter," Maggie said. "And I need a weapon in case it happens again."
March 30, 2019
Kara sat in an armchair with her wrists chained together with the same heavy chain that was attached the lump of Kryptonite, watching as Red Daughter screwed a silencer onto the barrel of a Beretta 9mm
"I'm supposed to kill you, you know," Red Daughter said.
"I see that. Kryptonite makes me soft. You shoot me, I bleed." She shook her head, trying to clear it, to focus through the pain of the Kryptonite. "I went to Kaznia. I saw those pictures you have of me, my sister."
"Know thy enemy."
"Please don't do this. We are the same. We have the same genes, the same-"
"I see we've come to the part where the villain says, 'We are not so different, you and I.'"
"I am not a villain."
"Funny, your Maggie said the same thing."
Kara pulled at the chain around her wrist. "Did you hurt her?"
Red Daughter smiled. "She tastes like coffee and cherries, but I suppose you know that."
Kara felt rage bubble up her in chest at the thought of Red Daughter touching Maggie. "What did you do?"
"I'd barely said hello when she kissed me. So eager."
"If you hurt her-"
"I didn't," Red Daughter said. "I just wanted to meet her. To see what it was about her that was so special."
Kara closed her eyes for a moment, breathing out a sigh of relief.
"She defended you, you know. She said you care for people, that you protect them, inspire them, give them hope. She said you stood on an alien world, with no power, and no hope of rescue, and told evil men that if they wanted to hurt the innocent, they would have to go through you. She said you would die to save someone's life, anyone's life, and that you would be at peace with it."
"She said all that?" Kara asked.
"Yes," Red Daughter. "I think she even believed it."
Kara opened her eyes and looked at Red Daughter. "It's true."
Red Daughter shook her head. "No. No, you defend the corrupt. Just look outside, and you'll see it. Poverty, oppression, racism, xenophobia, strife, civil unrest. This country is plague of the world. The American Dream is snake oil. Tell me, who sold it to you? Was it your Alex?"
"No. I landed in America because that's where my cousin landed. My ship followed his navigational beacon. He placed me with the Danvers so I could have a normal life."
"Normal? Why would you want to be normal? Your life could have so much meaning. You could end war and poverty. You could take the world in hand and remake it."
"That's Lex talking," Kara said. "I saw the plans. You really think a war between Kaznia and America is going to make the world better? People will die."
"People have already died!" Red Daughter stormed over and shoved the gun in Kara's face. "You're America is a nation of butchers, and you're just as guilty as they are. You let them murder anyone they want."
Kara watched as the green lines of Kryptonite crawled up Red Daughter's throat. Red Daughter's face twisted in pain as she started to waver.
"You know, for saying that you want to know your enemy, you don't know me at all. For instance, that pain you're feeling, you've only felt it for the past couple of months. But me… I've been dealing with Kryptonite for 4 years."
Kara jerked her wrists apart, and the room filled with the echo of shattering metal as one of the links in the chain gave way. It wasn't as easy as it would have been if she was at full power, and the jolt of pain that ran up her arm was probably a hairline fracture, but fighting through blinding pain was another thing she'd been doing for four years. She shot to her feet, grabbing the loose end of the chain in her right hand, and the lump of Kryptonite in her left. It was like wrapping her hand around a hot iron brand, but she held on, and slammed the Kryptonite into Red Daughter's face. Red Daughter stumbled back and the gun went off, and fire erupted in Kara's left arm. Kara staggered back, and saw Red Daughter trying to line up a better shot, so she swung the chain, wrapping it around Red Daughter's throat, with the lump of Kryptonite resting in the hollow of her throat.
Red Daughter screamed in pain, and Kara ran. She threw herself out the window and fell. The further she got from the Kryptonite, the more the effects faded, until she felt gravity lose its hold. The moment she could, she shot off at full speed and headed for National City.
It was just after 7:00 AM and Maggie sat on the couch waiting. Lena had come and gone hours ago, and Maggie had mixed feelings about the situation. Lena hadn't needed to work the lump of Kryptonite they'd found in Kaznia. She'd showed up with a bottle of Kryptonite Mace made with the same concentrated Kryptonite she'd developed during the whole Reign situation, along with pistol that worked on the same principal as the Kryptonite Laser in the Lexosuit, and with a sort of Kryptnite flashlight. It was just a lead lined tube that was sealed at one end with an iris valve. Press a button and the iris opened, and the extra potent Kryptonite inside emitted a beam of radiation that Lena promised was strong enough to bring down any Kryptonian. Maggie was glad she had a way to stop Red Daughter if she needed it, but she hated the idea that Lena had weapons which could hurt Kara just laying around. All she could really do was add it to her 'to be dealt with later' list, which was already getting far to long for her tastes.
There was a knock on the door and all thoughts of Lena vanished. Maggie was off the couch and headed towards the door before the echo died away. J'onn wasn't very far behind, but Maggie reached down door and jerked it open, the alien gun in her hand. Kara stood outside the door, clutching her left arm as blood spread down her sleeve.
"Come in," Maggie said.
Kara nodded and stepped inside. Maggie closed the door, holstered the alien gun, then turned to her.
"Can you get the coat off?"
"Not by myself," Kara said. "I can't really move my arm."
"What happened?" J'onn asked as Maggie untied and unbuttoned Kara's coat.
"Did Maggie fill you in on what we found in Kaznia?" Kara asked.
"I did," Maggie said. "But there's more. Red Daughter came to see me just after you left."
"I heard," Kara said.
"You saw her?" Maggie asked. "Did she do this?"
"Yeah," Kara said.
"Drop your arm," Maggie said. Kara lowered her right arm, and Maggie eased the coat off Kara's shoulders, eliciting a small whimper as she slid it down past the bullet wound. It took another second, then she had the coat off.
"Get her into the kitchen," J'onn said. "I'll get the medical supplies."
"Right," Maggie said. She led Kara into the kitchen, and sat her down at the table, then took a seat next to her. John came back a minute later with everything they'd need to deal with a bullet.
Maggie picked up a saline eye wash ampule. "Not going to lie. This is going to hurt like a bitch."
"I know," Kara said. "I've dug one out with my fingers before."
"Damn," Maggie said. "You're way more hardcore than I thought."
Kara laughed, and Maggie felt herself smile.
"You ready?"
"Do it."
Maggie irrigated the wound with the saline, then picked up the forceps and probed the wound, forcing herself to ignore the sounds of pain Kara was making. Once she found the bullet, she opened the forceps slowly, until she felt the bullet slip between the jaws. She pushed in, just a bit, then clamped down, and pulled. The bullet came out in a single piece, and the hole in Kara's arm closed as soon as the forceps cleared the edges of the wound. Maggie dropped the bullet on a steel tray J'onn has sat on the table and grabbed a couple of alcohol wipes and started cleaning Kara's arm.
"You know, as traditions go, patching holes in each other's arms isn't one I want to keep up," Maggie said.
Kara smiled. "Tell me you still have the drive with the evidence on it."
"Of course," Maggie said. "Now tell us what happened."
"I took the evidence to CatCo, and uploaded it, then told James what was going on. Once that was done, I called Cat and asked her to get me in to see the President. I told him everything we found and gave him the files showing his Chief of Staff had signed off on the transfers. He had his guards put a bag over my head and take me to a hotel. They told me they'd scrubbed the CatCo servers of my evidence, and that they were going to hold me until the President said to release me. I knocked them out and was on my way out of the hotel room when Red Daughter showed up. She had a lump of Kryptonite. She knocked me out while it weakened me. When I came to, she had me tied up. She was going to kill me."
"Fucking bitch," Maggie said. "I'm sorry, Kara."
"For what?" Kara asked.
"I had her. When she came into the apartment, we talked. I managed to get my hand on the case with the Kryptonite, but I didn't use it. I tried to convince her to let us help her. I tried to convince her we weren't her enemies. I just couldn't stand the thought of what Lockwood and the DEO would do to her if they got their hands on her, but I should have taken her down."
"No, Maggie," Kara said. "You did the right thing."
"She hurt you. She could have killed you."
"But if you'd turned her over to the DEO, they'd know you that you know, and Baker is working with Lex, so they'd come after you. Lex knows who I am, and he wants me dead. Right now, everyone I care about is in danger. You, James, Lena, Alex, Nia, Brainy, J'onn."
Kara turned to J'onn. "We've got to tell Alex. She has to know I'm Supergirl. She has to know why she's in danger."
J'onn shook his head. "You can't, Kara," he said. "Look, when I wipe somebody's mind, I close off neural pathways. Alex's psyche has already compensated for the missing memories. They're walled off. If you tell her the truth, it's like you're taking a sledgehammer to that wall, forcing two realities together. She could go insane."
Kara shook her head. "No," she said, her voice cracking as tears welled up in her eyes. "No, J'onn… No. This can't be forever."
Maggie watched as Kara started to break down, but something inside her just snapped, and she was on her feet. "You took Alex's memories without a way to give them back?" She grabbed the front of J'onn's shirt and shoved him back against the wall. "Did you tell her? Did you tell Alex that this was permanent?"
"Of course I did!"
Maggie shoved him against the wall again and turned away. "Of course. Of course. That's just Alex fucking Danvers."
"There was no other way," J'onn said.
"YES THERE WAS!" Maggie spun around. "She could have resigned. She could have walked away."
"Maggie," Kara whispered.
Maggie turned to Kara, who reached out and took her hand. Maggie dropped down into the chair next to Kara. "This can't… If she… If she never gets her memories back then we can't… I know it's not what I should be thinking about right now, but…"
Kara looked past her, at J'onn. "There has to be a way."
"I mean, maybe if she finds out on her own, remembers on her own. Maybe," J'onn said.
"That's the best you can do?" Maggie asked. "What about M'gann? She's a stronger telepath than you. Could she fix it?"
"I don't know," J'onn said.
The door opened and Maggie shot to her feet, drawing the alien gun and pointing it at the person coming through.
"J'onn, I need your help," Brainy said. Maggie let out a sigh of relief as she lowered the gun. Brainy looked at her and Kara. "Kara, Detective Sawyer. What are you doing here?"
"Long story," Maggie said.
"Where's Alex?" Kara asked.
"She's looking into the Supergirl clone. Red Daughter. Lena told us everything."
"She's going to get herself killed," Kara said.
"Don't do this," J'onn said.
"Take me with you," Maggie said.
Kara lifted Maggie into a bridal carry, and they were gone.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" the agent behind the counter in the lobby asked.
Maggie held up her DEO ID Card. "Maggie Sawyer. I'm here to see director Danvers."
The agent took the ID card and slipped it in the reader. She gave a small nod and passed the card back to Maggie. "Director Danvers should be in the Control Center, ma'am."
"Thank you." Maggie took the card back from the agent and headed over to the elevator. She hit the call button and once the doors opened she stepped inside, holding the door for just a second to give Kara time to zip inside at superspeed. Kara stood directly under the security camera in the corner of the elevator, and Maggie had to fight to keep from rolling her eyes. She'd told them a dozen times they needed two cameras or a fisheye camera to ensure full coverage in the elevator, but they still hadn't upgraded.
Maggie swiped her badge on the reader and hit the button for the commend level, and then hit the priority button, which overrode any other calls along the way.
"Good to see she hasn't revoked my clearance," Maggie said.
Kara gave her a weak smile as they road up to the command level in silence. The door opened, and Maggie waited a second until Kara had disappeared at Superspeed, then stepped out and headed for the command center.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" an agent asked as she stepped into the command center.
"Where's Director Danvers?" Maggie asked.
"Central Monitoring," the agent said. "Do you need an escort?"
"That's okay, Agent. I remember my way around."
Maggie headed down a side hall towards the nerve center of the DEO's surveillance system. Once she was out of site of the command center, there was a stiff breeze, and Kara was walking by her side in a full DEO tactical uniform.
"I don't know if my access code will still work," Maggie said.
"If it doesn't, I know Alex's code," Kara said.
The arrived at the door, and Maggie punched in her code. The panel turned green. She pulled open the door.
Alex looked up from the terminal she was working at. "Kara?"
Maggie turned and looked at Kara for a moment. Kara did a quick spin and was in her Supergirl suit.
Alex's eyes went wide. "You can't be here!" she said.
"Alex, turn off the cameras," Maggie said.
Alex reached down and hit a button on her belt, and the read recording light on the security camera went off. Then she looked at Kara again, and shook her head.
"I'm sorry," Alex said. "I just… for a second, I could have sworn you were Kara."
"You never noticed how much they look alike before?" Maggie asked.
"No," Alex said. She shook her head. "What are you to doing here?"
"Brainy said you were hunting Red Daughter," Kara said.
"Yeah," Alex said. "I've hunted Rogue Kryptonians before."
"Not one like this," Maggie said.
"What do you mean?"
"She knows everything about anyone connected to Supergirl," Kara said. "Which means, she knows everything about you. Where you live, where you work, how you killed Astra, how you took down Reign."
"How?" Alex asked.
"The how isn't important right now," Maggie said. "She came after me last night."
"What? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Maggie said. She pulled back her jacket to reveal the alien gun on her hip.
"There's more," Kara said. "President Baker is working with Lex."
"How do you know?" Alex asked.
"It's a long story," Kara said. "Will you take my word for it?"
Maggie could feel the weight of the question hanging in the air. It should have been a simple thing but given everything that had passed between Supergirl and Alex since the mind wipe, it wasn't. Alex didn't hesitate though.
"Yes," she said.
"Good, because when you find her, you're going to need me," Kara said.
"She's going to need both of us," Maggie said. "We're all in this together. Agreed?"
Kara and Alex both nodded. "Together."
Maggie stood next to the table in one of the DEO Labs. Kara lay on the with four DEO issue yellow sun lamps beaming down on her while Alex charted the signature Kara gave off as she burned the solar energy.
"How does it feel to burn sunlight?" Alex asked.
"Warm. Fuzzy," Kara said. She looked over at Maggie. "It feels like a really good kiss. The kind that makes your toes curl and your head swim."
Maggie felt her cheeks heat up a little bit.
Alex glanced over at Supergirl and followed her gaze to Maggie. A big smile spread across her face, before she turned back to the computer.
"Is it working?"
"I think so," Alex said. "If she's really a copy of you, she should burn Sunlight the same way. I've got the Satellites scanning for your solar signature. Once we eliminate anywhere we know you've been, we should be able to track her moments."
Maggie turned at the sound of the door opening and drew down on the woman standing there. "Hands where I can see them!"
The woman's hands went up. "Danvers, what the hell is going on here?"
"Step inside and close the door," Maggie said.
"Maggie, put the gun down," Alex said.
"Supergirl?" Maggie asked.
"Do it," Kara said.
Maggie lowered the gun.
"Who the hell are you?'' the woman asked.
"Maggie Sawyer, who the fuck are you?"
"I'm Colonel Lauren Haley."
Haley stepped into the room and closed the door. She looked over at Alex.
"You brought an enemy combatant into the DEO?"
"That was me," Maggie said. "I slipped Supergirl past security."
"You want to explain why, before I have you arrested?"
"Colonel, Supergirl is not the enemy here. She and Maggie are here because we were right. Supergirl did not attack the White House."
"Then who did?" Haley asked.
"She's a copy of me," Kara said. "A sort of clone."
"The President knew, too. Baker's working for Lex Luthor."
"And Lex is going to attack the US, backed up by the fake Supergirl and the whole Kaznian army," Maggie said.
"You have proof?" Haley asked.
"All you could ask for," Maggie said.
"Then I guess we had better work together on this," Haley said.
Alex and Haley both headed back over to the computer where Alex had been working. Maggie used the chance to pull Kara away from them.
"You holding up okay?" she asked.
"I'll be fine," Kara said.
"It's okay not to be," Maggie said. "When this is over… Shit. I guess I can't even promise you that anymore."
Kara took her hand. "We'll find a way," Kara said. "I promise you we will find a way to fix this. Don't give up hope yet."
Maggie smiled. "Infiltrating a top-secret government facility and a speech about hope from Supergirl. This is not how I expected my day to go."
Kara smiled at her. "Yeah, but, it's better, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Maggie said. "Whenever I'm with you, it always is."
"We've got something," Alex said.
Maggie let go of Kara's hand reluctantly as they both turned to look at the screen.
"Well, Red Daughter's been busy," Kara said.
"Project Claymore. You remember it?" Haley asked.
"I remember every secret government space laser I've blown up," Kara said. Maggie had to fight to keep a smile off her face.
"I hated that they hid it from me, so I went to DC to ask around," Haley said. "The beam from Claymore was powered by an unknown energy source. There were six engineers involved in R and D, and when I tried to track them down, I found out they all got put to bed with a shovel in the last two weeks in these locations."
"So Luthor's trying to get a hold of Claymore technology," Alex said.
"We need to find him and stop him from getting it, but right now, our priority is finding Red Daughter. If we triangulate these hits, can we get an address?" Kara asked.
"These are all downtown National City," Alex said. "Different times of the day and night. Do you think she's living here?"
"Yes," Maggie said.
Alex gave her a look, but she got distracted by a beep from the computer.
"1114 Cedar Street, National City California, 96997," Alex said. "It's an apartment building.
"Can we check the names on the leases?" Maggie asked.
"I'll try," Alex said.
"Look for anyone named Linda," Maggie said.
"Apartment 401," Alex said. "Linda Lee."
"That's the one," Maggie said.
"How do you know?" Kara asked.
"She told me to call her Linda."
"We won't be able to send back-up. Not without knowing who we can trust," Haley said.
"It's fine," Kara said. "I'll find her alone."
"The hell you will," Maggie said.
"Maggie-"
"We have an agreement."
"She's dangerous," Kara said. "She's already come after you once."
"I'll be there to watch her back. I'm coming too," Alex said.
Maggie and Kara both turned to Alex. "No," they said in unison.
"It's too dangerous, you'll both be safer here," Kara said.
"I'm going," Maggie said. "Together. You promised."
Kara looked at her, and for a moment, Maggie thought she was going to keep arguing, but she just sighed and nodded. "Okay."
"Great," Alex said. "Now let's go."
Maggie and Kara both turned towards her. "You're staying here," Maggie said.
"What? Why?" Alex asked.
"Because it's too dangerous," Kara said.
"You're taking Maggie, and she never fought a Kryptonian before," Alex said. "I have."
"You don't have Kryptonite in your corner this time, Danvers," Maggie said. "Besides, there are things you don't know, and we don't have time to fill you in." She turned to Kara. "Let's go."
Kara picked her up, and before Alex could argue, they were gone.
"Wait," Maggie said.
"For what?" Kara asked.
Maggie reached into her jacket and extracted a set of lockpicks.
"We don't have time for that," Kara said.
"It's a cheap lock," Maggie said as she pulled a tension tool and a rake out of her pick set. "Thirty seconds or less." She slipped the tension tool into the lock and twisted, putting the pins under tension, then raked the pins once, and the door popped open. "Like I said, cheap lock."
Kara rolled her eyes. "Show off."
Maggie shook her head as she packed up her picks. "If we need to, we can leave, and no one will know we've been here. We couldn't do that if you broke the door."
Kara gave her a look.
"Go ahead," Maggie said.
Kara entered the apartment, and Maggie followed. She only got a couple of steps inside, before the creepy feeling started.
"It looks like your apartment," Maggie said.
"Yeah," Kara said. "She's stalking me."
"That would explain a lot," Maggie said. "Like how she knew about us."
"How long do you think she's been watching?"
"I don't know. Can you…" Maggie waved her hand. "Super speed search?"
Kara nodded. "Don't move."
"Right."
For a moment, it was like the room was filled with a tornado, but then it was over, and Kara sat on the bed, holding up a journal. Maggie walked over and sat down next to her.
"Did you read it?" Maggie asked.
"Yeah."
"Anything interesting?"
"There was a boy named Mikhail. She rescued him. Saved him from people who were trying to rob his house. He was killed in an American missile strike on Kaznia."
"What? When?" Maggie asked.
"Around the time I went to Smallville," Kara said. "That's what she meant."
"What do you mean?"
"I told her that if there was a war between Kaznia and America, people will die. She said people have already died. That America is a nation of butchers, and I'm just as guilty as they are. That I let them murder anyone they want."
"So, she blames you for Mikhail's death," Maggie said.
"Yeah," Kara said.
"Hey."
Maggie and Kara both turned towards Alex as she walked into the apartment.
"Alex! What are you doing here?" Kara asked.
Alex sat her helmet down on the foot of the bed. "You think I'm going to sit this one out?"
"No," Maggie said. "God forbid you listen to what anyone else wants."
"Is there a problem?" Alex asked.
Maggie just shook her head. "No."
Alex frowned and looked around. "Why does this place look so much like my sister's apartment?"
"Alex…" Kara said, but Maggie held up her hand to stop Kara.
Both of them watched as Alex looked out the window.
"Oh, my God," Alex said. "I can see Kara's loft from here. It's like she's stalking her."
Maggie considered it for a moment. J'onn had said that Alex might be able to recover her memories if she figured out Kara was Supergirl on her own, or if she remembered on her own. Alex was smart, and she was almost as good a detective as Maggie was. Maybe, with a push in the right direction, just a nudge, Alex could figure it out.
Maggie looked over and Kara and mouthed a question. "Trust me?"
Kara nodded.
"She is," Maggie said.
Alex turned towards them. "What?"
"Red Daughter is stalking Kara," Maggie said.
"Why?" Alex asked, her voice shaking. "What does Kara have to do with all of this?"
"Think about it, Alex," Maggie said. "When we first walked into the room with you this morning, what did you see?"
"What do you mean? I saw you and Kara… I mean…" Alex closer her eyes and shook her head, swaying slightly. "I saw you and Supergirl."
"When was the first time you saw Supergirl?" Maggie asked.
"The night she rescued my plane," Alex said. "I thought I was going to die, and I looked out the window, and I saw… I saw…"
"What did you see, Alex?" Maggie asked.
Before Alex could answer, her phone started ringing, and Maggie cursed under her breath as Alex reached for her phone.
"I'm sorry," Alex said as she looked at the screen. "I have to take this." She hit the accept button and lifted the phone to her ear. "Mom, hey, um, is everything all right?"
The look on Kara's face shifted from one of worry to pure panic, and a chill ran down Maggie's spine.
"Oh, good. Is she okay?" Alex asked.
"Red Daughter is there," Kara said.
"What?" Alex asked, looking at Kara.
"Eliza. She's in danger. Tell her to get out!" Kara said.
"Go!" Maggie said. "We'll be right behind you."
Kara vanished at super speed.
"Mom, are you still there? Mom?" Alex called desperately into the phone, but she didn't get any response.
"She won't answer," Maggie said as she came to her feet. "Grab your helmet and let's go."
Alex shoved her phone in her pocket and grabbed her helmet as they headed towards the door. "What the hell is going on?"
"Red Daughter went after Eliza to draw out Supergirl," Maggie said.
"But why? How is Eliza connected to Supergirl?"
"Because she's connected to Kara," Maggie said. She headed for the staircase not wanting to wait for the building's shabby elevator.
"What does Kara have to do with Supergirl?" Alex asked.
"Think about it," Maggie said. "What did you see the night your plane went down?"
"Supergirl," Alex asked. "Why do you keep asking that?"
Maggie sighed in frustration as she reached for the dimensional extrapolator. The interface was a little hard to work with, but she pulled up one of the presents programmed into it.
"Where's your bike?" Maggie asked as they exited the building.
"This way," Alex said as she headed towards the side of the building. Her Ducati was parked in the alleyway. Maggie waited until Alex got on, then climbed on behind her.
"I don't have a spare helmet."
"Doesn't matter, we're not going far. Turn the bike around and head towards the back of the alley."
"What? Why?"
"Just do it."
Maggie held on with one hand and lifted the extrapolator with the other. Once Alex had the bike pointed towards the back of the alleyway, Maggie activated the extrapolator, and a portal sprang to life. "Go!" she yelled, and Alex goosed the throttle.
"Eliza?" Kara called out as she reached the top of the stairs.
"Kara," Eliza said, her voice quivering in fear.
Kara watched as Red Daughter lead Eliza in from the balcony. "Don't hurt her, please."
"I've been here for hours," Red Daughter said. You have all these things. You think they will make you whole?"
"No," Kara said. "No. I don't."
"Then why do have them?"
"Lots of reasons," Kara said. "Some of them because they make me comfortable. Some of them because they have memories attached to them. Some of them because they help me look human."
"Weakness," Red Daughter sneered.
"No," Kara said. "I told you last night, we're the same, and we are. We've both lost things we care about. I watched my family die. I was twelve years old, and everything I loved burned in front of my eyes. My world. My culture. My home. My family. All of it. I'll never be whole again. Everything I've done has been about protecting people, so that they never have to go through that."
"You protect individuals. People with money. People with power. People who are important to you. It's weakness. I protect the collective."
"You protected Mikhail," Kara said. "You saved him. You cared about him. He was an individual, and he was important to you."
"Interesting that you should bring up Mikhail-"
"You believe Americans killed him," Kara said. "I know. But you're wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"Lex has been lying to you. I know you have doubts about him."
"His name is Alex!" Red Daughter shouted.
"No, it's not," Maggie said.
Kara turned to see Alex and Maggie at the top of the stairs. Maggie had a gun out in front of her, an ominous green light coming from the barrel.
"His name is Lex Luthor," Maggie said.
"Kara?" Alex asked.
"No," Maggie said. "That's Red Daughter."
"I don't understand," Alex said. "She looks just like Kara."
"She's a clone of Supergirl," Maggie said.
"Then why does she look like Kara?" Alex asked. "Why is she here?"
Kara turned back to Red Daughter. "Maggie's right. His name Lex."
"He hates the name Alex," Maggie said.
"No!" Red Daughter said.
"Alex, call Lena. Put her on speaker," Maggie said.
Kara glanced over, and watched Alex take her phone out, and call Lena.
"Hello, Alex," Lena said. "Can this wait? I'm a little busy right now."
"It can't," Maggie said. "I need you to answer a question for me. I need you to be complete honest."
"Okay," Lena said, sounding confused.
"What does your brother think of the name Alex?"
"He hates it," Lena said. "He once got expelled from boarding school for breaking another boy's nose because the boy called him Alex."
Red Daughter shook her head.
"Thanks Lena," Maggie said.
"It that all?"
"Yeah."
Kara had to fight down the urge to kiss Maggie just because she was brilliant. She turned back to Red Daughter. "He's been lying to you the whole time."
"No," Red Daughter said.
"Linda, please," Maggie said. "Remember what I said last night. We're your family. Me, her, Alex, Eliza, and so many other people. We want to help you."
"Maggie's right," Kara said. "Lex has lied to you, manipulated you, made you do terrible things. But you can still stop it."
Red Daughter shook her head. "No. You're lying." The words sounded less like a statement, and more like a plea. Like she needed them to be true.
"No we're not," Maggie said. "Lex has control of President Baker. That means he has control of the American government. It was an American missile that killed Mikhail, but Linda, Lex gave the order."
"NO!" Red Daughter screamed. She shoved Eliza away and lunged for Maggie. Kara caught her halfway there and took her out through the French doors separating the den from the balcony.
"Shit!" Maggie said as she watched Kara force Red Daughter outside. "Alex, take care of your mom!"
She didn't wait for an answer, she just barreled past Alex and headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time. When she got outside, she looked around, trying to find them. A flash of light caught her eye and she turned towards it, and saw Red Daughter carried up into the air by a blast of heat vision, and she started running again. It was hard going, into the woods, across uneven terrain. She only caught glimpses of the fight. She almost stumbled when the sky suddenly turned black, but she recovered and kept going. The only thought on her mind was to get to Kara, to protect her.
She broke through the tree line into a cleaning, and the scene before her stopped her heart. Alex had beaten her there, and Maggie cursed herself for forgetting about the bike. It was parked up near the street and Alex lay on the ground up near it, struggling to get up and favoring her left side. Kara lay in a crater, and Red Daughter stood over her.
Maggie didn't hesitate. She drew the alien gun and the Kryptonite gun and opened up with both of them. The Kryptonite gun staggered her, and the alien gun knocked her back a good 30 feet. Maggie lowered the guns and ran to Kara's side, dropping down beside her.
"Kara," she said as she grabbed one of Kara's hands in her own. "Kara, are you okay?"
Kara didn't answer. Maggie reached for her neck, trying to find a pulse. Trying to find any sign of life, but there was nothing. Her chest didn't rise and fall, there was no rhythmic swell of the artery in her neck.
"Kara," Alex screamed as she dropped down next to her. "Kara. No. No! No, no, no, no. No! Hey. No." Maggie watched as Alex leaned down and pressed an ear to Kara's chest. "You can't go now." Alex sat up and took Kara's other hand. "I remember everything. Kara, we're here, we're here. We're here together. And I know you. I know you better than anybody knows you. And I know that you don't quit. So you can't go now! Kara, you can't go!"
Maggie sat back as Alex pled with Kara to live, to get up, to stay, and she couldn't breathe. It felt like a massive weight was pressing down on her chest, like a fist was crushing her heart. It was like the day Kara had fought Lex all over again, only it was a thousand times worse, because this time she knew what she was losing. This time, she knew what it felt like to hold Kara, and to me held in return. This time, she knew the sweet, tart taste of Kara's mouth when they kissed. This time, she knew the warmth of Kara pressed against her side as she drifted off to sleep. This time, she knew the way her heart skipped when Kara smiled at her. This time, she knew what it felt like to dream of a future where she got to come home to Kara every day for the rest of her life, to finally hear Kara say the words she'd asked her not to say. This time, she saw everything she'd never get to have. Game nights, and date nights, and family dinners, and double dates with Nia and Brainy, or Alex and her girlfriend, and going to Argo to meet Kara's mom, and taking Kara to meet her aunt Juanita, and adopting a dog and spoiling it rotten, and going to those ridiculous galas that CatCo threw every year, and buying Kara ridiculous amounts of candy for Valentine's day just to see how excited she would get.
It was gone. It was all gone. Kara was gone, and she'd taken Maggie's hope with her.
Kara was gone, and she had nothing left.
A part of her, the larger part of her, wanted nothing more than to get up and lay into Red Daughter. To use everything she had. The Kryptonite Pistol, the Kryptonite Flashlight, the Kryptonite Mace, the alien gun. Just tear into her like an animal and not let up. She didn't know if she could win. She didn't think she could. She'd probably never even get close to Red Daughter before Red Daughter cut her down. But a small, seductive voice in the back of her head whispered that it would be better that way. No more pain. No more suffering. No more being alone.
The only thing that stopped her was the flash drive in her pocket. She had to live, because Lex Luthor had to pay. It wouldn't take much. She had the extrapolator. One of the presets was Cat's home in Washington. Cat would know what to do with the flash drive, with the evidence that Kara had found.
After that... Maggie didn't know, and she didn't care.
"Alex…"
Maggie turned towards the voice, and saw Eliza standing at the side of the clearing. The look on her face hit Maggie like a blow to the chest. It was the look of someone who understood the tragedy playing out before her and was bracing herself to comfort someone who would never be able to accept it.
"It's okay. Mom, she's She's okay. She's gonna be fine. It's just dark, so there's no sunlight," Alex said.
"Sunlight!"
The word echoed through the clearing like a gunshot, and it took a minute for Maggie to realize she was the one to say it, but Alex and Eliza both turned towards her.
"She just needs sunlight!" Maggie said. She reached back, past the Kryptonite mace and the Kryptonite flashlight and found what she was looking for. One of the sunlight grenades she'd taken from Kara's apartment the night before.
"Is that sunlight grenade?" Alex asked.
"Yeah," Maggie said. "Close your eyes." Maggie it the activator button and rested the grenade on Kara's chest, then squeezed her eyes shut. Even then, the flash that followed was nearly blinding, but she heard a gasp, and when she opened her eyes, Kara stared up at them.
"I'm here. I'm here. I've missed you so much," Alex said.
"I really missed you," Kara said. She turned to Maggie. "I..."
"I told you, you can't make me love you and then leave."
The three of them sat in the living room of the Danvers house. Kara in the middle, Alex on one side, and Maggie on the other. Neither one of them wanted to let go of Kara's hand, or step away from her for even a moment, but the atmosphere in the room was strangely thick with things that hadn't been said. Maggie avoided looking at Alex because she was afraid of what she would see in Alex's eyes. There were so many possibilities. Anger, pity, disgust, fear.
She couldn't take any of them. Not right now. Kara had died, and Maggie's hope had died with her, but Kara had come back, and Maggie needed to hold on to hope a little longer, before reality crushed her one last time.
"Alex," Kara said.
"Yes?"
"Can you give us a minute?"
Maggie opened her eyes and looked over at Alex. She wasn't sure how to interpret the look on Alex's face. Part of her was expecting an explosion, and part of her was expecting tears and pain. Instead, Alex looked… Not calm, neither of them could possibly be calm after what they'd seen, but there was a softness in her eyes that Maggie didn't understand at all.
"I'll go check on mom," Alex said.
Maggie watched Alex until she disappeared down the stairs, then turned to Kara, only to find herself being kissed. It was frantic and desperate and needy, and Maggie wasn't sure how she ended up straddling Kara's lap, or when the tears started spilling down her face.
"That's the second time I've watched you die," Maggie said between kisses.
"I know," Kara said.
"I can't do it again," Maggie said.
"I can't promise that."
"I know."
"I need to say it," Kara said. "I nearly left you, and I've never said it. I know I promised, but-"
"Say it," Maggie whispered.
"I love you," Kara said, before kissing Maggie again. "I love you, I love you, I love you." She repeated it over and over again, kissing Maggie each time, clutching Maggie tightly like she was afraid the universe would snatch them apart at any moment.
After the last kiss, Maggie rested her forehead against Kara's and closed her eyes. "I love you too," she whispered. "I love you. You can't leave me, /,kahrah,/. You can't."
They set there for a long time, just holding each other, just being together, until both of their phones started ringing. Maggie hopped up and pulled out her phone and accepted a call from Lucy.
"Hey," Maggie said.
"Where's Kara? Is she okay?" Lucy asked frantically.
"Hey, Cat," Kara said. "I'm a little banged up, but I'll fine by morning."
"She's right here," Maggie said. "Why?"
"You don't know?" Lucy asked.
Kara reached down and picked up the remote as Alex and Eliza came rushing into the room.
"Turn on the TV," Alex said.
"Just a second," Maggie said.
Kara turned on the TV, and President Baker's face filled the screen.
"…an invasion of our country by the dangerous rogue state of Kaznia, aided by none other than Supergirl," Baker said. The screen switched to video of a Lexosuit fighting Kaznian jets. "These images, captured moments ago, prove that one man single-handedly thwarted the invaders and killed the terrorist, Supergirl. That man is Lex Luthor. Mr. Luthor, a grateful nation thanks you."
"Lucy," Maggie said, "Kara's safe. Alex has her memories back. Let your dad know, Baker is in on everything. He knew about the invasion ahead of time."
"Fuck!" Lucy said. "Motherfucker!"
"Yeah," Maggie said. "I have to go."
Maggie ended the call.
"Cat, listen to me," Kara said. "You need to get Carter, Lucy and Susan and get somewhere safe. I have everything I need to expose Lex, but when I do, it's going to bring down the entire administration. Baker was up to his eyeballs in this. Okay. I've got to go. I love you, give my love to Carter, Susan and Lucy."
Kara hung up the phone. "How did this happen?" she asked.