Chapter 2 – The Berlin Girl

Brandenburg Airport – Berlin.

Alex steps off a commercial airplane with a small leather duffel bag in hand. Agent Von Holt greets her on the tarmac. "Director Danvers we were expecting you with the strike team." Alex hands the agent her bag. "I was keeping an eye on a person of interest on this flight." Seconds later a man is led out of the plane in leg irons. He is put into an incognito airport van. Climbing into the waiting SUV Alex says, "follow the van; it shouldn't take us long to get him to talk." The agent nods. "Yes Ma'am."

An hour later they arrive at a remote warehouse, and they lead the man, who has a black bag over his head, inside. Alex stays in the observation room as they use various forms of subtle torture on the man. Once the man gives them what they want they give him a cognitive scrubber and a sedative. They transport him back to the city and dump his body in an allie near his hotel. The man will wake up with no memory of the past few hours and lead them to his cell.

Alex directs two agents to stay 'on' the man while agent Von Holt takes her to their Berlin office. When settled, Alex steps onto her balcony and pulls out her mobile phone. "So this is me not being a stranger." Alex smiles as she sends the text. "I guess two months isn't bad, but who's counting." Alex laughs. "Well I'm in Berlin, so let me make it up to you?"

Across town Lena Luthor looks at her mobile phone with shock and a hint of excitement. "Really?" "Yup. I have a bit of business to take care of, but how about brunch on Friday?" Lena smiles. "Only brunch - why not the whole day? I want to show you my lab! It's really cool! ?" Alex laughs. "I'll try to rush my meetings then! I'm excited to see this lab of yours! ?"

Friday. Lena's Berlin Loft.

Alex shows up to brunch with nasty bruises on her cheek and neck. As Alex is taking off her boots Lena looks her up and down. Catching her gaze Alex blushes, Lena reaches out and gently caresses the bruise on Alex's cheek. "I take it your meeting went well?" Surprised by the unexpected yet gentle touch, Alex winces but recovers quickly smiling ruefully. "You could say that..." Lena chuckles, "Well I hope you brought your appetite!"

Lena has a simple yet sumptuous feast on the table. Alex giggles and licks her slightly bruised lips. Lena's pulse quickens at the sight of Alex's moist tongue skirting across her lips; Lena makes a mental note to talk to her therapist about her troubling reaction to Alex's simple gesture.

Alex notices that Lena is wearing an apron."Did you cook all this?" Alex asks impressed. Lena blushes slightly. "Is it too much?" Alex sits down and marvels at the meal before her. "I haven't had anyone cook for me in a long time" she says softly. "Thank you" she says and turns to Lena giving her cheek a delicate kiss.

Alex is groaning with pleasure as Lena contemplates the kiss. Lena giggles. "That good?" Alex shakes her head enthusiastically. "I haven't eaten anything since I arrived, so this is literally the best thing I've had all week." Lena raises an eyebrow. Alex dabs the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "It's a ritual of mine. Whenever I have a 'difficult' meeting coming up I keep my stomach empty. On one of my first missions I was kicked down a flight of stairs, and on the way down I hit the banister at an odd angle, which caused me to barf all over the asset I was protecting. My team called me Agent Barf for 6 months!" Lena winces at the thought of Alex being kicked down a flight of steps, then giggles upon hearing the ridiculous nickname.

Alex finds Lena's laugh oddly soothing. She hadn't noticed that her shoulders had been so tense until they relaxed during Lena's giggle fit. I'm beginning to see why Kara likes her Alex muses. Looking at her watch she is surprised to see that two hours have past. "Before you go let me give you a quick tour of the lab" Lena says taking Alex's hand and pulling her to her feet. Leading Alex toward a brick wall Lena looks toward a camera and smiles. The wall parts revealing a state of the art computer science laboratory.

Alex lets go of Lena's hand when she see's a 1968 Triumph T100 in the corner. It is in pieces but is coming together nicely. "I didn't know you ride?" Alex says with surprise. Lena is taken aback that Alex hasn't commented on the beauty of her laboratory but recovers quickly. "Yes. I've been riding since I was sixteen. My first boyfriend was a motocross and motorcycle fanatic so I picked up the habit. Though after I dumped him I was surprised to find that I still loved riding. This is my latest project. Whenever I'm stumped in the lab I work on it and it seems to help, that or I pick up the guitar and play a little..." Alex is kneeling beside the machine admiring Lena's handy work. "I've always wanted to build my own bike..." Alex says wistfully. Lena smiles enjoying Alex's unexpected glee. "Well when you do let me know if you want some help." Alex gives her a trademark Danvers dopey grin. "Okay! Now show me this lab of yours!"

After the tour Lena walks Alex to the door. Taking a white and blue scarf from a near by clothing rack Lena places it around Alex's neck. "It's cold outside" she says, looking Alex in the eye. "Take care of yourself Alex." Alex smiles warmly and kisses Lena's cheek. "You too Lena, you too" Alex says huskily, and slips out the door, leaving a smiling yet slightly confused Lena.

Kara's Loft 2 days later.

"How was Berlin?" Kara says wolfing down her seventh pot-sticker. "Exhausting but fun" Alex says remembering her brunch with Lena. "Did you get to take in any of the sights?" Cat asks. "No, but I did get to see Lena" Alex says, with a shy smile. Cat looks at her narrowing her eyes. "That's a beautiful scarf – is it Hermès?" Cat asks. Alex shrugs. "Maybe, Lena gave it to me – it's so soft I can't stop wearing it!" Cat nods and smiles a private smile. "Did she tell you when she's coming back?" Kara asks between mouthfuls. "Actually it never came up" Alex shrugs, and Cat smirks as she sips her tea.

A month later. Cat Grant's pen house.

Cat Grant opens her eyes in a panic. Her bed is shaking violently. She looks over at Kara to see her in the midst of a violent seizure. Cat rolls out of bed and finds her mobile phone - she calls Alex. Looking anxiously at Kara she waits for Alex to answer. Finally a sleepy voice comes on the line. "Hello?" "Alex it's Cat you need to get over here – Kara is having a seizure!" Alex shakes her head sleepily and tries to understand what she has just heard. When the meaning hits Alex her eyes widen. "I'm on my way Cat – don't touch her, she can't control herself when she's like this." "I'll try not to – hurry Alex!" Cat ends the call and watches Kara levitate as she convulses more violently.

20 minutes later Alex arrives with a medical team. Alex gives Kara a sedative once the seizures subside and the medical team transfers her to a gurney. They wheel Kara's tired body out into an ambulance. Cat stifles a sob and Alex puts her arm around her. Jaw clinched Alex swallows her mounting rage.

Next day. The D.E.O

Alex looks at a slide of Kara's blood and mutters a curse. "These fuckers just won't stop!" Alex looks at her phone, a calendar alert flashes across the screen. How am I going to cure her if I'm always in f-ing meetings! She thinks to herself. She picks up her phone and makes a call she has dreaded making. "Hey stranger" Lena yawns into the phone. "Hey" Alex says heavily, Lena sits up in her bed. "Tell me." "Kara is having seizures" Alex says, her voice shaking. Lena sighs heavily "I'm on my way."