Kindness has its own magic…
Lena knew she read it, she looked for it, and found the entire story and she immersed herself in it and remembered the plot. She usually read Merlin or King Arthur stories, but found this story through one of her favorite Authors bookmarks. She thought that these people who can create their own stories from the originals where some of the most imaginative people on the planet. They could do something she had so much trouble doing. Writing. She was never able to let it flow. She can invent machines, and rockets, and molecular blah blah blah, but to write and invent worlds, and relationships. She was sometimes in awe. So, there she was on a Saturday, midday, with her tablet reading fanfiction. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. Slow in places but once book 6 hit the story just took off. It was as if the author had to purge. It was her favorite part, when the heroine speaks of the anti-heroine and her darkness. It was the same words, verbatim and she thought as she put the tablet down. Those words rang so true.
Picking up the tablet after she retrieved a glass of water, Lena went back to the Author's page, and read the list of works, then went back to the story. Who would have thought that she and Alex read the same stories online? She read about half of this writers works. She put the tablet down remembering the ice cream cone and the note. It was exactly what she needed, and exactly the right time. Last night she was eye balling a bottle of red itching to pop the cork on the vessel and drown away her thoughts when there was a knock on her door and LO! Ice cream. She reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out the note. It made her smile, and the only other person to make her feel this accepted was Kara. Speaking of Kara… Lena picked up her phone and sent a message. She didn't know if the hero was saving the world or not. Lena's eyes sparkled as Kara said yes to her invitation to Cat's gala.
Lena would not know until many hours later that it was not Kara who replied but Alex.
Elsewhere…
The phone glared at her in her hand. Lena asked Kara to the dance. She felt like a damn teenager, going to prom. This was so messed up. Alex shook her head and replied to her friend and let the chips fall where they may. She conceded to Cat's invitation and the media queen later texted the brunette that the gala was weeks away and they will get in touch beforehand to get their wardrobes set. Alex rolled her eyes at Cat's bossy nature, but she had to admit it made her smile. She looked back up to the monitors and her sister and nodded to herself as she gave Jonn the phone to give back to Kara as soon as she was conscious and show her the texts. Kara would want to go with Lena, and Alex loathed to admit that she wanted to see what came of the situation with the 4 of them at the gala. But she stared at her sister laying on that bed, and her heart dropped.
"Vitals are rising, but this was a scare Jonn," Alex said to her supervisor and let a deep breath go as she watched her mother finally arrive and slide into the observation room.
Alex watched as Eliza frowned, and took a clipboard, and ran all the tests Alex ran. Alex watched as Jonn put a hand on her shoulder. It wasn't every day that you saw a Kryptonian bleed, and it was gut wrenching when Alex saw Kara laying on the table, oozing from a gash in her side, and bruising on her jaw. Kara, beautiful sunny Kara, lay on a table in that drab hospital gown under the sun lamps.
"We need to find the weapon that did this," Alex said as she turned to Jonn. The Martian nodded and crossed his arms. Alex walked Winn.
"Is there a way to track or find a signature on any alien technology in the city?" Alex hovered over Winn.
"I can look but that's a broad search. I wouldn't be surprised if more than half the city popped up in …" Winn stopped and then blinked. "Or not. The Docks have a huge concentration of foreign signatures. And yup one of them is kryptonite. I will send you the coordinates to your phone and then…" Winn hit the key on his computer and turned around. No Alex to be found.
Alex and a squad of 5 sat back in the in the retrofitted van with screens and computers. Alex let the bumping of the lull her to deeper into her thoughts. There was a high concentration of alien signatures, and they were just going to check it out. However, she wasn't stupid. She went with a detail because they were a very unwanted aspect of the alien community. Alex in that moment didn't care. What would happen if she found weapons, which she had a feeling she was about to find, then what if it was Cadmus, then what if it could help Kara fight? What if Kara was injured more than she usually was with the weapon the Alien had? Alex gritted her teeth. It was the same damn guy that Kara got into a fight with a few weeks ago, and Winn and James decided to search below the city. It was a fantastic idea, she would admit, but he was still at large. Alex let her thoughts wonder to her gear, her gun, the people on her detail, and then the layout of the area, and possible outcomes to the situations they could run in to.
Then there was a message tone. Her eyes opened, and she pulled the phone out of her padded pocket just in case she would be thrown. Winn must have missed something. She opened the phone, and then her eyes narrowed, and the air left her lungs.
Lena: You know my favorite ice cream, but I do not know your favorite coffee. How about we have that coffee some time?
Alex: Sure
That was all Alex could send to the woman. She had no idea what would happen today, and she certainly didn't know what she would find. She would probably end up under a mountain of paperwork and cataloguing if this was a huge shipment of extraterrestrial guns. Alex put the phone in her pants pocket. She heard the tone, but she didn't dig the phone out. She needed her head on straight.
The soldiers crept around the docks at dusk. There was a faint tint of pink in the sky, but it was mostly navy blue and purple. Alex held up her hand and directed her squad to one of the warehouses they cleaned out and then she and one other went to the roof to look out and see what was happening. She touched her Bluetooth.
"What's happening Winn? You in the cameras in the area?" she asked Winn.
"No, I had to go to a satellite feed, and I am scanning the area now. So far it is quiet, but you guys are looking at a huge ship right?"
"Yeah, white and blue named the Delilah," Alex answered.
"Ok yeah, I got it. All the crazy signatures are coming from in there," Winn said.
"Alright I got it, we will go in there, please notify the coast guard and police."
Alex cut him out and kept the COMM's open. They can hear everything but those in her squad knew it was go time.
They boarded the boat when they saw the increased patrol from the coast guard trying not to look like they were hovering, and the extra patrol car here and there. They slipped through the shadows, watched the boat workers, and listened. One lit a cigarette, three operated machinery to offload crates.
"Alex, I'm zooming in, and those crates are hot," Winn said. But Alex stayed where she was.
"Alex, I mean they are HOT, like thermal. The temps are increasing by the second, they are going to blow."
Alex looked to her guys and then they saw it happen. Whatever was offloaded already blew in a fiery cloud, and then Alex motioned for her men to go.
"JUMP!"
All of them sprinted to the side and threw themselves off the boat. She was mid lunge when she was taken from the air and thrown down to the deck. Her world grew dark and her breathing seized in her chest. she rolled on her back. She saw metal gleam and she rolled painfully out of the way. She got to her feet and tried once more to jump but the pipe caught her and threw her back to the deck.
"Well if it isn't the girl soldier from a few weeks ago," grit out a deep rumbling voice. Alex froze. It was the alien they were searching for.
"You will have to pay for the goods you blew," he promised as he walked closer.
"We didn't blow your shipment," Alex wheezed.
"Right…. You are the only ones here that wouldn't want that stuff on shore," the alien scoffed.
"We touched nothing. Someone wanted you dead. What was in there any ways?" Alex asked backing up looking around for a way out as she was backed into a corner.
"You bitch. It was food," the alien snarled.
"Food?" Alex asked but she didn't have a chance to be surprised. The pipe landed on her shoulder and she felt the bone shift and she screamed. Then boot after boot bombarded her body. The only reason why she was not split in two by that pipe was because she flinched to the side and the pipe caught the wall on the way down. She thanked the heavens. She was lifted, and it was sheer will that she reached into her pocket and pulled out a tracker. Slipped it in his pocket then she was weightless. There was a breeze on her face and she felt her feet hit the surface first, and she was engulfed in water.
She was barely conscious, but her tactical gear weighted her down. She couldn't move, she couldn't tread water. She needed to try. She brought her hands to her waist and then unclipped her vest. She felt it tug and then slip from her shoulders. She coughed when her body broke the surface of the water. She couldn't open her eyes, her face felt numb, and she couldn't move any more. She breathed. It was all she could do. Then her senses shut off. Complete darkness fell.
She felt the wind on her face before she felt anything else. She could tell her body shivered, it sent spikes of pain through her whole body. She tried with everything she had to open her eyes. She felt something crawl up her body and then she coughed as salt water and foam entered her mouth. She tried to move, but it hurt, it hurt too much. Inch after, painstaking inch the index finger of her hand touched her watch button. She pressed. She sighed. Soon, she hopped so very soon she could go home.
Later….
"Kara what happened to her?!" yelled a brunette in her office. Kara Danvers sat there meek and mild in her cardigan and glasses, but she had enough of the pacing woman before her. She sprang up and took Lena into her arms. She held her, brought her to her chest and let the woman relax against her.
"She went on a mission, then she never came back. The other troops had already jumped and thought she was right behind them," Kara said softly then Lena jerked away.
"Then go out there and find your sister!" Lena growled at the super. Kara blinked at Lena.
"I have been Lena. It has been three days, I have been searching for her," Kara stood from the Luthor and then crossed her arms, closing herself off to the woman who was making her feel… small. Lena saw the action and she took a deep breath and reached out.
"I am sorry Kara, she has become very dear to me," Lena confessed, and Kara looked at Lena.
"When I am not found for a few days at a time do you freak out like this?" Kara asked honestly wanting to know if Lena would react this way. Lena nodded, tears clouding her eyes.
"You are a Kryptonian though, and she is a human. She is not super Kara, she is just…" Lena sighed and then walked to the balcony and then took a breath of air.
"She is human," Kara finished, but Lena shook her head and then pinned her with green eyes.
"She is Alex," Lena whispered as if that was a state secret. Lena knew now that everyone thought of Alex just as they thought of her. Indestructible, weight of the world on their shoulders, and simply more than human, when it was the complete opposite. Lena reached out and clasped Kara's hand.
"Please let me know when they find her," Lena asked, and Kara nodded and then slipped an arm around her friend.
Later….
"It pinged…" Winn whispered then yelled, "WE GOT A PING!" he typed on his keyboard and then smiled, she is thirty miles south of National City Harbor!" he turned around and once again he was alone as officers scurried out to retrieve their own.
"Yup, sure, no problem. God job Winn."
"AGENT SCHOTT!" bellowed Jonn's voice making Winn jump in his chair, "Good job," he said and Winn felt the smile on his face brighten and his chest lighten.
Later….
She heard the sounds. THUMP THUMP THUMP
She felt hands shift her onto her back.
She felt herself lifted then transported.
She felt them take off and then the wind surrounds her as some one took her vitals and wrap her in a thermal blanket.
She was barely conscious. She could not speak. She could not open her eyes. But she could hear. The medic clasped her wrist and she moved her fingers. They liked that. Then she passed out once more.
Later….
"Alex," she heard the soft voice calling her. She tried but she couldn't open her eyes.
"I can't see," Alex rasped. She heard the smile in the voice she now recognized. Mom, it was her mother. Her hand was grasped.
"Honey, your eyes are swollen shut, so that is alright for now," Eliza said with a small smile, and then gripped her fingers, "Can you move your toes?"
"Yes," Alex said as she wiggled her toes.
"Good can you move your legs at all?"
Alex tried to move her legs, but there was stabbing pain in her left ankle.
"That's ok," Eliza said, "Can you move your fingers?"
"Yes, but I think my shoulder is busted," Alex said as she tried to move everything then her fingers went to the neck brace about her neck. Her breathing increased, rapid and panicked. She clawed at the brace with her good hand.
"Stop, it's just to stabilize you until the swelling in your shoulders and neck go down," Eliza said as she gently pulled Alex's fingers from the neck brace.
"What is the run down?" Alex asked as she lay back unable to see was freaking her out and she needed to know the damage.
"Three broken ribs, dislocated shoulder with a broken clavicle, Broken ankle, and a sprained wrist," Eliza paused and let out a breath, "All in all not too bad I think. What happened?"
"I told everyone to jump when the crates began to explode," Alex paused as she tried to shift but she cried out in pain, then gave up, "I went to jump then was grabbed out of the air mid jump. Then I was beaten the hell out of by the same guy from a few weeks back. Wait mom, I need Jonn," Alex said trying to get out of her bed but once more she proved patience was not her virtue.
"I'm here," a deep voice came from the right as Alex heard her door open.
"Those crates according to the Alien are food," Alex said remembering what her attacker said, "Jonn could those crates have really been food?"
She heard the sigh.
"I don't know, but it something to think about. If it was food, why did they explode? And how did he get the weaponry to harm Kara?" Jonn asked. All Alex could do was attempt to shrug and then when that hurt she told him she didn't know.
"I think we need to get in touch with someone who might know more about the Aliens than we do,' she said.
"Are you sure?" Jonn asked.
"Maggie knows more than we will ever know, I would talk to her, but fortunately I can't," Alex tried to smile but her split lip pounded. "Ow… Jonn she knows you and if you have to, take Kara. Let Kara be reporter. It actually a great story. See what you can get from her. We don't want people to starve if it really is the story," Alex began to feel lightheaded. It was strange when you couldn't see. It was like the grey world you were currently trapped in began to spin in the dark.
"I'll get on it," Jonn said and she could hear the smile in his voice.
"When are you going to run this place?" Eliza asked with a smile.
"Whenever I take command," Alex squeezed her fingers, "He already gave it to me, I just have to accept."
"Maybe it is time," Eliza said hopeful.
"Not yet, I want to learn a few more things and ease into the role," Alex said.
"Smart, maybe less missions and more command center rolls?"
"Maybe," Alex smiled again.
There was a tone that went off. She heard her mother reach for the phone.
"A lot of messages have been coming through," Eliza said, "Do you want to answer them?"
"No, I'm tired," Alex said as she began to feel sleep take her.
"Even the ones from Lena Luthor?"
Alex paused and tilted her head to her mother's voice, "I'll answer them when I can open my eyes and read them. I don't want my mother going through my messages, sorry," Alex said softly.
"Oh, that's alright. I'm just curious," Eliza said.
"Are you sure Kara isn't your real daughter"
Both women Laughed.
Later….
It had been a week since she heard any news from Kara about Alex. It has been about a week since she heard from Kara period. She was on a major story and she was immersed in investigation.
Lena sighed and threw her pen down. She rubbed her eyes, and then sighed tilting her head back trying to fight the headache. She opened her eyes and looked at the clock. It was only 4:32pm. She rolled her shoulders and got back to work. Knock it out and be done with it. It was Friday and if she got through this, her weekend would be light. She could do this. Jess opened the door and put more papers on her desk and Lena groaned but didn't pick her eyes up from the papers. She heard a tap… tap… tap from the hall way. Then it stopped. Then she heard it once more. Then it stopped. It was distracting. Then Tap… tap and Jess's voice as if she was on her phone. Lena stood and walked to the door, but it opened slowly. A rubber tip pushed open the door and then tap tap tap. Lena stood there, jaw hit the floor. Before her stood the broken, beaten down woman that wormed her way into her life. She had crutches under her arms, foot in a cast, black jeggings, black hoodie sweatshirt. Lena walked to the woman quickly and retrieved the paper bag from between her teeth.
She heard the sigh of relieve and saw the smile stretch on a cut lip, and black eyes brighten. Lena put the bag on the coffee table next to the chess set and turned around to see the woman that plagued her thoughts ever since she found out she was missing. She took her in, from broken foot, to black eyes. She saw Alex slip one of the crutches away from her body and then cradle her arm against her body as she hobbled to the couch. When Alex's brown eyes opened once more as she shifted to sit. Lena reached out… slowly. Alex saw her hand and then Clasped it. Squeezed her fingers. Then Lena walked to the other woman and pulled her in a loose embrace. After a moment Alex pushed back slightly. She sat down quickly, and Lena sat next to her. The woman rolled her head to see Lena.
"Hey," Alex said with a strong, voice. A voice alive and vibrant if not tired. Lena broke. Tears flooded her eyes and her hand flew to her mouth and she tried to stop her sobs.
"Never do that to me again," scolded Lena. Alex reached out and patted Lena's pack is soothing circles. Lena got ahold of herself and saw the bag.
"What's that?" she asked pointing.
"A piece offering," Alex smiled, "and its melting."
"Melting?" Lena asked and reached for the bag. She took out the offering. Lena laughed. Coffee ice-cream with Carmel in a waffle cone lined cup. Alex smiled at her friend.
"I miss you," Lena said as she took out the spoon, "Thank you."
Alex felt her heart pound, soar, but she simply smiled.
"It's ok, you are worth it," Alex said and then closed her eyes, not seeing the look on Lena's face as she slipped to sleep from exhaustion.
Later:
Lena called down to the lab and asked for a wheelchair. She and Jess got the agent into the chair, and then down stairs. They got her in one of Lena's SUV's so she could get the agent out later. She drove them to her apartment. Rode the elevator, and then opened the door to the dwelling. Lena smiled as she wheeled the woman into her guest room and as gently as she could lay her on the bed and drew the covers up to her chin. She stood in the doorway watching the woman in the bed, listening to the small snores from the brunette. She left the door open. Time to order dinner.
Lena sent a Text to Kara. She had Alex.
She peeked in on the woman. The woman who brought her ice cream and said she was worthy. Always worth it.