Chapter 4
'You're a hard woman to track down'.
Alex spins around at the sound of the voice, her eyes widening as she takes in the sight of Lucy standing in the doorway to the room she had been granted use of for the duration of her stay, and has to remind herself to respond.
'I've er, I've been a little busy'.
'You certainly have'. Lucy advances into the room and allows the door to close behind her, the solid thump as it meets the frame reverberating in Alex's chest, and she feels dread pulse through her veins at being alone with the woman for the first time since that morning.
'It seems you've spent time with just about every single scientist in this facility, except me, in the past two days'. Lucy saunters across the space dividing them, her gait unhurried and relaxed, and Alex finds it hard to keep her eyes off the sway of the smaller woman's hips. Lucy draws level with Alex and pauses, her eyes sweeping across the Agent's face to try and get a read on her mood, but finds her expression indecipherable. 'A girl could get a complex'.
Alex has to bite down hard on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from blurting out some lame excuse for her behaviour, knowing that there is no excuse for how she acted, and instead takes a moment to compose her response. She studies Lucy in that time, trying to work out just how she can be so relaxed around someone that acted so awfully towards her, and decides that maybe Lucy was just never into her in the first place.
Maybe the reason Lucy is acting so unaffected is because she has already put the incident in the past, the drunk closet case freaking out after an almost one night stand not rating high on her list of things she wants to remember, and has just decided that professionalism is the way to go.
'I'm sorry if it appears that way, it certainly wasn't my intention'. The lie trips off Alex's lips with only a hint of guilt, and she offers the other woman a tight smile. 'But I'm glad we have this moment now'.
Alex swallows her nerves, knowing that she needs to do this if she has any hope of getting through the next few days, and digs the nails of her right hand into her palm to give herself something to focus on.
'I owe you an apology for the way I acted on Sunday morning'. Alex holds her hand up when Lucy goes to speak, knowing that she will bottle it if she gets interrupted, and continues on. 'I was rude, argumentative, embarrassed, out of my depth, and completely wrong. There is no excuse for it, and I fully understand if you don't forgive me for what I said, but I just wanted you to know that I know I was totally out of line; and I'm sorry'.
Lucy is taken by surprise by Alex's apology, not expecting it as she had fully expected the woman to completely ignore what had happened between them, so is pleasantly by Alex's frank acknowledgement of her part in it. She tilts her head slightly as she studies Alex, seeing her in a new light, and decides that maybe the next few days might not be as awful as she had imagined. She had decided that the best way to get through the time was to just make snarky comments and tease Alex the whole time, but now she wonders if maybe they can start over.
Alex had dropped her eyes at the end of her apology, unable to keep them locked with the iridescent green of those opposite hers, so jumps slightly when she feels a hand on her arm. She looks up to find Lucy smiling softly at her, the gorgeous face now transformed into stunning, and Alex once again has to clamp down on the urge to do something impulsive.
'I really wasn't expecting you to acknowledge what happened the other morning, and had thought you'd probably deny it if I mentioned it, so thank you for that'. Lucy smiles warmly at Alex, feeling much better now that the air has been cleared, and finds herself looking forward to working with her once again.
Alex lets out a deep breath, the weight that has been pressing down on her since that morning easing at Lucy's words, and finds herself smiling back. 'I didn't want to be beating around the bush the entire time I was here, and I believe that actions speak louder than words, so decided to address the elephant in the room by putting on my big girl pants and taking the bull by the horns'.
'That's a lot of idioms in one sentence'. Lucy laughs as she removes her hand from Alex's arm, aware that it had been there for longer than it should, and places it on the table next to her to lean on.
Alex laughs too and dips her head to allow her hair to fall in front of he face a bit as she blushes slightly. 'Idioms from an idiot, it makes sense'.
'You're not an idiot'. Lucy says the words softly, though with a hint of steel in them. 'You reacted badly to a situation and made a bit of a mess, but you pulled your socks up and sorted it out'.
'Who's spouting idioms now?' Alex teases Lucy, relaxing slightly now that things are out on the open, though reminds herself to keep a tight control over her emotions from now on.
Lucy smiles at Alex's ribbing, enjoying the warmth of her tone as it flows over her, and gives her a playful wink. 'I guess you're rubbing off on me'.
Alex's smile falters at the sight of Lucy's wink, the way it makes her heart flutter in her chest reminding her that flirting with a girl, especially one she's already shown an attraction to, is an exceptionally bad idea. She sobers instead, her face becoming the mask she normally wears so well, and turns back to what she was doing before Lucy entered the room. 'I er..., I was probably going to find you in a day or two anyway. Dr. West mentioned that the Tachyon device was the first real lead you've had about finding a way home since you got here, but I wanted to make sure I had everything I needed before I got your hopes up'.
Lucy frowns at Alex's sudden shift from light hearted banter to professional work mode and wonders at the cause, but gets side tracked by her words. 'What do you mean, get my hopes up?'
Alex is tapping away at the computer as she gazes at the screen, her fingers flying over the keyboard in lightening fast time thanks to the touch-typing skills she picked up at the D.E.O, and brings up an image of the device in question. 'This is the Tachyon device Barry was wearing when he jumped dimensions, which he took from a not so nice guy on his world known as the Reverse Flash, and used to help him increase his speed'.
Alex taps a command on the keyboard and the image on screen shifts, the Tachyon device splitting into it individual components so that each piece of the device is seen separately, and then continues. 'With Barry's permission I scanned the device into our system and did a full chemical breakdown on every single piece that went in to it, making sure that, in theory at least, I could replicate every single piece exactly, if I needed to'.
She taps another command and the device slots back together, the glow from the centre once again bright and steady. 'I spent the last two days talking to your colleagues to make sure I had all the components I needed to build one, which was no easy task given the amount of red tape this place likes to wrap around every request, but I found out about an hour ago that the last piece I need to create a fully operational, and hopefully fully functioning, Tachyon device, has been found'.
Lucy stares at the screen, trying to process the fact that, despite thinking she hated her, Alex has spent the last few days tracking down everything needed to create a device to help her get back to her own world. She turns to look at Alex, her feelings swirling inside her at the thought that she might actually be able to return to her own Earth, and finds herself being incredibly touched by the thoughtfulness of such a gesture. She takes a step towards Alex, finding the urge to kiss the short haired woman almost over powering, but stops abruptly as the door to the room suddenly opens.
'Oh Lucy, this is a surprise. I wasn't expecting to find you here'. The perkiness of Supergirl' tone belies the shock Kara feels at finding the two women in the same room, knowing that Alex has gone out of her way to avoid the winged woman since their "introduction" the other day, and gives Alex a look to see how she is fairing.
Her heartbeat is slightly elevated, though nowhere near the frantic pace of previous encounters, and she seems more relaxed too. There is no sign of the rigid shoulders and clenched jaw from before, though there is still a weird tension running between them, and Kara frowns at not being able to tell what is going on. 'I just popped in to speak to Alex, but if you two are in the middle of something...'
Kara looks at Alex and raises her eyebrows in question, dying to know what has changed the dynamic between them but unable to vocalise it in her current guise, and hopes for a signal from Alex that she can read.
'Not at all'. Lucy can feel the unasked question between the two, knowing that the superhero is really checking to make sure Alex is okay, and finds herself resenting the Kryptonian slightly for it. 'Agent Danvers here was just showing me how brilliant that brain of hers really is, but if you two need a minute...'
'I do, thanks'. Kara gives Lucy a nod of thanks and then turns to her sister. 'Alex, can I speak to you outside for second?'
'I won't be long'. Alex smiles apologetically at Lucy as she walks past. 'Feel free to check over the Tachyon if you like, make sure I haven't left anything out'.
Lucy returns Alex's smile as her eyes follow her out, her curiosity about what Supergirl wants with Alex running rampant, and she silently curses when the door closes as the thick metal makes it pretty much impossible for her to hear what is being said on the other side.
'So?' As soon as the door clicks into place Kara waves her hands in front of her excitedly, gesturing for Alex to talk.
Alex rises her eyebrow at Kara, clearly confused by Kara's reaction. 'Soooooo, what? You came looking for me remember, shouldn't I be the one asking for an explanation?'
'So what's going on between you and Lucy?' Kara hisses the words as she practically jumps up and down, finding it hard to keep her excitement about a possible breakthrough with her sister's love life under control. 'Last time we spoke it took me most of the night before you would admit to liking girls, let alone that Lucy was the one from your disastrous one night stand, and even after that you swore you were going to avoid her at all costs; yet now I walk in to find the pair of you all coddled up like Jenny and Marina in the toilet stall at The Planet!'
'Okay, firstly; STOP watching the L word!' Alex rolls her eyes at Kara. 'I told you yesterday that you don't need to watch every single queer show ever made just to show your support for me, and secondly; nothing is going on between Lucy and I'.
'It's a good show, though I don't understand why everyone is so crazy about Shane'. Kara shakes her head as she ponders on it. 'Yes, she's kinda hot looking and she certainly has "nipple confidence", but her dress sense is all over the place and her hair looks like a nest of squirrels may be living in it. I much prefer Bette, even if she is married to Tina'.
'Seriously Kara, focus!' Alex snaps at her sister, not in the mood to discuss her new found urge to watch every single thing ever made that has an LGBT person in it (though RuPauls Drag Race is a new favourite for them both) and eager to find out why Kara wanted to speak to her in the first place. 'What was it you brought me out here for?'
'Oh, yeah, that'. Kara frowns as she remembers what she wanted with Alex. 'J'onn has been in contact with Agent Vasquez, and we might need to head back sooner than intended'.
That catches Alex's attention, as she know J'onn wouldn't suggest such a thing lightly, and switches into Agent mode instantly. 'What? Why wasn't I informed immediately? What did Vasquez have to say, has there been new activity we need to know about?'
'There's been a spike in unusual activity, though J'onn didn't specify exactly what, and it hasn't been confirmed as something for the D.E.O. to be involved with, yet, but he wanted us to be aware just in case we need to skedaddle a bit quicker that we were planning to'.
'Skedaddle?' Alex looks at Kara sceptically, knowing that J'onn would never say such a word, and wonders how much Kara isn't telling her.
'Yeah, you know'. Kara laughs nervously, which is always a sure sign she is not being completely honest. 'Scram, Vamos, Motorvate, do a runner?'
'Kara?' Alex gives her sister one of her patented "Just tell me the truth because you suck at lying" looks, and Kara cracks like Alex knew she would.
'Okay, so I may have called Vasquez the other day, and possibly asked her to flag up anything even remotely alien-y so that we'd be called back; with the intention of letting you avoid dealing with Lucy, and put the whole awkward "stuck on a base with the woman you accused of being a pervert" episode behind you'. Kara looks guilty, and avoids Alex's eyes.
'Kara'. Alex sighs the name as she pinches the bridge of her nose, wishing her sister wasn't always meddling in her love life, though finds it hard to be mad when she knows Kara only did it to try and help her out of an awkward situation of her own making.
'I know, I'm sorry'. Kara practically whines her apology, knowing that she has messed up again as it had looked like Alex had been getting on fine with Lucy just now, and silently wonders if it would be possible to rewind time by flying super fast around the world anti-clockwise.
'You know what, it's fine'. Alex gives the younger girl a forgiving smile. 'I'll give Vasquez a call and get this whole thing sorted'.
Unfortunately for Alex, the phone call with Vasquez revealed that the D.E.O. contingent was needed back, and Alex found herself behind the wheel of a Hummer within the hour.
Alex found she was disappointed to be leaving, having just cleared the air with Lucy, and took comfort from the fact that Lucy had looked just as disappointed when she'd broken the news of their sudden departure. Despite her reservations about becoming involved with Lucy, something she knew J'onn would frown upon given Lucy's status as a Metahuman, Alex really liked the woman, and had hoped it was possible for the two of them to become friends.
The trip back was uneventful (though J'onn would have preferred it if the Danver sisters had skipped the loud round of karaoke they did to Kara's "Best of Broadway" CD) and they had reached headquarters just after seven that evening. Once there however, things become decidedly more eventful, as the "unusual activity" Vasquez had been monitoring turned out to be weather anomalies affecting the city, which have now morphed into full on frenzies.
Alex spends the rest of the evening dealing with the fallout from a tornado which, given that National City has never experienced one in the entirety of its written history, had meant that Cat had been blowing up Kara's phone non stop since it was spotted. Once the immediate threat had been taken care of, and the two buildings that had been in the path of it deemed safe, Kara had needed to fly straight back to Catco, leaving Alex by herself to hunt for clues as to the cause of such a random event.
Her breakthrough comes after two hours of fruitless searching, the rubble strewn ground offering nothing but broken glass and pieces of torn newspaper, when she stops to pet the affable pitbull companion of a homeless teen that was sitting in the semi sheltered corner of two buildings.
Alex gives the girl, who is probably no more than fifteen, a card with the details of a homeless shelter one of her friends mom's runs a few blocks from where they are, and tells her that they always have an extra bed should she need it. Alex explains that it was set up after her friends mom had watched her neighbours kid get kicked out of home, simply for daring to admit they were transgender and, after taking them in herself, had decided to help as many LGBTQ teens with unaccepting parents as she could.
Alex told the girl to mention her by name so that they'd let her furry friend in too, knowing that Susan would make an exception for her, and is just about to leave when the girl suddenly grabs her by the hand.
'It was a guy'.
Alex stops immediately, thinking that the girl is opening up about something that has happened to her, and squats down again to make sure she can hear properly. Alex knows how hard it is to admit something painful and, if this girl is confiding in her about a guy that has taken advantage, she doesn't want to have to ask her to repeat herself so places herself close enough to hear everything. Alex's mind is already whirling, calculating just how pissed J'onn will be at her for getting Vasquez to hack into National City's records database so that she can track down and kick the shit out of whatever cockwomble it may be, so she is surprised when the young girls next words are not what she expects.
'That tornado, it was made by a man'.
Its a short update, but hopefully the next chapter will be a bit longer. Thank you for the comments, they really do make my day x
