It looked bleak.
Nothing was going well.
"Has anyone heard anything from Henshaw?"
"Not yet," Lucy confirmed.
There were five spaces that were currently being occupied in the DEO's underground complex: control, med bay, barracks room, lounge, and temporary quarantine. Things were being contained as best as they could, it was also set up to try to keep people comfortable in order to allow for continued productivity within. The one thing they couldn't have was people freaking out, the DEO couldn't descend into chaos.
"Maybe we should go out and look for him," Benanti said. She was calm and oddly somber. It was more frightening than everything that was going on outside. "For all we know, their vehicle could have run out of gas-"
"They had a full tank when they left and extra on board," Adler interrupted evenly. "It has to be something else and he would order us to stay put. Hold the fort down. Let the scientists and doctors work on the cure. Keep our people safe and keep hope up."
She was right, Alex thought as she just listened to it all. "We need power to run the equipment," Alex spoke up.
Adler gave a nod. "Torres already has a team pulling the generators, so that we're allocating the power exactly where we need it. There's no reason to run all of the electronics if that's down worldwide. But there are some things...like the lab equipment, we do need. We're also going to likely need to siphon gas from the vehicles, but if we get through this...I think we can all agree that it'll be worth it.
Alex wasn't going to argue with that.
"Let's get to work then," Adler commanded.
"Are you humming?"
"You can't prove it."
That made her smile. He was right, there was no light for her to see his face, but she knew he'd been humming. Right now, they were supposed to be concentrating on the cure. So far, they weren't getting far. They'd had more blood pulled from people they had there, but so far...no one seemed affected by the new strain (if there really was one), at least not yet. "What song is it?"
He was quiet. "I don't even know… It's something that my mother used to sing when I was little, it's the only thing that I really remember of her…"
Their eyes met and there was this sadness that lingered between them.
"We're going to find a cure," Max told her, successfully changing the subject. "Even if it's only for you."
Alex shook her head. "Max-"
"Look, you're supposed to focus on that little girl-"
"Charlie-"
"Charlie," he repeated with a wave of his hand. "Well, let me concentrate my efforts on you."
She couldn't argue that with him. They both had to have something...someone to focus on. Normally, it would be Kara for her, but her sister was thankfully unaffected by Myriad. Charlie was an easy one to place in that spot instead. "Okay," she just whispered.
"We should probably get the stopgap out to as many DEO agents as we can," he put out there. "Try to keep people as calm as possible." He shrugged. "And by we, I mean you...these people like you...they're only...tolerating me right now because I might be helpful when it comes to curing this…"
Maxwell Lord was a man who had done a lot of wrong in the world, but there was right in him...in his heart. She wanted to argue about it, to truly discuss what he'd just said, but there really wasn't time for that. She just nodded and finished up what she was doing.
"The storm is still coming."
Those words brought a great sense of relief as well as dread. Alex had been walking through the dimly lit control room when she'd heard him, she'd been going to ask Adler or Benanti (whomever she ran into first) to bring Charlie in for the stopgap shot. She didn't wait for anything else to be said, she moved towards him and hugged him. Alex could tell he was surprised, but that didn't stop her. J'onn held her for a moment and it was all she needed. "I'm so glad that you're okay," she breathed.
When they parted, he held onto her shoulders. "How are you fairing?"
"We've got a stopgap," she explained. "It suppresses or at least lessens the symptoms for a short while, but we will find a cure."
"Our bigger problem is phase two of Myriad," Adler put in her two cents. "We really don't know anything about it. How are we going to cure it?"
"Right now I'm honestly more concerned about the storm," J'onn told them as he released his hold on Alex, his attention moving to Adler more. "We need to get this place buttoned up and prepare for a storm unlike any of us have ever seen before." He looked over to her. "Danvers, get back to work on that cure."
"Actually, I wanted to see if I could give Charlie the stopgap?" Alex asked as she looked to Adler.
"Yeah," Adler said. "Lara's in with her right now. i think they're in the lounge with the Harewoods."
Adler had been right, Charlie and Lara were with the Harewoods. If they were going to give the stopgap to as many DEO agents as possible, Alex was fairly sure that making sure the few kids that fell under them was the most important category. She examined them all for a long moment. She was looking for symptoms of the Myriad phase one and what she might assume the phase two might look like.
"I don't like shots," Charlie said.
"Me either," the Harewood kids said in practical unison.
"It's to make you feel better...and if I take a little bit of blood...that might help me make something else to cure the sickness," Alex tried to explain. She just hoped that she wasn't scaring the kids anymore than they already were.
"Another shot?"
Alex gave a short nod. "I know, it's not fun, but it's better than getting so sick."
What else could they tell these children?
They were so young and so innocent, they didn't need to fear what was coming (at least no more than there was already fear in them). There was no need to burden them with the horrors of what Non and Myriad promised them, promised the entire Earth and human race. No, it was best to let these few be sheltered the best they could. This was their 'village' moment and they would do their best to stand together to keep these children safe...this family that had come together on its own.
There was no other thing they could do.
Alex looked into Charlie's little eyes and all she could see was little Kara.
"You're going to be safe...you all are."
It all hit so quickly and Alex had found herself desperate for fresh air. They'd sealed up the DEO for the incoming tempest, but she'd opened the easiest to reseal hatch and stepped outside. AS she squeezed her eyes shut and sucked in a deep breath, she tried to push aside the harsh reality of the situation.
But it was too hard.
Even though in her head, evil had a face. Non. All she could think in that moment was all of the things that had happened that had gotten to that point. Tears rolled down her face as it all hit her, suddenly hopeless.
Wifi and cell signal were gone.
Myriad phase one was loose.
Water contamination.
Food supply burned.
The oncoming storm.
Fire raining down from the sky.
The electricity had gone out.
Myriad phase two.
And now...the solar eclipse.
There shouldn't be an eclipse, that was the problem. They could see the moon and it wasn't what was blocking the sun. There was only so much the scientists could do with the limited resources they had and with the limited resources they had and with the onslaught of the storm. All they knew was that if the obstruction was caused by Non and it wasn't just limited to National City that they had a lot more to worry about.
"Alex."
Her name brought her so much relief because of the person it came from. "Kara," she breathed as she turned and hugged her sister. It felt like so long since she'd seen her and even if that really wasn't true, it was good to know that in all this chaos that two of the people she was closest to were unaffected by Myriad thanks to their alien DNA.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like we're not going to figure this out in time," Alex admitted as their hug ended. She knew that she should stay hopeful, that other people needed her to be hopeful, but it was becoming harder and harder. Every time it felt like they were getting somewhere, they were hit by two extreme things all at once.
"We're going to figure it out," Kara said slowly. "All of us together." She was quiet for a moment, both of them taking in the changing sky above.
"James and Winn safe?"
"As safe as anyone."
"You could have brought them here-"
"They would have been too much of a distraction," Kara admitted.
"I hope Mom and Dad are okay," Alex whispered. She'd briefly talked to them, but that was before it all went to hell in a handbasket. She'd tried to act like everything was under control, but she was fairly sure her parents had seen through the lie.
"The storm is just in our region, so that's one less thing for them to combat," Kara pointed out. "They're going to do what they can to keep people comfortable and calm there." Kara looked right at her. "I thought about flying down there-"
"No," Alex waved off. They wouldn't want that. "You're right and them knowing the full truth of what's going on here will only cause them to worry more." The last thing she wanted as both of her parents in the middle of it all.
The rain was falling now and the sky was black and turbulent above. She didn't want to go inside, but she knew that she needed to. Alex needed to get back to work because there really was no other choice than for them to find a cure.
"I thought I'd find you two out here," J'onn said as he approached them from behind. "No stars to see with this storm, though."
He was right.
Normally, that might have calmed her a bit, to have the simple action that she and Kara used to do when they were younger. It was hard to think of how extremely drastically different their world was quickly becoming because of Non. Alex wasn't sure that when were able to finally reopen the doors of the DEO, that it would look the same (if they could open them again). She turned, telling herself that it really was time to go back inside and get back to work.
"What if you use our DNA?" Kara asked.
She'd thought about that.
Alex turned and looked at her sister. "Kara-"
"If J'onn and I are immune-"
"Do you really want to risk Max having your DNA again?" Alex asked honestly. It seemed wrong to say, but these were two people that she cherished most in the world and she couldn't fathom them being hurt in any way because of Max on top of everything else that was going on. She wanted to see the good in Max, to know that he could be good...but she felt like this would be tempting his dark side.
"Don't we have to trust him?" Kara questioned. "Aren't you trusting him?"
Of course she was.
The questions sat with Alex and she wasn't sure how to answer it. She did trust Max, but with Kara especially since he'd used her DNA in the past...she was more worried. "I don't think it would help in this case," she explained honestly. Alex didn't miss J'onn staring at her, likely reading her for the truth. "If it were, I would have asked. I promise."
"You know what it'll mean if the solar eclipse extends," Max said as they worked. "I mean...long term...if the phase two plague Non unleashed doesn't kill us first."
Alex was trying not to think about it. Her head was already pounding, so she didn't need this added stress. "I know," she whispered.
Extended solar eclipse.
No solar power.
No sun.
No heat.
No light.
Plants would start dying.
No extra oxygen.
No oxygen scrubbers.
It could lead to an ice age-
She heard him let out a heavy sigh and she turned to look in his direction. Max immediately apologized, "I don't mean to be so doom and gloom-"
"Normally the news would do all that for us," she half teased. Max looked exhausted, almost pathetically so. Alex stopped what she was doing and grabbed him. There was so much to do and so little time, but they needed to take care of themselves in order to productively continue to work on the cure.
"Alex-"
She pulled him into the area they'd been using for breaks and rest. A bottle of water and a snack were immediately pushed into his hands. "When was the last time you had a dose of the stopgap?" she questioned.
"When you had it."
Alex stared at him and realized that he wasn't the only one feeling the effects of Myriad. "How many doses are ready right now?" she asked.
"Not enough."
Making a face, she pinched the bridge of her nose. "You need another dose-"
"So do you-"
"You're worse than I am right now," Alex pointed out. "In a while, I'll take a dose."
"We take it at the same time, Alex." It was a statement, there was not arguing the point. It wasn't just his tone, but also how he was looking at her.
That wasn't going to stop her from arguing her point with him. The children, especially, needed to keep from feeling so ill. Alex was determined to make her point to Max and get him to take his dose just the same. "Right now, I don't need it, but when I do...I promise that I'll take it," Alex said slowly and quietly. "I can't take a dose that someone else might need right now-"
He reached out and brushed hair back to tuck behind her ear. "Promise?"
"Promise," she repeated.
"I can't lose you."
Alex opened a water bottle for herself and sat down with him. "You're not going to." She knew that Max's focus was finding a cure for her, which she didn't agree with...but at the same time understood. "Remember? I'm harder to get rid of than people think."
He smiled at that. "I had never really wanted to get rid of you…"
They had generators, but that wasn't enough.
"None of this is going to matter unless we have someone for sure who has Myriad phase two."
He was right.
"We don't even know what that looks like," Alex pointed out.
"Likely death…"
So far, they hadn't lost anyone else at the DEO, but they didn't know anything about the outside world. They'd been isolated, but now...it seemed like they couldn't remain that way. "We'd have to take measures…"
"Others out there are trying to find a cure, the same as us…"
"I know, but that doesn't mean that we need to endanger our people who aren't showing signs other than the phase one," Alex explained. All she could think was that they were sealed up there, so far...there were no more deaths...but out there… Who would go? Could they be protected? Could everyone else in there be protected when someone who was infected with phase two was brought back?
"Or we just wait here...and let the food run out...hope that when we open those doors that we can continue to live...if we figure out a cure to phase one…" Max sighed. "That's not even taking into account the fact that the virus might be able to survive-"
"I just-"
"I know that they're your friends, Alex...your family, but-"
"Kara and J'onn," Alex said. She was trying to keep calm. "They're immune to the virus. They could go out there and bring someone back…"
"I thought you didn't want to expose J'onn J'onzz?"
The only reason Maxwell Lord knew who J'onn J'onzz was was because of the White Martian...because of all those months ago when they thought they were living in the future. So far, he'd kept quiet about him. Max hadn't told anyone about J'onn J'onzz and Alex knew that it was because of her. "I don't," she whispered with a sigh. "But he doesn't need to be seen at all times… We could make it work."
"What about quarantine?"
"That's going to be harder… The storm hasn't passed-"
"I thought it wasn't as...violent?" Max asked slowly.
"The sun is still blocked."
"Yeah, that's really not helping anything."
She felt the same.
"We're going to need a safe quarantine area-"
"Pull out the base blueprints," Max said. "We'll figure out something that'll work to keep the population here safe."
The last thing Alex remembered before hitting the floor was her head feeling like she was being stabbed. She'd thought it was just because she'd just gotten into a fight with Max over the quarantine procedures that they'd put in place for the phase two carrier, there had been screaming and a lot of energy used in it.
Everything was fuzzy.
There was a sharp pain in her arm.
Max was hovering over her.
Worry etched all over his face.
"Alex," he whispered with concern. "Alex, talk to me."
All she could do was blink.
This was going to be how it was going to end, she thought as she stared up at him.
His tears fell against her face.
He was breathing heavily, like he was trying to bottle in his sobs.
"Alex, I've seen how you sacrifice pieces of yourself...of your life for others. How you've done so much in your life because of your sister or because it was what your parents wanted for you," Max whispered. "I've seen how much you give to your job. Don't think that I don't see that."
Another shot, she realized.
Max hadn't had the stopgap.
He was giving her his dose.
Double dosing her.
"For once, let me be the self sacrificing one. Let me take the weight of the world onto my shoulders. If there's one thing that I can give you to hold on, a glimmer of the future to fight for...think of how happy we were. We've had happy moments, right? Maybe not all of them were completely real...but they were there. I know they were there. Can you imagine future us? Happy? Changing the world. You changing me in big ways that my past self would probably cringe like hell at."
The stopgap didn't feel like it was working.
Her mind reeled.
She was only infected with phase one. This shouldn't be the end. There would be more pain. Alex waited, but it didn't come, she only felt the tendrils of the twisting nether pulling her closer to the void. Her eyelids heavy as she continued to blink to stay conscious.
Max was sobbing now. "You've got all of that to come."
She could hear Adler in the distance.
She could hear Kara.
She could hear J'onn.
They'd returned.
All she wished was to say goodbye to Kara and J'onn...a chance to just say goodbye… All those years ago she hadn't been able to say goodbye to her father, she hadn't had that closure. It had affected her her entire life. She didn't want that for her sister or any of her family. Alex wanted to be able to speak...to hold on a little longer. If only she could assure Max that this wasn't his fault-
Her eyes slid shut.
"Alex!"
She could still hear him.
"You and me, time and space. You watch us run!"
TBC…
