Her eyes fluttered open and a smile instantly spread across her face. There was so much peace in that moment as Alex lay on her side staring into the face that made her so happy. Shining bright blue eyes staring back at her frame by blonde hair and accented by a stunning smile. It was a moment she didn't want to ever have to leave.
"Mommy? I'm not tired."
"You're so tired, Baby Girl," Alex whispered as she ran her fingers through the little girl's blonde hair. "Too tired."
"I want to stay up with you, Mommy," the little girl pleaded as she tried to cover Alex with the same blanket she was covered up with. "All night. Me and Mommy."
"...Alex?!"
The voice distracted her and she looked for where there should be a door or a hallway. There were no exits, she realized. There was nothing past the bed and the little girl. Alex blinked rapidly.
It was a dream.
She looked back at the girl.
It wasn't River.
It wasn't her daughter either.
It was a dream.
"Alex?! Wake up! Please!"
Max.
It was a dream.
"Please, don't go," the little girl whispered as she reached out to touch her cheek.
"I have to," Alex whispered as tears rolled down her cheek. "This is just a dream-"
When she snapped out of it, Max was there staring down at her. His hands were on her face and he looked horrible, almost hysterical. Everything shook suddenly. Max shielded her and Alex wrapped her arms around him. "What happened?" she questioned through a whisper.
She'd been dreaming.
She didn't remember going to sleep-
"Don't leave me," he whispered as he held her.
Alex blinked rapidly as the shaking didn't stop. What was going on? How long had she been out? What was she missing? "What is it?"
"The storm."
It was too strong-
"Get the hells off of her and let's get everyone to cover!" Adler's voice boomed as she yanked Max off of her and then pulled Alex to her feet.
"Where else can we go?" Alex questioned.
"I'm not thrilled about this plan-"
"The Pipeline," Max supplied.
She looked up at him and could see that he was certain about his response. When she turned back to Adler, she could see it in the other woman's face, he was right. "Isn't that a bigger danger?"
"It's holding up better than the rest of the base," Adler told her with a shrug. "The world's gone to hell...we've got to make due with what we have…"
"What about the cure?"
"There's no use in a cure if we're all dead."
Max was grabbing her by the shoulders and leading her out of the lab now. "She's right," he said. Alex really didn't have time to process anything and gave in. As she watched everyone else being evacuated downward into the tunnel that led to The Pipeline that Cisco had created for them from parts of Fort Rozz, Alex felt no hope.
This was a last ditch effort.
Even if they survived the storm...Myriad was still out there.
Myriad was lethal.
There was no cure...not yet.
There wouldn't be if they couldn't work on it.
No cure.
No hope.
End of the world.
"Alex, we have to go," Max told her as he pulled her along.
There was no choice.
So many people were huddled down in The Pipeline and people were trying to keep people in the center, but it just wasn't working well. They had so many civilians down there, people in leadership positions of the city. Alex had no idea how they were going to make this work...if people survived past this...since the DEO and their locations and what they did were all supposed to be secrets.
"You need to keep to the middle," she heard Benanti shout.
"Get the fuck back here!" Adler called.
Alex blinked and looked around. She didn't see Kara or J'onn. "We need to shut the barriers," she explained. It was like her brain was kicking into gear. DEO protocols and everything that Cisco had told her before popped into her head. "To keep these people safe...just in case a cell opens…"
She caught sight of Charlie standing with Harewood's wife and kids. That was good, they were all safe and they were all together. Her eyes caught sight of Benanti, Adler, Vasquez, Torres, Harewood, Lane, and so many others doing their jobs. This was what they did...keep people safe...and even at the end of the world...they were still doing it.
"Then let's shut them down," Max told her.
He hadn't moved from her side since they'd gotten down there, but she'd noticed that his hands had let go of her. Alex suspected it was because she'd started to act more like herself.
So, they did.
The Pipeline had been designed so that there were a series of barriers that could be brought down. Adler and Benanti were already manually taking care of the ones on the bridge that would form a formidable barrier between The Pipeline and the DEO proper. The Pipeline consisted of one of the rings from Fort Rozz with a bridge that led to the DEO, it also contained four tunnels that led to the center of the circle which was a heavily reinforced position with multiple barriers that could separate it from any outbreaks. J'onn was working on the barrier on right while Harewood was working on the one to the left. Alex moved to work on the only one left (the one opposite her would be taken care of by Adler and Benanti once they were finished on the bridge). The center position that they were all packed into had a series of controls that could operate the barriers with the proper codes, so it really was the best position.
Frustrated at the non-cooperating controls, she pounded her fist against the wall next to the panel. She looked over in Max's direction just as the lights flickered and an ominous straining sound resounded through The Pipeline. Her brain was distracted by the fact that when she'd looked over at Max, he had been giving Charlie something...a shot, but Alex swore that Charlie had just had a stopgap booster not long before-
The ground underneath her rumbled and she tried to brace herself up against the wall. Everyone was making one sound or another and panic was quickly breaking out amongst the civilians they had in their care. Max was hurrying towards her with Charlie in his arms. "Go back!" she told him.
"Not without you," Max said.
"It's not working-"
Charlie was immediately set down and Max went to work on the panel.
Alex sucked in a breath and watched Max work and then looked to Charlie, her mind still troubled and confused by what she'd seen. She had known that she'd been out, but she didn't think she'd been out for that long. "What did you give Charlie?"
"I'm going to be better now," Charlie declared.
"Max?!"
"Do you want me to answer or get the barrier down?" he nearly snapped as their eyes locked.
"Both."
His eyes darted back to the controls and he started to pry open the panel itself. He was working and Alex could practically see the slight spark of anger drip from him as quickly as it fell away from her. Max sighed and turned to her, soft and thoughtful. "I told you, Alex. I'm in this for you." He paused for a moment and then looked down at the little girl beside them. "But I couldn't be in this completely for you, if I didn't try to cure the one person you were striving to save." With a quick move, he pulled a syringe from his pocket, stabbed her with her, and injected it into her as he kissed her. "And hopefully it works," he whispered against her lips.
A cure?
Max had found it?
Or something?
They had Myriad phase one.
So, did that mean that it was a cure to the phase one or-
Before her mind could continue to question the possibilities and before she could really come to grips with the kiss, their moment was disrupted by hostile rupturing pops followed by harsh hissing. Turning her head, Alex immediately found the source as people cried out from the opposite side.
The cells were opening.
"Max-"
Alex was almost immediately yanked backward, into The Pipeline, and she wasn't alone. Whoever had telekinetically pulled her back had also gripped Charlie as well. Instinctively, she scrambled for the little girl. Her arms immediately wrapped protectively around her as she tried to make her way back towards the safety of the center.
"Alex!" Max screamed.
To Alex's horror, she was jerked backwards again until she hit the open cell door. The entire while, she held Charlie and tried to keep her as safe as was humanly possible in that situation. The little girl was crying and had Alex gripped for dear life. It was then that Alex set her eyes on the alien that had caused them to become trapped in The Pipeline so far away from everyone else.
Trigon.
He was a demon, or at least that was how they classified him because that was basically what he looked like. He towered above Alex, slightly taller than a White Martian, red skinned with six eyes and horns. His telekinetic abilities were really the least of their worries.
"We're going to be okay," she whispered to Charlie. Alex had no idea if that was going to be true or not, but she was going to try her damndest to get Charlie back into the middle and on the inside of the barrier. Her eyes darted to Max, who was obviously trying to get the barrier operational, they would all be screwed without it working. "Get it down!" she shouted at him.
A ring of fire suddenly erupted around the exterior of the center section of The Pipeline. This was one of Trigon's abilities and it still wasn't the most dangerous one. Fire was definitely going to make things harder, but there was some relief when Alex realized that the only barrier that was still up was the one that Max was working on.
Trigon started to trudge towards where Max was standing. This was her chance, her opening. Positioning Charlie better, so that her face was tucked into Alex's shoulder, Alex started at her fastest speed possible in that situation, ready to jump through the fire-
Trigon suddenly growled and it was then as she was running towards the fire wall that she saw J'onn running towards them. Before she could shout for him not to reveal that he wasn't just Hank Henshaw, he was already transforming before her eyes. J'onn J'onzz in all of his green glory was already tackling Trigon.
"Alex!" Max shouted and seemed torn, like he was going to come help them.
"Just get it down!" she told him.
"Not without you inside!"
"I'll be there! Just do it!"
The barrier started its descent and Alex started her run to make the jump, but was swooped up by J'onn. She and Charlie kept safe from the fire ring, the three of them sliding under the barrier and towards the crowded center of the room. She got to her feet as the barrier was nearly completely down to turn towards Max. Her mouth opened to say something, but horror quickly crossed her face.
A gigantic red clawed hand snaked under the barrier and grabbed Max's leg, he let out a scream (likely in pain from the heat that Trigon's body emitted) as he was pulled out right before the barrier thudded to a close. Alex just stared stunned in the direction of the barrier as Charlie was pulled from her arms by Benanti.
Before she could even make the step towards the door, she was being pulled around and wrapped into a hug by J'onn as he transformed back into the form of Hank Henshaw. Alex tried to make sense of what had happened...to try to make sense of what was happening...she knew all too well what Trigon was capable of. The Pipeline shook violently and everyone immediately ducked down as the power that had been independently pumping through there by the tech that had been designed by Palmer Tech finally went out leaving them all in the dark.
Max.
All Alex could think about was the fact that there was no way he could have survived that alien infested ring, let alone Trigon's powers.
Maxwell Lord was dead.
He'd died a hero to them all.
Even if they won in the end, they'd lost.
At what cost?
TBC…
