A/N: Thank you for the reviews! And thank you to DaisyJane for the beta :D

I find a map and draw a straight line,

Over rivers, farms and state lines,

The distance from A to where you'd be,

It's only finger-lengths that I see,

I touch the place where I'd find your face,

My fingers in creases of distant dark place,

I hang my coat up in the first bar,

There is no peace that I've found so far,

The laughter penetrates my silence,

As drunken men find flaws in science.

Set Fire to the Third Bar—Snow Patrol

Chapter Nineteen

Kal's entire body was humming with energy and anticipation—it was like he'd hovered right next to the sun for an entire week, like everything and anything could be achieved. Of course, there was only one thing he wanted to achieve tonight, and that was having Alexa back in his arms, her mouth back against his and the two of them giving into the urges both of them (though he knew it had been mostly him) had been fighting for months. Part of him was still a little unsure that it was a good idea, rushing in when they'd only really decided to be together just a few hours ago. But they had known each other much longer than that, and his self-restraint had already been pushed to extremes for long enough.

Desire shot through him painfully when Alexa's voice reached his ear. "Batwoman to Superman."

"Are you done?"

"Yes. Where are you?'

"My quarters."

He heard the grin on her face. "I'm on my way."

Now that he knew that, it was impossible to wait for her—he strained his ears, though there was no need to, for the sound of her voice. When he heard it, it forced him into action and he left his quarters and got into the turbolift. Alexa was waiting for the one he happened to be in. A broad and delighted smile spread over her face. She stepped in beside him, her gloved hands brushing against his.

They were both holding their breath as the doors slid shut excruciatingly slowly, then one or both of them moved and they were kissing madly, like two hormonal teenagers. He couldn't get her close enough—all hesitation vanished, vaporised by the heat of Alexa's kiss, and he cupped her head, deepening the embrace. When they broke apart, both of them were breathing hard.

There was a brilliant smile on Alexa's face though. "Now that's what I call a greeting."

"I wasn't expecting you so soon."

A light blush spread over her cheeks. "I wanted to see you."

He smiled. "I wanted to see you too."

She blushed a bit more, but was obviously pleased to hear it. The doors to the turbolift opened, revealing an empty corridor. Kal wanted to take her hand, but mindful of the cameras, he didn't, unsure how she'd feel about it. A moment later, they were in his quarters, just the two of them, and a bed feet away. Alexa took her mask off immediately. Her eyes were positively glowing.

Kal reached for her, smoothing hair from her face and stroking her cheeks softly. "There you are."

He kissed her again, more softly. Any hesitation or doubt had vanished the moment she arrived, and Alexa was showing no signs of uncertainty. She moved closer, her kiss sure and sweet. Electricity wasn't slow to build again, only this time it was without its bitter edge of frustration. They could have this, this was going somewhere—somewhere he was sure would be glorious and blissful. Everything that came after that was perfectly natural. Passion increasing, mouths and hands wandering, clothes being shed. He just had time to observe that Alexa's beauty extended to the rest of her body, when Batwoman's com-link went off.

"Batwoman, this is the Communications Centre, please respond."

Alexa let out a groan. "What?!"

"We have an urgent mission for you."

As Kal had seen absolutely no reason to stop doing what he was doing, Alexa sounded convincingly tense when she answered. "Busy."

"It's very urgent."

"Very busy," she managed, though this was followed by a low moan and her arching her back, pressing their torsos together.

"There's a civil war and potentially billions of lives at stake."

Well, there went that plan. Alexa put her hands on his chest, and he let his rest on her hips, though loosely, and he kept them still. "You need to go," he murmured, placing one kiss just below her ear.

"Depends how many billions," she muttered back.

"Batwoman?"

"I'm on my way," she sighed.

"Thank you. And if you happen to run into Superman, we need him for this mission too. He's not answering his com-link, for some reason."

Kal glanced over her shoulder. His was lying on the desk, abandoned. Alexa looked a little brighter that he'd be coming with her though, and even smirked. "I'm sure I can track him down."

"Thank you. Briefing room when you're ready."

She disconnected the channel and then sighed. "Not exactly what I had in mind for our first date."

"What did you have in mind?"

She kissed him deeply, if quickly. The blood that had been making its way slowly back north immediately went south again. "That. Only more naked."

"Sounds pretty similar to what I was thinking," he admitted, also dressing.

A few moments later, the two of them entered the briefing room looking as casual as they could manage. Kal thought Alexa was doing a better job than he was at the moment. She squeezed his hand very quickly just before they went in, then snapped into business mode with almost startling alacrity.

GL was in there, as well as the communications director of the League. "Are you coming as well?"

"No, but this is a Lantern mission that we're sequestering League personnel for," Mira said. She pulled up a 3D map of a planet, and then dreadnoughts around it. "This is the planet of Pinea. It's engaged in civil war, has been for the past fifteen years. The war has become steadily more destructive, and it's been locked in stalemate for at least the last five."

"I know Pinea," Kal said, surprised. "I've been there. A long time ago, but it was peaceful then."

"We know," GL said. "And your experience with the people and their culture is the primary reason you've been requested for this mission. For whatever reason, the Pineans won't cooperate fully with the Lantern Corps."

"I imagine it's because of what you are. They don't like outside interference—and you're the galactic police force. If it remains an internal conflict-"

"It won't for much longer," GL interrupted. "There have been technological advances on both sides, and one of them is a weapon. A massive, highly sophisticated bio-bomb, designed to wipe out anyone it comes across. It could destroy billions, not to mention potentially turn on its creators."

"And if it ends up in the wrong hands …" Alexa nodded. "Then it'll suddenly be the GLs' problem."

"Exactly."

"So what do you want us to do?"

"Well, we received a request for help from one side of the war's leaders. The faction is called Shae. Shae want Superman's assistance in diplomatic negotiations."

Kal nodded. It wasn't a role he was entirely new to, but it wasn't one he normally performed either. He knew the Pineans, or he had, and he was an outsider they trusted.

"Why am I needed?" Alexa asked. "You mentioned two technologies."

"The other belongs to Shae, and as destructive as the bio-bomb is, this one has the potential to be creative—to end the war maybe," GL said.

"What is it?"

"Shae will give you all the information you need when you arrive on Pinea," the director said.

"Do we have any background information on the conflict?" Kal asked.

The director held out two tablets, one to each of them. "This is compiled from Shae's records and the Lantern Corps'. Batwoman, you also have all the specs for the bio-bomb. You'll have time to read through both on the flight."

"Flight?" Kal asked. "It's two hundred light years away. A boom tube would be faster."

"Yes, but the war has permanently damaged Pinea's atmosphere," Mira said. "A boom tube would be impossible."

"Shae have sent coordinates for a safe landing area when you arrive," the director said. "And that's all I have for you. Good luck." He nodded to both of them, and then left.

Mira addressed Alexa again. "Ostensibly, you're also assisting in diplomatic peace negotiations. You've been chosen for your expertise in both your lives for that reason. Given the brilliant PR job you do with your brother, I'm sure you won't have too much trouble."

"And unofficially I'm there to sabotage the bio-bomb?"

"If Kal's negotiations fail to broker a truce, yes. We can't risk a weapon like that ever being detonated. Destroy it and all the information on how to build it you can find. The technology Shae has, they've been vague about, but apparently they're having difficulty making it work."

"So I'm making one weapon work, and destroying another one?" Alexa frowned.

"I don't think that Shae have a weapon; only the Rengar—the other side—do. Any questions?"

"None."

"Then Javelin 11 has been cleared for your use, and good luck."

They went up to the hangar bay, and boarded the javelin. Alexa took the helm—once in empty space the hyperdrive would automatically guide them to Pinea, but the javelin needed to be manually guided out of Earth's atmosphere. Kal took the co-pilot's seat, mapping their course.

"Coordinates input."

"How far is it?" Alexa asked.

"Two hundred and three light years—just outside Lantern Space."

"Outside it? Then why are they so worried about it?" she muttered, pulling up her own date on the bio-bomb.

It quickly became apparent why the Lanterns were concerned. Although not a virus in the biological sense, the bio-bomb would not be stopped by any form of green light. If it spread off the Pinea, then the Lanterns would be powerless to stop it.

"Looks like we're both going to be busy …" Kal said, looking at his own data pad. "The origins of this conflict looks really complex."

Alexa gave him a rueful smile. "At least we're going together. "

"True, but unless I miss my guess, we're not going to be able to spend much time with each other. The last time I was on Pinea, there were fairly strict rules about males and females mixing after business hours."

"Rules are made to be broken, Kal," she smiled.

He chuckled. "I had a feeling that would be your attitude."

Once they were out of Earth's atmosphere and free from its gravity, Alexa prepared to engage the hyperdrive. Before she did though, she had to let her brother know where she'd disappeared. He was probably already a little worried; she hadn't told him she'd left Gotham for the Metrotower in the first place. Nor had she told him about Kal. The only people who knew how she felt were Barda and Hippolyta—and no one in the world knew the brimming happiness inside her, apart from Kal. How to tell everyone else … Well, she would cross that bridge when she came to it. Whenever she told her family, it would have to wait until they got back from Pinea.

She opened a comms. channel to the Batcave, and Tom appeared. "There you are! You just disappeared from Gotham without a word."

"Metrotower. Kal and I have been sent on an urgent off-planet mission."

"What?"

"To stop a war before billions of people lose their lives."

"Oh, that kind of urgent off-planet mission." Tom looked over her shoulder to where Kal sat. "Look after my sister, won't you?"

Alexa managed to wipe the grin from her face about half a second after it had appeared there, and the laughter was confined to a slight tremble of her shoulders. She glanced—very quickly—at Kal, but he looked entirely serious.

"I will."

"Good. Have fun."

"We will. Tell Mom and Dad, and Terry—Mira'll probably tell Matt herself."

"Okay. How long d'you think you'll be?"

"I don't know. I'll send you a message if it's going to be more than a week or so. Do what you can with the press."

"Will do. Be careful, please."

"And you."

"Bye, Kal."

"See you, Tom."

Thomas disappeared, and Alexa engaged the hyperdrive once they were braced for the fist-punch that came with it. "It'll take us about ten hours to reach Pinea," she announced.

"Alright."

She got out of her seat and went to kiss him, just for the joy of being able to. After a moment, they both looked at the bed in the ship's tiny medical treatment area. Alexa for one was more than ready to make full use of it—but equally, she knew they shouldn't. She wanted their first time to be about nothing but the two of them. This would just be snatched in a brief moment, and over far too soon. She let out a sigh, which Kal echoed.

"We can't."

"No. Work to do."

He cupped her face gently and kissed her. "Neither of us are going anywhere, right?"

She smiled. "Right."

"Then there's always time."

She sighed and ran her fingers through his hair. "Why is it everyone's always telling me to have patience?"

"Can't think why," he smirked.

They shared one more kiss and then separated, each of them turning to their own work. Alexa pushed her mask back and set to concentrating. The rest of the flight was spent poring over the documents about the bio-bomb that Alexa was supposed to be sabotaging. It was a step above the kind of nanotechnology she was expert in, but it wasn't all that dissimilar, being a genetically engineered virus, with both mechanical and biological functioning parts. Unfortunately there was a lot of room for manoeuvre, meaning that once it had killed all Shae, there was nothing stopping it from turning on Rengar, and then mutating to spread out across the rest of this sector. But it should not be too difficult to destroy. Blowing it up wouldn't work, since that would release the bio-mechanical agents. But releasing some kind of …

A chuckle roused her from her thinking, and she looked over to see Kal looking at her. "What?"

"You know you poke your tongue into the side of your cheek when you're concentrating?"

"I do not."

"Yes you do. It's cute."

She glared. "I am Batwoman. I am not cute."

"You're adorable."

"You repeat that and I might have to break out the kryptonite."

"Empty threat."

She rolled her eyes. "I have the feeling they're always going to be empty threats with you …"

He came over, leaning over to look at her datapad. "What were you thinking about?"

"How I could destroy the bio-bomb, whether with a bio-mechanical antibody or by putting the virus in isolation and treating it like you would any other biological weapon."

"Removing it would be more risky, if someone else got their hands on it."

"True. But manufacturing an antibody is difficult, and as to combining it with a mechanical part … I've only done some study into organic computing, and I'd only have a vague idea where to start."

"You'll be able to do it."

"Easy for the person who doesn't have to to say," she commented dryly.

Kal kissed her, apparently to erase her argument. Annoyingly it worked, and he was right anyway. There really was only one solution. This was weaponry too dangerous to be anything but utterly destroyed. "The situation on Pinea must be extreme for the Rengar to even consider using this."

"I imagine they're pretty desperate, with how long the war's been going on."

"How are things looking your end?"

"It's knotted. The main cause seemed to be an energy crisis for both sides, but then there was a regime change in Shae, and Rengar decided the supply chain was no longer reliable. They took it by force, or tried, and the war was triggered. They've been at stalemate for almost five years now."

"How are they still at a stalemate, if Shae have the power source?"

"I don't know. Lantern information is sparse at best, and most of this is coming from Shae."

"There is something else that might be problematic."

"What?"

"The Shae complex is likely to be underground, because of the atmospheric disturbances, and we're probably going to be there for days, if not a week or two trying to sort this mess out."

"And?"

"I don't know what opportunities there are going to be to expose you to sunlight. If there had been time I would have brought a UV lamp with us, but there wasn't. How fast does your strength run out?"

"I honestly don't know. But I doubt it would be before we're done here."

"You're sure?"

He smiled. "Alexa, if I start feeling the least bit woozy, I'll let you know."

"I'm serious."

"So am I. It will be fine. And if we're there for more than a week, I'll leave the atmosphere to float in front of the sun for a while, okay?"

"Okay."

She went back to her studying, this time looking at the technology Shae was developing. It seemed to centre around a synthesised element called Refiblium, for both power and components. It wasn't anything she was familiar with, and the plans that had come with the description of the machine were really low on detail. She did not even know what the output of the machine was supposed to be, or what it was at the moment. She spent the next two hours absorbing everything she could, and finished just as Kal announced that they had arrived.

"We're here."

Pinea, from the outside, did not look like a hospitable place. The atmosphere was grey and black, roiling clouds lit by spasms of lightning. At her side, Kal was frowning.

"I guess it didn't look like that before," she said.

"No. It looked like Earth does, around the equator. It was beautiful. You would have liked it."

"It's artificially constructed weather. They released a stealth machine that rotates in orbit, generating permanent storm conditions. It's buried in there somewhere."

"Which side has control of it?"

"Neither. It was designed and built by an independent scientist, who got desperate and tried to shut Shae and Rengar down with it. They both relied heavily on solar energy at the time."

"Didn't work, I take it?"

"No. It slowed them down, but other technology was quickly developed and they carried on fighting. Now one of their problems is going to be pollution, once the war's over."

"Then let's get it over as soon as we can," he said, moving over to the communications console. "Shae base, this is Javelin 11, requesting permission to access landing site."

There was a hiss of static, then a clipped, military voice sounded. "Javelin 11, broadcast bypassing code."

Kal input the code which Mira had provided them, and after a moment, the voice came back. "Bypass code accepted. Proceed to landing site according to coordinates."

"Acknowledged." Kal switched the comms. off, then turned to her. "They definitely are the good guys, right?"

"Is it ever that simple, in a civil war situation? They seem to be. At least, they didn't start the war. But then America didn't start World War II and we still created its most destructive weapon. Either way, we're here to prevent further loss of life, and give Shae the advantage as long as is means an end to this mess."

"We have to work on the basis that the Lanterns did their homework."

She nodded, then glanced at him. "Ready for diplomatic mode? There's not a button I need to press somewhere is there?"

He grinned. "You press any more of my buttons and I must just explode."

Her eyes darkened. "Don't tempt me."

The spark flared between them yet again, and Alexa felt her body straining towards his. It took a combined effort to pull away, and even then she could still feel the pull. She was pretty sure this stood a high chance of coming to fruition somewhere highly inappropriate. With probably very bad timing. But damn it all if she wasn't looking forward to when it did.

To distract themselves, Kal took the pilot's seat to land the Javelin, while Alexa sat in the co-pilot's seat, so she had access to the weaponry and defensive systems. She put the shields up just in case, as a precaution. It was impossible to see through the swirling cloud and mist—for her at least, presumably Kal could—so they were entirely reliant on the ship's other navigation systems. Every hundred feet they descended, the altimeter beeped, then every fifty, ten, five and every metre until they reached twenty metres above the planet's surface.

"Over there," Kal said, pointing to their left.

"If you say so," Alexa replied.

When they got closer, she could see what looked like a landing platform. When they were settled down onto it, Kal cut the engines and they started descending, the platform taking them deep underground. Alexa scowled. No open air access meant escape could be difficult. Not that they were planning an escape, if this all went to plan. Any anyone who wanted to prevent said breakout would have a hell of a task, keeping she and Kal from where they wanted to go. It was a fairly quick descent, but still seemed to be taking forever. Alexa guessed they were already at least one kilometre under the surface.

The two of them went to stand at the back of the Javelin, ready to open the doors once they stopped. She was not looking forward to this mission, not least because it meant it was limiting her time with Kal right at the moment when she wanted to be spending all of her time with him.

A similar thought seemed to occur to him, because he stepped closer and kissed her, slowly and sensually, like he was making sure every part of her knew it was wanted and desired. She knew it already, but it was definitely reinforced. But she still wanted more when he pulled away. She didn't let him get far, curling her fingers in his suit to prevent him.

She grinned. "If you think that's going to last me days on end, Superman, then you're gravely mistaken."

"Oh? How mistaken?"

When, after several more minutes, Alexa came back to her senses, she realised they had stopped. That they had been stopped for a while. "Oops."

"I blame you," Kal muttered.

"I blame malfunctioning equipment," she said slyly, pressing the button to open the doors of the Javelin.

Outside stood six members of Shae, all of whom were wearing pressed military uniforms and unimpressed expressions. Alexa might have blushed if not in the cowl—now she only had the urge to smirk. Kal was studiously avoiding her gaze, though he did shake his head slightly with a smile.

"Stop it."

"Stop what?" she asked innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Stepping forward, she nodded to the first of the Pineans. "General."

"Batwoman? Welcome to Pinea."

A/N: I know, I feel your (and Kal's, and Alexa's) frustration, but there will be lemoniest and lemon drizzle cakes coming up, promise. Review please!