"You ready?" Alex asked as she and Supergirl approached the door to the DEO a few days later.
"I am. But quick question. do I get one of those badges this time? You know the one that allows you to pretend to be with the FBI?"
"Are you joining the DEO full time? And will you obey every order without question?" Alex asked.
"No and no." Supergirl said.
"Then no."
"That's so unfair."
"Remember most people at the DEO will have never met you and only heard of you in old stories. Going in pouting is not the best first impression." Alex pointed out.
"But it is one of my best weapons." Supergirl pointed out. "And can we not use the word old?"
"You'd prefer me to use historic?" Alex teased.
"Hey, you are older than me."
"No. As you reminded me so many times growing up, you are several years older than me." Alex said as she swiped her access card and placed her palm on the reader. "Let's go."
"Director, welcome back." An Agent greeted as Alex walked in.
"Eddington." She replied as Supergirl nodded at him.
"The team are waiting in the control room."
"Thanks." Alex said.
"Um, Ma'am, should I be signing her in?" He asked looking at Supergirl.
"It'll cause to much paperwork." Alex said.
"Ma'am?"
"She will leave through a window and not bother signing out." Alex explained before leading her sister into the main corridor.
"You didn't fancy a different colour for the walls?" Supergirl asked. "I mean even though this is a different building, this looks exactly like the DEO I remember."
"We have slightly bigger concerns than décor." Alex pointed out.
"Ma'am, welcome back." A uniformed Agent greeted.
"Hawkins." Alex greeted before pointing at her sister and saying. "This is Supergirl. Supergirl Agent Hawkins." Before of either of them could greet each other Alex asked her Agent. "Where are we on the prisoners who were at the main premises during the attack?"
"They have all now been accounted for and moved to the desert location."
"You still have the desert base?" Supergirl asked.
"Of course. It is out of the way meaning we can do testing there." Alex replied looking back at Hawkins Alex asked. "Any current threats?"
"Apart from the major one no." He replied.
"That's something." Alex said as they entered the control room where several Agents were waiting. Walking to the centre of the room, Alex glanced round and then said.
"I know the last few weeks have been hard on you. We all lost friends that day. But we will not allow their deaths to be meaningless. We will defeat Mongul." Alex started. "Some of you will remember Supergirl from eighteen years ago, some of won't but you all saw how she saved us from the most recent attack. From this point she will be assisting the DEO in stopping Mongul. For the next few days she will be training. After that she will be available to help on missions so everyone can get used to working together. Any questions?" When she was met by silence she added. "I will get Supergirl set up then return for an all hands briefing in an hour."
-00-
"What's this?" Supergirl asked as Alex showed her into a room.
"It's a training room." Alex said. "Mongul is stronger than anyone you have faced and it has been awhile since you have used your powers properly, so we need to train you. That also means, you get to wear these." Alex said tossing her a tracksuit.
"Why?" Kara asked.
"Your suit makes you immune to Kryptonite, but we need to build up your resistance."
"Maybe we should start slow." Kara said.
"No. We need to throw you straight in there." Alex said firmly. "Don't worry they know what the limits are."
"They? You are not training me?" Kara asked.
"Like I said we need to get you up to speed, that means going against someone far better than me."
"Better than you? Who is better than you?" Supergirl asked.
"Just get changed." Alex instructed.
-00-
"What's wrong?" The teenage Alex asked in the evening when she saw her mother sprawled on the couch at Alex's house.
"Your aunt is a sadist." Kara complained into a cushion.
"Don't worry, your mom is just being a whimp again." The older Alex said.
"What did you do to her?" The younger Kara asked.
"Made her train. She'll be fine." Her mother said unsympathetically.
"Is this like when you helped me learn to play soccer?" Alex's daughter asked.
"If it is, that was child abuse." The older Kara said from the couch.
"If you keep being this pathetic I am not ordering pizza." Alex warned.
"Pizza?" Kara asked immediately sitting up.
"And with that we have found the cure to Kryptonian muscle pain." Alex said dryly.
"Shouldn't have moved." Kara said miserably as her daughter came and sat down next to her and hugged her. "How was school?"
"It was good. And by the looks of things better than the DEO. Should you be working there?" Her daughter asked.
"Working at the DEO will keep her safe." The adult Alex assured her. "She is just attention seeking."
"That hurts." Kara said.
"You know there are law firms that specialise in workplace bullying." The teenage Kara said to her aunt.
"I am not the bad guy here." The adult Alex protested.
"You just ordered the stuffed crust big cheese pizza." MJ said. "That means you are either feeling guilty or want to give aunt Kara a heart attack. But seeing she has powers, cheese can't kill her so it it guilt pizza."
"I do not feel guilty about trying to keep my little sister safe." Alex countered.
"Yet, you also added ice cream to the order." The teenage Kara pointed out.
"I'm feeling a little ganged up on here." Alex complained.
"We're guided by our strong sense of right and wrong." The teenage Kara said. "Something you taught us."
"Didn't I also teach you about loyalty?"
"Yeah, but that always goes out the window in the face of competition." MJ pointed out. "That's a great idea."
"What is?" Alex asked lost.
"Why don't we have a games night?" MJ suggested. "You can team up with aunt Kara."
"I don't think we should." The adult Kara said.
"Why?" MJ asked.
"Because she'd feel bad about making you cry when we wipe the floor with you." The adult Alex explained.
"That's not happening." The teenage Kara said.
"It so is." The adult Kara countered. "No one could beat the Danvers sisters."
-00-
"I'm exhausted." Kara complained a few hours later.
"Destroying the hopes of teenagers takes a lot of energy." Alex pointed out.
"Why haven't we done this before?" Kara asked.
"Gang up on our children and beat them almost to the point of humiliation?" Alex asked.
"I meant Games night, but your description works too."
"I guess we have been too busy trying to be normal we actually weren't being normal." Alex said.
"That is very profound." Kara smiled looking over at her sister causing Alex to hit her with a cushion. At that moment all three teenagers came back into the lounge.
"Are you bullying aunt Kara again?" The teenage Kara asked.
"This is bringing back so many childhood memories of me being blamed for everything." The adult Alex complained.
"From what I heard it was justified." MJ said.
"And what exactly have you been saying?" Alex asked her namesake.
"Only what mom told me." The teenage Alex said trying to look innocent.
"Look at the time. We should go." The adult Kara said before Alex could ask her anything.
"You running away?" Alex asked.
"It's after ten and I have work tomorrow." Kara said. "Followed by an afternoon torture session with him. He gives cats a bad name." She said standing. Seeing how much her daughter was frowning she added. "Don't take that so literally."
"So you are exaggerating?" Her daughter asked.
"Not exactly." Kara commented as her sister said.
"Yes."