"You coming bowling with us?" MJ asked his cousin as class ended at the end of the day a few days later.
"No, I have chess club."
"Want us to wait and go later?"
"No it's fine. I have homework to do."
"So your entire afternoon and evening is going to be spent geeking it?" MJ asked.
"At least I won't be ground after next test, unlike you." The teenage Alex pointed out.
"That's low." MJ said. "Call if you change your mind." He added before hurrying after his friends.
As MJ left the school grounds surrounded by his group of friends the DEO escort thought they saw the teenage Alex in the group and signalled their partner. After that all four agents followed MJ's posse, oblivious to the fact that the teenage Alex was still at school.
When the teenage Alex left the school gates an hour later she started to walk home, while trying to figure out where her DEO guards were hiding. Just as she started to believe they were getting better at staying out of sight she started to feel very dizzy again. Stumbling she tried to shake it off but found the symptoms getting worse and lost all coordination before falling to the ground and passing out.
-00-
"What's going on?" Alex asked as Ruby entered the lounge, not sure why the DEO agent would be there.
"There's a problem." Ruby said. "The squad that were following the kids got confused and thought there were following Alex and MJ. Only it wasn't Alex at all. Now no one knows where she is. We found her phone a few feet from the school gate. Rose is trying to look at CCTV footage from near the school. But so far nothing."
"How long has she been missing?" Alex asked.
"We are still trying to figure out the timeline. But between thirty minutes and three hours." Ruby said as Kara walked into the house.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"It's Alex." Ruby said.
"Kara, I promise you that we will find her." Her sister said.
"What do you mean find? Where is she?" Kara asked feeling the panic rise.
"We don't know." Ruby said as her phone rang.
"What have you got?" She answered. "I'll be right back."
"Well?" Kara asked.
"They found the CCTV footage. Alex was definitely taken."
"By who?" Alex asked.
"Based on the video, a meta. I'm going to head back now-" Ruby started only to find herself being flown to the DEO by Supergirl.
-00-
The teenage Alex woke strapped to a table. Looking round she saw several people she didn't know, all wearing surgical gowns. Her movement drew the attention of one of the men who called across the room.
"Professor, she is awake."
Craning her head round further Alex saw a man approach holding a syringe.
"Welcome." He smiled.
"Let me go." She said wondering if she could escape. But knowing she was meant to keep her powers a secret she remained in place.
"Don't worry you won't remember anything. When I am done you won't be able to." He said just before he tried to drive a syringe into her arm. Only as it made contact it snapped. "You have powers." The man said before pausing and thinking. "Oh, I am going to have so much fun with you." He smiled. "Before I was just going to use you to encourage Supergirl to come, but now I can do that and play."
With the fact she had powers revealed, the teenager felt she had nothing to lose and started to do everything she could to escape. Ripping her arms free she jumped off the bed she was attached to and ran for the door only to suddenly feel dizzy and dropped to the floor.
"Very interesting." The scientist said as Alex found herself being roughly hauled back to the bed where she was once again strapped down. "Your teenage thug inspired me." He smiled looking over at a man who stood in the corner looking at Alex, although his eyes were void of all warmth. "Move again and your inner ear will be destroyed." He then glanced back at an assistant as Alex tried to focus on the spinning room. "Let's bring everything-" He then paused and looked at the teen. "I wonder." He said before looking again at his assistant. "Bring me Kryptonite."
"Which one?"
"The original one."
"Why?" Another assistant asked as the first disappeared.
"We've always wondered why Supergirl was so protective of Danvers. And now we find the niece has powers. One very similar to Supergirl. A niece who only moved to National City at the same time Supergirl reemerged after several years. Maybe Supergirl is Kara Danvers." He said, seeing the fear in Alex's eyes he added. "Don't worry, we will soon see if I am right and if I am I will-"
"Sir." The first assistant said carrying over a green lump of Kryptonite.
Taking the rock of his assistant the chief scientist placed it on Alex's chest and saw her veins start to glow green as the nausea she was feeling due to the meta suddenly grew.
Smiling more than he was before, the scientist looked at Alex and asked.
"Did your mother tell you what we did to her? How much pain we caused her? No? Not to worry you will find that out in no time." He then turned back to the assistant and said. "Bring all the Kryptonite."
"Yes Sir." He said leaving. As he did so Alex knew she had nothing to lose and tried to use her mental powers, only to find she couldn't focus.
"But Sir." The other assistant said. "If she is Kryptonian shouldn't we report it. We aren't allowed to touch Kryptonians without permission."
"They don't know she exists. She is fair game." He said before looking down at the teen.
"Assuming your mother didn't tell you, let me explain what will happen to you. We will inject a nice cocktail into you. It will make your bones ache and your blood feel like it is burning you. You will have never felt pain like this. But if you are as strong as your mother you should survive. Just. After that the real fun begins." He then looked at one of the assistants and said. "Make sure she doesn't move. I am going to fetch something very special from my office."
As he disappeared Alex felt the restraints on her arms and legs tighten, but with the Kryptonite so close she couldn't use any of her powers. Feeling scared and alone, she started to believe help wouldn't come when suddenly the door flew off its hinges temporarily filling Alex with hope and relief, but then she was the newcomer was not her mother or the DEO.
"Who-" One of the doctors in the room asked only to be shot in the head by a gun so powerful that his head disappeared.
"Don't mess with the main man." The newcomer said.
"Hit the alarm!" Another doctor yelled. But as one of the assistants went to the wall the newcomer grabbed him and threw him to the floor.
"How about I stomp your face in for ya?" Not giving the man a chance to answer he stamped down on the head crushing it.
Looking up he saw a guard approach aiming a gun at him. Unphased he said.
"You are about to be croaked, loser." With that he shot the guard before noticing the teenage Alex. He paused for a moment before smiling and approaching her.
"Admit I'm the coolest." He greeted. "No? Okay, well later we are going to have fun. Didn't think we'd meet. But now we have. So much to do. But I have other unspeakably hideous things to do to them first." He said before going back to attacking everyone at the lab.
-00-
"We'll find her." J'onn said as Supergirl paced the briefing room.
"How?" Kara asked. "I should be out there."
"If they want an exchange, that will only work if they don't have you already. If you go out there and they capture you it will be even harder to find Alex." J'onn argued calmly. "I know how you feel and I know you want to be out there, but you need to trust us to find her." J'onn added.
"I do trust you." Kara said. "But I keep thinking of everything that could be happening to her."
"Don't think worst case."
"Hard not to. I mean she never activated her necklace."
"All that means is they are blocking the signal." J'onn reminded her moments before her super hearing heard Harris exclaim from the control room.
"Ma'am, we have something." Harris called.
"What?" Vasquez asked as Supergirl zoomed into the control room.
"We have been scanning the list of sites that Lucy Lane sent us, the ones previously associated with Tycho and Stagg. Our overhead just picked up traces of Kryptonite."
"That place is full of Kryptonite, you need to hang back." Vasquez said to Supergirl. She then looked at Ruby and added. "So do you."
"Don't worry. I have this." J'onn said. "I'll let you know if I find anything." With that he flew off as Supergirl want back to pacing.
"You can't go in." Vasquez repeated. "This may have nothing to do with Alex and you do not want to risk getting hurt or worse and not being able to help Alex."
"I know." Supergirl said pacing. "And why would there be Kryptonite if Alex were there. Unless they plan on using it against me."
"Wait." Ruby said seeing a van on the video feed. "That van, it was the one that took Alex." She explained before zooming in further and saying. "That's definitely it."
Hearing enough Supergirl flew off, quickly followed by Ruby and a back up team heading for the helicopter.
"J'onn, it's Vasquez." The temporary DEO commander radioed. "We think Alex is in there."
"I hope that isn't true." J'on replied cryptically over the link.
As Supergirl landed outside the building she saw J'onn emerge empty handed and immediately asked.
"Alex?"
"I can't find her anywhere."
"Do you think she was there?" Supergirl asked.
"It's hard to tell."
"Can't you read their minds?" Supergirl asked.
"No. Everyone inside is dead. And were brutally killed." J'onn said.
"What do you mean?" Kara asked.
"I've never seen anything like it." J'onn said before activating his radio.
"Vasquez, I can't find Alex. And everyone inside is dead. I'm going to secure the Kryptonite."
"Delta team will be with you soon." Vasquez said.
He then turned back to Kara and said. "I don't know what happened in there, but Alex isn't there. Let me secure the Kryptonite then you can help search."
"Okay." She said watching J'onn disappear again.
As he disappeared Kara went over his words and muttered. "Brutally killed." Suddenly having an idea she radioed the DEO and said.
"I have to go." With that she flew off before Ruby or Vasquez could respond.
Confused and concerned Ruby dialled her boss.
"Have you got her?" The adult Alex asked as soon as she answered the phone.
"No. There was a lot of Kryptonite so we kept Supergirl back and J'onn went in. He didn't find Alex but everyone had been killed."
"How's Kara?"
"She muttered something then flew off."
"Muttered what?"
"She repeated J'onn's words about everyone being brutally killed."
"How brutally?"
"J'onn seemed a little shook up."