A/N: Thanks for the reviews.
Baratta jennifer - Thanks!
"I bring food." Steve said walking into Kara's apartment carrying bags of food.
"You're a life saver. I'm starving." Kara said taking the bags off him and leading him to the kitchen.
"I thought your sister was here, or was that a ploy to bring you more food?" Steve asked looking round the empty apartment.
"She is here, well was here. She'll be back. We ran out of dog food." Kara explained.
"Is Chewie loosing his crown?" Steve asked.
"Crown?"
"As most pampered pooch in the city."
"Of course not." Kara said lifting Chewie up. "I just forgot to buy food." She confessed as Steve started to take the food out of the bags.
"Everything okay? It's not like you to forget Chewie or food related things."
"Yeah, Alex finally opened up a bit and made me realise how much I had missed. I'm a really bad sister."
"No you're not. You have plenty going on right now and you need to focus on you." Steve said before adding. "Whereas I am bad person, I forgot to check in. Give me a second."
"Check in with Martin?" Kara asked as Steve took out his phone.
"No, on the 'Where's Kara' app."
"The what?" Kara asked.
"Oh, you don't know." Steve said wondering what he had stepped into.
"Know what?" Kara asked looking over his shoulder.
"One of, or all of the kids, not entirely sure which, set it up. It's to help work out when you are missing."
"Okay, this not healthy." Kara said. "Plus I don't need to be tracked."
"You were just kidnapped and taken to another planet." Steve reminded her as Alex walked back into the apartment.
"Did you know about this?" Kara asked her sister.
"What?" Alex asked confused as she walked to the kitchen and put the cans of dog food on the side.
"The app."
"The 'Where's Kara' app? Yeah, it's a good idea." Her sister said.
"No it's not."
"If you want I can put a tracker in you." Her sister offered.
"Who else is stalking me?"
"No one is stalking you." Alex assured her. "We are just looking out for you and making sure Alex is relaxed. And if Alex is relaxed you are relaxed so you can start healing."
"Were you behind it?"
"No, I would have gone for a tracker." Alex pointed out.
"You get kidnapped way more than me." Kara grumbled. "Why isn't there an app for you?"
"Firstly, I have a tracker and secondly, and more importantly, I do not get kidnapped more than you."
"Yes you do." Kara argued before looking at Steve and asking. "Doesn't she?"
"You know, I think I forgot to bring the ice cream. I'll go buy some." Steve said not wanting to get caught in the middle.
"You are such a coward." Alex said. "Just speak the truth and agree with me."
"He can't do both." Kara said. "One is truth and one is lie." She then turned to Steve and said. "And shouldn't you be siding with me?"
"Yes." Steve said feeling he was going to regret the conversation. He was saved from any further side taking by the apartment door opening and the teenage Alex entering.
"Hi Alex." He greeted trying not to sound too relieved.
"Hi. Everything okay?" She asked.
"No, were you behind the app?" Her mother asked.
"You told her?" The teen asked Steve.
"Wow, I am on a roll today upsetting everyone." Steve commented before offering. "Should I go?"
"What? No. Why would you ask that?" Kara asked.
"It's more fun to target you if you are here." The older Alex said.
"As long as I have a purpose." Steve shrugged.
"You in for dinner?" Kara asked her daughter.
"No, we're going to catch a movie. I just came back to grab my jacket." The teen said before asking. "Do you want me to stay over with Martin?"
"Of course not." Kara said.
"Okay, well I'll see you later then." Alex said picking up her jacket and heading back to the door.
"Wait a minute, shouldn't we be tracking you?" Kara asked.
"Why?" The teen asked confused.
"You're tracking me."
"You keep going missing." The teen said.
"Told you." Her aunt said to Kara as Steve prayed he wasn't going to get drawn in again.
00
"Where are the potstickers?" The older Alex asked looking in an empty box ten minutes later.
"What potstickers?" Kara asked, her cheeks bulging.
"Seriously, not even one?" Alex asked.
"You told me to keep my strength up." Kara reminded her just as several sirens sounded from the street. Seeing her hesitation Steve said.
"Go."
"You sure?" Kara asked.
"Yes."
"But check in with the DEO." Alex warned.
"Back soon." Kara said flying off.
"Is she okay?" Steve asked Alex once Kara had flown off.
"You think she isn't?"
"She forgot to buy food for Chewie." Steve reminded her. "Which I know is only a really small thing, but it is also not like her. Plus she's been through a lot. And that whole baby experiment is weighing on her." Steve said. "Not to mention her concerns about Alex and you."
"Kara has a habit of taking on too much responsibility."
"I think that is a Danvers thing." Steve said. "So are you okay?"
"As okay as everyone else." Alex shrugged, but her tone letting Steve know that part of the conversation was over. So instead he fell silent. "But you are right, she isn't okay and I'm not sure she realises that yet."
"Are they still in danger?" Steve asked.
"There is no reason to believe Indomitable is still alive." Alex said.
"But was he the brains of the outfit?" Steve asked.
"Honestly, I don't know. The more we uncover, the less likely it seems that he was working alone. And if there was someone behind him, they are still out there and yes, Kara and Alex are both in danger. And then there is her recent kidnapping, and the possibility Lobo is playing up." Alex listed. "But we are doing all we can."
"Anything I can do?" Steve asked.
"Just look after her." Alex said. "Like you noticed, she isn't okay."
"And Alex? Me being here so much isn't making things worse is it?"
"No. And if you stopped seeing Kara, Alex would blame herself." The older Alex said. "Kara being happy will make Alex happy."
"Okay." Steve said as Kara flew through the window.
"I have ice cream." She said appearing in front of them.
"I thought you were helping with an emergency?" Steve asked.
"It was a prank call. So I got ice cream." Kara said, putting it on the table before sitting next to Steve. "What did I miss?"
"Obviously not the potstickers, as you had already finished them." Alex replied.
"Are you going to complain about that all night?" Kara questioned.
"Unless you replaced them."
"Steve isn't complaining." Kara pointed out. Sensing he was about to be drawn into another debate Steve stood and said.
"I'm going to walk Chewie."
"What about the ice cream?" Kara asked.
"I'll get more." He said before leaving the apartment.
"Did you scare him off?" Kara asked her sister.
"No, he is just being a whimp." Alex said taking a tub of ice cream from her sister. As she took the lid off she added. "He's worried about you, so am I."
"Why?"
"Seriously?" Her sister asked.
"What?"
"What you have been through in the last couple of weeks alone is enough to put people over the edge. On top of every thing else that has happened to you over the last few months, even you have limits."
"I know."
"Do you?"
"Yes. And I am okay. I mean I will be. It is not like everything is closing in on me. I can see a way through."
"You can?"
"Yes." Kara said. "When I can't I will tell you. But I promise you right now I am okay."
"Okay, but if you don't, training is going to get so much harder for you."
00
"Alex? Why aren't you asleep?" Kara asked approaching her daughter who was sat on the couch with Chewie in the early hours the next day.
"I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologising?" Kara asked sitting next to her.
"Waking you."
"You didn't." Kara said wrapping an arm round her. "Nightmare?"
"Yeah." Alex said leaning against her mother. After a moment she said. "I'm sorry for not being who you wanted."
"What are you talking about?" Kara asked lost.
"I could have killed you."
"What?"
"When Worldkiller-1 was in you, I tried killing you. I could have killed you. In my nightmares I do kill you."
"Alex, I was the one strangling you. You saved both of us. And I am proud of you, I am just sorry that you had to pay such a steep price." Kara said. "But the most important thing I need you to know is how proud I am of you." Not believing her words were having much effect Kara asked. "Want to go train?"
"Won't that make Alex mad?"
"That's half the fun." Kara smiled.
"Can we stay here instead? I just want a hug."
"Of course." Kara said squeezing her tightly.
00
As the older Alex ran through the city her phone started to buzz. Looking at the message she wasn't sure if she felt relief or dread when she got a message from Vasquez asking her to check in. Deciding not to think about it she took the next left and ran the five blocks to the DEO building only to realise she didn't have her ID. Sighing she opened the door and walked in being greeted with a,
"Ma'am."
"Connor." Alex said. "I got called in and don't have my ID."
"Oh." Connor said feeling they were in a no win situation.
"Run the tests to confirm it is me." Alex ordered.
"Yes ma'am." Connor said looking relieved.
"But get Vasquez down here." Alex went on.
"Already here." Vasquez said coming down the steps. "Sorry for calling you in, but I thought you'd want the news." She explained as Connor started to run scans on Alex.
"What news?" Alex asked wincing as Connor pricked her finger before testing the blood.
"We have cracked the encryption, at least on some of the files."
"And?" Alex asked as a computer bleeped to one side.
"We've confirmed it is the Director." Connor said before passing Alex a temporary access card. Taking it she followed Vasquez back up the stairs.
"From what we have found so far, it looks like Mel's father was as paranoid as every other millionaire sociopath we have come across and was collecting information to black mail others. It doesn't tell us everything, at least not yet anyway, but we can start to fill in some gaps." Vasquez said as the pair walked into her office before Vasquez passed her a water bottle.
"Thanks. Any sign Kara's recent kidnapping was related to this crowd?"
"No. And our prisoners still haven't said anything." The prisoners we freed are talking, but they don't know anything. So far we can't see a connection." Vasquez said. "But we are starting to piece together the labs. We still don't have all the information, but we think we know which files we need to decrypt next. Everything that we have already decrypted is on your computer."
"Thanks." Alex said.
"You think there are more disks?" Vasquez asked.
"Maybe. Mel may know." Alex said as one of the DEO doctors approached her.
"Director." He greeted. "You're back."
"Yes. You okay?" Alex asked.
"Um, no. Four of the babies have just died."
"What? How?" Alex asked.
"We don't know. They all suffered from organ failure. The autopsies may tell us more."
"The others?"
"Stable for now. But there is a risk whatever killed the others will kill them."
"Let me know as soon as the autopsies are done." Alex said.
"Yes Ma'am." He said leaving.
"Can you keep working on the files?" Alex asked Vasquez.
"Sure."
"Thanks, I need to talk to Kara."
-00-
"Hey." Kara called when Alex entered her apartment.
"Hi."
"You know jogging doesn't bring me much benefit."
"What?" Alex asked confused.
"You look like you are going jogging." Kara said pointing to her sister.
"Oh, I came from the DEO."
"Why? You are off work. Plus why would you jog at the DEO?"
"I was jogging, then got called into the DEO." Alex explained trying to get the conversation on track. "We need to talk."
"What's wrong?" Kara asked.
"They started to break the encryption on the files Mel found."
"That's good." Kara said before seeing her sister's expression. "Isn't it?"
"That is good. But when I was at the DEO something else happened. You need to not take responsibility for this."
"What is it?"
"Kara, four of the babies died."
"What? How?"
"We don't know." Alex said.
"The others?"
"Okay for now." Alex said before asking. "You okay?"
"Yeah." Kara said sounding distant. "Actually I think I'm going to take a clear the air flight."