A/N: Thanks for the comments.
Chloe- To be honest, I still don't now how much of an active role the Lanterns will play. Personally I like the fact that Alex doesn't have powers so I am not sure if she'll get a ring.
"How is the processing of the prisoners going?" Alex asked when she entered the DEO the next morning.
"It's interesting. A quarter of the foot soldiers are refusing to speak, some of that could be down to a language barrier, a third are begging for asylum, the rest claim to be willing to give us all the intel they have, if we can send them home." Vasquez said. "I have down-selected a list for you to talk to."
"Thanks."
"Don't thank me yet, it will probably take all day and then some." Vasquez warned.
"Just make sure the coffee keeps flowing."
"I will. The strange thing is some have requested Supergirl's presence, some have requested she isn't involved. I have starred the prisoners who I think it is worth meeting the demands of, at least in the short term."
"Why wouldn't they want Supergirl involved? I mean I thought none of them trusted us, but they trusted Supergirl." Alex said confused.
"I don't know. They wouldn't say." Vasquez said.
"I'll add that to the questions to ask." Alex said before noticing how tired Vasquez was looking and asking. "Have you been home yet?"
"No, the processing took all night."
"Then go home. We have this." Alex said.
-00-
"You are Rill?" Alex asked entering a room where a prisoner was waiting.
"I am."
"I am Director Danvers." Alex explained as she sat down.
"You are in charge?"
"I am." Alex confirmed. "And I have been told you seek asylum."
"I do."
"Why?
"I served because I had no choice. Now I may. If I have a choice it is not to be a slave."
"Okay, but why do you want to stay here? Don't you have family to get back to?"
"My world was attacked when I was ten. My family was killed, but I was saved as I had potential. I have nothing to go back for. This world may be backward in terms of technology, but it is more peaceful than most planets I have seen."
"That may be, but there is still a lot of hatred, especially towards aliens." Alex said.
"I am used to hatred." He said before pausing. "People acknowledging it and admitting it I am not used to."
"Even if I believed you. Ultimately you attacked Earth and its civilians."
"I am not expecting an easy life. I will pay off my debt. I am used to hard labour."
"We'll need something from you." Alex said.
"I am prepared to tell you everything I know."
"Such as?" Alex asked.
"Each ship in the fleet had weaknesses. I can tell you those."
"The fleet is gone." Alex pointed out. "And if they came back I am sure they will have addressed those weaknesses." Alex argued before suddenly changing the line of questioning and asking. "Why didn't you want Supergirl here?"
"She is not one of you. She does not speak for you. If she offered help it would mean nothing. I do not want false hope."
"Start thinking about what you can give us." Alex said standing. "Brewster over there," she added nodding at one of the Agents in the room, "will listen to anything you have to say. I'll be back later."
-00-
"Anything?" Supergirl asked as she met up with Alex.
"No. So far they have all claimed to want to be free, but they aren't giving us anything. I don't know if that is because they don't know anything or are playing us. Maybe," she then paused as she read a name, "maybe Dra will give us something. He's one of the one's who wants you in the room."
"Am I going in?"
"If you want to." Alex said.
"Beats sitting out here doing nothing." Supergirl replied.
"Okay then, let's go."
-00-
"Dra." Alex greeted. "I'm Director Danvers. You have requested that we send you home."
"I imagine you want us here as little as we want to be here." The alien said. "Sending us home would solve your problems."
"It may not be that easy. We don't have fleet we can use to transport everyone."
"But you could send us through the portal." The alien said.
"Let me guess, you know where it is?" Alex asked wearily.
"Yes."
"How do you know where it is when Mongul's trusted Lieutenant's don't?" Alex asked.
"My sister is also a slave. She was in Mongul's direct service. She had access to certain information that she shouldn't have. After drinking too much Mongul let his guard down and sometimes left data crystals out. She reviewed the contents."
"If you know where it is why haven't you escaped already?"
"It is heavily guarded and not all of my team, regardless of what they say, wanted to break ties with Mongul."
"Say you are telling the truth, when you go through wouldn't you be killed by Mongul's son?"
"The portal does not go to the main planet."
"Even so, the planet it is on will be guarded. You could be killed the second you walk through." Alex said.
"I would be interrogated first." The alien said.
"It doesn't sound particularly good for you." Supergirl said.
"All I need to do is tell the truth. I pleaded with the humans for my return. There were too many of us to hold and the humans were too naive to see the danger in releasing me. The more of us who return the easier it will be to believe." He argued.
"And what is stopping you rejoining the fight against us?" Alex asked.
"Nothing."
"You are not exactly selling your case here." Supergirl said.
"Even if I am lying and I rejoined the fight after I went through, you would deactivate or destroy the portal. I would not be able to come back."
"Apart from by ship or another portal."
"Mongul has no other portals on Earth. If he did it would be an admission that he could lose. One could be explained by gaining intel, taking slaves. Two would point to Mongul being a coward." He argued. "And the ships, well you won once."
"You seem to get a lot more out of this than we do." Supergirl said.
"How many humans have been taken?" The alien asked. "My sister will know. So let me suggest a trade. I will tell you where the portal is and you send me through. In return I will find as many of the captured humans as possible and send them back by ship. After that you can chose to return more of the prisoners you have captured or not." He said. "But if you are going to release us it is in your benefit to talk to as few of us as possible."
"Why?"
"Mongul is a telepath, rumours are at least one of his children inherited that power. A few of us are naturally immune from Mongul's powers, most aren't. If they discover this plan we will all die. If it makes you feel better Mongul's telepathy is very weak and out of the races he can't use it on, humans are one of them."
"That's not what we heard." Supergirl said. "We heard he can use his powers to make people do things."
"He can, but that has nothing to do with telepathy. He plays on fears and desires. He manipulates people." The alien said. "Can I see a map?"
After a moment Alex stood and said. "I'll get one."
As she put the map down on the table the alien looked at it for a while before pointing. "This is where you fought Mongul?"
"Yes." Supergirl confirmed.
"And this is where you found us?" He said pointing to a different location.
"Yes."
"The portal is here." He said pointing somewhere else."
-00-
"What do you think?" Supergirl asked.
"That felt too easy. And I don't trust him." Alex said approaching Rose. "It had trap written all over it." She then looked at Rose and asked. "Any news from the aliens Supergirl tried to contact?"
"Not yet."
"In that case I am going to do more interviews. See if you can get some remote eyes on this location." Alex said pointing to the map.
"Okay." Rose said looking at the map.
"Do you have photos of all the prisoners?" Supergirl asked.
"Yes, why?"
"What gets me is all the aliens who are offering up information aren't the ones who turned on the Lieutenants."
"They aren't?" Alex asked.
"Technically they did, just not at the start and kind of half heartedly when they did."
"Might be because they were still choosing sides."
"That's what I was thinking. So I am hoping to talk to one of the aliens who led the revolt. … Like this guy." She said pointing to the screen.
"He is at the Delta base." Alex said pulling up the details. "But doesn't speak English. And wouldn't give us any hints of what languages they did speak."
"This one?" Kara asked.
"The same."
"This guy." Kara said pointing to another. "I know he speaks English."
"Um." Alex started pulling up a record. "He was compliant but asked for nothing and only gave the minimum amount of intel."
"Let's try him next." Supergirl said.
-00-
"Do you remember me?" Supergirl asked as she and Alex entered the room.
"Of course. You saved Jens. You are weak, like Mongul said."
"Yet Mongul and Jens are our prisoners. As are you." Alex pointed out.
"They should both be dead." The alien said. "But being a prisoner doesn't scare me. I have always been a prisoner. But here I am not expected to die for Mongul., that gives me more freedom than I am used to."
"Is that why you didn't use the portal?" Supergirl asked. "Because you didn't want to return to slavery?"
"Slavery?" He asked. "If we had gone through we would be labelled traitors and cowards. We would be tortured and killed, unless we paid a high enough price."
"And what would be that price?" Alex asked.
"Supergirl. If we brought Supergirl back with us we would be heroes. After Mongul's defeat we thought it would be easy. Supergirl seemed will to fly into areas without gathering intel first. We assumed it would be easy to lay a trap. We tested various ways to signal Supergirl including sending signals associated with the gems. Each time Supergirl came, but not alone. Your soldiers followed to quickly behind. So we waited and watched and then saw the truth."
"What truth?"
"We were overthinking it. Sending signals got your attention as well. So we needed to get Supergirl's attention without getting yours. The easiest way to lure Supergirl alone was to use a child."
"Yet you didn't do that." Alex pointed out as Supergirl fumed in the corner.
"No. Even Supergirl would be cautious of a child needing help in a cave. And if we used a child in a more believable location we would need to transport Supergirl."
"So what's the new plan?" Alex pressed. When the alien stayed silent Alex said. "Would you like to share a cell with Jens? He sure wants to see you again."
"No."
"Then what is the new plan?"
"Get Supergirl to go to the portal." The alien said.
"What about the DEO?" Alex asked feeling like they were going in circles.
"The portal is being upgraded." The alien said.
"What do you mean?" Alex asked.
"It is being enhanced so as soon as Supergirl is near it activates. Everyone in its proximity would be sent to the moon of Mongul's empire. Supergirl would be enslaved. The DEO agents killed. And we would be heroes."
"What about freeing Mongul?"
"That is not in our interests."
"The others who served him? Shouldn't you all have been round the portal so you could all get home and share in the reward?"
"We knew if Supergirl was taken you would not deactivate the portal. Your hero is too important. You would keep the portal open so you could attempt rescue. Many believed that Mongul's son would exploit that to come through rescue those loyal to Mongul."
"But you don't believe that?"
"Of course not. By now Mongul's son will be enjoying his new found power, he wouldn't want to risk losing it."
"So what is it you want?" Alex asked.
"Jens to die."
"What else?" Alex asked.
"A life free from Mongul."
-00-
"Can portals do that?" Alex asked as she and her sister walked towards the control room.
"No idea, but we do know a portal expert." Kara pointed out. "We should talk to Lena."
"Good plan." Alex said
"Don't take this the wrong way, but I think you need to go home. You don't look so good." Kara said noticing Alex was looking pale.
"I'm okay."
"Let me rephrase, you look terrible. I'm going to take you home." Supergirl said before grabbing hold of Alex and flying her out of the DEO.
"I wish you would stop doing that." Alex said as Kara unceremoniously deposited her on the couch a few seconds later.
"Would you prefer me to take you upstairs?" Kara asked.
"I'm fine here." Alex said.
"Good. Well I am going back to the DEO."
"Kara, do not go anywhere near that portal." Alex warned.
"Don't worry, I won't. But in return you stay here and rest."
"She's not going anywhere." Eliza assured her as she entered the room.
"What happened?" Eliza asked when Kara had gone.
"I got so caught up in interviews I forgot to take the pain meds." Alex said.
"At least that forced you to slow down." Eliza said disappearing into the kitchen before returning with some pills and water, but by the time she reached the couch Alex was already asleep.