Chapter 37Notes:Sup! Early chapter since the Archive is going to be down for a few hours later on.
Chapter TextM'gann was wiping down the bar, and preparing for opening in another hour when the door opened. She groaned internally. "We're not open till eleven."
"Oh, um… it's still ok if I came for something else, right?" A slightly confused-sounding Supergirl in her civilian clothing asked.
M'gann looked up from her work, wonderful. "What is it?"
"We got info on the kids' families. Or well, from three of them." Supergirl brandished a sheet of paper with notes written across it.
The relief was sharp. The alien community wasn't inter-connected enough for it to be easy to hunt down who'd had their children stolen from them. Just the bar was a risk, and it was the only openly alien establishment in the city. And it was hardly as if they had fliers or posters. It was word of mouth. "Which ones?"
"Dem-Van is from Metropolis and knows his parents' phone numbers. Wally's from Central City and described his house. It's near a park by the river. And Fred is from Central City as well and knows some phone numbers." Supergirl excitedly passed over the list of notes.
M'gann accepted it and quickly skimmed it, she could find and contact the parents with this by the end of the day at the longest. "Have you called any of their parents yet?"
"No, they didn't want to, but Daisy thinks they're scared their families won't be there. If you could make sure their families are alive, that would be…really helpful." Supergirl's shoulders slumped, "I don't know how Daisy's managing it. They're so scared."
She didn't need to point out they had good reason to be scared, Supergirl clearly knew that. "I'll see what I can do, are you distracting them?"
"Zoo day," Supergirl smiled, a feeling like warm bubbling affection radiating from her.
M'gann was too old for that mess. "Is that safe?"
"Daisy says it is, and if it's not, well, both of us will be there." Supergirl shrugged with absolute trust in her mate.
Which to be fair, probably was very deserved in this case. "Xal and Sarah didn't share information on their families?"
"No, Sarah was unhappy any of them would say anything, and Xal just was…quiet. Daisy thinks since they're the oldest they're waiting to make sure the younger kids are taken care of before they let us help them." Supergirl pulled her glasses off and rubbed at her eyes. "I wish it was as easy as just telling them they were safe."
M'gann set her rag down. "They're not safe, nowhere is, they've just learned that too soon and too sharply." She met the blue eyes of the superhero, "Are you even completely safe?"
"No, I guess I'm not." Supergirl shook her head, "When you talk to the parents, I can fly the kids wherever their homes are tonight."
Well, that would solve the cost of transport. "Will they accept that? You taking them somewhere instead of Quake?"
"If I have to fly a kid and Quake to a location, I can fly Quake and a kid," Supergirl replied easily, and fair. It wouldn't be a challenge for a Kryptonian.
"I'll message Quake when I have answers." M'gann hoped it would be good news.
M'gann stared at the phone in her hands, the number of what was hopefully Dem-Van's clan. She dialed.
////
Daisy looked over the kids. They were all dressed, Fred had her crutches, and they were all paired up. Which, assigning pairs had been fairly easy. Sarah as the oldest with Wally the youngest, Xal with Fred as the second oldest with the second youngest, and that left Dem-Van with her. She was guessing Dem-Van was going to have to ride piggyback for about half of the day, and it was easier to just pair him with her from the get-go. Kara could swoop in if Fred started to flag. Daisy's hands rested on her hips, "What are we?"
"A homeschool field trip group," The kids replied, with some rolled eyes at having to go over their cover story for the third time. Xal scratched at the corner of their face where the face veil ended, ladies neck scarf around their neck. It wasn't the best, but as long as nobody paid too much attention to their hands they'd pass as human.
She ignored their exasperation at safety procedures. So paranoid about being on their own, adorably trusting when together. "And who am I?"
"Math teacher," They replied.
Wally at least was enthusiastic and answered the next bit without prompting, the image inducer not flickering with the movement. "And Ms. Kara is our science teacher!"
"Good, and remember, no Quake or Supergirl when talking to us, ok? I'm Daisy or Ms. Johnson, Kara is Kara or Ms. Danvers. Can you guys remember that?" Daisy wasn't too worried about them forgetting, but they were kids even if they were all paranoid and already using names instead of titles for her and Kara most of the time anyway.
They nodded or gave various sounds of agreement. Only two eye rolls over the question, but Xal's image inducer was showing no signs of not working either, so they were hopefully good.
"Ok, stick with your partner, and the car ride is only going to be ten minutes, even if it's going to be really squished." Daisy opened up the apartment door and waved them all out.
Sarah grumbled while taking Wally's paw. "Don't crash the car."
"Ha, ha." Daisy replied while shutting the door behind them and led them down to the car. Kara would be meeting them there, mostly so there'd be more room in the car.
Daisy waved at Kara while ignoring the pale kids, piling out of the car as quickly as possible. "Hope you weren't waiting long?"
"Just got here," Kara bounced slightly as she trotted for them.
It cut how much it mattered to see Kara's face brighten at the sight of her. Daisy smiled while rubbing Dem-Van's back. Kid was being very dramatic about the drive over. They didn't even hit anything. "Great, can you watch the kids while I go get tickets?"
"Are you sure?" The question about cost was clear on Kara's face.
Daisy grinned, "School trip, tickets are significantly cheaper." She was also pretending not to be double-checking the combination of two image inducers held together with literal duct-tape, face veil, and make-up was all in order. Daisy looked down at Dem-Van, "Want to come with, or stick with Ms. Kara?"
"Stick with you," He took her hand, shooting a smug look at the other kids.
She bit her tongue to keep from laughing, which kids had teacher pet vibes were becoming really clear. "Let's see if we get nametag stickers since we're a school group."
"Do you think they have bears?" He asked excitedly, looking around at the people on the street curiously, but shying up against her as he did so.
Daisy squeezed his hand, considering he was blue, she was pretty sure his family wouldn't have let him out much on Earth. "I'm sure they have bears, and if you need to get out of the crowds you can just let me know, ok?"
"I'm not scared!" He tipped his chin up.
She smiled as she pulled him into line, "It wouldn't be a bad thing if you were."
"But I'm not," His eyes darted to the side.
Daisy didn't contradict him, sometimes believing you weren't scared was how to get through things that were alarming. "So, what kind of bear is your favorite?"
His face lit up, "Polar bears! Did you know their fur isn't actually white? It's clear!"
"Didn't know that… really?" Daisy asked, looking down at him. "How does that even work?"
Dem-Van vibrated with excitement, "It reflects light! Their skin is actually black! It's just so thick we can't see it."
"Huh, guessing they're your favorite animal?" Daisy asked, settling in for the wait to get to the ticket counter, and what was apparently going to be a deluge of polar bear facts.
The kid did not disappoint, "They're the largest land carnivore! Even though they're mostly born on land, they spend almost their whole lives on the ice sheets! They-"
She let his excited chatter wash over her, humming at the right points. Overall, Daisy was pretty pleased with how the hairspray was keeping the foundation on his hands. By the end of the day, they def were going to be looking a bit blue. But people cared more about faces than hands. And honestly, she trusted the face veil and neck scarf with some make-up more than she did the image inducers Xal and Wally had. Those things were well-used and barely not falling apart. But only one face veil and the veil wouldn't have helped Wally.
Daisy brought them up to the counter, "So, about those student rates, do they apply to homeschool groups?"
////
Kara had pictured this as more romantic comedy vibes, and less hypervigilance to keep an eye on a small herd of children. But it was kind of perfect. She leaned against Daisy, nudging her slightly, as they watched the kids excitedly darting about in the petting zoo area. "So, giant bunnies and goats rank higher than tigers."
"The tigers were sleeping, the goat is trying to blackmail them for food." Daisy just looked content.
She smiled, "I think the rabbit's approach is working better."
Daisy's eyes flicked to where Fred was half buried under the rabbit, happily melting into the child, and enjoying the soft petting. "That is not a rabbit, it's the size of a corgi."
"French Lop," Kara replied with a soft laugh.
"I don't know, are we sure they didn't glue a cotton ball to its butt and socks to its ears and use a dog? Rabbits are supposed to be small, and bouncy." Daisy's voice was playful, laughter in her eyes.
Kara probably shouldn't be staring at her girlfriend's eyes, but she really couldn't help it. "I think Fred would have figured it out by now, she's petting the ears."
"True, weird alien animal pretending to be a rabbit?" Daisy nudged her back.
She pushed her glasses up her nose, "Step one on the way to world domination plan?"
"Undoubtedly, soon the streets will be being run by alien rabbits," Daisy laughed before looking at the map. "So, we're totally not making the rest of the zoo before dinner. Which parts do you want to hit before we herd the little monsters to the car?"
Kara turned so she was half facing Daisy. "We put the zoo on the list because you haven't been to one before. So what area do you want to head towards?"
"Um…" Daisy blinked, head tilting to one side, blatantly unsure of what to do at being asked what she wanted to do. "Elephants are kinda awesome?"
Kara pulled out the map, "That's by the monkeys, and then we can loop by the reptiles on our way out? What do you think?"
"I think you're being optimistic about how much time the kids are going to spend with the monkeys," But Daisy was smiling that smile that made Kara's stomach do swoops cause she knew she'd done something right.
Kara looped her arm through Daisy's, settling next to her again, and double-checking all the kids were where they were supposed to be. "Maybe, but Xal will be heartbroken if we miss the lizards."
"Is it bad I'm relieved Wally doesn't seem intent on seeing the wolves and stuff? I'm like half convinced he'd bark at them." Daisy's voice was softer under the humor than it'd been before.
She made a breathy laughing noise that she tried to bite back. "I think you're right."
"Good to know," Daisy's eyes flicked to her, "You know you didn't have to help with them, you could have just, not risked all of this?"
Kara shook her head, "No, I did. It was the right thing to do." Her voice was strong, the certainty down to her bones that this was what she should be doing. "Really, everything in my life I barely am sure I'm doing the right thing half the time, if that. But as Supergirl? It makes sense. I can make a difference, and I just…"
"It's cleaner." Daisy finished for her. "Being a symbol cuts out the noise, it's a mission."
She sighed in relief that Daisy just understood. "Exactly, and it doesn't matter if it makes things complicated, and that I hate lying to my sister. You needed my help, they needed my help. And that's more important."
"Yeah, yeah I get that." Daisy blew out a long breath. "Don't forget you're a person too. This job…it'll chew you up and spit you out if you let it. It never stops, you're never done, you never get a break, it's like…a treadmill without a stop button."
Kara snorted, "I think that goes for you too."
"Hey, this is me trying, very unsuccessfully, to get off the treadmill." Daisy elbowed her lightly, a buzz of vibrations passing through her, but a laugh in her voice. "You're supposed to listen to my wisdom and not mention the hypocrisy."
Kara couldn't help laughing properly then, her eyes tearing up from just, everything about that statement.
////
Daisy walked over to where the kids were all piled on the couch, several well on their way to napping from their day at the zoo. She sat down on the table in front of them. The understanding in some of their faces, without her saying a word was sad in its own way. But then kids were always smarter than adults gave them credit for. "M'gann managed to contact Dem-Van and Fred's families. They're both alive."
Xal had curled further around Fred, hands curling around each other. "Wally?"
"While I'm in Central City I'll find his family after I return Fred to her family." Daisy kept her tone even and calm. "But first, we were going to bring Dem-Van home, your clan is very excited to see you." She carefully repeated the phrase M'gann had given her to say. It wasn't any earth language, and it wasn't a long phrase. But she didn't need to.
Dem-Van's eyes widened, tears filling his dark eyes. "Oh. They're…they're really alive."
"They are, and have missed you as much as you've missed them." Daisy wasn't used to this kind of happy ending. She didn't need to mention what M'gann had told her. About scars and injuries from his clan trying to defend themselves and find him. "They tried to find you, but you were here, on the opposite side of the country and they couldn't." Because that was the important part for him to know.
"When?" Dem-Van's voice was a wet croak.
She smiled gently, laying her hand on his knee. "You have everyone's phone numbers and your watch. I think that means it's how long is it going to take to hug everyone?" Daisy squeezed his knee before getting up, the kids deserved privacy to say goodbye in. Even if it was mostly temporary.
Daisy's hand came to rest on Dem-Van's shoulder as he leaned into her. She looked down at him, "Ready?"
He just nodded, pressing tighter against her.
She looked up at the kids, "Kara's going to keep an eye on you. I'll make sure to call you so you know once we have Dem-Van back with his clan."
Daisy glanced at Clark in his full Superman regalia as they reached the roof of the apartment building. "So, how're we doing this logistically?"
"This would be easier if it was just him," Clark didn't bring up the argument about who should handle what transport. "If you can hang onto the boy, I'll take care of the rest."
Daisy scooped up Dem-Van into her arms. "Just think, you can tell everyone Superman himself flew you home." She looked up at Clark taking his cape off. "Do I want to know why you're de-caping?"
"It'll protect you both from the wind." Clark had a stupidly charming grin on his face as he dropped the cape over her head.
She huffed, "Hear that kid, we're going to be going Super fast." She took the slight chuckle against her as a win. Daisy raised her voice, "Alright Superman, let's go check out your city."
"I've got you both," He replied. And then he caught her and off they went. And she didn't need her eyes to know it was fast.
Daisy didn't need to ask to understand they were in the right place when they landed in a warehouse in what had to be the edges of the city. The small cluster of blue-skinned, with small horns, white-haired beings were more than enough to identify they were exactly in the right place. The small catch in the back of Dem-Van's throat would have been enough. She set him down onto his feet, and gently laid her hand against his back. "Go on."
Dem-Van took off at a stumbling sprint. But the stumbling didn't matter because three of the adults got to him before he could face plant on the cement.
She turned to Clark, giving the family the illusion of privacy. "Thank you, for flying us."
"Any time." He looked at her, "Not wearing your mask?"
Daisy raised a brow, "The stakes of my identity are the apartment and my ex's car. And I don't think they're going to be running to a sketch artist for the five o'clock news."
"Fair enough," He stayed angled toward her. Both of them allowing the family to reunite.
Daisy looked up as an Arane approached them. This one appeared male, his hair short around his ears, probably had cut it himself. "Hey?"
"Thank you," The man dipped his head. "Our clan is in your debt."
She could guess the three speaking in lyrical tones with Dem-Van in hushed voices while fussing over him, were the Aranenian equiviliant of parents. Which made this guy an uncle or something? "I just did my part." She tipped her head toward Dem-Van, "He's got my number. If any of you need anything, call me. Or text. If it's not an emergency texting might be better."
The Arane shook his head, "We could not afford your services."
"Then it's a good thing I'm robbing Cadmus blind to pay myself." Daisy grinned as she ignored the suddenly slightly judgemental look from Clark. He could eat it, it wasn't like she was spending it on herself.
The Arane laughed, it was startled and not particularly loud, but it was pleased. He smiled, "Then we may enquire into your kindness, Quake."
"Daisy, I think your kid sleeping on my couch makes us friends." She held out her hand and the sensation of rightness was startling. This is what she was supposed to do. Help people. When was the last time she'd helped people just because it was the right thing to do? Not the end of the world, not politics, just fucking helped people? And that mattered so much more than whatever personal nonsense was going on. She wasn't leaving National City.
He reached out, clasping her hand. "You are always welcome in our home, no matter where or when you ask for it."
She squeezed his hand gently, "I appreciate it." As her hand dropped back to her side she fell slightly more serious. "Here, I wrote down the doctor's notes on Dem-Van, and the security system for him. You don't want to know the details about the people who took him." She pulled out the neatly folded pieces of paper from her pocket and passed it over. "If you do have questions, Dem-Van's got my number and the doctor's." No, she wasn't leaving National City. It was where she needed to be. This was what she needed to be doing.
Chapter 38Notes:Sup! Pumpkin Spice is back! I have a problem.
Chapter TextMaggie knocked on the apartment door. The paint was peeling slightly. It was just one of dozens of low-end apartment complexes in the city. Hardly the worst, for an alien family. For aliens, it was nearly middle class honestly. Her hands drifted to her hips as she waited. There were footsteps, and then she instinctively felt it, that someone on the other side of the door was looking through the peephole at her. She didn't flinch from it.
The door opened and a thin man, with hair that looked like dried straw, stood there carefully. He was dressed in clothing that looked thrifted, very substitute teacher with the loose wool vest. If he was human, she'd think he was hiding the wasting from drug use. As he was almost positively an alien, it likely wasn't that. "Hello?"
"Mr. Morgan, I'm Detective Maggie Sawyer, I was hoping I could speak with you and your wife about your daughter?" She wasn't positive this family were the parents of the Sarah that Quake had saved. Mostly sure, but it was a thing to be handled carefully either way.
Mr. Morgan's breath rushed from him, his fingers trembling. "Please, come in. Are you still looking? It's not just us?"
"We are," Maggie would have to quietly brief Detective Grant that the case should be dropped if Quake had found the kid.
He waved her in, nervous twitching. "I, are you the new detective on the case then?" He nearly tripped over a stool stacked with newspapers. His attention turned toward the tiny kitchen. "Love! It's a detective on Sarah's case!"
The woman who came out was of a similar slightly stretched-out and narrow build, with brown hair pulled back into a bun behind her head. And the misery in this apartment was everywhere. It was just dusty, and dry. It felt like a museum more than a home.
"Mrs. Morgan?" Maggie checked as she was politely herded to the faded and uncomfortable-looking living room.
"Yes, we didn't think…did you find something?" The resignation on her face, the lines of grief…she assumed it was bad news.
Maggie cleared her throat as she sat down, watching the two nervous-looking parents sit across from her. Their hands clasping as if it was their only source of strength. "I'm not the detective on your daughter's case. I'm part of the science division, we work with aliens." She watched their faces. "Forgive me for asking, but it's important. Is your family human?"
There was strained silence, the two looking at each other, which was an answer in itself, and then Mr. Morgan was speaking, his voice had a weak rasp. "No, we're not. Please, what did you come to say?"
"How many hearts does your daughter have?" Maggie wasn't pulling out a photo until she was sure she had the right family. It'd be cruel to offer that hope on anything less than the strongest of foundations possible.
Mr. Morgan's tongue wet his lips, his knuckles nearly white. "Two, she has two hearts."
She pulled out the polaroid photo, "In that case, is there a possibility this is your daughter? Or a relative perhaps?" She held it out.
Mr. Morgan snatched it out of her hand so fast his hands nearly blurred. He made an indescribable sound. And then was pressing it to his wife. "It's Sarah, yes? It's our Sarah?" His voice pleading to be told he wasn't mad.
Mrs. Morgan stared at the photo, her voice terrifyingly soft. "When was this taken."
"Three nights ago." Maggie didn't need to ask, they knew the child in the photo, even if they were too afraid to ask. "She's safe, but she's not in police custody."
Mrs. Morgan's gaze was locked on her then. "Who has her?"
"A very powerful member of the community pulled several children out of a lab three days ago. She's been ensuring they remain safe while their families are found." Maggie stayed even. "I haven't seen any of the kids, I was just contacted to go through missing children's reports for leads. Which is where I found you."
"She's alive…who, who has our daughter? How can we contact her, and see our daughter? She's ours and…please." Mr. Morgan was vibrating with desperation.
Maggie smiled, "Quake. I'll need to make a call. But I can arrange a meeting with someone who can act as an intermediatory."
"How soon?" Mrs. Morgan was unblinking as she looked at her with a desperation that was nearly dangerous.
"Do you believe that is your daughter? It's been two years. Not being sure would be understandable." Maggie didn't think it was a mistake though.
"No, her gills, you can see the marks where her gills will come in." Mr. Morgan stroked the faint discoloration on the side of the girl's neck in the photo. His own gills fluttered on his neck.
Maggie wouldn't have spotted those if he hadn't moved them. But that was all she needed to be sure these were the right people. "I'll call and we'll see where we can go from there."
"She's not hurt?" Mrs. Morgan touched the photo. "Only, she looks weak but she doesn't look hurt."
Maggie reached out touching the woman's hand. "All of the children were checked by a community doctor. Your daughter from what I was told just needs regular meals and time to recover."
Maggie knew leaving this apartment wasn't going to happen without the family having a breakdown. She was grateful they were just fussing about the apartment with a manic energy and pretending not to be desperately listening while she stood in the kitchen. She was really hoping M'gann was going to pick up.
-"What do you want Sawyer?"- M'gann didn't bother with a hello. Which, was fair for the woman. She'd been stressed recently.
She was fine with that. "I found Sarah's parents."
There was a pause to that, and then M'gann replied. -"Bring them to the bar, an hour. I'll have Quake bring Sarah. Warn her parents their daughter has been through a lot. She's not going to be the same as when they last saw her."-
"I will, an hour, we'll be there." The hard part would be keeping the Morgans from trying to run straight there on foot.
Maggie hadn't known what she was expecting at the bar, it was early afternoon after all. But M'gann was wiping down the bar, Darla pulling chairs off of the tables, and there at one of the booths was who she recognized after a second as Sarah. The difference from when the polaroid was taken was staggering. Her hair was no longer long and matted, but rather cut short around her chin, and she was wearing actual clothing. There was more color to her face as well.
Sitting next to the girl in the booth was a fairly unremarkable if pretty woman. Flannel shirt over a white tank top, long hair, and clearly drawing with the kid. Interesting to see a new face. A new face who had shifted, one arm coming to rest along the top of the booth, protectively above Sarah's shoulders, her eyes landing on the parents, and neatly dismissing Maggie without thought.
Mrs. Morgan jerked a step forward. "Sarah?" That awful hope yet dread of having the rug ripped out from under her.
Sarah's head snapped up, and she went very still. The woman sitting next to her, dropped her arm around the girl's shoulders, hugging her slightly. And then the girl's voice croaked, so like her parents' "Mom? Dad?"
Both of the Morgans shot forward, only for Sarah to flinch back into the woman with her. The woman leaned forward, whispering something in the girl's ear. Whatever it was, it worked. Sarah carefully edged forward.
Mr. Morgan hit his knees in front of her, "Darling, it's you, it's really you."
It was heartbreaking as the girl reached out, touching her father's cheek. And then she nodded, and then half slumped, half allowed herself to be pulled into her father's arms. Mrs. Morgan collapsed on the floor next to them, her arms wrapping around both of them.
Maggie walked toward the bar, where M'gann was. "Any luck with the others?" She kept her voice low.
"Dem-Van, Fred, and Wally were returned home yesterday. It's just Xal now." M'gann looked gutted. "Quake thinks Xal will tell us something now that the others are safe. Any chance you had any luck with them?"
Maggie's shoulders slumped, "Their families are alive?"
"So far, it seems to have been kids who failed to pass and got snatched at parks or on their way to or from school." M'gann just looked tired.
Her jaw clenched, "Any evidence I can follow there?"
"You'd end up having to arrest Quake for several felonies." M'gann gave her the look that said 'drop this one'.
Which fair enough, Maggie'd expected that. She tilted her head at M'gann though, "What?"
M'gann shook her head. "I have a feeling you're about to understand my migraine." She shot a look at her. "Quake has a mostly-latched Kryptonian mate, don't flirt with her if you value your face not being lasered off."
Maggie raised her hands. "Noted, but I'm in a relationship." She winced, "A failing one but still. I have terrible taste, but not barely-not-a-supervillain bad taste."
"Keep it in mind, because you're about to be dragged further into this chaos." M'gann picked up a soda and pushed it toward her.
Maggie paused as a feeling of dread curled inside her. "M'gann, what do you mean?"
"This," M'gann gestured to the reunion occurring, "You have Quake's attention. And she is planning on a war against this community's enemies."
Ah, that was… frightening. "She's going to feed me more Lord's."
"If you're lucky."
////
Lucy Lane marched into the jail visitation area. "Lord, I see the mob hasn't eaten you yet." She gave a pointed look at the extensive bruising showing on his visible skin. "Solitary for your own protection already?"
He looked up at her, "Ah, Little Lane. What do you want?"
"How would you like a life preserver from the mob?" She dropped the plea deal on the table.
////
Kara swallowed down her frustration as she held onto the notes her team expected her to type up and organize for them instead of helping. Her crystal sand idea was yet to be even looked at by Dr. Xie. Her teeth ground. But she forced her smile to stay on her face, turned on her heel, and marched her way back to her workstation.
Dropping the paperwork on her desk she resisted the desire to scream. It was like dealing with Ms. Grant…from day one…again. Only it was everyone! Breathing out she ran through the mantra, she could do this. Earth science wasn't going to stop her, and coworkers acting like poop heads wasn't either. She made Cat Grant like her, she could crack anyone.
With a firm nod, she sat down, opened up the computer, and got to work. Once she was done typing this up she had a stack of user manuals for various pieces of lab equipment to memorize.
Kara landed next to Alex in the DEO. "Please say you have something for me to do?"
"Working for Luthor not as great as you thought?" But Alex still handed her a protein bar, actual concern on her face.
"I get it, I don't have the degree but…they won't listen to any of my suggestions!" Kara grumbled while shoving the bar into her mouth. "They just keep making me do their paperwork for them."
Alex laid her hand on Kara's arm. "You're going to have to prove that you belong."
"How?" Kara was aware she was pouting.
"Well, you can start by reading articles in your field and learning what they all know from their degrees. Just being better at math and having otherwordly understanding of elements and physics isn't going to be enough." Alex gave her a look. "You're going to have to do the homework."
She blew out a breath that chilled the air, "Phewy."
"Don't air condition the lab," Alex chided. "And no alien threats on the radar today."
Kara slumped against the workbench. "Is it bad to be disappointed by that?"
Alex looked at her, "Shouldn't you be excited by the added free time? Lots of time for homework and the new girlfriend."
She hesitated, "Wait, are you actually asking me about Daisy?"
"I'm not saying I approve, but yes. Including, since when do you even like women? Has that just always been a thing and you never mentioned it?" Alex asked.
Kara beamed, "She's great, and gender was never really a factor on Krypton. It was just easier on earth to only try and date boys. Not that I'm any good at it, clearly."
Alex gave a long sigh. "It does put how you were talking about Lucy in a different light."
"What, Lucy's fabulous. You agreed with me!" Kara was smiling though.
Alex shrugged one shoulder. "It's true, but why couldn't you date her and not…Ms. Suspicious?"
"Daisy's just…amazing." Kara really wished Alex would like her. She wanted her favorite people to get along. "She's just so kind, Alex. Not just to me, but to everyone. But people miss it because she's-"
"Suspicious, sarcastic, and dangerous," Alex finished dubiously.
Kara flushed, "Well…yes."
"Why did she hunt down Supergirl?" Alex looked at her. "She said it wasn't an accident she found you. So what could she have possibly wanted from you, that you trust her this much?"
Kara's face was doing something horrible and awkward, "um…what? I don't know what you're talking about."
"Really?"
////
Daisy stared at the stack of textbooks on her kitchen table, and a very frustrated-looking Kryptonian reading one of them at a speed that was…alarming. She looked over at Xal who was scampering toward her. "How long has she been like that?"
"Since she and Clark swapped." Xal happily scurried up her till they were clinging to her back. A thing Daisy had stopped blinking at around the third time it'd happened.
She reached up touching the kid's arms where they were wrapped around her neck. "You secure there, heat sponge?"
Xal's arms tightened slightly. "It was really Sarah's parents?"
"They were, I'm sure Sarah will text or call you soon." Her own phone had been buzzing with texts from the kids pretty constantly. Daisy let her powers buzz the kid. It was funny, first Kara, and now the kids all relaxed at the reminder of her powers. It was weird, but she was going with it. Also, she only had so many arms, and she needed hers for pulling things out of the fridge. "Any chance you're feeling like telling us about your family?" She wanted a pet cat, not a kid. And Daisy knew if they didn't find Xal's family, she'd be keeping the kid. Coulson might have had a point about how fast she got attached to people.
Xal rubbed their scaled cheek against Daisy, their arms and legs tightening. "After dinner?"
She pulled out the bowl of cut-up fruit for the kid, "We can wait till after dinner. Even have frozen yogurt and honey for dessert." Daisy set the fruit bowl down on the counter before digging through the veggie drawer. Kara had put something that smelled nice in the oven, but a meal that didn't smell like the lizard diet that Xal needed. "So, any idea why Kara's reading technical-looking books faster than humanly possible?"
Xal's hissing giggles tickled against Daisy's neck. "She was muttering about human 'jargon' and sand composites."
Daisy would have to ask about that because she had a feeling Kara hadn't been 'bothering' her with what was going on at L-corp. Which, she got it. She'd kinda been swamped with the kids. But also, she cared about what was going on in Kara's life. "Well, I think the great Supergirl has homework then. What do you think?"
Xal's laughter was soft, but it came spilling out all the same.
"I'll take that as a yes." Daisy was smiling as she spun a knife between her fingers before starting to cut up the carrots for Xal. "Did you take your bath, with the betadine in it already?"
Xal grumbled, "Yes, Kara made me before she started reading."
Kara piped up, her voice was pouty, "I can hear you two!"
"Look at that, I was thinking you had a new superpower you hadn't mentioned." Daisy teased as she neatly loaded up a plate with veggies, fruit, and nuts. Kid ate so many almonds.
"Super concentration." Xal offered with a snicker in their voice.
Kara snorted before giggling, "Not one of my powers."
Daisy smiled at her friend. She felt a rush of affection for her alien. This was…terrifyingly comfortable in a way she didn't know what to do with. But she wanted to grasp onto and never let go, even if it'd be like trying to grab onto water or air or something. It was ok to just enjoy this? Even if it couldn't last, it was alright to just…hang on as long as she could? Right?
////
Kara dropped onto the couch next to Daisy. "So, you're going to be spending all day tomorrow following the lead to see if any of Xal's clutch survived?" She'd seen the way Daisy's body language had gone from genuinely soft to practiced as they'd listened to Xal's account of how they'd been grabbed. It hadn't been another park snatching. It had been all front door being kicked in and gunfire and being dragged out.
Daisy let her head lull back, her eyes staring at the ceiling. "I think I'm going to kidnap a cop."
Kara laughed before pausing, "Wait, you're serious? You can't kidnap people!"
"I mean it mostly metaphorically," Daisy said without acting like she was saying anything alarming.
"Metaphorically? Daisy! Kidnapping is bad. Or…is the cop Cadmus?" Kara dropped her hand on Daisy's shoulder, feeling like shaking her girlfriend's shoulder.
Daisy's lips quirked up as she looked at Kara. "I mean I'm already going to be making M'gann babysit while I look into Xal's family. Might as well see what Detective Sawyer and the science division can offer."
Kara huffed, rolling her eyes. "You buttface. I was worried!"
"Buttface? Wow, did you use your English degree to come up with that?" Daisy's eyes glinted with humor, her lopsided grin wide and full of silent laughter.
"You said you were kidnapping someone! It's not my fault you can't go a week without committing a felony. You're a terrible influence." Kara pouted, but she was smiling too much for it to really be effective.
Daisy giggled, barely keeping it quiet enough not to wake up Xal, covering her mouth with the back of one hand.
Kara hesitated for a second, her eyes flicking to make sure the elementary school kid was actually asleep, and then she leaned forward kissing the merriment off of Daisy's lips. She sighed in contentment as Daisy kissed her back. Her eyes closed, as she felt Daisy's fingers sliding through her hair. And it was really nice as she pressed further into Daisy. She barely even felt bumbling.
Chapter 39Notes:Been reading the Marvel comics with Daisy in them...because I bought all of them when I had a budget surplus last week. And like...I have thoughts. But its interesting what core traits of hers are there throughout, but also, like...wow comic Fury is the worst. Also I nearly screamed at the page where it was revealed May and Fitz are a thing in one of the comic continuities.
Chapter TextMaggie was sipping at her shitty coffee, before nearly startling so bad she almost spilled it down her front from the knocking sound on her window. "Jesus," She twisted looking to see who the fuck was knocking on the driver's window of a patrol vehicle. Her eyes widened as she recognized the woman casually leaning against her car. She rolled the window down. "Did no one tell you not to startle cops?"
"It's been mentioned," The woman from the bar the day before, the one who'd been the chosen community babysitter apparently, had an obnoxiously cocky grin on her face.
"Did you want something?" Maggie prodded, she wasn't in the mood for being fucked with by the newest alien on the block.
The woman laughed and let one hand rest on top of the patrol car, her other hand offered out. "We have a lead on Xal's family."
Maggie reluctantly took the hand and shook it. "M'gann using you as an errand girl then?"
The woman snorted, "My skillset might be useful in checking the lead out. What do you say, you've got an empty shotgun seat, I've got the location of a violent abduction, and I can feel an alien from a human at a quarter mile, image inducer or no?"
Fuck…that was stupidly useful. "You can get in the back."
"Ah, nostalgia." The alien pushed back and climbed into the back of the car without hesitating. "Texted the address to you already."
Maggie's eyes narrowed as she pulled up her phone, and then put the address into her GPS. She had a suspicion as she radioed in she'd be off on a lead, before pulling out into traffic. Setting the radio mic down she glanced in the rearview mirror. "So, what do we know about Xal's abduction, Quake?"
Quake laughed, "I think that means Darla owes me a free drink." She fell more serious, "And we know Cadmus breached the family apartment, from the details, proper military form for it. They murdered at least three of the family before Xal was blackbagged and lost consciousness. The best option is that the extended family that wasn't in the immediate family's apartment might have escaped notice and survived."
She blew out a breath, that was horrific. But it was certainly a place to start. "Did you by chance steal the facility records before you blew it up?"
"No, was planning on it, but once I found the kid strapped to a table and the rest in cages priorities changed." Quake replied matter of factly.
"You want my badge for asking questions at the neighbor's apartments?" Maggie asked.
She was surprisingly professional when she wasn't being a sarcastic ass. "It makes canvassing easier, and the kidnappings were too brazen to be one-offs."
That was grim and likely correct. "You want to coordinate with the police to track alien kidnappings."
"M'gann knows the community, I can actually act against Cadmus, and you're the highest standing law enforcement where we don't have to worry about you being a Cadmus plant."
"We do this by the book when I'm involved. I'm in charge, no running off and attacking anyone." Maggie wasn't budging on that. "No messing with evidence, no intimidation."
Quake met her gaze in the rearview mirror. "I'm former military, I can follow protocol enough to keep it above board for you. At least above board enough for you to sell it. If your boss gets on your ass for it though, I'm down for finding out who he's cheating on his wife with for you."
Maggie wanted to close her eyes, "First of all, how do you know if the Chief is having an affair? And second, are you offering to blackmail the Chief of Police while sitting in the back of a cop car?"
"Have you seen the statistics? If he's not cheating on her he's probably beating her, and if he's not doing either he's probably not enough of a bastard to give you shit for being slightly loose with procedure to save lives. If not I'll figure it out when we get there." Quake replied without a second thought. "And are you going to charge me for offering?"
"You do know most people don't insult police officers to a police officer. Just rule of thumb." Maggie rolled her eyes, because shit, she had seen the statistics and think pieces. Hell, her normal partner was going through a divorce at the moment, and he wasn't the only one in the department. And it wasn't like she was ignorant of several of the officers who had girlfriends as well as wives. Still was shitty to be reminded though.
Quake snorted, "I stopped being respectful to authority figures years ago. And you're not as scary as a nun."
Maggie huffed, her voice turning wry. "A nun, that catholic trauma there?"
"I hear a fellow sufferer, and you know how it goes, Sister Mary Anne was a fan of the paddle." Quake's voice had a sarcastic edge, but Maggie wasn't an idiot, that wasn't something she actually felt glib about.
She felt the memory of rosary beads in her palm from when she'd been a child. Turning the beads over between her fingers. "Never went to Catholic school myself."
"Neither did I," Quake sensed the question. "Catholic orphanage when I wasn't shipped out to foster homes."
"That why you care so much about the kids?" Maggie asked, and it was important to get a better understanding of who exactly she was about to spend her day with.
Quake hummed, "Maybe? But what decent person wouldn't be furious about children in cages?"
"Fair enough." Maggie had the feeling pushing for more details wasn't going to go far. But she was getting a picture. "Any details I should know, that I don't know already?"
"Xal is a Tsauron, the adults have yellow scales. They eat fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and insects. The kids have a hard time regulating their internal temperature, but even an adult would need something to provide added heat. Probably why they chose California to move to. But we should be looking for signs of an apartment modified for dry heat. There were eight Tsauron's in Xal's parents' clutch. They all lived together between three apartments. Gender for them is…complicated. But their family had a few other juveniles? I think Xal meant older teens. So we're hoping someone made it out."
Maggie hummed as she turned. "What do we know about the location?"
Maggie opened up the back of the car, a part of her frustrated at letting someone like Quake out from the back. She could practically smell the felonies on her, but also, there was a part of Maggie that was relieved at someone willing and able to work with the cops, but powerful enough to act outside of the law to protect aliens. She wasn't proud of the relief. "You follow my lead, got it?"
"Got it." Quake frowned, her eyes looking at the apartment building. "But the people in there, they don't feel human. At least most of them."
"How many?" Maggie had questions about what Quake was capable of exactly.
Quake closed her eyes, head tilting ever so closely. "Twenty…twenty-four…twenty-six, I think four of them might be human."
She eyed her temporary partner. "Weapons?"
Quake eyed her, "That's harder to tell. They'd just feel like metal." She was weighing something, but then she reached out laying her hand on Maggie's shoulder. A buzz ran through her. "I can feel vibrations, and control them. It's a bit like sonar."
"Useful," And incredibly dangerous. "If you sense something important, let me know."
"Ma'am, yes Ma'am." Quake gave a sloppy salute, but then cleared her throat. "If any of them realize I'm Quake, they're probably going to shut down real fast. Like heads up. My species is kind of famous for basically every war crime you can imagine and an empire sustained on slavery." Her jaw moved, "And House Kasius kinda tops the galactic list for torture and experimentation on living subjects, and I haven't exactly kept my mouth shut about the quarter Kree, or technically head of House Kasius thing. I need the reputation that gives me, but without anything else to soften that…"
"They're going to assume you're worse than the people who killed the Tsuaron family." Maggie gave a sharp nod. "Noted." She looked skyward but then led them forward. This was serious, and she trusted at the least, Quake cared about this. She was uneasy at how well Quake would actually follow instructions though, especially considering how terrible about not fucking up crime scenes Supergirl was. But as infamous as Quake's species might be, Supergirl wouldn't work with someone who was actually doing those things. And Quake had said 'quarter' several times; Maggie wasn't an idiot.
The apartment complex was a slum. Maggie knew of an alien informant who lived here actually. It was the kind of place that took rent in cash and didn't ask too many questions. And thus a place upkeep could be let slide. After all, which tenant would report the place to the health department?
"Might as well start at the bottom and work our way up." She shot a look at Quake, but the woman didn't appear unhappy with that, her gaze cleanly sweeping the hallway. Her stance was steady, but not in any way primed. Maggie wasn't sure the military thing was true, but she was becoming certain that at the least, Quake had worked with law enforcement. She was too comfortable with the situation, too at ease falling in behind Maggie's elbow. It was concerning, and a hopeful sign someone with enough power to do something was willing to play ball.
"One person in the first apartment," Quake gave her a pointed look. So an alien, and Quake was more than aware some aliens had fantastic hearing.
Maggie gave a nod of acknowledgment and knocked on the door.
Maggie's hands dropped on her hips, eyes closing. "We're getting nowhere." The tenth door had been closed in their faces, three hadn't even been opened despite people being there.
"We might get somewhere with the landlord." Quake's voice had a lilt to it that set off warning bells in Maggie's head.
She looked over at the woman who'd been disturbingly effective at following her lead, and not making the few people who'd talked to them nervous. "We're not there yet, and we're just talking to the landlord."
Quake looked at a water stain on the wall. "Slumlord," She scoffed. "How much do you think this building is worth? It's not a huge property, and it's in shit repair. But National City, even if it's a bad neighborhood, it can't be more than what, fifteen maybe twenty million?"
Maggie's eyes narrowed, but she looked at the shitty hallway. "For them not to have sold it out from these people for the land value? Probably closer to the fifteen million."
"Think it could be repaired? Or torn down and rebuilt?" Quake was looking at the place thoughtfully.
"Do I need plausible deniability about what you're thinking about?" Maggie had a suspicion about what Quake was thinking.
Quake's lips twitched up. "Just appreciating Robin Hood's point of view, and considering I helped a certain organization hide its funding, there's better ways to go about it these days than robbery at arrow point."
Maggie's hand twitched toward her service weapon, every cautious flicker of trust and interest in Quake vanishing. "You're Cadmus."
Quake's eyes cut to her, something…very cold in her eyes. "Losing the pet monster's leash doesn't end well for people. Even Cadmus. And they do love their monsters."
Maggie's shoulders squared, even as a shiver ran down her spine. Because it felt like a puzzle clicking together. "This community doesn't need a blood bath from your personal vendetta." She'd been an idiot to think Quake might be a good thing for the community.
"Do I look like I'm on a bloody vendetta?" Quake raised a brow. "The people who are responsible for me, are dead. Dead or not an issue anymore." She shrugged. "I'm trying to help people." She gestured at the hall. "And is this really the right place for this conversation?"
"Fine, but if you're lying to me-"
"Terrible things." Quake waved to the next door. But her posture wasn't exactly submissive, but it wasn't not either. It was… agreeable. "Can we get back to helping the fourth grader?" There was an undercurrent of challenge. If Maggie said no, Quake would keep looking without her.
Maggie had seen the footage in Catco from the invasion, just like everyone else. And this was the second…no, the third time she'd met the woman. "Fine, but you and I are having a conversation after this." And she was not knocking on the door of her informant while Quake was with her. So she'd need to call it at least three doors before her informant.
As she walked to the next door, a pall of dread at the sound of screaming kids and a barking dog getting louder. So this one was probably going to be a bust. She still knocked.
Shockingly, the door opened, a tired-looking woman, her hair piled up in a sloppy bun, toddler on one hip, baby screaming from inside, her leg blocking a mutt of some kind from escaping. "Yes?"
"Detective Maggie Sawyer, NCPD, we're here to ask you questions?" Maggie could smell something burning.
"Look, detective-" The woman was cut off by a shrill shrieking of a kettle, it caused her to jolt, turning toward the oven, and the dog shot out.
Quake, lunged forward, snagging the dog before it could bite Maggie, one hand on the scruff, the other scooping it up.
The woman looked at Maggie, a flicker of desperation, and then she was shoving the toddler into Maggie's arms and taking off for the oven.
"Ah…um…" Maggie winced, as she awkwardly held the toddler away from herself. She looked to Quake.
Quake ignored her walking straight into the apartment, "Come on Detective." The dog had gone completely calm as Quake scratched at its ears.
Maggie wasn't a kid person. But she followed in, using her heel to close the door behind her to prevent any more runaways. It wasn't a verbal invite, but open door and a kid being shoved into her arms she was going to count as an invite. Quake had set the dog down, which was…following at her heels and looking up at the woman happily. And then Quake was B-lining for the crib of the screaming baby.
Maggie glanced around the chaotic apartment, baby things tossed everywhere. "We can come back if this is a bad time?" She looked back at the toddler and oh god…it was drooling. Why were kids so sticky? Maggie set the kid gingerly down on a couch cushion, staying so she could grab the kid if they tried to bolt…could they bolt at that age?
"Where's your clean diapers?" Quake asked, looking over at the woman who was yanking something that smelled slightly burned out of the oven.
The woman set it down, "Oh, you don't have to."
"It's not a big deal, you're using the dresser as a change station yeah?" Quake was naturally holding the kid against her as she moved with a rocking motion.
The woman slumped, "Diapers are in the top drawer."
"Cool, we can take the trash out with us." Quake offered while smoothly, and with practiced motions had the baby out of its onesie, and was tickling the kid's tummy before changing the diaper without blinking. "How old is she? Three months?"
The woman sighed, smiling softly, though the exhaustion was real. "Three and a half, you have your own?"
"No," Quake laughed. "But always liked helping with the younger kids growing up." She dropped the diaper and wet wipe in the trashcan, before cleanly fastening a new one. "What's her name?"
"Anne," Her smile grew, and then she seemed to startle. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, I'm Hilary. You two said you were with the NCPD? I didn't know they hired aliens."
Maggie's head shifted slightly. "How did you know she was an alien?"
"Oh just her?" Hilary turned off the oven and started putting clean dishes away. "It's just Maxy doesn't like humans much, and he calmed right down for you."
Quake was carefully pulling a new clean onesie onto the baby. "Huh, usually have the opposite reaction with dogs. But just me, I'm helping the detective here with this one, my powers are kinda useful for finding people." She smiled, and it read as genuine, as she tapped the baby on the nose with one finger before settling the baby against her chest. "My name's Daisy, by the way."
"Nice to meet you Daisy, Detective Sawyer. What was it you wanted to ask about?" And Hilary just seemed genuinely at ease. Which was interesting, because Quake had indicated she was human.
"There was a Tsuron family on the third floor who were attacked a year ago." Maggie saw the way the woman paled. "We're trying to find any survivors."
Hilary's face had paled as she walked out of the kitchen area, eyes flicking to her two children. "Why?"
"We found one of their young, we're trying to find any family they might still have." Maggie watched her, this woman, like most of the others they'd briefly spoken to through partially open doors, knew exactly what they were talking about. But she hadn't just shut the door in their faces.
Hilary was chewing on the inside of her cheek, her eyes flicking to where Quake was bouncing the baby. And then walked to the couch, picked up her toddler, and sat down while settling the toddler in her lap. "Is this official?"
And wasn't that the line the science department had to dance on. "Yes and no, sometimes paperwork can be done to avoid getting people in trouble or noticed who don't need to be mentioned. We're just trying to get this kid back to any family they might have left. And Alien Amnesty looks like it'll pass. No sense clogging up the system with cases that don't need to be there."
Hilary nodded, "It was terrible, we all heard the gunfire, and there was just so much noise. The men all had their faces covered. They looked like SWAT. It was very fast. They took the bodies with them. There was nothing anyone could do, they shot Charles for running out of his apartment to see what was happening. And you know what this place is like, who'd have believed us? Or cared? One of the teens, Trel hid under the sink in the bathroom. I don't know how to get ahold of them, but Antonio upstairs in 3E let them stay in his apartment after everything for a while. You should ask him."
////
Trel was exhausted as they trudged up the five flights of stairs to their apartment. They scratched their nails against the scale ridge along the top of their head. So close to being private and being able to turn off the image inducer and flop onto their heating pad. It was the dream. But not going to happen, because standing by their apartment door were two women.
Pulling their sweatshirt's hood over their head, they ducked their head slightly. If they just walked by, they could slip around the corner and make for the stairs at the other end of the complex, and then straight back out to the street. Their heart was racing against their ribs as they walked down the hall, head down, avoiding notice.
The slightly shorter of the two women, stepped in front of them about two yards before they reached them. "Trel?"
They went rigid, eyes looking up, and they noticed the gun on her hip, gun and a badge on her hip. Trel took a step back, could they make it back to the stairwell before this woman could draw her gun?
"Hey, we're not here to hurt you." The woman held her hands up. "I know you're scared, and that's completely valid. But we just want to talk."
Trel licked their lips, eyes looking between the two of them. "Who are you?"
"My name is Maggie Sawyer, I'm a detective with the science division." The woman, Maggie kept her hands up. "A Cadmus lab was raided by Quake, she found your hatchmate, Xal. They're alive."
It felt like being hit in the thorax with an icepick. "Xal…how…" Their eyes flicked to the other woman. "Who is she?"
"Daisy, and I'm whose apartment your hatchmate's been staying in while we tried to find you. Xal's plotting on burning their heating pad and just climbing into my bed to use me as a living heater tonight. They do not like heating pads. But, pretty sure that's not ok on the scale of things for a kid to do when they're not yours." She reached up, tapping her face, the skin rippling in a tell that tech of some kind was hiding her actual appearance. Oh.
Trel's tongue rang along the back of their teeth. "I…" They looked back to the detective. The detective working with an alien. "Do you have proof?"