Hydrology

The slums of National City weren’t typically of much interest to the DEO, and therefore they weren’t of much interest to Alex Danvers. The NCPD, on the other hand, frequently had business there, and that meant that Detective Maggie Sawyer did as well. Alex was never one to turn down a call from Maggie, so when her services were requested, she found herself abandoning her Ducati in front of an apartment building on the edge of the worst neighborhood in the city.

As Alex slipped under the crime scene tape, putting on a pair of latex gloves, Maggie let out a ragged sigh and got to her feet.

“Hey, Sawyer. What’ve we got here? Besides an excuse for you to see me again.” The banter came easily, as it always did with the two of them. After the kiss and the declaration of feelings earlier that week, the two had pizza and beer just like any other night, but kisses were peppered in. They hadn’t had “the talk” by the end of the night, but they were in a much better place than before, flirty texting and steamy movie nights dotting the past few evenings.

Maggie’s response brought a smile to Alex’s face. “A baffled detective and the fourth crime scene she can’t fully put together?”

The agent in her took over as she looked at the stain. “No sign of forced entry, but these windows could have been open already. The stain…” She bent down to take a closer look and a sniff. “It appears to be water.”

“You cracked it, Danvers. The culprit is Poseidon himself. Guess we can all go home now.” Maggie’s joke fell flat, her annoyance seeping into the comment, and Alex leveled a concerned glare on her.

“Come on, Maggie. What’s actually happening here?" She stood as Maggie spoke.

“This is the fourth kidnapping of the month. All high risk families in the slums, and all of Latin descent.” Maggie reported. As she spoke, an elderly woman was escorted inside, shoulders shaking and tear tracks on her cheeks. A sympathetic frown graced the detective’s features. “This time, just like the others, only the kids were taken. Her grandkids were the first victims.”

As Maggie approached, the woman raised an accusatory finger. “You, Detective Sawyer! You have been “working” this case for a month now, and you are no closer to finding my babies!”

Maggie flinched at the tone, and Alex stepped forward, extending a now de-gloved hand. “Agent Danvers. I’m with the FBI, and I can assure you that we’re working very closely with Detective Sawyer to find whoever is behind these kidnappings.”

The hand was ignored, and the woman spat at the ground at Alex’s feet, turning on Maggie, who was giving Alex a disbelieving look. “No wonder nothing has been done! My babies are in the hands of La Llorona, and you’re trusting the government! We are holding a vigil tonight at the church, and rest assured, Detective, a prayer for you will not fall from my lips.” Another glare to Alex, then the woman stormed from the room.

Raising her eyebrows, Alex tried to bring a smile to Maggie’s face with a joke. “Sure she isn't one of your ex-girlfriends?”

Maggie sighed, but didn’t smile. “Not now, Danvers. I don’t have time for this. I need to get back to the office. Look, sorry I dragged you down here, but I don’t think this is something the DEO should get involved with. The people... most of them don't really like feds.”

Alex’s eyebrows knit together in concern, and she followed Maggie downstairs. Opening her mouth to try to change Maggie’s mind, Alex was cut off by the sight of her bike. Someone had spray painted the letters “FBI” on it and crossed them out, and a bright red Batman logo was painted on the other side.

Maggie was the first to react, jogging out into the street and looking around. The only person outside was a young teenager on the other end of the street, and the detective waved him over.

“Did you see who did this to the bike?”

Silence.

“Hey, I’m serious.” She pulled out her badge and held it up to him. “This belongs to my friend, and I’m not happy that she’s getting attacked when she came to help us.”

The kid rolled his eyes and pushed the badge down. “You don’t need the feds to help you. National City needs a Bat.”

With that, he ran off, and Maggie turned back to Alex. “Danvers… look, I’ll pay to get it cleaned. You can even use mine until it gets done.”

Alex shook her head and picked up her helmet from where someone kicked it to the pavement.

“No, don’t worry about it. I’m going to help with the case anyway I can, alright? I’ll talk to Henshaw and get a task force together. We’re going to figure this thing out.” Alex spotted a curtain move up in the apartment building. The woman from before. “And we’re going to do it together.”

Maggie could only offer a small smile, but Alex took it as a victory. She smiled back as she slipped the helmet on, only then noticing the Batman symbol scratched into the Plexiglas visor. Another sigh, and she flipped it up to address Maggie again.

“Plus, Batman’s kind of cool, right? Maybe I’ll keep the paint job.” Finally, Maggie smiled for real, and Alex took that as her cue to ride off, her leather jacket unzipped and flapping behind her.

----------------------------------------------------

Alex pulled up to the DEO’s building and flinched at the sight of her defaced bike again when she got off. She dropped the helmet on the seat and tried to arrange her jacket so the markings weren’t visible, without much success. Maybe she should have taken Maggie up on the offer to switch bikes, if just for the day. Shaking her head, she made her way inside.

As always, the DEO was a hub of activity. Winn was at his desk, snacking on something or the other, and Alex helped herself as she passed by. The tech wizard moved to protest, but she was already long gone, off to see her boss.

J’onn J’onzz stood in his normal spot, arms crossed as he looked up at the monitors. Supergirl was out beating up some run of the mill robbers, and Alex’s eyebrows raised when she saw that one of them was wearing a “Flash” t-shirt. He spoke when she pulled up next to him.

“That shirt is not supposed to be on this Earth. Did Supergirl bring back more than a souvenir after her trip?”

“I have no idea. But I think we have another probl-”

“No. This breach is our top priority right now.”

“What? J’onn, there’s something serious going down in the slums! Ghosts-" "I said no, Alex." "We're the DEO! I think ghosts count as “extra-normal,” don’t you?” Alex really hadn’t expected this kind of resistance from her boss, and frankly she didn’t understand why he was being so single minded.

“The NCPD can handle that. Supergirl isn’t the only one travelling between Earth 1 and us, and we need all hands on deck right now. Side projects are called off until we can find where they’re breaching the multiverse.”

Shaking her head, Alex crossed her arms over her chest, the image of the old woman and of Maggie’s dejected features flashing behind her eyes. “I can’t believe this. The people of National City are suffering-”

“Or is your girlfriend suffering?”

Silence fell for a moment, and Alex struggled to formulate words.

“Were you reading my mind?”

“Detective Sawyer can take care of the slums for now. I need you to be working on this multiverse breach. I’m serious, Alex. You’re on assignment now.”
Still lost for words, Alex turned on her heel, passing Winn’s desk and not acknowledging his offer of another snack as she went off to her office, a mounting stack of files on her desk, each with a different problem she was expected to set aside.

----------------------------------------------------

Wine was always the answer, Alex mused. Unless whiskey was. Tonight was a whiskey night. For the past week, the evenings were spent either at the bar or in her apartment, Maggie never out of reach, but tonight the detective had to work late. The kidnappings were getting out of hand, and she was dedicated to her job. As Alex looked at the now empty whiskey tumbler, she resented how much she liked that about Maggie.

Turning on the TV, Alex wasn’t feeling much up to watching a movie, not without a certain detective curled up next to her. As she went to refill her glass, she left whatever was on running and listened from the small kitchen area.

“And now joining us is Police Commissioner James Gordon and Detective Renee Montoya.” Alex glanced up. Gotham made the national news again, unsurprisingly. Gordon was scruffy, with a bushy mustache sticking out past the rest of his stubble. Alex smiled a bit at the brown duster and thick glasses. He was a classic cop, and if Maggie was right, he was a damn good one, too. The other woman reminded Alex of her detective, and she took an angsty sip from the whiskey at the thought.

“Thank you, Ms. Vale. Today’s arrest was a big win for the GCPD, and we’re confident that Arkham Asylum will be a good next stop for this fellow.”

That had Alex rolling her eyes. It wasn’t that Arkham wasn’t a good asylum, but the escape rate compared to the DEO was laughable. Looking the burly, scaled man up and down on the screen, she couldn’t help but shake her head. He would break out soon enough, and the vicious circle would continue.

“Can you tell us, Commissioner, did the Batman have anything to do with today’s arrest?”

Silence fell, but Jim Gordon smiled, just a bit, and looked to Montoya. She smirked right into the camera. “No comment, Ms. Vale. No comment.”

Alex turned off the TV and sighed, missing Maggie and frustrated that the DEO couldn't help with the kidnappings. Her mind went back to the bike downstairs, and an inkling of an idea scratched at her brain. Moving to her closet, she took in the tactical clothes and the plethora of weapons stashed behind them. Snatching up her cell phone and gingerly taking out the mask Maggie had given her on the Roulette mission, Alex keyed in a familiar number and let it ring.

“Hey, Winn. Yeah, it’s Alex. Can I ask a favor?”