The next morning starts off like most others, with Alex waking up first and reveling in the fact that she's sleeping in her bed with her girlfriend (!!!) who she loves. Which should scare her more, but Maggie makes her feel like she can afford to be reckless with her emotions. Like she can ignore the logical side of her screaming "it's too soon!" because Gods, Alex loves Maggie so much. Even her logical side can't deny that.
Maggie wakes up about half an hour later and they go through their morning routine together. Which is really just getting ready together featuring a lot of kisses.
They ignore the overhanging worry until they leave Alex's room. The weight pushes on their shoulders and they stand up taller to push back. Alex reaches out to take Maggie's hand, which is something that happens often but not everyday. But they both know this is a little bit of comfort that they both need. The guards don't even give their entwined hands a second look like they used to.
"Are you ready for today?" Maggie asks as they head towards the kitchen for a quick breakfast before going to the DEO.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Alex admits. "It'll be fun to fight alongside you, though. We make a good team, Sawyer."
"Yeah we do." Maggie says, giving Alex a dimpled smile.
The familiar sight makes Alex relax slightly but the anxiety like acid in her stomach stops it from calming her more. She gives Maggie a thankful smile, knowing she's trying to make her feel better.
They grab their breakfast and eat it on the way to the DEO. Alex even splits the donut the chef that likes her slipped her before she left.
"Isn't this a bit stereotypical?" Maggie asks around a mouthful of donut. "Knights and donuts?"
"Not as stereotypical as you in flannel." Alex responds, giving her girlfriend a wink when she pretends to be offended.
"Dork." Maggie says, bumping their shoulders together affectionately.
"Takes one to know one." Alex says snarkily. "Now come on, J'onn probably wants to go over the plan one last time."
Like Alex predicted, J'onn does go over the plan again. But it's Alex who goes over it with everyone another time in more detail to make sure everyone knows what they're doing.
"...And remember, the objective is to defend the bar. That means not destroying it beyond repair." Alex orders, leaning her hands on the table in front of her. Maggie finds Alex ordering people around even hotter than she expected. "If possible, we will take at least one of them alive. They may work for the same people as the assassins sent to kill Queen Lena Luthor, but they might not. We need to make sure we don't have more enemies. Understand?"
"Yes ma'am." The agents and knights selected to help them say.
"Alright, let's go." J'onn says from where he's standing off to the side.
"Sir," Alex's voice makes him pause. "Some of the traps include fire. You need to stay back."
"Sir Alex-" He starts, frowning deeper than usual.
"I'm not saying stay out of this." Alex cuts him off, making the other agents and knights wince and brace for his disapproval. "You can stay nearby just in case, but it isn't safe for you."
He purses his lips and stares at her, making everyone else aside from Alex and Maggie squirm. Alex just stares back while Maggie looks at her in awe.
"Very well. If you need any help, shout. I'll hear you." J'onn says after a long pause.
The agents and knights stare at J'onn in disbelief before looking at Alex like she's an all-powerful goddess that could crush the world with her fingertips. Actually, Maggie wouldn't be all that surprised if she is.
They leave after that, with J'onn leading the way. Maggie and Alex walk on either side of him, just a pace behind him. He stops in front of the sewer grate that covers the hole to the bathroom. He lifts it easily and gestures for them to go.
"Good luck Sir Alex, Sir Maggie. Stay safe. If the two of you work together, nothing can stop you." He says, sounding more like Alex's space dad than the Director of the DEO.
"Thank you, sir. We'll see you soon." Alex responds.
J'onn nods. "I'll keep most of the medical team here on standby just in case."
Alex doesn't make a move to go down the ladder and Maggie waits, knowing something is probably about to happen. Sure enough, J'onn sweeps Alex and Maggie (to her surprise) into a hug.
"Be careful." He says gruffly before putting them back down.
Maggie smiles at him, a nearly unfamiliar feeling in her chest. It almost feels like she has a family again. She swallows down her emotions and motions for Alex to go first down the ladder.
"Ladies first." She says, grinning when Alex rolls her eyes at her.
Alex climbs down, Maggie going right after her. The agents and knights not on standby follow them. Alex rejoins their hands when Maggie gets all the way down. They walk out of the bathroom and direct the agents and knights into the other gender neutral bathrooms. They'll wait there while they wait for their enemies to come. They will wait for Maggie and Alex's signal. Which, if they can, it'll be knocking on the doors. Otherwise, they'll have to shout for them to come out.
Alex and Maggie stand at the back of the bar, staring at the entrance to the bar. They hear two pairs of footsteps above them and know that it's the two archers on the scaffolding they put up. They wait for three hours (twenty one minutes and forty seven seconds according to Alex) before anyone comes in.
Luckily, the aliens really listened to Maggie and they haven't seen even one come near the bar. Except for J'onn, who's been walking in and out of the bar transformed as different aliens to keep up appearances in case anyone was keeping an eye on the place.
Alex and Maggie snap to attention at the creaking of the door opening. It opens all of the way and a pan swings down to smack the person in the front in the face. Alex and Maggie give each other an amused look at the pained groan they hear.
"What the heck?" They hear someone ask, their voice nasal. "Okay Bravo, you go first."
So they're either using code names or that person has a very weird name.
"Sure thing, Pork." Gods, Maggie really hopes it's code names.
The person takes one step down the stairs hesitantly and slips on the wax Maggie put on that step. Alex and Maggie high five but don't actually allow their hands to touch in fear that they'll be heard.
The person moans and grumbles, standing up. "Stupid aliens."
They take another step down and relax when nothing happens. The guy behind them tries to skip the slippery step but manages to land right on it. His feet fly outward, kicking the person in the front. They stumble and their feet fall from that step to the next one.
Alex's eyes light up and Maggie immediately knows what step this is. There's a click and suddenly a bottle is heading right towards that person.
"Nononono," they say, their arms outstretched and their eyes wide.
The Molotov Cocktail hits them and they fall to the bottom of the stairs in a ball of fire. Their screams are horrifying and Maggie's 98% sure she'll have nightmares about it, but wow. She's impressed by Alex's destructive skill. She makes a mental note to never get on her girlfriend's bad side.
"Shit," the guy behind the burned person breathes out. "Is it really worth it?"
"It's either maybe get killed here doing what we were told or definitely get killed for failing our mission and fleeing like cowards." A woman says.
The guy groans. "Can't we just run away?"
"They'll hunt us down. Man up, Pork. Let's get this over with. Just be careful. They obviously know we're coming."
"Obviously," Pork grumbles. "Let's go Sugartits."
"I really hate that code name. Sexist pig." The woman mutters.
"Makes sense since his code name is Pork." Maggie whispers to Alex, who covers her mouth to keep from snorting.
Maggie knocks on the doors, knowing there are a few more traps but they could use all of the help they can get. The agents and knights filter out silently and Maggie rejoins Alex's side.
Their enemies stumble over some jacks that Maggie added just for the heck of it. Maggie stifles her laughter when one of them slips on a banana peel and flops backward on the ground.
"I didn't think that could actually happen," she whispers to Alex, who's snickering.
Their enemies notice them for the first time then and try to act intimidating but a few agents burst out into laughter.
"This is the best battle I've ever participated in," Maggie admits.
Their now very angry enemies charge at them, weapons raised. Maggie's sudden worry decreases exponentially when one of them yelps after getting their foot caught in a mouse trap.
That was... Really fun and hilarious to write. Oh man. That was some Tom and Jerry type crap right there. Amazing. I've ever written such a funny fight scene. Anyway! The fight continues next chapter, just with real fighting, not just slipping on a banana peel. Thank you for reading and for your amazing comments! Stay awesome!