Chương 41: 41. Lost
Jamie zipped away from her mother as fast as she could, which was now incredibly fast. She was absolutely livid. She finally had her powers, but it was a complete disaster. Her own mother couldn’t even be happy for her because she was so blinded by the return of her father that she couldn’t see that he was still working for Cadmus. Jamie wouldn’t have any part in it. Her mother couldn’t punish her, and her grandfather couldn’t kidnap her if she wasn’t there anymore. She climbed up on her bed and started bouncing.
“What are you doing?” Jessie asked, when she finally caught up to her.
“I’m going to figure out how to fly real quick,” Jamie informed her. “Then we can escape through the window while Jeremiah’s distracted.”
“Cool!” Jessie stood by her own bed and watched as Jamie jumped and floated a few times.
“OK. I’ve got this.” Jamie jumped one more time, floated, and stayed up this time. “OK. Now, moving around.” She didn’t know how it worked, but all she had to do was think it, and she was moving forward toward her sister. When she wanted to stop, she just had to think ‘stop,’ and when she wanted to go down, she floated down. Once she was in front of Jessie, she picked her sister up very gently and floated up with her. “Yeah, this is easy. The only thing making it weird is that my vision is all over the place. I can see through the walls. I can see through your skin. I can see everything. Plus, I hear everything going on in all the apartments in the whole building. Even the people outside. It’s noisy.” She lowered them back to the floor. “OK, I'll go out the window first. Then you follow me, and I'll catch you and lower us to the ground.”
“OK,” Jessie agreed.
Jamie climbed out the window and got her flight bearings, then urged her twin out into her arms.
“Ouch! Not so tight!” Jessie complained.
Jamie loosened her grip a little. “Sorry! I need to work on my strength, I guess.” She lowered them gently to the ground, looking around to make sure no one saw them. The coast seemed to be clear, but it was hard to be sure. Her vision was really wonky. “Where should we go now?”
“I think we should go to Lena’s” her sister answered. “She has all that extra security. Maybe we’ll be safe there.”
“OK,” Jamie agreed. “Race you!”
“No fair!” Jessie whined. “My powers haven’t kicked in yet.”
“Fine, how about, you get on my back, and I’ll run us both there. It’ll be faster.”
Jessie vacillated for a minute before giving in, “Oh, alright. I can’t wait till I get my powers too!” She climbed on Jamie’s back, and they were off.
“Wow, it’s like I’m just running with an empty backpack on. I can feel you there, but I don’t really feel your weight, like before. Or, well, your weight feels like nothing now.”
“Cool! I can’t wait to smash some stuff!” Jessie cheered.
“Of course you wanna smash stuff, you oaf!” Jamie rolled her eyes.
“Well what do you want to do?” asked Jessie.
Jamie grinned. “I wanna go fast!” she ran a little faster, but she didn’t want to go so fast that she tipped someone off. Especially since she was running with her sister on her back.
In a few minutes, they were passing by a McDonald’s, and Jamie stopped running. Jessie hopped off of Jamie’s back and ran inside under her own power. “Food!” she cheered.
“Oh boy!” Jamie said happily.
They went straight to the line at the front counter. The store was fairly busy, so they waited their turns, then they ordered a ton of food and paid for it with the shiny new bills they had been given at their birthday party. It hadn’t even been a week since they got it, so they hadn’t had time to spend it yet. Now was the perfect opportunity to do so.
They waited for their food, filling up their cups with the most caffeinated soda they could find, and when their numbers were called, they snagged their trays and found a table near the back, away from the windows. They ate their meals with relish. They hardly ever got real fast food like this. It was a great treat. They chowed down like they were starving.
“I can see your skull,” Jamie told her sister, after they'd finished most of their food. “It’s gross.”
“Stop it!” Jessie told her. “Don’t look through me. I don’t like that.”
“I can’t help it!” Jamie whined. I can see through everything, and it’s hard to get a handle on it. Everything’s all weird-looking.”
Jessie took a bite of some of her fries. “OK, well, just don’t look at me, then.”
“Where else am I supposed to look? Looking at the other people in here is worse! I can see under their clothes, but more than that, I can see through their skin. I can see everything!”
“Just try to focus on something. Look at your tray, and try to read the words on the paper.”
“Shamrock shakes are back,” Jamie read. “Oh! Let’s go get one of those!” She tugged her sister up to the counter, and they ordered a large shake each.
“Mmm, yes, this was a great idea!” Jessie said happily.
They went back to their seats and started back in on the rest of their food. When they were mostly done, there was a man that came out of the bathroom looking both drunk and homeless. When he laid eyes on the twins, he grinned in a way that made Jamie nervous.
“Hello, beautiful girls! What’s your names?” the man drawled.
The girls gave him a look of disgust and didn’t answer.
“I said, what’s your names, little ladies?” he repeated. “Where’s your mama? You can come home with me, if you want. I’ll take good care a ya.” His coat smelled like B.O., and his breath stank like liquor. It was quite unpleasant.
Jamie was close to throwing up from the smell alone. “Get away from us, you nasty freak!” she exclaimed.
“Hey!” he barked, grabbing her arm. “That’s not nice! I should teach you some manners!” His face twisted into a terrifying snarl.
“LEAVE ME ALONE!’ Jamie screamed at him, pushing him away from her. He flew back way harder than she’d meant to throw him, and he fell back onto the row of tables next to them with a crunch.
He screamed in pain and slumped to the floor. “Ah! Somebody call an ambulance! She broke my back!” He continued to holler and carry on as he laid on the floor, but everyone just stared at him until one of the employees came running in after she heard all the noise. She called 9-1-1, and had to ask around her what happened.
The kids tried to leave, but the McDonald’s employee stopped them, saying they needed to talk to the police about him harassing them. They insisted it was fine, but she insisted they stay, or it would look suspicious. They tried leaving anyway, but the people around them joined together to block them. They had no human way out. They went back to their table and finished their food. If they were gonna be in trouble, then they were darn sure gonna finish eating first. It was always easier to get yelled at when they weren’t hungry. When their phones started ringing, they just turned the ringers off.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“I don’t see them anywhere,” Kara pushed her glasses back up.
“Shit, shit, shit!” Alex hissed. Her heart was in her throat. She ran back into the kids’ room. “Kara!” she exclaimed. “Their window is open.” She looked down at the street level, but there wasn’t anyone down there. She pulled out her phone and called each of the kids, but their phones just rang and rang, and no one answered.
Kara eased her aside and peered out the window herself, sans glasses. After a minute or so, she shook her head. “I’m gonna have to go after them as Supergirl. Hopefully they didn’t get too far away.” She zipped out the window, leaving a pile of clothes behind her.
Alex called J’onn immediately.
“J’onzz,” he answered.
“J’onn, the kids ran away, and we have no idea where they went!”
“Isn’t Winn still at your place?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Alex wanted to slap herself. “Yes, I’ll get him on it.”
“WINN!” she screeched.
The tech came skidding through the doorway in a panic. “What?”
“The kids are missing!” she informed him. “Can you trace their phones?”
“Y-you don- You don’t think that Cadmus-”
“No!” Alex snapped. “I think my too-big-for-her-britches, newly-powered daughter flew off with her sister, and they’re trying to hide somewhere, though, where they would go, or think they’re going, I have no fucking idea.”
“What the hell’s going on?” Maggie asked, barging into the room. Alex's tone must have spooked her.
“The kids ran off,” Alex huffed.
“More like few off,” Winn corrected, getting a dirty look from Alex.
Maggie’s brow raised. “What? Why would they do that?”
“Fear? Spite? Who knows?” Alex answered.
Winn started fiddling around on his phone. “I’ll ping their location. Just give me a minute. I put special apps on their new phones that tell me exactly where they are, I just have to sign into mine.”
“I’m gonna let everyone know what’s going on,” Maggie said, exiting the room.
“OK,” Alex said, looking over Winn’s shoulder.
Winn just selected which phone he wanted to ping, clicked a button, and it was as good as done. A little map popped up on the screen, and a pin was set on a location not too far away, but much farther than Alex would have thought. “They’re at McDonald’s,” he informed her.
“Of course they are,” Alex huffed. They grounded them from dinner, what else should she expect, really? “Alright, she sighed, a bit relieved. Let me call Kara.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Hello?” Kara picked up her phone. “Alex, did you find them?”
“Yeah,” Alex confirmed. “They’re at the McDonald’s on Larsen and 45th.”
“I’m on my way.” Kara clicked her earpiece off and flew toward the location her wife had given her. She spotted her children as soon as they were in range. They were standing next to a police officer that looked like the daughter from ‘Family Matters’ that she and Alex used to watch when they were kids. This did not give her warm, happy feelings, though. Not thirty feet away was a man in an ambulance with some sort of injury that was bleeding. Kara could smell the blood. She touched down next to her daughters, who looked at her with disdain.
“Oh, hello, Supergirl,” the officer greeted her politely. “Not that it isn’t amazing to meet you, but I don’t think we have your kind of emergency here. Unless you have healing powers.”
“I wish I did. What happened?” Supergirl inquired.
The twins remained silent, arms crossed over their chests.
Officer J. Copeland, according to her badge, answered instead, “Well, that man was harassing these two children, and when they tried to push him away from them, he fell and hurt his back. “The story was corroborated by all the witnesses. Most of them say he threw himself backwards, and that’s what caused him to be injured. He probably just wants to try to sue the company. You know how people can be.”
Kara put her hands on her hips to try and indicate to her children that she knew she would probably be getting a slightly different story when they got home, and that they were in serious trouble, but neither of them looked the least bit concerned. They still wore the same looks of disrespect they’d had from the second she’d flown in. She crossed her arms over her chest in aggravation.
The cop looked back and forth between Supergirl and the twins. “Uh…”
“Well!” Kara exclaimed, hoping the cop wasn’t catching a clue. “I should be going. No reason for me to be here, clearly.”
Still, the girls said nothing.
“Nice to meet you,” Officer Copeland said. “Have a good night.”
“You too,” she said before flying off. As she headed back, she called Alex. “Babe, I need you to go get the girls. The cop there was about to recognize them as Supergirl’s children. I had to get outta there.”
“Ah, goddammit!” Alex snapped. “Why were there cops there?” She didn’t wait for an answer. She just hung up the phone. Kara flew in through the window in time to see her wife leaving. Alex grabbed her jacket and her keys. “Maggie, you’re coming with me!” She snatched the detective by the shirt collar and pulled her along.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Alex and Maggie took the van to go pick up the twins. She drove like a bat out of hell, and they were there in ten minutes. She was furious with her daughters. Anything could have happened to them while they were out. They were so afraid of their grandpa and Cadmus, they put themselves in more danger by running off.
When they pulled into the parking lot, the twins were sitting at a picnic table, drinking sodas and looking wholly unconcerned at the trouble they were in. Next to them was an attractive black female cop with short, wavy hair. She too was drinking a soda, and she seemed to be asking the kids questions, to which the kids only nodded or shook their heads. In the police car in front of them, there was a middle-aged, bald, white guy that appeared to be doing paperwork.
“Detective Sawyer,” the male cop greeted them. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”
“Jenkins,” Maggie shook his hand. “My friend here is picking up her kids. They ran off earlier tonight, and we’ve been looking all over for them. This is Agent Alex Danvers, FBI.”
Alex shook the guy’s hand, and he lead them over to the picnic table where the twins were still sitting, acting for all the world like nothing was even wrong. She looked down at them and crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you girls have to say for yourselves?” she demanded.
Jessie chewed lazily on her straw. “We were hungry.”
“You were hungry? Well maybe you should have thought about that before you started acting like fools at home. You guys are in big trouble. You’re gonna be lucky if you’re not grounded for the rest of your lives.”
“Better grounded at home, than imprisoned at Cadmus,” Jessie retorted.
Alex pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers in frustration. “For the millionth time, your grandpa is not going to turn you over to Cadmus!”
“Isn’t that the anti-alien terrorist group? What would they want with two little girls?” Jenkins asked.
“They wouldn’t. That’s the whole point,” Alex informed him. “They have nothing to worry about. They’re just being ridiculous. My father was their prisoner, but the kids are accusing him of being a double agent. Honestly, I think they’ve just seen too many movies.”
The kids glared at her. She knew perfectly well why Cadmus might want two little girls, but these cops didn’t need to know that. Besides, her father would never do that, so it just wasn't an issue.
“Your dad’s an alien?” Jenkins asked.
“No, he’s a scientist,” Alex answered.
“Ah,” Jenkins and Copeland nodded. Two hysterical kids was far more believable than a crazy double-agent for an anti-alien terrorist group. They got right down to business.
“You girls wanna tell your mom what happened?” Copeland asked them.
They shook their heads.
“You want us to tell her?” Copeland tried.
The girls shook their heads again.
“Well, somebody better friggin tell me!” Alex demanded.
Copeland turned to a page in her notes. “According to the girls, and confirmed by witnesses, an older white male, drunk, approached them and started making inappropriate comments to them. When he grabbed one of them, she pushed him away, and he threw himself backwards, causing him to slip and fall back into a table. Your daughters say they don’t want to press charges, they just want to be done with it.”
“Out of the frying pan, and into the fire. Am I right?” Alex shook her head in dismay. “Are you hurt?"
The twins shook their heads.
"Good. Let’s go, then. Get in the van. And throw those sodas away. You’re grounded. You’ll be lucky if you ever get soda again.”
If looks could kill, Alex would be a pile of dust on the ground. Then she remembered that yes, one of her daughters could kill her with a look now. It was very unsettling. They would all be making a trip to the DEO the next day. She wanted Jamie to be able to control her powers, and that was the safest place for her to learn. The twins took their sweet time getting up to throw their drinks away. They sucked down the rest of their sodas before they actually threw their cups in the garbage and headed for the van. Alex just shook her head. They were gonna push her until she lost it, and she wasn't looking forward to that. They had already pushed every button she had by misbehaving all day. She was at her wit's end.
She and Maggie thanked the officers and climbed into the van, not saying a word until the cops were out of range, then she lit into them. “What the hell were you two thinking? I can’t believe you would just run off like that. How irresponsible can you be? I thought you two were smarter than that. You think Cadmus is dangerous? There’s lots of dangerous things in this world, and you’re lucky something worse didn’t happen! That guy could have done a lot worse than scare you. You’re also lucky that those people didn’t figure out that you used your powers to push that guy! Don’t even try to pretend like that’s not what happened. I grew up with your Mama. I know better than that. I know exactly what it sounds like when people describe seeing what they don’t understand. I understand that. What I don’t understand is why you two thought it might be a good idea to use powers that you don’t understand to go out in public and do god-knows-what!”
“I told you! We were hungry!” Jessie insisted.
“We were having dinner! You could have easily acted like respectable human beings and come and ate with us! You chose to at like fools all day and then continue to have terrible attitudes at dinner, so you got to sit in your room. It’s your own fault! You could have even waited until your grandpa left, but no.”
“We didn’t know how long that would be, and we figured we’d leave while he was distracted,” said Jamie. “I can protect us from ordinary street bums. But even Mama has trouble fighting Cadmus.”
“You can’t be using your powers in public!” Alex hollered. “That’s Rule Number One! Rule Number Two: Don’t tell anyone about your powers! Is that understood? No one! Not even Shayla! Rule Number Three: You still live under all the same house rules you lived under before. You do not get special treatment just because you have powers now. The only new thing that will be happening is you will be going to the DEO, and you will be training how to control your powers. You will not be learning how to fight. You will not be going out and taking on missions, and you will not, I repeat will not be getting any super suits. Any attempt at doing what Supergirl does will result in an actual, real-life arrest by the DEO on my authority. Am I making myself perfectly clear?”
Neither twin answered. They simply glared defiantly at their feet.
“I said, am I making myself perfectly clear?” she repeated louder.
“Yes! God!” Jamie huffed.
“Jessie? Are you listening?”
“I don’t have any powers!” she griped.
“I don’t care! The rules still apply to you, if and when you get powers. Do you understand?”
“Fine!” Jessie growled.
“You can both go straight to bed when we get home. Do not pass Go. Do not collect two-hundred dollars. The only thing I want you to do is go straight to your room, take your showers and get in your beds. No TV. No video games. No games of any kind. When your showers are done, that’s it. Lights out.”
The children scoffed. “It’s not even bedtime yet!”
“That's too bad. You should have behaved yourselves today! We could have celebrated two things tonight.”
“Mama said I got my powers from getting scared!” Jamie argued. “Not from celebrating.”
Alex sighed. She was at her wits’ end, and she just didn't know what to say anymore. “I'm done with this circular conversation. Your grandpa is never gonna hurt you! Now please drop it!”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
There was silence in the car for the rest of the drive. Everyone was too angry to speak. Except Maggie. She was just feeling awkward. Still, she kept her mouth shut. She was actually quite torn on how to feel. On the one hand, she wanted to be happy for Alex that her father was back. On the other hand, she didn't like how mad Alex was at the kids. They were scared, and instead of trying to soothe them, she was yelling at them. It was very uncharacteristic of Alex to be so down on her children. Maggie wanted to say something, but she didn't want to start yet another argument. She bit back a heavy sigh and tried to think of a solution.
When they got back to the Danvers’ apartment, the twins dragged their feet going inside, irritating Alex even more. That was what made Maggie blurt out, “Why don't you and Kara take the night off, and let me and Lena take care of the kids for the night? Hmm? That will give you some time off to cool down.”
“I don't know, Maggie. I don't want them taking advantage of you.”
“They won't. Come on. You know me better than that. You guys can spend the night at Lena’s, and we'll stay here. What do you say?”
Alex sighed. “I'll talk to Kara and see what she says.”
Maggie internally crossed her fingers. She was completely convinced that the kids would be better off with her tonight. Obviously, Alex wasn't thinking clearly at the moment. Who knew what Kara was gonna do when they got inside. They didn't have to wait long to find out. As soon as they got inside, Kara and Lena ran to them. Lena hugged them first. Kara did too, but she also started in on them.
“What were you girls thinking? You could have gotten seriously hurt!”
“Nothing can hurt me now!” Jamie reminded her. “I'm like you now.”
“There is stuff that can hurt us!” Kara rebutted.
“Like at Cadmus?”
Alex banged her fist on the counter. “You know what, Maggie? I’m done. You can go ahead and deal with them all you like. I just can’t handle their attitudes anymore. You know, this was supposed to be one of the happiest moments of our lives! I just don’t know what to do anymore.” She stormed off to the bedroom, leaving the rest of them looking awkwardly at each other.
“Lena, my love,” Maggie spoke pointedly. “Would it be OK for Alex and Kara to stay at your place tonight, so they can get a break from the kids, while you and I and the twins stay here?”
The CEO narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, “As a matter of fact, I think that’s a great idea.”
Kara looked unsure, but the way Lena was staring her down had her caving in no time. “Alright. I think Alex needs it more than me, but I’ll go with her to try to help her calm down. Is that OK with you kids?” she asked.
The twins nodded. Maggie assumed they wanted to get away from their parents as badly as their parents wanted to get away from them. That’s partly why she insisted on this arrangement in the first place. Plus, Alex needed to get her head out of her ass, and maybe if she slept on it, she’d come to her senses.
“Come on, girls.” the detective put her arms around them. “Your mom wants you to take your showers.” She walked with them to the bedroom. “Let’s pick out what you want to wear to bed.”
“They don’t need your help with that,” Alex told her as she passed them with her overnight bag.
Maggie gave her a Look. “We've got this, Alex. You worry about yourself right now.”
“Fine. I’m outta here. Kara, are you coming?” she called into the other room.
“I’m ready when you are,” came the reply.
“See you tomorrow,” was all Alex said, as she turned and walked away. Maggie really hoped the agent got it together soon.
Luckily, as Alex and Kara were leaving, Lena came into the bedroom. “Hello, my darlings.” She grabbed Maggie’s hand and the detective could sense how tense her partner was. “I’d like to talk to you all before you get in the shower, if that’s OK?”
“OK,” both the kids answered quietly, sitting down on their beds.
Lena nudged Maggie in Jessie’s direction, as she herself went to sit down next to Jamie. “I know you’ve probably had enough lecturing tonight, but-” Lena started angrily tearing up. “You really scared us tonight! Don’t you ever run away like that again! I don’t care if you do have powers. You never know who’s out there.”
Jamie started crying too. “I’m sorry, Lena!” She tried to hug the CEO, but got a yelp in return. “Sorry!” She scooted away and dropped her head into her hands in her lap, sobbing, “I’m sorry.”
Maggie looked at Jessie, and she had tears streaming down her face too. She held the girl tighter, and wrapped both arms around her.
Lena pulled Jamie back into her arms, though the poor girl refused to touch her back for fear of hurting her again. “It’s OK, sweetheart. You’ll get it soon enough.” She kissed the twin’s face and swiped at her tears. “I love you so much. Shh. It’s OK. You’re safe. We’re safe. Everyone’s safe. Jeremiah isn’t hurting anyone, and honestly, I think you’re safe from him. Whatever he’s done, he’s done to protect his family, and that means you. He didn’t know about you until yesterday, so I don’t think my mother knows about you, or she would have already come after you. IF, and I mean if Jeremiah does plan to betray us in some way, I don’t think it’ll be to kidnap you girls.”
Maggie thought about Lena’s reasoning. She still wasn’t sure that Cadmus wasn’t using him, but she could believe that Jeremiah wasn’t after the twins. The question remained, if Cadmus was using him for something, what was it that he was after? She couldn’t think about that stuff right now. They were trying to help the kids calm down, and if she wasn’t calm, they wouldn’t be. “I think Lena’s right,” she said with conviction. “I mean, when isn’t she, hmm?” She winked at her partner.
Lena laughed, “Oh, that’s a good point.”
The twins half-smiled at this. It was a start.
“OK, Jamie,” Lena patted her head, “Let me turn on the shower for you, so you don’t break it.”
“Thanks,” the young blonde told her. They got up and headed for the bathroom, leaving Jessie and Maggie in the room.
“I can’t wait till my powers kick in!” Jessie said excitedly.
Maggie pressed her lips together into a smile as best she could. She wasn’t entirely convinced that Jessie was going to be getting her powers anytime soon. From what she understood of a Kryptonian without powers is that they needed some sort of an adrenaline rush to jump start themselves. If tonight's encounters didn’t trigger the fearless twin’s powers, she might not get them for a while still. The problem was, Maggie didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news. She tried to hedge around it a little. “How would you feel, if you didn’t get powers?”
“Bad,” Jessie answered right away. “Very bad. I would feel like the universe was punishing me for not being the golden child. I’m not as good as her. I’m just what’s left over.”
“Oh my god!” Maggie exclaimed. “Do you really believe that?” She didn’t realize how heavy this was going to get.
There were tears in Jessie’s eyes, when she looked at Maggie. “Yes. She’s smarter than I am. And she doesn’t get yelled at half as much as I do.”
Maggie didn’t usually cry, but this was something altogether different. It hit her right in the gut, and she started crying rather hard, shaking her head and taking Jessie’s face between her hands, “You listen to me! You are just as good and smart and perfect as she is! There is no way in hell that you’re not as good as her! With or without powers! The universe doesn’t punish people like that. You have the wrong thoughts. Your thoughts need to be about empowerment and strength and positive things like that. You are a little mini goddess. You are smart and sweet and good! Those are the thoughts that you need to fill your mind with. Don’t you ever put yourself down like that. Ever!” The two of them cried together, until Lena came back to the bedroom and sank down on the bed next to Jessie.
“Oh, honey,” she wrapped her arms around the both of them. “I love you so much. It’s gonna be alright.”
Jessie soon calmed down, but they stayed there, wrapped around each other until Jamie was done washing up.
“I just left the water running,” she informed her sister. “Better hurry.”
“OK,” Jessie sighed, grabbing her pajamas. She extricated herself from Lena and Maggie’s embrace and headed for the bathroom.
Jamie took Jessie’s place between the two adults. “I accidentally ripped my towel,” she said wryly, drying her hair with half the towel, and holding the other half in her lap.
“It’s OK, we can get a new one,” Lena assured her. “Your Mama told me that you’ll be going to the DEO tomorrow to help work on your strength training. You’ll be a pro in no time.”
“You guys will come with me, right?”
“If that’s what you want, then of course we will,” Maggie told her.
Jamie nodded, looking relieved. “I’ve never been to the DEO before,” she said thoughtfully. “Have you guys been there?”
“Yep,” they both answered.
“What’s it like?”
“It’s sick,” said Maggie. “Like, it’s a proper high-tech bad guy-alien tracking military program. You’ll love it!”
“Cool.” Jamie sat thoughtfully towelling at her hair for a few seconds. “Thanks for talking to Jessie,” she said. “I didn’t meant to eavesdrop. I just can’t help it now. I… I’m afraid that Jessie isn’t going to get her powers. She doesn’t get scared like I do. She’s fearless. What if nothing ever scares her enough to trigger her powers? She’s gonna hate me for the rest of our lives!”
“No,” Lena said gently, “She could never hate you. You’re her twin sister. You have a bond that no one else in the world could ever replace. Don’t forget that. And don’t forget to be good to her, especially if she doesn’t get her powers.”
“Yeah, she already feels inferior enough as it is,” Maggie said mournfully.
Jamie nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s probably my fault. I haven’t always been good to her.”
“There’s always time to change that,” said Lena. “The more you can do to improve your relationship with her, the better.”
“I really wanna hug you guys, but I’m afraid of hurting you.”
Lena smiled at her. “Just go slow and think gentle thoughts.” She let Jamie put her arms around her. “There. That’s a good pressure. See? You’re doing wonderfully!”
Jamie grinned, then turned to the detective, “Maggie?”
Maggie opened her arms and let the blonde hug her. “Right there. That’s good. Good job. Good hug.”
Jamie seemed quite a bit more cheerful now. A kid as cuddly as she was needed to learn how to touch people, or she would wither and die inside. Maggie was only too happy to help her. She loved these kids like they were her own.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Lena and Maggie helped Jamie practice hugging and holding hands while Jessie was in the shower. Lena felt bad for the poor girl. She’d had a rough experience by being so scared of her grandfather that it triggered her powers. Plus, it couldn't be any easier when her mother was so angry with her. But as Alex had said, they weren’t with them all day, so they weren’t angry with the twins to start with. It was hard to see both points of view, but Alex was never angry like this. She had to concede that the kids really must have pushed her buttons that day. Lena had caught a glimpse of it that morning, so she could just imagine.
When Jessie was done, she came back in the bedroom and joined the group on her bed. “Do we really have to go to bed?” she whined. “It's only eight o'clock!”
“Yes,” Lena answered. “Your mother wouldn’t punish you for no reason. Just because Maggie and I weren’t around for your misbehaving, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. There had to be a very good reason she was angry with you today.”
“She’s mad at us because we’re scared of Jeremiah!” Jessie insisted.
“No,” Maggie corrected, “She’s mad at you because you acted out all day long, and then you ran off. We were witness to you mouthing off at least a little. You’re not innocent here, by any means. Don’t try and act like you are.”
Jessie crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.
“You know what I think?” Maggie continued. “I think that if you girls want to insist on not being called babies anymore, then you should stop acting like babies. This right here,” she indicated Jessie’s pose and attitude, “Is very babyish behavior. Do you think any of us go to work and act like that to get our way? Do you think we would get to keep our jobs, if we did?”
The preteen deflated. She let her arms fall back to her sides, though she still looked rather morose.
“That's a start,” Maggie encouraged. “Now, do the right thing and go to bed, like you're supposed to.”
“And no more running off!” added Lena. They stood up so Jessie could have her bed.
Both twins had tears streaming down their faces, but they climbed into their beds without any more arguments. It made Lena’s heart ache that they were crying, but she knew she had to stay firm. Kara had told her all about how the girls had behaved all day, and according to the reporter, it was because they didn't sleep well the night before. Lena wasn't about to give in and let them stay up. She and Maggie kissed the kids on their heads and made their way back to the living room.
“What now?” she asked the detective.
“Now, we take five.” Maggie pulled Lena into her arms as they sat on the couch. They just sat there and held one another quietly for a few minutes. They both liked to take the time to gather their thoughts before having a serious discussion.
When she felt like a sufficient amount of time had passed, Lena spoke up, “I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place with the Danvers right now.”
“I know, baby. We just have to keep our wits about us, and they’ll come around. We'll be the voice of reason,” Maggie encouraged her.
Lena nodded. “We can do that.”
“Yes, we can,” Maggie kissed her.
“Mmm,” Lena stole another kiss. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Maggie grinned.
“Do you mind if I get some work done? I need to try to finish up some things.” Plus, she needed to drown out some of the emotions that were roiling around inside her. A little computer work was good for that any day.
“Sure, I’ll probably end up doing the same,” the detective agreed.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Jamie couldn’t sleep. The world around her was now way too noisy - including her twin sister singing under her breath because she couldn’t sleep either. She tried putting her pillow over her ears, but that did nothing. On the floor above them, she could hear a baby crying, so her senses automatically tuned into it. She watched the mother cross the room and check on him. When the baby refused to be soothed by his pacifier, she tried nursing him, and that did the trick. It was a beautiful thing to watch, and it didn’t even occur to Jamie to be embarrassed for spying. The real problem only arose when, another floor up, a couple started arguing. Apparently, the man spent way too much money on things his girlfriend didn’t approve of. She tried to focus back on the baby and block out the arguing by sheer willpower alone. It worked a little. She might be able to focus better with more practice. She tried to look around the building for someone watching a movie. She found one in an apartment two floors down and across the hall. She decided to pass the time tuning in her senses to the film. It was one of the kinds of action movies her mom and Maggie would probably love, with people jumping off cars while they’re riding ninety miles per hour down the highway. Not exactly her style, but it was something to focus on, nonetheless. Half an hour later, the movie was over, and Jamie was quite proud of herself for focusing her senses for that long. She went back to focusing on the baby upstairs until Maggie came in to check on them.
“We’re still here,” Jamie told her.
“That’s good,” Maggie replied, “But you should be sleeping.”
“We can’t sleep. We had too much caffeine at McDonald’s,” said Jessie.
“And everything’s too loud!” Jamie complained.
“Can we at least have some music playing?” Jessie begged.
Maggie crossed her arms over her chest, “Only if you play something soothing. No dance music.”
Jessie picked up her phone and started fiddling around, eventually finding a suitable classical piano station on Pandora that Maggie approved before leaving them alone again.
“Thanks,” Jamie said to her sister. “That helps.”
“I’m glad. It helps me too, so it’s win-win,” Jessie replied.
The music didn't really help them sleep, but it gave them something to focus on that made the time pass better. It was well passed ten when Lena came to check on them next.
“Lena, can we get something to eat?” Jessie asked. “I’m hungry!”
The CEO sighed. “Make it quick. No fooling around. And no junk food.”
The girls threw their blankets off and bounced out of bed. “Thank you, Lena!”
“What’s this?” Maggie asked, looking up at them from her laptop.
“We’re hungry,” Jamie informed her.
The detective rolled her eyes. “Of course you are. You better stay out of the junk food!”
“We will!” they promised as they ran by her and into the kitchen. They made themselves some sandwiches and sat down at the table to eat.
“Did you know there’s a baby upstairs from us?” Jamie informed her twin.
Jessie perked up, “Really? I wonder if we could play with her.”
“It’s a him,” Jamie corrected. “The baby’s a boy.”
“Well, that doesn’t matter. I just want to play with a baby,” Jessie shrugged.
“I’d be afraid to hurt him, now that I have powers,” Jamie said forlornly. The thought of not being able to hold a baby anymore really bothered her. One of her favorite things to do was to play with the Kavanaugh kids Cobie and Lauren, and now there was little baby Sophie too. She really hoped she could get a handle on her powers! She didn’t want to hurt any of them.
“Just make sure you practice being gentle,” Jessie said, as if it was easy.
“I will.” Jamie swore to herself that she would learn to be gentle if it killed her.
“More eating, less talking,” Maggie told them as she walked by and started getting into the liquor cabinet. “Why does everyone around here have to be so damn tall?” she complained, grabbing the step stool to get what she wanted.
The girls giggled at her. Maggie was the shortest of their little tribe. The twins were both taller than the detective. Everyone in their family was relatively tall, so of course, they were right up there. In fact, their Mama had commented a few times that she was surprised that they weren’t taller yet. On Krypton, a person was considered full grown at fourteen, yet here they were at twelve, and they still had quite a ways to go to get to Supergirl’s full five-foot-nine...if they were going to get there. Everyone assumed that they would.
“That's it. Laugh it up. Little hyenas,” Maggie grumbled.
The kids giggled some more.
Maggie poured two glasses of wine and headed back to the living room. “Finish up, and get back in bed. This isn't a get out of jail free card.”
“OK,” they answered. They finished their food while Lena and Maggie worked on their laptops in the living room. When they were done, they washed their dishes and put them away, then headed back to their room. “Thank you,” they told the grownups.
“You’re welcome. Good night,” Maggie and Lena answered.
The twins laid down, and with her focus on the music on Jessie’s phone, Jamie was finally able to fall into a fitful sleep.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Alex woke up quite depressed on Sunday. She had to drag herself out of bed, force herself to shower, and really try to eat the breakfast that Kara made for them. She wanted to rush over to the DEO to see her dad immediately, but she knew they needed to check on their kids. She felt bad for snapping at them yesterday, but she couldn’t take it back now. Hopefully they were in better moods today, and they wouldn’t make her yell at them anymore. They had Jamie’s new powers to deal with, and she just didn’t want to fight anymore.
She called her dad just to check in, and let him know that they would be in to see him soon. Then she called Lena to see if the kids were awake yet. When she got the affirmative, she and Kara headed home to see them. Their little family was sitting at the table eating breakfast when they came in.
“Good morning,” Lena and Maggie greeted them happily.
The twins were more reticent. “Morning,” they said softly, almost bashfully.
“Hi, girls,” Alex greeted them gently.
“Hi, babies,” Kara smiled, and for once, didn’t get any arguments for it.
“Mom, are you still mad at us?” Jessie asked. Alex could hear the worry in her voice.
“No, baby. I forgive you. Come here,” she pulled her daughter into a tight, reaffirming hug. “I love you both so much. Just be good today, huh?”
“We will,” Jessie promised.
Alex tugged Jamie up for a bear hug. She could feel the girl relax under her touch. “Oh, good job being gentle,” she encouraged.
“Maggie and Lena were helping me,” she informed.
“Thanks, guys,” Alex told her partners.
“No problem,” they answered.
Kara moved in and hugged her kids too, first Jessie, then Jamie. When she hugged her elder daughter, she encouraged her to squeeze as tightly as she wanted. “Oh, man, that feels great!” she groaned happily.
Jamie giggled, “Squeeze me back as hard as you can!”
Kara squeezed her until she grunted from losing air.
“That’s so cool!” Jamie exclaimed.
“You’re so cool!” Kara replied with a grin.
Alex was relieved. She was lucky her kids didn’t hold grudges, and they were so willing to make up and get along. That was one area in which they really took after Kara, thank Rao. If they had taken after Alex in that way, they’d all be in way more trouble. She hugged Jessie again, letting the preteen melt into her. “I love you, baby girl,” she said, kissing her head.
“I love you too, Mom.”
“I'm glad we're all getting along again,” Maggie commented.
“Me too,” said Alex. “Now finish your breakfast. We’re going to the DEO today.”
“Is Mon-El gonna be there?” Jessie wanted to know.
“Yep,” Kara answered. “And Grandma, and Grandpa, and J’onn, and Winn. We’ll have the whole crew around.”
Jamie looked a little nervous. “Everyone’s gonna be watching me?”
Alex chuckled. “Since when do you have stage fright?”
“But what if I mess up a bunch?”
“You’re gonna mess up a lot, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try,” Alex encouraged, stroking her daughter’s hair. “Everyone around you is going to love you and be proud of you, no matter what happens today. Don’t you know that?”
“Right,” Kara agreed. “Plus, everyone doesn’t have to watch you. You have full say over who stays and who goes, since there’ll be so many people.”
“OK, Mama,” Jamie answered. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, baby.”
Again, there was no argument for the nickname. Alex thought it was strange, but she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, so she kept quiet about it. They sat around the table until everyone was done eating. After all the dishes were in the dishwasher, and the breakfast mess was cleared away, they headed out for the DEO.
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