699. Chapter 699

Alex’s lips are cracked with blood and the jagged cut above her left eye is going to scar.

At least one rib is broken, and her hair is both soaked and frizzed like her cells were fried in water.

And this is only what Maggie can ascertain from one glance.

She doesn’t shoot to kill.

But she almost does.

She almost breaks Lilian Luthor’s neck and enjoys it.

She doesn’t.

But only for Lena’s sake, for Kara’s sake.

She doesn’t much care for the thing that used to be her own soul.

Because these people have been torturing the woman she loves.

The thing that used to be her soul has temporarily vacated her flesh, because the pain of it can’t possibly be contained in such a fragile thing as a human body.

“Maggie, stop it,” Supergirl calls to her, and Maggie almost rages at her, for interrupting the extra kick she’s delivering to an unconscious Lilian Luthor’s rib cage.

A broken bone for a broken bone.

Until she sees that Kara is trying to scoop Alex up into her arms. And she immediately decides that this woman is not worth it, but Alex is.

She sprints over.

She nearly shoves Kara away from her; the superhero might be Alex’s sister, but she is… she…. she got her to be herself.

She has to restrain herself from gathering Alex into her arms, only her arms, only her hands.

Because Alex is hers, hers, hers.

But Kara is her sister.

And Kara has super strength and heat vision, so Maggie decides to let her be the one to scoop Alex out of the decimated Cadmus building and into the DEO’s medical evac copter.

But she insists on riding with Alex’s unconscious form.

Kara knows better than to argue, and flies next to the copter instead of holding Alex’s broken hand inside.

Maggie counts Alex’s broken bones, and she wishes she’d given into her rage back on the ground.

Winn tries to make her eat, and James tries to make her shower.

She and Kara both refuse.

They don’t speak to each other.

They just watch over the woman they both love, in different way and in the same way.

Desperately.

Like only their love can keep her safe.

Even though both of them failed to keep her safe, back there.

Even though Cadmus had had her for nearly twenty-four hours before they found her.

Kara only leaves her bedside to take a call from Sara Lance and Oliver Queen; because Team Arrow has more experience in this department than the Superfriends.

Maggie doesn’t leave her bedside at all.

Even after the DEO medics and surgeons assure her that Alex will be fine, just fine, just fine, she barely blinks.

She certainly doesn’t eat, and she certainly doesn’t sleep.

Because Alex is hers, hers, hers, and if she leaves her side for even a moment, she might vanish.

She might go back to being tortured. Again.

“I love you,” is the first thing she tells her when Alex wakes, because for so long, she was terrified she’d never be able to say it again.

“I love you back,” Alex murmurs with a groggy voice and soft smile, because those three words from Maggie’s lips are exactly what kept her alive long enough – what helped her hold on – what helped her not let go, of her life, of her sanity, of her loyalty – while Cadmus had her.

“I’m all yours,” she promises as Maggie leans down to kiss her lips, softly, trembling, as though she read Maggie’s mind.

But really, she’s just read her eyes.

And her eyes are exactly right.