Author's Note: This is a canon divergence taking place after "Manhunter" (mainly because I didn't want to have to worry about Myriad from the end of "Worlds Finest"). For those of you that don't already follow me on Tumblr (shannyfishwriter), please do. I post sneak peeks, extras, and updates :)

"We don't meet people by accident. They are meant to cross our paths for a reason." - Unknown

"Alex?"

"I'm fine," she whispered.

J'onn sat down next to her on the floor and just sat there in silence. Alex knew that he was worried about her. He'd voiced his concern many times since they'd left National City. That was several weeks ago. It was also the longest that she'd been apart from Kara since she'd become Supergirl. She kept worrying about her sister and the DEO, but kept trying to remember that Kara could handle herself and she had Lucy to look after her.

They'd been constantly moving and right now, Alex was having a hard time not wanting to just give up and go home. She hated feeling so negative because she knew that J'onn would pick up on it. Damn alien telepathy. At least she knew that he didn't hold things like those kinds of thoughts against her. They'd been in close quarters for weeks and Alex was dying for a shower.

"We're close," he whispered as he put his arm around her and pulled her towards him until her head fell to his shoulder. "Just a little longer, Alex, a little further."

"Talk to me," Alex whispered as she closed her eyes. She wasn't sure the last time she'd slept, but right now...she was exhausted and she didn't think she could move any more until she got some sleep. "Just for a little bit. Tell me about Mars." That's what he'd been telling her. Sharing with her pieces of his past, his family, of Mars...as almost an award to keep her going.

"How about a lullaby instead?"

"You sing?" she breathed the question through a yawn.

"Sleep, Alex," he told her gently. It was only a breath in between before J'onn started to sing softly in his native tongue. Alex didn't understand any of it, but it was beautiful and she didn't fight sleep when it tugged at her.

"We sure this is Cadmus?"

"No," J'onn admitted as they surveyed it from a distance. "But no matter what it is, you need to promise me that you'll stay close."

Alex just stared at him for a long moment. "We're going to watch each other's backs, just like always," she told him, not sure if he was meaning something else. J'onn could transform and he'd be able to get them out of there quickly, if he had the space to fly and a route out of the building. All Alex could think about was how her father was still alive twelve years later, after all of that time of thinking that he was dead and not having him in her life.

"Alex-"

"I'll focus," she brushed it off. She knew that J'onn had been keeping tabs on her mental state via his Martian telepathy. Alex couldn't help what she thought, though. He wasn't being nosey, she knew that he was doing it because he wanted to make sure that it was safe for them to go in, that she wouldn't be distracted, that she'd remember what she'd been trained to do. "I just…"

"I understand."

She turned to look at him. "We're so close." She'd told Kara that she needed to do this and she did. Right now, as they stared at the facility that they believed was considered Cadmus, Alex's fears rose inside of her. Her father was alive, but they'd been doing something to him for the past twelve years. What if she didn't recognize him? Cadmus was a torture chamber, she had no idea what they did to humans...but she knew that it couldn't be good.

"I promise you, we'll bring Jeremiah home."

"But will he be my dad?" she questioned. Alex turned her attention back to the facility and blew out of a huff. They were going to have to wait a couple of hours before they went in, it was going to be long, but she knew that it was the smartest way...and they needed to be smart about this.

It was dark and they knew that they were about to do a shift change, they'd been watching long enough to be prepared (or at least they were confident they were). They moved down and closer to the facility entrance. Once inside, it was going to be solely upon them relying on each other and using their training. They had no idea what the inside of the facility looked like or where Jeremiah Danvers was being held. It was a huge gamble and it wasn't going to help their fugitive statuses.

"Alex," J'onn whispered as they got closer. "Are you sure--"

"I'm going," Alex confirmed. J'onn had pitched the idea of him going in there several times, but she just couldn't stay out and wait. This was her father and she was determined to see it through. "I'm not letting you go in there alone."

He wouldn't let her.

Why would she let him?

It was safer with numbers, even if the numbers were low and just the two of them. Alex had learned that they could do anything together (whether it was her and J'onn, her and Kara, or the three of them), there was nothing that could stop them when they were determined. This was no different. She knew that she needed to focus on the task at hand, not the big picture...but the step by step aspect of it because it would be all that was going to keep her focused and sane.

Step one: take out the guards at the entrance without alerting anyone else.

"What about the cameras?" Alex asked as they got into position. It had been something that they hadn't seen until they got closer, but they knew they were there. This was a top secret alien torture facility, of course they'd have cameras.

"We could take them out, but I think we're still going to be seen," J'onn told her matter of factly.

Alex just gave a nod as she thought that over. Right now, she really didn't care. "I feel like they really can't say anything… He's my father. He's your friend. This is a rescue mission." They just stared at each other for a long moment before he finally gave her a nod.

It was time.

They waited, watched, and when the change of guards finally appeared, they moved just like they discussed.

Step one: take out the guards at the entrance without alerting anyone else.

Focus.

They moved quickly, the guards were down within seconds and J'onn was shooting out the cameras as she worked on securing the guards. Carefully and cautiously, they moved into the facility. With no sense of direction, they were going to have to just figure it out as they went or- Alex looked over after they'd taken down another set of guards, J'onn was mind melding or whatever it was considered...she waited, but was certain that his goal was to give them a sense of direction, so they weren't proceeding blindly.

"I might know the way," J'onn finally said after a moment.

She could hope.

His hand on hers made her jump as they came upon a door. They'd made it this far, just a little further. Alex looked at him and it scared her, what she saw in J'onn's brown concerned eyes. "I'm okay," she whispered.

"I don't know what we'll find behind this door."

"I know."

"He might not-"

"I'm okay," Alex repeated. She squeezed his hand for a brief moment as she stared at him. "I have you."

They didn't have time, she knew that. They both knew that. No matter what happened, what they found...she knew that there were always going to be three people in the world that she could always depend on and talk to no matter what. They didn't need words as they stared each other for another second. J'onn squeezed her hand before moving to open the door. He wanted to be first through and Alex was certain that it was to act as a shield to protect her from what she might see.

She took a breath before following him in, weapon ready. They weren't shooting people if they didn't have to and so far all they'd shot at had been cameras. Sure, they'd been seen, but at least they weren't having their every move tracked. So, there was that. It bought them a few extra seconds of time and that had made all the difference so far.

The room they entered irradiated with this yellow glow. It made every lifeless body in that room look sickly...and there were a lot of bodies. They were all on metal medical tables and if there weren't beeping monitors next to them tracking their vitals, Alex would have sworn they'd just stepped into a morgue. "What the hell is this?" she whispered as they looked around.

"Cadmus." Maybe J'onn was trying to distract her or keep her from being emotional, but he didn't stop talking as they looked at each body. "Cadmus was a Greek hero, before Hercules… He was a slayer of monsters… I don't know that he'd appreciate the Army using his name to commit such atrocities in his name…"

Alex wondered as they looked at each unconscious person in the room - no, it was more like a lab - if her father would look the same...similar...if she'd recognize him. She also wondered how many other rooms like this one existed in Cadmus and what all of these people did to get themselves sentenced to that kind of hell. "Maybe we can help them," she found herself saying.

"Stay on mission."

She looked up at him, almost surprised at his words. Alex sucked in a breath and knew he was right. If they had back-up, if this was a DEO sanctioned mission… Taking a moment, she pulled in a steadying breath, trying not to seethe in the hate she found herself feeling for those in charge of Project Cadmus and then let it out.

"Alex," she heard J'onn gasp. "I found him."

Her world spun and she moved across the room to his side. Sure enough, her father was there lying on one of the medical metal tables, unconscious and hooked up to monitors and tubing. His vitals all looked good to her and she started to think over what they were going to do. Could they unplug him? They had no idea what they were doing to the people in that lab. No idea if unplugging him would kill him or not.

"We have to chance it," J'onn told her, obviously reading her thoughts.

Alex blinked away tears. "I know," she whispered. This was what she'd dreamed of for the last thirteen years, being able to have another chance to have time with her father. He'd always understood her and she'd always been closer to him and he'd been taken away when she felt like she'd needed him most in life.

"Alex, we need to do this now," J'onn spoke. His words were urgent and yet gentle.

Pulling herself out of it, she nodded, and then went to work disconnecting her father from the tubing and wires. The IV bags weren't labeled with anything other than an ID number and a sku. None of that helped her to know what they had him on. Right now, it was a gamble and she knew that they needed to take it.

This was their only chance.

"Dad?" Alex whispered. "You really need to wake up for us." She knew that J'onn could carry him out, but it would be a lot easier if all three of them were on foot and moving.

"Jeremiah," J'onn said as he helped to sit him up.

They were going to need clothes. Her father was only wearing a hospital gown and that was certainly going to draw attention and not keep him warm at all. "I'll look for clothes," she said quickly as she left J'onn to try to rouse him. She looked through cupboards until she found a pair of scrubs that looked like they might just fit him and some slippers with a rubber sole that could pass for shoes for the time being.

She returned to J'onn's side and tried to get her father into the clothes the best she could. "They're going to be here any minute," Alex said. She felt rushed, but it was worrying her that her father wasn't regaining consciousness.

"I know," J'onn said. "I can hear them."

Of course he could.

It took them another few seconds and they managed to have him mostly dressed. J'onn moved towards the door and looked back at her. "See if you can wake him, I'll take care of the guards-"

"J'onn-"

"I'll be fine," he promised with a wink before disappearing.

Alex slipped the blue terry cloth slippers with the flimsy rubber soles onto her father's feet before moving to cup his face. He looked nearly like she remembered, maybe a little grey and some wrinkles...but still her dad. "Dad, it's Alex...you have to wake up. We're going to take you home," she told him and shook him a bit. "Please? Just open your eyes. Look at me." She huffed and looked around, she was trying to think of what she could do. "Dad!" Alex shouted. "Wake up! Open your eyes and look at me!" Her fingers were wrapped in the light blue scrub material of his shirt. Tears slid down her eyes as she thought that this was it, this was what Cadmus had left of her father...an empty shell.

"I'm sorry," Alex said as she lowered his body back into a horizontal position and then turned away. "I wanted to take you home...to mom...to Kara...for myself…" She run her hands over her face, pushing away the tears that were still on her face.

"Kara?" came the hoarse voice.

Alex whipped around and stared at her father's form. "Dad?" she whispered. She couldn't be sure that she'd actually heard him. Was she imagining it? Hallucinating it? Then she saw him move ever so slightly. She moved to his side, his eyes were open and he looked so confused. "Hi," she croaked with a bright smile as she stared down at him. She wasn't sure if she'd ever been this happy.

Her father just stared at her for a long time. Jeremiah was silent. His eyes searching. "Who are you?"

Alex gasped and was taken aback by that. She knew that she shouldn't be surprised, but she was just the same. "It's me," she whispered. "Alex." When he seemed even more confused, she added more. "Your daughter."

Jeremiah pushed himself up to a sitting position and stared at her. "My daughter is fourteen."

"No," Alex whispered. "That was twelve years ago, Dad… They've had you-"

There was gunfire in the hallway and she knew that they needed to go. Alex pulled her weapon out and was ready to aim if anyone came in. She didn't think anyone would get past J'onn, but she knew she needed to be ready. No matter what her father thought, they needed to get him out of there. They could explain everything after they were out of the facility. Alex knew if nothing else, taking him to Midvale...him seeing the house...seeing mom...that would seal it all for him. He'd realize that she was telling him the truth.

"I don't have time to explain," Alex said as she set her weapon down on the table, helping him to a standing position. He wasn't steady at first and she knew that he would need a moment before she pushed him to walk. They needed to walk, to move. "I am your daughter, Alex. I came here to rescue you-"

"I don't need to be rescued."

"What's the last thing you remember?" she asked as she looked at him.

"Peru."

"You were with Hank Henshaw...the DEO," Alex said. "He was pursuing an alien that he had been obsessing about...and then you realized that he wasn't bad. He wasn't dangerous-"

"You don't know what you're talking about-"

"I do," Alex told him, frustrated and upset that he wouldn't or couldn't recognize her. "That man...that alien that you knew wasn't a threat...the one that reminded you of Kara...J'onn J'onzz...he's here...he's in the hallway keeping us safe right now and we're going to take you home."

"Alex!" she heard J'onn call.

She turned towards the door and took a couple of steps towards it before she heard something she hadn't expected to hear. Her father had grabbed the gun from the table, she'd been distracted and had forgotten it there. Alex turned back and her father was holding the gun on her. "Dad," she whispered. "Please…"

"My Alex is a little girl," Jeremiah told her firmly.

Her heart broke and raced at the same time. She held up her hands, trying to buy time. She knew that J'onn was listening, or whatever it was that he did when he was monitoring her thoughts, and he had to know what was going on now. He had to know that she was in trouble. He'd be coming for her, he'd be the proof that her father needed-

There was a clatter behind them and then a gunshot.

"Jeremiah! No!" J'onn shouted from behind her.

"Hank?" her father questioned.

Searing pain radiated from the gunshot wound as Alex started to feel her body realizing what had happened. She didn't hit the floor, though, she found that she was cradled in arms and J'onn in his true form was staring down at her. "It's not that bad," she whispered. It was a lie and he had to know that, he had to be able to sense or feel or whatever her pain. Tears clouded her vision for a moment as she heard people coming. "You go. Take my dad. Take him and keep him safe."

"I'm not leaving without you," J'onn told her. "I promised you I'd bring Jeremiah home, but I also promised him to look after you as if you were my own...and I will never stop keeping that promise."

"They're coming," she breathed.

When J'onn moved repositioned her weight in his arms and stood with her, she saw for a brief moment the look on her father's face. It was of so many emotions and among them was absolute guilt and grief. Alex wondered for a beat if he'd realized what he'd done, if he realized that everything he thought was reality wasn't actually that anymore...that time had passed.

"We're leaving," she heard J'onn gruffly tell her dad.

They were running and she barely remembered guards being barreled out of the way before they were finally outside. Outside there were more troops, backup of all different kinds, but that didn't matter. There was one thing that they couldn't take from them.

The sky.

"Just hold on, Alex," J'onn whispered to her before she remembered the sensation of flying (it was something that she realized she missed) and the darkness. It was the last thing she remembered before finally blacking out.

TBC…