Epilogue

A/N: Thanks to everyone who favorited/followed/reviewed this story. Now on to the final chapter of Part 1. Enjoy!

Alex surged back to life with a loud gasp. The first thing she noticed was a complete lack of pain, which was a bit surprising given the severity of her injuries. Logically, the only explanation was that she'd been out for quite a while, which definitely didn't bode well. She slowly opened her eyes, hoping to find her sister waiting for her. Instead, the young immortal found herself inside what appeared to be one of the holding cells at the desert base. Only it couldn't be. The DEO would never do that to her – not last she'd checked, anyway – and no one else had access. Which meant that someone had gone to a lot of trouble to recreate the environment. She sat up on the small bench she'd been laid across, and in that moment realized just how much trouble she was in. Her clothes had been exchanged for a set of beige scrubs, her feet had been left bare, and – worst of all – she'd been put in restraints. Her wrists were locked into a set of cuffs with one of those black boxes around the middle. Those were attached to a chain around her waist, which was attached to another chain leading down to a set of shackles around her ankles. Alex tugged at the cuffs, trying to remember the trick for getting them open. Unfortunately, before she could even begin to figure it out, she was hit with the sensation of an approaching immortal. She shot to her feet in time to see Lord enter the room, holding her sword like some kind of trophy. "Karma's a bitch, isn't it," he grinned, walking right up to the glass wall separating them. "You illegally detain me in one of these for weeks, and now I get to do the same to you. Only there are no self-righteous aliens around to talk me into letting you go."

"Motherfucker!" Alex snarled, glaring at her captor. "What the fuck are you trying to pull?"

Lord laughed. "Normally, I'm not one to monologue, but since you're not going anywhere anytime soon…why not?" He sat down on the ledge outside the glass, laying her sword across his lap. "The truth of the matter is, my parents didn't die working on some virus. Those were the real Maxwell Lord's parents. And the young man whose identity I 'borrowed' is buried in a shallow grave somewhere outside Appleton. My real parents…the ones who adopted me, anyway…died because of creatures like your precious sister. Dad worked for a division of the FBI that dealt with extraterrestrials – the precursor to your DEO – and was killed by whatever came out of the ship that landed in Roswell. I was 10. Mom died a year later…drank herself to death out of grief. I spent the rest of my childhood in and out of foster homes, and when I was 18 I made my way to Nevada and broke into Area 51 to try and get proof that the aliens were real."

"Let me guess…that's how you got yourself killed the first time."

"Got it in one. Lucky for me, one of the higher-ups at the base was like us and took me under his wing. He taught me everything I needed to know about the Game, and about what really happened to my Dad. And when he outlived his usefulness, I took his head and moved on. I had a new mission – to eradicate the creatures that stole my parents from me – and all the time in the world to see it through."

"Fascinating," Alex growled. "But what the fuck does that little sob story have to do with me?"

"Because you're the key. I've spent decades trying to find a way to enhance humans so that they can fight back against our invaders. Transferring alien abilities to human hosts works, but so far most of the test subjects have burned out before they really had a chance to see what they can do with those abilities. My current theory is that if I can just find some way to give humans our healing abilities, they could withstand the powers and become true soldiers for the cause. I've tried it numerous times with the other immortals I've…collected…but nothing has worked. I think it's because they're all too old by the time I find them. Too many Quickenings under their belts. It may seem counterintuitive, but I believe what we need is a young immortal whose Quickening is entirely her own…one that hasn't been merged with those of others. Which is precisely where you come in."

Alex shook her head. "Fuck you. There's no fucking way I'm helping you create an army to go after people I care about."

Lord stood up, grinning almost maniacally. "Did I say you had a choice?"

"Do you honestly think you can turn me into a fucking lab rat without my sister coming for your crazy ass?"

He shrugged. "One, if a lab rat was all I wanted, I'd just keep you unconscious the whole time and let my scientists take whatever they needed. What I really need is your genius brain to help me figure out why my experiments have yet to succeed. But we'll get to that after my scientists are done with their tests."

"Go fuck yourself," she growled.

"Been there, done that."

"You're sick."

"Perhaps," he shrugged again. "Anyway…as for your sister…well…she's not likely to come looking for someone she believes to be dead." He hit a button and a video suddenly appeared on one of the glass walls surrounding her. She heard Kara wail with grief and looked to see the Kryptonian pulling a body from the rubble and holding it close. Her sister's brokenhearted sobs were like a sword being plunged into her heart. Alex sank to her knees, barely able to keep from crying herself as she watched Kara cradle what appeared to be her remains for several long moments before finally standing up and flying off with the body in her arms.

"What the fuck did you do?" she demanded, looking past the images to her captor's face.

"I cloned you from that hunk of hair I yanked out of your head at the penthouse. Not a fully functioning clone, but just alive enough for Henshaw to accurately recreate the fatal injuries. All we had to do was switch your clothes, drop the chunk of floor on the clone's lower half, and bundle you off while leaving the body for your sister to find. And if you're wondering why the clone didn't resurrect…well…that's something I've been trying to work out myself. Cloning immortals was one of the first things I tried once the technology became available, but the immortal gene never seemed to pass to the otherwise genetically identical clones. That puzzle is just one of the ones I'm hoping you will help me to solve."

"Fuck you," Alex spat, shaking her head. "Enjoy the victory while it lasts, you bastard. Sue and Maggie will tell Kara the truth, and your ass will be staked to the fucking wall faster than you can blink."

"Sue and Maggie," he mused. "You mean these two?" He hit the button again, and two new videos came up. One showed Vasquez being taken from jail in a straitjacket and shoved into a van marked 'Belle Reve' – which was second only to Arkham when it came to ranking the worst insane asylums in the country. And the other had Maggie lying in a hospital bed. There were bandages wrapped around her head – and probably other places that weren't visible at the moment – casts on her right arm and both legs, and all kinds of machines hooked up. Even a ventilator. "That's right," Lord taunted. "I had your DEO pal committed, so even if Kara does find a way to see her, she'll probably be too doped up to make any sense. As for the former detective, word is that she's in a coma, and the doctors don't know when – or even if – she'll ever wake up. Her friend Ms. Kane is having her transferred to Gotham General as soon as she's stable enough to be moved."

"No," Alex breathed, unable to take her eyes off of Maggie as regret came crashing down on her. She knew from the start that Maggie was the one…that she wanted to be with her for the rest of the ex-detective's natural life. But the right time to say those three little words never seemed to come. And now, the woman she loved was in a possibly-irreversible coma, and all Alex could think about was the fact that she'd failed to tell her girlfriend how she truly felt and might never get the chance to make it right.

Lord laughed again. "What's the matter, Danvers? Forget to do something you should have? Like…I don't know…tell your sister the truth? No one but yourself to blame, there. Or does this have to do with your latest fling? Tell me…what does she have that I don't? Besides the obvious. I mean, is this some sort of late-blooming experimental phase before you find a real man? Or is she just that—" Boiling with rage, Alex sprang to her feet and slammed her shoulder into the glass, startling the arrogant billionaire.

"Don't you dare talk about her like that, you fucking psycho! If you or your goons lay one fucking hand on her…."

"You'll what? Yell at me? But don't worry…I won't touch her. Now that your sister has left National City – and, as my ARA spokesman Mr. Olsen has already made clear, cannot return without facing arrest – I have no reason to take any further action against her or your friends. Not unless they come after me publicly."

"So you got what you wanted," Alex snarled. "How long have you been planning all this?"

Smug smirk firmly in place, Lord pressed the button once more and shut down the displays. "If you must know, I've been planning this since the day we met. Granted, this would've been much easier if you'd died publicly the first time, but I'm nothing if not adaptable. And the only reason I didn't take matters into my own hands was because I couldn't risk having your death linked to me." Her jaw dropped, and the smirk grew wider. "Don't look so surprised, Danvers. I know a potential immortal when I meet one. You're just the first who's actually been worth my attention. Who do you think tipped Hamilton off?"

"She was working with you the whole time?"

"Not knowingly. Hamilton was the first test subject for my technosite project. The prototype I put in her was one that could be activated for short bursts – just long enough for her to report in – and then wipe her memories of the encounter, minus any information I needed fed to her superiors. Not as comprehensive as the current model, but it did the job. Of course, once you caught on to the technosites I had to activate the kill switch. But my scientists made sure her death wasn't in vain. Just as they'll do with yours."

"Bastard!" she spat.

"Rail at me all you want. You have no power here. And this conversation is finished." He moved to the outer door and opened it, letting in a squad of his goons, all of whom were dressed like guards and carrying automatic rifles. "Subject 10-15 has an appointment with the good doctor. Let's make sure she's on time." As he spoke, the door to the cell swung open and the goons swarmed in. Two of them grabbed Alex by the arms. She attempted to fight them off despite the restraints, only to have someone jam a cattle prod into her side and hit her with enough electricity to drop her sister.

Alex must have lost consciousness, because the next thing she was aware of was being dragged by the arms with a black bag over her head. The electricity had left her too weak to resist. By the time her strength returned, her captors had stopped moving forward. They lifted her up and put her on some sort of table. Two sets of hands held her shoulders down while someone else locked some sort of cuffs around each knee and ankle before removing the shackles. The chain was removed from her waist, replaced almost instantly with what felt like a leather strap. Finally, the handcuffs were unlocked and Alex immediately lashed out, feeling a nose break under her fist. The pained screams accompanying it gave her an almost perverse sense of pleasure. Unfortunately, it was short-lived as the cattle prod was jammed into her side once more. It wasn't as intense this time, but it was still enough for them to grab her arms and stretch them out to the sides, strapping them down by the palm, wrist, and elbow to some sort of crossbeam near the table's head. Sort of like a mad scientist's version of an operating table. Two more straps were pulled around her shoulders, further immobilizing her upper body. Someone finally pulled the bag away, and Alex found herself looking up at the blonde 'doctor' from the Metallo incident. "I knew you'd help us some day," the 'doctor' grinned before turning to the goons. "Finish preparing Subject 10-15 for testing."

"Don't fucking touch me!" Alex snarled, only to have a wad of gauze shoved into her mouth.

"Subject 10-15 is not to speak without permission." The young immortal tried to respond, futile as it was with the crude gag, and the so-called 'doctor' smacked her across the face. "Stay silent, or there will be consequences." Alex glared, but otherwise complied because she didn't want to test her captors' patience while unable to fight back. The 'doctor' stepped away from the table and the goons swarmed in once more. One cut her shirt and bra off, while another took clippers to her hair. Alex fought back tears at the indignities, not wanting these people to see that they were getting to her. Once her hair was gone, the goons placed EEG sensors on her scalp. Additional monitoring equipment was attached to various other parts of her body, and one of the goons stuck an IV needle into her left arm with a saline drip – no doubt to keep her hydrated during whatever torment the 'doctor' had planned, as if that small 'kindness' made the situation any better. Finally, they replaced the gauze with a hard rubber bar that was attached to some sort of harness. One strap went under her chin, the other across her forehead, and the whole thing was hooked to the table, leaving her completely unable to move. She felt another immortal approach, and Lord stepped into her line of sight.

"We're going to do great things together, Danvers," he grinned. "I can't wait to get started." He turned to the blonde. "I trust you can take things from here, Dr. Luthor."

"Of course, Mr. Lord," the woman nodded, before turning her attention back to the young immortal. Luthor – who Alex knew had to be Lena's bitch of a mother – turned on some kind of recorder as she pulled a bright light into place and shifted position so she was standing practically in the young immortal's armpit. "Subject 10-15 appears to be a healthy human female, approximately 27 years of age biologically and chronologically. Our sources indicate that her immortal gene was only recently activated, likely within the last few months. There have been no reports of her receiving any Quickenings." Alex watched in undisguised horror as the woman pressed the scalpel into her chest. "Test #1: Subject 10-15's regenerative capabilities. Thoracic cavity." Luthor started slicing along her sternum and, despite her best efforts not to give the woman the satisfaction, Alex wound up screaming into the gag until her throat was raw. By the time Dr. Luthor actually started cracking open her chest, the young immortal had nothing left. It wasn't long before the pain drove her to unconsciousness, and the last thing she heard before succumbing was Lord's voice.

"Welcome to Cadmus."

END PART 1

Well, there you have it. Will Alex survive her captivity? What's going to happen to her family and friends? Find out in Part 2, which will be split between Alex and Kara's POVs. It's currently a work in progress, and I will begin posting as soon as I finish. I don't have a specific date in mind, but I promise not to keep you waiting for too long. So follow my profile (if you haven't already) and/or keep an eye on the crossover section for the second half of this tale!