Alex had never given her soul mark much thought, well at least not as an adult. She supposed there was a time there when she was younger that she found it romantic or something like that, but that had been a long time ago. For the most part she never gave it any thought – after all it was on her back so she couldn't even see it without looking in the mirror.

Not everyone had one – in fact it was believed less than 30 percent of the world's population had them. There was no genetic reason for why some people got them and others didn't. Alex's own parents didn't have them and neither had any of her grandparents.

They came in different shapes and sizes and could be anywhere on your body and resembled tattoos. Two soul mates didn't even have to have the same design – it was actually rare if they did. In fact, most didn't because the mark was supposed to signify something about yourself.

For Alex it was a stunning blue ocean wave that was on her upper back centered perfectly. It wasn't large – only a little smaller than the size of her fist.

And while they resembled tattoos no one would ever mistake a soul mark for a tattoo because of the color. Every mark's color was so vivid not even the best tattoo artist could match it, although many had tried.

As near as Alex could tell the color on her mark was exactly like that of an ocean wave under a clear day under the sun.

If you were going to get one, it would appear on your body about the same time puberty set in – so as if that time in your life wasn't stressful enough the universe decides to tell you that there is one other person on the entire planet for whom you were destined to be with.

When she had gotten hers she hadn't even known it because she couldn't see it. It was her mom who had seen it first when Alex had donned a swimsuit to go to the beach. She remembered standing with her back to a mirror, looking over her shoulder staring at it.

Alex saw several issues with having one – first it was impossible to have a serious relationship with anyone because as soon as they saw your soul mark and knew you destined for someone else, well there was no point in pursuing a relationship. Secondly, not every person who had one found their soul mate. Just because you had one of these didn't mean your match magically appeared in your life.

All in all it seemed like soul marks made for a more lonely life.

Yes, there were people who tried to have relationship with people who weren't their soul mates, but it was a risk. Because what happened if you married that person, had kids with that person and then met your soul mate later on in life?

While some people actively searched for their soul mate – there was even a few websites out there designed to help people find their match – Alex had never bothered.

The only way for people to know if they met their match was because of the mark – the vivid color of it would begin to fade when you first got near the person. You could literally be in a stadium with thousands of people and it might start to fade and you would have no idea which of those people was it. Alex found the whole thing very imprecise. She had read some studies on the marks when she got older but there was no definitive distance you had to be from your soul mate for your mark to begin to fade.

The fading would then last 3 to 5 days until it disappeared, except it didn't really disappear. It only disappeared from anyone being able to see it except your soul mate.

So yes, Alex found it all to be problematic, especially when hers disappeared and she had no idea it had happened.

"We're going to have to retrace your steps from the last couple of weeks," Kara said matter of factly.

Alex hadn't wanted to involve her sister with this because she knew that Kara would be all gung ho to find Alex's soul mate. On Krypton, they didn't have such things as soul marks so Kara was very fascinated when she came to Earth and saw Alex's for the first time.

But Kara had found out because despite working for a top secret federal agency, it appeared that no one in said agency could keep a secret.

Alex had just finished up a workout and had showered using the DEO facilities. When she was standing at her locker in only a towel getting ready to grab her clothes to change into, one of the other agents gasped and asked her why she hadn't said anything. Alex had no idea what she was talking about until she mentioned that Alex's soul mark was gone. She had immediately gone to look in a mirror and there it wasn't – after all these years it was gone.

And she had no idea when it had even started fading.

Alex had managed to keep it a secret for a few days and then there was Kara flying into her apartment demanding to see that the mark was indeed gone and now it was turning into just what Alex didn't want it to be.

"Kara, I have been all around the city," Alex said. "It could literally be anyone. Hell, it could be someone who was just passing through the area and happened to get somewhat near me. That was probably what happened since I was at the airport."

It was there that she had caught her latest case, one that ended up involving the National City Police Science Division and one Detective Maggie Sawyer. Their initial meeting had started off a bit brusque – which Alex was willing to take the blame for, but by the end she felt like Sawyer knew her stuff. J'onn thought it would be a good idea if they kept up a good relationship with the NCPD so it probably wasn't going to be the last time she would have contact with Sawyer.

"Well we could put your locations on that soul match website and see if anyone responds," Kara said.

"Absolutely not," Alex said. "People put way too much information about themselves on those sites, which is how many of them end up being scammed. Also, did you forget I work for a top secret federal agency so I can't exactly be like hey was there anyone over at Fifth and Main on Tuesday while I was taking down a literal alien."

"Ok, but I think we should still check it out those sites because your mate's mark would have disappeared too so maybe they are out there looking for you and they can post things about where they have been."

Alex sighed. She certainly hoped whoever it was, was not that stupid.

That was the third thing she probably hated the most about these marks. While your souls may be destined for each other, you didn't necessarily need to like the person – at least not at first. It wasn't a love at first sight kind of thing. Yes, she had read accounts where people claimed they felt an instant connection to their mate. But others had admitted they hadn't looked twice at the person until they confirmed it was their mate and even then they got to know each other before they felt in sync.

"Look, if you want to go through those sites, go right ahead," Alex said. "Just count me out."

"Why are you so against this? Not the sites, but the whole soul mate thing in general."

Alex had wondered that herself and she wasn't sure she had a good answer. She had gone on dates before obviously and she never really felt comfortable. She couldn't really explain it. She had thought maybe it was because she knew the person wasn't her soul mate.

"I don't know," Alex answered. "I guess I don't like the idea of the universe telling me I'm supposed to be with someone."