Chapter 67

                                    

                                          
Alex walks into a room in the DEO she hasn't been in for a while. Not since Maggie first got here. A small lab she used to spend hours on end in, working on a project she has told no one about. Though she has no doubt that J'onn knows. She had hoped it would never come to this, that her half-finished work would never be needed. But it is. And now she needs to finish it. 
                          
The room is lit by a large window that's kind of like what they use in interrogation rooms, where Alex can look out and see everything perfectly, but someone looking in could see blurs and blobs of colors at best. 
                          
She takes a deep breath and pulls the sheet from off her work, which she uses to keep the dust off in between her working on it, in case a time comes when she can't come back to work on it for a while. Which is exactly what happened. 
                          
The light hits the armor beautifully, causing it to give off an almost ethereal glow. Alex smiles faintly, looking it up and down to make sure it's exactly how she left it. And sure enough, the needle and thread are stuck right where it was. The fact that Alex can sew is a closely guarded secret. She had Winn teach her before she started this project, only beginning it once he was satisfied she had mastered sewing. She threatened Winn with bodily harm to keep him from telling anyone or teasing her when they're alone. 
                          
Alex may be a bit of a perfectionist, which why after roughly three years of on and off working on this, it's still not complete. Now she has a reason it needs to be complete, so at least she has a good start. She's not certain she would be able to finish it in time if she hadn't started it yet. Especially with her attention to detail and her perfectionism. 
                          
Alex wipes off the needle to make certain it's still sharp and gets to work. 
                          
It's hours before she resurfaces, and she only does because the rumbling of her stomach kept distracting her while she sewed. Alex sighs and covers the armor again, leaving the room to take a short break. She blinks in surprise when she looks out the window, realizing that the sun is setting. Alex always tends to lose track of time when she's working, particularly when she's working alone and has no one to remind her to take breaks. 
                          
Alex walks out of the small lab, closing and locking the door behind her with her key. She has one of the two keys to the door, the other stays with J'onn locked up in his office that he rarely used. 
                          
When Alex reaches the kitchen, she blinks in surprise when Lyra shakes her head and directs her to the dining room. Is there food still there?
                          
Alex pushes open the door and pauses for a second in shock when she sees her friends and family still there. Well, some of them. Vasquez, Winn, Lena, Kara, and Maggie are all sitting at the table, laughing and joking around. Alex hesitantly steps inside, the door closing behind her with a loud noise that makes her wince and makes the others turn to look at her. 
                          
"Hey! We waited for you!" Kara says, patting an empty chair between her and Maggie. 
                          
"Uh. Thanks, but why?" Alex asks, sitting down. 
                          
Winn pushes a plate towards her, full of food. Kara zaps some of it with her heat vision to warm it back up. 
                          
"Why not?" Kara retorts as Alex hungrily digs in. 
                          
Alex doesn't have an answer for that. 
                          
"Plus, we're curious about your secret project." Winn admits.