Chapter Text
The invitation had come as a surprise to Lena. She couldn't have expected to be trusted this much, not by the government, and much less by Supergirl, but there Lena was, standing alongside other agents awaiting for their commanding officer to arrive in the training room.
The moment the door swung open, Lena had to contain her smile. Of course Alex is the one who's gonna train us, she thought, watching as her superior officer walked to the middle of the room.
"My name is Alex Danvers, I’m your commanding officer.” She said, eyeing the agents. “You've worked hard, you went through all the basic training with success, and for that, I believe congratulations are in order. But don't kid yourselves, if this was happening three years ago, you'd be contained to this facility for another ten years before you were allowed out in the field. However, a lot has changed in the past three years and our enemies do not wait for our cadets to be trained to the best of their abilities before they attack us." Alex's voice was firm, it demanded attention, and it made Lena smile, because she knew what it was like to talk like that; to speak with every ounce of confidence you have and captivate an entire room.
"I will train you in combat harder than anyone has trained you, and all I expect in return is dedication," Alex continued. "I want you to form a circle," she said, being met with somewhat stunned and confused looks. "Now!"
The cadets shuffled around as quickly as they could to follow the order, and once they were done, Alex gave them a nod of approval. "Now, I want you to look at the faces of everyone in this circle." Even though they were confused, the new agents followed the command, and Alex continued, "these are the people you'll fight side by side. These are the people who you'll sacrifice your lives to defend; these are the people who will protect you when you're down. If there's a single person in this room who cannot trust their fellow agents fully, I suggest you leave immediately."
As Alex had anticipated, all eyes glanced over at Lena who she noticed tried her hardest to pretend she didn't care. "Is there anything you'd like to say to me, recruits?" Alex deliberately kept her voice amiable, as if she was truly giving them a chance to complain about Lena.
Once more, the new recruits looked around, silently asking each other who would be brave enough to speak up. Finally, a tall, blonde man stepped forward; arms behind his back, shoulders squared, eyes trained straight ahead. "Ma'am," he waited for Alex to give him a nod before proceeding, "I believe my colleagues and I are...concerned to have a Luthor among us."
"Does he speak for everyone?" Alex asked, walking around the circle. No one said yes or no, but she knew they were worried, so once she came across Lena, Alex stopped and said, "agent Luthor, step forward."
Lena clenched her jaw, thinking she would be thrown out after a year of hard work, but still, she obeyed her order coming to a halt right in front of Alex.
"Agent Luthor, is your first name Alexander?" Alex asked, and she started pacing back and forth in front of Lena.
"No, ma'am!" Lena replied firmly as she fought off a smirk; she could see what Alex was doing, and she truly appreciated it.
"Is your first name Lillian?" Alex asked.
"No, ma'am!"
"What is your first name, agent Luthor??"
"Lena, ma'am!"
"Very well, agent. Back to your place," Alex instructed. Once Lena obeyed, Alex calmly walked back to the blonde recruit, and stood uncomfortably close to his face. "What's your name, agent?" Alex asked coolly.
The man swallowed hard; even though Alex was barely tall enough to reach his chest, he had heard stories about agent Danvers… and he knew he had messed up. "J-Jacob Morris, ma'am."
"Your unit is only as strong as its weakest link, agent." Alex growled the words lowly. "And I don't mean agent Luthor. Now, back to your place."
Walking back to the middle of the circle, Alex addressed all new agents, "you're here to protect the ones you love, to protect your city, to protect this country, and this world. I don't care who sits in the Oval Office, here at the DEO we protect the innocent whoever they may be, and we do it together, as one. Do I make myself clear?"
In unison, all the recruits replied loudly, "yes, ma'am!"
"Good. Now, pair up and spar. I need to see what I'll be working with." Alex said, and she started walking around the room observing them, stopping occasionally to instruct them on how to be more effective.
By the time the training session was done, most of the new recruits were laying on the floor trying to catch their breath; Alex really hadn't been joking when she said she would make them work harder than anyone else before her. "Off to the showers," she said to get their attention. "Make sure to eat before you go off to tactical training."
Alex watched as the recruits started to walk out of the room, and she said, "agent Luthor, a moment, please."
Lena just wanted to go take her shower (and maybe put some ice on her cheek where her sparring partner had landed a punch), the last thing she wanted was for the other agents to think she was getting preferential treatment from the boss. But nonetheless, she knew she didn't have a say on it.
"How are you holding up?" Alex asked once the room was theirs.
Lena shrugged, "it's nothing I didn't have to deal with at boot camp," she said honestly.
"Good," Alex nodded. "There's no hazing or any BS like that here, but if they try anything against you--" Lena fully expected Alex to tell her to report any incident, or come to her, and that's why she was so pleasantly surprised when Alex finished her sentence by saying, "make them regret it. I know the last thing you want is to be treated like you’re better than they are… you know, like you've been treated your entire life, I'd imagine it." There was a smirk on Alex's lips, and Lena knew she was being teased. "So make sure they know you're not one to be messed with, and that you're not going to come crying to us for anything."
That being said, Alex's features turned serious once more, but she said in her usual friendly voice, "you were a CEO, Lena, and there's no doubt you were born for leadership. There will come a time – be it out in the field, or even in our labs; wherever you choose to take your career here – it will come a moment when you'll need to step up and call the shots for the sake of your unit."
Lena understood what Alex was saying, and she appreciated her saying so. "Thank you, agent Danvers," and daring to push her luck, Lena smirked and said, "but don't worry, I'm not one to pretend to be meek just to stroke other people's egos."
Alex snorted out a laugh, and shook her head, "that's the Lena I know." Nodding toward the door, they started walking, and Alex said, "we're meeting at the pub tonight, wanna join?"
Lena smiled at the invitation, "sure."
"Alright, we'll be there at eight." Alex said. Once they were out of the training room, she said, "see you around, recruit."
"See you around, C.O."