The city might have been singing a different tune, no longer persecuting the righteous one but the real enemy that now was not only an enemy of the state, of the country, but of the entire world. The hero was back flying the colors of red and blue and here she was, standing over who was supposed to be her friends, now all unconscious on the floor. Both bottles brought, opened and half empty, just as she had planned. With the rest of the remaining contents, she walked over to the motionless bodies and began to pour the rest of what was in them on these traitors. There was only one body she cared about moving. That would be easy in itself, considering how fit she kept and how many karate and self defense classes she had taken over the years.

Before tending to that matter, she pulled out a small device and placed it on the table where glasses, snacks and games were residing. Two buttons pressed and the box of black began to glow two fitting colors, red and blue. It took shape and formed a dome with one symbol lit up on the ceiling, purposely sliced in two. Once that was in place, she pulled out another box and set it on the counter, removing each of the unique cuffs. One had to be unbreakable by the outsider. One had to be used to keep all the little boxes in. One to work against the dreams. One would be for the weak excuse of a relationship and the last, for the one she had been working side by side with for weeks.

All hands were bound behind their backs, along with gag bars between their teeth and removal of earpieces and phones which she shut off with one click of a button in her pocket. None of them would do one lick of good anymore anyway, nor would trackers, she had disengaged those too. Now that the matters were addressed, she removed a special brand of wrist restraints on the last and certainly not least. She had been everything and nothing, making nothing but a fool of the intelligent woman. That wouldn't happen again.

Two slaps and it was done, retrieving a secondary phone that wasn't a phone at all. One code was punched in and she aimed it at the wall. Instantly, the lights formed a doorway of sorts and she dropped it beside the strongest yet weakest of the group. Without any trouble, she pushed a few chairs over and closed all the blinds, tossing the contents of their purses all over the place and throwing the empty wine bottles into the wall, exploding glass everywhere. She grabbed the rest of the empty bottles, glasses and full gifts from her and began to throw those against the walls.

She grabbed the one she wanted by the back of the shirt, walking toward the open portal and tapping the device in her pocket twice. The minute she and her door prize were through, the portal closed and the device short circuited just like it was supposed to. What was meant to was left behind. All it needed was one thing. Only one thing. Only one..

Once the door closed behind them, she drug the guest of honor into the room and let go of their shirt to walk to the wall panel. All at once, floor and ceiling circular holes became visible, then lasers shot through, caging her and the gamer in at all four sides like walls. She wouldn't dare try to step through, unless she wanted a limb burned off or a severe injury nonetheless. When she knew they were in place, for the time being, she reached down and grabbed one of her guest's ankles to drag them right to where she wanted them. Once more she let go, she stepped over to a raised platform that she slipped behind and unlocked the box on top with a thumb print, code and retina scan. When it opened, she couldn't help but smile with no emotion left in her to give. A smile didn't need to have any feeling to be just an expression given, something she had learned over the years. Two flicks and the floor beneath her guest parted like a set of slide doors, with the person dropping into the tank half full. When the person with their hands bound behind their back sunk to the bottom, she pressed a button and the floor returned to normal. The cage lasers shut off and the pedestal disappeared into the floor leaving her plenty of room to walk now. With a bottle by the door, a glass no longer needed, she headed downstairs, where she could watch the show firsthand, engaging the lasers again to make sure there wouldn't be any backup plans by anyone.

Once she made her way downstairs, with another phone looking device in her hand, she pressed two buttons on the side to leave the room she had exited, in a grey gas and smoke that would keep anyone from getting in or out. Now in a rather comfortable chair, she set the bottle down in the bigger cup holder and grabbed the mic and earpiece, clipping one to her blouse the other resting nicely in her ear. She leaned back, rather relaxed for someone who had her entire world destroyed in the span of a week. It had been going downhill for a long time, then she came here and that had started out rocky until she met someone she had found comfort and solace in. Then more and more was revealed, twisting her thoughts up so much she didn't know truth from lie. People she believed in were lying to her face, manipulating her like everyone always did. That wouldn't happen anymore.

She took the empty clip and box, flipped it up and took round after round until the whole clip was full. Once the box was shut, she picked up a rather familiar gun and slid the clip into the handle slapping it up until it clicked in place. She set the weapon down, grabbing the bottle and twisting off the cap. Bringing it to her lips, she took a nice long drink of the dark liquor then another until it burned going down. With the thirst quenched for now, the bottle went back into the cup holder and a tabletop pushed away on the side table by the chair, revealing a set of controls she had perfected accordingly.

One flick and the machine started to hum. A second flick and lights filled what was before her, showing her the body and items in the tank. The third, the lighting changed and with it her intentions were clear. The last, but not least, brought a surge of electrical currents through the fluid in the tank and with it jolting the person trapped inside. There wasn't enough in the tank to drown the person, just keep them where she wanted them..for now. She took another drink, putting the bottle back down, flicking the switch again to send another jolt through and this one lasted longer. The guest's body began to stir, thrash then kicked as if to free themselves. A gasp with another jolt and eyes opened only to be blinded by one color and one color only. Looking around, they realized they couldn't see anything. She had made sure of that.

What had been drunk by her guest of honor, would dull their senses until it wore off. She flicked the switch again, adding more and more time to the clock for how long she kept the currents on. Gasping, groans, whimpers and coughing were heard in her earpiece and all of them made things better for her. She decided to go easy on the electricity for now, grabbing the dial and turning the lights up and with it, the temperature of the tank fluids. There was nothing normal about the water in there. It wasn't water at all, not lighter fluid, which had been tempting too, but far less satisfying. It was something much worse.

The person in their confinement, thrashed harder and with their kicking and gargled whimpers and howls, she had another drink from the bottle and wondered how the guests were doing she had left behind. Tempting to check..


Her ears were ringing and skull was ruthlessly pounding, shaking her head which only made the headache worse. She went to move and quickly realized her hands were tied behind her. Great. She bit down and growled when she felt the bar between her teeth. Oh it was on now. She went to move her legs and noticed them free of restraints and instantly heard groans and growls all around her. It was dark wherever she was, except for one glow and with it her heart completely stopped with hitched breath. One glow, bathed in a sickening neon green, of a cracked House of El symbol. Fear was taking place above all else and with it the need to get whatever was on her wrists off. That's when she felt what was between her teeth ripped away and with it the cuffs. Both fell to the floor, helped into a sitting position but when she was, her hearing and sight went to hell in a hand basket.

"Easy. Easy." It sounded like some kind of noise or voice or something, yet that didn't matter as she emptied her stomach of everything until there was nothing left to puke up.

"I'm gonna.." She could hear that sound just well, after making it herself. It wasn't just one and that had her shaking.

"H...hea...h...hea..ddd...cccc...cow...coun...cc..coun..t.." Her vocals had taken off on her, leaving her throat sore and her head still pounding.

"Here. Projection comes in handy. Hang on guys."

"How?" She knew that voice. "Guys?"

"Lo...loo...k." She pointed to ceiling and when she did she heard a group of gasps.

"OH that's bright!"

"WARNING next time!"

"Sorry! Sorry. Here."

"Alex." She turned her head to the sound of her space dad's voice. "Can you see?" She lifted her hand and made a so-so gesture. "Want me to check?" She nodded and felt the invasion in her mind almost immediately. A hard sigh and the hands on the side of her head were gone. "Does anyone know where.."

"Whoa!" Her vision slammed forward and with one sense back on track, she lunged to the side and puked again. "Uggghhh...wha…" The minute she righted herself again, she took notice of everything around her and who was around her. The room was littered with broken glass, minus the now dimmed lighting, there was nothing but darkness all around them. She reached into her pocket with widened eyes.

"Mine is gone too."

"So is mine."

"Com pieces are gone as well. Shall I.."

"Yes." Three of them said at once.

"They are both gone?" Alex took both items from James and J'onn and the minute she did, both began to glow. With a slight buzzing sound, she dropped them and when she did, for the second time her heart completely stopped.

The glowing green symbol on the ceiling disappeared, instead replaced by what looked to be a video feed. "No...no no no...no...no..FIND HER!" She screamed at them, hand over her mouth as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. The feed was of her sister in a half full tomb, just like the one Rick had put her in once. Her outfit was soaked, her wrists bound behind her and nothing but green lighting all around. She was gagged by no doubt the same thing they had been with, helpless and bleeding. Then several sparks hit the water like strikes of lightning and they hit her little sister's body convulsing from what was being done to her. "Kar.."

"We are locked in?" Alex grabbed the single game piece and cringed. The minute she held it up, every good thing that had tipped the scales back in their favor, had ended. "What is it Alex?" She grabbed the phone, set it before her and placed the white queen chess piece on top of it. "Ale…" Nia's hands covered her mouth, gasping at what she was seeing. A hologram showed up on the ceiling and with it one message that shattered the game night family.

The tank has three formulas my family had all along. I just made them work for me and more importantly on her. Always taught to be ten moves ahead at times. Fool me once, you become the fool in the end.

CHECKMATE_


Adding more into the tank, adding more currents and even heating the water up more and more wasn't doing it for her anymore. She needed a more hands on approach. Luckily, growing up with a bunch of maniacs worked in her favor, she could handle her liquor like a champ now. No one had been able to drink her under the table, or tried to at least. The just couldn't and she was content with that. With an empty bottle still in the cup holder and the chosen item in hand, she stepped up to the clear glass wall, that had been reinforced to take on bullets, extreme hot and cold, explosions, charges or anything else that she could come up with to make it unbreakable. There were four spots though, made for an object to slide into but not release any water from the half full tank. She slid the panel open and placed the gun barrel in the slot, flicked the safety off and pressed on the side tab to charge the chamber.

The nice part about your own inventions, is that you can make them the way you want. Making a clip that houses twenty rounds in it was easy even making projectiles that small to work with. These rounds were special though, meant for just..one. She pulled the trigger and with it, each round shot out they entered the specially designed chamber and directly into the tank with her guest. The minute they reached the box, they began to fire off sights and sounds like firecrackers and it was indeed Independence Day for her. The bullets broke apart and tiny metal ball bearings bounced around the tank only to sink to bottom where dozens of one colored chess pieces rested there, all of one piece. The Queen.

Once the clip was empty, she slid the panel back over and went back to her chair. It was time for phase two to begin. She took the Black Queen piece that was resting in the second cup holder and twirled it in one hand. With the other, she picked up what looked like a TV remote but it was far from it. It did have the capacity to change the channel, several in fact. Several channels later, she found the recording she had made and pressed play.

"She had always been this responsibility to me. Even when I got back my memories, she ruined my life. She made me responsible all over again. I had a way out if I had stayed with the one I wanted to be with. Now, because of her, I can't have that because I have to do what I've always been told to do. My life doesn't matter when all she's always been is a loose end. I can't do it anymore J'onn. Once Lex is caught, erase them again."

The speaker volume in the tank had been turned up. The thrashing body quit thrashing, as if giving up and trying to find where the voice was coming from. Onto the next.

"She should have been my responsibility not yours. I should have kept her in the dark when she was brought to the DEO that night. I'm sorry I didn't save you that night Alex. This is on me. I will wipe your mind after everything settles. Are you going to tell her the truth?"

"She's been lying to her best friend for over two years J'onn. I owe it to Lena to be honest with her. It wasn't my secret to tell and I know you agree we should have told her the day we found out about Sam and Reign. She chose to lie. She kept us from telling Lena. We had no issue with her last name. I only told that to Kara to shut her up and let Lena live a life without the added burden of some strange child from the stars. I lost my father over her. I won't lose the friend I have made in Lena because of Kara."

"Would you like me to help you forget Kara completely?"

"When you do, do it for Lena too. If I am gonna have a new girlfriend I want a real friend that's more of a sister than Kara has ever been. I don't have to protect Lena all the time. Lena can protect herself. Wipe hers too okay?"

She sat back, flipping the zippo open and grabbing one of the rolled cigarettes off the tray, she lit the end and slapped the lighter shut. One long drag, signalling how long it had been since she had smoked anything and she turned on the next recording.

"Alex? I'm here what's wrong?"

"Lena hey. Thanks for meeting me."

"Are you alright? Is Kara okay?" She watched as the one in the tank stilled but she could easily see them shaking.

"I need to tell you something, before I lose the nerve to and feel like I need to keep lying to you. Lena, your friendship means alot to me and I just recently got to know Kelly and I really like her. I REALLY like her. We kissed and it was magical and I haven't felt like this in a long time. I hope you know her and I talked and she knows how important her brother is to you. James and I talked about this and don't put this on him okay?"

"Okay."

"Lena, I nearly died through all of this and I can't continue lying to you. I hate that I had to. My sister did too but I told her to tell you and I am sorry it has to come out like this. Kara is Supergirl." The body in the tank began to spasm with the flick of a switch. "We were planning on telling you in the morning, James and I. I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

"Just like I made kryptonite."

"Did you know we used to have it? We used it to shoot her out of the sky when she decided to act like her cousin and play hero. She saved my life and ruined it by deciding to be special instead of hiding her powers. Her cousin was the one that brought her to our doorstep. Kara is the reason I lost my dad and nearly died trying to save him. I am sorry about this Lena."

"Thank you for being honest with me Alex."

She turned off the recordings, flicking off all the lights in the tank and back on the currents. Time for phase three...