NATIONAL CITY

The morning was perfect. The sun was just starting to shine, the breeze was light, and the sidewalks were starting to fill with pedestrians on their walking commute to work. Honest citizens were en route to partake in an honest day's work for an honest day's wage; well, the majority of them were. Gerry "The Gecko" Jones was in the minority. His lizard nom de guerre didn't come from his looks (though it wasn't uncommon for his sharp nose to give people that impression) but from his sticky hands. The Gecko earned his living as a pickpocket.

He wore black cargo pants, and a khaki fisherman's vest over a plain, light blue t-shirt. He wasn't dressed to impressed. All the pockets were for storage for everything he could pick off his unknowing victims. A wallet here, a watch there, a bracelet or two, a quick handshake to slip an expensive ring off a hand—it had been a busy day, and the day was just starting. It was time to find a fence and exchange the goods for some cash. He spotted a man paying for a morning deluxe croissant and coffee from a street vendor, a very well-dressed man. Gerry nodded and smiled to himself; well, one more pick before fencing wouldn't hurt. He walked casually up to the man and stood behind him in line. The vendor and customer completed the transaction, and the well-dressed man inserted his Italian leather wallet into the pocket of his Armani suit coat, and Gerry effortlessly relieved the suit coat of its expensive burden. The Gecko turned to leave and promptly walked into a barrier of blue and red and gold.

"Good morning, Gerry."

"Uh, Supergirl, what a nice surprise. Say, you're looking good. Did you do something with your hair?"

"We need to stop meeting like this, Gerry."

"I don't suppose I could offer to buy you a coffee?"

Supergirl called out to the man who had just been victimized. "You might want this," she told him as she handed him his stolen wallet. The surprise in his face as he felt his pocket where he knew he had placed it turned to anger as he glared at the man whose path Supergirl was blocking. He nodded his thanks to Supergirl and accepted his wallet back.

Gerry offered advice, "You should be careful with expensive merchandise like that. It gets slippery and you might drop it on the sidewalk again. Lucky I was here to pick it up before some crook could take it."

Supergirl, put a hand under each of Gerry's arms and effortlessly lifted him off the ground as she floated above the morning traffic. "Gerry, what happened to the honest job you were supposed to get?"

"I got bored. I like setting my own hours, being my own boss. Ya know?"

"Funny way of describing jail."

"Aww, come one, Supergirl. You cut me to the heart. I'm hurt."

"Working at that warehouse would hurt less." She set him down in front of one of National City's finest who only shook her head and sighed.

"Hello, Supergirl….Gerry."

"Officer Thatcher. Hey, it's a regular reunion we got going on here. Can I buy you some coffee?"

"Thanks, Supergirl. I'll take our favorite pickpocket to his home away from home."

Supergirl flew off into the sky above the towering buildings of the National City metropolitan area. She reached out with her super senses doing one last patrol before heading into her "day job."

National City—CatCo Headquarters

Kara Danvers stepped off the crowded elevator and into the bustling office space. She noticed new faces this morning. Right, she remembered, the new interns started today. She noticed one holding her head as if experiencing a bad headache.

Julie Sideras was both nervous and excited. She had studied hard, earned good grades, and it had payed off. She had been awarded an internship at CatCo Media. She had just completed her Junior year in Journalism at UCLA, and this summer internship would be just the ticket to punch to get her on the career train to be the next Lois Lane. She winced as her head gave a light throb. Not now; she didn't need this on day one, not even day one hundred and one. The headaches had been coming and going for a little over a month. She brushed her dark hair behind her ears as she began to lightly massage her temples. She reached into her purse for some aspirin she had started to carry with her. Her head began to pound, and she put fingers to her forehead.

"Uhm, hi, are you ok?"

Julie looked up to see the blond woman to whom the voice belonged. She gave a weak nod and attempted a smile. "I will be. Thank you."

"I'm Kara, Kara Danvers." The blond woman offered a smile, and a hand which Julie took and shook firmly.

"Julie Sideras. I'm a new intern."

"Well, we're happy to have you. If you need help with anything and see me around, feel free to ask."

"I will. Thank yo…oh" Julie grabbed her head with both hands. She was dizzy.

Kara reached out a hand and laid it on Julie's arm, "You should sit down. You are not looking well."

Anger came from nowhere inside Julie. She needed this internship. She was not going to let a headache ruin her chances at a career. "I'm FINE." She hadn't meant to yell at Kara; but the anger at the headache had came out, and she felt the pain vanish like a pulse exploding outward.

One second Kara had a light hand on Julie's arm offering sympathy and help, and the next second, she was holding her head in both her arms as she suddenly felt a wave of pain envelop her head. She took a few dizzy steps backwards, blinked her eyes in an attempt to focus them as images became blurry; then her eyelids closed as she collapsed to the floor.

"Kara! Kara." Julie was brushed to the side as an African American man rushed over and knelt down to check on Kara. "What happened?"

"I, I don't know. She was just standing there trying to help me, and then…she…she fell."

James Olsen looked up at the intern and then back to Kara. "Kara, can you hear me?"

"Should, should I call an ambulance, or something?"

"Uh, no, no that won't be necessary."

"Are you sure? She doesn't look..."

James interrupted Julie, "She'll be fine, she just needs some air. See? She's coming around."

Kara opened her eyes and inhaled sharply. She touched her head and let out an audible groan. "Come on, Kara, I'll get you home."

James gently led Kara to the elevator and pushed the button that would take them to the parking garage level. He guided her to his car. She could walk, but he wouldn't exactly say she was coherent. She could give weak nods, but then wince as the motion of her head caused a headache to remind her it was there. James drove out of the parking garage and merged onto the busy city streets. He wasn't taking her home. He had said that out loud to cover for her. That's what any friend of a normal person experiencing sickness would say; but Kara wasn't normal, and she didn't get sick. James was the editor for CatCo, he was Kara's boss; but more importantly he was one of the few people in National City who knew the real Kara Danvers. The outgoing, friendly, sometimes nervous blond was in fact Kara Zor-el, last daughter of the planet Krypton; or as the rest of Planet Earth knew her better—Supergirl. She could fly, or run, faster than a speeding bullet, stop speeding trains in their literal and figurative tracks, and she was sick. Everything but that last part was normal for her.

James pushed a button on his dash console display to activate his phone via Bluetooth. "Call J'onn."

"Calling J'onn" his console replied.

The phone rang only twice before being answered, "J'onn Jones."

"J'onn, prep the med team."

James pulled into another parking garage on the other sided of town. The building this parking garage was attached to wasn't unique on the outside. Any passer by would think it was just another of the countless, ordinary National City brick and mortar businesses. Inside, however, it was anything but ordinary. A med team met James's car in the garage and helped Kara on to a gurney. Her breathing had evened out, and she closed her eyes again drifting into sleep. James followed the med team to the med bay and waited outside the examination bay.

Another African American man approached him. This was J'onn Jones, he was the director for the "business" inside this building—the Department of Extra-Normal Operations. The DEO was the government's way of dealing with threats that were; well, extra normal. Metahumans, extraterrestrials, rogue killer robots—all were right up the DEO's alley. "What happened?"

"I don't know. One minute she was walking into work at CatCo and talking to one of the new interns, and the next thing I see she's on the ground. She was unconscious for a minute or two; stayed awake for most of the drive over, but she doesn't look good."

They both turned at the sound of running footsteps. "What happened!? Is she ok!?" The woman joining the two men was Kara's stepsister, Alex. She was dressed in a black utility suit just like J'onn's, her brunette hair was cut to fall just below either side of her chin, and the concern for her sister was evident on her face.

The doors to the med bay opened and a doctor came out to the trio. He gave them an update on his patient's status, "She's conscious, and everything appears normal with our initial examination. We'll go more in depth, but I think she's able to receive visitors for now."

The trio voiced their thanks to the doctor and entered the med bay to find Kara sitting up on her own atop an examination table. She looked up at the trio approaching her and offered a smile. "Alex." The sisters hugged and Alex did her own visual examination of Kara.

"You doing ok?"

"I'm fine. What am I doing here anyway?"

James spoke up, "Kara, you blacked out at CatCo and I drove you here."

Kara gave him a confused look. "I'm sorry; do I know you?" She looked back and forth between James and J'onn, "either of you?"

Alex, J'onn, and James exchanged glances. Kara was most definitely not fine.