Really, it was only a matter of time until Cadmus figured out Supergirl's identity as Kara Danvers. They had never had a great track record with keeping it a secret to those around her (seriously, did anyone not know at this point?), so Lillian Luthor only needed to put together a few clues about which "reporter" may have told her daughter about her secret operations and the secret unraveled. Logically, the next step after figuring out her identity would, of course, be launching a direct attack on those that she cares about. And Alex was the most obvious choice.
Thump!
Another one of the masked men hit the ground (hard) as Alex maneuvered a roundhouse kick to his face. Just because she was the obvious choice didn't mean she was going to go down easy. She knew her chances of escape were slim; there were eight of them and only one of her. Regardless, she pushed past the exhaustion in her muscles to land as many punches and kicks as possible before she felt the sharp stick of a needle entering the side of her neck.
The darkness came quickly.
"So, what's the case?" Kara entered the command center of the DEO in her Supergirl outfit, taking a seat in front of the screen to prepare for the briefing. J'onn looked up from his file in confusion.
"What do you mean, Supergirl?" J'onn looked to Winn briefly. "Did someone call you in for a case?"
"Well, no." Kara admitted. "But, I was supposed to meet Alex for breakfast this morning and she didn't show up. That could only mean one thing: she's working on a really big case. So, what's going on?" She looked from Winn to J'onn, waiting for an explanation.
J'onn's eyebrows knitted together in concern. He dropped his voice slightly, looking at Kara seriously. "Kara, there is no case. As far as I know, Alex hasn't come into the DEO since she left late last night."
"Are you sure she didn't just sleep in or something? Have you tried calling her?" Winn piped in.
"Winn, this is Alex we're talking about. She doesn't sleep in. I tried to call her, but it went straight to voicemail so I figured she was here."
"This place does get awful reception." Winn muttered, before noticing the serious expressions on both Kara's and J'onn's faces. "You're right, not the time. I'll track her cell phone and see if I can find out where she is, although I have to say that I find this to be a complete breach of privacy. I mean what if she's running errands, or at a doctor's appointment, or with someone, or…. At her apartment." Winn stared at the dot signifying Alex's location. "See, look at that. She's at her apartment! And here we were, worrying over nothing."
Kara frowned. "Something's not right. I can feel it. I'm going to go over there to make sure she's okay." J'onn nodded his agreement.
Kara made the flight in record time, swooping in through Alex's living room window even though she knew her sister hated when she didn't use the door. "Alex?" The apartment appeared to be empty. She took a step forward and felt something crunch under her feet. Crouching down, Kara picked a small piece of glass that she recognized as coming from one of her sister's favorite vases. Just then, she heard a soft buzzing coming from her right. Frowning in confusion, she leaned down even further, finding Alex's iPhone lying just underneath the couch. The screen lit up as an unknown caller attempted to reach Alex. Kara put the phone up to her ear. "Hello?"
"Hello, Ms. Danvers." Her face instantly paled as she recognized the voice on the other line.
"Lillian Luthor." There was a venom in her voice that she had never used before.
"Smart girl."
"What have you done to my sister?"
"Nothing yet. Unfortunately for Alex, that will be changing soon. Don't worry, I promise to give her back to you in one piece. Physically, that is." Kara could almost hear the smirk on her face as she spoke and it made her blood boil.
"Why are you doing this? What do you want?"
"To inflict the same pain on you that you've inflicted on others. You've ruined more lives than you realize and it's time you pay for your sins."
"Then take me. My sister has nothing to do with my actions."
"Oh, it's quite the contrary. She is your biggest protector, the one that motivates you to be Supergirl. It's simple really: break her and I break you. Now, you can try to find her, to save her, but I assure you that it is energy wasted. You will find her when I want you to find her, in whatever state I wish her to be. I have all the power now, Supergirl, and there's nothing you can do to change that."
"Please. You don't have to do this." Kara begged, tears filling her eyes at the prospect of Alex being hurt.
Lillian Luthor laughed coldly. "Begging won't get you anywhere. Now, I have important business to tend to. We'll be seeing each other soon enough."
Kara sat dumbfounded as the line went dead. She knew she needed to move, to do something, but it was as if she was paralyzed by the dread overcoming her body. It took her a couple minutes to register that there were voices coming over the com in her ear.
"Supergirl, can you hear me? I repeat, have you found anything at Agent Danver's apartment?" J'onn's voice was hard, the worry evident in its sharpness. "Supergirl!"
"Yes, I'm here." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Alex isn't here."
"Okay, is there anything there that might give us any clues?"
"She's been taken, J'onn. Cadmus has Alex."