2. Fanatic
After recovering from the effects of red kryptonite, Supergirl gives Maxwell Lord some food for thought. And perhaps he does not find it totally indigestible.
Maxwell Lord looked up as the entrance to his cell chamber opened and Supergirl walked in.
"What brings you here?" he asked.
Supergirl's voice was quiet, unthreatening: "I read your speech to the Davos World Economic Forum last year and when I thought of something you said to me the last time we talked, the combination got me thinking. You said 'When the gods walk the earth, it's us tiny mortals who end up suffering.'"
"Yes. So?"
There was no change in Supergirl's voice: "Mr. Lord, it's not just the gods that cause weak people to suffer. Twenty-four centuries ago, it was the Greek historian Thucydides who pointed out that 'the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.' He was speaking of human beings, Mr. Lord. And those who are strong enough to they think they can play God also cause the weak to suffer, because they don't have God's advantages."
"What are you talking about? Since there is no God, how can anybody lack his supposed advantages?"
"An Irish clergyman who believed in the Judeo-Christian God once wrote that God "having the advantage of knowing both the strengths and weaknesses of men, has a facility for unostentatious organization undreamed of by our generals."
"So?"
"People who try to play God don't fully know the strengths and weaknesses of the people and the elements they try to manipulate. Donna Knox will go to her grave believing that her father was either insane or a criminal. She doesn't deserve to carry that burden, but she has to . . . because the man who manipulated her father misread what he would do. And I saw Ethan Knox as he decided that he had no alternative but to commit suicide. He died in agony, believing that his death was the best thing he could do for his daughter. He should not have been manipulated, Mr. Lord."
Then there was Bizzarro. That lady didn't deserve, or ask for an injection of my DNA. And it didn't take properly. We don't know what the long term effects will be and she'll have to be kept unconscious until we know how to treat her.
"And there's more. Cat Grant missed certain death by a few feet when you deployed red kryptonite without full knowledge of its effects. If the full facts were known, you could be facing charges of manslaughter as you were clearly an accessory before the fact." Even now Supergirl's voice was still soft, reasonable, unthreatening, but Lord could hear a deep passion underlying her words.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
"I want you to think, Mr. Lord. You can do a tremendous amount of good if you just try to help people as the scientific and technological leader that you are. Your expertise will be invaluable. But when you try to play God, you're not operating on the same level of competence. You've tried three times; each attempt not only failed miserably but led to serious consequences that you did not anticipate. Since all three of your attempts were strikes, Director Henshaw has to ask himself, just how bad will the damage be to how many people when you try something like that again. If you're worried about aliens, and in the case of some of them, you have good cause to be, sign a consulting contract with the DEO and work under their direction."
"You haven't said one word about your own feelings about what I did. How do you feel about it?"
"I have two objections to you trying anything like that again. The first goes back to what you said at Davos. You answered the computer hackers' argument that their activities were socially beneficial because they strengthened your defenses by pointing out that they were making you spend money, your people's time and effort on system defenses that would be better spent on goals like ending diseases."
"Yes, and I was right. Those guys are scum, evil."
"Indeed you were right, and they are scum. But isn't it hypocritical to try to hack Supergirl? After all, that's what you were doing with each of your three attempts. Every second I fight with you, I'm wasting time that would be better spent on helping people who need my help."
"And with you around more and more people will do more and more risky things," Lord rejoined.
"If that argument was morally valid, we wouldn't have police, fire departments or emergency services people. Why are you picking on me? They save more people than I do day in and day out. And second, suppose you do take me out of play somehow, and those Kryptonians show up again. One thing's certain: they're not like me. They do see themselves as gods, and they are the kind of gods who will cause the tiny mortals to suffer. What happens to humanity if I'm not there to help? Is it in your own, or humanity's, best interest for you to stab your best defence against them in the back?"
"You make an interesting case. I'll think about it."
"Thank you. That's all I wanted."
The door opened suddenly. As Alex walked in, Supergirl left.
"You're free to go." Alex said as she opened his cell door.
"That's unexpected. Why?"
"Because my sister is a better person than you are, or I am, and she still says it's the right thing to do."
"She's an amazing alien."
"You have no idea. Look, the papers and TV stations call her the Girl of Steel, but at heart, she's still the thirteen-year-old who cried when Dad would drive past car accidents. Not just for the people involved: but because Dad wouldn't let her use her powers to help them because he wanted to keep her safe from people like you, people who only see her as a threat, a fear, a thing, instead of the person she is with the same rights as an American that you have. Through whatever freak of chance made it happen, Kryptonians are essentially people Max, and she too has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And she's also the person who found out the hard way that we DEO types can take her out easily, and it hasn't crossed her mind to do something she could easily do to make it considerably harder for us."
Maxwell Lord did not reply. When he reached the surface, he found Supergirl waiting for him.
"Would you like a lift back to National City, Mr. Lord? I can get you there faster than a car will drive you."
Lord thought for a second. "Thank you Supergirl, I'll take you up on that."
Supergirl lifted Lord in an arm carry. "OK, hold on here we go," she said as they launched.
They flew in silence, each with their own thoughts until Max Lord commented. "This isn't the direct route to National City," as they flew out over the ocean.
"That's right," Supergirl said without changing direction, "I'm flying fast enough to still beat the car, even though we are taking the scenic route. I thought you might like a breath of sea air after being underground."
The shoreline was no longer in view. "Are you going to drop me here?" Lord asked.
"No," Supergirl said. "There's something deep inside me that just won't let people get hurt if I can help it. I don't know why and I can't explain it so I can't take credit for it. It just is. I just want to help people, that's all. Please don't make it harder for me."
"But what if you're not in control?"
"Despite the effects of red kryptonite, I caught Cat Grant before she hit the ground. Doesn't that give me enough evidence to trust myself a little more than your recent failures support your trust in yourself? And don't worry Mr. Lord. The DEO has what it needs to take me out of play anytime they need to. And I am deliberately not taking the precautions I could take to make it more difficult. It's the closest I can come to a failsafe. If I think of a better one, they'll know it the same day. If you think of one, let the DEO know and we'll test it."
"I see," said Maxwell Lord as Supergirl began the long turn to the northeast. They flew the rest of the way back to Lord's office in silence.