Chapter 2

As the door opened, standing in the small empty office, Supergirl moved her hands to her hips.

"Jesus!" After quickly shutting the door behind him, a tall man, wearing a baseball cap and with headphones on, caught his breath and repeated his exclamation. "Jesus."

"Sorry for startling you. I'm looking for Joe West?"

"You found him. And unless that is really good Cosplay, you are… Supergirl?"

She smiled at the kind looking stranger. "Maggie Sawyer suggested we speak."

Shock crossed his kind face. "Mags neglected to say it would be you dropping in. You know, you're lucky I'm not one for carrying a weapon," he said as he removed the cap he was wearing, tossed it onto the file cabinet he was standing next to, and then rolled up his headphones and shoved them into the pocket of his grey sports jacket.

Supergirl shrugged. "Would've been okay. Bulletproof."

An eyebrow rose. "Still would have drawn attention to your visit. Shooting a weapon and all."

"Didn't want to rattle any of your clients or draw attention to you by making my visit formal. Sorry if I caught you off guard."

"Appreciated. Next time maybe send someone less conspicuous."

Supergirl laughed. "Noted."

"So, Mags was vague when we spoke. How can I be of assistance? I'm assuming it's about what happened at the park?"

"She said you were smart."

"Most of the time too smart for my own good," he asked as he slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks. "What are you looking for?"

"Anything that might help us identify who might be behind the attacks on the Meta community?"

"A tall order to be giving a meager caseworker."

"Maggie said you help the community."

"I do but I'm not exactly the mayor of Metaland."

"But you haven't sent me away."

"She's bulletproof and astute," he said with a wide smile that probably had broken a few hearts. Joe moved to the file cabinet that his hat was sitting on and opened it. Pulling the files to make a gap he reached in and then pulled something out of the cabinet before shutting it. In his hand was a small cigar box, which he dropped onto the corner of his desk. Opening it he pulled out six cigars and laid them on the table and then pulled out one from the bottom row, shook it, and then placed the other six back in the box. The rattling noise Supergirl heard signaled the plastic tube wasn't holding a cigar.

West handed the tube over. "This might be of interest."

Supergirl nodded and took what he was offering her.

"There are some very angry and scared Metas who've had enough. It's not much but it might be something to open areas of inquiry."

"Thank you, Mr. West."

"It's Joe. Mr. West was my dad and he was a bastard."

"Thank you, Joe."

"You're welcome, Supergirl. Thanks for trying to help. The community needs all the support they can get."

"Tell them we are trying our best to put an end to what's been happening."

"I hope you're successful. There's been enough hate stirred in my lifetime."

Supergirl moved to the window of the office but was struck by his words and stopped. She turned back, curiosity getting the better of her. "Joe?"

"Yep."

"What drew you to helping Metas?"

"My dad wasn't the only bastard in my family. I used to be a pretty big prick. When that particle explosion thing happened a couple years back and tons of people's lives changed overnight my daughter was among those affected. It changed everything. Woke me up, I suppose. Saw things differently. Realized I had fallen into a trap that a couple decades ago I would have been used to set. Gave my life a focus, a purpose."

"Is she okay?"

"My daughter," he questioned with a giant smile on his face. "She's amazing. Got out of National City. Living in Kansas, of all places."

"May I ask? How was she affected?"

"Speed. It's why she left the city. Things around here, too confining," he said as the pride in his voice added a note of melancholy. "She can work from wherever so she bought a bunch of land. Wide open space to run."

"Sounds like you miss her."

"Every day."

"You could have gone with her."

"All that peace and quiet? Too much for me. I like the chaos of a big city. It's better this way. Besides, given her gift, she can visit any time with no effort."

"I hope to meet her someday. Thanks for this," Kara said, as she slid the cigar tube under the sleeve of her suit. "Be safe."

"I'll do my best. Supergirl?"

"Yes?"

"Mind doing me a favor?"

"What is it you need?"

His hands went back into his pockets. "Keep an eye on Mags. I was at the park that day. I saw everything that happened. She might be acting tough but after all that, there is no way she's forgiven herself. The damage to her body will heal but the rest won't unless she deals with things."

"I promise to have her back."

"Thanks. She's the best cop in the city, smart, fair, and has a big heart. National City needs her."

It was nice to hear someone else give Detective Sawyer a glowing review. "Same goes for you. The world needs as many people with your compassion as we can get."

"Lines are being drawn in the sand. The time for standing on the sidelines is over. We all need to tap into our better nature. If I hear anything more I'll let Mags know."

Nodding at him, Supergirl levitated and took off towards headquarters glad to have met yet another of the good guys.

Landing at the command center, Supergirl nodded at three agents coming up the stairs towards her, all nodded back, very formally, like the fresh new recruits that they were. Kara respected the formality but preferred the more casual energy of those she spent the most time interacting with at the DEO. She supposed it was because one of the things she loved the most about humans was their capacity for whimsy. Of her circle, Susan Vasquez was the most formal of the bunch but even she had moments of humor, which as Supergirl approached the workstations she noticed were currently on full display. It sounded as if Vasquez had just accomplished something that Winn had been convinced was impossible and was rubbing it in like a rich football player who cared less about being fined and so was in the end zone dancing.

"Never underestimate, Agent Vasquez's determination," Supergirl said as she reached the agent and her old friend.

Defeat crossed Winn's face. "Fine. A bet is a bet. I'm buying the coffee for the rest of the month, even if you did hustle me."

"Like Supergirl said, your mistake was underestimating me," Vasquez gloated while spinning in her chair.

Kara laughed. It was nice to see Vasquez having fun with the newest addition to her team but more so it was wonderful to see Winn having coworkers and tasks that challenged him. She imagined CatCo had its interesting moments but was mainly just maintenance work. At the DEO, Winn's skill set was going to be better appreciated and would continue to improve as he made the impossible, possible.

Kara pulled the tube from the sleeve of her suit. "How about double or nothing, you two?"

Winn rose from his chair with excitement on his face. "What you got?"

Kara handed the container over to Agent Vasquez.

"Cuban?" Winn asked, very confused.

Susan shook the tube. "Thinking more Silicon Valley."

The assessment spot on, Kara winked at the agent. "Careful Winn. She's liable to win round two."

"Nope. Not this time. Where's it from?"

"A source of Detective Sawyer's. You should probably run whatever tests you do to make sure it's safe before dropping it on the DEO servers but it's supposed to help point us in the right direction."

Winn nodded. "Will do."

"Already doing," Vasquez teased having removed the chip and dropped it into some kind of box that was sitting in the slide drawer of her workstation.

"I'll leave you two to it. Behave yourselves. I need to go check in with Alex."

"When you're done," Vasquez interjected. "What you requested is ready for a test run."

"I'll drop back by after she and I talk."

"We'll be here," Winn replied as he sat back down and started typing.

Alex hadn't slept much the night before and it was making it very difficult to pore over the files that were up on her screen. The eyestrain felt more like she had been reading for twelve hours instead of three and she kept looking at her watch. Maggie was due in soon for her first physical therapy session. So not only was the work monotonous but with Maggie's arrival imminent, Alex found she was preoccupied.

There was no way Alex could drop in on her session but she needed to see for herself that Maggie was feeling positive after the first day of physical therapy. More so she wanted to know that Maggie had calmed from the night before. There was going to be a lot of work involved with the physical injuries but she was pretty certain the mental ones might be running deeper at the moment.

Alex thought about finding a way to whisper to J'onn that maybe a therapist of another kind might be a good idea but it felt like a betrayal to do so. Perhaps he would unintentionally get a sense of what Maggie was going through and offer to help. If not, Alex had to hope Maggie was self-aware enough to want to work on that piece of things.

"Hey, Alex," Kara said, in full Supergirl mode, from the doorway of the small office that Alex had taken as her own.

Pulled from her thoughts, Alex turned to her sister. "Everything go okay with the contact Maggie gave us?"

"Yeah. Nice guy. I've got Susan and Winn running what he handed over. He was clear that it was likely not earth shattering but might help focus some of our inquiries. Anything new with the footage?"

Alex closed the file she had up on her screen and turned her complete attention to her sister. "Your new pal Oracle hasn't reached back out. Just have to hope something pops because it doesn't look like A'Daire will break anytime soon."

"With her and Abbott under lock and key at least they can't hurt anyone else."

"But who knows who else is out there? These weren't thrill kills or serials. They were assassinations and just because we took two of them off the street doesn't mean money won't be given to someone else to keep things moving along."

Kara stepped into the office and let the door close behind her. "If only we knew the why."

"Nothing new with the CatCo digging? The free press is as important a tool as whatever Maggie's contact turned over."

"Ms. Grant has been," Kara stumbled over the words.

"Focused? Distant? Cold?" Alex teased, while standing form her chair.

"All of the above."

"She needs time, Kara. Something tells me she never really was chased off the fact you were Supergirl. So getting that confirmed by circumstance, and not you opening up to her, it probably stings."

"I kept from telling her because the DEO thought too many people already knew. Even you thought so."

"All true but her reaction to finding out is still valid."

"I suppose," Kara shrugged. "So, Winn and Vasquez think they've finished the final touches on the training protocol meant to replicate the sonic attack on me in the park. Can you spare some time to observe the exercise? Be an extra pair of eyes for me?"

"Sure," Alex was happy for the distraction. So she pushed her chair under the desk and then logged out of the workstation terminal. "Then maybe we can go hit things."

"Rough night? She cancel again?"

Alex moved towards her sister. "No. Dinner was nice. The reaction, while walking her home, to a car backfiring was less so."

"Is Maggie, okay?"

"Says she is but I think 'okay' is an overstatement."

"Maybe J'onn should have her talk to someone?"

"I think, for now, it's best to give her time, see how the physical therapy progresses, then maybe she can start dealing with the rest."

"And if not?"

"I'll keep an eye on her until she does." Alex offered knowing it was an overly optimistic and terrible solution.

"We both will. I like her, you know."

"Not as much as I do," Alex blushed.

Kara smiled wide. "And I like seeing you so happy."

The kindness in her sister's eyes made it easier for Alex to be honest. "So did I, Kara. So did I."

Before Alex could say anything else, Supergirl was pulling her into a tight, sister hug. It was hardly the most professional moment Alex had at the DEO but it was what she needed.

Many an afternoon Supergirl and Alex had spent sparing in the same large, gray, empty space with the kryptonite dampeners on. Now she stood in the center of the room, alone, awaiting instruction.

A loud click came over the speaker. "We were able to retrofit the room fairly easily," Winn spoke through the microphone. A small, secured screen inside the wall by the exit showed him seated at the control center workstation. "But we can't be certain the sound wave intensity is going to match what you faced in the park."

Supergirl shrugged. "I'm not going to forget what that felt like. I'll be able to tell you your degree of success."

Alex leaned into the camera frame and grabbed the microphone. "Kara, if he did, there will be time to figure out how to beat it. First, let's aim for a strong defense against it."

"Alex, we can do both."

"Defense, first."

Annoyed, Supergirl relented. "Okay, I hear you loud and clear."

"Not for much longer," Winn continued, nudging Alex from the frame. "Once this program starts running we won't be able to communicate."

Alex glared at Winn and nudged back in. "If it looks like your life is in danger or the effects are too much I'm shutting it down."

"I can handle this, Alex."

"Don't doubt that. Just can't afford to have our strongest asset knocked out of commission."

Alex was right and so Supergirl relented. "Understood."

"Good. Stay steady."

Winn's hand moved. "Here it comes in 3, 2, ..."

In an instant, the entire room was vibrating with sound coming at her from all directions. None of it even came close to what happened that day in the park.

The test proved to be a bust so Supergirl joined the group in the control room. They needed to determine what was missing.

"How were you able to secure the room enough to confine the sounds?" Alex asked as she read the code over Winn's shoulder.

"Lots of trial and error."

"And calculating the power of the waves?" Supergirl asked from where she was leaning near the doorway.

Winn stopped typing and turned to them. "A handful of the press pool cameras captured what was happening. That footage gave us a guess at a baseline using how other things in the blast radius, like trees and benches, reacted to the waves."

"But since Kara's physiology is different, the maximum output can't be as easily measured," Alex interjected.

"Exactly. All we know is that we need more. How did the intensity measure up?"

Supergirl took a few steps into the room. "What happened in the park, that took my breath away. Not much has ever hurt me but that hurt. The direction was also off. During the test it felt like I was being struck by sound the entire three hundred and sixty degrees. In the park, it was a wide span but felt like a single, directed source."

Alex pointed to the code on Winn's terminal. "Run it again but aim it all from one direction and turn on the kryptonite dampener, just a touch."

Winn took both hands off the keyboard, then put them back, and began to feverishly type. "Of course. If we can't mimic the intensity of the sound waves, try weakening her. Maybe then we can duplicate it."

"Do it," Kara demanded as she left the control booth and headed back into the room.

It had worked and now there was a sonic cat and mouse game being played in the training room. Watching Winn try to challenge Supergirl's abilities made Alex wonder if some of the looks on the young man's face were similar to when he would play video games. Every time he got the drop on Supergirl there was a little twinge of gloating in his tone and one or two victory cheers.

After knocking her to the ground for the fifth time the waves and kryptonite damping were turned off. Alex turned on the microphone in the booth and leaned into it. "Try riding the sound wave this time."

"Like surfing?" Supergirl questioned as she rose slowly from the ground. "That was your deal, Alex. Not mine."

"Even though Dad wouldn't let you near a board you watched me all the time. You've got this, Kara. Remember what you used to see me do and see if you can use the sound to get some momentum and then balance."

"Tough to do when there is no way to be sure which way it's coming for me."

"Just need to be faster than the sound," Winn interjected.

Supergirl rolled her eyes. "Easy for you to say."

The training went on for another two hours and only stopped because Alex thought her sister had enough for one day. Even with powers, Supergirl was exhausted. She was getting the hang of Alex's surfing the sound idea but not without bumps and bruises thanks to the small amount of kryptonite Winn had added to the room. Things were close to what had happened at the park. It wasn't exact but it hurt.

After the training, Alex had insisted they do a battery of tests to determine what, if any, damage Kara might have suffered from prolonged exposure to the variety of attacks. They knew from the park that Supergirl's equilibrium had been affected but she wanted to be sure there weren't any other long-term issues they needed to be concerned about.

When Alex was content with the results she demanded her sister take a time out in one of the sunbeds to recharge. Supergirl didn't argue and after a short while she felt back to normal as the warmth refueled her alien cells and flushed away any residual Kryptonite.

Before she could change into her favorite jeans and a sweater, things she had found means to leave at the DEO just in case, Supergirl heard destruction coming from within the DEO complex. Dashing toward the sound that her super hearing had picked up, Supergirl entered the locker room to find Detective Sawyer throwing things at a row of lockers.

Supergirl's appearance in the room brought Maggie's assault of inanimate objects to a halt as she slowly sat on the bench behind her. "Rough day."

"Seems that way. Want to talk?"

"Not much to say. Everything hurts and likely to stay that way for a long time."

"I heard you had your first physical therapy session today. It was bound to be difficult."

"Understatement," Maggie said, finally glancing in the hero's direction.

Supergirl took a few steps further into the room. "Is it just the pain management?"

"Honestly?"

Seeing an opening, Supergirl took a few more steps into the room and then sat next to the Detective on the bench. "Yes."

"No."

"I didn't think so." Supergirl fell silent having learned few things over the years about human nature. It was Maggie who needed to be the one to fill the silence.

The detective took a very deep breath and then winced. "I can't even be frustrated without it hurting and breathing is a bitch."

"And I suppose not being able to hit things leads to throwing things instead?"

Maggie managed a smile. "I've still got one good arm."

Supergirl nodded. "From the look of the dent in that locker, more than good."

"Pretty much all I have going for me at the moment. Thanks for the chat but I need to be heading home. See you around, Supergirl," the detective said defeated as she rose from the bench, grabbed a small gym bag, and continued past the hero to the door.

"Detective?"

"Yeah."

"With everything piling on, if you need someone to talk to or to just listen, I'm pretty good at that. Agent Vasquez has the ability to reach me if you need anything."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

And with that Maggie was gone.

Twice in one day, Supergirl had made a promise to help where Detective Sawyer was concerned and it seemed it was good that she had done so. There was a lot going on that would require people around her to aid in her rehabilitation. Supergirl only hoped nothing bad happened as Maggie struggled with the process. Not only was the Detective's wellbeing at stake but also so was Alex's heart.

"Hey, Maggie," Alex said as she jogged at a decent clip down the hallway toward the elevators that exited the complex. "How was your session?"

"Fine." The response was not only quick but also cold.

"That's good. So do you want to get that dinner?"

"I want to go home. Take a hot shower and go to bed. Catch you later, Danvers."

Maggie had always been fiercely independent but what Alex saw in her eyes was more than just independence. She was in pain and not just the physical kind. There was a loss in her eyes that Alex had seen before, when she had been the one to put it there.

As the elevator closed, Alex was left in the hallway alone and feeling useless. Anger started to bubble up and she turned on her heels in the direction of J'onn's office.