Through the ringing of her ears, Alex managed to distinguish the shouting of people. A siren. A helicopter whirring through the sky above her.

She was on her back, feeling oddly numb. Something heavy was stuck in her eyes, and the next second Alex realized that it was blood running down the side of her face.

"Alex!"

Her eyes snapped open at the sound of her own name, as she lurched forward. The pain in her back and head was unbearable, but she pushed through it, tilting her head to see J'onn running over to her.

"Alex!" He repeated, falling onto his knees next to her. "Are you okay?!"

"W-what happened…" She could barely understand him over the high-pitched tone in her ears.

"Another explosion…" J'onn said, shaking his head. "I saw you running towards the debris before the bang… Did you see something?"

Alex closed her eyes for a brief second, before wiping the blood on the side of her face away with a shaky hand. "I… I don't…"

"MEDIC!" J'onn shouted over his shoulder, before focusing back on Alex. "Just relax, alright? We're going to have some paramedics check you over."

"I'm… no, I'm fine." Alex shook her head slowly, but stopped when that made the throbbing worse. "Something was…"

Shouting from the right made the two agents look up. Two emergency workers were running towards the debris, yelling for assistance.

It wasn't until one of them crouched down and reached for what looked like someone's arm, that Alex's blood ran cold.

In a split second, everything came rushing back.

"Maggie…" She whispered, before jumping to her feet. J'onn grabbed her by the shoulders, but Alex fought against him, ignoring the hot pain flashing through her back.

"Alex, stop! Stay down!" J'onn tried, but Alex shoved him away. "MAGGIE!"

The Martian turned around to where a group of responders were now converging around the debris about fifty yards away. At the same time, two EMT's were running towards the pair with a stretcher.

"No, I need to see her! J'onn, I need to…" Alex was bordering hysteria as she kept trying to push past him, but J'onn had an iron grip on her.

"Alex, you need to let them take care of you. You're hurt. I promise… look at me." J'onn interjected when Alex was still trying to see what was happening on the other side. Only when she turned her eyes to meet his, did he nod. "You're shivering. You're in shock, Alex. I will take care of her, and I'll keep you updated."

"J'onn…" Alex whispered, tears streaming down her face. "Please, I can't… I can't lose her…"

"You won't. I can hear her thoughts, she's okay."

Alex's knees buckled upon hearing his words, completely collapsing. J'onn guided her to the paramedics, and when he was sure she was in good hands, he turned back around to look at the rubble.

It had been a lie.

He knew that Alex would have never left if she didn't know for sure that Maggie was okay.

But the only thoughts he heard for now were emergency medical protocols, oxygen masks and how far until the nearest hospital?

He took a step in the direction of the men, but it was clear that there was nothing he could do to help.

But when they lifted a body onto the stretcher and carried it towards the perimeter and away from the debris, J'onn ran to help them carry it.

So much blood.

"You're going to be okay, Maggie." He whispered down to the detective's pale face. There was blood pouring out of a gash in her eyebrow but it didn't look too deep. The oxygen mask they'd placed on her covered most of her face.

It was clear that it was bad. Based on the frenzy the workers were in, and how fast they sprinted to an ambulance to get her to a hospital. Her entire right side was soaked in blood.

J'onn thought for a second that he could have gotten her to a hospital in less than a minute.

But he was needed here. To stay in control of the situation – to figure out what had happened.

Through the window, he could see Alex sitting in a stationary ambulance. Tears were streaming down her face as a paramedic was taking her blood pressure.

He stepped forward, and opened the door. Immediately, Alex's head shot up. "J'onn…"

"They're bringing her to the hospital."

Alex swallowed her tears down and cleared her throat weakly. "Did- Did she… Was she awake…? Did she talk?"

J'onn took a second to formulate a response. "She was unconscious. There was a lot of blood, but we got to her quickly."

"She said that she saw the same man from the airfield again. A guy that looked… suspicious." Alex sniffed. "He was looking for something in the rubble, he must have… placed another bomb."

"Right in front of hundreds of eyes?"

"That's what the message said, right? 'In front of her people'."

J'onn was stunned to silence.

"Sir, we're going to head to National City General." The paramedic addressed him. J'onn nodded quickly, and turned to Alex. "I'll call Kara, and I'll come by as soon as I can."

Alex cast her gaze downward.

J'onn stepped out of the ambulance after that.

"… another explosion not even a few hours after the first one, with rescue workers still on site. So far, we have received no word on any further injured or casualties, leaving the balance of this dark day to still be determined."

He tried to block out the numerous news reporters covering the event. The flashes and shouting were starting to overwhelm him. He had to stay focused – get intelligence on the bombing.

But first – an unpleasant call to Kara.

He sighed, as his shaky hand reached for the phone in his pocket, watching Alex's ambulance drive off and sending another prayer upward that the both of them would be okay.


Winn often found himself in a position where he had to do things that he didn't necessarily agree with. When J'onn gave him the command to hack into a server, or edit files, it was hard to keep a straight face and perform his duties.

But this.

Since the news cameras were broadcasting live from the site of the rubble, numerous cameras had picked up on the second explosion.

It was his job now to figure out where it came from.

And to ignore the fact that it meant watching Alex and Maggie get flung back over and over again. J'onn had called with little information other than that both women had at least been alive on site, but that Maggie's status was uncertain.

Kara had dropped down onto the couch, staring ahead. As much as she wanted to be with her sister, she knew that she couldn't leave the President alone.

So now it was Winn who was left to take charge and do whatever he could.

On first assessment, it seemed to make sense that there would be another bomb that hadn't gone off when the initial explosion occurred, and was activated when Alex or Maggie walked onto the rubble. Like a landmine.

But on the footage, Maggie seemed to run towards something, raising her gun.

Something in the debris caught his eye.

"Agent Schott…"

Winn looked up to see the President standing in front of him with crossed arms. "An update?"

"Madam President, uh… I'm reviewing the footage to see if anything's significant. And… I think I might have something."

To his surprise, the woman took a seat next to him at the table, and waited for his explanation.

"Well, uh, you see, there…" He pointed at a few pixels on the screen. "When Maggie and Alex are looking, there's nothing there. But then, right before Maggie starts running…" He fast-forwarded a few frames, and the pixels changed.

"… Something appears out of nowhere." President Marsdin frowned, watching as Maggie ran over to it in panic. There was something glowing red, and when she neared it, it started blinking.

"Alex saw." Winn concluded. "She was warning Maggie, that's why she turned around. And then-…" He cut himself off, watching the two fly backwards.

"So, Maggie was right." The woman looked up. "The bomber is invisible. She saw him plant that second charge."

"But why? Maggie's a human, that would mean that Alex would have to see him too. And so would the rest of the world."

"Maybe he wants to be seen by her." The President frowned, before getting up. "Alright. Send out a message to the Secret Service, I want to move."

"What? But Madam President…" Winn's eyes widened – he remembered the orders he'd been given. She was not to leave the safehouse.

"Agent Schott, I appreciate your concern, but I want to know Agent Danvers and Detective Sawyer are okay. And after that, I'm going to visit the bombing site, to pay my respects to the first responders. I can't sit around here and watch more people get hurt. The people are confused and need answers."

Winn clenched his jaw, and sent out a message to the President's detail. Meanwhile, the woman crouched down in front of Kara's near catatonic form on the couch. "Supergirl…? How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Madam President." Kara replied almost mechanically.

"I want to go visit Agent Danvers and Detective Sawyer." The woman repeated. "Can you stay close to me?"

"Of course." The blonde whispered, before getting up from the couch.

As the threesome walked out of the house to head into a black car driven by a Secret Service member, Winn tried not to think about Alex or Maggie, instead focusing on what they did know.

Which wasn't much.

A bomber that could flit in at any random time. And the only one that could see him was on the verge of death – from what he could see anyway.

Chaos without explanation was a dangerous state.

He allowed the President to get in first, Supergirl vowing to stay close but preferring to fly instead. Before Winn could get in, his cellphone buzzed.

He reached down, looking at the screen. The number was blocked, but something told him that he had to pick up anyway.

"Hello…?"

"Winn Schott." A distorted voice announced. "Cerberus."

"What?" Winn frowned, completely caught off guard by the call.

"Another attack happens tonight at 8."

"Hold on, who are you? Why are you-…" He tried, but the voice cut him off again. "Good luck."

After that, the line went dead, leaving Winn to stare at his phone, dumbfounded.

"Agent Schott?" The President's voice appeared from the car. "We need to go!"

Numbly, Winn got in the car. Glancing down at his phone every few seconds.

8 pm. That meant a little over five hours left.

"Everything alright, Agent?"

Winn glanced to the right and smiled nervously. "Yes. Of course, just… The situation." He explained quickly. The woman nodded, and put a hand on his thigh in a comforting gesture.

He needed a laptop.

Because as much as it creeped him out that they managed to track down his phone…

At least now he had a tangible clue.

Cerberus.