The next morning, Kara returned to CatCo. Although Alex and Cat wanted her to stay home again, they knew that Kara would not tolerate it. She was more than sufficiently healed to handle a day of work. Cat noticed that her morning ran more smoothly than it had all week – no surprise, given that she finally had her extraordinary assistant back. Kara was her usual amazing self, anticipating Cat's needs before she could even voice them. The old Cat would have made some snide comments about it, to keep from seeming impressed, but Cat was not that woman anymore. Instead, she smiled warmly at Kara, and thanked her for her help. Then she said, loudly, "Now, back to work, Kiera! Chop chop!" She still had a reputation to maintain, after all.

Before Kara could leave the office, however, Cat heard a thump on the balcony, and a man strode in, wearing an outfit much like the one she'd seen on Astra. The look on Kara's face was a combination of hatred, scorn, and fear, and Cat would have done anything to remove that look from Kara's face. Instead, she closed the office door, knowing that whatever this conversation entailed, the rest of CatCo shouldn't hear it. She grabbed Kara's hand and dragged her out to the balcony. Kara needed to be able to protect herself, and the balcony was a far better place for that, away from the prying eyes of the bullpen. Non followed them back out onto the balcony, glancing at the women's joined hands with interest.

"Non," Kara spat, disdain dripping from her voice. "You are not welcome here." She removed her glasses and stood tall, in a posture so obviously Supergirl that Cat cringed, thinking about how quickly Kara would have revealed herself if they weren't on the balcony.

"I would like to see you try to stop me," Non responded, his lip curling into a sneer. "I am here for my wife. Where is she?"

Kara glared defiantly at him. "She's in prison." Kara didn't think it was her place to announce that Astra had voluntarily given herself up. "You won't get her back."

"I am her husband. She belongs to me, and I will have her back."

Cat had heard enough. She said angrily, "She doesn't belong to you, or anyone! How can you treat your wife like a piece of property!"

"And who are you?" Non growled. "How dare you speak to me? I could kill you with a flick of my finger."

Kara quickly stepped in front of Cat. "You will not touch her!" she proclaimed, although her voice contained a hint of fear.

Non was intrigued by Kara's reaction. She was acting as if this human was important to her. He laughed. "Does the daughter of Alura Zor-El have a weakness for humans?" he mocked. He quickly reached around Kara and grabbed Cat. "Does it worry you if I squeeze her neck?" He put one hand around her neck and squeezed until Cat was gasping for air.

Kara stepped forward and punched him, hard. The blow was so powerful that it knocked him back into the wall, and he released Cat in surprise. "Go inside!" Kara urged Cat quickly… but not quickly enough.

Perhaps they could arrange a trade, Non thought – Kara's human for his wife. Using his super-speed, Non flew by Cat and grabbed her in his arms. Kara took off after him, shedding her clothing on the way, in favor of the super-suit. Non would NOT take Cat away from her. She wanted to send a blast of heat vision at him, but she was afraid of hitting Cat, so instead she simply followed his flight path.

Alex called while she was in mid-flight. "Kara, are you flying? You know you're not supposed–"

Kara cut her off. "Alex, Non has Cat. He's flying off with her, and I'm not going to lose them."

"We're on our way. We'll head toward your coordinates."

Non continued his evasive maneuvers, and Kara followed, steadily gaining on him. Non realized that Kara was faster than he was, and he had no chance of losing her. He debated killing the human, but instead, he used her to get Kara off his trail. He tossed her into the air, and sneered as Cat began to scream in terror. "Next time, Kara Zor-El, I will not be so kind to your human." He laughed. "By this time tomorrow, the whole city will be mine, and that woman will suffer."

Kara quickly flew underneath Cat and caught her. She pulled Cat close, holding the shaking woman in her arms. "I've got you, Cat. You're safe now." She flew slowly back to CatCo's balcony, murmuring soothing phrases and holding Cat as tightly as she dared. When she landed on the balcony, she brought Cat over to the sofa, still holding the woman in her arms.

When she heard a helicopter approaching, she remembered Alex. She pressed the button on her phone, and said, "Alex, Non let her go. Cat's okay, and Non is gone."

"I'm coming anyway," Alex declared, and a few moments later she was dangling underneath the helicopter, lowering herself until she landed on the balcony. She knelt in front of the couch, wrapping one arm around Kara and the other around Cat. They stayed there, in a three-person hug, for several minutes.

Eventually, Alex released the other two women. She grabbed a chair and sat down across from them. "Tell me what happened," she said. Kara began to recount the events, starting from when Non arrived, and Alex was impressed to hear that Cat had closed the door and led them out to the balcony. "That was quick thinking, Cat," she commended.

The older woman drew in a shaky breath. "I knew that if something happened, Kara would want to defend me, and I couldn't let her risk her identity." Alex nodded. She was impressed by Cat's determination to look out for Kara, even in a moment of panic. More importantly, she was relieved to see that Cat was beginning to compose herself again. This woman was a fighter.

They continued the story together, and Cat admitted that once he had started referring to Astra as property, she couldn't keep quiet any longer. "But when Non threatened me, he could see by Kara's reaction that I was important to her. So I think he decided to try to exchange me for Astra. He wanted his property back." Cat shook her head in disgust. "Kara wouldn't let him get away, though. She flies faster than he does."

Kara nodded. "Faster than Superman, too," she muttered quietly. Cat looked at her, impressed.

"Once he realized that," Cat said, "I could see him trying to decide what to do with me. He definitely thought about killing me, but for some reason he decided not to."

"He figured you weren't important enough to bother," Kara said, shaking her head and shivering at the thought. "And he wanted to get me off his tail. He knew I would save you rather than chasing him."

"I think we've found Non's biggest weakness, Kara," Alex responded. "Underestimating his enemies. He has underestimated you a couple of times, and he thinks humans are useless. It's could be his downfall."

Kara nodded slowly. "I hope it's enough."

Alex grinned. "Well, if not, you can always beat him in a race." Kara smiled weakly.

Cat inquired, "What's the status of the Myriad situation?"

"We've got a plan to stop it," Alex answered. "We won't really know if it works until it happens. We have a backup plan – a few pairs of headphones that will block the signal – but it's not nearly enough to save the city. Our hope is that at least it'll give us a chance to find another solution, if needed. Kara, if it happens, you need to come straight to the DEO. Agents will be there with headphones."

Kara shook her head. "You know I'm getting Cat and Carter first."

"I figured that," Alex said. "That's why I brought two pairs of headphones for them." She smiled and held out the strange-looking devices. "Cat, make sure you keep these handy, and tell Kara where they are, so she can grab them if necessary."

"Do we know yet when this is happening?" Cat asked.

Alex shook her head. "We're guessing by the end of the week."

Kara stood up suddenly, and began pacing. "Non said something, as he was flying away. 'By this time tomorrow, the whole city will be mine.' Then he threatened to make you suffer." Kara looked at Cat with fear in her eyes.

"Okay, that narrows it down. I think maybe it's time we all started wearing those headphones, just in case," Alex said. She made a quick call to Hank to alert him.

Cat looked at the headphones in horror. "I can't be seen wearing those monstrosities. Kara, hold on to them, and if I need them, you can put them on me. Until then, I will not be caught dead in those things. I have a reputation to maintain."

Alex rolled her eyes, and Kara laughed. "Of course, Ms. Grant," she said submissively, earning a slight smile from her boss.

SCSCSCSCSCSC

The next morning, Cat and Kara brought Carter to work. They wanted him around just in case something happened. Kara carried Cat's headphones, and Carter was happy to wear his pair. "These are so cool," he marveled. Can I use them with my iPod?"

Kara laughed. "I seriously doubt it. But you look good, in any case."

Meanwhile, the DEO agents were equipped with headphones, and were monitoring Lord's technology to see when the Myriad program would be activated. They were hoping that the software they'd installed would drown out Myriad's signal entirely, making the precaution unnecessary.

Around mid-morning, a technician shouted an alert, and the agents collectively held their breath. They watched nervously as the software began to run, and after about thirty seconds someone exclaimed, "It's working!" The others began to join in, until the low murmur had grown into applause and cheering. "We did it!" yelled Winn, feeling like he'd just accomplished the greatest feat of his life. Alex called Kara to alert her to their success, and Kara confirmed that in fact, Cat was acting completely normal without the headphones – or at least like her usual self.

The agency was focused on the progress of Myriad all morning, wanting to make sure that Non didn't find a way to bypass their roadblock. As a result, they noticed immediately when Non began to increase the frequency. "What is he doing?" Winn asked. "He can't control humans at that high a frequency."

"He's not trying to control us," Max said grimly.

"He's trying to kill us," Alex finished. She dialed her sister. "Kara, we have a problem. Get here as soon as you can."

A moment later, Kara arrived, with Cat and Carter in tow.

"You brought a child here?" Hank demanded angrily.

"I wasn't leaving him alone," Kara said, with a look on her face that dared him to argue with her. "Alex, tell me what's going on."

Alex explained the situation – that the signal, emanating from Fort Roz, would reach higher and higher frequencies until it finally became too much for human ears. It was going to kill everyone on the planet. "So I defeat Non, and then I stop the signal, right?" Kara asked.

Alex sighed and nodded. Hank immediately volunteered to go with Kara. "You could use my help," he said, and Kara nodded in agreement. His alien powers could very well come in handy, although neither of them could acknowledge that out loud.

SCSCSCSCSCSC

Five minutes later, Alex burst into Astra's room, and the tears running down her face were enough to alarm the Kryptonian. "It's Kara," she said by way of explanation. "I need your help. Can I trust you?"

Astra nodded and stood up quickly. "Tell me what you need." Alex beckoned her out of the room, and Astra noticed the Kryptonite emitter had been turned off. She was being released. She followed Alex down the hall. As they ran toward the control room, Alex explained, "Kara is flying Fort Roz into space to stop the Myriad signal from killing everyone."

"But she can't breathe in space!" Astra protested.

"Exactly. I'm taking her ship, and I'm going to try to push her back into the atmosphere. I need you to catch her when she falls."

Astra nodded. She would do anything to save her niece. She just hoped they could reach Kara in time.