Alex crawled quickly from the edge of the roof to the large roof cap.

She thought that Kara was right behind her, but Kara was still peering over the edge.

"What are you looking at?" Alex whispered.

"I was just making sure they are OK," Kara replied, now quickly crawling to Alex's side. "They are hiding in the back of that red truck."

"Hmm, it's just as well that they are stuck there," Alex said. "It's too bad they can't sneak back to athe car."

Kara frowned. "But aren't we stronger together?"

Alex shook her head. "You heard Eric; even he thinks it was a bad idea for him to be here. And Cookie would no doubt stab us in the back the first chance she gets."

Kara looked sad. "Oh … but she's being so nice, now. You aren't giving her a chance."

"Oh right!" Alex laughed. "I had given her way more chances than she deserves. I even helped do her dirty work. I tried my best to make her happy, and she just used me over and over. I learned my lesson; why won't anyone else? She screwed all of us over and over, and she'll do it again, but you guys all just want to forgive her."

Kara's face moved from sad to confused to angry in a span of a few seconds, then back again, and Alex hated herself for making Kara feel that way.

"I'm sorry," Alex said gently. "I know you like to see the best in people, but some people don't deserve the benefit of the doubt."

Kara bit her lip and refused to look at Alex, clearly upset by Alex's attitude. She looked at Alex like she was the mean girl, not Cookie.

Alex wasn't going to give in on this. Kara knew it, but she wasn't going to give in, either.

Kara got too excited when people wanted to be her friend, and she got too upset when they didn't. She was the perfect victim for Cookie's schemes, but Alex wasn't going to let Cookie hurt any of them ever again, even if she had to look like the bad guy to prevent it.

But now wasn't the time to argue about this. Kara was eager to help Lena. This rescue attempt was even more dangerous than was trusting Cookie, but there was no way Kara was going to let Lena sacrifice her whole life just to keep her friends safe. Alex didn't want that, either, but she sure didn't want for Kara to risk her life, too. Alex would rather have gone on this mission alone. Kara, despite her powers, really didn't know how to be a hero, but nothing Alex could say would stop her from coming along.

Rather than argue, the two girls decided to focus on their mission. They looked at the roof cap, which was blowing warm, stale air in their faces. It was about two feet wide, but now that they were close, they could see that under the copper frame and the bird screen was an aluminum tube less than a foot wide, much too narrow for them to climb down.

They could hear the scratchy murmur of an aging fan, circulating the air, and some faint, hollow sounds in the background.

At least that is what Alex heard; Kara heard a whole lot more.

"I can hear them!" Kara said excitedly.

"Who? Lena? Lex?"

"Yeah, and a bunch of soldiers, too, but they are far away. I think Lena is much closer," Kara pulled off the roof cap and peered down the pipe, and then tried to look through the roof around the pipe, struggling a bit. "There is a fan right below this pipe, then a bunch of tubes going in different directions, but the closest tube goes right into the room where they have Lena."

Alex reached out to Kara's face, stroked her cheek affectionately, then suddenly she removed Kara's glasses and put them in her pocket. "If we are going to do this, you don't need these hurting your vision, right? Now what are they doing down there."

"Umm," Kara said, swallowing, looking a little ashamed at having her glasses removed, which made Alex feel guilty.

Alex and Eliza had done this to Kara, making her feel sometimes more ashamed to show her powers than to show her body. But now, with a little encouragement, Kara was starting to feel not just powerful but also empowered.

Now Kara peered through the ceiling like it wasn't even there, and she listened closely to the conversation through the pipe. "Lex captured two men down there. He is asking them for hints about launch codes, but it seems like he doesn't care what they say; maybe he wants them to think about the codes, so Lena can read their minds," Kara said, with insight that impressed Alex. "But Lena is not saying anything, kinda like she can't read their minds, or like she doesn't want to... Oh, no! One of his jerks just shoved Lena to the ground, yelling at her!"

Kara was shaking with anger, suddenly, and she looked like she was about to punch her way through the concrete, just to get inside.

Alex raised her hand, "Calm down! They don't have the codes yet, so they aren't going to hurt Lena, not seriously at least, not until they have what they want. So we have time to figure out a way into there that doesn't involve collapsing the ceiling above them."

"Oh...Okay," Kara said, nodding and collecting herself. She stood up on the roof, despite that it might make her visible to someone on the ground below, but the black dress and wig she was wearing was pretty good camouflage against the dark night sky. Kara walked around the pipe, looking down and processing the scene like a pro. She gave the pipe a small nudge, then the slight curve of a smile wrinkled her lips. "I think this pipe is stuck to this heavy block, but the block is kind of loose. Maybe if I pull hard on the pipe, the whole block will lift out, and we can climb down into the vents."

"You are getting good at this!" Alex said, giving Kara her best "I'm impressed" look. "Okay, we're in business."

X X X

It was hard to fully express how embarrassing it was sometimes to be Eric, and nobody ever seems to appreciate how hard he tried to keep his emotions in check. He had learned many tricks to keep his passions down, because when his feelings got away from him, it was like he let out a big fart in a crowded room. Victims never knew where the disturbance came from, except Lena, but it was embarrassing nonetheless.

Lena sometimes joked that Eric was the only teen that everyone knew exactly how he was feeling, but that's not really true. Sure, his feelings radiated to everyone around him, but that was not the same as people understanding what he was going through. It was like they were all using the same recreational drug, but people can all experience that drug differently. Someone might say they are having a high, and another would say they are fucked up. Eric always felt like he was experiencing the drug that was his life alone. He couldn't talk about his feelings honestly, without really embarrassing himself, so it just didn't matter if they were all "high" together. It was never the same "high".

That's why having someone like Lena as a friend was so important to him. She gave him permission to feel, without worrying that he was in some way invading people's hearts and minds.

Now he had three friends who knew his secret, and had never felt so lucky.

He just wasn't sure about the girl he was with now, in the bed of that truck, but he hoped she would be his fourth friend, because things were feeling pretty intimate right about then.

When all four of them had been riding in the absurdly cramped rear of the Porsche for an hour, Eric wasn't sure he could take it. First having the utterly adorable Kryptonian rubbing up against his lap with her very warm body was a recipe for disaster. He had done better with Cookie, limiting his contact with her to his feet, and he was understandably wary of her, allowing him to keep some emotional distance.

Now was a different story. They were laying face-to-face in the cramped bed of a pickup truck. Eric was being pushed into Cookie from the wheel-well pressing into his back, and Cookie was pressed into Eric from heavy boxes on the bed behind her. It was an absurd mix of discomfort with pleasure. The grooves in the floor pinched his side, while Cookie's soft sweater was pressing into his chest. One of his arms was pinned over his head and quickly losing circulation, while his other arm was wrapped around Cookie as if in an embrace. The musty tarp they draped over themselves smelled faintly of oil and spiderwebs, while Eric admired that Cookie's breath smelled nice even after such a stressful day. He worried how his own breath smelled, since he hadn't even brushed his teeth that morning, more than 13 hours ago, now.

His emotions were going crazy in a feedback loop, since he knew Cookie could feel his feelings, and likewise she couldn't hide her feelings from him, because when his feelings were this strong and when they were this close, he knew his feelings were rubbing off on her in some way.

As embarrassing as all of that was, he could handle it, because there was a much bigger danger than how Cookie and he would feel about each other after this: There were several soldiers standing just beyond the truck talking about their orders, and they were definitely close enough to be put on edge by his psychic energy.

Cookie and Eric laid as still as possible in the truck with their hearts beating in unison, waiting for the threat to pass.

One soldier said, "This is crazy, there's no fucking door and no fucking windows back here. What's the point?"

Another responded, "Ours is not to question why, but maybe the sergeant meant that we should spread out. Obviously nobody is coming through this wall, and if they are, like with a bomb, we probably don't want to be standing right here!"

Yet another soldier. "Nobody's coming through here. I think sarge wants to keep our eyes out for the missiles."

"What missiles? There are no silos here. Just one of those abandoned Nike sites. Aren't they working on chemical stuff here?"

"I don't know. I heard someone say 'Minuteman missile,' so they must have some here they don't want anyone knowing about, maybe for some kind of pre-emptive attack."

"Well, shit! I thought those were all like really far away in Montana or somewhere. What do they want us to do if a missile is launched? Jump on it like a grenade? Fuck that."

"I don't know. Let's just find the fucker. If there's a silo here, it must be pretty big. There is probably a whole lot more here than meets the eye."

Then the voices trailed off, as the soldiers walked away in different directions, but Cookie and Eric kept completely still. For all they knew, one of the soldiers was still right beside the truck smoking a cigarette.

After a minute, Cookie whispered into Eric's ear, "Wow, this is scary!"

Eric waited a moment, worrying that someone would pull the tarp from over them and yell "Ah ha!"

But when that didn't happen, he whispered back, "Yeah, I just hope Lena is OK."

"Just Lena?" Cookie asked. "What about the whole world?"

"Lena is the only person who ever cared about me, so I don't really care too much about the world," Eric said defiantly, not really caring if it offended Cookie or anyone else.

That shut Cookie up for a moment, and then she shivered. "Wooww, so this is how you feel about Lena! It feels so … strange."

Eric felt like pushing her away right then. It was bad enough that she knew exactly what was in his heart, but now she was insulting his feelings.

"Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that!" Cookie responded quickly to the change in attitude. "I meant it in a positive way."

"How could that possibly be positive?" Eric challenged.

Cookie didn't seem to want to answer the question. She seemed either embarrassed or ashamed herself. "It's just that I've never felt like this before. It's like … new."

Now Eric was intrigued. Nobody had ever said that to him before. "Felt like what?"

Cookie's voice softened, even beyond whispering. It was like she was giving a confession. "It's not just right now. I mean, it's been like this all day. It's just the way you feel about things. It's like now movies make more sense."

Eric laughed, but then he realized he was now making fun of her, so he stopped. "Like, what makes more sense? What movies are you talking about? "

"All of them," Cookie said.

And then Eric realized that Cookie was crying. He felt her tears as she moved to wipe them away, and that shut him up. The ice princess was melting, and he had never seen it coming.

Up until now, Eric had been trying to pretend like they weren't pressed together like two pieces in a puzzle. Up until now, he didn't know what to make of Cookie's sudden turn around today, but now he pulled her in even closer and whispered in her ear, "Hey, hey, it's OK. We'll get out of here. Everything will be fine."

He was pretending like he didn't know what was going on, thinking that is what she would want.

But now Cookie seemed stronger, and she was determined to share what was happening to her.

"No, no, I'm OK," Cookie insisted. "It's just kind of overwhelming. Do you know what I mean?"

"Well, I'm not really sure," Eric said. "My feelings are contagious, but feelings come in layers. Some feelings are entirely yours."

"I have a shrink, did you know that?" Cookie said a little too loudly, but by now it was pretty clear that the soldiers had moved away from the truck.

"No," Eric replied, surprised.

"Yeah, my parents were always getting upset with me, so they sent me to a counsellor to figure out what was wrong with me," Cookie said, laughing. "Funny thing is that they found something. They said that I showed 'sociopathic tendencies,' and that I didn't feel things right, and that I couldn't empathize. I didn't know what they were talking about. It sounded like they just wanted to brainwash me into being a 'good' girl, demure and humble. So I pretended, and everyone left me alone. I guess I got pretty good at knowing what people wanted, without ever wanting the same things. I just wanted control. I thought that was the happiest I could be, was when I was in control."

"Then last week, I lost that control," she continued gravely. "Everyone turned on me, and they even got me drunk, they fucking raped me and posted pictures online. You know... they gave me a taste of my own medicine. But that wasn't the bad part. The bad part was that it didn't matter. I know that sounds totally stupid, but all that shit that went down just made it clear that they didn't really care about me, and I didn't really care about them. It was all meaningless. It was all just some kind of fucking game we play in high school, and it just made me feel empty, but that is how I always felt, so it was all so meaningless, so hopeless and so familiar, so I thought 'I can take it,'" Cookie said, defiantly, but the pain in her eyes told Eric that she was pretty devastated.

"And then Kara came along and gave me that coin, and I felt something. What she did ... it meant something to me. Maybe it was because you were there, hiding, and I was feeling what you were feeling, but I didn't know that, and I don't even care now, it didn't change that I felt something. It didn't even feel good. In fact, it felt terrible, because I knew I didn't deserve any kind of gift from anyone, and definitely not from Kara. But it also felt amazing, because I was actually feeling it, and I could never feel that before. Then, after you guys went away, that feeling slowly faded away.

"That's why I had to be with you guys today. I needed to feel that way again. I know this sounds really stupid. I know today has been a really bad day for a lot of reasons, but in another way, it has been the best day of my life, and it's all because of you."

Eric was floored. Just a minute ago, he was wondering if he could ever trust her, and now he felt like he had never met anyone so honest. He worried that maybe he was starting to like her too much.

X X X

Getting in through the roof was not as easy as Kara had suggested. Although the block on the roof was not sealed into place, it literally weighed a ton, and pulling it out without making a lot of noise was tricky, especially for someone who was inexperienced with her powers. Then she had to disable the fan that was blowing air through the pipe from below, and finally the girls needed to descend through the hole into the air ducts, also without making a racket. The air ducts were made out of thin steel that naturally amplified any sound in them, so that was really the hardest part.

But once they were crawling in the air ducts, the task was much easier. The tunnels were apparently made so that a large man could crawl through to clean them, but the ducts were plenty roomy for two teenaged girls. Kara and Alex crawled so carefully and slowly that they barely even made a creak in the ventilation structure. They only needed to crawl about ten yards before they were directly above the room where Lex was strongly encouraging Lena to reveal the launch codes.

Now, space was getting very tight, as Alex crawled beside Kara to get a better look through the air grate and to share whispers with her sister, without being heard below. Kara needed to lay on her side, while Alex inched her way forward until they were face to face, bodies touching, very much like what was happening in the truck outside between Eric and Cookie.

For two girls who have been sleeping together for a couple of weeks, Kara was surprised by how intimate this felt. She felt naughty and insecure and affectionate, but that was so inappropriate. "Ok, we got here, so now we just need to come up with a plan," Kara whispered, trying to focus on their mission rather than her sudden, insane urge to make out.

If Alex was feeling the same way, she didn't show it. Her eyes darted around, as confusion wrinkled her brow. "Why aren't the good guys storming into here already?"

Kara pointed with her eyes through the grate, just out of view. "The door there is huge like a vault, and the walls are crazy thick. A lot of the guys aren't even in the building anymore. I think they are trying to do something outside."

Alex frowned. "Then this really is up to us."

"So should I break out of here and … tie them up?" Kara suggested, struggling to even state a plan, because she was not sure if she could really hurt anyone.

"Tie them up?" Alex repeating, mockingly. "I hope you are prepared to do more than that. See that gun next to Lex? That is what blew you out of the sky earlier."

Kara stared at the gun nervously. She was tempted to simply blast it with her heat vision so nobody could hold onto it, but that would tip their hand, and maybe they had other surprises waiting for her in that room. So the girls just laid still, secure and cozy in the vent, spooning like they were on the couch at home, watching the drama unfold like they were watching TV in the livingroom.

Lex's thugs were towering over two restrained men wearing undecorated air-force uniforms, doing nothing but being intimidating, while a smaller man kneeled down and spoke to the soldiers hypnotically: "This place used to be a big deal during the cold war, right? I know, you never actually had to fire your missiles, but just knowing you guys were down here with your courage and launch codes was enough to topple an empire. Now, terrorists just laugh in our faces, and little countries with nukes they don't know how to use think they can push America around. The public never even thinks about you guys and your courage. They don't think you serve any purpose anymore, because America is too scared to flex its muscles. But with your codes, you can put everything right. We can make America great again."

Across the room, Lex was sitting beside Lena who was squirming on the floor. Her eyes were glazed, as she was clearly drugged. Lex spoke to her quietly, like he really cared. "Are you comfortable? I'm sorry to keep pushing you, but I know you must have picked up the codes by now. These tools aren't the kind of men who could keep their thoughts under control. Remember, you agreed to help me if I let your friends go. A deal is a deal. I know you think you are doing something noble, but you aren't, really. The people we will punish with these bombs are the worst of the worst. Sure, I'm sure some of them are innocent, but we have to think of our country first. Just think, once this is done, I'll send you back to your friends, and the world will be a safer place." His voice suddenly seemed less patient, when he asked, "So, what do you say, sis?"

Lena shook her head with tears in her eyes, but for just a moment she looked up across the room, and Kara was sure she was looking right at them, sensing them through the metal pipes, drawing courage from knowing they were there.

Kara bit her lip, as her determination grew and her patience slipped away. She didn't know what Lex and his men were saying; she had only learned for one semester in school, so she knew almost nothing about world events or history or even what a nuclear weapon could do. But she did know Lena, and she knew that Lena was afraid. Kara swore, "If he touches her, I'm going to crash right in there. They won't know what hit them."

Alex smiled at Kara in admiration. "Now, THAT's the attitude!"

X X X

"Do you remember my plan?" Cookie asked. "You know, the one I mentioned in the car?"

Eric nodded. "Yeah, it seemed a little crazy to me, to think that a little mood enhancement could really stop World War 3."

"I don't know," Cookie countered, full of admiration at Eric's power. "You managed to totally turn the school over to Kara's side and upend everyone's opinion about the dress code just by getting a boner in class."

Eric laughed, a little embarrassed. "I think that was mostly Kara."

"But it wouldn't have happened without you," Cookie insisted, while she caressed his face. "I don't think you really realize what your power can do. You can fix people who are broken. You are fixing me right now. Maybe if your feelings are strong enough, you can make Lex feel something he's never felt before."

Eric was melting under Cookie's touch. "I don't know if giving Lex a boner will really solve anything."

Cookie felt like slapping him, and her voice turned hard. "Be serious. I'm not talking about sex. I'm talking about, you know, actually caring for someone."

But Eric WAS being serious. "I don't know if I can really feel like that now. I can't just start caring about someone on a whim."

"Really?" Cookie asked, disappointed and confused. "Then what is this feeling I have now?"

"Well, it's not love," Eric said, embarrassed but firm in his denial. "What can I say? You are very sexy to me right now, so I can't help feeling a certain way in here."

Cookie shook her head, just as firm. "I know what being turned on feels like, and this is not that!"

Eric sighed. "OK, yes, I am beginning to like you, but that's not going to do much. I'd have to love you, and not just that, but the insane kind of love that flips everything upside down. I think that's what it would take."

"That's not what this is?" Cookie asked, amazed.

Eric shook his head. "Not even close."

"Well, what would it take to make you love me like that?"

"I don't know," Eric replied, laughing. "If I did, I'd make a lot of money."

"Do you love Lena like that?" Cookie asked. "Does she turn your world upside down?"

As soon as she asked it, she knew that it was true. She could feel a gentle affection wrap around herself like a blanket.

"A little," was all Eric would admit to, but if he had been attached to a polygraph, that little needle would have been bouncing all over the place.

Cookie could feel the difference.

"OK, so I don't do it for you," Cookie stated, clearly disappointed. "I'm not Lena. I'm not even Kara. And sure, I get it, I'm lucky you even tolerate me. But let's talk about Lena. What is it you like so much about her?"

Eric's face was incredulous, as if it was the stupidest question in the world. "Well, we've been through alot together. Lex had put us both through hell before, and that's why I'm sure whatever you are trying to do right now won't work. The way I feel about Lena never helped us get out of all the shit he put us through before."

"Did you know that Lena and I were kind of close last year?" Cookie said, ignoring Eric's negative attitude. "We were as close as I'd ever been to anyone, anyway. She was a little weird, but I thought she was pretty cool. She never judged me, so I liked talking to her. Then she told me about that mind reading stuff and I freaked out. She knew stuff I didn't want anyone to know, so I felt like I needed to destroy her."

"If you are trying to make me like you more," Eric almost spat out, "you are doing a piss-poor job of it."

Cookie nodded. "I know. But the thing is that Lena never really gave up on me. It was like she saw something in me that was never really there. It was like she knew there was a gas lamp that just needed to be primed, but she didn't know how to set the flame. Until today. Until you came around. Because of you, I can finally see how Lena really is. I totally understand why you would prefer her to me. It's no contest… and I can accept that, but … I hope we can still be friends, because you are making all of the difference for me, even if I don't understand why you are making me feel the way I am feeling."

Eric swallowed, as though he was having trouble digesting all she had said. "OK, maybe I'm a little confused, too. Everybody acts like love is this simple thing…"

In mid sentence, Cookie's lips suddenly locked on Eric's. She awkwardly put an arm around him and pressed in tight, desperate to not let this moment pass.

Then Eric abruptly pushed her away, because in her enthusiasm she had pressed his back against the wheel well in a very uncomfortable position.

"I'm sorry," Cookie apologized, trying to collect herself. "SO sorry. I just wanted to know what this would feel like. Not a kiss, I mean I've done that before, but not when I really …"

Eric leaned in, and their lips were locked again, more gently but with no less passion. This time no minor irritations were going to stop them, nor the decaying smell of the tarp, nor even their unresolved memories of past wrongs. These bitter ingredients only added an exotic flavor to their feast, making it even more special.

X X X

The sound of machinery cutting into the wall meant that the time for patience was at an end. Kara could see people fixing explosive charges outside of the room. The walls were reinforced with steel bars, so one round of explosives probably wouldn't be enough for the cops and agents and soldiers to blast their way in, but time was running out.

"Damn it, Lena," Lex said desperately. "You know if you don't tell me the codes, I'll have to torture these men. Let that be on your deluded conscience."

"Please don't," Lena pleaded, as she looked sadly at the stoic soldiers, who were ready to meet their fate.

Then a loud dull sound shook the room; the explosion barely knocked some paint off of the wall, but Kara could see heavy damage on the other side.

Lex grabbed Lena's arm roughly. "Alright, you win, you've turned stubborn as fuck since the orphanage, but I'm gonna tame you again, it's just a matter of time. This mission is fucked. There's no time to torture anyone, and these guys would probably be tougher to crack than most. So let's go."

Lena looked bewildered. "Go where? We're trapped."

Lex laughed. "You really didn't think we'd come here with no plan to get out, did you? Right behind these shelves is a door to some stairs that lead down. Way down. There is an old network of rooms below here from the sixties, when this site serviced a dozen nukes and anti-aircraft missiles. There isn't much left down there, but it does extend way beyond the parking lot outside to a secret exit. When they finally blast their way into this room, we'll be long gone."

A few men pushed the shelves aside and opened the heavy door. One thug disappeared beyond the door for a few seconds, then yelled out, "Clear."

Lex yanked on Lena's arm gently, without his usual menacing stare, but Lena followed him anyway, until a new bang disturbed the room, but this concussion wasn't muffled. It was more like a pan falling on the floor.

They all looked across the room, where they saw a girl dressed in black climbing out of the ceiling and then falling very gently to the floor, landing like a ballerina.

They all stared with saucer eyes as she walked towards them with innocent determination.

"Who the fuck are you?" Lex asked, more amazed than upset. Apparently he didn't recognize Kara, since she was wearing a wig and had removed the glasses. He had barely got a good look at her before, anyway.

"I think you should let Lena go," Kara said simply, without any hint of a threat.

"Who is she to you?" Lex asked. "And why would I do that?"

"Lena is my friend," Kara replied. "Everyone really likes her at school, and we would miss her. She is happy there. You are acting mean, but she is your sister, and I know how special that is. Do you really want to make her a criminal like you? If you let her go and be happy, maybe she will forgive you for all of this someday."

Alex was watching the scene unfold from the ceiling. She had recommended that Kara crash into the room and disarm them before they knew what hit them, but Kara did what she always did. She decided to just ask nicely. Alex could barely keep herself from yelling out and spurring her sister into action, before Lex could reach for that horrible gun.

But Lex wasn't threatening Kara, or dismissing her request outright.

"Yes, she's my sister," Lex said simply. "I'm not going to hurt her. I'm going to make her more powerful than she's ever known. What do you think YOU can offer her?"

Kara looked at Lena sadly. She reached out her arms like a gentle angel and said simply and strongly, "I can love her."
Another boom shook the room, this time cracking the wall and sending dust through the room.

But even that could not distract Kara and Lex.

Lex scanned Kara's eyes, then he saw how Lena looked at her friend.

He let go of Lena's arm and threatened Kara, "OK, she is not worth the effort, anyway. Just remember: If you save someone's life, you are responsible for them."

Lex snapped his fingers and started walking away, followed immediately by his men. They disappeared through the door, then down the stairs, locking another blast door behind them.

Kara rushed over to Lena. "Are you OK?"

Lena nodded, then she quickly turned to look at the two soldiers who were still handcuffed to a pipe near the floor. "I'm so sorry," she told the men, "I never wanted any of this."

The two men didn't react, as though this might all be part of a trick.

Kara walked up to them. She snapped the chains of their handcuffs like they were made of styrofoam.

Alex climbed down into the room, amazed at what Kara had done. She asked, "How are we going to get out of here? We can't go out the doors."

Kara nodded, then she walked under where the ducts were in the ceiling. The structure was very flimsy, so Kara simply reached up through the thin panels and yanked a whole section of the ducts straight down, revealing the hole in the roof they had just climbed down.

Kara boosted Alex back up through, and she had to carry Lena, who could barely even stand from the drug. Alex helped pull Lena the rest of the way to the top of the roof.

Before Kara jumped up and climbed out herself, she looked at the soldiers who were watching in amazement. "Do you want some help getting out?" Kara asked.

They ignored her and instead walked over to the huge blast door that was separating them from their fellow soldiers.

Kara shrugged. "Just asking."

When they next looked her way, she was gone.