A/N: A shout out to Jennifer Baratta. Thanks so much for reading!


Chapter 23

"We have three dead here and Ricky is scanning for the Kryptonian pod," Alex alerted her sister, just as Kara landed at the warehouse.

"I just got here. I'm scanning for J'onn," Kara responded. Using her x-ray vision, the Maiden of Might scanned the pavement beneath her feet. Given the industrial section of town, the underground piping was large but not enough for someone to stand up in. The same could not be said for the maintenance tunnels.

"Supergirl, we found a set of stairs that lead below ground. It's probably our best bet to find J'onn. Are you here?" Brainy asked.

"Outside. That staircase must lead to these maintenance tunnels, I found," Kara said.

"Meet us and we'll go down as a team," Brainy told her. Kara sped inside and found Brainy and Dreamer inside the building. The former was holding the Phantom Zone Projector.

"Where's Lena?" Kara wanted to know.

"She's going to direct the back up to our location. Come on," Dreamer said. She started down the stairs and the other two followed her. They reached the door only to find it locked. Kara smirked and kicked the door in. Moving into the maintenance tunnels, she tried to use her super-hearing to see if they could narrow down a location, but she was met by nothing but silence.

"I don't like that look," Brainy said.

"I don't hear anything," Kara swallowed.

"J'onn? Do you read?" Dreamer tried but they all heard nothing but static.

"So the comms don't work down here," Kara was trying to be optimistic.

"There is a lot of concrete and rebar," Brainy acknowledged.

"What do you see?" Nia wondered. Kara nodded and once again went to work with her x-ray vision.

"Could they keep going?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Dreamer wasn't sure she understood.

"Like all the way through the Earth's crust?" Brainy was thinking what the blonde was thinking.

"Yeah. I don't see anything. For once I'm not running into large enough levels of lead to have my vision blocked," Kara said.

"Your cousin was not wrong about J'onn but even I would have to wonder if they could truly do what you're saying," Brainy admitted.

"Well let's make a good sweep of the tunnels and see what shakes loose. I wish he hadn't gone off like that," the blonde was obviously concerned. They started to move through the tunnel system each checking as many places as they could but staying within earshot. The comms truly did not work down here.

"I agree. What of Midnight?" Brainy wanted to know.

"She got away with the pod. I can only think that she fetched it for our second Martian friend," Kara admitted.

"We hope that's what it was for. Malefic claimed that he started something that we could not stop. That put J'onn over the edge," Nia heaved a sigh.

"And they somehow disappeared from these tunnels. There's nothing down her but dust, dirt, cobwebs, and rats," Kara frowned.

"Let's head to the surface and regroup," Brainy suggested. As they grew closer to the stairs, they were greeted by a small backup team.

"Director Danvers wants you guys back at headquarters. They've got something," the agent said.

"Thanks. Hopefully more than we do," Kara smiled slightly.

"We'll meet you back at headquarters," Brainy told her. Kara took to the skies while Brainy, Dreamer, and Lena hopped into a DEO vehicle. The blonde flew up above the city, closed her eyes, and just listened. Slowly, she tuned out all the noises. One by one, the world grew quieter until all she could hear the beat of her own heart. Breathing in and out, even that disappeared – the silence was deafening.

To Be Continued…