A/N: Thank you for the comments. This chapter is based on a prompt from a guest reviewer a couple of chapters ago.
Jennifer Baratta - Thanks!
"Where is she?" Alex asked as she rode her bike through the city.
"Six blocks ahead." Winn replied over the radio.
"What's happening?"
"I don't know, they are in an alleyway and there are no cameras." Winn explained. "Turn right now." He then instructed causing Alex to throw the bike right, almost coming off in the process. As she regained control as she rode down the alley she saw her sister's back and standing in front of the target.
When the target saw Alex it turned and disappeared into the shadows as Alex brought the bike to a screeching stop. Concerned Kara wasn't moving Alex jumped off the bike.
"Kara? You okay?" Alex asked running to her side. When Kara just stared blankly into the distance she shook her sister's shoulder. "Kara!"
"Alex?" Kara asked snapping out of her trance.
"You okay?" Alex asked.
"Yes." Kara said sounding uncertain.
"What happened?"
"I chased it down here and then..."
"And then?" Alex prompted.
"And then you showed up."
"Let's go get some scans done." Alex said, her concern growing.
-00-
"What happened?" J'onn asked entering the infirmary.
"I lost it." Kara said frustrated.
"How?" J'onn probed.
"I don't know. I caught up with them and then I lost them." Kara said sounding confused.
"Her scans look normal." Alex said.
"What about Red-K?" J'onn asked.
"Why Red-K?" Kara asked worried.
"Last time you lost a prisoner it was because you were rebelling due to being exposed to Red-K." J'onn reminded her.
"Not this time though." Alex said. "Everything is looking normal."
"Apart from loosing a target." J'onn pointed out, arms folded across his chest.
"I didn't mean to." Kara protested feeling guilty.
"Did they use some sort of weapon on you?" Alex asked.
"Not that I remember."
"Go home and get some rest-"
"What if they come back?" Kara asked.
"Until we figure out what happened I don't want to risk putting you in the field." J'onn said. "Alex is right, the best place for you is at home resting."
-00-
"That was a rubbish day." Kara said as she pulled Simon out of the drawer. "I still don't know what happened. How could I just let them go?"
"Well it has been a crazy week." Simon said.
"I know, but still I have had crazy weeks before."
"Maybe this week has been the proverbial straw." Simon suggested.
"Maybe … wait a minute. Did you just talk?" Kara asked looking at the sock.
"Uhhh, yes." Simon replied. The response causing Kara to take the sock off and put it in the drawer and shutting it.
"I am not crazy." She said before opening the drawer again.
"That was a little rude." Simon said causing Kara to shut the drawer again.
Taking a deep breath Kara once again opened the drawer.
"Quite done?" Simon asked.
"You are talking?" Kara responded.
"Why are you so freaked out? You have been talking to me for months." Simon pointed out.
"But you have never talked back."
"And talking to a non-talking sock is less crazy than a talking sock?" Simon asked.
"Good point." Kara agreed. "But why now?"
"I'm a sock not a scientist." Simon replied.
"I should get answers. I'll see you later." Kara said shutting the drawer again and grabbing her phone.
"Hey Kara." Winn asked.
"Hi Winn. Do you know where Garfield is?"
-00-
"What?" The shapeshifter asked as Kara approached him at the bar.
"Can't I want to catch up?" Kara asked.
"No. What do you want?"
"Do you have friends?"
"What you don't like my attitude, so you assume I don't have friends?" Garfield questioned.
"I meant, are there more of your species in the city?"
"How should I know?"
"Because you have met them?" Kara suggested.
"Didn't you live on this planet for twelve years before you realised there were other Kryptonians here, other than your cousin?"
"Well, yes."
"Then why do you think I'll know every other one of my kind? If you are desperate for a date I know plenty of deadbeats."
"That's not where I was going with this." Kara said before asking. "When you shapeshift can you take on any form, including inanimate objects?"
"Like what?"
"A rock or a table or some clothes?" Kara suggested.
"Are you accusing me of something?"
"No."
"Then why the interrogation?"
"Just making conversation."
"You are still a terrible liar. If you want to accuse me of something just spit it out."
"I'm not accusing you of anything."
"Did your sister put you up to this? Does she want you to goad me into turning into a chair and getting stuck, thus becoming the butt of the joke in more ways than one."
"No. I was just – never mind. I'll see you later." Kara said leaving.
As she flew back to the apartment she called Alex and asked her to meet her in her loft.
-00-
"What is it?" Alex asked rushing into Kara's apartment.
"I need help." Kara said.
"Anything." Alex said. "What's wrong?"
"I think I'm nuts."
"Why? Because you blanked out in an alley or because you can't remember therapy sessions that never happened?"
"Simon is talking to me."
"You've been talking to Simon for months." Alex said.
"Yeah, but now he talks back."
"Simon? The sock?" Alex asked.
"Yes."
"Just Simon or all clothes?"
"Just Simon. I think. I mean I don't normally talk to my clothes."
"Apart from Simon." Alex said. "Where is he?"
"Why?"
"It's possible there is some sort of transceiver in him. Let me check."
"Okay." Kara said bringing the sock out from behind the cushion. As she did so she heard Simon say.
"Don't hand me over."
"Why?" Kara asked.
"I just told you so I can look for a transceiver." Alex said frowning.
"Don't let her." Simon pleaded.
"Why?" Kara asked him.
"She'll dissect me." Simon answered as Alex explained.
"To find out if you have gone crazy."
"He doesn't want you to look." Kara said keeping hold of Simon.
"He told you that?" Alex asked frowning.
"Yes. Did you hear him?" Kara asked hopefully.
"No. So I need to test him." Alex said holding out her hand.
"Don't do it." Simon pleaded.
"She wants to help." Kara explained.
"It's a trap." Simon said.
"It's Alex. She won't hurt you."
"She wanted to microwave me." Simon reminded her.
"But she didn't, did she?" Kara pointed out. "And she won't this time either." She went on before looking at Alex. "Will you?"
"Will I what?" Alex asked having only heard one side of the conversation.
"Put him in the microwave." Kara said.
"It would be a good way of finding metal." Alex mused.
"Told you." Simon said to Kara.
"She didn't mean it." Kara assured Simon, holding him out of reach of Alex.
"First things first, why don't you try talking to some other clothes and seeing if you can hear anything?" Alex suggested.
"She's trying to replace me. She has never liked me." Simon complained to Kara.
"Of course she likes you." Kara responded as Alex grew more concerned.
"Why don't you try your talking to your sweater?" Alex suggested.
"Because if that talks back it will really freak me out." Kara replied.
"Fine." Alex said going to Kara's bedroom and pulling a scarf off the rack. "Try this."
"Hello?" Kara said.
"So now you want to talk?" The scarf responded.
"You can hear me?"
"What am I deaf?" The scarf replied.
"It's not like you have ears." Kara pointed out.
"And Simon does?" The scarf shot back.
"Are you jealous of Simon?" Kara asked.
"As if."
"What's going on?" Alex asked.
"The scarf-" Kara started only for the scarf to cut in.
"That's right don't even use my name."
"You have a name?" Kara asked it.
"Kara! Focus." Alex said. "We're going to the DEO."
"Why?"
"To figure out what is going on. We'll take the scarf, but leave Simon."
"Why?" Simon asked.
"He wants to know why." Kara said.
"Do you want to explain to Landon why you have him?" Alex asked.
"No." Kara said before looking at Simon and saying. "Told you she likes you."
"Hmm." Simon replied as Kara placed him in the draw before following Alex and the scarf out of the apartment.
-00-
Noticing Alex's frown Kara asked.
"You okay?"
"No."
"What is it? Is something wrong with my brain?"
"No. That's fine and there is nothing strange about the scarf. That means this is all my fault."
"How?" Kara asked confused.
"Last week you said you had forgotten a therapy session and I didn't believe you."
"Because you weren't there either."
"What if I was? What if we both were?"
"So we both had selective amnesia?"
"Yes. What if Landon did some sort of hypnotherapy on us?"
"He wants me to talk to clothes?"
"That may be a side effect of your weird Kryptonian brain. Or he wants you to look crazy."
"What do we do?" Kara asked.
"J'onn. He can look at my memories." Alex said leaving the lab in search for J'onn.
-00-
"Hey." J'onn greeted as Alex burst into his office.
"We need your help." Alex said as she waited for Kara to shut the door.
"Of course." J'onn offered. "What do you want me to do?"
"I need you to read my memories." Alex said.
"Why?"
"I think Landon did something in our last session and altered our memories."
"What?" J'onn asked.
"Neither of us remember the last session. At first I thought Winn was wrong when he said he saw us leave, but now I am not so sure." Alex explained.
"Al-"
"I know you think Landon is legit, but I looked at the security footage and we entered his office, then left. But neither of us remember it. I remember being in a meeting. But that footage shows I wasn't."
"You were-" J'onn tried to say.
"And then there is the fact Kara can't remember what happened yesterday."
"Al-" J'onn attempted again.
"Not to mention the talking clothes."
"The what?" J'onn asked.
"Talking clothes." Alex said.
"My clothes are talking to me. Only no one else can hear." Kara confessed.
"I think that might be a result of the meta-human you fought." J'onn said.
"Their power is to make people talk to clothes?" Alex asked.
"No. They have incredible physic powers and based on these reports are highly skilled in hypnosis. I think when you were in that alley they hypnotised you, which is why you don't remember it." J'onn explained.
"Why would anyone want her to talk to clothes?" Alex asked.
"I don't think that was his intention." J'onn said. "I think his powers worked differently on Kara's Kryptonian brain."
"Can I be fixed?" Kara asked.
"We're working on it. For now just don't start up any conversations with clothes." J'onn said.
"Wait, even if you are right about the clothes. That doesn't explain the missing memory." Alex said.
"You are not missing memories." J'onn said.
"Yes I am, I have seen the security footage, yet I think I was in a meeting."
"You were in the meeting." J'onn said.
"I can't have been. I am on those tapes leaving Landon's office." Alex said handing the tablet to J'onn and letting him see the footage.
"It wasn't you." J'onn said.
"What do you mean?" Alex asked.
"You don't remember the session because you didn't go. Those two." He said pointing to the screen. "Weren't you."
"What?" Alex and Kara asked confused.
"I impersonated you."
"Why?" Kara asked. "Wait you can impersonate both of us at the same time?"
"No." J'onn confessed.
"So one of us was there with you?" Alex asked.
"No."
"Then how?" Kara asked.
"Another shapeshifter?" Alex guessed. "Did you use Garfield?"
"Yes."
"Who did he pretend to be?" Kara asked.
"Alex." J'onn said. "He seemed like a better match to her."
"I see that." Kara agreed as Alex protested.
"Hey!"
"But why?" Kara asked J'onn.
"To see how Dr Landon treats you." J'onn said. "So that I could understand why you distrust him so much."
"And?" Alex asked.
"And what?" J'onn asked.
"What did your deception prove? Did he even notice?"
"We can discuss this later, for now let's try to fix Kara." J'onn said before looking at the Kryptonian. "Stay here and don't talk to clothes."
-00-
As Kara sat in J'onn office getting bored she noticed the small J'onn action figure she had given him weeks before. Standing she moved over to it and picked it up.
"Hey little guy." She greeted.
"Didn't I just tell you not to talk to anything."
"Wait, you can talk too?" Kara asked as the action figure stared back.
"Apparently anything you talk to ends up talking back." The figure said. "Which is why you shouldn't strike up conversations, like I said."
"J'onn told me to avoid clothes not action figures." Kara pointed out. "Wait, you are not actually linked to J'onn are you?"
"I guess we'll find out soon. But before that we have plenty of time to discuss your recklessness."
-00-
"You okay?" Alex asked when she and J'onn returned and saw how stressed Kara was looking.
"Little J'onn is talking to me and by talking I mean lecturing. Please tell me you know how to stop this." Kara pleaded.
"We have an idea." Alex said.
"But you don't like it?" Kara guessed.
"No. It involves Landon."
"You want him to hypnotise me?" Kara guessed.
"Want? No. But it may be the only option. And we will be monitoring everything." Alex said before muttering. "With a gun in my hand."
-00-
"Kara? Alex? Director?" Landon asked surprised when the trio entered his office.
"Doctor." J'onn said before asking. "Are you capable of hypnotism?"
"What am I being accused of now?" Landon asked wearily.
"Nothing." J'onn said as Alex muttered.
"Yet."
"We need your help." J'onn went on. "Kara has been hypnotised into believing that clothes talk to her. We need you to undo that belief."
"That's not exactly how hypnotism works." Landon said.
"So you won't help her?" Alex asked.
"That's not what I said. But it won't be as easy as you are making out. Hypnotism is about suggestion. The key to undoing it is for the subject to know what they believe is happening is not possible."
"I know it is not possible. It doesn't help." Kara said.
"It was a particularly strong Meta that did this." J'onn said.
"Take a seat." Landon said to Kara. "I'll sees what I can do." Noticing Alex and J'onn remained unmoved he said. "I assume you are not going to leave. But if you stay it is vital that you remain quiet."
-00-
"All done." Landon said after what felt like an eternity.
"Am I fixed?" Kara asked looking around disorientated.
"You tell me." Landon said.
"Try this?" Alex said removing the scarf from a pocket.
"Hello?" Kara asked.
"Well?" Alex questioned.
"Nothing."
"Good."
"But then again the scarf could be messing with me. It had a lot of attitude."
"Let's try Little J'onn." Alex said guiding Kara out of the office.
"She means the action figure." J'onn explained to Landin before leaving.
-00-
"Hello?" Kara asked the toy as they entered J'onn's office. When she heard nothing she exclaimed. "Thank Rao."
"Out of interest, how did you figure out clothes were talking to you?" J'onn asked. "I mean why were you talking to clothes in the first place?"
"Those of us who wear something other than black to work like to ponder the best choices. Sometimes that involves throwing a question out to the room. A room, which may only have clothes in." Kara said.
"Maybe you should just ask Alex." J'onn suggested.
"Or she could phone you each morning and ask." Alex countered.
"I don't think I would be much help."
"I wear the same as you." Alex pointed out.
"Perhaps you should wear the DEO uniform?" J'onn suggested to Kara.
"Not sure that will fit in well at CatCo." Kara replied.
"Your choice." J'onn said, his tone indicating it was the wrong one. "Out of interest are you sure this guy doesn't still speak to you?" He asked picking up the J'onn action figure.
"I'm sure."
"That's a shame." J'onn commented. "He could have saved me a lot of trouble."
"That's not funny." Kara said.
"Now, if we are sure you are fixed can we get back to the fact you impersonated us in a therapy session?" Alex asked J'onn.
"It's been a long day, let's talk tomorrow." He said leaving the room.
-00-
"What's up with you two?" Maggie asked when Kara and Alex finally entered the apartment.
"It's been a weird day. Which ended with me being hypnotised by Landon." Kara said before remembering that Simon was behind the cushion, inches from Maggie's back.
"Are you just ignoring the rule?" Maggie questioned.
"That is about theories. This is fact. Kara was hypnotised by Landon." Alex explained. "If you don't believe me ask J'onn."
"Seeing you're not going to ask, I will." Lena jumped in looking at Maggie before honing in on Kara. "Why did Landon hypnotise you?"
"To stop my clothes from talking to me."
"All of them?" Lena asked.
"Only the ones I talked to." Kara said glancing once more behind Maggie.
"We'd tell you more, but that would involve Landon theories, so we can't." Alex added.
"Just to be clear." Lena started. "Your clothes started talking to you and your solution was to get Landon to hypnotise you to make you think they weren't talking to you?"
"Pretty much." Kara agreed.
"Don't worry, for once I entirely agree with you that this makes no sense." Lena said to Maggie.
"You agreeing with me is not that comforting." Maggie replied.
TBC...
A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing.
