The group surrounded the cot which had been placed near Kara's. Kara was still fast asleep so they let her be as the others turned their attention to a new problem. There always had to be another problem.
Barry was the first to address this problem. "What's wrong with Carly?"
"I don't know." Caitlyn shook her head. "Kryptonite wouldn't have done this to her. Something else must have caused this reaction."
"Is she going to be okay?" Nia asked, fiddling with her fingers.
Caitlyn shrugged. "I don't know. She has no heartbeat and breathing isn't mandatory for a vamtronian so I don't know if she's dead, in a coma, or just fainted. We won't know until she wakes up."
"Here let me try something." J'onn said, stepping forward and placing a hand on my forehead. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on my brain waves. A gasp escaped his lips as he quickly removed his hand. This worried the others.
"What did you sense?" Deirdre asked, stepping closer to J'onn.
"Carly's alive, but she's trapped." J'onn said, stepping back from the cot.
A gasp filled the room as everyone turned around to see Kara was sitting up. Alex and Caitlyn ran to her side, Alex for comfort and Caitlyn to check her vitals. Caitlyn checked her over and nodded to the group to tell them she was fine. Relief set in for everyone, except Kara.
She looked around and realized I wasn't there beside her. Kara looked over to see the others crowded around something. J'onn moved aside to reveal I was passed out on the cot. Every fiber in her being switched from worrying about herself to worrying about me. She got up from the bed, even at Caitlyn's insistence.
The group dispersed so Kara could approach me. She kneeled down beside the cot and pushed a hair from my face. She looked from me to the others. "I thought you said she would only get ill, this was not part of the deal."
"It wasn't the kryptonite that did this." Caitlyn inferred. "I'll run a few tests with Cisco and we'll find what did."
"Before Kara woke up, J'onn you mentioned Carly was trapped." Deirdre asked
Kara looked from me to J'onn. "What do you mean trapped?"
J'onn sighed. "When I touched Carly's forehead, I could sense her brain waves. Yet, something else was there. Like a barrier of some sort. Someone locked her inside herself."
Brainy ran into the room. "Guys, we have a problem."
Barry came to a conclusion and used his speed to grab Brainy by the collar and slam his back into the wall. The others were surprised by the sudden bang, but none of them moved to stop Barry. Brainy grabbed at Barry's hand, but his grip did not loosen.
"It was that antidote, wasn't it?" Barry yelled. "That is the only explanation for her collapse. You knew, didn't you? You knew what would happen and gave it to her anyway. Didn't you?!"
"No, I had no idea this would happen." Brainy pleaded. "Lena gave it to me right before I left to tell you about Carly. I promise, I had no idea it would do this. Please you have to believe me. I would never do this to Carly."
"Yet, you would damn her for eternity." Deirdre pointed out.
"Look, I regret what happened...I will until the end of my days, but you have to believe me." He pleaded, looking around at everyone. "I had no idea this was going to happen."
Nia stepped forward. "He's telling the truth, Barry. He had no idea this would happen to Carly."
Barry gritted his teeth and let Brainy go, moving back to stand beside Caitlyn. Brainy fixed his shirt and continued with what he was going to say originally. "We need to get back to National City."
"What happened?" Alex asked with crossed arms.
"I'll tell you once we get back to the city, but we don't have much time. I think Lex is planning to do something." Brainy looked toward Kara. "The city needs Supergirl."
Kara looked from Brainy down toward me. Her eyes blurred with tears as she brought my hand to her lips. A tear rolled down her cheek as she turned toward the group. "I can't leave Carly like this."
Caitlyn placed a hand on Kara's shoulder. "You go strengthen up and save the day. Cisco and I will tend to Carly while Barry goes on that planned date he had with Iris."
"No, I can't…" Barry refused. "I need to help Kara. If Lex is doing something evil I should be there to help."
"Barry go have fun." Alex offered. "We can handle this."
Barry was still ify so he looked toward Kara for confirmation. She slightly nodded with a small smile. "Barry go on your date with Iris. We'll be fine."
Barry reluctantly sped from the room. Deirdre and Cillian went back home until Caitlyn called them with more news. Nia, J'onn, and Brainy headed back to The Tower while Alex crouched down beside Kara and I.
"Kara, we have to go. Caitlyn and Cisco will look after Carly and figure out a way to wake her up." Alex squeezed Kara's hand. "She'll be okay."
"I finally get her back and she's in pain again." Kara cried. "I forced her to feed on me when she was so afraid to hurt me and now she's trapped inside her own head because of me."
Alex shook her head. "This is not your fault. Lena made the antidote and Lex was the one who got her into this mess in the first place. Besides her feeding on you saved your life and she would have done it again and again. It's time to go."
Kara allowed Alex to help her up and the two left the med bay. Kara looked back at me as she vanished out the door. The two took a taxi to National City and the others were already at The Tower when they arrived. Alex helped Kara into the sun lamps so her strength would return with speed. As she was healing up, the others collected around the table to discuss what the hell was going on.
Alex crossed her arms. "So, what's the problem now?"
"Lex did not share much about his plans, but I do know he plans to tamper with Andrea's new set of contacts as a joint effort of him and Leviathan. I think he already began testing as my alert came in that 12 very avid users of Obsidian Tech have gone missing." Brainy pulled up photos of the 12 people. "Their families all reported them missing within the last 36 hours."
"How do we know Lex is behind this?" Nia asked with genuine question. "Maybe, they all just got lost."
"That could be a possible explanation if I didn't find this."
A video appeared on the screen beside Brainy. One of the missing people was doing VR in their parked car. Suddenly their body went limp with the appearance of a woman and her bodyguard. The bodyguard pulled the poor man from the car and left the scene. The woman peered at one of the cameras before following after. Brainy zoomed in on the face and focused on the features to find Gamemnae.
"Are you sure Gamemnae and Lex are working together? Maybe, this was Gamemnae's doing and Lex had no involvement." J'onn suggested
Brainy nodded. "I am 100% positive because I saw her leave the other day when she chained Carly up. I do not know why they are kidnapping people while they are stuck in VR, but I know it can't be good."
"So how are we going to find them?" Alex pondered
Brainy began to answer when one of the lights on his chest flickered. He grabbed at one of his ears and gasped. Nia appeared by his side as the pain left just as fast as it had started.
"Brainy, are you okay?" Nia asked
"I'm fine." Brainy insisted as he breathed deeply and turned his attention back to the group, yet he seemed different. "I think we need to use Myriad to find them. If we reverse its Q waves it should short out the contacts and wake the people up. Once awake, J'onn will be able to sense their location."
"Using Myriad has never ended well for anyone..." The group turned to find Kara strolling into the room. The color had returned to her face and that confident look in her eyes did as well. She was back to full strength and as powerful as ever.
"Look, I know it's risky, but 12 people are missing." Brainy shrugged. "I don't know what Lex plans to do, but I doubt it's pretty. Myriad will be able to wake them up and I know it might not be the best call, but we don't have time to wait."
The group looked at one another and agreed. At the moment that was the best plan they had and it might just work. They knew trifulling with that tech could cause massive consequences, but they didn't have much time.
Lena crossed her arms. "Lex, what did you do to Carly?"
"I made sure she wouldn't be a problem when the contacts are released in a few days." Lex said as he saw the look on Lena's face. "I didn't kill her if that is what you are wondering."
"Then what did you do?" Lena asked
Lex sighed. "I trapped her in her mind. She is currently living through every bad moment in her life on repeat. Should keep her and the Super Friends busy until it's too late to stop us."
"Why do you have to continuously make Carly suffer?"
Lex leaned in with glaring eyes. "Do not judge me for being cruel. You stabbed Supergirl who used to be your best friend who is Carly's girlfriend. You broke her trust in every way possible. Do you think she'll forgive you? Now you are in the same boat as Kara in many respects. For different matters, but the same type of lie and broken trust."
Lena flinched at his words as an alert went off on his phone. He peered down at the screen as another smile appeared on his face. His plan was moving along quicker than he expected.
"But maybe you should have a chat with Karal…" Lex said, holding up the phone. "She is trying to use Myriad as we speak."
"She wouldn't do that." Lena shook her head. "She knows the danger of it. That's why she took it back from me."
"Well she just entered the Fortress of Solitude and Myriad has been turned on. Maybe, she just doesn't care." Lex egged
Lex left Lena to ponder what he said as he went up to his office to praise his own genius. He made it to the door when he heard breathing on the other side. He opened the door and Gamemnae was sitting at the table. His fake bravado returned.
"I heard Brainy and his friends broke Carly out." Gamemnae said with crossed arms.
He sat down across from her. "The Super Friends did break her out, but that is no issue."
"How is that not an issue?" Gamemnae said, leaning forward. "Your lapdog and brains are gone."
"The lapdog has been taken care of." Lex intertwined his fingers. "And Brainy...well I have a plan for that."
She raised a brow. "What is this plan you have in mind?"
Lex got an alert that someone used one of ships to travel to The Fortress of Solitude. With a smile he contacted another friend to follow. Then he looked up at Gamemnae with an even bigger smile. "Oh you'll see. Everything is fitting into place nicely."
Kara discussed the plan with the others and went to the Fortress of Solitude. She would use Myriad to locate the missing people and then shut it down. There were less invasive ways to find these people, but Kara didn't have time to waste. She had to finish this so she could get back to me when Caitlyn figured out a way to wake me up.
Kara went to the main computer and connected Myriad to the mainframe. As she got to work connecting the device a voice rang out from behind her. "Wow, so I can't use the device, but you can?"
Kara turned around with crossed arms. "Lena, I am trying to find missing people that your brother and Gamemnae have kidnapped. This is the fastest way to find them."
"How do you know my brother has done these things? Huh? You just assume since he's a Luthor?" Lena agitatedly asked
"Gamemnae may be on video, but I know that Lex is working with her. I do not need to be a rocket scientist to figure that out!" Kara snapped. "Your brother is kidnapping people and I don't want them getting caught in the crossfire. I am trying to save lives here, which you clearly don't understand."
"I understand more than anyone else!" Lena yelled
"Do you?!" Kara yelled back. "You are testing on human beings and plan to control them like zombies. Humans feel and if you take away the bad there is unbalance. Not to mention you almost killed me. Do not patronize me."
Lena began to speak, but Kara wasn't finished. "You say you want to save the world, but look what you are doing to get it. You're whole goal was to do no harm and yet in the last few days that is all you have been doing. You are not a hero, Lena. You are turning into Lex and I hoped you were better than him, but I was wrong."
"You started this whole mess." Lena retorted
"I started nothing." Kara shook her head with a grimace. "I lied to protect you. The more people that know the more my enemies can use them against me. I know that lying to you for so long broke our friendship and I hate that we are on opposite sides, but it's just how it has to be. I never meant to hurt you. My identity gets people hurt or worse killed and I was trying to save you from that."
"I'm a strong woman, I could've handled it!" Lena yelled
"I know you could have, but I try to protect the people around me, even when it's hard. I don't care that you tried to kill me. It just reaffirmed you are turning into Lex, but what I do care about is Carly. That was uncalled for." Kara said
"Lex altered the formula." Lena said with honesty. "I don't hate Carly. I was planning to unlink her from Lex so she could escape. I didn't want her to be trapped."
Kara leaned in close to Lena. "I don't care if it wasn't your plan to hurt her. I will never forgive you and I don't think Carly will either."
Suddenly the room shook and the two looked around with confusion. Lena expressed her concern. "What the hell was that?"
Kara pulled up the security footage to show a morae opening a containment box. "You were following Lena. Maybe your brother isn't the saint you think he is. Now get out of here, the morae is about to open a container with a baby Sun Eater in it. Unless you want to be fried I would suggest getting as far from here as you can."
Lena nodded frantically and ran from the room. Kara flew into the archive just as the morae had the box in its hands. She tackled it and fought over the box. She got the upperhand and knocked the morae unconscious. Sadly, when the box hit the floor, the lid fell off.
The sun eater escaped the box and grew in size. Kara's eyes turned into dinner plates as she decided her next move. She flew from the Fortress as the Sun Eater followed her with little damage to the structure.
Once out of the building it flew up into the sky, making its way to the sun. Kara dialed up The Tower with a frantic voice. "Guys, I need help. Lena was at the Fortress of Solitude and Lex had a morae follow her. He opened a containment box with a Sun Eater inside. Someone please come out here and help me!"
Kara flew up toward the beast as it grew in size. She tried to use her laser eyes on the Sun Eater, but it was only a tickle. She continued flying around the beast as the sun started to go dark. J'onn and M'gann appeared with a ship. Kara smiled at their arrival, but didn't have time to aw at their cute reunion.
M'gann had brought a Lexosuit for Kara so she could travel into space with them. She slid the suit on and the trio flew toward the sun. M'gann handed a hydrogen bomb to J'onn so he could detonate it inside the creature. When he got close one of the tentacles hit him and he flew off course. M'gann went for J'onn and Kara went for the device.
Once she knew J'onn was safe, Kara grabbed the bomb and launched it at the Sun Eater. When in range she used missiles on board the suit to strike the bomb, causing it to explode. The Hydrogen shrunk the Sun Eater so Kara could grab it with her hands. The three returned to earth and contained the Sun Eater once again, this time in a place no one would find it.
The three headed back to The Tower. M'gann and J'onn went off to reconnect while Kara returned to Alex, Brainy, and Nia. They discovered while fighting the Sun Eater, Lex had saved the missing people and made it look like he was a hero. None of them were surprised by this fact as Lex was really good at making plans and probably had this planned the entire time. The room went quiet when Kara's phone buzzed.
She noticed a message from Caitlyn that read. "We know how to get Carly out, but it could be dangerous. Tell everyone and come to STAR Labs immediately."
Kara read the message a few times and realized that she would go alone. She just got her strength back and if the others discovered it could be dangerous they would never let her do it. Kara slid her phone in her pocket and headed for the balcony. Alex noticed her leaving.
"Where are you going?" Alex asked
"Just getting some fresh air. Be back soon."
Kara flew off the balcony and headed straight to STAR Labs. She was going to save me no matter the risk. Love was always something worth fighting for.
Lex was ecstatic with his plan going exactly the way he wanted. Everything was going his way, but there was one last bug to swash. Gamemnae burst into the room with boiling rage in her eyes. Lex slowly rose from the table as Gamemnae approached.
"What the hell was that?!" She screamed. "Why did you kill my worker and rescue those people?!"
"The public thinks I'm a good person." Lex explained. "By rescuing those people and defeating your henchmen the public sees me in an even better light. They trust me and when people trust you they fall for easy traps. I had to so we could continue our goal without the public questioning my good nature."
"I could kill you for what you did!" She screamed, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "She was a close ally to me. Saving those people did not mean you had to murder my friend!"
"It was the only way, but do not focus your anger on me. I am not the enemy." Lex turned the TV on beside him with a broadcast of Supergirl defeating the Sun Eater. "Supergirl is a powerful adversary and if we plan to rule this world we need to remove the thorn in our foot. She is powerful and even a kryptonite blade did not deter her. The only way we may succeed is if Supergirl dies."
Gamemnae fell for Lex's charm and agreed to push her and Leviathan's anger toward Kara. She stormed out and Lex used his teleportation watch to transport himself into the one place that could make all his wants come true...The Fortress of Solitude.