"Meet Valentine, Earl and Rhonda." Vasquez said putting three small metal creatures on Alex's desk.
"Who?" Alex asked confused.
"They are our latest robotic bugs, well critters. They can scamper, burrow and climb. And they are equipped with cameras, radiation detectors and microphones, oh and a radio. For our current issue the burrow function is the most important."
"Which is why you named them after characters in Tremors?" Alex asked.
"That wasn't us."
"Supergirl?" Alex guessed.
"She saw them in the lab and grew attached." Vasquez said.
"Of course she did. I assume you didn't mention the standard self destruct function?"
"No." Vasquez confirmed.
"When will they be ready to go?" Alex asked.
"As soon as we have your approval. We think we can drop them five miles away without attracting attention." Vasquez said pulling up a map. "If we do, they should make it to where we think the portal is by tomorrow afternoon."
"Do it." Alex ordered before asking. "I take it there is nothing conclusive from our scans?"
"Not yet. There is some activity near the area, indicating people coming and going. But at the moment we have no way to tell if they are aliens or teenagers. Hopefully these guys will clear it up."
"Let's hope so. Stopping Kara flying in head first to every call for help is going to get harder as time goes on." Alex said before asking. "Any news from J'onn?"
"He missed his formal check in, but we got a message to say he'd be in later today." Vasquez said collecting the robots and leaving.
-00-
"Where have you been? I was getting worried." Alex said when J'onn showed up at the DEO.
"Sorry, Aptil has been assigning lots of tasks to everyone, including Agent Brody."
"So he doesn't suspect anything?"
"No." J'onn said.
"Where is the real Agent Brody? Alex asked.
"A Buddhist temple in India discovering inner peace. He is due to come back in a couple of weeks. What we do after that I don't know. But I'll figure something out."
"So what have you found?"
"So far nothing. Aptil appears on the level, but that's not why I'm here."
"Then why?"
"During my non-FBI time I have been trying to track down car parts."
"Conway's brother in law?"
"His were easy to find. It was parts from Kelly's car I was trying to find." J'onn said.
"And?"
"I'm sorry. It was a dead end. The car was dismantled, crushed and recycled. There is no way to find the original parts. At the time Lena looked for evidence of hacking. She didn't find any but she didn't have full access as the police wouldn't release it." J'onn said. "So although there is no evidence, we can't rule it out. But by the same token if someone did confess that doesn't mean they did it, they could just want to mess with you. There's no way to prove it one way or the other." He paused letting the news sink in before adding. "I know you hate not knowing, but you need to put it behind you. Besides, even if it wasn't an accident, that doesn't mean you are to blame."
"It doesn't mean I'm not either." Alex said.
-00-
As Alex pummelled a punchbag in the gym Supergirl walked up behind her and hugged her. Despite Alex's best attempts to shrug her sister off, without the lamps being on Supergirl was fully powered and refused to let her go.
When Kara finally felt Alex relax she said. "I know you are mad right now, but your injuries aren't healed yet. Hitting the gym is not a good idea."
"Why? I deserve the pain."
"No you don't." Kara said still holding on tightly.
"Yes I do."
"J'onn said he couldn't find any evidence that it wasn't an accident." Kara said.
"He couldn't find any evidence that it was an accident either." Alex pointed out.
"My description is better." Kara argued before finally relaxing her hold on Alex and turning her around so she was facing her. "You have to put this behind you. What you need is to spend some time with the kids. We won't have any more intel on the portal until tomorrow, so why don't you go home and spend time with Kara and MJ?"
"Okay." Alex said.
-00-
"What are you doing home?" The teenage Kara asked when she saw her mother.
"Aren't I allowed to be here?" Alex countered.
"Sure, but it's a little unusual."
"Your mom asked me to send you over." Alex said to her niece, ignoring her daughter's comment.
"Has something happened?" The teenage Alex asked suspiciously.
"No." the adult said, but her body language implied different.
"See you later." The teenager said to her cousins before leaving.
"What's going on?" The teenage Kara asked.
"Sit down. I want to talk to you." Alex said.
"What's happened?" Kara pressed.
"Sit down and I will tell you." Alex said.
"Has something happened to grandma?" Kara asked.
"No. She's fine. Just sit down." Alex said. She then waited for them to obey before starting.
"The group who kidnapped you-"
"Kidnapped us." The teenage Kara corrected.
"Who kidnapped us." Alex said. "J'onn has been investigating them and some of the things they have done. Part of that investigation looked at a car crash that happened a few months ago." She paused briefly before saying. "The brother in law of an FBI agent was killed when his smart car crashed. They couldn't find any reason for the crash. But J'onn uncovered evidence that someone had hacked into the GNSS chip that the car used and caused the crash. The chip was the same type that was used in your mom's car. That doesn't mean what happened wasn't an accident, but it does mean it may not have been."
"I'm going out." MJ said abruptly as he stood and left.
"MJ wait-" Alex called, but he had already gone.
"I'll talk to him." The teenage Kara said standing before walking round to her mother and hugging her.
"Even if what happened wasn't an accident, it doesn't make it your fault." Kara said. "Especially if the Kai gang were behind it."
"Your mom didn't have enemies. The only reason to target her would be to get to me."
"Or uncle James. I mean we were kidnapped because of him." The teenage reminded her before releasing her and saying. "I'll talk to MJ." As she reached the door the teenager called back to her mother. "Mom?"
"Yes." Alex said looking up.
"Thanks for telling us."
-00-
As the teenage Kara entered her aunt's apartment, her aunt looked up from what she was reading and pointed at her daughter's room before saying. "He's in there."
"Thanks." The teenager said before adding. "I think mom could use some company."
"I'll talk to her." The adult Kara said before watching her niece disappear into her daughter's bedroom.
"Is mom ok?" MJ asked his sister.
"She's worried about you. Why'd you run off?"
"I needed to think. And see if there was any more to the story."
"Is there?" The teenage Kara asked her cousin.
"This is the first I have heard about it." The teenage Alex said.
"What happened wasn't mom's fault." Kara said to her brother.
"I know."
"Then why'd you run off?"
"You don't know what it was like." MJ said.
"What do mean?"
"After the accident, when you were in hospital, mom was blaming herself because she missed your game. When she was home she was a different person. She was angry and sad and full of guilt. You've seen what she has been like since we were kidnapped. After the accident she was so much worse that that. I don't want her to go back to that."
"You running off isn't going to help her guilt complex." His sister pointed out.
-00-
"Your kids are at my place." Kara said as she sat next to her sister who was hugging a cushion on the couch.
"How are they?"
"According to Kara it is you who needs help." Kara said wrapping her arm round her sister.
"I told them the accident might not be an accident." Alex explained.
"I guessed. What did they say?"
"Kara said it wasn't my fault and MJ stormed out."
"You should listen to your daughter." Kara replied. "And MJ will be fine. What made you tell them?"
"I remembered how I felt after mom told us dad didn't really die in a plane crash. I felt so much of my life had been a lie. I didn't want the kids to feel like that. But now MJ hates me."
"No he doesn't. He's scared that you are going to go back to how you were after the accident. Angry, miserable and full of guilt. His words." Kara said before pausing and adding. "He really needs you to not be that person."
"So what I just bury my feelings?"
"No, you find an outlet of the irrational ones and focus on the positive ones."
"You stopped me using a punchbag." Alex reminded her.
"We'll work on the outlet together." Kara said hugging her as the front door opened again. As Kara looked round and saw her nephew she released Alex and said. "I'll give you some space."
"MJ?" Alex called as Kara left the house.
"I'm sorry." MJ said as he sat next to his mother.
"For what?"
"Walking out."
"You're entitled to be angry." Alex said.
"I'm not. Not with you." MJ said. "I just don't want you to go back to how you were after the accident."
"I won't."
"You are already half way there." MJ argued.
"I'm sorry. But I am working on it." Alex said. "But if you think I am slipping tell me and your aunt."
"Okay." MJ replied before hugging her.