The reporters' bullpen is alive with excitement and anticipation. It's another Monday morning and the process of preparing for the next issue of CatCo Magazine is in full swing.
In Kara's office, the weekly assignment/story pitch meeting is nearing its completion. Kara is leaning against the edge of her desk, looking out over her team.
"Alright!", Kara exclaims. "Everyone's got their assignments. Let's get out there and do what we do best. Get digging, find the facts, and let's give our readers great journalism. Thanks."
As the reporters disperse from her office, her assistant, a dark skinned, 20-something young woman, enters her office and says, "Ms. Danvers, do you need anything right now?"
With a warm, bright smile on her face, Kara looks at her and replies, "Yes, please call down to Marketing and check on the progress of the ad boards. Make sure they'll be ready for review this afternoon."
"You got it!", Nathalie replies. "Anything else?"
"Not right now," Kara adds, "I'll be heading over to the DEO in about 20 minutes to check in. I should be back after lunch. Nia's in charge while I'm out and can reach me anywhere if there's an urgent issue. Thanks, Nathalie."
"My pleasure, Ms. Danvers," Nathalie says as she heads back to her desk.
Kara looks back down at the reports and other documents she was reviewing before the pitch meeting, but looks back up when Nia Nal enters her office.
"Morning, Chief!", Nia exclaims with a wide smile on her face.
"Morning, Nia," Kara responds, "what's going on?"
Nia sits down on one of the couches and pulls up her notes on her tablet. "Well, caught up with the Web and Social Media team to resolve the site crash issues from the weekend."
"Was it a hacker or just something more mundane?", Kara inquires.
"3rd party cloud server issue," Nia responds. "Nothing malicious. Followed up with Legal, no outstanding suits as of last Thursday."
"That's a relief," Kara exhales. "So glad those finally seem to all be behind us."
"Well, it was unavoidable. We publish a high volume of stories and unfortunately letting the world know your true identity was bound to be an invitation for the loonies to come out of the woodwork crying foul," Nia comments.
"Ms. Grant said almost the exact same thing the night of the interview," Kara admits. "Thankfully since she had already worked out the truth on her own, she had my contract written to assume the risks."
"That woman doesn't miss anything, does she?"' Nia asks with an amused smile.
"Nope, never," Kara sarcastically sighs. "Anything else, right now?"
"I have a 9:30 with the photographers to review assignments," Nia responds, "I'm chasing down a couple of leads on potential stories, and Nathalie and I are finalizing the arrangements for Cat's annual gala next weekend."
"Great! Sounds like you've got everything under control here. I'm going...", Kara pauses as the center monitor on the wall behind her gives off an alert.
Kara turns to see her sister, Alex, staring back at her with J'onn standing beside her.
"Hey, sis!", Kara says enthusiastically, "Nia and I were just finishing up and I was about to head over to the DEO. What's up?"
"Change of plans," Alex responds. "NCPD just alerted us to a suspicious death at an apartment building on 3rd and Ranch. They've asked us to take a look."
"Gotcha!," Kara says. "I'll meet you guys there."
Kara taps the bracelet on her left arm and a familiar blue garment begins to take shape up her arms, across her torso, and down her legs.
"I never get tired of that," Nia says shaking her head. "That fiancé of mine loves to make a statement with his tech."
"I know," Kara says. "Hold down the fort here. Alex, J'onn, and I will take a look and let you know if we need to assemble the team."
"Gotcha covered, Chief," Nia says with a flared salute.
"Remind me to thank James for suggesting 'Chief' as a nickname," Kara retorts sarcastically as she turns and speeds out the terrace window.
Alex and J'onn exit the elevator on the 4th floor of the apartment building at 3rd and Ranch. The hallway is buzzing with police activity as they make their way down the corridor to unit 4C.
"Officer," Alex addresses the young man stationed at the door, "Agents Danvers and Jones, DEO. Detective Davies called us in."
"Yes, ma'am," the officer replies respectfully, "go ahead on in."
"Thanks, officer," J'onn says as he and Alex step over the threshold.
As Alex and J'onn enter the apartment they find Detective Davies, a 40 something, dirty blond, slender man crouched down next to the victim and a handful of NCPD CSI techs searching the rooms for potential evidence.
"J'onn, Alex," Davies acknowledges them. "Thanks for coming down.
"Thanks for the invite, Adam," Alex responds. "What we got here?"
Before Adam can answer they all register a familiar noise out on the balcony as Kara lands and steps inside.
"Kara," Adam says, "glad you could make it."
Kara nods at him. "Thanks, Adam. Didn't mean to interrupt… like my sister said, what you got?"
"Well," Adam begins, "this is Ophelia Mason, 23, single, Rotarian."
"So she was an empath," J'onn comments.
"Yep," Adam responds. "She failed to show up for her job yesterday morning. Coworkers tried contacting her, got no response. Her supervisor reached out to her family, concerned about her. The family contacted NCPD for a wellness check and one of our officers found her."
"CSI find anything yet?", Alex asks.
"Not so far," Adam responds, "no sign of forced entry. The door was locked when our officer arrived, so the Super had to let them in. No signs of struggle anywhere in the apartment. The balcony sliding door was left open. CSI found a book, a wine glass, and a half empty bottle of red wine outside. Time of death could be a challenge to determine due to temperature fluctuations since yesterday, but fingers crossed."
"Any theories on cause of death?", Kara asks.
"Not a one yet," Adam remarks. "She has no medical history of ellipse or seizures."
"Rotarians typically aren't susceptible to either," Alex comments.
"Exactly!", Adam declares. "That's why I reached out to the DEO. Something felt hinky here."
Kara looks down at Ophelia's body intently scanning here from head-to-toe and announces, "She has a small puncture wound under her hair just below the crown and it looks like all her cranial fluid has been drained."
"That's a new one," Adam declares.
"Yeah," Alex adds, "for us, too. Might be a good idea to have your ME transfer this one over to us for the autopsy."
"Agreed," Adam concurs. "I'll let the Coroner's office know to redirect to this one to DEO headquarters. Our CSI will continue collecting physical evidence from the scene and we can reconvene to update each other once all the analysis' are completed."
"Sounds good," J'onn comments. "We'll head back to the DEO to prep for the autopsy. We'll keep you posted on our progress."
Kara adds, "I'll check the surrounding area to see if anything seems out of the ordinary and then meet you two back at the DEO."
"Good idea, sis," Alex says. "I'll let Brainy know we'll need his help."
"Good luck, to us all," Adam remarks.