"What do you mean Lex Luthor has her? Lex Luthor is dead. He died when he let go of your hand and crashed onto Shelley Island. You told me this." Kara is surprised to hear anger in Alex's voice.

"He survived that crash," Kara explains. "He didn't die."

"He survived?! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I didn't know."

Alex frowns.

"I only found out he didn't die on Shelley Island when Lena told me she had killed him."

"Lena killed him?" Alex looks more mystified by the minute.

"Lena only told me this a few weeks ago. When he let go of my hand, he apparently teleported himself to one of his hide-outs where Lena was waiting for him. She knew he would go there. She extracted the Harun-El from him and shot him. It was when he was dying that he told her I was Supergirl."

Alex looks stunned. "Lena shot her own brother?"

Kara nods solemnly. "Lena was certain she killed him."

Alex still looks baffled. "Hold on," she says. "So how do you know he survived Lena's bullet?"

"I only put everything together just now. First there was the theft of the Luthor heirlooms," she says. "They were all pieces Lex loved. I remember thinking that if Lex were alive, it would make perfect sense why nothing else was stolen. He would simply have hired someone to retrieve his pieces before the auction started."

Alex looks doubtful. "That doesn't mean he's alive though," she says.

"I know. But then I went to see Lillian Luthor in prison. The ways she talked about Lex, you would never have thought he just died. There was something so off about it."

Kara can tell Alex is not convinced at all. "So Lillian Luthor seems cold and heartless and you think something is off? Come on, Kara."

Suddenly Kara feels done talking to her sister. She's not in the mood to explain herself to someone disinclined to believe her. She knows what she knows and just wants to get on with saving Lena from her psychopathic and maniacal brother.

"And what's all this Oscar Wilde stuff then?", Alex asks.

"Forget it," Kara says moodily.

Alex looks at Kara for a moment. Seeing the frustration on her sister's face, her tone softens.

"I'm sorry," she says. "I know you worry about Lena." Giving Kara an entreating look, she adds, "Please tell me about Oscar Wilde."

Deciding this is not the moment to stay annoyed, Kara takes a deep breath and says, "Lex Luthor used Oscar Wilde's pseudonym to buy the missile base in Kaznia. He knows Lena and I figured out it was him."

"Hold on. What?"

"Lex Luthor loved Oscar Wilde. He used Oscar Wilde's pseudonym, Sebastian Melmoth, to buy a missile base in a place called 'Rubniu'. I asked Lena whether she knew who this Sebastian Melmoth was because his name also appeared in L Corp accounts. Lena realized it must be Lex because Lex had used Oscar Wilde's pseudonym before. She then used Lex's favorite cipher to figure out 'Rubniu' was code for Kaznia. Lena and I then went to Kaznia to confront and catch Lex."

"So he knows you know Oscar Wilde is one of Lex's masks."

"Exactly."

Alex frowns. "So, the distorting image was his way of letting you know it's him?"

"Yes!"

"But why? Why not just let you know it's him if he wants you to know."

"Because it's Lex Luthor, that's why! You know he loves playing games. He loves seeing whether people are smart enough to solve his stupid puzzles. He loves to mess with people's minds."

Kara can tell from the look on Alex's face that she's slowly starting to get on board with Kara's theory that it was Lex who took Lena. "Okay, I see what you're saying," she says slowly. She takes a moment to think and then adds, "So if it is Lex, what's the plan?"

Kara frowns. "The plan is: we find out where Lena is and I go and get her," she says impatiently.

Kara looks at the DEO agents around her and says loudly, "Any luck finding an address?"

"Not yet," one of them responds.

"Kara." Alex puts a hand on her arm. "I know you want to save Lena. We all do. But please think this through. Lex is smart and will have had time to prepare this."

"I know."

"And it's highly likely you are his main target."

"I know this too."

"And he'll be angry and vengeful. Probably more than ever before. After we thwarted his plan to revolutionize energy and become America's hero. After you wrote that article exposing him …."

"Alex, I know all this!"

Just then a DEO agent turns around and says, "We have a location."

Alex and Kara quickly walk over to where the agent is seated and look at the reverse-engineered photo of Lena on his screen. The agent zooms in on the carved wooden bench on which Lena is sitting. "These nineteenth-century carved pews are unique to a cathedral in Michigan which has been closed for renovation for the past two years. We found a tender for the repair and restoration of these particular pews. Apparently the job was completed and the pews were returned to the cathedral a few months ago."

"He's keeping her in a cathedral?" Kara looks at Alex. "Why?"

Alex shrugs. "No idea."

The agent continues. "We did a quick scan of the cathedral and from what we can tell there's no sign of kryptonite or any other substances we should be worried about."

Kara nods.

The agent pulls up the cathedral's location on a map together with its coordinates.

"I'll get a strike team ready," Alex says.

Kara puts up a hand to stop Alex from leaving. "Hold on," she says.

"What?"

"Promise me you'll wait for my signal before you send in the team."

"Why?"

"When Lex wrote 'Supergirl to the Rescue', I think he meant it. He's telling me to come alone."

Alex frowns. "Of course he wants you to come alone. He doesn't want anyone to get in the way when he tries to kill you." Alex looks frustrated she even has to explain this.

"I can't risk anything happening to her, Alex."

Kara can see how uneasy her sister is getting.

"Kara, this is Lex Luthor we're talking about. He's not stupid. He may even have injected himself with more Harun-El for all we know."

"Alex, I've beaten him before, even when he was enhanced by the Harun-El. I can do it again."

Alex shakes her head. She's clearly uncomfortable with this plan.

"Promise me, Alex."

Alex reluctantly gives her a tiny nod. Kara is about to leave, when Alex suddenly grabs hold of her arm. "Wait," she says. "It'll take us a few hours to get there. Please be careful. I'll get J'onn to come too. Just in case."

Kara nods. "Okay."

"And I'll send word to Argo City," Alex continues. "Clark has dealt with Lex so many times. He'll know what to do."

"Alex, come on. I can handle Lex Luthor. No need to get Superman involved."

Alex looks worried. "I just have a bad feeling about this," she says.

"I'll be fine."

Alex doesn't look convinced.

Not wanting to waste anymore time at the DEO, Kara turns around and heads out.


As she flies to Michigan, the sun has almost set. The sky is aglow with the most breathtaking orange and golden colors. Flying across a large lake, Kara sees the ripple effect she causes far down below on the surface of the water. She flies over cities and small towns, interstates and railways. So many lives, so many stories, so many worries. But in this moment none of it matters to Kara. All that matters is Lena and making sure she's safe.

She's still some distance away from the cathedral when she sees its vast and imposing profile against the dark orange sky. As she comes closer, the Gothic Revival-style limestone cathedral starts to acquire depth and mass. It's a huge and beautiful building. Two enormous square bell-towers grace the front of the cathedral. Above the apse a small spire reaches up to the heavens. At the bottom of the façade, two beautifully carved dark wooden doors mark the entrance.

Kara scans the building. She picks up two heat signatures, far apart. The first is of a seated figure, in the middle of the cathedral, probably somewhere near the front of the nave. Kara's heart skips a beat. She knows it's Lena. She feels in a rush to get inside.

The other figure is standing near the entrance, right behind the massive oak doors. She knows this must be Lex. Why is he waiting for her there?

Kara circles the cathedral a few times. She finds two smaller entrances, both of them locked. She knows breaking down these doors will instantly alert Lex to her arrival. Checking the bell towers and the roof once more, Kara suddenly notices that at the bottom of the spire the material looks different from the rest. While hanging in the air, Kara puts her hand on it. It's plastic tarp and appears to be covering a hole. Kara loosens the bottom of the tarp. The hole behind it is big enough to let her in. Carefully, Kara worms her way inside.

Once inside Kara starts her slow descent, as silently as she can. The figure near the entrance, from this distance cloaked in darkness, does not appear to move. So far her arrival seems to have gone undetected.

Kara's plan is simple. If Lena is tied to anything, she'll untie her. She'll pick her up and fly her out of the cathedral through the hole in the spire. She'll take Lena to safety and let Alex know the DEO and J'onn can come and apprehend Lex.

As Kara continues her descent, she feels almost swallowed up by the vastness of the cathedral. The sounds of everyday life she had heard outside—a dog barking, cars in the distance, an airplane flying overhead—have all completely stopped. It is eerily still. The air in the cathedral is dry and cool. The shiny limestone floor seems miles away. Looking down the nave, Kara sees two dozen immense round columns supporting the high vaulted ceiling. She sees Lena sitting at the far end of the first row of benches right in front of one such column. She looks tiny in comparison. Looking down the aisle, Kara sees, raised above the entrance, a beautiful organ with hundreds, if not thousands, of pipes. Candles are burning everywhere. The electric lights that Kara sees everywhere remain turned off. The candles create pockets of light and darkness. Huge shadows flicker on the columns and walls. Everywhere she looks, Kara's met with religious paintings and delicately crafted statues of saints and church fathers.

Kara slowly moves down, steering slightly to the right, holding on to her cape to prevent it from fluttering in the air. When she's only a few yards from the floor, right in front of Lena, Lena suddenly looks up. Expecting Lena to look happy or at least relieved to see her, Kara is surprised to find only terror in her eyes. Lena violently shakes her head from left to right. Lena tries to say something, but the gag in her mouth makes that impossible. Kara quickly puts a finger in front of her own lips to urge Lena to remain silent.

Hovering only a few feet above the floor now, Kara casts one last quick glance at the entrance to the cathedral. Seeing no movement there and Lex still in his old position, Kara lets herself fall to her knees in front of Lena. Lena's feet are tied to the outer edge of the pew. Kara quickly tears the rope apart with her hands. She puts one arm under Lena's legs and the other behind her back and is about the fly up, when she notices a sudden movement to her right. The movement is followed by an excruciating pain in her side. Kara gasps. She lets go of Lena and stumbles to the floor. Her vision becomes blurred. Kara looks down and sees something green being pulled out of her side. It's covered in blood. As Kara tries to look up at Lena, everything goes black.