Selah walked quickly, trying to let some of her anger and frustration out as she went by stomping slightly harder than was necessary. Her backpack bounced on her back, and her hand clenched tighter around the coffee cup that she was still holding. Part of her wanted to throw out the coffee just for the dramatic effect, but that felt wasteful. Scowling, she drank it in one large gulp and tossed the cup into a garbage can. Caffeine didn't have much of an effect on her, but she needed all that she could get if she was supposed to finish all her assignments before the due dates. Coming up to a red light, she bounced on her heels restlessly.

She felt bad for yelling at Alex, she knew that the agent was only doing her job and trying to protect her, but the situation was so beyond frustrating. For one moment she had allowed herself to believe that she could be free from the Agenda and that she could move past all of the torture, but just as soon as she allowed the thought to enter her head, they started systematically destroying the city. I'm never going to get away, she thought to herself as she started walking again. As she passed Noonan's, she felt the same strange feeling she had felt on the night that she and Kara walked home from the DEO together, the day after the first bombing. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she stooped down, intentionally untying her shoe and beginning to re-tie it as an excuse to pause, trying to pinpoint what exactly felt so strange. She tilted her head slightly, furrowing her brow, and suddenly it hit her.

There was a space in the psychic noise around her, the usual buzz of the thoughts of other people on the sidewalk and inside the nearby buildings. Directly to her left, in an alleyway beside Noonan's there was an area where the noise just stopped, as if it was hitting an invisible wall and bouncing off. She remembered what her aunt said about men by her apartment whose thoughts she couldn't hear, and a chill ran down her spine. Turning her head up to the sky, she reached out to see if Kara actually was watching her, but she didn't hear anything. She finished tying her shoe and straightened up, tentatively peering into the alleyway. Alley was a generous way to describe it, it was only perhaps four feet wide, and about half a block long, engulfed in shadow by the skyscraper next to it. Using her X-ray vision, she could make out three figures at the very end of the alley, two men and a woman. She began walking towards them, her pace quickening as she entered the shadows.

It smelled of moldy newspaper and garbage, and the ground seemed to be perpetually damp. Her senses were prickling as she walked closer and closer to the gap in the noise, and she noticed that it was getting harder to hear the thoughts of the people around her as she got closer to the end of the alleyway.

There is no shame in survival, said a little voice in the back of her mind as she kept walking closer, in a last ditch attempt to convince herself to turn back. She flicked the thought away like an irritating fly.

"There's also no shame in doing what's right," she muttered to herself. Finally, she was able to see the three people in front of her without using X-ray vision. One of the two men was huge, well over six feet, with broad shoulders and biceps the size of Selah's head. The other man was smaller, wearing glasses. She didn't recognize either of them.

"Hello patient 037," the woman spoke in a lilting Italian accent, and Selah looked at her to see the face of Director Beta. "What a pleasant surprise." Instinctively, the girl took a step back, stepping into a puddle. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to continue, walking forwards again until she was only a few feet away from the other three. She could no longer hear any thoughts, and the quietness engulfed her. Clenching a fist, she felt that her strength was gone as well. She could make out the shape of a van behind them, at the end of the alley, with the side door open.

"You wanted me," Selah said, trying her best to keep her voice steady. "Here I am."

"Here you are indeed." Director Beta smiled, her mouth twisting cruelly. "You haven't had the pleasure of meeting my friends yet." She gestured to the two men. The one in glasses nodded, and the tall one grunted. "I recently had to replace my entire staff team. These two boys are our newest recruits. In fact, Mr. O'Leary here," she pointed to the one in glasses, "designed this pocket-sized power dampener for me." She pulled a small device out of her coat pocket and held it in the air. "Fun, no?"

"Just hilarious." Selah glared at the woman, and she put the power dampener back into her pocket.

"So serious," she tutted. She began walking forward, and slowly circled around the girl. "I see that your friends removed the port," she said, running a hand across the back of Selah's head, her long nails tracing where the metal plate used to be. "What a shame."

"Are you going to kidnap me or not?" she demanded, shoving her hands into her pockets to hide how badly they were shaking. "Because I have a class at seven, and I should let my prof know if I won't be there." Director Beta circled back around to face Selah, still smiling.

"We never could break your spirit, could we?" she asked. "Well, second time's a charm, I suppose." She nodded to the burly man, who came forward and grabbed Selah's arms, beginning to forcibly walk her towards the van. Suddenly, there was a sizzling noise, and he jerked back in pain. Director Beta whirled, and Selah followed the woman's gaze to see Kara landing a few feet away, hands on her hips.

"No," Selah yelled. "Get out of here, they-" The burly man slapped her across the mouth with his non-burned hand, and she fell to the damp ground of the alley.

"Look who's come to play," Director Beta marveled. She began walking towards Kara, and Selah could see the hero stiffen as she started to feel her powers drain.

"Kidnapping is a serious crime," Kara said.

"It's not a kidnapping. We're just rightfully reclaiming what's ours. We did buy her, after all." Selah got back up to her feet, and Kara briefly made eye contact with her before looking back at the director.

"Hopefully they take returns," she said. In a flash, she darted over to Selah and grabbed the girl, before going back to her initial position, this time putting herself between Selah and the other three.

"This one is more resistant to the power dampeners, O'Leary," Director Beta said, still smiling. "Fascinating."

"Selah, run." Kara said without turning around, her voice serious.

"No," she replied. "This is the only way that we can end all of this."

"That isn't the answer. Now I am telling you to run."

"No," Selah repeated. Director Beta pulled the power dampener out of her pocket again and began playing with the dials on the side.

"Let's see if your additional features work yet, Mr. O'Leary," she said, pointing it directly at Kara.

Right before the jet of blue light hit the hero, she whirled around to face Selah. Taking a deep breath, Kara used the last of her powers to super-clap, creating a powerful wave that hit Selah head on, sending her flying backwards into the street. She laid on the sidewalk winded, and struggled to her feet to see the burly man dragging an unconscious Kara into the van.

"No!" Selah screamed, ignoring the concerned looks from people passing by. She ran back into the alley but her powers were still drained, and by the time she reached the end, the van was racing away, the tires squealing. Taking a few deep breaths, she pulled out her phone.

"What's up?" Alex demanded immediately.

"It's Kara," the girl panted out. "They took Kara."

.

"What do you mean they had a portable power-dampener?" Alex asked, leaning on the table.

"It was the size of a flash drive, and when I got near it my powers went away," Selah replied. She was seated in the conference room again, this time with Alex interrogating her on what exactly had happened in the alley. "And it could shoot out a concentrated ray. That's how they knocked out Kara."

"And you knew they were there because you couldn't pick up any psychic signals around where this power dampener was." Alex stated. Selah nodded. "So you heard something suspicious, and instead of calling me or Kara or any other DEO agent, you decided to investigate it by yourself." She began pacing back and forth, her arms crossed. "And when you saw one of the directors from the Agenda with two goons, you still continued to go towards them and not call for help?" Selah didn't reply. "How could you be so irresponsible?"

"I didn't think Kara was going to show up," she said. "I was just going to let them take me, so that all of this could be over."

"I have told you a thousand times, that is not how we are going to go about this." Alex stopped pacing and turned to Selah. "I should have known that you'd be too stubborn to listen to me."

"I just wanted to end the bomb threats."

"You are not a superhero. That's not your job. You might have powers, but you have zero training on how to use them or control them. You should have left us to deal with this instead of taking it on yourself."

"So I'm just supposed to keep standing by while innocent people die, when I can stop it?"

"You can't stop it," Alex barked. "You don't have that authority. You are a nineteen year old kid. I am the director of a federal agency that is designed to deal with threats of this nature. I am the one with the authority, and I directly told you not to do exactly what you did, and now?" She shook her head angrily. "My sister is gone."

"I'm sorry," Selah whispered.

"I know." Alex ran a hand over her face and sighed. "I know you are. But from now on, you need to do exactly as I say. No more trying to save the city. No more of this self-sacrifice." Selah nodded, and Alex looked at her for a long moment before sighing again and leaving the room. "Go home," she said as she left. "Agent Sanchez will escort you there. I expect you to stay there all night. If you see or hear anything suspicious, get to a safe place and call me."

"Okay." The agent shut the door, and Selah sat alone at the table, swallowing back tears. Agent Sanchez entered the room a moment later, and she silently stood up and joined him. He didn't attempt to start any conversation for the entire walk home, and simply nodded once she reached her apartment, standing outside until she unlocked the door. Nia was sitting on the couch, and she stood up as Selah entered the apartment.

The two stood still, looking at each other, uncertain of what to say. After a few long moments, Nia held her arms out, and Selah stumbled into a hug.

"I'm so stupid," she sobbed. "All of this is my fault."

"It's okay," Nia murmured. They stayed like that for a long time, until eventually Selah's tears subsided.

"I'm sorry," she said, pulling away. "I'm so sorry." She slumped down onto the couch and Nia sat beside her.

"Selah, Kara's tough. She'll be alright, I know it."

"You don't know what it was like there. It was so horrible all the time. They put random injections into me that would make me sick for days, they tested viruses and vaccinations on me. They would cut me open whenever they felt like it just to poke around at my organs. They'd put my arms or legs in freezing water for days and days just to see what happened, or they'd pour boiling water over me. They-" her voice broke, and her eyes filled up with tears again. "And now Kara's there and it's my fault."

"We'll get her back." Selah looked at Nia, her eyes sad. "We will."

.

The next morning, Selah woke up to the smell of cooking. She wandered out of her room to find Nia wearing a bright pink apron and making a ridiculous amount of pancakes.

"Morning," she said warmly. "I made breakfast."

"How do you not hate me?" Selah asked, rubbing her eyes blearily. "Kara's your friend."

"You're my friend too. And I am going to do everything I can to help get her back, and that starts with a healthy breakfast. There's fresh fruit and orange juice in the fridge." She pushed a plate towards Selah. "Eat."

"Are you going to the DEO?" She went to the fridge and got the aforementioned fruit, putting blueberries on top of the pancakes.

"Yes," Nia replied. "Alex texted me last night."

"I want to come too."

"Don't you have class?"

"This is more important." Nia looked uncertain, so Selah continued. "Look, I know Alex is pissed at me, and rightfully so. But no one knows the Agenda like I do. I can help."

"Okay."

In the end, they only managed to eat about half of the pancakes, so Nia put them into a tupperware and they brought them along to the DEO, figuring that Alex probably hadn't stopped to eat anything. Once they arrived, the entire agency was abuzz with activity. Alex, J'onn, Kal-El, Brainy and Lena were in a conference room, but they all stopped and looked up as Nia and Selah entered. Kal waved awkwardly to Selah, and she waved back, feeling equally uncomfortable.

"We brought pancakes," Nia said half-heartedly.

"You should be at school," Alex said to Selah curtly.

"I know I messed up," the girl replied. "But I can help. Please." Alex took a long, slow breath.

"Fine. You can describe the device that you saw to Brainy and Lena, so that they can figure out how it's made and how to shut down its signal." Selah nodded, turning to the Coluan and the CEO.

"Selah Lerrol, welcome," Brainy said as she walked over. Lowering his voice, he added. "I was hoping you'd show up."

"Hi, Brainy," Selah replied. Lena held out her hand, which the girl shook. "Nice to meet you."

"You as well. I've heard a lot about you from Kara." Selah twitched as a wave of emotion washed off the woman, and she nodded.

"I can send you telepathic images of the device, Brainy. Would that help narrow down what materials are powering it?"

"Most definitely," he answered. Selah shut her eyes and transferred her memories of the device to him, and he began creating a 3D template on his tablet.

"It looks like it's made of Nth metal," Lena said, looking over Brainy's shoulder at the screen.

"That would be my guess," Selah chewed her lip, thinking. "Most of the stuff they made at the facility was Nth."

"It seems to be able to transmit some sort of electromagnetic radiation that disrupts the storage of solar energy in all aliens who get powers from the yellow sun." Brainy began rapidly typing on the tablet as he continued. "Similar to how a red sun blocks the ability for that energy to be metabolized."

"So if we can find exactly what frequency it travels on, we could possibly disable it?" the girl asked.

"In theory," Lena replied, still reading what Brainy was typing. "But it's next to impossible to know what frequency that is without further interaction with the device."

"Maybe it left a radiation signature?"

"Unlikely," the Coluan interjected. "Unless it was a highly unstable substance it wouldn't have left an isotopic fingerprint strong enough for our signals to pick up."

"Is it possible for me to take some blood from you?" Lena asked the girl carefully, looking up. "I can test the types of radiation that you would be most sensitive to, and it would help us determine what they might be using." Selah instinctively stiffened up, pulling her arms closer to her body, but she swallowed down her anxiety.

"If it helps us find Kara," she answered. Lena ran the plan by Alex, who agreed that it was a good idea, and sent them to the medical bay. As they entered the room and Selah sat on the bed, she once again felt panic rise up in her seeing the CEO grabbing a pair of medical gloves and digging in a drawer to find a tourniquet.

"Are you alright?" Lena asked, noticing the girl's leg bouncing up and down. She nodded stiffly, looking at the door.

"Not huge on needles, I guess."

"Would you prefer if Alex did it? I know you probably trust her more than me."

"No, I'm just being silly." Selah rubbed a hand over her eyes and Lena finally found a blood kit with the kryptonite needles in the drawer. She brought it over to the bed, setting it down on the island and pulling on the gloves.

"Did you know that octopi have three hearts?" she said suddenly, opening up the kit. It took a moment for Selah to process what the woman had said.

"What?" she asked finally. Lena sat on the stool and gently moved the girl's arm closer to her.

"And they have blue blood due to a high copper content." She pulled the strip of rubber tight around the girl's forearm and began feeling around for a vein

"Neat. Why are you telling me this?" Lena smiled wryly.

"To distract you from the fact that I'm putting a needle into your arm." she slid the needle into Selah's arm smoothly, and the girl winced. "When I was a child, I hated having my hair brushed. My brother used to tell me facts about animals to distract me. I was hoping it would work in this situation as well."

"Got anymore?" Selah asked, squeezing her eyes shut.

"They can regrow their arms." She filled a few vials up, and pulled the needle out again, pressing a cotton ball to the girl's elbow before she realized it had already healed up. "In fact, it's been documented that they will often pull off their own arms in stressful situations."

"That's pretty dark." Lena removed the tourniquet and put the vials of blood onto the counter.

"Such is nature, I suppose." Closing up the kit again, she put the vials on a stand and removed her gloves.

"Can I do anything else to help?" Selah asked, standing up.

"Do you have any experience with testing blood?"

"No, I mostly got tested on, I wasn't doing much testing myself." Lena bit back a smile.

"I'll show you the ropes, I could use an extra set of hands."

.

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