It was a stormy cliche night as Rip Roar aka Russell Rodgers remained sitting, chained up, and was simply staring ahead. His helmet had been taken off but the rest of his gear had to remain planted on his back. Alex, Kara (wearing pants), Brainiac 5, and William watched him freak out from the command center screen.
"Man, that never gets old," Kara grinned as Rip Roar screamed at the camera.
"You're in luck. He does it every five minutes like clockwork," Brainiac 5 informed her.
"That's my best mate you're talking about," William said offended.
"Mr. Dey, you're here because we figured if anyone could reach Rip Roar it would be you," Alex told him.
"Russell is still in there. I know it. He must be acting against his will. The man I know would never have done those terrible things," William said.
"Proceed to crush his naivety," Kara gestured to Brainiac 5.
"Yes, eighteen assassinations plus one ecological terror attack," Brainiac 5 read off. "We know Rip Roar is working for a shady organization we have yet to identify," Brainiac 5 lied.
"It's only a matter of time before we find out who and why," Kara said to William and gave Brainiac 5 a wink.
"I can confirm that his biotech is conveniently shielding him from the power of our truth seeker," Brainiac 5 reported to Alex.
"Can't we take it off?" William asked ignorantly.
"The suit is attached to his nervous system. Removing it incorrectly could kill him," Brainiac 5 said. "Also, someone is working to disable our power."
"Wait...what?" Alex asked him.
The power suddenly went off. "We've been breached!" Alex realized.
"This wouldn't be happening if you had agreed to put a fusion reactor back into the building. I think this is what is called a teachable moment," Brainiac 5 said condescendingly.
"Yeah, we tried that before. White Martians nearly caused the whole city to get blown up, so fuck that," Alex rejected. "Initiate emergency protocol. Barney, I want that power back up," Alex ordered as she took out her laser pistol.
"I can turn it back on whenever I want with the emergency generators, but I want to see how this plays out," Brainiac 5 said to Kara.
"Nice," she smiled.
A woman in an all-black costume wearing a black mask over her eyes suddenly appeared. DEO agents immediately tried to shoot at her only for her to disappear and reappear randomly in the shadows. Acrata took out twin blades and sliced up a DEO agent tumbling him off the stairs leading to the command center. He proceeded to make the appropriate Wilhelm scream as he did. Alex fired several shots at her missing her.
Acrata appeared and disappeared in the shadows slicing up DEO agents one-by-one. Kara took William to the second level and watched the fight down below. "Aren't you going to do something?" he asked her incredulously.
"I want to see how it plays out," she said watching DEO agents get taken out by the shadowy figure down below.
Alex entered the interrogation room correctly assuming the attacker was trying to get to Rodgers. Acrata phased through the wall as expected. "I don't know who or what you are but this is my prisoner. And if you touch him, I will light you up," Alex told her off.
Acrata advanced on Alex kicking the pistol out of her hand and slicing her several times to the torso. Alex punched Acrata back and fired off metal tentacles straight for her. Arcata gave a WTF look as she phased through the wall escaping. The power then went back on. Alex morphed into Brainiac 5 and then morphed again into a random DEO agent.
The real Alex was with Brainiac 5 at the command desk still protected by the original Brainiac 5. "She has escaped, but we still have our prisoner," Brainiac 5 informed her.
"But at what cost? Look at all the dead," Alex said stunned as she saw at least a dozen bodies on the floor. "This is my fault, my responsibility," she said mournfully.
"You're making this a bigger deal than it really is," Brainiac 5 said coldly.
"Look, fucker, you may not value human life, but I do. Those were my colleagues, my friends, they were like family. That's what it means to be a brotherhood and it's something you will never have," Alex yelled at him with tears in her eyes.
"Well, I can at least simulate it," Brainiac 5 replied. The DEO bodies on the floor began to shake and then slowly got back to their feet.
Alex watched horrified as her killed DEO agents got back up revealing themselves to be all Brainiac 5 drones. "My band of brothers, you are in need of repairs. Your positions will be replaced momentarily," Brainiac 5 said to them for Alex's benefit.
The drones then went off leaving the building as a dozen additional drones entered the DEO to replace them. "Now, we are at full staff again," Brainiac 5 said pleased.
Alex simply stared at Brainiac 5 in shock. "They were all your drones. They were all you," she realized.
"Well, I gave them all independent AIs. Not nearly as sophisticated as myself but it helped to simulate independent action and mannerisms. This isn't how I wanted you to find out, director," Brainiac 5 explained.
"Is everyone in the DEO one of your drones?" Alex asked.
"As of Tuesday, yes. It took some time to replace your human agents that had either died or resigned with my own replacements. The DEO agent that nearly killed you when she was incepted by Malefic was the last to go. Now, you have DEO agents that are much more efficient, always follow orders, don't need health insurance, can never be incepted, and are considerably less fragile. This will save the US government millions in life insurance payouts," Brainiac 5 explained.
"So, what about payroll?" Alex asked.
"Oh, I've been funneling it to various accounts. It's actually quite complicated. I won't bore you with the details," Brainiac 5 said.
"I can't believe this. The people I thought were my friends, colleagues, people I respected are all...drones," Alex said dismayed.
"Drones are people, too," Brainiac 5 said offended.
"No, no you're not. You're a fucking machine, Barney. How could you do this to me? Is my whole job saving the world a big joke to you? Is this some wacky social experiment? Is the DEO just a day-care for...me," Alex realized.
"I can't trust my own eyes. You could be anyone and everyone including Kelly. I'm always going to have to second-guess myself," Alex said stunned.
"You're not taking this as positively as I had hoped. Would you rather have had your men sliced to pieces, their families shattered, and you responsible for their deaths?" Brainiac 5 asked.
"No, of course not. But this isn't all about purely consequences. It's your intent, Barney. No matter how positive your outcomes are, you're still an asshole. You have no loyalty, respect, honor, or integrity and these are values I've tried to uphold for as long as I have been at the DEO," Alex said pissed-off.
Kara dropped down with William. "And are you a drone, too?" Alex accused of Kara.
"A what?" William wondered.
"A DEO agent will escort you back to your apartment. Thank you for coming in," Brainiac 5 said pleasantly.
"Just happy to have helped," William said as he was escorted away by one of Brainiac 5's drones.
Kara and Brainiac 5 waited for him to leave. "You told her. That wasn't part of the plan," Kara said aghast.
"I didn't anticipate your boss attacking us so soon," Brainiac 5 said as he displayed Acrata's masked face on a screen. The computer went to work on facial recognition and got a partial match with Andrea Rojas at 95% accuracy.
"So, do I kill her now or later?" Kara asked.
"I want to know how she acquired her ability. No doubt, she will try to attack the DEO again to get to Rodgers," Brainiac 5 said.
"Then, we should move the prisoner to a more secure location," Kara suggested.
"I already have. The prisoner in the other room is a drone. The real Rodgers is being interrogated in the old style by our PATRIOT friends," Brainiac 5 replied.
"Okay, just stop!" Alex interrupted them.
Brainiac 5 and Kara stared at her. "All of my men are drones, you two already seem to know everything that is going on, and I am completely out of the loop. The president put me in charge of the DEO, not you two," Alex said to them.
"That isn't entirely accurate," Brainiac 5 said awkwardly.
"So, what is this? Some kind of holding-pen for me? My whole life is one big joke," she said feeling useless.
"We all have a role in Brainy's plan," Kara assured her.
"His plan? What about you? Why are you taking orders from him? The Kara I know never took orders from anyone. And what makes matters worse is that you knew about this the whole time. You have X-ray vision. You knew which one of my agents were drones and which ones were not. You hid that from me," Alex accused angrily.
"I don't have to take this. The only reason I'm protecting you is because Brainy told me to," Kara shot back.
Alex was taken aback by that. Kara frowned realizing she had fucked-up. "What the fuck did I just hear?" Alex demanded.
"That came out wrong," Kara admitted.
"No, the truth finally comes out," Alex said angrily. "This night has been really enlightening."
"Emotions are high. Perhaps, a reset is in order," Brainiac 5 suggested.
"Shove it," Alex said storming off to her office.
Kara frowned ashamed at her outburst. "I fucked up," she admitted.
"Let's see how this plays out. If need be, we'll have J'onn erase her memory...again," Brainiac 5 consoled her.
Lena heard a knock on her door and didn't bother to use Hope to ascertain who it was before recklessly opening it. Andrea then appeared before her. "Andrea? What do you want?" Lena asked coldly.
"I need your help. I need to break into the DEO," she said bluntly as she entered the apartment.
"What's the DEO?" Lena asked playing dumb.
"Stop it. I know you've had government contracts with them before. That's why I'm here," she said.
"Okay, say we both know what the DEO is. Why does the head of a Fortune 500 company need access?" Lena asked curiously.
"I know who was behind the tidal wave that nearly took out Metropolis. I know because I work for them but if I tell them who they are, they'll kill me and you, too. The DEO captured an agent that was acting as a decoy to keep them off-guard. The people I work for want me to kill him before he can talk," Andrea explained.
"You come to my house and ask me to help kill someone. That's insane even for my tastes. Actually, I do know the DEO Director. What's to stop me from reporting you?" Lena asked revealing critical information to an assassin in league with an extremely dangerous organization that would now be interested in interrogating her ass on the DEO Director's identity, loved ones, and current residence.
Andrea gave her a stupified look but quickly recovered. "Because I don't want to kill him. I want to save him. He's important to me," she admitted.
"Like in a friend-zone type of way or in a romantic way?" Lena asked.
"We were engaged," Andrea said proving she had a case of the not-gay. "I can breach the facility but Supergirl was there. I can't get past her. You've worked with her before. Maybe you can."
"No, sorry," Lena denied.
"Lena, I'm asking as a friend," Andrea pleaded.
"We're not friends," Lena corrected.
"We used to be," Andrea said softly as she looked over her whiskey bottle.
Fifteen Years Ago-Mount Helena Boarding School
Outside the school on a bench under a tree, a uniformed Lena Luthor was drawing dicks of various sizes and shapes when Andrea dropped in. Lena quickly closed her notebook. "You're the new kid, right? I'm Andrea. My parents didn't come for visitor's day ether," she said sympathetically.
"Why didn't they come?" Lena asked.
"My father owns a successful business, so he's busy. Mother, on the other hand, is in Paris. She's likely having an affair with her so-called friend, the Baron. What about your mom? Let me guess, screwing around, too?" Andrea asked.
"My mother's dead," Lena said guilt-tripping her.
"Oh. What do you say we go to a real party tonight?" Andrea asked switching gears.
"Are you sure you want to go out with someone like me?" Lena warned.
"Sure, I even know how to get in without being carded," Andrea smiled.
As soon as they entered the club, Andrea quickly found herself shocked and appalled as Lena drank shot-after-shot and started grinding into the guys on the dance floor like she had a reputation to burn. Lena joined up with Andrea at the bar as she had loosened up. "I'm about to bring five guys with me to a hotel. Want a few for yourself?" Lena asked.
"What about finding true love with one special guy like Titanic?" Andrea wondered.
"Fuck that. I laughed when Jack died. Anyone who has studied physics knows they both could have fit on that door," Lena said drunkenly.
"It was the thought that counted," Andrea said stubbornly.
"I'm going to be like my step-mom. I'm going to marry rich, sleep around, do drugs, and not worry about a fucking thing," Lena said obnoxiously.
"What about taking your father's company to the next level?" Andrea asked her.
"I don't give a fuck about Luthor Corp. My father and my brother can have it," Lena said dismissively.
"Don't you have any real goals?" Andrea asked.
"One day, I hope to get myself a moutain...of cocaine and snort it all in one night without dying," Lena said seriously. "Unfortunately, if I want to get it pure I'm going to need to go to Costa Rica and get it directly."
"Wow, that's...," Andrea said stunned.
"I want to be so high that I see my own shadow pole-dancing for me," Lena smiled at the thought of it.
"Well, I'll help you get it," Andrea volunteered.
"No shit?" Lena eyed her suspiciously.
"You jump, I jump," Andrea told her.
Costa Rica
Lena, Andrea, and a native crew walked around the jungles of Costa Rica to get that pure cocaine. "Dead end," their guide told them in Spanish as they hit a cliff wall.
"Maybe there's a way around it," Andrea suggested.
"Wait, I found this conveniently placed stone-snake on the ground pointing us in the right direction," Lena said uncovering it.
"Impressive," Andrea said surprised.
"That cocaine has to be somewhere around here," Lena said frustrated.
"Look, pretty flowers," Andrea pointed out.
"Let's focus on why we're here," Lena said annoyed with her.
Andrea suddenly fell in a sinkhole. "Well...shit," Lena shook her head.
"I'm still in one piece," Andrea said from down below.
"Stay right there, I'll get a rope or something," Lena promised her and took off.
In the sinkhole, Andrea looked around and found an ancient stone marking with a gold medallion. Suddenly, a white old guy showed up before her. "Andrea Rojas," he addressed her.
"Who the fuck are you?" Andrea wondered.
"I am a messenger," he told her.
"I must be high, right now. I'm seeing a Mexican Santa Clause in front of me," Andrea realized.
"This is very real as is the one that sent me: Leviathan," he said.
"What do they want?" Andrea asked.
"Your father is fucked, isn't he?" he said knowingly.
"My father is a brilliant man. Things will turn around for him," Andrea said optimistically.
"He's not as strong as you are. He's on the verge of ending everything. That is why you devote yourself to him," he said.
"What do you want from me?" Andrea asked.
"Your happiness and your service, one for the other," he said vaguely.
"What the fuck does that supposed to mean?" Andrea asked impatiently.
"If you agree, your father will live well. All you have to do is take this," he said pointing out the gold medallion.
"Sure," Andrea said taking it.
"Keep it with you always. Never speak of it or all that you love will be lost. And remember, there will be a day when we will call upon you. Be prepared," he warned.
"Thanks. Now, can you show me on this map where cocaine is being manufactured?" Andrea asked showing him the map.
"Yes, it's right there," he pointed and proceeded to give her detailed directions.
Lena then came back with a rope and climbed down. "I know where the coke is," Andrea told her.
"Who told you?" Lena asked as she got down.
Andrea looked around but the Mexican Santa Clause was gone. "I just remembered where it was on the map."
Lena stared at the ancient slab. "That's neat. Well, let's get going."
Afterward, everything was looking up for Andrea. Her father was doing much better with his business as Lord Industries' phones started exploding. However, Mexican Santa Clause had pointed them away from where the cocaine was located and ever since then Lena had become bitter at Andrea.
Five Years Ago-Metropolis
Police interviewed Lena shortly after Lex was arrested for unleashing Doomsday and causing the death of Superman. "Why did your brother create a giant rage-monster?" Maggie Sawyer asked.
"No idea," Lena shrugged.
Jack Spheer entered the room to White Knight her. "She's not answering any more questions without a lawyer," he told Maggie.
"I'm actually fine answering questions," Lena allowed.
"Honey, I'm speaking for you," Jack told her off.
"We can talk later when your boy-toy isn't around," Maggie rolled her eyes and walked out.
Soon thereafter, Lena got a talk from Lillian Luthor. "With Lionel dead and Lex in prison, the company falls on you now, Lena," Lillian told her.
"Why me? Why not you?" Lena asked.
"I have my foundations to run. I don't have time and you were groomed to be a leader in the company. You have the knowledge and intelligence to restore our family's honor," Lillian said to her.
"But I'm not even blood," Lena said ignorantly.
Lillian bit her tongue unable to tell her the truth. "Neither am I but the Luthor family is more than just blood. It is an idea. Your father came to America with nothing and made a name for himself as the greatest businessman the world had ever seen. I dare you to do it better."
"I can't do it. I'm a fuck-up," Lena reminded her.
"It's time for you to grow up, Lena. Stop being a whore, drinking, using drugs, and fooling around with start-up companies that have no chance of succeeding. Thousands of Lex Corp workers, stockholders, and customers depend on you. The country depends on us to give them what they need," Lillian told her.
"Alright," Lena agreed. "But I'm changing the company's name."
"To what?" Lillian wondered.
"L Corp.," Lena smiled proud of herself for coming up with it.
Lillian sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fuck it," she agreed.
Lena had a talk with Jack over her decision to ditch him and his company. "It's now my responsibility to take over Lex Corp. To do something good with my life," Lena said in their garage.
"We were going to do something good. Isn't curing cancer like the good thing to do?" Jack asked her. "What about our company?"
"You see this? This is why I have to be in Metropolis. Look at how much press Supergirl is getting. That should be my press," Lena said self-absorbed.
"You'll get all the press you want when we cure cancer," Jack told her.
"Yeah, like that's ever going to happen," Lena said dismissively.
"You never believed in what we were doing?" Jack asked stunned.
"I believed in us having threesomes, getting drunk as fuck, and snorting endless amounts of cocaine. But that time is over. It's time for me to be a responsible adult because I got thousands of employees to look after now," Lena said.
"Fucking unbelievable," Jack said insulted.
"I have to be friends with Supergirl to improve my family image and that means moving to Lex Corp with or without you," Lena said to him.
"Then it will have to be without me," Jack said sadly.
Three Years Ago-Metropolis: Season 2
Kara strolled into Lena's office with an incriminating flash drive. "I was reading your article on that alien fight club. Very good work. It was like you were in the ring yourself," Lena complimented.
"Thanks for helping me find it," Kara lied.
"I'm sure you will return the favor when the time comes," Lena said confidently.
"Absolutely," Kara lied. "On that note, I wanted to give you this. It's full of potentially embarrassing information on you and your company. Someone hacked into L Corp and sent Catco the information anonymously. I was able to snag the data before it could be published."
"I thought we caught everything," Lena said disappointedly. "What's to stop Catco from copying this flash drive and still publishing those documents?"
"Oh, I don't know. How about coming to game night with my friends at my place? My sister and I dominate and we are in desperate need of a worthy adversary," Kara said wide-eye.
"I'm sorry, Kara. I just want to keep things between us professional," Lena rejected.
"Well, that's a shame because my sister works with Supergirl a lot...I mean a lot. And whoever is friends with her is going to be good friends with Supergirl if you know what I mean," Kara said brightly.
"I may just have to reconsider then," Lena said thoughtfully.
Present Day-Metropolis
Andrea and Lena had some whiskey as they talked shit about one another. "Every time I look at you, I'm reminded of all the horrible things I've done."
"The fuck I ever do to you? I should be the one that's pissed. You directed us away from where the cocaine was. We never found it," Lena said pissed-off.
"I've always wanted to tell you the truth, but I was scared," she said.
"Do you have any idea what a lost opportunity this was. You could have defeated scores of supervillains. You could have been more popular than Supergirl," Lena said bitterly.
"I just wanted to take these dark powers of mine and throw it deep into the closet, like so deep in the closet they could never be found again," Andrea said.
"Yeah, well, that doesn't make the world better. You have to drag those powers kicking and screaming out of that closet," Lena told her.
Andrea faded as shadow and then returned as a shadow. "It's not a gift. It's a curse."
"I don't see how," Lena said skeptically.
"I've done a lot of fucked-up things with my powers," Andrea told her.
"So has Supergirl. You can still be a hero with the right marketing," Lena said confidently.
"All I want right now is to get Russell Rodgers back. Will you help me?" Andrea asked.
"You jump, I jump," Lena agreed.
PATRIOT-Moscow
Brainiac 5 and Alina walked to the holding cell containing the real Russell Rodgers. "You're here only to observe," Alina said, suspicious of his intentions.
"Of course," Brainiac 5 agreed.
The two entered the cell where Rodgers had been given a good beating already. His suit was still attached to his back but restrained. "Is Andrea Rojas associated with Leviathan?" Alina asked.
Rodgers remained silent. He suddenly seized up as Alina increased the water-pressure in his body just slightly. All of his blood vessels swelled up, his bones felt the pressure of the expanding bone marrow, and his organs began to inflate. Alina increased the pressure until Rodgers screamed in pain.
"I can do this all day and night," Alina said to him.
Rodgers continued to struggle as his muscles and skin began to swell, go back to normal, and then swell again. Muscles contracted and expanded violently as Alina controlled all the water in his body. She then stopped his diaphragm making him unable to breathe for a minute.
"He's no good to me dead," Brainiac 5 reminded her.
"He will not be permanently damaged," Alina assured him.
"Yes!" Rodgers finally shouted. "She's one of them!"
"What is she called?" Alina asked.
"Acrata," he answered.
"And what can she do? What is her power?" she asked.
"She can use the shadows to appear and disappear," he said.
"How did she acquire this power?" Alina continued.
"A gold medallion she found in a cave in Costa Rica," Rodgers replied.
"That sounds like bullshit," Alina sneered and sent another wave of agony through Rodgers.
"Keep him talking," Brainiac 5 said impatiently.
"Fine," Alina released her hold on him. "What is her weakness?"
"No shadows, no power," he gasped.
"Satisfied?" Alina asked Brainiac 5.
"For now. Can you keep him for us?" he asked her.
"Of course but try to replace my people with drones again and we may no longer be friends," Alina threatened.
"As you wish," Brainiac 5 agreed.
Metropolis
At the DEO, Supergirl (wearing a skirt) dropped in. "I have intel from Eve Tesschmacher and Russell Rodgers collaborating on the existence of Leviathan. We're looking for this woman," Brainiac 5 said of a picture of an old woman he had extracted from Eve's mind on the screen.
"Do we have a name?" Kara asked.
"Not yet, but it's only a matter of time before I find her on a street camera," Brainiac 5 said.
"We must not take her too soon or else Leviathan will know we are onto them," Kara said.
"Agreed. Andrea Rojas attacked the DEO an hour ago. Unfortunately, it revealed some inconvenient secrets to Alex," Brainiac 5 said.
"Like how all my co-workers are drones, how you've kept me in the dark about Leviathan, your contacts in Russia, and how you truly feel about me," Alex raged.
"Oh, shit," Kara realized.
"So, you're only protecting me because Barney has told you to. Is that how far our relationship has fallen? I'm just an annoying human that is just a burden to you?" Alex asked angrily.
"Whatever I said, I didn't mean it," Kara told her.
"No, I could tell it came from the heart," Alex sensed.
"Alex, the only fucking reason I'm still in this time period is because of you. You're all I care about. Don't you understand that?" Kara said incredulously.
"So, you're just jacking me around. I don't know what's worse," Alex said pissed-off.
"You're right. You should quit and get a normal job," Kara said.
"No, fuck you. I'm staying as DEO Director until you find a way to get me fired. And even then I'll still stay in the fight," Alex said determinedly.
"Well...shit," Kara sighed.
"Now that I know how you really feel, it's obvious to me that the only reason you're here is to mock and belittle me," Alex accused.
"One off-hand comment shouldn't unravel what we have, Alex," Kara said obviously.
"Then why did you fucking say it?" Alex demanded.
Kara stared at Alex, then to Brainiac 5, and then back to Alex. "We're about to be attacked," Brainiac 5 said nonchalantly.
Alex and Kara stared at him. "Okay, Barney, what is it?" Alex asked impatiently.
"Acrata is on her way here. She'll use an inception device from Lena Luthor to freeze all the agents and attempt to free Russell Rodgers in our cell," Brainiac 5 said.
"Inception won't work on your drones," Alex said obviously.
"Neither Acrata or Lena is aware of the fact that the DEO agents are drones. I'll have my drones freeze and allow her to take Russell Rodgers. When she does, we can then hopefully find the Leviathan base of operations. Still, we can't make it easy for her," Brainiac 5 said.
"How do you know all this?" Alex asked him.
"I have access to Hope in Lena's apartment. Andrea and Lena have been discussing their shared past, their hopes and dreams, and how they intend to attack us," Brainiac 5 replied.
"How could Lena betrays us like this?" Alex asked outraged.
"She has made it look like Andrea broke into her apartment and forced the inception device from her. We should play along for the time being," Brainiac 5 said.
"No, we arrest her ass, right now," Alex objected.
"If we arrest her, she'll be in Russian hands the next day," Brainiac 5 threatened.
"Let's not be hasty here. Let's take it one step at a time," Kara said mediating between them.
"Put these on," Brainiac 5 said to Alex referring to psychic inhibitors.
"I still hate you," Alex said accepting them and putting them in her ears.
As anticipated, Acrata entered the DEO and activated Lena's device. On cue, Brainiac 5 froze all of his drones to give her the impression the device had worked. "Lena is paging me," Kara said hearing the signal.
"It's to lure you away," Brainiac 5 informed her.
"Well, finally some respect," Kara smirked.
"Ignore it," Alex told her.
"I have a better idea," Brainiac 5 said as he touched his watch.
Supergirl (wearing pants) entered Lena's apartment and looked around at the destruction before finding Lena on the floor. "Lena?" Kara wondered.
"Thank God you're here. It was horrible," Lena said embracing her. "She came in like a shadow."
Kara helped Lena to her feet. Lena stared at Kara's face noticing the scar near her left eyebrow was missing. A chill went through her as she realized something was wrong with this Supergirl. Kara eyed Lena's Ipad on the floor. "You have nothing to worry about, Lena. I'll be here all night to protect you."
"I don't think that's really necessary. I have my own security," Lena evaded.
"I insist," Kara said seriously.
Acrata entered the jail cells of the DEO only to get shot in the shoulder by Alex's laser pistol. Brainiac 5 calmly walked up next to Alex. "This is our chance. I'm taking her down," Alex said to him.
"I can't let you do that," Brainiac 5 said taking her arm behind her back with his right hand and arm barring her neck with his left.
Alex struggled against his grip but he was as strong as steel. Supergirl (wearing a skirt) then backhanded Acrata to the floor. "You have no idea how long I've waited to do that," Kara said amused.
Russell Rodger then exited his unlocked cell. Acrata faded in the shadows only to appear behind Rodgers. She then took them both into the shadows escaping. Brainiac 5 then released Alex.
"Fucker, you let her escape!" Alex raged. "She can assassinate anyone within an instant."
"Leviathan is of even greater concern," Brainiac 5 said calmly and then allowed his drones to get back to work once more.
"Where is Andrea going with your drone?" Kara asked.
"L Tower," Brainiac 5 replied.
Kara took out a bottle of vodka and poured herself a glass like she owned the place. "You really don't need to be here. I feel safe now," Lena assured her.
"I wish I could say the same about your liquor supply, tonight," Kara smiled and handed her a glass.
"I prefer to be sober tonight," Lena rejected.
"I insist," Kara said deadly serious.
Lena reluctantly downed the shot. "I know about your past history, Lena," Kara said pouring another shot.
"Oh?" Lena asked anxiously.
"They say you were quite the party animal but how are you at playing chess?" Kara asked.
"How are they related?" Lena asked confused.
Kara placed the chessboard in front of her with shot glasses instead of pieces. For each different piece was a different sized shot-glass and liquor. "You can't be serious. I really do have a lot of work to do," Lena objected.
"As your very special friend...I insist," Kara smiled.
Kara waited for Lena to be passed the fuck out. She then called up Brainiac 5. "Am I done here?" she asked bored.
"Yes, return to the DEO," Brainiac 5 ordered.
Acrata and the Russell Rodger's drone bypassed L Tower upon not being able to contact Lena.
The next morning at the DEO, Hank came in. "I still want Malefic. No excuses," Hank said to Brainiac 5.
"You will have him in due time," Brainiac 5 promised him.
"What do you want me to erase this time?" Hank asked.
"Alex and Kara had a little argument that threatens their cohesion. I also need her to forget that all of her co-workers are my drones," Brainiac 5 said.
"I did wonder why I had only sensed Alex's mind in here," Hank remarked.
Alex was in her office sulking. Her agents worked around the clock without needing her orders or leadership. She was completely useless and irrelevant as Brainiac 5 and Supergirl encroached on her responsibilities. Hank entered her office. "May I come in?" he asked.
"Sure, why the fuck not?" Alex asked bitterly.
"I can't speak for Barney, but I know that Kara truly loves you as a sister. She's sacrificed her family to be here with you and to keep you safe," Hank said to her.
"I don't want to be safe. I want to keep the world safe," Alex said to him.
"And you do by just being here. If you quit this job, Kara stops giving a fuck about the world. Countless people will die, governments will fall, and natural disasters like what happened with that tidal wave will be ignored. You are the reason Supergirl gives a fuck and that's why you must stay in that chair," Hank said to her.
Alex gave him a sad look. "Well, that's fucking pathetic of her. Superman didn't need Lois to save the world. He did it in spite of her because he was a decent person."
"We're given the hands we are dealt," Hank told her.
"Fuck this. I am resigning today. I'm done being a pawn in someone else's game," Alex said resolved.
Hank quickly placed his hand on her forehead zapping her mind. Alex then gave Hank an urgent look and stood up. "There's no time to waste," she said energized.
She exited her office and went to the command desk where her agents stood at attention for her. "Find out all the intel you have on Leviathan," she ordered.
"Right away," an agent said enthusiastically. "Here's your coffee, director," another agent said handing her a cup.
Alex looked over her well-oiled crew confident her men would solve this mystery.
Andrea took Russell's drone to the airport. "I'm sorry. If it weren't for me, they would never have come for you," Andrea said sincerely.
"That's true," Russell agreed.
A bullet suddenly hit Russell to the chest. Immediately, he went down to the pavement. "No! Someone help!" Andrea screamed.
Mexican Santa Clause, wearing a flight suit, walked over to them. "You can't escape us. Your powers were bestowed upon you. They come from the darkness within you. And that is something you can never escape."
As he walked off, Andrea sobbed over Russell. Eventually, Andrea had to part with him as the police arrived. As soon as she was gone, Russell got back up, dusted himself off, and then morphed into Brainiac 5. "No, it is you that cannot escape me," he smirked and walked off.
Author's Notes: Not much attention is paid to the DEO guys so I made them all Brainiac 5 drones to further Alex's isolation. The CW version has Lena being extremely petty, so I changed up her motivation. CW Lena's squeaky clean image in this flashback contradicted my Midvale fic so changes had to be made to show Lena being even more rebellious than Andrea in a role-reversal. Jack Spheer, if you may recall, was turned into Riot and killed in Adventure's episode: Venom. By now, I hope there is total confusion as to what is going on with Kara's lack of consistency. It will be explained in due time.