Supergirl went straight for the Dominator firing heat vision at him as he was minding his own business on a skyscraper rooftop. "Nia, I'm sending him to you," Kara radioed.
The Dominator was blasted off the rooftop where he fell on some schmuck's car, totaling it. "Time for nap time," Nia said trying out her new catch-phrase. She fired energy cables around the Dominator's neck, threw him into the air, and then slammed him back down to the pavement, knocking him out.
"Not bad," Kara said to her still floating in the air.
"You warmed him up for me," Nia smiled. "Don't you have a date to get to? Get out of here. I got this."
"Well, okay then," Kara said, flying off.
DEO personnel quickly arrived on the scene to apprehend the Dominator. Brainiac 5 got out of one of the SUVs, gave the Dominator a glance, and then fired his pistol into his head killing him much to Nia's dismay.
"Your welcome, Director Dox," Nia said to him.
"He was merely a foot soldier, but I appreciate the help. Thank you," Brainiac 5 said politely. He then coldly got back into his car as the Dominator body was taken away.
Nia shook her head wanting to say something but couldn't at the moment.
Kara entered her apartment in civilian clothes. "What's the emergency?" Alex asked concernedly.
"Blue or red?" Kara asked showing two shirts.
"Really? You call me for this? We both know Mon doesn't give a shit," Alex said dismayed.
"So?" Kara wondered.
"Blue, always go with blue," Alex sighed.
"It's been almost three years since I've been on a date. What if I've forgotten how to do it?" Kara asked.
"Kara, you're the girl in this relationship, remember? All you have to do is look pretty and not be offensive," Alex rolled her eyes.
"I got Nia another assisted kill," Kara smiled as she sat down.
"Assisted?" Alex questioned.
"That girl has no stomach for killing. It's either me or Barney finishing them off," Kara rolled her eyes. "Still, it's nice knowing I can go on vacation and rely on her to stop low-level offenders."
"Where would you vacation to?" Alex wondered.
"I'm thinking China, specifically Wuhan. I've never been there," Kara said thoughtfully.
"You've got to be fucking with me. Do you not watch the news?" Alex asked incredulously.
"I don't watch the news. I make the news," Kara said arrogantly.
Alex turned the TV on showing Lex Luthor in Saudi Arabia. "Lex Luthor, billionaire philanthropist, has met with the Saudi royal family and will be introducing Obsidian Lenses to the Middle East," the anchorwoman said.
"With Obsidian Lenses, the fine people of Arabia can simulate killing infidels rather than actually doing it," Lex said to reporters.
"Gross," Alex shook her head, turning the TV off.
"We need you back in the DEO. It's where you belong," Kara said to Alex.
"Wait, I thought your whole deal was to get me out of the DEO," Alex said confused.
"My thing was to get you to stop being reckless and going on these dangerous missions," Kara clarified. "But as long as you continue to risk your life every day, I'd rather it be under DEO supervision."
"Right, so Barney can babysit me?" Alex scoffed. "I can take care of myself. I have this now," Alex said showing her wristband.
"The 'hand of the soldier'," Kara identified.
"Yeah! Wait, how the fuck do you know about this?" Alex demanded.
"It's future tech. I gave it to Hank a while back," Kara said obviously.
"And you never brought this up before because...?" Alex wondered.
"It didn't seem necessary," Kara shrugged.
Alex simply stared at Kara. "Everything is just one big joke to you, isn't it?"
"Well, not everything," Kara said and tried to think of something that wasn't.
Alex tried it out and couldn't get it to materialize anything. "It's supposed to form what I'm thinking but it's being very stubborn."
"It requires actual concentration and right now, you're pissed-off," Kara observed. "Hey, how about you materialize a dildo?"
"Don't be juvenile," Alex scolded but secretly considered the notion.
A depressed Nia took out some rocky-road ice cream and sat on her couch watching TV. "Isn't that Dreamer something amazing," her roommate, Roxy said. "I think she's even more powerful than Supergirl."
Nia gave her a haunted look knowing otherwise. "I think she's fucked up just like everyone else."
"Oh snap! You are not spending another Friday night on this couch, in sweats, eating rocky-road all night," Roxy said to her.
"I like ice cream," Nia said defensively.
"Sweet Nia, you're becoming a loser. You're young, you're vibrant. Stop crying over that little weird man," Roxy advised.
"I'm not crying over...Barney. Just had a long day where he just happened to show up," Nia frowned.
"So, you need an even longer night. You need to go out, like, right now," Roxy ordered.
"What's this really about?" Nia asked suspiciously.
"My boyfriend is coming over and we're going to wreck this place if you know what I mean," Roxy smiled.
"Wait, you have a boyfriend? When did this happen?" Nia asked.
"Well, we've been together for three weeks online but it's still real," Roxy said defensively. "I met him on Ass-swipe."
Nia gave her an odd look. "Hey, long-distance relationships are just as valid," Roxy told her and showed his picture that looked oddly similar to Terry Crews.
"Now, get dressed and get to the club before he shows up," Roxy insisted.
At the alien gay bar, Kara expertly lined up her shot and knocked all of the balls in every pocket. "This game is boring with each of us able to win with the first shot," Mon pointed out.
"Okay, how about this? We play not to win. I'm stripes and you're coloreds. We play to keep the other from winning," Kara suggested.
"Alright then," Mon agreed to the challenge. "But allow me to add another layer to this challenge," he said opening a bottle and pouring two drinks.
Kara gave him an uncertain look. "I'm giving up drinking."
"The fuck for?" Mon scoffed. "Fine, whatever, more for me," he said drinking both glasses down.
While Nia was at the club sulking, Roxy had just finished an incredible love-making session with Angus, her online boyfriend. She put on some headphones and danced around the apartment oblivious to the threat. A muscular white man in a black gang jacket entered through the glass backdoor and found Angus still sleeping in bed. The assassin punched at Angus' head for a killer blow barely missing him. Angus immediately got to his feet. "Don't make me bust you up, man," Angus said picking up a lamp.
He swung it at the assassin without effect. The assassin took hold of Angus and threw him through the glass door shattering it. Angus went back into the room and wrestled with the assassin for a few moments. Angus got his ass kicked in short order and went crashing out the door freaking Roxy out. Angus fell to the floor a bloody mess, dead.
Roxy shrieked and retreated down the hall. "Ain't no one have time for this shit."
The assassin aimed for Roxy's back with his pistol and fired. Roxy fell to the floor in a heap. The assassin coldly walked over to Roxy as she tried to crawl away and shot her two more times to the back to confirm the kill. The assassin then searched Roxy and found her phone. Coincidentally, Nia called her at that moment. The assassin mimicked Roxy's voice as he answered the phone.
"Hey, I'm at the Tech Noir club and I need you to come by. I am so bored, right now. I could use some company," Nia said.
"I'll be right there. Just stay right where you are," the assassin said using Roxy's voice and then hung up.
Nia sat at the bar bored and then noticed a sudden news report of a recent homicide. It was Roxy and Angus. "Oh my God," Nia said freaked out.
A lean slender man eyed Nia from a distance wearing a black trenchcoat. Nia ran into the bathroom and tried to focus. She suddenly saw flashes of gunfire inside the club. "Holy shit," she realized.
She exited the bathroom and tried to calm herself down at one of the tables. The assassin entered the club and started looking around for Nia over the crowd. Like a shark, the assassin scanned each individual until he finally came upon Nia. Finding his true target, the assassin pulled out his pistol and aimed it right at her head.
"The fuck?" Nia wondered frozen in fear.
The lean slender man suddenly blasted the assassin with a shotgun distracting him. The assassin took out a submachine gun and fired at the lean slender man's position blasting away liquor bottles and killing several bar patrons. The lean slender man took cover behind the bar. Satisfied, the assassin went back to Nia. The slender man opened fire blasting the assassin several times with his shotgun until the assassin was on the floor not moving. The slender man then took hold of Nia.
"I'm Sergeant Nar. Come with me if you want to live," he said to her in Naltorian.
Nia simply nodded and followed him out of the club. The assassin got back up and chased them down the alley. "How could he get back up like that? Is he an alien?" Nia asked.
"Shut the fuck up and run," Nar told her off.
As the assassin got closer, Nia fired an energy beam into a car's gas tank causing it to explode. The assassin went through the flames like it was nothing. Nar then broke into a car at the club parking lot and zapped it to get it moving. As he drove off with Nia, the assassin leaped onto the hood and slammed his fist through the window.
"Fuck," Nar said as he tried to get the assassin off the car.
Nia fired on the assassin destroying the window shield and blasting the assassin off the car. Nar then drove into a nearby parking lot to get cover. "What's this all about? Did he kill Roxy? Who the fuck is that guy?" Nia asked tearfully.
"Listen, he's a cyborg sent by the Naltorian Council to terminate you. I'm a member of the male resistance. I'm here to protect you," Nar told her.
"Why would the Council want to kill me?" Nia asked ignorantly.
"Because you're the first male Naltorian to have the Dreamer ability. You've inspired hundreds of men that have come out declaring that they too have the ability, that it's not just reserved for females," Nar said. "The Council thinks that if they kill you, it will end the resistance."
"This is deep," Nia said overwhelmed.
Nar gave her an odd look. "Wait...what the fuck is wrong with you?" he asked looking her over.
"What?" Nia asked offended.
Nar searched her feeling every part of her. "You have long hair, make-up, and...breasts? What the fuck did you do to yourself?" he demanded.
"Look, I'm actually trans," Nia revealed.
Nar gave her a stupified look. "I didn't sign up for this shit. You were supposed to be a resistance leader, one of the strongest Naltorians ever, the ancestor to the great Nura Nall. This is...shit," Nar said disappointedly.
"I'm sorry I'm such a huge disappointment to you," Nia rolled her eyes.
"Fucking unbelievable," Nar said shaking his head.
"You know what? I've assessed the situation and I'm leaving," Nia said getting out of the car.
Alex trained with Hank at the watchtower where she was easily defeated. Alex sighed in frustration as she wasn't able to materialize the weapons she wanted from her new toy. "Shit!" she spat.
"Alex, you're not focused. Your mind is all over the place," Hank said to her.
"Is there like an instruction manual for this?" Alex asked pissed-off.
"It's instinctual. Trust the weapon and it will trust you," Hank said.
"How am I supposed to trust this when it keeps changing on me?" Alex raged.
"Damn, Kara had a much easier time with this," Hank recalled.
"What? She can use this?" Alex questioned.
"Well...no shit. Kara can be extraordinarily focused when she wants to be," Hank said.
"So, this is just some hand-me-down weapon Kara rejected?" Alex asked bitterly.
"You should stop comparing yourself to Kara. It only leads to jealousy and pain," Hank advised.
"It's not enough that she's the most powerful being in the universe. She also has a spouse, kids, a superhero club, Catco, Wayne Enterprises, and now the DEO," Alex said bitterly.
"And yet, Kara is still miserable. You decide your own happiness, your own goals, Alex," Hank advised.
"I just feel I don't have a true path anymore," Alex bemoaned.
Alarm bells went off as someone entered the first floor. Hank and Alex came down and met with an overly big Black man. "Do you have any idea how late it is?" Hank asked annoyed.
"My brother, Trevor, is missing. He used to live in my basement but I haven't seen him in a week," Mel said as they all sat on the couch.
"Did you file a police report?" Alex asked.
"I did. They found this on his computer," Mel said handing over his smartphone.
Hank eyed an Internet flyer detailing a virtual Las Vegas experience. "They got themselves a hotel room so no one would interrupt their virtual experience...but that was a week ago. This isn't like Trevor at all," Mel said.
"Alright, I'm going to search your house," Hank said without asking permission.
"And I have a contact in Obsidian Platinum. If he is in there, I'll find him," Alex said confidently.
"I really appreciate this," Mel said.
"Next time shit like this happens, come to me first. Fuck the police," Hank said to him.
"Absolutely," Mel agreed.
The next morning, Nia was at the police station in protective custody. "Is this the guy?" Maggie Sawyer asked showing a sketch of the assassin.
"Yeah," Nia nodded.
"We're still looking over security camera footage. In the meantime, make yourself at home...on the couch," Maggie said lamely.
"I think I'm going to lie down," Nia said exhausted.
Kara entered the police station, smirked at Maggie, and then found Nia napping on the couch. "Holy shit!" Nia said freaked out as Kara entered the room.
"I rarely get to say this, but your night was even wilder than mine," Kara admitted.
"My roommate, my best friend, is dead. I was almost killed!" Nia shouted at her.
"Don't worry. Barney will find this guy," Kara said dismissively.
"I want to do this on my own. I want to break this guy," Nia said vengefully.
"Now, we're talking," Kara said impressed.
"I mean, this happens way too often in my community," Nia ranted.
"What community would that be?" Kara wondered.
"The trans community," Nia glared at her.
"Nia, you're a minority of one, an individual," Kara said delicately.
"That's bullshit. I was targeted because I was trans and it would hurt my community if I were killed," Nia said.
"Making a lot of assumptions there," Kara rolled her eyes.
"This...bastard...," Nia struggled to articulate herself.
"Keep going, I believe in you," Kara smiled amused.
"Is over," Nia said dangerously.
"So...you're willing to take a life. But it won't end with this guy. Your pain will only grow and then you'll kill another face and another until you wake up one terrible morning and realize that revenge has become your whole life and you won't know why," Kara said to her.
"Do you...listen to yourself," Nia said dismayed.
"Look, I will never truly understand a boy that decides one day to be a girl, but you have to trust the government to handle this," Kara said wide-eyed.
"They have a day and then I'm doing this my way," Nia said to her.
"Welcome to the Dark Side," Kara smiled and then gave her an inappropriate fist-bump.
At the DEO, Brainiac 5 briefly looked over a video of Nia fighting the Dominator. He then got a phone call from Kara. "Kara Danvers, I hope this worth my time. I am very busy," Brainiac 5 said dismissively.
"Oh, fuck me, right?" Kara said outraged. "It's about Nia."
"Yes, I read the reports on the attack at Tech Noir and at her apartment. Very unsettling news," Brainiac 5 replied.
"I need you to track this guy down," Kara requested.
"Done," Brainiac 5 agreed.
Alex strolled into Obsidian North to talk to Kelly. "So, this Trevor checked into a hotel and then went into the virtual world at some escape-palace in the Las Vegas program," Kelly summarized.
"There's no paper trail of him anywhere, so he must have paid in cash," Alex figured. "I want to go into Las Vegas and look around. See what I can find."
"Okay but I have to warn you. These lenses are different from the original. You'll feel whatever happens in there, hot is hot, cold is cold," Kelly said.
"Like the Matrix. I got it," Alex nodded.
"Only our failsafe is better. If you want to get out, you just have to use the safeword: End Simulation. If that doesn't work, an icon will appear before you. Touch it and you can exit," Kelly explained. "When you go in, you'll see a panel of your thoughts and desires. Just find the one for Las Vegas and enter."
"What happens when I get inside? What are the rules?" Alex asked.
"That's the thing. There are no rules," Kelly frowned.
"That sounds like a serious design flaw," Alex pointed out.
"It's still the Beta version," Kelly excused.
"Too easy," Alex said confidently.
"I'll be able to communicate with you the entire time. The important thing is to not get lost yourself in your own experience," Kelly said.
Alex entered virtual reality and found the panel Kelly was talking about. She paused for a moment as she saw herself in a Supergirl outfit, another where she was the mother of an infant. Alex then accessed the Las Vegas program and entered. Once she was in Las Vegas, Alex was inexplicably back in her DEO uniform clashing violently with the fashion scene.
Kara, Mon, and Brainiac 5 were at the poker tables as Alex strolled in. Kara was wearing a white dress and stylish hairstyle while Mon was in a white mafia suit. Brainiac 5 appeared as his usual FBI agent suit wearing sunglasses. "Oh my God, is that Alex?" Kara asked wide-eyed as she stuck out like a sore thumb.
"Indeed," Brainiac 5 said watching her.
"Straight," Mon smirked collecting more chips.
"That you are," Kara said giving him a kiss. Kara then put down a flush and also collected chips from the dealer. "Mon, I feel so flush for you," Kara said seductively.
"Perhaps, we should turn our two-of-a-kind into a two-pair," Mon suggested as he saw two attractive women playing alone.
"Behave," Kara laughed.
Brainiac 5 then strolled over to the befuddled Alex. "So...how can I help you?" he asked her.
"You're here?" Alex wondered.
"I am everywhere," Brainiac 5 said obviously. "I am an agent of this system."
"You work for Obsidian North?" Alex questioned.
"Your naivety amuses me. No, I am unplugged, a new man, so to speak. I do whatever I wish, collecting all sorts of information on the human psyche. Honestly, I am not impressed," Brainiac 5 said looking around.
"So, you can help me find this guy named Trevor. He's somewhere in the escape-prison," Alex said getting down to business.
"The escape-prison is that creepy house on that hill over there," Brainiac 5 pointed out through the window.
"Well, okay then," Alex said making her way over there.
Alex entered the creepy house and found two individuals in water tanks suspended where their heads were just above the waterline. "Oh my God," Alex remarked. "It's like that one time I was nearly drowned."
"Excellent callback," Brainiac 5 complimented.
"Where's Kelly?" Alex asked suddenly realizing she had lost contact with her.
"You won't be needing her now that I am here with you," Brainiac 5 replied. "These two individuals wanted to tap into their worst fears. In this case, drowning."
"Help, we have been trapped for days," one of them said to Alex.
"You knew about this?" Alex asked Brainiac 5.
"I know everything," Brainiac 5 replied.
"End the simulation," Alex told him.
"I can't. It's part of the game," one of the men said.
"A glitch?" Alex wondered.
"A modification to the original programming. I gave them what they wanted," Brainiac 5 said simply.
"And you just left them here?" Alex asked incredulously.
"Yes, I...just...left...," Brainiac 5 said condescendingly. "I would hurry before they suffer from brain damage."
"Wait, this isn't real," Alex said confused.
"Their primitive human minds think it's real," Brainiac 5 explained.
"Okay, I got this," Alex said forming a baton in her hand from her Martian device. She then gave the tanks some good whacks with minor results.
Brainiac 5 watched patiently and then casually took out a pistol. He then blasted the two tanks with his pistol freeing both men. "I'm looking for a man named Trevor Crane. Have you seen him?" Alex asked the two men.
"Trevor's gone down a number of escape rooms with us. He and the new guy, Richard, solved the puzzle and made it through. But that door slammed shut. We were about to follow when spiders started crawling all over me, and I hate spiders," one of them said pathetically.
"Whose idea was it to come here?" Alex asked him.
"It was Richard's. He's new to the group. I need to get to him before it's too late," Alex realized.
Brainiac 5 casually stuck his knife hand into the first man making a copy of himself. He then did the same with the other one. "What the fuck?" Alex wondered.
"I have ejected them from the system and taken over their avatars. I now have all of their information and experiences," Brainiac 5 said.
Alex looked over the three Brainiac 5 agents. "You're going to need a key," he smirked as he took out a large keychain.
Maggie entered Nia's room at the MPD to give her an update. "So, what do you know?" Nia asked.
"We still haven't been able to ID this guy. Whoever he is, he's one tough mother-fucker. He took several shots to the chest from a shotgun, survived a gas explosion, and punched right through a car windshield," Maggie said impressed.
"He's a fucking cyborg," Nia said obviously.
Maggie rolled her eyes at her. "You see this body-armor. It can stop shotgun rounds," she said showing it to her. "As for the other shit, he must have been high on PCP, broke every bone in his hand, and didn't even feel it."
"That's bullshit. There's no way," Nia doubted.
"Well, he's not in the face-recognition database," Maggie shrugged.
"If the police can't handle this, then I will," Nia said.
"And who the fuck are you?" Maggie asked skeptically. "Look, that man killed more than just one trans-person. He killed straights as well at that club. The whole city has been victimized, not just your subgroup."
"You don't know what it's like to be like me," Nia said ignorantly.
"Bitch, I'm an out-and-proud Lesbian and I've worked all sorts of LGBT-related hate crimes. So, you can shove that self-righteous attitude up your ass," Maggie told her off.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know," Nia calmed down.
"We will find this guy or maybe he'll come to us. Either way, you have nothing to worry about," Maggie assured her and then left the room.
"Come and get me," Nia said under her breath.
At Catco, Kara looked over William Dey's article and made a number of grammatical corrections while not commenting on the article itself. "Why do I get the impression you don't give a shit about this?" William asked.
"It's not this issue. It's every issue," Kara assured him.
"Twenty-four trans people were murdered, last year, William pointed out.
"Out of 16,000 total murders," Kara reminded him.
"Holy shit, that's a big number," William said astounded.
"Perspective: It is a bitch," Kara agreed.
"Well, the trans murder rate is probably higher than that due to misgendering in police reports," William assumed.
"Good luck getting hard data on that," Kara said skeptically. She then got a phone call from Barney.
"Nia is using her Ass-swipe profile to lure her attacker like bait," Brainiac 5 reported.
"That is a horrible idea. I'll talk to her," Kara said.
Brainiac 5 then hung up. "So...something came up," Kara said awkwardly.
"You want me to cover for you?" William assumed.
"Actually, I can come and go whenever I please around here. It's just I didn't want to seem rude. You know, this is good work that you're doing here. People should...like...know more about it and stuff," Kara said awkwardly.
"You're trying too hard," William said to her.
"Right, I'm going to go...now," Kara said leaving the office.
Alex and one Brainiac 5 agent strolled through a bland white hallway disconnected from the rest of the Matrix. They eventually found Trevor locked in a suspended position. "Trevor Cane, I'm Alex Danvers," Alex said to him.
"Thank God you're here," he said thankfully as he was able to move again. "It's happening again. Make it stop!" Trevor shouted as he glowed red. He then suddenly exploded and promptly respawned.
"What's happening?" Alex asked him.
"I don't know. I thought I had landed on a land mine and that I would explode if I took a step but standing still doesn't work either. It's random. The pain is...horrible," he said to her.
"Just focus. Where is Richard?" Alex asked.
"He comes and goes. I think he just likes to see me explode," Trevor said bitterly.
"He had a virtual affair with Richard's wife," Brainiac 5 said as he accessed the available information.
"I didn't mean for it to get this far. Oh, God!" Trevor said as he exploded again.
Richard then casually entered the room and attacked Alex upon seeing her. Alex was too slow and was disarmed of her pistol. "End your simulation," Richard ordered. "This is my house."
"And this is my gun," Alex said and then shot him with a TASER bolt.
Richard went down and exited the Matrix. Brainiac 5 frowned as he could no longer analyze Richard's information. Instead, he went over to Trevor and knife-handed him to the chest forming a copy of himself. "Where is Trevor's location?" Alex asked alarmed.
"He's at the Trump hotel in Metropolis," Brainiac 5 replied.
"End simulation," Alex said quickly and disappeared.
Brainiac 5 straightened out the tie of his copy. "It's happening just as before," his copy remarked.
"Well...not exactly," Brainiac 5 smirked.
Meanwhile, Hank did a mind-rape of Richard's wife determining Richard's location at the Trump hotel. He then proceeded to do another mind-rape of Richard getting Trevor's hotel room essentially making Alex's virtual reality trip redundant. Alex awoke and turned to Kelly.
"What happened in there? I lost you," Kelly said alarmed.
"Barney...he's like a virus. He's infiltrated the system. He's everywhere now," Alex told her.
"Well...shit," Kelly realized.
Nar was at a bar bitterly drinking the evening away. "I'm completely lost! I've hit rock-bottom," he said to no one in particular.
"Easy, pal. You got to calm down there, son," an elderly gentleman said to him.
"The person I was assigned to protect is actually a woman...with a dick...and some balls," Nar said miserably.
"Well, women with dicks ain't so bad. You got three types of people in this world: dicks, pussies, and assholes. That guy that shot up the nightclub was definitely an asshole. You look like a pussy to me," the older man said looking at him.
"What the fuck did you call me?" Nar asked offended.
"Hey, I get it. Pussies like you might not be so inclined to love a woman with a dick because pussies get fucked by dicks. But dicks also fuck assholes. And if they didn't fuck the assholes, you know what you would get? You would get your dick and your pussy all covered in shit!"
Nar instantly threw up all over the bar. "Okay, I think you've had enough," the bartender said to him. Nar quickly got kicked out of the bar and start throwing up again in the alley. Once he was done hurling, Nar considered his mission and with a resolved face headed towards the police station.
That night, the assassin came by the police station wearing a black leather jacket and black sunglasses. He came up to the front desk. "I'm a friend of Nia Nall. I was told that she was here. Can I see her, please?" he asked.
"No, you can't see her. She's currently in protective custody," the oblivious cop replied.
"Where is she?" the assassin demanded.
"Look, it could take a while. Wait, there's a bench over there," the cop said to him.
The assassin eyed the glass between himself and the cop. "I'll be back," he said and then left.
"Whatever, like I give a shit," the cop muttered unconcernedly.
The assassin then drove his car through the front desk crushing the cop. Nia immediately awoke as she heard the noise. The assassin took out a shotgun and automatic rifle and marched around the police station. He quickly fired on two officers getting coffee with automatic fire. He then killed two more with his shotgun as he cleared room-after-room. He then fired automatic fire at two cops as they were sitting at their desks.
At this point, the whole station was alive with cops organizing a counter-attack. The assassin continued his rampage clearing more rooms with gunfire. "Stay here," Maggie instructed Nia and went out with the other cops.
The assassin kicked a door in and was shot several times by a cop. The assassin fired automatic fire at the cop and then through the walls getting him as he tried to get cover. A few cops opened fire on the assassin without result down the hallway. The assassin blasted one retreating cop to the back with his shotgun. The assassin then cut power to the building as he tore into the circuit breaker.
The cops finally opened the armory to get out their own automatic rifles. The assassin kept firing into the offices taking out more cops. Maggie finally fired on the assassin to the back with her rifle. The assassin turned around and fired back at her. Maggie was hit several times to her bulletproof vest and fell to the floor stunned.
Nia suddenly intervened. "Hey!" she shouted.
The assassin turned around and fired his rifle and shotgun at the same time. Nia shielded herself just in time but was none-the-less thrown to the floor stunned. The assassin calmly reloaded his rifle and then aimed at her head. An energy blast hit the assassin taking him down to the floor. Nar was at Nia's side and then pulled her back to her feet.
"Nar?" Nia wondered disoriented.
"We have to move," he said to her.
The two went down the halls of the police station until they found the exit. Nar then threw Nia into his car and drove off. The assassin fired his rifle at them as they fled.
Nar drove aimlessly into the night with a bleeding shoulder from a bullet wound back from the police station. "You're hurt," Nia noted.
"I don't have time to bleed," Nar replied.
"Why did you come back for me?" Nia asked.
"You weren't what I expected...like...at all. But you sparked a revolution on Naltoria. You are a symbol for the men's resistance movement. I can't let you die," Nar said.
"So, you don't really give a fuck about me, personally?" Nia asked.
Nar gave her a look and couldn't help but feel smitten by her. "On Naltoria, the Matriarchy decides who I can be with, who I can mate with, who I can have children with. I've never thought about what I would do if I had the freedom to choose myself."
"Well, now you do," Nia told him.
"I should stick to the mission. As long as that cyborg is out there, he will hunt you down. He can't be bargained with. He feels no pity or remorse. He will not stop until you are dead," Nar said super-serious.
"The only one I think can stop this thing is Supergirl but she's not answering my hails," Nia frowned.
"We're on our own," Nar said to her.
Nia then saw a flash of her sister and father brutally killed. "He's going after my family. We have to go to Parthas."
"That's tactically dangerous. It could be a trap," Nar objected.
"My family is a priority to me," Nia insisted.
"Well...shit," Nar realized.
Nar drove Nia to Parthas arriving late at night. She was immediately embraced by her worried father and sister. "We heard what happened on the news. We're so glad you're safe," Paul said to her.
Nar stayed off to the side not taking part in the family reunion. "You're Naltorian?" Paul assumed.
"Yeah," Nar nodded.
"Thank you for rescuing my daughter," Paul said appreciatively.
"Yeah, sure," Nar said awkwardly. "All of you have to leave town. Nia's attacker could come after you."
"I think we're stronger together," Paul replied.
"Well, okay then," Nar allowed.
Nia went inside the house with Maeve and found a wall dedicated to Dreamer. "What is this?" Nia wondered.
"It's you. That disguise isn't fooling anyone," Maeve smiled.
"So, you know about my powers," Nia realized.
"Yeah," Maeve frowned. "Look, it was hard for me to get over the fact that you were given the power and not me. Harder still to accept that it could happen to a biological male. But now, I realize how important it was for it to be you and not me. You're the spark that will burn the Matriarchy down and bring true equality to everyone on Naltoria" Maeve said.
"I never intended to do that," Nia said awkwardly.
"But you have and Naltoria will be better for it," Maeve said giving Nia a hug.
"I thought you would hate me," Nia said honestly.
"I could never hate you, Nia. You will always be my little brother," Maeve said tearfully.
Nia bristled at that but softened. "Just take it," she said to herself as she embraced her sister.
Paul invited Nar into his barn and opened a chest full of old grenades. "Excellent," Nar smiled.
"The state of New York would have a fit if they knew I had this, but you know what, fuck the law," Paul smiled.
"I'll drink to that," Nar agreed.
As anticipated, the assassin went to the Nal residence. He kicked the door in and shot up the house with automatic rifle fire. He quickly cleared each room, shooting every room up, and then came outside. Nar rammed him with Paul's truck sending him to the ground. Nar then quickly reversed taking himself and Nia down the road. The assassin quickly got back up and sped after them on his motorcycle.
Nar drove onto the highway with the assassin closely pursuing them. "Drive," Nara ordered Nia and then prepared the grenades.
The assassin gave no fucks and fired his automatic rifle at them. Nia shrieked as the back window was blasted out. Nar hurled a grenade at the assassin to keep him at bay. The assassin expertly dodged the grenade as it landed on the ground and kept going. Nar kept throwing grenades barely missing the assassin. Out of bullets, the assassin threw his rifle onto the street and start firing his pistol. Nar was hit to the chest as he released a grenade. The grenade exploded near the truck blasting him with shrapnel. Nar slumped over severely injured.
"Nar!" Nia shouted.
"Just drive," Nar said weakly.
The assassin sped towards their truck and fired his pistol at Nia getting close to her face. Nia then fired an energy cable between her truck and the guardrail. The assassin got caught in the energy cable and wiped out, skidding across the pavement. To add insult to injury a tanker truck then ran over the assassin. Nia lost control of her truck and hit the guardrail hard totaling it.
"Leave me," Nar said to Nia.
"The fuck I will," Nia said and then dragged his ass out of the truck with an energy cable.
The assassin got back up and limped over to the tanker truck. He easily subdued the driver and took control of the truck. He then drove straight for them. "You have to go now. Go!" Nar said to her.
Nia nodded and then ran off. The assassin followed Nia trying to run her down. Nar threw his last grenade into the tailpipe and then took cover inside a dumpster. The tanker truck exploded in a huge fireball. Nia was thrown to the ground from the force of the blast. Nar managed to get out of the dumpster as it lit on fire. Nia came over to him.
"It's over," Nia said embracing him.
"I'm sorry for how I was first meeting you," Nar said sincerely.
"Water under the bridge," Nia allowed and then gave him a kiss.
Nar gave her a speechless look. "I've never kissed a tranny before."
Nia gave him an impatient look. "Call me, Nia."
The assassin then rose back up, his artificial skin completely burned off revealing a metal endoskeleton with exposed cables and hydraulic systems. Its eyes glowed red. "You have to be fucking kidding me," Nia said exhausted.
"Get cover in there," Nar said to her looking at a nearby factory.
"Not without you," Nia insisted.
"Leave me," Nar said weakly.
"On your feet, soldier," Nia ordered pulling him up.
The two stumbled their way inside the factory with the cyborg close behind them. As they entered, Nar started activating all the machines to confuse the cyborg's audio sensors. However, it wasn't long before the cyborg found them. Nar punched the cyborg to the head moving it to the side. He then smacked it again to the head. The cyborg lashed out bitch-slapping Nar away. With the last of his strength, Nar focused on his inner energy creating an energy sphere in his hand.
"Get down!" Nar shouted to Nia.
Nar then fired the energy sphere into the cyborg's gut blasting its lower half to pieces and throwing metal shrapnel everywhere. A piece sliced into Nia's leg disabling her. Nia cried out in pain and then crawled over to Nar. His face was bloody and his eyes stared off into space; he was dead.
"No, Nar," Nia cried over him.
The upper half of the cyborg suddenly became alive and went after Nia. "Why won't you die!" Nia shouted at it.
The cyborg punched her to the face stunning her. Nia quickly recovered and then fired an energy cable around the cyborg's neck. "You're terminated, mother-fucker," Nia spat.
With her left hand, she blasted the cyborg's head off its neck. The cyborg head fell to the floor and went dead. A tearful and dirty-looking Nia limped her way out of the factory and found a dozen assassins all dressed in similar clothes slowly walking towards her.
"Who's next?" Nia asked exhaustedly.
Naltor
A female Brainiac 5 sat down as he addressed the Naltorian Council, all women. "We are pleased you have decided to present yourself as a woman. You respect our traditions and way of life," the council leader said pleased.
"I'm not here to make waves," Brainiac 5 said in a feminine voice. "I'm here because I want you to put an end to the assassination attempts on Nia Nall."
"We are not responsible for these attacks. Perhaps, a rogue element," the council leader lied.
"None-the-less, they will end or there will be consequences," Brainiac 5 threatened.
"And what will you do? Shut off our electrical grid, force our ships to collide with one another as they exit hyperspace? We are willing to accept certain lifestyle changes to preserve the Matriarchy," the council leader scoffed.
"How about turning the Naltorian currency's value from one...to a zero," Brainiac 5 suggested.
The council gave Brainiac 5 a fearful look. "We will do all in our power to stop these assassination attempts," the council leader said finally.
"So, you know, I am quite superstitious. Should Nia end up in a car accident or struck by lightning, I'm going to blame some of you," Brainiac 5 said and then stood up.
"Thank you for coming," the council leader said fearfully.
On Earth, Nia readied herself for the fight of her life as the cyborgs approached her with rifles and shotguns. Just as they were within range, they stopped and then walked off in the other direction. Nia sighed with relief and confusion.
Metropolis
At Catco, Kara found a cleaned-up Nia crying on the balcony. Kara immediately went over to her to console her. "Hey, Nia. Come on, boys don't cry."
"Don't try to make me laugh," Nia sobbed. "Kara, a man died to save me and I'm not okay with that" Nia said tearfully. "I'm supposed to be this big hero, this symbol, in a civil war. I am so overwhelmed. I saw dream-flashes, really violent dream-flashes but I didn't know what they meant. I couldn't save Roxy like I couldn't save my mom. My powers are so inconsistent and I can't control them properly."
Kara gave her a sympathetic look. "In war, there will be losses on both sides. You're not just fighting for yourself but for your people."
"I don't even know what I believe. I have tried to be who I know to be, a woman. And here I am a male resistance symbol. Like, what the fuck?" Nia shook her head.
"It's a strange place to be in," Kara admitted. "I am both Kara Danvers and Supergirl, human and Kryptonian just as you are male and female to different people. You can't choose how others see you but you can choose your own destiny," Kara said.
"What if I go too far and kill someone? What if I end up like that machine?" Nia asked.
"I know, coming from me, it's rather rich, but the one thing that has held me back was a special someone that I wanted to be proud of me. My adopted father taught me values, a code, a creed. And even when I wasn't sure he was still alive, I have always wanted him to be proud of me whether it be in the past, present, and future," Kara mused.
"When you go out there and you feel you're about to lose it, think of your mother, your father, and even your sister," Kara added. "Now, I'm not going to stand here and tell you that I understand what you've gone through, because I don't. Just as you couldn't possibly understand just how fucked up my childhood was. But if I just let you go nuts out of sympathy for you, it's the bigotry of low expectations for you and your so-called community. I'm going to hold you to the same standard as I hold every other metahuman and alien on this planet," Kara said finally.
"That's fair," Nia said wiping away her tears.
"And if you feel like you're about to explode, come to me. I can take whatever you can give me," Kara offered.
"Thanks, boss," Nia said giving her a hug.
At Metropolis General, Nia came by Maggie's room. She had a few bruised ribs from being shot, she was one of the lucky ones. "I came by to thank you...and to apologize," Nia said to her.
"It's just part of the job," Maggie said bitterly.
"I feel so guilty and torn about what happened to you and your precinct," Nia admitted.
"Don't be. We would have done the same for anyone else. It comes with the territory. I used to be with someone that constantly got me in danger. I saw a lot of fucked-up things. But I never blamed her for a moment for any of it," Maggie assured her.
"I know that you're doing your best with these hate crimes. I shouldn't have rushed to judgment," Nia said.
"Not everyone in the department is as passionate as I am about these cases. But now that the DEO is under new management, we'll be working tightly with them," Maggie said.
"Indeed, we will," Brainiac 5 chimed in.
Nia stared at Brainiac 5's emotionless passive face. "Naltoria will no longer be a threat to you."
"You called their cyborgs off me," Nia realized. "I had no idea."
"When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all," Brainiac 5 replied. He gave Maggie a glance and then walked off leaving Nia to her thoughts.
Midvale
Late at night, Kara landed on the shores of Midvale lake and walked up to Jeremiah sitting on a park bench. He was staring off into space. Kara sat next to him. "Eliza sent you to go find me, didn't she?" Jeremiah figured.
"She called Alex, Alex called me, I called Barney," Kara shrugged. "What you doing out here?"
"Just going on an enthusiastic walk," Jeremiah replied. "I'm sick with this new virus, so I'm going to live in a cabin until I recover," Jeremiah said.
"You'll get through it," Kara said confidently.
"So, what's new with you? I hear Mon-El is back," Jeremiah asked.
"Yes, he can be quite the handful," Kara admitted.
Jeremiah gave her an odd look sensing something was off. "You have something to tell me?"
"I wanted you to be the first to know. You were my foundation, the one that set me on this course. Everything started with you," Kara said sincerely.
"Well, I'll be damned," Jeremiah joked.
"Dad...I'm pregnant," Kara said finally.
Author's Notes: If you ever wondered what would happen if Kyle Reese discovered Sara Connor was John's biological father, your wait is finally over. This episode offended me on a number of different levels. Assuming, as fact, that the police intentionally ignore trans murders as stated by Nia made me bring Maggie, an MPD detective back into the series. This is also the first time Maggie has met Nia and Brainiac 5. I have little confidence Season 6 will solve the estrangement between Nia and Maeve so I did it for them here.
Jeremiah's death, as mentioned in this episode, is a no-go for me. I have plans for him in SG Season 7 and I hate it. I hate it because Dean Cain's politics likely had something to do with his character getting the ax. I'm not happy that it was completely nonsensical with Jeremiah in Peru after Cadmus has been dissolved and neutralized. His death seemed like a really cheap way to prompt the next episode and it really shows the lack of focus and interest Kara and Alex showed in recovering their father from Season 2-Season 5. The final insult is having Eve, of all people, the person that did him in. Kara's pregnancy mirrors that of the actress explaining why Kara is absent in a lot of action scenes in later episodes.