At the DEO, Brainiac 5 encountered Lex in the lab. "Do you have an invitation to the Leviathan ship?" he asked him.
"I really need to put a bell on you," Lex said jokingly.
"Imagine that," Brainiac 5 smirked.
"No, but I think Gemma is warming up to me and when she sees my newest present she will roll out the red carpet," Lex said confidently.
"Carry on then," Brainiac 5 said dismissively.
"Really, I thought you would be more upset," Lex said surprised.
"As I said, everything is secondary to finding that ship and that includes releasing a Suneater. You may not have intentionally slipped a Yautja into the Fortress of Solitude, but you are being watched by Leviathan. It, therefore, behooves you to only go to Fortress in my presence so we do not have another similar incident," Brainiac 5 said.
"I was just trying to patch things up between Lena and Kara is all," Lex excused.
"It would appear the effort was counterproductive. They are now further apart than before," Brainiac 5 said.
"Well...shit," Lex muttered.
Brainiac 5 stared at Lex's neck. "You were assaulted by Gemma?" he asked.
"I killed one of their human lieutenants, Margot. Gemma didn't take too kindly to it," Lex said dryly.
"And how did it make you feel?" Brainiac 5 asked condescendingly.
"It was haunting. I only wanted to scare her with the gun, she tried to take it from me, and it went off. I've never killed anyone before," Lex said subdued.
"If you play this game long enough, you will have to kill a great many more," Brainiac 5 reminded him.
"I know. Intellectually speaking, I knew Margot had to go. But, emotionally I am a little conflicted," Lex admitted.
"Are your feelings on Leviathan clear now?" Brainiac 5 asked.
"They are. I will find that ship whatever it takes. And if I die trying, don't bring me back. I don't want an evil version of myself running amok hurting Kara," Lex said.
"As you wish," Brainiac 5 allowed. "But if you fail, the consequences will be catastrophic, millions dead, and Supers lost."
"I have trust in myself and this process," Lex said confidently.
At the tower, Alex, Nia, and M'gann were also investigating Leviathan's base of operations. Kara, as Supergirl, arrived inside the tower making everyone stop to look at her. "In the Fortress, I was a bitch to you all. I'm sorry if you were offended by it," Kara said with difficulty.
"You call that an apology?" M'gann scoffed.
"Take it. It's the most you're going to get out of her," Alex told her.
"So, where are we at?" Kara asked.
"The last known Leviatan base was completely destroyed in a DEO drone attack a few months back. They have not returned to it," Alex reported.
"J'onn is out scanning for any trace of Leviathan, right now," M'gann said.
"Why do I get the distinct impression the boy's team is getting more results than us?" Kara said displeased.
"Well, what we do know is that Leviathan strikes quickly after a failure," Alex said.
"It's all Lena's fault! She's in league with them! She needs to be taken down!" Kara shouted in a sudden outburst.
"We have zero evidence of Lena's involvement with Leviathan," Alex said calmly.
"Well, we don't have any evidence she's not," Kara said argumentatively.
"What about the whole innocent until proven guilty thing?" Nia asked.
"Oh, I scrapped that crap in the future long ago," Kara said and then paused confused with what she just said.
"How about something we do know? We know Rama Khan and that he has earth-bending powers. It's likely he isn't alone and that there are others with elemental powers as well. The Ancient Greeks believed the world was composed of Earth, fire, water, and wind. If we looked at other historical disasters, we may find a pattern," Alex said.
"You know, disasters can occur even without a Leviathan member being involved," Kara reminded her.
"I can monitor for unusual seismic activity until J'onn comes back," M'gann said helpfully.
"Yeah, you go do that," Kara rolled her eyes.
"Kelly has an old military friend that specializes in iconography and he's currently an archivist at the United States Congressional Library," Alex said.
"So?" Kara wondered.
"Look, I'm trying to find something useful to do," Alex said to her. "I'll have Kelly reach out to him and see what happens."
"I'll stay here and see if I can dream what Leviathan is planning," Nia volunteered.
"Yeah, you go do that," Kara rolled her eyes.
"We beat them before. We'll do it again," Alex said confidently.
"This time we'll take down Leviathan and Lena," Kara said vengefully.
Lex visited Lena at Stryker's island humoring her with an interest he really didn't have for her sake. "So, he had an episode due to the blackout?" he asked seeing a comatose prisoner on a medical bed.
"Something is interfering with my non-violence directive," Lena confirmed.
"Perhaps your BFF messing with Q-waves may have had something to do with it," Lex figured.
"That was the first thing I checked but it wasn't," Lena said frustrated she couldn't put the blame on her.
"Well, at least you didn't jump to conclusions like some other people would," Lex complimented.
Steve, the prisoner, was then brought before them. "I didn't know you were going to be here, too. What an honor," he groveled.
"I'm just a man," Lex said humbly.
"This is...Steve. I asked him to come. He was there when our patient changed but his non-violent protocol remains intact," Lena introduced.
"So, it was an isolated incident," Lex said dismissively. "We just need to readjust the Q-wave frequencies. No to worry, I'm sure our combined genius will save this inmate."
At Obsidian North, Andrea made another speech to her hapless employees. "Imagine a place of peace, unity, where we can connect to everyone past, present, and future. Where a lost loved one can stand by your side once more," she said.
"That sounds creepy as fuck," Kara said wide-eyed.
"I give you VR's greatest achievement: the Obsidian Worldwide Unity Festival," Andrea revealed.
"A crazy grandma kidnaps dozens of Obsidian users and the next day we got this," William muttered.
"The show must go on," Kara told him.
"What about your sister being trapped by that glitch?" William asked.
"Isolated incident, nothing to worry about," Kara said dismissively.
"Great, thank you, everyone. That will be it," Andrea said taking off.
Kara followed after Andrea outside the room. "Andrea."
"Isn't this exciting? We're obviously working late, tonight," Andrea said enthusiastically.
"Well, you can," Kara corrected.
"There is so much to do," Andrea said frustrated with her. "Do you not support this?"
"I do, completely. I just have a huge list of things I'd rather do with my time. But don't confuse apathy with opposition. Kelly Olsen is going to give you a ration of shit about how this whole thing needs to be shut down. You cannot delay," Kara said.
"What about the glitch?" Andrea asked.
"Fuck it. The system is never going to be perfect on day one. Once the revenue starts coming in, then we can fix these minor issues," Kara said.
"I'm glad to hear this from you," Andrea said impressed.
"Yeah, so, I'm taking the next few days off to road trip to DC for an unrelated matter. Give me a call if you need me and I might actually pick up," Kara smiled.
"So, that's how it is between us," Andrea said pissed-off.
"Yeah," Kara confirmed and then walked off.
Kara and Alex drove their way to DC. "You couldn't have just flown me to DC, could you?" Alex shook her head dismayed.
"I feel we need some sisterly bonding," Kara said as Alex drove.
"In other news, it has been confirmed that North Korea has detonated an underground nuclear weapon in clear violation of international norms," the radio said.
Alex turned the radio off. "The whole world is going to hell," Alex shook her head.
Kara declined to inform Alex that Mon was behind the detonation. "So, you're pregnant, now? It would have been nice to have known from you earlier," Alex said resentfully.
"It's a delicate issue. When I had Kon and Mara in the pods, they were genetically designed and monitored. I could visit them every day as they floated in those pods and see them grow. Now, it's like I'm in the dark. I didn't even find out the sex of the baby until recently," Kara excused.
"You feared you would miscarry and that I would know about it?" Alex assumed.
"Something like that," Kara said softly.
"So, is it a boy or girl or somewhere in between?" Alex asked.
"It's a girl," Kara sighed.
"Nice, wait, why are you so subdued?" Alex asked offended.
"Mon is not going to take it well. In Insane tradition, they also have gender-reveal parties. If it's a son, it's like a wedding feast and if it's a girl, it's like a fucking funeral," Kara said.
"That's fucked up," Alex remarked. "He's going to find out eventually."
"I just figured I would tell him after this Leviathan business," Kara shrugged.
"Kara, why did you even marry Mon? You know he's an asshole, right?" Alex asked. "When you went into the future, you could have ditched his ass and married anyone you wanted."
"When Mon first came to Earth, I treated him like any other villain. I kicked his ass, I humiliated him, and I intended to kill him. But instead of cowering, he showed zero fear of being killed or hurt. He had no ambition, ideology, or an evil plot. Unlike all the other villains, he didn't underestimate me. He knew I was stronger than him and yet he persisted to challenge me having zero fucks. Like me, our worlds were destroyed. We were refugees without purpose," Kara said thoughtfully.
"He's also fantastic in bed and good looking. When he's Super Insane 4 with all that fur, I just can't control myself. He's like a wild animal," Kara smiled at the thought.
"For me, compatibility, shared goals, common beliefs is key," Alex said.
"And that's fine. You be you," Kara said.
"It's just I've been thinking of having a baby, myself, but I always get distracted with this weird-ass shit. Now, I don't think it will ever happen," Alex said glumly.
"Propose to Kelly. She'll say yes," Kara suggested.
"Alright, then what?" Alex asked.
"Get yourself knocked up," Kara said obviously.
"With whom? Some random-ass sperm donor?" Alex asked incredulously.
"No, James," Kara suggested.
"That's disgusting. I could never do that," Alex denied.
"You'd be surprised," Kara smirked.
Alex had a sudden flashback and veered off the road. "Holy shit!" Kara said as they came to a stop.
"I felt something just now. Like a distant memory or a dream," Alex said freaked out. "What you just said triggered something. I must be losing my mind."
"No, you're not. You went into the baby Obsidian program and got lost in the sauce again," Kara revealed.
"Why don't I remember it?" Alex asked confused.
Kara gave her an uncomfortable look. "You, bitch. I told you to never do that to me again," Alex said outraged.
"Alex, in the program, you had sex with James, you got pregnant, and you carried it to term after nine months. You were so into the program that you really did feel that it was real and when the program terminated, you were a total wreck. I had no choice but to erase it from your memory or else you would be in a mental institute, right now," Kara explained.
Alex pondered that for a moment. "Where were you when I was in VR?"
"I was on Apokalips kicking ass," Kara replied.
"I can't get this idea out of my head. I mean, it's insane but it could work. I've heard stories of people doing this," Alex said.
"You need to go about this step-by-step. You haven't secured Kelly, yet. Mon and I have known each other for almost ten years, now. Don't try to raise a kid by yourself," Kara advised. "I mean, in a deleted timeline you and Kelly fucked up royally when you tried to raise a Kryptonian teenager."
"What?" Alex asked as she got back on the road again.
"You perceive what's happening right now as the only timeline going forward in a linear fashion. In reality, there have been several deleted timelines. This is the farthest I've ever gotten, so far," Kara said.
"Why is that?" Alex asked.
"In one timeline a demonically possessed Kryptonian called Reign killed me, in another you killed me, and in a few others the Anti-Monitor killed me," Kara said nonchalantly.
"Wait...I killed you?" Alex asked incredulously.
"Yeah, you got possessed by the Phoenix Force and nearly wiped out all life on Earth. We don't have to talk about it," Kara said.
"No, I think we do," Alex objected.
"There is a prophecy of a six-man team mastering space, power, reality, soul, time, and mind. Mon is space having the ability to instantly go anywhere in the galaxy. I'm obviously power. That asshole, John Constantine, is soul. Nia is time and J'onn is mind. When put together, we're unstoppable...supposedly," Kara said.
"And this Phoenix Force is reality?" Alex guessed.
"In your hands, you could spring forth life across the galaxy and be the mother of all," Kara said. "It happened once. It could happen again."
"Or I could end up killing you again," Alex said.
"And that's the beauty of it. With the Phonix Force, the gap in power between us disappears. We will finally be equals and you can finally get rid of that chip on your shoulder," Kara said.
"Maybe," Alex said uncommitted.
"We got a few hours before we arrive in DC. Let's talk about something else. What's your favorite sex position?" Kara asked.
"God, I hate road-tripping with you," Alex smiled in spite of herself.
At the United States Library of Congress, Kara and Alex strolled in. "This is the real Pete and Kelly adores him," Alex said to her. "So, be nice."
"You must be Alex," Pete greeted shaking her hand.
"What gave her away?" Kara asked mockingly.
"Kelly couldn't stop talking about you," Pete added as if to answer Kara's question.
"Thanks so much for meeting with us. Pete Andrews, this is Kara Danvers, my sister," Alex introduced.
"At Catco worldwide media, I'm a huge fan of yours. Your use of imagery and syntax is sublime," he said.
"You give me far too little credit," Kara smiled.
"It suggests a much deeper understanding of language than modern English," Pete said.
"In what way?" Kara asked suddenly alarmed.
"Did you spend a lot of time in foreign countries?" Pete asked.
"Actually, Peru," Kara nodded earning a dirty look from Alex. "And Europe as well. The planes in Spain fall mainly in the rain."
"I'm sorry, an occupational hazard for a linguist is prying into people's personal lives. I can't turn it off," Pete excused. "Kelly said you needed help finding a unique symbol?" he asked.
"Yes, it belongs to an ancient society long gone," Alex said smoothly.
"That's good because I'd had to decline if it was some crazy violent group like the Illuminati," Pete joked.
"Nothing like that," Kara lied.
"Well, I think I know where to start," Pete said looking over pictures of Rama Khan.
PATRIOT, Moscow
At the secret entrance of PATRIOT stood two guards outside an ordinary warehouse. Leviathan member, Sela, approached the two guards. She was tan-skinned with black hair appearing Latin American. She was known to be an expert tracker allowing her to find PATRIOT's front door.
"You can't be here," one of the guards told her in Russian.
"Heart," she said simply taking control of their minds.
The guards then allowed her inside and then inputted a command into a console causing the platform they were on to lower several floors underground. As soon as she came to the appropriate floor, the two guards took out their pistols and shot themselves in the head.
Sela continued her approach towards PATRIOT's main hall even as alarm bells went off. PATRIOT agents rushed her with pistols out. They fired a volley at her without effect. They then turned their pistols on themselves. Sela walked over the pile of dead bodies as she looked for her primary target.
Suddenly, Sela fell to the floor and could no longer move. Alina walked over to her with a pissed-off expression on her face. "Who are you and why are you here?" she demanded.
"I am Leviathan," she said to her.
"You're going to answer every question I have or I will break every bone, blood vessel, and brain cell you have in your body," Alina threatened.
Sela merely laughed at her. "You are as formidable as Gemma says you are," she said as she couldn't move a muscle. "Heart."
Alina suddenly came under her spell and released Sela from the floor. "The spirit of the ancient ones is inside you, Alina. Now, it is time to fulfill your destiny," Sela told her.
A few moments later, Karina as Supergirl entered the PATRIOT hall and found bodies on the floor. Looking around, Alina and Sela were nowhere to be found. Kneeling next to the bodies, Karina grieved for them.
Washington DC
At the Congressional Library, Kara and Alex continued their chat with Pete on another floor. "In 1752, a series of crop circles appeared in Greece only weeks before a plague of locusts took out the entire region," Pete read from a book.
"So bored," Kara said immaturely. "This symbol is off so I call bullshit," she pointed out.
"Well, symbols like language evolve over time but all of these have the same DNA. Look at this: 567 AD Macedonia, 1144 AD Bavaria, each time this symbol has appeared catastrophe has followed," Pete said.
"There's got to be a way to predict the next one," Alex said.
"Well, there's a special collection in the library we could check out," Pete suggested. "I'll try to get access."
"Yeah, you go do that," Kara said. Kara then eyed three people on Obsidian lenses zoned out in chairs staring off into space. "Who the fuck does VR in a library?"
"I figured you would be happy. After all, you've given Obsidian free advertisement turning the entire human race into zombies on the pretext of assisting the lockdown," Alex said.
"It wasn't really free advertisement," Kara smirked.
"You're unbelievable. Leviathan is trying to use Obsidian for some sinister purpose and you're playing right into their hands," Alex scolded.
"Obsidian gives Barney access to millions of people who may know Leviathan's location. He's got every country on surveillance. We will find them soon enough," Kara said confidently. "But you know what really grinds my gears? Lena ambushed me in the Fortress and accused me, of all people, of hypocrisy."
Alex shook her head dismayed at her. Kara then got a phone call. "What? Yeah, I'm in a library! How can I help you, William?" Kara shouted obnoxiously.
"I've been dissecting Margot's manifesto and I think there's something you're going to want to see," he said super-serious.
"Yeah, go ahead and email it to me! You know my email, right? I'm really busy, right now! Bye!" Kara shouted and then hung up.
"Was that important?" Alex asked concernedly.
"Probably not," Kara said using her normal voice.
Pete then came back. "All of my requests were completely denied."
"Well...shit," Kara and Alex said together.
"It's strange because I've been in that room many times. I think it stopped when I mentioned crop circles," he said.
"Well, we must have struck a nerve and in my experience, it means we're on the right path," Alex said confidently.
"Maybe. They shut me down cold," Pete said.
"So, we find a new way," Alex said. "We can't be concerned with breaking the rules. Are you with me?"
"All this over a symbol?" Pete wondered.
"Lead the way," Alex directed Pete.
Metropolis
At the tower, Hank came back in his Martian armor. "No sign of Leviathan in a three hundred mile radius," he reported to M'gann.
"Perhaps, we can try again later," M'gann said.
"Perhaps, we can try now," Hank said getting closer to her.
"You look so sexy in that armor," M'gann complimented as she touched it.
"You look even sexier without it," Hank said.
The two phased out of their armor appearing as two naked humans and then morphed into their Green Martian selves. They immediately started making out and then utilized the couch. J'onn phased his hands inside M'gann's breasts triggering the sensitive nerves inside. M'gann moaned in ecstasy but then returned the favor by phasing her hand around his prostate.
"Holy shit," J'onn tensed up.
"You like that?" M'gann teased.
"Give me fair warning, next time," he mock-scolded her.
As they made love, M'gann finally felt it was the right time to reveal a dark secret. "J'onn, I have to tell you something," she said.
"What?" he asked impatiently.
"I fucked your brother," M'gann admitted.
"That makes me so angry. Tell me all about it," J'onn said as he became more aggressive with his thrusts.
"He might have fertilized one of my eggs," M'gann added.
"Fuck!" J'onn shouted furiously and then gave M'gann the angriest sex he had ever given a female in centuries. Once they were finished, they both heard Nia snoring on a chair.
"That's just how she works," J'onn said to M'gann having completely forgotten she was in the room.
At Stryker's island, Lena gave her inmate patient a confused look. "I don't get it. Every time I try to control him, he resists leading to his vitals spiking. It's like he's treating my directive as a flu virus," she said to Lex.
"That does tend to happen when people don't like being controlled," Lex said dryly.
"Guys, FYI, there's a prison riot," Steve informed them.
Lena and Lex looked out the window as prisoners fought each other for no good reason. "It's spreading," Lex noted.
"I created a safe environment free of predators but when this one turned, he became the predator triggering the survival instincts of the other inmates," Lena theorized.
"A domino effect was born. Evolution: It is a bitch," Lex confirmed.
In Nia's dreams, she heard Brainiac 5 maniacally laughing as he shuffled cards. Every one of the cards had Rama Khan's face on them. There was a coffee cup with the city name Portland on it. "Get out of my dreams, Barney," Nia ordered. "Get out of my dreams!"
"I don't think so," Brainiac 5 said as he walked up to her.
"Wait...what? This is my dream," Nia told him off.
"I have an observation chip in your brain that allows me to monitor your dreams at all times. Until the chip is removed, you're stuck with me," Brainiac 5 said.
"That is such an invasion of privacy. How could you?" Nia said pissed-off.
"Knowledge is first priority. You, my dear, were always my second," Brainiac 5 said romantically.
"That's fucked up. You're fucked up," Nia accused.
"What does this card say?" Brainiac 5 asked her.
"It's Rama looking like a queen," Nia said obviously.
Brainiac 5 flipped the card showing the logo for the Oregon Geological Monitoring Station. "I got it now," Nia realized.
"You have my permission to wake up," Brainiac 5 smiled and then snapped his fingers.
Portland
A pissed-off Red Daughter flew across the Arctic circle and then down towards Oregon going Mach 50 and arriving in ten minutes. During those ten minutes, she considered all the ways she would kill Rama Khan. Karina slammed into the roof of the Oregon Geological Monitoring Station. In front of her was Rama Khan with his staff he had been given back by Lex to gain their loyalty.
"It's over for you," Karina said to him
Rama Khan slammed his staff onto the floor causing deep cracks and shaking the building. "Oh, it's just begun."
"Not impressed," Karina said and then sped towards him, cocked her left hand back, and went for a lethal strike.
Metropolis
On Stryker's island, Lex, Lena, and Steve barricaded themselves inside a room as the prison riot continued. "We can reconfigure the Q-waves in my office. It's on the other side of the prison," Lena said.
"How inconvienent," Lex said dryly.
"I'm coming with you," Steve said pathetically.
The three exited the room, went down some stairs, and avoided the rioting inmates. Steve got caught and was taken down. A fellow inmate proceeded to beat the shit out of him. Lex went into hero-mode and fought off Steve's attacker. The three then raced down the hall with inmates following close behind. The three then went through double doors and locked them behind them as the inmates pounded on the doors like zombies.
Portland
Karina punched right through Rama's gut. The equipment and walls behind him were blasted away from the force of the punch. Rama smacked Karina with his staff without effect. Karina pulled her hand out of his gut. It quickly reformed as dust swirled around the hole. Karina gave Rama an uppercut slamming him through a pillar. His staff went skidding across the floor. Rama tried to get back up only to be slammed down to the floor by Karina's boot.
Brainiac 5 and his DEO drones then arrived on the scene. Brainiac 5 immediately collected the staff and then walked over to Karina. "I'll take it from here," he told her.
"His people killed my friends and captured Alina. I will melt off his limbs and then vaporize what's left," Karina threatened.
"He needs to be questioned," Brainiac 5 said obviously.
"He belongs to PATRIOT, to Russia," Karina insisted.
"Leviathan is a DEO priority and I am the DEO," Brainiac 5 argued.
"Are you sure you're not compromised?" Karina asked skeptically.
"No one compromises me," Brainiac 5 said deadly serious.
"I'm not your errand girl anymore. I'm Supergirl," Karina said argumentatively.
"Do you feel you're being treated unfairly?" Brainiac 5 asked.
Karina backed away and shook her head. "No," she said softly.
"Good, as it happens, I want you to come with me to the DEO," Brainiac 5 said as his drones took Rama away.
"Okay," Karina said submissively.
Washington DC
Pete, Kara, and Alex walked down an underground corridor under the Congressional Library. "This is like when Harry Potter accessed the restricted section," Kara said wide-eyed.
"It's right here," Pete pointed out.
"We'll only need a minute," Alex assured him.
"That's all you'll have. At the 5 PM shift change, the guards will be coming onto you any second," Pete warned.
"Relax man. It'll be fine," Kara said to him.
Alex placed a device on the door to open the lock. "Damn it," she cursed as it didn't work.
Kara casually kicked the door in sounding off the alarm. A shooter with a silencer shot at them. Kara shielded Alex and Pete from the gunfire. Alex pushed Pete into the restricted section to give him cover. Kara then sped towards the shooter and snatched the pistol out of his hands.
"Who you working for, scumbag?" Kara asked him.
He bit on a cyanide capsule and gurgled to death. Kara then casually went back to the restricted room. "What happened to the shooter?" Pete asked.
"He had a toothache and died," Kara said.
"Really?" Pete wondered.
"We need a date from you," Alex pressed him.
Metropolis
At the DEO, Rama was rolled to a prison cell with chains around his arms and handcuffs on his wrists. Karina stood next to Nia as Brainiac 5 entered the hall. "Barney, we need to know if Leviathan has anything planned," Karina said as she walked with him.
"Leave that to me," Brainiac 5 said dismissively.
"I want to be in the room when you interrogate him," Karina insisted.
"No, I will do it myself. This is a sensitive prisoner," Brainiac 5 rejected.
"Are you really going to shut us out like that?" Nia asked offended.
"Yeah," Brainiac 5 replied.
Karina and Nia watched passively as Brainiac 5 began his interrogation of Rama. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Nia asked her unaware that she was talking to Karina instead of Kara.
"It's Brainy's DEO," Karina shrugged.
"Barney was in my dream about Rama Khan. He was playing card games with Rama Khan. Then, he was dismissive, condescending, and arrogant towards me," Nia said pissed-off.
"It's just a dream," Karina downplayed.
"He said he had a chip in my brain so he could monitor what I dream. And to think, I found him boyfriend material," Nia said bitterly.
"If he put a chip in your brain, it's because he cares," Karina told her.
Brainiac 5 dismissed his drones as he interrogated Rama alone. "So, it's just you and me now, Director Dox," Rama sneered.
"You will tell me what I want to know, your fellow Leviathan, your headquarters, your endgame," Brainiac 5 ordered.
"And why would I do that?" Rama asked.
Washington DC
Kara and Pete made small talk as Alex looked through books. "I say Sam is the real hero of the Lord of the Rings trilogy," Kara said to him as they sat down at a desk.
"How so?" Pete asked intrigued.
"Frodo was being a little bitch the entire journey and then at the very end, he falters. Sam never faltered," Kara said.
"But he did abandon the quest when Frodo dismissed him," Pete pointed out.
"Only to come back to save Frodo's ass from the Orcs. If you ask me, Sam should have had the glory of throwing the ring into the volcano," Kara said.
"Who's to say he didn't?" Pete smiled.
"The fuck you talking about?" Kara asked.
"Frodo was the one who wrote the history," Pete pointed out. "History is written by the victors."
"That mother-fucker," Kara said outraged.
"Okay, I have the date," Alex said looking it up.
"When is the apocalypse?" Kara asked enthusiastically.
"On the same day as the Obsidian World Unity Festival," Alex discovered.
"Well...shit," Kara muttered.
"This is all academic, right?" Pete asked concernedly.
"Yeah, sure, nothing to worry about. Just, whatever you do, don't put on Obsidian lenses on that day," Kara advised.
"Okay," Pete said confused.
"I think we're done here. Let's move out," Alex said authoritatively.
"You know, you sound like you haven't really left the military, Alex. I get it. Shifting to civilian life can be hard. It took me months, years. If you ask my wife, she still thinks I'm leading a platoon. You get used to the power of the uniform. But it comes a day when you get your DD-214 and you let it all go," Pete said to her.
"Well, you certainly let it all go, captain," Kara mocked him as she smacked his belly.
"Fuck you, I can benchpress like no other," he said defensively.
"I bet I could beat you," Kara challenged.
"I very much doubt that," Pete said as the two walked out of the room leaving Alex quite befuddled behind.
Metropolis
At the DEO, Brainiac 5 continued his interrogation in Rama's own language. "I know more than you think," Brainiac 5 said to him.
"You speak my language? Impressive," Rama said.
"That's not a language I've ever heard Barney use," Nia said to Karina.
"Brainy understands over six million languages," Karina told her.
"I know about Obsidian and Gamemnae. You will take me to your ship," Brainiac 5 ordered.
"Why would I do that?" Rama asked.
"Because I can have you released. I can give you a planet of your own to dominate. I can overthrow Gamemnae and make you the head of Leviathan once more," Brainiac 5 enticed.
Nia then suddenly collapsed as she had a dream about Rama's staff. Karina allowed her to fall to the floor secretly repulsed by her. "Something's wrong. Rama's staff is scanning the DEO for something," Nia said from the floor.
"Why would I want to leave?" Rama asked Brainiac 5.
"This planet or the DEO?" Brainiac 5 questioned.
"Yes," Rama grinned.
Rama broke his handcuffs off and snapped the chains around his body. Karina burst through the glass entering the interrogation room and punched Rama through a wall. DEO drones immediately went to the armory to retrieve plasma rifles. The DEO went into immediate lockdown.
Rama turned to dust and materialized a few feet away with the staff in his hands again. Karina fired heat vision at him only to be deflected by the staff. "Enough!" Rama shouted as he pounded the floor with his staff.
The shockwave from the impact of his staff threw Nia and Brainiac 5 to the floor with Karina still standing. "Now to take what I've come here for," Rama said as he summoned the Kryptonite stored in ceiling compartments above them. Kryptonite bars rained down on the floor near Rama keeping Karina at bay.
Karina fell to a knee as she became weakened by the Kryptonite.
On Stryker's island, the unruly inmates pounded on the door to get to Lex, Lena, and Steve. "I can't find the right frequency. I need more time," Lena said as she looked at her computer.
"Try this one," Lex said picking one and then pushing the button.
A Q-wave burst knocked out all the inmates at once including Steve. "Are you okay?" Lena asked alarmed.
"Yeah, except I feel like I used to feel. The peace...is all gone," he moaned.
"Well, you're going to have to suck it up because it works on everyone else," Lena said determinedly.
"Wait...what?" Steve asked dismayed.
At the DEO, Nia used her powers to keep the ceiling from falling on top of her. Brainiac 5 was hit with falling debris. He casually threw it off of him and focused on Rama. J'onn and M'gann suddenly appeared in the DEO. M'gann charged forward only to get blasted back by Rama's staff.
DEO drones fired on Rama in a line formation. Rama was blasted apart only to reform again in the dust. He then blasted the DEO drones to the floor. Taking his staff, he pounded on the floor creating a whirlwind of dust. The whirlwind collected the Kryptonite bars and then Rama disappeared in the dust.
"The building has become unstable. We must leave," Brainiac 5 informed J'onn.
"You got my DEO destroyed? You have a lot of explaining to do," J'onn scolded him and then phased himself, M'gann, and Karina through the floor.
Brainiac 5 then walked over to a fallen Nia. "You'll die without my help," he said to her.
Nia nodded and then took his hand. Brainiac 5 flew them both out of the building as it collapsed completely creating a huge ash cloud in Metropolis.
After the dust had faded away, Brainiac 5 walked over to Karina and Nia. "Rama could be anywhere by now," Brainiac 5 informed them.
"We're fine, thanks," Nia said resentfully.
"Then, we will look everywhere," Karina said determinedly. "I'm going back home."
Nia gave Karina an odd look as she flew off. "I require your dreaming ability," Brainiac 5 said to her.
"How many people just died in the collapse?" Nia asked him.
"None. The building was evacuated beforehand," Brainiac 5 replied.
"You fucking knew this would happen," Nia accused.
"Supergirl was correct. Having the DEO in the middle of a populated city held callous disregard for human life and logic. The new DEO base will be in a much better strategic location," Brainiac 5 assured her.
"You know, at first I thought you were a quirky nerd but now I realize how much of an asshole you are. You feel nothing. You use us all like pawns. You see yourself as an all-knowing god. So, I definitely don't like you, and I don't trust you," Nia said angrily.
"I can explain," Brainiac 5 said condescendingly.
"What the hell were you doing in there with Rama Khan?" Nia demanded. "What was that language? Tell me, right here, right now."
"I allowed Rama Khan to escape and destroy the DEO to lure Leviathan into a false sense of security. Defeating Supergirl and yourself will make them feel overconfident. In our next engagement, all of their members will come out full force and then we will wipe them out in one swift stroke," Brainiac 5 explained.
"You risked our lives on this gamble," Nia said angrily. "Why is it that I can never dream what you're up to?"
"Because the inhibiter in your brain won't allow you to. Nia, you dream all the time. You are a very gifted Naltorian, but you only remember what I allow you to," Brainiac 5 said.
Nia gave him a dumbfounded look. "You can't play both sides, Barney. You can't pretend to be on our side one moment and then push us aside the next."
"I can and I will," Brainiac 5 replied coldly.
Nia glared at him angrily and then stormed off. Brainiac 5 eyed her as she left and then made a phone call. "Now, before you get upset, understand that this is all part of my master plan," he said to Kara.
At Stryker's island, Lex confirmed that inmates were all peaceful once again. "The inmates are pacified and neutralized. Ready for the next round?" Lex asked her.
"Yeah, maybe tomorrow. This whole episode has me pissed-off," Lena said bitterly.
"I'm rooting for you, Lena. Together, we will fix humanity," Lex said boldly. "Together, the two of us and the Vindicators will make it happen. We can be saviors of the human race."
"Saviors?" Lena wondered completely sold.
Lex turned on a TV showing what was happening in North Korea. Lena eyed the news in stunned amazement. "North Korean leadership has agreed to officially end the war with South Korea, take down the border walls, allow Koreans to visit either side visa-free, give up its nukes, dismantle its military, and open itself up to international trade," the newscaster said.
Lena eyed old Koreans from both north and south embracing each other for the first time in decades. "All a result of Myriad. The common people are free but the leadership is virtually slaves of Mon-El and Barney. In time, the leadership will be molded to believe in the virtues of truth, justice, and the American Way," Lex explained to her.
Mon came before the reporters at a podium. "I want the international community to know that the Korean people are similar in every way to anyone else on the planet. We are same-same, different but same-same," Mon said. "We are all part of the Homo family," Mon said.
Brainiac 5, looking Korean, whispered in his ear. "I mean, Homo Sapien family," Mon corrected himself.
Lex turned off the TV. "Using Myriad, they have convinced CEOs of the top corporations to begin investing in North Korea. Imagine what we could accomplish with this technology. We could enslave the top one percent who have failed to show compassion, empathy, and honesty into doing the right thing while freeing the little man."
"I failed to reform one little prison but Mon and Barney have reformed an entire nation," Lena said angrily.
"Lena, stop competing with the Supers. Come back into the fold and give up your hate," Lex advised.
"It's just so hard," Lena said tearfully and then embraced him.
"I know it is," Lex acknowledged as he patted her back.
That night, Alex arrived back at her apartment and found Kelly drinking her sorrows away. "After spending all day in the car and in the library with Kara, I feel we have a better understanding of each other," Alex said.
"Great. How's Pete?" Kelly asked.
"He was so helpful. We have the date of Leviathan's apocalyptic move. It's the Obsidian World Unity Festival," Alex said. "You know, at first, I felt really guilty that I was putting him in danger. I mean, he has a wife and kid, but then I realized the whole world was at stake...so fuck it."
"The DEO's gone, FYI," Kelly told her.
"What the fuck? How could Barney fuck up this bad?" Alex raged.
"There's more. Eve Tesschmacher has been working for Obsidian," Kelly revealed.
"Did you talk to Andrea?" Alex asked shocked and appalled.
"She didn't care. Eve's records have been scrubbed. Andrea threatened to fire me if I came to her again," Kelly said glumly.
"That's fucked up. So, are you going to leave?" Alex asked.
"No, that will make it even harder to get to the bottom of this. I just got to get better at hiding and maybe you should, too," Kelly said.
"Like wear a mask?" Alex wondered.
"It worked for my brother. If you're going to be a vigilante, you might as well go all the way," Kelly said wide-eyed.
At Stryker's Island, Lex helped Lena clean the place up until he got a call from Gemma. He walked outside out of Lena's earshot. "Did you like my gift?" Lex asked.
"Oh, yes. I am very grateful," Gemma said pleased.
"How grateful?" Lex asked hopefully.
"Regarding your request to meet my colleagues, I'll send a car for you tomorrow morning," Gemma promised.
"Wow, now I am grateful. See you tomorrow," Lex said pleased.
A limo then came by. Lex got in and was seated across from Brainiac 5 and Karina. "Eventful day, Director Dox?" Lex asked dryly.
"Did you get your invitation to their ship, yet?" Brainiac 5 asked impatiently.
"I did, tomorrow morning. It will then be decided whether I learn its location or get killed," Lex said somberly.
"You two have done your parts well risking your lives to uncover this great mystery. The destruction of the DEO and Supergirl's defeat was a necessary loss to lure Leviathan into a false sense of security," Brainiac 5 said pleased.
"I will do anything to bring Alina back and avenge those killed at PATRIOT," Karina said resolved.
"With Kara pregnant, you, Karina, are my queen on the board," Brainiac 5 said to her.
Karina smiled embarrassedly. "Get some sleep. It will be a big day tomorrow," Brainiac 5 told them.
Author's Notes: CW Brainiac 5 is incredibly naive and stupid in the series while constantly reminding the audience of his so-called 12th level intellect to add insult to injury. It's one thing to be stupid and another to be arrogant in your stupidity. With what I was given, I have made Brainiac 5 a much more formidable foe for Leviathan. For whatever reason, CW SG has gotten rid of the DEO building and its association. I've always felt CW was embarrassed by the DEO but couldn't figure out how to get out of its shadow. Pete is played by Sean Astin, who played Sam in LOTR, and therefore the fourth-wall-breaking conversation between him and Kara. CW had Kara pulled away to talk to William so as to give Alex an action scene. That would be completely out-of-character for Adventures Kara so must of that nonsense was cut.