At the nightclub, Kara continued to keep Alex and Kelly oblivious that Esme was gone. Kara brought over Mon, James, and Beth. "Go find those Horcruxes while I keep watch here," she ordered.
The three nodded and then Mon instantly took them to the streets of Washington DC. Already late, the three went to a diner. "Coffee?" the waitress asked not recognizing James as a US Senator.
"Tall, black," James ordered.
"The same," Beth and Mon said together.
"Where do we go from here?" Beth asked getting to business.
"I saw House Speaker Pelosi with that locket you're looking for. It's in her office," James said.
"Easy enough," Mon said.
Two men entered the diner, turned around at them, and started shooting at them. "Get cover!" Beth shouted as she went underneath a table. James immediately unfolded his shield. Mon remained standing and fired energy beams at them. The two shooters took cover behind the counter as the beams blasted up the store. Mon carefully aimed as a random energy beam could hit the rather oblivious coffee waitress in the back. The shooters continued to fire on Mon, Beth, and James.
Beth aimed her pistol at one of the shooters and got him in the chest. Mon blasted a hole through the chest of the other one. The coffee waitress stepped out and saw the two bodies. "What the fuck?" she screamed.
"Bitch, leave," Mon ordered her.
The waitress didn't need to be told twice and tore out of the place. "Lock the doors, get the lights," James said to Beth.
Mon and James looked over the bodies. "You recognize these fools?" he asked him.
"Capitol interns," James identified.
"Nyxly has eyes and ears everywhere," Mon figured.
"We need to get rid of the bodies," Beth said obviously.
Mon incinerated both bodies leaving only scorch marks on the floor. "You got a safe house?" Mon asked James.
"Always," James smiled.
The two walked down the streets of DC until they came to a run-down apartment complex.
Gotham
The remaining Super-Friends entered Wayne Manor where a Brainiac 5 drone was blasted to pieces and Esme was gone. "The fuck happened here?" Alex asked dismayed.
The TV screen in the living room suddenly became activated. "Well, this is awkward. I can only imagine emotions must be running high right now," Lex said dryly.
"If you hurt my daughter, I will kill you. Do you understand?" Alex threatened.
"It's just a recording," Hank said obviously.
"There's no need to fret about the girl. She's safe and won't be harmed. Seven totems: courage, humanity, hope, dreams, love, truth, and destiny. We are in possession of six of them. You bring us the destiny totem and I will trade you the girl. Too easy. Now before you say, 'Trap' we are willing to make the trade at Wayne Manor in Gotham. We'll bring the girl over at noon tomorrow. If you fail to show up or bring the totem, the girl dies," Lex said.
"Be safe out there. It would be a shame if anything happened to you before we could see each other again," Lex smirked and then signed off.
"I'll get Esme back and fix this. We can still use this to our advantage. They're going to be on our home turf," Kara said.
"I'll try to dream the destiny totem location," Nia volunteered.
"We don't need it. We can conjure up a fake destiny totem like before, get Esme to safety, and then kill Lex's ass," Alex said passionately.
"The fake totem may not work in Gotham," Brainiac 5 objected.
"And Lex will know it's a fake," Kelly added.
"Then, we give him what he wants," Alex said finally.
"That isn't going to happen," Kara said bluntly. "They'll use it to destroy the universe."
"I don't give a fuck about anything but getting our daughter back," Alex said insanely.
"I know you're in panic mode but have some perspective, Alex," Kara said condescendingly. "You have to trust me that I will get your daughter back."
Metropolis
At the Luthor mansion, Lex brought Esme to Nyxly where there was tea and snacks on the table. "You see, Esme, I told you there would be a tea party when you arrived here."
"I'm never going to see my moms again, am I?" Esme asked sadly.
"Do you want to say a funny word with me?" Nyxly asked as she took a knee before her. "Sometimes when you say a funny word, it puts a smile on your face. No?" Nyxly eyed her.
"Horcrux: Do you know what it means?" Nyxly asked her.
Esme merely shook her head. "It means a part of my soul is in you. That makes you very special to me," Nyxly explained. "So, if you die, a part of me dies as well. And so long as you live, I live."
Esme gave her a horrified look and sat down facing away from her.
Vatican City
Already morning in Europe, Brainiac 5 and Lena entered the Vatican Bank. Brainiac 5 appeared as a simple priest with Lena wearing a black dress and veil. As he did, a number of bank tellers eyed them with some fear and awe. The building was circular in design with everyone eyeballing them. Brainiac 5 stood before the bank director and waited for service. "Ahem," Brainiac 5 said after a long pause.
The bank director ignored him. "I'm here for an inspection of the vault," Brainiac 5 ordered.
"Identification," the bank director said without even looking up as he was busy working on his computer.
"And you are right to insist," Brainiac 5 said and then handed over his Vatican ID card.
"Your Holiness," the bank director gawked completely caught off-guard.
"Neither the Lord nor I like to be kept waiting," Brainiac 5 rebuked.
"Your Holiness, would you be willing to present your weapon," the bank director asked delicately.
"Of course," Brainiac 5 complied handing over the pistol.
"Your Holiness, if you would follow me," the bank director said leading Brainiac 5 and Lena down a hall, down a few floors underground, and through several more halls like a maze.
As Brainiac 5, Lena, and the bank director came to the vault two Swiss Guards got in their way. Brainiac 5 dismissed them away with his hand once they realized who he was. "Open the vault," Brainiac 5 ordered.
"Now? That's impossible," the bank director stalled.
Lena pointed her wand at him. "Open the vault now," the bank director said changing his tune.
"You serve your master well," Brainiac 5 complimented.
"I do what I can," the bank director said still under Lena's spell.
"You will be rewarded for it," Brainiac 5 promised. Brainiac 5 then turned to Lena. "Find what we're looking for."
"Accio Horcrux," she said lamely pointing her wand into the vault.
Nothing happened. "Really?" Brainiac 5 mocked.
Deeper inside the vault was a collection of chalices, many of which were gold with jewels in them. A ghostly-looking man stood guard in the center of the room. "We seek the Grail," Brainiac 5 said to him.
"For what reason?" the spirit asked.
"To destroy it. An imp has corrupted it into a Horcrux," Brainiac 5 explained.
"And what is your authority to destroy the Holy Grail?" the ghost asked.
"I am Pope Barney I of the 31st century," Brainiac 5 said to him.
"The Grail is among these, but choose wisely for the true Grail will bring you life, the false Grail will take it from you," the ghost warned.
"Too easy," Brainiac 5 said unconcernedly.
"It cannot be you. It must be her," the ghost said realizing Brainiac 5's mechanical nature.
"I'm not a historian. I have no idea what it's supposed to look like," Lena admitted.
"Can I give her a hint?" Brainiac 5 asked.
"You must remain silent," the ghost said.
"Damn," Lena said nervously. "Accio Holy Grail," she said using her wand.
"That's cheating," the ghost scolded her.
"A cup of a simple carpenter," Lena said to herself as she looked over the cups. She found the most simple humble cup in the collection and brought it over to a pool of water in a baptismal fountain. Sighing, she dipped the cup into the water and drank from it. Brainiac 5, the ghost, and the bank director all stared at her.
"You have chosen wisely," the ghost said pleased.
"Fuck yeah, I'm a genius," Lena said, proud of herself.
"Let's not get too carried away," Brainiac 5 said having known within a fraction of a second upon entering the room.
"Now what?" Lena asked.
"My pistol, please," Brainiac 5 asked the bank director.
"Of course, Your Holiness," he said handing it over to him.
Brainiac 5 fired on the Holy Grail blasting it to pieces. The ghost then departed the room. "The fuck, Barney? You just destroyed the Holy Grail! We are so fucked!" Lena shouted at him.
"All according to plan," Brainiac 5 said confidently.
Immediately, the fountain pool sprung up and flooded the vault. "Time to leave," Brainiac 5 said obviously as the water was about to overtake them.
As they left the vault, the Swiss Guard came rushing in and fired on them with their rifles. Brainiac 5 and Lena took cover behind pillars. "You're the God damn pope. Tell them to stop!" Lena said as she was nearly hit several times.
"I think my social capital has run out," Brainiac 5 said dryly.
"Serpensortia," Lena said as she fired off a snake from her wand. "Engorgio," Lena fired on her conjured snake. Immediately, the snake dramatically increased in size forcing the Swiss Guard back.
Lena and Brainiac 5 grabbed a hold of the growing snake as it burst through the ceiling of the Vatican Bank. "Reducio," Lena said as she fired on the snake reducing it back to normal size.
Lena then activated her portal device taking herself and Brainiac 5 back to Wayne Manor.
Metropolis
In another room of the mansion, Nyxly had a private conversation with Lex. "If we give up the girl, you will lose a Horcrux to them," Lex pointed out.
"Once they give me the destiny totem, I will annihilate the Super-Friends and the multiverse with the snap of my fingers, I will conquer the fifth dimension and create a new multiverse according to my design. And, in return for your faithful service, you will be at my side," Nyxly said to Lex.
"What if they don't give in to your demand?" Lex asked.
"I'll extract the Horcrux from the girl and place it in a more convenient object," Nyxly said coldly.
Gotham
At Wayne Manor, Kara and Hank conversed in the Bat-Cave away from anyone else. "This is my worst nightmare," Kara said.
"It never gets easier," Hank said knowingly.
"The child is a Horcrux. In order to destroy Nyxly, I have to kill her," Kara said. "I've never killed a child so young, so innocent."
"Do you need me to do it or someone else?" Hank asked.
"Alex will hate me forever," Kara said sadly.
"Maybe," Hank mused.
"I'm tired, Hank. I'm tired of this fight. I can't be both this world's savior and be a good sister to Alex at the same time. I have to let her go," Kara concluded.
"So long as you desire to save the world, the universe, I will always be at your side," Hank pledged to her.
Metropolis
At the Luthor mansion, Esme colored a picture at a small table. Nyxly merely stared at her. "What is that you're drawing?" Nyxly asked.
"My moms. I want to remember them," Esme replied.
"Well, you will be with them again. I'll make sure of it," Nyxly lied. "You know, when I was your age, I loved nothing more than drawing. I would sit by the lake for hours and hours and just draw. I had pencils and crayons of every color you could imagine. This picture you're drawing is two-dimensional. It has width and length. What I could draw had three dimensions," Nyxly said as she drew an apple on a piece of paper.
The apple then lifted off the paper and became three-dimensional in the air. "And then I drew it in four dimensions. Did you know that films are in 24 frames per second? Imagine drawing 24 pictures every second of time. But I could and I would," Nyxly smiled as the apple slowly got bitten away into nothing and then returned back to its original form.
"And then I colored in five dimensions where one drawing of an apple could also be any kind of apple I wanted in my imagination. And I could eat that apple without it ever being gone," Nyxly reflected on. "But my father destroyed my artwork."
"Why?" Esme asked curiously.
"He thought art was a waste of time. Once I have the All-Stone, I can create whatever artwork I want, and then I'll destroy all those who mocked me," Nyxly said vengefully.
"That's not a very fun story," Esme said.
"I don't blame you, little one," Nyxly allowed. "Your moms will waste away and die. You will eventually die as well. But with me, you will live forever and I will never leave you. And then I will give you the tools to create parents and siblings from your own imagination so that you're never alone."
Washington DC
James, Mon, and Beth walked towards the capitol building in the early morning in business suit attire and got past security. They took the appropriate elevator to the congressional offices. "This is going to be easy so long as we don't run into the Turtle," James assured them.
The elevator doors opened revealing Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell staring at them. "Shit," James realized.
"Ah, Senator Olsen. You do remember we have a legislative strategy meeting on the infrastructure bill, right?" he asked.
"Of course. I was just...ah...dropping off my staff," James quickly folded.
Mon and Beth exited the elevator as Senator McConnell entered. "It's very important we frame this issue in a way that doesn't make us all look like assholes," he said to James.
"Absolutely, Sir," James said as the elevator doors closed.
Mon rolled his eyes. "Lead the way," he said to Beth.
"I've never been here before," she admitted.
"Split up, meet back here," Mon said to her and waltzed off. As it happened, Mon did find Nancy Pelosi's office without too much difficulty but the door was locked and the halls were crowded with staff and legislators going to and throw. Mon instantly teleported himself inside the office and looked around. He quickly began to search the office and found an enemy's list, fundraising papers, a desk full of books, and so forth.
Finding nothing, Mon exited the office and met up with Beth just outside the House Chamber. "She's in there," Beth said.
Mon eyed the door and then teleported them both inside the chamber. As it was, Pelosi and her leadership were conducting an inquisition on a hapless democratic congressman who dared to vote against the infrastructure bill. "A congressional ID card was taken from you upon entering the capitol. Is this the ID?" Pelosi asked.
"Yes," the congressman confirmed.
"And which congressman did you take this ID card from?" Pelosi asked.
"I didn't take it. It's mine," the congressman said flatly. "The people chose me."
"You're lying. This ID card is only for congressmen and you are not a congressman," Pelosi declared.
"But I am," the congressman sniveled.
Mon emitted a solar flare stunning everyone in the room. Beth, wearing sunglasses, took the locket off Pelosi and ran back towards Mon. In an instant, both Mon and Beth were gone. Mon then teleported inside the GOP Senate conference meeting on the other side of the building on another floor.
"What in tarnation?" McConnell wondered.
"I have to go. It's been great," James said as he teleported along with Mon and Beth out of the capitol.
Gotham
At Wayne Manor, Alex found a way to get into Bruce's gun collection. "What are you doing?" Kelly asked Alex with guns, grenades, ammunition, and blades all over the floor.
"Looking for weapons," Alex said obviously. "Anything that can take on that bitch. Esme must be so scared right now. You know, I promised her she would never leave us. That little girl is my Kryptonite."
"I know. I just have to have hope things will work out, because I can't believe in anything else," Kelly said.
"I don't know what to believe. Sometimes, I think that all of this is an orchestrated power-play between Nyxly and Kara. I'm going through all the ways Kara might have fucked me over," Alex said pissed off.
"Don't doubt yourself. If you think Kara is up to something, be next to her at all times," Kelly advised.
"Whatever it takes, I'm getting her back," Alex said determinedly.
"Whatever it takes," Kelly repeated.
In another room, Brainiac 5 placed wristbands on Nia's hands. "This should amplify your dream powers," he said after he was done.
"What if I dream something terrible?" Nia asked.
"What of it?" Brainiac 5 asked.
"What if I dream we never get Esme back and Nyxly destroys the universe?" Nia said dramatically.
"No fate but what we make," Brainiac 5 reminded her. "I'll be at your side every step of the way."
"I want to try to take you into the dream world," Nia offered.
"I don't know if it's possible. I don't dream," Brainiac 5 doubted.
"Let's try anyway," Nia said she formed an energy field around them.
Virginia Forest
In the middle of a forest, Mon, James, and Beth got their bearings and eyed the locket on the ground. Mon pointed at it and fired blasting the locket across the ground several times. "This is some bullshit," Mon said as the locket remained undamaged. Mon then took the locket and tried to tear it apart with his bare hands. As he did, he powered up to Super Insane. Still, the locket would not crack open.
"Maybe you have to talk to it, sing to it or something," James suggested.
"Be my guest," Mon said refusing to entertain any such thing.
"There's a snake near your foot," Beth informed him.
"Oh, shit," James said jumping out of the way of the rattlesnake.
Mon went over to the snake and picked it up. It bit him several times as he held it. "What the fuck are you doing?" Beth asked impatiently.
"I got a feeling," Mon said as he placed the snake near the locket. The snake hissed in all directions and then finally the locket open in an explosion of negative magical energy.
"I have seen your heart and it is mine, Mon-El. I have seen your dreams, Mon-El. And I have seen your fears. Least loved by your mother who craved a daughter. Least loved by the girl who prefers your friend," the smoke creature said to Mon.
"Mon, kill it!" James encouraged him.
Kara and James appeared before him. "We were better without you. Happier without you," James said to him.
"Who could look at you compared to Kara Zor-El? What are you compared to the Chosen One?" Kara mocked. "Your mother confessed she would rather have me than you as her child."
"What woman would take you? You are nothing...nothing. Nothing compared to her," James said. Mon then saw a vision of James and Kara making out naked. This went on for a few good minutes.
"What are you waiting for? An engraved invitation?" Beth interrupted Mon's vision.
"Fine," Mon said and then fired a disc that blasted the inside of the locket destroying it.
James came up to Mon. "Man, all of that was bullshit," James assured him.
"I know. As far as psychological warfare went, that was weak," Mon smiled amusedly.
Gotham
At Wayne Manor, Nia and Brainiac 5 entered the grand living room. "Did you find the destiny totem?" Kara asked impatiently.
"No, but I did record thousands of dreams into my memory," Brainiac 5 said pleased.
"Those were private," Nia said dismayed. "If I thought you were going to do that, I wouldn't have brought you in there."
"Your naivety amuses me," Brainiac 5 smiled.
"Esme is fine for the moment. Apparently, she's having fun coloring and fingerpainting," Nia reported.
"Thank God," Kelly said relieved.
"Where is she?" Alex demanded.
"I don't know," Nia admitted.
"But we did discover the totem is at the ruins of St. Vassily's Cathedral near Prague at the statue of the Three Fates," Brainiac 5 showed the totem energy signature on a computer monitor.
"I'll get Esme back," Kara promised Alex and Kelly and flew off.
Prague
Kara arrived at the cathedral and found the statue of the three fates. She broke off a piece of the statue with the thread and focused on it. "Cgyrzyx," Kara said and then felt an overload of images go through her mind that included the destruction of the multiverse. "In order to take the totem, you must embrace your destiny: You're fucked," the totem said to her.
"Yeah, sure," Kara said with false sincerity.
The totem then became a stone in her hand. Alex immediately grabbed it out of her hand. "Holy shit," Kara said startled. "Alex, what the fuck are you doing?"
"Doing whatever it takes to get my daughter back," Alex said resolved.
"Lena and I are going to have a long non-sexual discussion about where she places her teleportation devices," Kara shook her head.
Alex walked off with the totem. "Alex, give me back the totem. I can save Esme," Kara said walking after her.
"Esme is gone. The only way we can keep her safe is to give Lex what he wants which is the totem and then I'm going to bring my daughter home," Alex said nonsensically.
"Alex, when I saw the vision of that totem, Nyxly destroyed the multiverse. The only way we can win is to use the All-Stone against Nyxly," Kara said reasonably.
"She's my daughter, Kara. My daughter!" Alex said passionately. "I would risk the world rather than lose her.
"And that's why you should stop making decisions, hang up the old hat," Kara said condescendingly.
"By paying his ransom, if that puts my little girl back in my arms again, then that's exactly what I'm going to do," Alex said.
"If Nyxly gets the All-Stone, I can't stop her. She will be all-powerful," Kara reminded her.
"And what if your plan fails and something happens to Esme?" Alex asked.
"I don't know, Alex. I'll weep for her in the press, set up a scholarship in her name...," Kara listed off.
"I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you," Alex raged.
"So am I, and I'm failing, and I'm sorry for that," Kara admitted.
"I would never forgive myself and I could never forgive you," Alex said.
"That sounds like a personal problem," Kara said coldly.
"Do you even know what you're doing? What's your grand plan to stop Nyxly? Do you even have one? I don't think you do," Alex doubted as her eyes went red.
"Let's be real, can we be real for a moment? You just met this girl several weeks ago, got guilt-tripped by Kelly into taking her home with you, have no fucking clue how to handle her powers, and you constantly get her in danger. Alex, you suck as a mom," Kara said bluntly. "She isn't your flesh and blood. She's just some stray you picked up."
Alex went for a punch and actually sent Kara across the field into the ruined cathedral blasting it apart on impact. Kara emerged from the smoke and dust surprised by the hit but quickly recovered. Alex was already gone.
Gotham
Kara flew to Wayne Manor and confronted Lena. "Alex took the destiny totem from me. She got to Prague and left with your teleportation device."
"Alright, how did she take it from you? You're Supergirl," Lena asked confused.
"It's complicated," Kara softened her expression.
"So, Alex and Kelly are going to pay the ransom," Hank realized.
"We have to go after them and stop them," Nia said obviously.
"What is our calculation?" Kara asked Brainiac 5.
"It hasn't changed," Brainiac 5 said simply.
At noon, Alex and Kelly brought the destiny totem towards the Gotham city limits. Nyxly and Lex waited for them just outside an invisible barrier that neutralized her magic. "Am I crazy for doing this?" Alex asked.
"Maybe," Kelly replied.
"They came!" Esme shouted upon seeing Alex and Kelly.
"Bring the totem to us and I'll let Esme come to you," Nyxly offered.
Alex and Kelly cautiously approached Nyxly and Lex careful to not go beyond the barrier. "Give me the totem," Nyxly pressed just outside the barrier.
"Give us our daughter first," Alex ordered.
"No, we'll do it at the same time," Nyxly countered. She took a knee before Esme. "Alright, little lamb, off you go."
"Come here, sweety," Kelly gestured to her.
Esme ran over to Kelly as Alex placed the totem just outside the barrier. Alex then took a step back towards Kelly and Esme. Nyxly picked up the destiny totem and placed it on her gauntlet. The All-Stone was now complete. Nyxly then felt a rush of power go through her.
In the Bat-Cave, Kara felt an eerie presence. "Show yourself. I know you're here," Kara said to the darkness.
"Do you know who I am?" a child's voice asked from the darkness.
"No," Kara said softly. "But I have felt your presence in this city."
"My name is unpronounceable to third-dimensional beings. You can call me Bat-Mite," he said revealing himself out of the darkness.
Kara eyed a boy looking to be eight years old wearing a Batman costume with the cowl off. "You a fan?" Kara asked.
"Very much so and any wife of Batman is a friend of mine," he smiled.
"Can you help me?" Kara asked.
"You seek a crown, a Horcrux," Bat-Mite said knowingly.
"Yes, I must destroy it," Kara said to him.
"I cannot help you destroy one of our own kind," Bat-Mite declined and walked off.
"Wait, if you don't help me find it, Nyxly will destroy the multiverse and conquer the fifth dimension," Kara beseeched him. "You do know where it is, don't you?"
"Strange, you remind me a little of her," Bat-Mite said as he circled around her referring to Nyxly.
"It's here in the cave in a place where everything is hidden. It's in a lead box immune to magic," Bat-Mite smiled and then faded away.
Kara looked around the cave wondering if she was being punked. "Well...shit," she muttered.
Nyxly smiled in ecstasy as she felt the power of the All-Stone gauntlet. "I am inevitable," she said victoriously and then snapped her fingers to erase the multiverse. Lex suddenly pushed Nyxly through the barrier and then the gauntlet exploded on her arm with a trigger bomb secretly attached to it. Nyxly fell to a knee stunned as her right arm was blown off and bleeding profusely. The totem stones scattered on the ground a distance away from Nyxly.
"Oh, shit," Alex realized.
"You betrayed me? How?" Nyxly glared at Lex.
Lex didn't answer and merely teleported away. Pissed off, Nyxly got back to her feet, regenerated her arm back to perfection, and summoned the totems back to her. Esme mimicked her power and summoned the totems to her hand first combining them into one large white crystal. "Brat, give me that crystal," Nyxly ordered her.
"My name is Esme," Esme said and then snapped her fingers with her other hand.
There was a bright light as all the totems were permanently destroyed, Esme's wish. The Super-Friends were tossed back by the explosion. Esme fell to the ground mortally wounded. Her right arm, side, neck, and side of her face was severely burned from the discharge. Nyxly fell to her knees in intense pain as part of her soul was extinguished. Alex and Kelly were immediately at her side. "Medic!" Kelly shouted.
Lena, Nia, Brainiac 5, and Hank were on the scene but there was nothing they could do with this kind of magical injury. Esme merely stared at a sobbing Alex and Kelly and then passed on.
A perfectly healed Esme wearing sparkling white awoke to find herself in a white super-lit spaceport back home. Looking around, she found a naked burned-up corpse under a bench. Spooked, Esme walked away from the corpse that was a part of Nyxly's soul. "Brave, brave, girl," her father smiled at her wearing all-white clothing.
"Let's take a walk," her mother smiled at her.
"Where are we?" Esme asked confused as she walked with her parents.
"I was going to ask you that," her mother said cheerfully. "Where do you think we are?"
"It looks like the space station back home," Esme noted.
"Is that right? It must be a special place for you," her father said.
"It was the last time I saw both of you," Esme said tearfully.
The three of them sat on a bench together. "Do I have to go back?" Esme asked.
"That's up to you," her father replied.
"I have a choice?" Esme asked confused.
"Of course, you do," her mother smiled. "We're at a station. You can choose to come with us on the next ship or go back."
"Where would we go?" Esme asked wide-eyed.
"On," her father said vaguely.
A pure white ship then arrived not making a sound as it did. The doors then opened. "Well, we better be off," her father said.
Esme watched as her parents got up to board the ship. "Wait...I want to come with you," she said finally.
"Then come along," her mother gestured.
The three then boarded the ship and were gone.
Nyxly glared at the Super-Friends with hate as her plans were ruined. Her eyes darted desperately as she tried to figure it out. She then noticed Lena among the group. "You put an Imperius curse on your own brother? You forced him to serve me, to love me, and then you released him to betray me as soon as I completed the All-Stone. That's why your resistance to me was so pathetic. You rigged my gauntlet and waited for me to make my move? Is that it?" she asked.
"Something like that," Lena confirmed.
Alex gave her a WTF look even as she held Esme's body in her arms. "Well played," Nyxly acknowledged. "It seems you can't trust anyone. You have to do everything yourself."
"I have something to say," Alex said as she gave Esme's body over to Kelly and then stood up to Nyxly.
"I'm so fascinated to hear what you have to say," Nyxly sneered sarcastically.
"It doesn't matter that Esme is gone...people die every day, even children. Yeah, we lost Esme today, but she's still with us in here," she said pointing to her heart. "She didn't die in vain...but you will," Alex glared at Nyxly.
Nyxly merely smiled at her condescendingly.
Several portals suddenly opened on the battlefield with Vindicators appearing. They all wore black combat suits with a red symbol on the upper right side of their chest indicating their alien origin. Nyxly stared at them with apprehension as they came into view:
Commanders: Saturn Girl (Imra Ardeen), Brainiac 5 (Barney Dox), Cosmic Boy (Rokk Krinn), Lightning Lad (Garth Ranzz), Shrinking Violet (Salu Digby)
Warrant Officers: Ultra Boy (Jo Nah), Dream Girl (Nura Nal), Sensor Girl (Projectra), WildFire (Drake Burroughs), Timber Wolf (Brin Londo)
Alpha Team Members: Sun Boy (Dirk Morgna) Star Boy (Thom Kallor), Colossal Boy (Gim Allon), Triplicate Girl (Luornu Durgo), Lightning Lass (Ayla Ranzz)
Bravo Team Members: Phantom Girl (Tinya Wazzo), Shadow Lass (Tasmia Mallor), Chameleon Boy (Reep Daggle), Element Lad (Jan Arrah), XS (Jenni Ognats)
Saturn Girl eyed Nyxly and quickly read her mind via telepathy and then read the minds of the Super-Friends to get the full picture. Pointing at Nyxly, Saturn Girl addressed the Vindicators assembled. "Vindicators...kill," she ordered.
Author's Notes: This episode was so ridiculous and I lost a lot of respect for Alex and Kelly. In the MCU, characters died and sacrificed a great deal to stop Thanos. While they were not perfect, they had their priorities in order. CW wants to have characters that make stupid selfish decisions and get away with it no matter how many people die and suffer as a result. Lillian Luthor's scenes were cut because I have plans for her later. Kara's plan to use a satellite to super-charge herself at the expense of the sun makes no sense and is insanely unethical. It's like a small little modern-day satellite ended up being Starkiller base from Star Wars while somehow immune to fifth-dimensional energy. Then, there's the lack of unaccountability that Kara can do whatever she wants without anyone's permission.
So, my attempt here at a plot twist is that Lena put Lex on an Imperius curse to serve Nyxly to help her gain the totems for the All-Stone. That's how he was able to pass her trust test. But as soon as Lena releases Lex from the curse, he rigs Nyxly's gauntlet as soon as she triggers the All-Stone. So, again, Lex appears to be the bad guy but was good the entire time allowing Lena to curse him for the sake of the mission. Kara and Alex not being on the same page when it came to Esme had fatal consequences here and that will have an impact on the next season of AOS.
And so Kara put some resistance to Nyxly these last several episodes only for appearance sake to avoid Nyxly's suspicion but always intended for her to eventually get the All-Stone. It is now AOS canon that Bat-Mite is responsible for why Gotham is perpetually fucked up and why it neutralizes Nyxly's magic to give the Super-Friends a fair fight.