The fancy screens in the D.E.O.'s central hub were for more than just for show. A live map of where she needed to head was glowing at her while agent Schott went over some more details. The truth of the matter was that they had very little to go on. The leads they had were only through rumours and hearsay. There were vague keywords they had their eye on and a few anomalies internationally they thought might relate. It was not lost on her that one of these words, "drain," had been muttered to someone on the phone by Lena. She could only assume she was working in tandem or doing her own research into the matter, based on the arm request it made sense that there was some communication between them. Through some reconnaissance on recently discovered members and a bit of luck they had stumbled on a location for a meeting of the Kryptonian cult. It was her job to listen in and potentially clarify what they had already heard.

"From what we know, they'll have no intention of harming you. The most likely reaction will be reverence, you can use that. But if anything seems off you can get out of there as fast as you can. This is just information gathering," Alex said, her face was lit up by the green tint of the screen. Sam was taking deep breaths, rubbing the shield bar on her arm.

"Will I have a wire or anything," Sam asked.

"We don't know what they're capable of and what might spook them. I'm not sure the arm is even a good idea, but I won't take that away from you," Alex said. The idea of going in alone was a daunting one, but she tied her hair back and clenched her fists. This was as ready as she was ever going to be. "We'll watch as best we can from here and have people on standby, ready to jump in if things get hairy." She did not care whether Alex could sense her unease or if she was being thorough.

Their meeting spot was isolated, a small warehouse district. She adjusted the pauldron agent Schott had designed for her right shoulder, it covered most of the upper arm. It was bulky and uncomfortable. She was told it was designed to look menacing along with the practical value of protecting the joint the artificial arm was sealed onto.

After going through what little detail they had, it was time to head out. She looked to Alex.

"Well, let's get this over with," she said.

"Good luck. And remember, no unnecessary risks," Alex said. Sam nodded and waited for her to make some sort of move. Alex exchanged the same look, seemingly waiting for something that was yet to happen. "You can head out when you're ready. I'll follow you on the screens as far as I can."

"I know it's quite close, but you can't expect me to walk through National City like this," Sam said, adjusting the mask on her face. Alex rubbed her neck.

"Remember, you're Reign to them. I can't exactly drop you off… we were expecting you to fly there," Alex said.

"Right," she said, her feet were heavy. Despite the practice she had done, having to fly on demand in front of a room full of people added a ton of pressure she was not prepared for. She took a deep breath to try and ease the pit in her stomach. She closed her eyes and did her best to clear her mind of the blinking screens and chattering agents. Her concentration paid off as the familiar tingling lightened her feet and they dipped away from the hard floor. She opened her eyes, hovering several feet in the air and looking down at the various agents weaving through the room. Only a modicum of attention was being paid to her. She looked up at a rather plain ceiling, the floating sensation and power promptly vanished when there was no clear direction from here.

"Is there some sort of secret door, or am I supposed to walk out of first?" she said.

"No, there's a narrow tunnel we had installed leading directly up," Alex looked up with her and tried to spot this entrance. After a few moments of scanning the ceiling, Alex pointed.

"That's the route Supergirl takes."

"Well, wish me luck," Sam said, she floated toward this small entrance.

"You'll do fine, if things get dangerous don't be afraid to bug out. Your safety is more important than our intel" Alex said. Sam nodded at her before she hovered out of view. The narrow tunnel was uncomfortably warm as it led directly up. It was dark and cramped, the height of the building dawned on her as her slow pace made the tunnel seem endless. It was hard to tell how high up she was in the poor lighting, eventually she heard a panel slide open above her. The sound echoed through as she floated toward the light, she tried to imagine Supergirl taking this same tunnel. From what she had seen she doubted it took her this long, the opening at the top seemed impatient as more light flooded in. Eventually she pushed herself out of the top and the panel slid shut. The D.E.O.'s roof was surprisingly clean, she guessed it saw more action than most roofs. She tried to focus on the task at hand and floated toward her destination. When she cleared the rooftop, she made the mistake of looking down. She threw her eyeline up to the sky as the image of nothing but gravity between her and a very far-off ground gave her an unpleasant head rush. The dizziness took its time fading as she counted clouds to try and distract herself. This was a stark difference from her previous record of a few feet off the ground. The unsettling vertigo took its time to fade, when it finally became somewhat manageable, she opened her eyes and exhaled sharply.

"I'm going to have to get used to this," she whispered to herself. It took her a few moments to get her sense of direction back. Not only had she never been this high up before, she also never had this much space to work with. Now was a better time than any to try flying faster. The thought that the faster she got to her destination, the sooner she could have solid ground beneath her feet was a motivator. Images of an excitable Ruby showing off Superman posters entered her mind, they always showed him with arms forward. It seemed a good a plan as any and she copied the poster by throwing herself forward. The sensation of this sudden momentum created from nothing was like electricity flowing through her body. The wind rushed through her hair as she picked up more speed, fear turned to exhilaration when she dared to look down again. The height was still a little dizzying, but she started to get her head around that she only needed her will to stay suspended in the sky. It was so different to standing on tall buildings or looking out of an airplane's window. The freedom of movement and air rushing past her ears was uncanny, for the first time since this whole mess started, she was grateful for this new life of hers. The renewed confidence of picturing Ruby watching her Superman moment drove her on. She doubted she was even travelling particularly quickly, though the city rushing below her made it seem like a million miles an hour. She found herself smiling, so distracted that she nearly overshot her location. She kept just about enough awareness to slow herself and come to stop above her location. Hovering downward was even stranger than flying. The ground slowly got closer and the city started to return to its normal size.

It was an abandoned warehouse district near the coast. She took in her surroundings as the solid ground tapped at the soles of her feet. Her body felt heavy when she let go of that electricity that kept her afloat. Wear in the paths over time had formed a significant valley in the concrete. It allowed a very large puddle to form, even with the dry weather it was clear it would take it's time to evaporate. She caught her reflection in it, it was faint and drowned out by a sea of other smaller reflections. They had outfitted her with a black suit, the material was soft to touch, lightweight and breathed well. It was similar to what she had unconsciously put together when Reign was taking hold. Sturdy boots covered her calves with attachments at the top to provide protection for the knees. Leather seemed to have been put in to stylise the pointed belt and cover some of the tight-knit mesh of the torso that covered her up to the neck. The mask itched, though less intricate than before it still covered majority of her face. The blackness heavily contrasted with her skin and her plaited red hair swung freely as she turned. The flexibility and ease of movement she had in the suit was not quite a memory, though the familiarity of it put her on edge. The main differences from before were the lack of the skull symbol that had been burned into her thoughts before she changed. If she never saw it again it would be too soon, so she was grateful. Lena had kept the arm changes close to the chest, so the D.E.O. designed around it and made it sleeveless. The silver linings of the pauldron shimmered. She kicked a small pebble into the puddle, it plopped in and she saw her image ripple away.

As run down as her surroundings were, broken windows and aged materials on the warehouses around her, there was a fresh smell in the air. It was cleaner that most of the city, the distinct lack of engine noise and through traffic felt related to this fact. It was disconcerting, all the sights pointed to this place being abandoned. Her nose and ears disagreed. She flicked a nearby chain-link fence, it rattled at her. She stopped herself, focusing back at the task at hand. She had to walk in one of these warehouses like she was a domineering alien. The flight over had made it less of an illusion to her.

She hovered and focused hard. The quiet made it easy to pick up muffled speech, she honed in on it with her heightened hearing. She slowly rotated as she let her ears guide her closer to her target. Her eyes stung and blurred as she tried to stare through the walls, her sight was somehow blocked by several of the surrounding buildings. Flat surfaces that her vision failed to penetrate. Instead, she trusted her ears. It drew her eyeline further across the rows of tatty buildings and picked up slight blurs with distinct outlines. It was the only building with a group of people that she could pick up on. She found a side-door and landed gently beside it, she put her hand up to it, she stopped herself before she pushed forward.

"You're Reign again, these people will revere you," she said under her breath. She rolled her shoulders and looked up to the sky. With a deep breath in through her nose and letting the air rush out of her lungs, she tried to release the tenseness in her shoulders. She pushed through to see a dimly lit, open space, a few beams of light seeped through sad looking high up windows. They were reinforced only by a few lamps at ground level. She took in the scene of a few dozen chairs facing a makeshift lectern that was placed in front of a smooth black obelisk. A strong white glow emanated from one side as the familiar Skull symbol she had once worn shone brightly near the top. As the small crowd of casually dressed men and women noticed her, they immediately fell to one knee. Only two remained standing. The man at the lectern was wide-eyed and open-mouthed. The other was located near the back of this congregation. His slouch changed to a broad stance as he glared daggers into her. She recognised him immediately, it was the man who had started all this. Spark's stare only lasted a moment as he read the rest of the room and slowly bent the knee. All others had bowed their heads to the floor or looked away, but his eyes remained up. That same intense watching he had inflicted on her when he first showed up at her porch.

"We have been blessed this day. A visit from one of Earth's redeemers. Welcome, Reign." She turned to him with a start, even the brief look of disdain Spark had thrown at her had distracted her from the man who was presumably the leader. She stood tall as she could and slowly turned her head to look over everyone in the room. The man behind the lectern was quite short with fair hair, he wore plain black clothing and there was a small, worn book in front of him.

"Carry on as you normally would, I want to hear what the loyal have been saying," she said, she attempted to sound relaxed. She had led enough meetings with investors in her time to at least fake it when she needed. The man faffed slightly, nervously flattening out the book in front of him.

"May they rise, redeemer?" He asked. She folded her arms and scanned the room again, her eyes fell to spark. His gaze had not broken

"No," she said, she watched the man closely.

At first his wording was slightly broken and hesitant as she caught side-glances toward her. He soon found his rhythm again, spouting at the kneeling flock. She kept her arms folded and hoped the mask would help her in staying stone-faced. Though she tried to ignore it, the presence of Spark was burning into her. The glare he had shot at her seemed to linger despite the fact he joined the kneeling mass. She shook it off and tried to pay attention to what was being said. It was an impassioned speech about the sins of humanity and how it paled in comparison to the wonders of Krypton. The leader spoke well, his talk of this utopia's beautiful orange skies and its just society was even starting to spur her imagination despite knowing how dangerous this cult was. The minutes started to drag as the messages grew repetitive. The themes were clear, humanity's insignificance, Krypton's superiority, the need for change and the required devotion from the silent, kneeling flock. The preacher paused and took a breath, looking to her with a disturbing admiration.

"And of course, one of the five that will grant us salvation from this imperfect world is with us. Those who would kill what we are to start afresh." The congregation joined in unison with his next words. "The catalyst shall bring them forth. One to drain the land of its misguided defiance, one to cleanse this land of imperfection, one to shape it into a worthy new world and one to rule over us while our salvation beckons." He closed the book in front of him and gestured to her. She remained silent, trying to process what she had heard. The number she had heard was always four from Lena and her D.E.O. briefings. She had little time to dwell, it was clear this preacher expected her to take over in some form, her mind raced. All she had to go on for being some sort of alien dictator was management experience, it would have to do. She slowly strode toward this preacher and spun back to the others.

"Stand," she said. It was quite the mix, young and old stood before her. There were reverent looks from almost all of them. Her eyes were drawn once more to Spark, standing at the back. He was the only one amongst them who was not in awe. When he caught her gaze, he gave a subtle shake of a head and a gesture to the exit. She ignored it, instead turning to the preacher.

"Tell me, what is your name," she said, she used her most authoritative tone.

"George, George Carlson" he said averting eye contact and bowing ever so slightly. She looked down at the lectern and at the book he was reading from. She picked it up, it had black leather binding and hand-written notes. A distinct lack of structure or consistency on the page combined with different handwriting suggested it had been added to by more than one source over time.

"You seem to know an awful lot, where exactly did you get this?" she said.

"It's the work of your most devoted follower, Thomas Coville. He spent years studying the beacon, interpreting and learning what he could of your language. He died a martyr, fighting for Krypton and the new world. I do what I can to interpret, expand upon and keep his teachings alive. I may not have the lifetime of study he has, I like to think my devotion to Krypton makes up for these shortcomings," he said. She nodded without a word, she closed the book, keeping it in her possession. She looked to the glowing white lights of the obelisk. The prominent white skull symbol helped light the lectern. Now she was closer, she saw fainter glowing from all over it. It was some sort of script, she leaned in. It was not a language she had seen before, but found herself recognising it. This flock seemed to wait patiently as she flicked through the book. There were four sides to the obelisk, she skimmed its brightest side. The symbols seemed to resonate with her, somehow able to interpret them with ease. It was headed by these strange symbols, she understood the word, "Reign." Below were descriptions, she flicked through the book to the corresponding page, one with a sketch of the skull symbol. The book had little more than a name and basic characteristics. She tried to keep her breathing slow as she read them. It described her, not Sam Arias but what she was now. The red hair, the white skin, even the black uniform and symbol were in there. She looked back to the obelisk, the strange language largely matched up with what had been written. She flicked over to the next page, it was a similar template but instead there was a sketch of a lotus and a heading "Flower of Heaven." She looked at another face of the beacon, the glow was much fainter but at the top was a lotus that matched the book's sketch. The faint writing was hard to read. She tried to brush it off and leaned in close. She jumped back startled as a deep, male voice boomed out from it. Once more in a language she did not recognise, but somehow understood.

"Continuing secondary protocols, Reign's activation accepted."

All the other side's glow began to brighten, the white light filled the dark room. Her head snapped back to the George and the flock.

"Of course that's why've you've visited us. It really is time, we must prepare," George said, the excitement in his voice reached new levels. "Thank you for your blessing Reign, we will do what we must." She nodded, the mask hiding her bewilderment. There was an excited chatter amongst the flock as they began to move, only Spark was silent. He took a step back, eyes wide in horror. It was only momentary as he nervously brought himself back into the room. He caught her eye again, he tapped his ear at her and began to whisper. She caught his drift and honed her hearing toward him. His hushed tones were harsh and urgent.

"We don't want secondary protocols. Let these idiots go, we'll have time while they prepare and spread word to the others. The D.E.O. will have no idea what to do, so go to Lena as soon as…" He stopped as another cultist came up to him, he nodded convincingly at whoever it was. She had so many questions, but feared disrupting whatever was going on would give her away

George walked up to her.

"We will mobilize and act in Krpyton's name, the day is upon us. Thank you for allowing us to be part of this" he said with a smile. The cultists were moving out with an excitable buzz about them, seemingly happy to ignore the book and beacon. She looked uneasily at the bright beacon as the cultists began to disperse, she wanted more from Spark but he did not have the chance to pull away from the crowd. Soon she was left alone with the humming of this strange artefact. Her mind raced, she wanted to stay and read it to maybe get any idea of what just happened. She had no phone or way to communicate with anyone outside the warehouse. Lena's request to Spark's involvement and his clear understanding of what had happened had her leaning toward following the instruction. If anything, Lena's office would have a phone she could contact Alex with. She waited a few moments, hoping the cultists would have got some more distance and set off.

The sensation of flying was lost on her as her mind raced away. Questions as to what mobilised meant, what Spark knew and what this beacon were all clashed with each other. Theories overlapped theories as the L-Corp building drew ever closer. She wanted to flick through the book again, though she lacked the confidence to read and fly at the same time. It would also likely just raise more questions.

She saw the balcony up ahead, the gamble that she would be in her office had paid off as she came to a less than graceful landing. Lena swivelled in her chair and cowered when she saw her, visibly startled and grabbing her chair tightly.

"Sam?" Lena croaked out

"What, sorry, yes it's me," she said, taking off the mask. She had been so wrapped up in thought she forgot she was dressed like Reign. Lena took a moment to breath heavily.

"I'm sorry, I forgot…" she started, Lena put up a finger.

"Don't apologise, just need a moment," Lena said, still coming down from her initial shock. It was odd being back here. Vague of Reign's violence flashed in her mind as she took in the surrounding office, even with the redecoration it was uncomfortable to be back.

"I didn't mean to drop in on you like this, but something's happened. Spark was there and told me to go to you," she said. Lena reached back and turned her screen monitors off.

"Okay, explain everything," Lena said through laboured breaths.

"I can wait if you want," she said.

"No, I'm sure this is urgent," Lena said. Sam explained her involvement with the D.E.O. in more detail, Spark's presence at the warehouse and his understanding of the strange beacon. Lena's tension began to ease as Sam spoke, allowing herself to breathe deeply and focus on the words. She glanced through the book as she listened to Sam's explanations.

"You were probably right to listen to him, if anyone knows what's gone on it's him. Why he sent you my way first… Is there anything of note you can recall. Anything that sticks out?" Lena asked. She thought for a moment, it was a fact almost lost against the rapid developments and her own racing mind.

"Well, there was one thing that stuck out to me. George in his little speech called me one of the five, both you and the D.E.O. seemed sure there were four World Killers," she said. Lena stopped to think, stroking her chin as she spoke.

"Well, that information came from… Wait, you said Spark specifically mentioned secondary protocols?" she stopped and tensed up again. "Drain, cleanse, shape and rule. Does this sound familiar to you, be as specific as you can." Sam nodded.

"The D.E.O. had keyed in on them and for the cult it was like a little prayer they had to end the service, except it started with something about a catalyst bringing them fourth," she said. Lena stopped to think, she quickly flicked through George's book again and stopped at a page. Sam tried to read through herself as Lena's eyes scanned down the page but found it difficult at the angle she had. Lena's fist seemed to clench and her jaw tightened, she slammed the book shut and turned around. Sam was not sure what to say at Lena's sudden outburst. She was saved by the ringing of a phone. Lena swivelled back around and checked it, the name "Monarch," was on the screen she exhaled sharply, waiting a few rings before answering.

"We have a major problem, come to the Cheshire as soon as possible," his voice was met with silence. "Hello? Lena?" She stared down at the phone, unclenched her fist and spoke in a harsh tone that Sam had never heard from her before.

"There's no way I'm coming to you,"

"You sound angry, is this not a good time?" he said

"You know damn well why I'm angry," she said. A sigh made its way through the speaker.

"Arias is already there isn't she," he said.

"That's right. Catalyst," she said. Sam was taken aback, she grabbed the book and started flicking through pages to try and find out what exactly she was listening to.

"At least let me come to your office and explain myself," he sounded slightly desperate.

Lena ran her hands through her hair. She rubbed her eyes and looked over at her. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered to herself before speaking up. "If I get one more lie out of you or you do anything I don't like, I'll throw you to the D.E.O. so fast that that smug look of yours wouldn't even have had time to drop from your face."

"That's all I ask. I'll be at your office within the hour. Keep Arias with you, she'll want to hear this too," he said. Sam gave up on the book when Lena hung up the call. Lena's head dropped onto her desk. A muted, frustrated scream vibrated through the desk.

"What's going on?" she asked. Lena exhaled sharply again and pushed herself away from the desk. She spat out her words.

"He's a damned World Killer, always has been."