Time was flying, Lena tried to reassure her about possibilities with Ruby and avenues that could be pursued if Spark's theories were true. It was hard to tell if her rushed talking was to try and make her feel better or to distract herself from the risk she had just taken with Spark. Sam was only half-listening due to the fact Ruby was consuming her mind. Ruby had already dealt with so much, now she had to tell her this news. Telling her before knowing for sure or when she was this young felt wrong. The reaction she would get regardless of Ruby's age was hard to imagine. Never having to go through her mother's loss might even be a positive thing. In-turn, she would be there for Ruby's entire life. Grandkids, great grandkids, she could be there for numerous generations of Arias'. The look on Spark's face haunted her though, having to carry on as your loved ones pass on. He had been through it and in its own way, it broke him.
Lena's phone blared at them, it interrupted her train of thought. She managed to catch the name of the caller as Alex Danvers before she picked it up.
"Lena, a person of interest just showed up at our HQ. He claims you and Sam Arias sent him here," she said. Lena could not help but smile when she heard this.
"That's correct," she said.
"I guess Sam is safe and with you then. We've put him in a cell as a precaution, I'm guessing he's not a threat if he's following your orders," Alex said.
"Orders is a little strong…" Lena paused and chuckled to herself. "I'm on my way over, keep him in the cell until I arrive."
"So he is dangerous?" Alex said.
"No, just think of it as a favour to me," Lena said.
"I don't appreciate being mucked around like this," Alex said.
"I understand, all will become clear soon," Lena said.
"It better." Alex said, the call ended.
Lena stood up with renewed vigour.
"Let's get to the D.E.O." Lena said, she gathered a few things and cleaned up her desk.
They arrived at the D.E.O. headquarters quickly enough, Alex and J'onn came over to them immediately to rush them through the security procedures.
"I want an explanation of all this," J'onn said.
"There's been a major development regarding the World Killers, the person of interest knows what's going on," Lena said.
"He's still in his cell, we sent in an interrogator to try and get some more information out of him," Alex said.
Their footsteps echoed along the narrow corridors as they went through the security wing. Sam spent the time awkwardly explaining to Alex and J'onn why she had not immediately returned to them. Alex was irritated by the whole situation, though J'onn just listened quietly with no response. From what she could tell he was not distracted, just thinking. They ended up in a concrete room with a calm Spark on the other side.
The cell had a transparent front, Spark was casually leant up against one of the cell's walls, with a man in a chair sat on the other side of the transparent panel.
"Get anything from him?" Alex asked.
"No Ma'am, he's given me nothing." The interrogator was oddly flustered as they burst in.
"Hi Lena, was the cell your idea?" Spark said, ignoring the entourage of people that had arrived.
"No, keeping you in there was though," Lena said. Spark smirked.
"Yeah, guess I deserve that," he said.
"Ms. Luthor claims there's been a development with the World Killers and that you're the best to person to brief us," J'onn said, pushing past the casual conversation.
"That I am, can I at least be let out of this cell first. The joke's been made," Spark said.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Alex said.
"I literally walked into the middle of your operation unhindered, you really think this cell makes much of a difference?" He said.
"We'll need his help, I vouch for him," Lena said.
"You've made it very clear, Ms. Luthor, that your relationship with the D.E.O. is at some distance. I want more information before moving forward," Alex said.
"That'd be a first," Spark said. Lena shot him a look of disapproval.
"Maybe don't antagonise the D.E.O. employees while you're standing in a D.E.O. cell," Lena said. He moved to the front and centre of the cell, he got close as he could to address Alex. J'onn was still quiet.
"Fine. Because you sent Reign in before doing any real recon." He turned to Sam, "Not your fault, by the way, you did what was right for your daughter," he then turned back. "A beacon for the World Killers has activated. I was the one designated to activate it, I kept tabs on it in for a very long time. Now I ensured before I even got to this planet that I don't exactly work as required for this thing, but I still kept my distance. Now, whether it was the Daxamites or that new dim-wit that leads the cult, secondary protocols were activated. It bypasses my command and hands them over to Reign, who just came into contact with the beacon." Alex tried to ask a question, but Spark ploughed through.
"Not done talking. The intended effect is to immediately activate the other World Killers. That I can't speak much on. Reign and Flower of Heaven's programming has been erratic, so I don't exactly know how this beacon is going to affect the others. It would appear myself and Reign have had no reaction at all. If we're very lucky that will be the case for the others, if we're unlucky. Flower of Heaven, Deimax and Perrilus are about to fully activate."
"You're missing out a lot of details and context here. We weren't even aware Flower of Heaven had been found," J'onn said, stroking his chin. He had yet to raise his voice or show any sign of annoyance.
"I'm aware. I can fill in those details when time is less of a factor. Being Kryptonian, I'm afraid I can't just transfer my knowledge to you with one of your telepathic tricks.
World Killer's aside, the most immediate problem is the cult. That beacon going live was a call to action. There's about to be a lot of people running around National City looking to uh… how should I put it… Purge? They've got a lot of alien tech to play with and will move out soon. A lot of people are going to get hurt unless we act."
"If you knew all this, why keep it to yourself. We could have used this intel to deal with this before it even became a problem," Alex said.
"Caution was required. I had time to approach this carefully, to try and reach the remaining World Killers before they turned," he said.
"So, your selfish desire to work alone caused this," Alex said. He looked at her in disbelief.
"I've been aware of Krypton's influence for decades. I finally let some information get to you and it's not even been a week before this cult's about to go on a rampage. Not to mention the remaining World Killers are potentially fully activated."
"If you'd been up front and told us everything from the start…" she started.
"I am also distinctly aware of how the D.E.O. has acted towards aliens and other discoveries. You'd have hunted down the World Killers like animals. They'd either have activated from the stress or would be in a cage, just like this one. And you would no doubt be mucking around with the very tech that messes with their brain. Assuring yourselves how you'd be way more careful than the cult was along the way, all the while CADMUS moles passes that intel along to their bosses and things get even messier," he said.
"I don't think you're in a position to be questioning our methods," Alex said. Spark was about to retort, but Sam cut him off.
"Enough." Her patience had finally worn to its breaking point. "You're bickering when there are cultists out there who need to be stopped. We need to get a move on, you can blame each other to your heart's content when this is over." Spark seemed to catch himself, rapidly dropping his intense demeanour.
"She's right. The cult will be gathering whatever weapons they can and will likely target crowded areas to be as disruptive as possible," Spark said. J'onn finally spoke up.
"Agent Danvers, mobilise ground forces to contain any cultists. I want a set of teams engage them, keep them out away from the most populated areas. I also want a second set on the outskirts, moving people along and keeping surrounding areas clear of wherever the cult shows up."
"Your squads shouldn't engage them directly, guns won't help you here," Spark said.
"If they're as dangerous as you say, I'm not sending my people in unarmed," J'onn said.
"If you engage them, you'll either be fighting World Killers, where guns will be ineffective. Or you'll be fighting humans, where your guns will be far too effective," Spark said.
"These people are threatening the safety of this city and innocent people, now is not the time to be backing away," J'onn said.
"Most of the cultists are naïve, they don't understand what they were dragged into. They blindly followed these scriptures because they were lost or alone. Let Sam and I confront them, they won't shoot at World Killers and may even listen to us," Spark said.
"You're an unknown element and Ms. Arias is not a field agent," he said.
"I want to help," Sam said.
Before J'onn could protest an agent burst into the room.
"Sir, reports are coming in that large groups of people are firing unknown weapons in the city."
"It's already started. Agent Danvers, co-ordinate the teams," J'onn stepped forward and pressed a combination of buttons on a wall-panel. The cell door slid-open.
"If you're my best chance for a peaceful solution then I'm taking it. Our squads will stay nearby and out of sight of Ms Arias." He turned to Spark. "You are to stay with our squads at all times, if you try anything disruptive, lose your escorts or it turns out you're lying then they'll be forced to engage," J'onn said. Spark looked taken aback as he took a tentative step outside the cell.
"Thank you," he said, it was strange to seem him so unsure of his words.
"You clearly have a better picture of what's going on. Lena Luthor has more context and trusts you. She's the smartest one in the room so I'm going on her judgement," he said.
"Sir, I…" Alex tried to protest.
"I haven't got this far in life by letting my ego get the better of me an we're short on time," he said, that had ended the protestations before they begun.
They began to move back through the snaking corridors to the main control room. Displays were flashing at them showing the concentrated areas the cult were targeting. J'onn handed earpieces to both her and Spark, then gave a very quick demonstration on how to change channels and communicate with specific people if need be.
"I'll be co-ordinating from here, if I say get out of there, then get out of there. Understood?" He said.
"I understand," Sam said.
"You're staying back, with the powers you can sport?" Spark said.
"I'll be needed if a World Killer pops up anywhere, there's no guarantee they'll aim for National City. Reports and information will be on hand here," J'onn said. He walked over to the main displays and spoke loudly and clearly.
"Okay, people. Load up and head out, this operation starts now. I want no mistakes."
The whole room and kicked up a gear, agents were skipping by and taking their stations. Squads were moving in formation. They would disappear out of site, only to appear armoured and armed moments later. Orders were barked and boots were quickly trudging around as the J'onn and Alex's commanding presences kept what should have been chaos in a regimented, efficient operation. Briefings and intelligence were being passed around, the air was vibrating with energy as the full attention of the D.E.O. turned to stopping this latest threat. Images and maps were coming up on the feeds, quickly being analysed for approach patterns and covering vectors. She stood in the middle of it all, agents brushed by and the room whizzed around her whilst she was still. It was all happening so quickly and could still barely get her thoughts in order. She was so distracted she had not noticed Spark weaving through until he had appeared right in front of her.
"You're the fastest here, go on ahead and talk to any cultists you can find. If they're focused on you, they aren't firing at civilians. I'll catch up as soon as I can," Spark fiddled with his earpiece as he spoke to her.
"I don't really know what I'm doing here, I just…" he took her shoulder.
"Don't doubt yourself. We were chosen on Krypton because of who we were and what we were capable of. Your strength and courage is why you were chosen to become Reign. From what little I know of your human life, against all odds you've always pushed forward and done what was right. You've proved you're capable of greatness time and again. Nothing has ever stopped you, so this sure as hell won't," he said. She held his eye contact, his sincerity shone through his guarded persona. Despite the numerous questions raised by thus little speech, she looked up at the flashing screens, then to the exit. There were people who needed saving and she was the only one that could do it.