On Saturday morning, the Superfriends, as Winn had eagerly decided to name their friend group once it was out in the open that Kara was Superman's cousin, met up with Lex, and now Maggie, to go through with the plan. Lex was helping Winn hack into Gemma's locking systems to get into the labs, and from there, Kara and Alex were to search the area under the stables, get Lena, and get out. Nia's job would be to guard the entrance and, unbeknownst to Lex, keep her mind's eye tuned in for visions that would alert them if Gemma or Andrea were going to enter the lab. Maggie, meanwhile, would hang back with Winn and Lex as backup in case things got out of control.

They all stood in Lex's room, using his computers to do the hacking. It was as if the entire group were holding their breath as Winn and Lex tapped away at keys for a while, intently looking at the computer screens before tapping more. Waves of code flowed down their screens, a language no one in the room quite understood but the two of them. After a while, Winn let out a triumphant laugh.

"We're in!" He spun to grin at Lex and put his hand in the air for a high-five. "Up top!"

Lex raised an eyebrow at him, and Kara felt a pang in her chest at the resemblance in his reactions to those of Lena. But then, Lex chuckled and high-fived Winn, before turning with a grim expression to look at the girls waiting to start their portion of the mission. He clasped his hands together as he eyed them.

"The entrances are unlocked. There's a good chance the cell that Lena is in will be locked and it won't be easily picked or broken into."

Winn nodded, adding, "It is a science lab, so, you know, be innovative. This is a prison break and we don't have a lot of resources but the ones that'll be around you. If you can safely bust the door with something in there, do it. You'll want to look for keys, but I'm doubting that even with the lab under lockdown they just leave them lying around. Do what you have to and get that cell open." As he said the last part, he met Kara's eyes, and she gave him a slight nod. Physically punch the wall in if you have to was what Winn may as well have said.

"Bring my sister back," Lex said, and Kara gave him a nod as well. With that, the three of them left the room and quickly made their way to the entrance to Gemma's lab closest to the stables, which happened to be a trapdoor just at the entrance which most students assumed led to some sort of storage area for horse supplies. Kara went down first, followed by Alex, and then Nia.

The room they walked into looked not unlike such a storage unit. Kara quickly took her glasses off and scanned through the boxes and the bales of hay, before her eyes locked on an outline that was definitely a door. Heading over to it, she quickly moved the boxes out of the way from in front of it and, grabbing the handle, pulled on it. For a second, the door didn't react, and Kara was worried that Lex and Winn hadn't actually managed to break into the system. But then, there was a soft beeping sound, and the door slid the rest of the way open on its own.

Nia lingered in the storage room as Kara and Alex slipped in and slid the door shut behind them, stopping just in the entrance so that Kara could make sure neither Gemma nor Andrea were already inside. She was relieved to find that not only were they alone, but it was only the outside of the lab that blocked her x-ray vision; she could see into the rooms with ease. The two sisters quietly made their way down the hall, Kara scanning in rooms to see if any of them held Lena, Alex keeping an eye out for a key of some kind to make opening the door a bit easier once they found it. Unfortunately, Lex and Winn had been right, and there weren't any extras just lying about.

Suddenly, Kara's eyes locked on a room that had a bed in the corner, what appeared to be some kind of bedside table smashed into pieces on the other side of the room, and another door at the back of it. She couldn't quite see through that door, and she felt a glimmer of hope; even if it didn't look like Lena was inside, she could be in the second room. This had to be the cell that she'd overheard Andrea and Gemma talking about.

Storming up to the door, Kara punched dead in the center of it, and the entire wall cracked and clattered to the ground. Alex stared, open mouthed, as Kara stepped over the rubble and into the cell, scanning through the second door now with her eyes narrowed. It, too, looked empty. Kara refused to believe it until she saw it herself. Tearing the second door right off of its hinges, Kara looked in, only to find that it was truly empty. If Lena had been there before, she wasn't anymore.

She turned to look back at Alex, who was stepping into the room a bit slower, looking for any signs that Lena had been there. But unlike Lena's room, Gemma and Andrea had been careful to keep any trace of Lena once they'd moved her, and aside from the broken table, there was no sign that anything in the room was out of the ordinary. Kara couldn't give up hope but… she was now halfway to Gemma's deadline, and they were right back to square one.

"They must have taken her somewhere else," Kara said to Alex.

Just then, they both turned at the sound of hands clapping behind them. Gemma was standing there, clapping slowly, an amused smirk on her face. Meanwhile, Andrea was standing a bit behind her, a vice grip on Nia, who was wearing an odd pair of handcuffs that seemed to inhibit her abilities to use any powers. Alex quickly recognized them as the same handcuffs her father used on alien criminals. How the hell did Gemma get those?

"I'm sorry, guys," Nia said, looking at them desperately as she squirmed and struggled to try to get out of Andrea's hold, "Gemma's so much stronger than I expected…"

Kara marched up to Gemma, meeting her face-to-face with a glare. "Where is Lena? She was here, wasn't she?"

Gemma shrugged as she stopped clapping and crossed her arms. "I honestly don't know what you're talking about. In any case, you've clearly hit a dead end, and you're back to square one. Kara, what'll it be? The offer's still on the table, but I'm getting awfully tired of having to feed a hostage every day, and now that I'll have to ask my father for money to repair this cell… things are going to be a little tight. I may have to make some budget cuts."

"Kara?" Alex asked, giving Kara a questioning, slightly disappointed look. "What is she talking about?"

Kara looked between Alex and Gemma helplessly, before her eyes met Nia's. A look of understanding had crossed Nia's face, and she was still struggling but pulling less aggressively against the cuffs, looking at Kara sympathetically as if she knew how this was about to pan out and was realizing that soon, she'd be let go, because she wasn't the one they wanted.

Finally, Kara met Gemma's gaze. "Fine. I'll get you in, you can read the location, and then I get you out. But that's it. No grand tour, no seeing what the projections look like, no touching anything unless I say so, am I clear?"

"Kara, what are you agreeing to?" Alex asked more forcefully, walking in between Kara and Gemma to break the tension building between them. "Where are you getting her into?"

Kara didn't break eye contact with Gemma as she said in a low, angry voice, "The Fortress of Solitude." Her hands were balled into fists and she wanted nothing more than to punch Gemma's face bloody, but she knew that her punches would have no impact on the older girl. Besides, hurting Gemma wouldn't help Lena.

"No, you aren't going to do that," Alex snapped, narrowing her eyes.

Kara calmly responded, "I have no other choice. It's the only way we're getting Lena back. Now, let Nia go, and we can talk details."

"Kara, you can't—"

"Alex," Kara interrupted, finally breaking eye contact with Gemma to meet Alex's gaze, trying to give her the most reassuring look she could muster. "Just trust me, okay? I wouldn't be doing this if it were too high of stakes. I will be fine."

Alex bit her tongue, knowing she should protest more but realizing that there was no way Kara was going to budge on the topic. Gemma nodded at Andrea, and the brunette unlocked Nia's handcuffs before shoving the girl toward her friends. Gemma then met Kara's gaze, smiling triumphantly.

"You, stay. Everyone else, get out of here, unless you want to regret the day you were born." Gemma's voice was cold, despite having a gloating smile on her face like she'd won the lottery. Nia began walking out first, gently touching Alex's shoulder to encourage her to do the same. Alex had to force herself to tear her gaze away from Kara and walk away. She didn't feel good about this arrangement, and she almost wondered if it was time to consult her parents about what was happening.

Kara would kill me, she thought, she'd be homeschooled for the rest of her life. For now, she just had to trust that Kara knew what she was doing.

Andrea followed them out as well, heading straight to her room so that Alex and Nia wouldn't get any bright ideas to try to follow her to Lena's new location. Smiling pleasantly at Kara as if they were merely discussing a business deal, Gemma walked over to the rubble, inspecting it with a mild curiosity about her expression. Kara thought she heard her murmur, remarkable, under her breath, but she couldn't be entirely sure.

"Well," Gemma said with a deep sigh, "you've certainly done a number on my lab. Honestly, it's a pretty low stakes decision that I was asking you to make. I was surprised it took you so long to agree, especially as I'm sure you can imagine how Lena's faring right now."

Kara clenched her jaw. Gemma was just trying to get to her; she knew Lena was strong, and was probably looking for a way out at that very second. "If you know as much as you claim to about the fortress," Kara said, her tone sounding somewhat annoyed, much to Gemma's delight, "you would know just how high stakes this decision is for me. I'm risking the only thing left of my planet and my cousin's trust so that you can find something you probably would've been able to find somewhere else regardless. I only agreed because I want Lena back, safe. Rao, what did either of us ever do to you?"

Kara noticed when she said Rao that Gemma's face soured. "You talk just like her," Gemma hissed. "Despicable. Let's just discuss how you plan on getting both of us to the fortress."

Trailing after Gemma, Kara felt the corner of her eye twitch and her hands clench into fists. She had no doubt that trying to work with Gemma was to about to be incredibly painstaking and would definitely test her patience.

…

Nia and Alex were making their way from the stables, a tense silence between the two of them as they mulled over what had just happened. Alex kept glancing back over her shoulder as if she was going to turn back and force Kara to return with them, but Nia knew that wasn't going to happen. She had seen it. The air hung between the two of them like static electricity, though neither of them knew how or when to break the silence.

Finally, Alex spoke. "You knew."

"I saw her there, at the fortress, with Gemma in a vision. I have a bad feeling about it, too, but there's no way we were going to convince Kara not to go through with it. You saw how determined she was." Nia's voice sounded defeated, and Alex could tell that she'd been hoping they would be able to stop Kara from agreeing with Gemma's plan, even if she knew, deep down, that it was a pipe dream.

Alex shook her head. "Why didn't you say anything? Did you know the plan would fail?"

"No," Nia said, shooting a frown at Alex, "of course not. If I knew the plan would fail, I wouldn't have let anyone risk it. Honestly, I was hoping that the plan would work, and that because our plan worked, my premonition would be prevented. But instead, we played right into fate's game."

The two fell into silence once more as they walked inside. There weren't many students outside or in the halls; classes had finished picking up to full speed and most people were doing homework. It was a cloudy day out with a crisp wind, the cold fingers of fall gripping campus, a perfect day for people to tuck themselves inside and finish a few assignments. Their footsteps echoed as they walked down the hallway, passing some empty rooms and some in which lone students sat using a computer or speaking with a teacher.

As they walked past the library to head back to the dorms, Nia froze. Alex took a few steps before realizing Nia was no longer following her, and she turned, giving Nia a confused look. Nia was rooted in place, her eyes wide, staring at the floor beneath her feet as if it would dissolve. She looked at Alex and, as though scared to disturb something, breathed out her next sentence.

"Do you hear that?"

Alex stopped, letting herself listen.

Plunk. Plunk. Plunk.

The sound of a rock hitting metal and echoing through what sounded like a vent came in three quick taps.

Pluuunk. Pluuunk. Pluuunk.

The next three vibrated against the metal, as if meant to sound longer, more drawn out, and they came at a slower interval. Alex understood; it was Morse code.

Plunk. Plunk. Plunk.

"S.O.S.," Nia said, and Alex nodded. "Do you think it's…?"

"We have to find what vent that's coming from," Alex said, making her way into the library and walking along the side wall, following the sound of the stones as it grew gradually easier to hear. When they pinpointed the vent it was coming from, they raced over to it. It was tucked between a few bookshelves, in a section of books that were dusty and clearly weren't checked out or read very often.

"I'll keep a lookout," Nia said, "see if she can hear you!"

Alex knelt down by the vent, speaking just as loud as she needed to for her voice to echo back a bit through the vent. "Lena!"

Plunk. Plunk.

"Lena!"

The plunking had stopped. "Kara?"

Alex's eyes widened when she heard Lena's voice float up through the vent. She must've been directly under that set of bookshelves. "It's Alex," she said, "listen, we're going to get you out of there. But right now, Kara's on a suicide mission."

"Alex! Thank God! Where is Kara now?"

Alex frowned. "She's with Gemma. They made some kind of deal for Gemma to let you out. But now, we know where you are…"

"Exactly," Lena interrupted, and Alex heard that her tone of voice sounded significantly more distressed all of a sudden. "You know where I am and Alex, I don't care how many cells they move me to, you cannot let Kara leave with Gemma, do you understand me? When they get to the fortress, Gemma is going to seize the Kryptonite that's there and kill Kara."

"Wait, you know?" Alex said, and then realizing there were more important things, "Kryptonite—like the stuff Superman had banned?"

"Alex, you have to stop her," Lena's voice pleaded. "Don't worry about me right now."

She didn't need to tell Alex twice. Leaping to her feet, Alex jogged out of the library, grabbing Nia's arm as she went and pulling her along. Nia looked surprised, but found herself running along with Alex regardless as the older Danvers furiously punched in her phone passcode and held the phone to her ear. She looked at Nia as if to say, pay attention, and then as soon as a voice came to life on the other side, Alex's mouth was running at a mile a minute.

"Mags, listen to me. We were wrong. Lena isn't under the stables, she's under the library. Kara is about to do something really reckless because she thought it was the only way Gemma would let Lena go. I can't risk letting Kara leave with her, so Nia and I are heading back to the lab to convince Kara not to do this. They're going to know we found Lena, so I need you, Lex, and Winn to find Andrea, keep an eye on her, and make sure Lena stays put. Can you do that?"

"I can do that, and I can get Lena out," Maggie said confidently. Alex grinned.

"My girlfriend is such a badass," she said, and Maggie let out a chuckle, before reassuring Alex that Kara was strong and that no matter what happened, if anyone could go toe to toe with Gemma, it was her.

Alex couldn't bring herself to completely agree; after all, knowing what Lena had told her, she didn't think Kara would be as good of a match for Gemma as she would normally be. Her only reassurance was knowing that they'd be in Kara's home court; if nothing else, she hoped the fortress would protect Kara.

Slipping her phone into her pocket once they'd hung up, they made their way back to the storage room in the stables. Alex walked up to the door and tried to open it, only to find that it was locked once more. Andrea must've rebooted the system, but that meant…

"They've already left," Nia said.

"Maybe we can catch them before they're gone," Alex said, trying to keep the desperation she felt from permeating her voice. Climbing up the ladder and heading out into the fields, Alex headed toward the back of the dorms, where the foliage was the most overgrown and students were least likely to be doing work or walking around. That was the only place she could think of that Kara would be likely to fly off from. As she jogged back behind the building, she looked around, hoping against hope she'd see Kara and Gemma about to take off somewhere.

But instead, all she found was a pair of glasses discarded on the ground. Her heart sunk to the bottom of her stomach like a stone in a stream. With shaking hands, she picked them up, brushing the pieces of grass and dirt that clung to them off. They were Kara's glasses; she and Gemma were truly already gone.

Nia put her hand on Alex's shoulder, offering her a sympathetic look when she realized what Alex was holding. "She'll be okay," Nia tried to say reassuringly, "I can feel it."

Alex seemed to accept Nia's reassurance, offering her a small smile and a nod, believing that perhaps if Nia had had a premonition about the fortress already, she really could feel that Kara would come out alright. Taking a deep breath, she turned to wordlessly head back toward the dorms. Nia followed along behind her, wishing there were someone to reassure her that they had any gut feeling Kara would be okay.

Heading back to Lex's room, Alex and Nia looked in with what surely must've been looks of utter defeat. Winn had a surveillance camera up from the cafeteria, where Andrea was having lunch with another student, and Lex was working on unlocking the door to the portion of the lab that was under the library. As they walked in, Maggie took one look at Alex and opened her arms, drawing her in for a hug and rubbing her back comfortingly.

"She's tough," Maggie said, winking at Alex when they pulled apart. "She'll be okay."

Alex took to pacing around the room while they waited for an opportunity to jump back into action to arrive. Each moment that passed, Alex hoped Kara would return, safe and sound, and tell her that she had begrudgingly given Gemma some information, but that ultimately nothing else had gone wrong and she was willing to let Lena go.

Maggie watched her with concern in her eyes and Winn stared at Andrea on the screen in front of him intently, his jaw tense as he tried to hide just how concerned he was about Kara and Lena. Nia sat on the edge of a chair, poised as if ready to move at any moment. There was a look of fierce determination etched into her features, a feeling that luckily seemed to fill the room and begin to rub off on everyone else around her.

"We're in," Lex said, his voice finally breaking through the thick silence, and with a determined grin, he looked back over his shoulder. "It's time to get my sister out."

This time, Nia stayed back with Winn to help deal with Andrea if she started heading to the library, and Lex left with Maggie and Alex to go to the library. Alex hoped that it wouldn't have all been a trick of the mind, and they weren't about to arrive to find another empty cell. They found that the door to this wing of the lab was located at the back of a storage closet in the library, once again in the form of a trap door to a storage unit. It was significantly harder to find the door without Kara's x-ray vision, but after moving around numerous boxes and looking behind knick-knacks and cleaning supplies lined up on shelves, they finally found the door behind a rolling shelving unit covered in old books.

Walking into the lab, Alex quickly realized that it was going to be a very difficult process trying to find the cell this time without Kara's ability to see through walls. It felt like ages as they checked each and every door, most of which were unlocked but were either mere storage closets or were simply empty. Lex seemed to be getting especially frustrated the longer it took them.

"How did you find the cell so quickly under the stables?" Lex muttered in annoyance when they forced open a door with hinges that were a bit bent, only to find that it was also empty.

"It, uh, wasn't as run down as this one and was more clearly marked," Alex said sheepishly. It was true to an extent; this portion of the lab appeared to be more akin to a basement, and it seemed like it really wasn't something Gemma or the Coopers in general used very often. It certainly didn't give her high hopes about what the state of Lena's cell was going to be like once they'd found it, though.

Finally, at the far end of the hallway, they came to a door that was locked.

"Well, this has to be it. Now, we have to figure out how to get it open," Alex commented.

Maggie looked like she was going to say something when Lex quickly held up a finger and said, "Wait, shush."

They fell silent for a moment, Maggie and Alex watching, confused, as Lex slowly walked toward the locked door. He pressed his ear against it and gave them an intense look with a finger to his lips; there was sound coming from the other side. Just as he moved away from the door, looking like he'd heard something extremely concerning, the entire room around them rumbled and shook. What happened next seemed to occur in slow motion.

First, the ceiling went. It was like a meteor crashed into the ground above them, and the entire ceiling above them cracked and fell inward. Lex raced away from the hole as it appeared in the ceiling, and Alex grabbed Maggie's wrist, yanking her to the side as she physically leaped away from the debris falling away. But the destruction didn't stop there. Whatever was falling continued to fall straight into the door of the cell, and as soon as it hit, the entire wall cracked and crumbled. From the rubble, a dusty figure staggered to its feet.

Looking up from her place on the ground, where Alex had her arms wrapped around Maggie's head and her back to the ceiling, Alex realized that it was Kara. She had just come crashing into the lab, somehow with enough force to break even the outer structure, and had knocked over another figure in the process. The sound had been deafening, a chorus of cracking and crashing. It had been so loud that everyone but Kara, Gemma, and Lena had missed the sound of the bullet being fired.

A/N And still the plot thickens. Y'all aren't ready for what's in store.

I hope this chapter is a fun one for you guys, we're into some action and about to have the beauty of drama unfold!

Thank you all for your feedback and support. I always appreciate constructive criticism, and it always makes my day when one of y'all likes my writing style, because this is honestly a bit of a pilot so I can determine if I should write an actual book next! You all give me a lot of faith in myself and I can't thank you enough for that.

Anyways, didn't mean to be such a ~sap~, but I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Remember to take care of yourselves, and much love!

Until next time,

Nana